It’s Pride Month! Of course I think you should celebrate by reading queer books!

Here are some recommendations across several genres, and I went ahead and noted when a book had explicit sexual content (if that’s something you’d prefer to avoid). There are multiple cozy mysteries, lots of fantasies, and even some low- or no-spice romances, so you should be able to find a book that might appeal!

Several authors are quite prolific, so I’ve (mostly) listed the books / series I thought might be good starting points, but if you click through to an author page, there are plenty of other books (as well as my reviews) available to peruse.

Additionally, I’ve been working on updating my book pages, and now have a section for queer books! There you can peruse all the authors I’ve read and reviewed, and find lists of their books and series.

I’m still trying to rebuild my book database, but since I’ve forgotten most of what I knew about building databases, that is a bit of a slog. In the meantime, I do have a spreadsheet you can view! One tab is for mental health, neurodiversity, and ace rep. The other tab I started after listening to a Book Riot: When in Romance episode on heroines in STEM (I’m added to the list they shared).

Mystery

• Lindenshaw Mysteries by Charlie Cochrane
• The Best Corpse for the Job (2014), Jury of One (2016), Two Feet Under (2018), Old Sins (2019), A Carriage of Misjustice (2020), Lock, Stock and Peril (2022)
• MM | Mystery, Cozy, Amateur Sleuth + Cop | Queer author

• Grasmere Cottage Mystery series by Dahlia Donovan
• Dead in the Garden (2018), Dead in the Pond (2018), Dead in the Shop (2018)
• MM | Mystery, Cozy, Amateur Sleuth | Queer author

• Secrets and Scrabble series by Josh Lanyon
• Murder at Pirate’s Cove (2020), Secret at Skull House (2020), Mystery at the Masquerade (2021), Scandal at the Salty Dog (2021), Lament at Loon Landing (2023), Body at Buccaneer’s Bay (2021)
• MM | Mystery, Cozy, Amateur Sleuth + Cop

• Mystery on the Menu: A Three-Course Collection of Cozy Mysteries (2023) Nicole Kimberling
• MM | Mystery, Amateur Sleuth+ Cop | Explicit sexual content | Queer author

• Snow & Winter series by C.S. Poe
• The Mystery of Nevermore (2016), The Mystery of the Curiosities (2017), The Mystery of the Moving Image (2018), The Mystery of the Bones (2019), Interlude: Snow & Winter Collection Volume One (2021), The Mystery of the Spirits (2021)
• MM | Mystery, Amateur Sleuth + Cop | Explicit sexual content

• Come Unto These Yellow Sands (2011) Josh Lanyon
• MM | Mystery | Explicit sexual content

• Murder Most Actual (2021) Alexis Hall
• FF | Mystery | Queer author

Historical Mystery

• Dead Dead Girls (2021) Nekesa Afia (Harlem Renaissance Mystery)
• FF | Mystery, Historical (post WWI)

• Pentecost and Parker by Stephen Spotswood
• Fortune Favors the Dead (2020), Murder Under Her Skin (2021)
• Bisexual heroine | Mystery, PI, Historical (post WWII)

• Page & Sommers series Hither, Page (2019), The Missing Page (2022) Cat Sebastian
• MM | Mystery, Historical (post WWII), Romance, Amateur Sleuth + Spy | Explicit sexual content

• The Will Darling Adventures by K.J. Charles
• Slippery Creatures (2020), The Sugared Game (2020), Subtle Blood (2021)
• MM | Mystery, Historical (post WWI), Amateur Sleuth + Spy | Explicit sexual content

• The Lords of Bucknall Club by J.A. Rock and Lisa Henry
• A Case for Christmas (2021), A Sanctuary for Soulden (2021)
• MM | Mystery, Alternate History (Napoleonic Era), Romance | Explicit sexual content

Fantasy / Historical Fantasy

• An Island For Two (2022) Ophelia Silk
• FF, Ace | Fantasy, Romance

• Legends & Lattes (2022) Travis Baldree
• FF | Fantasy

• Last Binding by Freya Marske
• A Marvellous Light (2021), A Restless Truth (2022)
• MM / FF | Historical Fantasy (pre-WWI), Romance | Explicit sexual content

• Montague Siblings by Mackenzi Lee
• The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (2017), The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky (2019), The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (2018), The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks (2021)
• MM | Historical Fantasy (1700s), YA

• Magic in Manhattan by Allie Therin
• Spellbound (2019), Starcrossed (2020), Wonderstruck (2021)
• MM | Historical Fantasy (post WWI), Romance | Explicit sexual content

• The Kingston Cycle by C.L. Polk
• Witchmark (2018)
• MM | Fantasy, Mystery | Queer author

• Paladin’s Hope (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel)
• MM | Fantasy, Romance | Explicit sexual content

• The Affair of the Mysterious Letter (2019) Alexis Hall
• Trans character | Fantasy | Queer author

Supernatural Fantasy

• The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) TJ Klune
• MM | Fantasy | Queer author

• The Tarot Sequence by K.D. Edwards
• The Last Sun (2018), The Hanged Man (2019), The Hourglass Throne (2022)
• MM | Fantasy | Sexual content | Queer author

• Adam Binder series by David R. Slayton
• White Trash Warlock (2020), Trailer Park Trickster (2021), Deadbeat Druid (2022)
• MM | Fantasy | Queer author

• Big Bad Wolf series by Charlie Adhara
• The Wolf at the Door (2018), The Wolf at Bay (2018), Thrown to the Wolves (2019), Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2010), Cry Wolf (2021)
• MM | Fantasy, Mystery, Law Enforcement | Explicit sexual content

• Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018)
• Nicole Kimberling
• MM | Fantasy, Mystery, Law Enforcement | Explicit sexual content | Queer author

