2024 is the Year of Queer Polyamorous Books, and I’m Here for It
I’ve been talking nonstop about Triple Sec by TJ Alexander, a steamy queer polyamorous romance novel out June 4th that I absolutely loved. I feel like I’ve been noticing more queer polyam books from mainstream publishers out this year, and I am here for it.
I often think about how reality dating shows are missing out on peak drama by not casting an entirely bisexual cast (I mean, other than that one season of Are You the One?). After finishing Triple Sec, I feel the same way about polyamory and romance novels: you get two back-to-back falling-in-love scenes! It’s twice the romance and drama! The dynamic between three (or four, or five, or…) people is so much more complex and fascinating to read about than a romance between two people.
So, I hope this is just the beginning of an influx of queer polyamorous books released by mainstream publishers. Several of these are fantasy novels, and I imagine that the popularity of Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao helped to pave the way for them. Without further ado, here are five queer polyamorous novels out this year — other than Triple Sec.
Queer Polyamorous Books Out in 2024
Really Cute People by Markus Harwood-Jones
If you’re looking for another contemporary polyamorous queer romance out this year, pick up Really Cute People! Charlie is reeling from being burned by their biological family and then a queer collective. When they take a work trip, their rental turns out to be already occupied by a couple (Buffy and Hayden), their kid, and their pets. The family promises to leave first thing in the morning…but then they get snowed in together for a week. Charlie is developing feelings for both Buffy and Hayden, and it looks like they might both be open to that. But then Charlie is offered a promotion back in the city, and all three will have to choose what to do next.
Fun fact: Triple Sec also has a snowed-in scene!
Boyfriends Volume Two by refrainbow
When I picked up Boyfriends Volume One, I wasn’t sure I would like it. A polycule with characters named Jock, Goth, Nerd, and Prep? It sounded like it could be too cute to stomach. But I ended up really enjoying it, especially volume two, where we get to see more of their relationship dynamics, including trying to get through college together. Volume two came out in April, and volume three is also out this year, in December! You can also read it for free online, at WEBTOON.
Death’s Country by R. M. Romero
Now, let’s get into the fantasy queer polyam books out this year! Buckle up, because this premise has a lot going on. This is a queer, polyamorous, Latine YA retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice set in Miami…told in verse. Andres drowned in a river in São Paulo one year ago — but it didn’t stick. He made a deal with death, and now he has a new start. One day on the beach, he meets Renee and Liora. They hit it off and become a polyamorous triad, happy in their relationship, even if no one else understands it. When Liora is in a car accident and ends up in a coma, Renee has an idea: the two of them will descend into the underworld, find their girlfriend’s spirit, and reunite it with her body. Navigating the city of the dead is difficult enough, but there’s one other complication: Andres left a part of himself behind when he died, something he never wanted to see again, and it wants to reunite with him.
Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender
This is a queer, trans, polyamorous YA book set at a magic school. Need I say more? It follows Ash Woods, who is rejected by the elite Lancaster College of Alchemic Science — which means that he is not legally allowed to practice alchemy. He won’t let that stop him, though: he becomes groundskeeper for the school to learn in secret. When he’s found out by one of the students, Ramsay, he’s blackmailed into helping Ramsay locate the Book of Source, a powerful and legendary tome. But there are a lot of dangerous people also looking for it.
Evocation by S.T. Gibson
Finally, we have a polyamorous adult fantasy book that just came out this week! I loved Gibson’s queer polyamorous vampire novel A Dowry of Blood, so I can’t wait to dive into this one. It follows David, a psychic lawyer who has to team up with his ex-boyfriend and his ex-boyfriend’s wife to fight an ancestral deal with the Devil that is closing in on his soul. But as they work together, David finds himself fighting his attraction to both of them. This is the first in a series!
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All the Links Fit to Click
- Minnesota Just Passed a Law Making It Illegal for Libraries to Ban LGBTQ+ Books
- Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe are producing a queer soccer romance for TV based on Cleat Cute
- LGBTQ Reads rounded up a list of new pansexual books for Pansexual Visibility Day. Be sure to click through to previous years’ lists, too!
- Juno Dawson on her new novella Queen B and the revelatory power of writing
- “Cosmic Genderf*ck”: Jon Savage’s New Book Celebrates the LGBTQ Artists Who Shaped Pop Culture
- From lesbian bars to softball fields, a new book documents the evolution of queer women’s spaces
- Anna Dorn Writes Maximalist, Campy Queer Fiction Inspired by Lesbian Pulp
- Anna Dorn Thinks Patricia Highsmith Would Love Lana Del Rey
Etsy Item of the Day
Gaaay!!! – Embroidered Iron On Patch by CatCoven
Usually, I match the Etsy item of the day to the theme of the newsletter or a book mentioned, but sometimes I just see something I absolutely need to include regardless, like this patch. ($8) You can also get this design as a pocket mirror ($6), to check you’re looking as gay as you intended!
Which queer polyamorous books would you recommend? Let’s chat in the comments!
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