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Here are 43 LGBTQ Books Out the First Week of Pride Month!

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Danika Ellis

Associate Editor

Danika spends most of her time talking about queer women books at the Lesbrary. Blog: The Lesbrary Twitter: @DanikaEllis

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I know I say this every week, but there are so many new queer books out this week. I’m not sure if publishers were saving them for Pride month, but I had such a hard time trying to narrow this down to eight to highlight. I managed to do it, though, so you can read a sapphic pirate adventure, a polyamorous queer romance, gay YA horror, trans middle grade comics, and so much more.

If you want to discover even more queer books out this week, I have 35(!!) more new LGBTQ books at the end for paid subscribers, including sapphic gothics, messy bisexual litfic, more queer YA horror, and a whole lot of really interesting LGBTQ nonfiction books. As a reminder, your paid subscription now gives you access to all the paid content across 20+ Book Riot Newsletters!

But first, let’s talk about eight of the most exciting new LGBTQ books out this week — the first week of Pride month!

New LGBTQ Releases This Week

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye book cover

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron (F/F Pirate Historical Fiction)

Jacquotte is a biracial shipwright trying to make a name for herself in the Dominican Republic in the 1600s. The first day she sets sail, though, she’s boarded by the pirate Blackhand, and her and her entire crew — including her love interest, Theresa — become indentured servants. Blackhand keeps making them attempt dangerous jobs, like stealing Portuguese jewels, that put their lives at risk. To save themselves and the rest of the captured crew, Jacquotte and Theresa plot a risky scheme to overthrow Blackhand and take his place.

cover of Triple Sec

Triple Sec by TJ Alexander (F/F/NB Polyamorous Romance)

This sweet and steamy polyamorous romance is one of my favorite reads of the year so far! When Bebe walks into the cocktail lounge Mel works at, they have instant chemistry. Bebe is in an open marriage with her nonbinary wife Kade, and Mel decides that this is a great, low-stakes way to tiptoe back into the dating world after her heartbreaking divorce. They agree up front (in writing!) to keep it casual, but that quickly becomes easier said than done. I talk about this more on today’s episode of All the Books!

Lady Eve’s Last Con cover

Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow (Sapphic Sci-Fi Romance)

Ruth and Jules are sister con artists on an interstellar cruise, until Jules’s heart blows up their whole business. She falls for their mark, Esteban — and then Esteban dumps her without another word when she tells him the truth. Ruth is out for revenge, planning to make Esteban fall in love with her and then break his heart. But while on board this luxury satellite, she discovers a flaw in her plan: Sol, Esteban’s sister, is suspicious of her — and even worse, Sol looks very good in a suit.

Wish You Weren't Here book cover

Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin (Sapphic YA Contemporary)

Juliette is counting down the days until she can go to Fogridge Sleepaway Camp. This is the last year she can be a counselor there, and it’s the place she feels most at home. But on the first day, she discovers her cabinmate for the summer is her nemesis, Priya. Priya already has everything: millions of adoring fans on social media, the perfect track star boyfriend — and now she’s stealing Juliette’s camp friends and ruining her favorite place in the world. As the weeks go on, though, Juliette starts to realize she may have had Priya all wrong…

Gay the Pray Away cover

Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus (F/F YA Contemporary)

Valerie has grown up an insular, conservative Christian environment, including being homeschooled. When she finds a queer book in the library, she begins to question what she’s been taught — and then Riley shows up to Bible class. Riley and Valerie bond over being two of the only teens of color in their community, and then they start a secret romance. These two parts of Valerie’s life pull her in opposite directions, though, and she risks losing everything if they’re found out.

Take All of Us cover

Take All of Us by Natalie Leif (Gay YA Horror)

With chronic migraines and seizures, Ian has enough difficulty getting through the day — but then a parasite starts taking over Ian’s town, turning people into oily shells of themselves. His best friend and crush, Eric, is mercy-killing the infected. When a government evacuation creates a stampede of people, Ian falls, cracks his head, and dies…and then awakens, with the infection slowly taking over his mind and body. Perhaps worse than his death is the realization that Eric left him to die. As Ian and his friends try to find Eric while Ian is still himself, Eric is also searching for Ian — and he plans on mercy-killing him.

The Deep Dark book cover

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (Sapphic YA Fantasy Graphic Novel)

This is one of the biggest queer book releases of the month!: The Deep Dark is the newest YA graphic novel from the author of The Witch Boy and The Girl from the SeaIt follows Mags, a teenager with a lot of secrets. Like that she can’t stop kissing a girl who has a boyfriend. Or that there’s something happening to her that leaves her bleeding and drained every night, something that’s hurt people before. When Nessa, a trans girl she was friends with in childhood, returns to her life, it becomes harder and harder to keep those secrets to herself.

Becoming Who We Are cover

Becoming Who We Are: Real Stories About Growing Up Trans edited by Hazel Newlevant (Trans Middle Grade Graphic Biography)

In this middle grade comics anthology, we follow nine trans people — including musicians, scientists, actors, park rangers, and more — as they share their childhood stories of how they became the people they are today.

✨ Paid subscribers can find 35 (!!) 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!

Etsy Pick of the Day

a rainbow book cart sticker with a cat holding a pride flag and the text Keep librararies free and gay

This “Keep Libraries Free & Gay” vinyl sticker is the perfect accessory for Pride month. $4

That’s it for me! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog the Lesbrary. You can hear me on All the Books, and you can also read my Book Riot posts and subscribe to my other Book Riot newsletter, Read Harder.

Happy reading!
Danika

35 More LGBTQ Books Out This Week

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