• Human Enough (2019) ES Yu
• MM | Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Law Enforcement

• Shadow Police by Paul Cornell
• London Falling  (2014), The Severed Streets (2015), Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? (2016)
• Queer character in ensemble | Fantasy, Mystery, Horror, Law Enforcement

• Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies (2022) Misha Popp
• Bisexual heroine | Fantasy, Mystery

Romance

• London Calling series by Alexis Hall
• Boyfriend Material (2020), Husband Material (2022)
• MM | Romance | Queer author

• Waiting for the Flood (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires)
• MM | Romance | Queer author

• Aidan Wayne: stand-alone romances
• Loud and Clear (2016), Play It Again (2019), Not So Cookie Cutter (2019)
• MM, Ace, Disability rep | Romance | Queer author

• Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper
• MM | Romance | Queer author

• The Agency series by Ada Maria Soto
• His Quiet Agent (2017), Merlin in the Library (2018), Agents of Winter (2022)
• MM, Ace | Romance

• N.R. Walker: stand-alone romances
• Galaxies and Oceans (2018), Upside Down (2019)
• MM, Ace | Romance | Explicit sexual content

• American Dreamer (2019) Adriana Herrera (Dreamers)
• MM | Romance | Explicit sexual content

• The Charm Offensive (2021) Alison Cochrun
• MM, Ace | Romance | Explicit sexual content

• Perfect Rhythm (2017) Jae
• FF, Ace | Romance | Explicit sexual content | Queer author

• The Heartbreak Bakery (2021) A.R. Capetta
• Trans/NB Character | Romance, Fantasy, YA | Queer author

• The Love Study (2020) Kris Ripper
• NB, Bisexual | Romance | Sexual content | Queer author

Historical Romance

• Feminine Pursuits by Olivia Waite
• The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics (2019), The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (2020)
• FF | Historical (1816), Romance | Explicit sexual content

• Band Sinister (2018) K.J. Charles
• MM | Historical (early 1800s), Romance | Explicit sexual content

Comics

• Mooncakes (2019) Suzanne Walker, Wendy Xu
• FF | Fantasy, YA, Comic

• Heathen by Adriana Herrera
• Heathen Volume 1 (2017), Heathen: Volume 2 (2019), Heathen, Volume 3 (2020)
• FF | Historical Fantasy, Comic

• Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
• # Hockey (2018), Sticks & Scones (2020)
• MM | Romance, Comic

Science Fiction

• The Janet Watson Chronicles by Claire O’Dell
• A Study in Honor (2018), The Hound of Justice (2019)
• FF | Science Fiction, Mystery

• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• All Systems Red (2017), Artificial Condition (2018), Rogue Protocol (2018), Exit Strategy (2018), Network Effect (2020), Fugitive Telemetry (2021)
• NB, Ace, Aro | Science Fiction

Fiction

• Last Night at the Telegraph Club (2021) Malinda Lo
• FF | Historical (1954), YA | Queer author

• The Boy in the Red Dress (2020) Kristin Lambert
• Queer | Historical (1930), YA

A majority of rereads again this month, however, I did read some new books, finishing up Charlie Cochrane‘s Cambridge Fellows series, and the most recent Secrets and Scrabble book, which although just published, comes before the 7th book, which was published last fall.

I’ve also moved onto books in the Alex Verus series I hadn’t read before–although honestly I remember little of the books I had read.

Many of my rereads were Ace romances, including Loud and Clear, Blank Spaces, Three Stupid Weddings,  An Island For Two, and The Rat-Catcher’s Daughter. Several of the others were romances with toxic families, including Family Man and Bee Cave Magic or romances with differently-abled or neurodivergent characters, like Loud and Clear, It Takes Two to Tumble, and The Lawrence Browne Affair, which all drew my back for different reasons.

Also, after reading several mysteries that were not what I was hoping them to be, I reread the Page & Sommers series and restarted the Big Bad Wolf series.

Mystery

• Page & Sommers by Cat Sebastian
  Hither, Page (2019) 8.5/10, The Missing Page (2022) 9/10
• Cambridge Fellows by Charlie Cochrane
  Lessons for Suspicious Minds (2013) 7/10, Lessons for Idle Tongues (2015) 5.5/10, Lessons for Sleeping Dogs (2015) 6/10
• Lament at Loon Landing (2023) Josh Lanyon (Secrets and Scrabble) 6/10

Fantasy

• The Wolf at the Door (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) 8.5/10
• An Island For Two (2022) Ophelia Silk 7/10

Romance

• Loud and Clear (2016) Aidan Wayne 9.5/10
• It Takes Two to Tumble (2017) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks) 9/10
• And Everything Nice (2016) Ada Maria Soto 9/10
• Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage (2016) C.S. Poe 9/10



• Blank Spaces (2016) Cass Lennox (Toronto Connections) 8.5/10
• The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turners) 8.5/10
• Family Man (2013) Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton 8/10
• Bee Cave Magic (2020) Kelly Fox 8/10
• Three Stupid Weddings (2018) Ann Gallagher 7.5/10
• The Rat-Catcher’s Daughter (2019) K.J. Charles (Lilywhite Boys) 7.5/10
• Team Phison (2017) Chace Verity 7/10
• Saying The Right Thing (2017) Aidan Wayne 6/10
• Medium, Sweet, Extra Shot of Geek (2019) R. Cooper 6/10

Audio Book

• A Perilous Undertaking, Audio Book (2017) Deanna Raybourn narrated by Angèle Masters (Veronica Speedwell) 8/10
• Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka narrated by Gildart Jackson
  Taken (2014) 7/10, Chosen (2014) 8/10, Hidden (2014) 7/10