This Decadent Queer Romance is the Perfect Summer Read
It’s time to talk about the new LGBTQ books out this week, including one of my favorite reads of the year! I know you probably don’t need me to tell you to read the newest Casey McQuiston book, but I’m going to do it anyway. It’s a fun, sexy, and heartwarming romance that actually had me in tears at some point. But that’s not the only queer book out this week worth adding to your TBR! We’ve also got a sapphic vampire story set in jazz age Harlem, a queer Maori-inspired biopunk pirate fantasy, an M/M K-pop romance, a sapphic haunted house story, and more!
I’ve also included some links to queer book lists, news, and reviews from across the internet, so check those out for queer books about robots, novels for the weird girl, recent nonbinary books, and more.
New LGBTQ Releases This Week
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston (Bi4Bi NB/M Romance)
Theo and Kit were childhood best friends who fell in love and were inseparable into their twenties…until a fight on the way to their dream vacation changed everything. Now, it’s four years later, and the voucher for this food and wine-tasting tour across Europe is about to expire, so Theo books the trip solo at the last possible moment — only to find that Kit had the same idea. Stuck on the same trip for weeks, they hesitantly begin to rebuild their friendship. Along the way, they make a bet about who can sleep with someone first in each of the cities they visit.
This may be my new favorite romance novel. I loved it. The descriptions of food and drink, plus the beautiful locales, make this feel so decadent. It’s also steamy and sweet at the same time, with a heavy dose of yearning. It’s the perfect summer read. You can hear my full thoughts on All the Books today or read my review at the Lesbrary.
Casey McQuiston has an interview with Rolling Stone about this book that I think is worth quoting here: “What was really exciting to me was creating a Trojan horse of trans romance, where the packaging and premise are very pretty and beach-read vibe, and then you get into it and you’re like ‘I think I understand this character’s gender now’ in a way that’s both earning the character [development] and bamboozling straight people into reading.” Cheers to bamboozling straight people!
Idol Lives by KT Salvo (M/M Romance)
K-pop fans, this romance series is for you! This is book three in the Idol Romance series. In book one, we meet movie star Jason Park, whose attitude on set has put his career in jeopardy, and K-pop star Woo Tae Hyun, whose group dissolving has left him starting over as a solo artist. When their label puts the two together on a project to try to get them more attention, they initially butt heads, but they can’t deny their growing chemistry. By book three, this power couple comes into an inheritance that brings with it new enemies and rivals.
The Sunforge (The Endsong #2) by Sascha Stronach (Bisexual Woman Fantasy)
This is the second book in a trilogy that started with The Dawnhounds. It’s a queer, Maori-inspired, pirate, biopunk fantasy with intense world-building — in fact, when I read book one in 2022, I had trouble following it. Despite that, I really enjoyed it, and I’m excited to read book two. I’ll just have to reread The Dawnhounds to have any hope of understanding it. Book two brings our crew to a new city, now in flames, where they face off against a militia as the gods’ war threatens to annihilate their world.
Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson (Sapphic YA Mystery)
Marlowe was supposed to be having a relaxed summer. When the girl she’s been crushing on agrees to go out with her, things are looking up…until Marlowe accidentally starts a fire during their first date and burns down the house she was supposed to be housesitting. Whoops. Her new summer job is now hosting tours of Morning House, a hundred-year-old mansion, which initially is pretty boring. Then, she unearths a mystery of Morning House that she’ll have to solve before it causes any more deaths.
This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings (F/F YA Fantasy)
This is a YA vampire duology set in Jazz Age Harlem. Elise Saint’s family hunts reapers, who are humans turned vampires. Now 18, she’s the reluctant heir to this powerful empire. Layla Quinn was turned into a reaper five years ago, and she’ll never forget Elise Saint’s subsequent betrayal. The friends turned enemies are forced to work together when Layla is framed for a brutal murder and rumors spread of a cure for reapers. Can reapers really turn human again? Or is this all a distraction for something hunting humans and reapers alike?
How It All Ends by Emma Hunsinger (Sapphic YA Graphic Novel)
Tara lives in her imagination most of the time. It’s more fun there. But then she’s sent from seventh grade into high school, and she’s completely overwhelmed: by her classmates’ interest in racy TV shows, by the raucous teen boys taking over English class, and by a whole host of new expectations. When she meets Libby, though, Tara starts to develop confusing new feelings. This is a YA graphic novel about the awkwardness of growing up, and it comes highly recommended by Alice Oseman, creator of Heartstopper!
✨ Paid subscribers can find 14 more LGBTQ books out this week at the end of this post! ✨
For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter and the New Release Index — you can even filter by queer books!
LGBTQ Book Riot Post
12 of the Best Queer Historical Romance Books
The best queer historical romance books — like these swoon-worthy reads — prove the past is bigger and queerer than you may imagine.
All the Links Fit to Click
- 14 Hilarious LGBTQ-Inclusive Picture Books
- 15 LGBTQ Books for Kids and Teens Recommended by Queer Librarians, Educators, and Independent Booksellers
- 10 Queer Books about Robots, Mechs, and Artificial Intelligence
- LGBTQ Reads: New Nonbinary Books
- Autostraddle: Feeling Feral? Here are 17 Novels For The Weird Girl
- A Sapphic Nova Scotia Gothic: a review of A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland (this is my review!)
- Beware the Fae (Even When Gay): a review of The Pale Queen by Ethan M. Aldridge (also mine!)
Queer Bookish Goodies
One Last Stop Flat Lay Illustration by PeachesObviously
In honor of Casey McQuiston’s newest book, here a flat lay illustration of iconic images from One Last Stop. $16+ The same shop also has a flat lay illustration for Red, White, and Royal Blue. $16+
Will you be reading the new Casey McQuiston romance? Let’s chat in the comments!
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14 More LGBTQ Books Out This Week
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