Riot Headline The Best Beach Reads of All Time
LGBTQ

The Best (and Worst) Queer Books I Read in May

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

We’re almost through May, so I thought now was a great time to update you about what I’ve been reading lately! This month, I finished four queer books. Unlike April, I didn’t have any one star reads, but I did have a couple of books that dragged. Luckily, I also had a couple of really enjoyable reads. Let me know in the comments: what did you read this month? And what’s on your June TBR?

Exclusive content for All Access members continues below.

Danika Ellis

Associate Editor

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

Ten Incarnations of Rebellion cover

The best book I read in May was Ten Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel, the author of Kaikeyi. I was a little intimidated picking up this alternate history of 1960s India, so I decided to listen to the audiobook and read along for the first chapter to get into it. I ended up immersive reading like that for the whole novel, which is the first time I’ve done that. The audiobook is fantastic, and I felt like I got so much more out of it by reading and listening simultaneously.

I could say so much about this book—and I do, on the June 3rd episode of All the Books—but suffice it to say this is a complicated, realistic story about resistance and revolution. It has a queer main character and a sapphic relationship, but don’t expect a feel-good romance: there are some truly dark moments. This was a five star read, and I hope it gets the critical attention it deserves.

cover of Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon

Another book I picked up for the June 3rd All the Books episode was Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare. This is such a fun sapphic romance about falling in love across timelines. It’s romantic to the point of being a little cheesy at times (our love is strong enough to rearrange the universe!), but there’s nothing wrong with that. I also really enjoyed the queer community/friendship and the subplot romances with some of the side characters. This is Annie Mare’s debut, and I can’t wait to see what they write next.

Be Gay, Do Crime: Sixteen Stories of Queer Chaos edited by Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley was also one I picked up for the podcast, but after finishing it, I realized I didn’t feel like I could enthusiastically recommend it. There are a few stories I really liked, but most of them weren’t a great match for me. It’s a lot of messy people doing petty crime. I think a lot of people will enjoy this, but I wasn’t the right reader for it.

I recently joined (another) queer book club, and the first pick was Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg, which is about a queer photographer and writer who go on a road trip together and collaborate on a project about Philly in 2020. We were pretty divided on this one, and unfortunately, I was one of the people who didn’t like it. It felt like a slog to get through. While it had elements I usually love (slow, character-based stories), I wasn’t invested in the story. But some other people in my book club loved its descriptive prose and realism, so don’t let me dissuade you from trying it!

I’m currently reading Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab, the upcoming “toxic lesbian vampires” book, and I’m having a great time so far! This is my first V.E. Schwab book. I’ll be discussing this on the Book Riot podcast in June with Rebecca, Jeff, and Vanessa, so stay tuned for that!

Join All Access to read this article

Get access to exclusive content and features with an All Access subscription on Book Riot.

  • Unlimited access to exclusive bonus content
  • Community features like commenting and poll participation
  • Our gratitude for supporting the work of an independent media company

The comments section is moderated according to our community guidelines. Please check them out so we can maintain a safe and supportive community of readers!

Leave a comment

Join All Access to add comments.