reviews, releases and recommendations of LGBT media
New year, new LGBT books! Hopefully the rules of our releases posts are clear, but just to reiterate: we have 8 of those posts, for genres listed below, and we update each one evekarry month with new books coming out (that we know about). Every post covers half a year.
In this one, you can browse the contemporary books from January to June of 2023!
Looking for the other genres?
As ever, this is an incredibly difficult post to write. There were so many good books we both read in the year, that picking only 10 each was a challenge. In the end, I (Charlotte), at least, had to go by the criteria: a) did it stick with me?, and b) how well was it crafted. Tricky criteria still, but it helped.
Once again, we have divided our list into 3 categories: backlist books, books released in 2022 & books to be released in 2023 that we read ARCs of (and, in one case, a 2024 book). Each of these categories, would you believe it, actually has 5 books. For once, we’ve managed to stick to our original plans! (Though there are so many books we still missed out, some of which we featured in our little advent calendar thread we did through December.)
But anyway. Here’s our list of our favourite 25 books of the year! If you want to have a look at the last few years of lists (and how our tastes have or haven’t changed), you can find them here: from 2018, from 2019, from 2020, and from 2021.
Suffering through the shortest days of the year as we northern hemisphere folk are, what better rec list for these long winter nights than cosy fantasy. Snuggle up with a blanket and watch the snow fall outside as these books warm your soul. It’s a tried and trusted method, believe me!
Before we start, though, let me just mention that our awards start tomorrow at 10am GMT! Nominations run until 4th January, so if you’re looking to support the great LGBT lit published this year, check it out.
A lot of these titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)
I last did one of these posts way back in January, which means I’ve surely read enough books since then to make another one! That’s how this works, right? Anyway, on this post, as the title suggests, you’ll find 25 books with less than 400 ratings on Goodreads (that being a semi-randomly selected metric by which I’ll judge “underrated”). Maybe you’ve heard of some, maybe you haven’t. Whatever the case, have at it!
And don’t forget, you can also check out the previous posts: find the first post here, the second one here, the third one here, and the fourth one here.
A while back, Anna did a post of LGBT sports lit that they’d recommend, so now it’s my turn! There’s a variety of books here and, combined with the previous post, hopefully something that appeals for everyone. Although, I would say, if you’re looking for more sports romances, Anna’s post might be the better place to be, since the bulk of them are on there. But if you’re looking for more literary fiction or otherwise contemporary novels, then scroll on!
A lot of these titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)
If you’re looking for the perfect read for December and an impending Christmastime, then look no further than Jake Maia Arlow’s How to Excavate a Heart. It’s out now in the USA, and on Thursday in the UK, so you have no excuse for not picking it up! Start your December right and let this review tell you why!
Before we get to the review though, don’t forget you can follow Jake on instagram too.
It all starts when Shani runs into May. Like, literally. With her mom’s Subaru.
Attempted vehicular manslaughter was not part of Shani’s plan. She was supposed to be focusing on her monthlong paleoichthyology internship. She was going to spend all her time thinking about dead fish and not at all about how she was unceremoniously dumped days before winter break.
It could be going better.
But when a dog-walking gig puts her back in May’s path, the fossils she’s meant to be diligently studying are pushed to the side–along with the breakup.
Then they’re snowed in together on Christmas Eve. As things start to feel more serious, though, Shani’s hurt over her ex-girlfriend’s rejection comes rushing back. Is she ready to try a committed relationship again, or is she okay with this just being a passing winter fling?
Jake Maia Arlow
Rep: Jewish lesbian mc & li, Indian American sapphic side character
CWs: past sexual assault, past controlling relationship
Release: 24th November 2022
The me from a year ago would never even dream of making this rec list. And here we are! But also, before we go into the heavy detail, let me just say that I use a very rough definition of ‘literary fiction’. And by that I mean that in my mind it’s mostly just… character-driven, hard to define stories. That’s it. I’m literally just here for the vibes and to have a good time.
Anyway, Charlotte also recced some lit fic this year (and she included one of my favourite books of all time – On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous), so check out her post, too!
And hey, a lot of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)
No one writes romantic SFF like Aliette de Bodard writes romantic SFF. If you haven’t given any of her books a go, then now is the time to start. The Red Scholar’s Wake is a sci fi like you’ve never read before, and one you don’t want to miss out on.
Before we start with the review though, don’t forget you can follow Aliette on twitter too (for now…).
XÃch Si: bot maker, data analyst, mother, scavenger. But those days are over now-her ship has just been captured by the Red Banner pirate fleet, famous for their double-dealing and cruelty. XÃch Si expects to be tortured to death-only for the pirates’ enigmatic leader, Rice Fish, to arrive with a different and shocking proposition: an arranged marriage between XÃch Si and herself.
Rice Fish: sentient ship, leader of the infamous Red Banner pirate fleet, wife of the Red Scholar. Or at least, she was the latter before her wife died under suspicious circumstances. Now isolated and alone, Rice Fish wants XÃch Si’s help to find out who struck against them and why. Marrying XÃch Si means Rice Fish can offer XÃch Si protection, in exchange for XÃch Si’s technical fluency: a business arrangement with nothing more to it.
But as the investigation goes on, Rice Fish and XÃch Si find themselves falling for each other. As the interstellar war against piracy intensifies and the five fleets start fighting each other, they will have to make a stand-and to decide what kind of future they have together…
Aliette de Bodard
Rep: Vietnamese cast, sapphic mcs
Release: 24th November 2022
I don’t know about you, but I’m loving this growing trend of taking classics and/or events from history, making them gay, and setting them in space. (I say trend, but really so far it’s this book and Suzan Palumbo’s upcoming Countess.) If that sounds good to you—which it should—then let me urge you now to get your preorders in for The Stars Undying (US, UK, int’l) because trust me. You won’t regret it.
Before we start with the review though, don’t forget you can follow Emery on twitter too.
A spectacular space opera debut perfect for readers of Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice and Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, inspired by the lives and loves of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.
Princess Altagracia has lost everything. After a bloody civil war, her twin sister has claimed not just the crown of their planet Szayet but the Pearl of its prophecy, a computer that contains the immortal soul of Szayet’s god. Stripped of her birthright, Gracia flees the planet—just as Matheus Ceirran, Commander of the interstellar Empire of Ceiao, arrives in deadly pursuit with his volatile lieutenant, Anita. When Gracia and Ceirran’s paths collide, Gracia sees an opportunity to win back her planet, her god, and her throne…if she can win the Commander and his right-hand officer over first.
But talking her way into Ceirran’s good graces, and his bed, is only the beginning. Dealing with the most powerful man in the galaxy is almost as dangerous as war, and Gracia is quickly torn between an alliance that fast becomes more than political and the wishes of the god—or machine—that whispers in her ear. For Szayet’s sake, and her own, Gracia will need to become more than a princess with a silver tongue. She will have to become a queen as history has never seen before—even if it breaks an empire.
Emery Robin
Rep: bi mcs, lesbian side character, nonbinary side character, gay side character
Release: 8th November 2022
If you’re looking for a new histrom to get excited about, then look no further than the upcoming One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny, releasing from Mills & Boon next year. You’ll sadly have to wait another 2 and a half months (or so) for this book, for which I have to apologise, but trust me when I say that it’s one you won’t want to miss out on. And this post will give you five reasons exactly why!
Before we start, don’t forget you can follow Emma on twitter too.
A love story worth fighting for…
Oxfordshire 1360
When Penn and Raff meet in Hartswood Forest the only truth they know of each other is a brief moonlit kiss they had shared previously. But Penn is escaping a life of cruelty, and an arranged marriage to a woman he has never seen. Raff is tracking the elusive missing groom of his sister to restore his family’s honour. Neither are looking for a travelling companion. Yet both men find themselves drawn to each other in ways neither imagined.
Unaware of their true identities they venture north together through Hartswood Forest. And, as their bond deepens, their fates become irrevocably entwined. But, with one escaping a life of duty and one tracking a fugitive, continued concealment threatens everything they know and trust in each other. So when secrets are finally revealed, and the consequences of their relationship become clear, both must decide what they will risk for the man they love.
Emma Denny
Rep: bi mc, gay mc, lesbian side characters
CWs:Â violence, implied child abuse
Release: 19th January 2023
Not the post we necessarily planned coming to you today, but a quick one we threw together at almost the last minute (haha blogging amirite?). If you’re a fan of historical fiction, then this is a list for you! Of course, it’s actually part two of the list (part one can be found here), but honestly, I’m a little happier with this one than the last, because I didn’t have to resort to histroms to fill in the gaps (which, let’s be clear, is not a bad thing, but I had a whole separate list for historical romances, as opposed to historical fiction which might or might not include romance). But anyways. I’ll not keep you waiting any longer for it!
A lot of these titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)
The other day, Anna posted books to read with the same vibes as Interview with the Vampire, on which you might have noticed, there were precious few actual vampires. That’s because this list was coming! Ten books featuring vampires—not all of them horror books—for your reading pleasure this spooky season. You can also find some more vampire recs (along with other spooky season stalwarts) in last year’s post!
A lot of these titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)
I am, of course, talking about the 2022 AMC TV series. The masterpiece of modern television. The adaptation that (hopefully) has Anne Rice turning in her grave. If you’re wasting your Sundays on a different show, I don’t know how to help you…
For those of you who simply want more vampire stories, Charlotte will have a rec list soon has a rec list, don’t worry! But I’m here for vibes, and vibes alone. I’m here for the toxic, unhealthy relationships! (Though I did include a few vampire titles, as well, and because of that this list is actually longer than usually.)
And if you want more trans stories about vampires (like we all do!), I’ve been told you should keep an eye out for Danny Bryn & Rem Wigmore next year!
You may remember a while back we tweeted a question into the void, about LGBT releases people were looking forward to for 2023 (as we have done for two years now). Well, if all those tweets seemed a little much to sort through, we’ve collated them here for easy viewing! All 128 books mentioned for you to scroll through. With some gorgeous covers to boot.
We did this last year and the year before too, if you remember, so you can check that out to see what was included then (also, some of the books in last year’s post have been pushed to 2023, as will, undoubtedly, several of this year’s post to next year. Even more to look forward to!). And of course, this post is a drop in the ocean compared to everything we know coming out next year, so make sure to keep an eye out for our releases posts so you don’t miss any!
Finally, a little key (bearing in mind that it’s a little hard to confirm exact rep so far out & some we think might be gay, but only based on an author’s previous output):
🧡 = sapphic rep
💛 = achillean rep
💙 = trans or nonbinary rep
💚 = other or unknown rep
On a whim, I decided to start a whole new style of rec post on this blog. I’ve done a few of these on my own blog before, so I figured why not transfer the idea over to this one! Here’s how it goes: I pick (or you suggest—feel free to leave any requests in comments!) a popular book or series, think of a bunch of tropes, themes or character archtypes in that book/series, and rec books which also fit those tropes, themes and archetypes. And in this case, they’re all gay!
The first of these posts is going to be about the big fantasy monster that is Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time. Fourteen books long, it’s one you would be excused of being intimidated by. If you have read it, however, and are looking for similar(ish) books, then this post is for you! So let’s get going.
A lot of these titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)
