LGBTQ+ Book Rec’s! Part 1

I’ve read this twice. I started really reading in late 2015 and that’s when I read this. It was the first bisexual rep i’d ever seen! And i’ve known i’m bisexual since I was 13, and I read it when I was nearly 27. I was sobbing from happiness. The MC is a bisexual black girl recovering from an eating disorder, in love with ballet, not fitting into boxes other people want her to, flawed, human. Etta “kick it in the ass” Sinclair. I fucking love Etta. I have a longer review Here if you wanna check it out.

YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi with lesbian pirates and sea monsters. Seriously, I don’t know why anyone would need to know more before dying to pick this up! At least that’s how I feel anyway. Also has morally gray characters. I actually read the sequel The Edge of the Abyss via an E-ARC via Netgalley. I own it physically now but don’t think i’ve read it yet? I’m not sure. I’m overdue for a reread.

Lesbian. Pirates. and Sea Monsters. Morally gray characters. Character development. World-Building. Well thought out plot. Lots of action. Never confusing. Slow-burn F/F romance. Emotional.

Two Mexican-American boys fall in love. Honest, raw, heart-breaking. Character depth. I absolutely loved Ari! I should reread it before reading the sequel.

M/M romance between a gay merman and a gay male human. I read it back in 2017 and stupidly haven’t continued the series. Need to do that. I enjoyed it when I read it.

This book is about a Queer Puerto Rican 19 year old girl, Juliet. She goes to the house of an author she looks up to for an internship. The author, Harlowe, wrote raging flower. A feminist book. Along the way she learns Harlowe…is flawed to say the least. Juliet is trying to learn where her queer chubby brown self fits into feminism that ends up being whitewashed. Also before she left for the internship she came out to her family…and the reaction wasn’t great.

Contemporary YA with an Asian Austrailian bisexual MC and an MC that is autistic, has anxiety and is fat (and ok with that!). I related SO HARD to Taylor, the autistic/anxiety/fat MC, because anxiety and I read it when I didn’t know i’m autistic. This is one of the books that eventually lead me on my journey to realizing I am! I’m also bisexual so that rep was awesome. Involves a con like comic con.

This is so much more than a space opera! If you are looking for an action-packed thrill ride, this may not be your cuppa tea, but if you love character-driven books about friendships, people, diversity, politics and a pretty relaxing read that will mostly give you happy tears then this will probably be your cuppa tea!

It explores gender, sexuality, being sapient, existence, politics, differences in people and how even if you are different, you can still get along and respect each other. It’s not hard, generally, and if it is you can still work it out.

There are queer relationships and no one cares or is bothered by it in the slightest, it just is! I still need to continue this series.

I did read this years ago via Netgalley.

The main character, Jordan Sun, is bisexual and Chinese-American (the author is also Chinese-American so that part is Own Voices and from what i’ve seen others say it’s also own voices for bisexuality). The Sharpshooters also includes Isaac who is Japanese (though I must admit I completely missed that), Nihal who is Sikh and gay and Trav who is black. Nihal is easily my favorite side character, he is too precious! Jordan’s best friend (who you don’t really see but is mentioned) is a curvy lesbian. Jordan comes from a poor family whose father uses a wheelchair and they can’t afford the hospital bills.

Also one of the sharpshooters has anxiety and one has dyslexia. Also the author was in an A Capella group in college herself and I could see she knew what she was talking about music-wise. The diversity in this book feels real and authentic. Different sexualities, physical and mental abilities, religions, body types and cultures…just like how it is in the real world.

I have more on my review Here. It’s a no longer active blog of mine but it still exists. I should give this a reread since I read before realizing i’m a trans guy, to see how i’d feel about it now. If you read the full review you’ll see why, but I think i’d still enjoy it.

This is BDSM done right! Talks about the trust needed, the nervousness, the human feelings. It’s also funny and has great artwork, but even without that the story alone is amazing enough! That was my initial review of volume 1. I’ve read 6 out of 7 volumes. It’s an F/F BDSM romance.

This book is simply amazing! There is no other way to put it. There is no way I can do this book justice. I read it for diverseathon as an own voices book (own voices for sexuality and disability). It has POC, LGBT+ people including a kick-ass transgirl MC, it deals with anxiety, depression, PTSD, as well as physical disability. Themes include, but not limited to, love, friendship, self care, resistance (it’s not futile!), caring about people. There is a poly relationship with f/f/f that includes the transgirl and they have a little boy named Jack. There is a non-binary character as well. The author is non-binary, queer, and deals with chronic pain, medical issues and is neurodivergent.

They live in a police state. There are so many things that make it so relevant to today and the current political climate and society. So many things that make it feel as if it were written today, and it was published a few years ago. So many important messages and themes. It’s a dystopia, that feels oddly realistic about dark realities, but this is an oddly optimistic dystopia and I mean that in a great way. It’s powerful, hopeful, it talks about resistance, about being there for each other, about inclusion, about love and humanity. The characters are all strong, flawed, human, caring, and different with their own struggles.

There is a romance (pretty big part of the plot) and while it is often sweet (and very sexy) conflicts and misunderstandings did come about, and there were talked through and figured out.

There is stuff going on between the girls that I initially rolled my eyes at, but it all comes together in the end in such a powerful way! This definitely ends on a note of girls supporting girls, please trust it knows what it’s doing!

The vampires in here can also co-exist with humans. Yes it does get dark sometimes but over-all is a fun sexy time, with vampires that can co-exist with human, characters making mistakes and learning from them, and a sorority full of girls who are different from each other and definitely make a great bunch!

Full review Here. Lesbian vampires. I need to reread it so I can finish the trilogy, which I own.

Man this short book packs a punch! Shea lost her twin brother a few years ago to suicide, now she lost her father and it about to lose her farm because she can’t pay for it. She gets drunk and when she wakes up, her ex, Rian, from high school is there. She’s in her late 20s now. There is more to the story but I don’t want to spoil everything. He is also with his boyfriend Jai. Rain is bi, Jai is pan. They are also moth people, well shapeshifters. They have a human form, a moth-person form and a giant moth form. They are all also into bdsm.

Yes, I read a m/m/f polyamorous kinky triad involving moth people…and it was AWESOME.

It deals with grief. Despite being less than 100 pages you also really get to know all 3 of the characters. There is a huge emphasis on communication and consent. If someone says consent can’t be sexy, show them this story!

Full review Here.

Gayle’s dad is the captain of a pirate ship, Original Sin, who gets injured so Gayle, who has been on the ship since she was like 13 (her mom passed away and her dad does love her), becomes temporary captain. The crew actually respects her, she’s proven her worth, even though pirates typically believed that women on ships were bad luck, let alone taking orders from one? It takes place in 1702.

They want to abduct a Dr, but Celia’s fiance, a Dr, is a coward who doesn’t actually care about Celia, hides and let’s her, a Seamstress, get taken instead.

There is adventure. Everything does make sense (I don’t want to spoil things) in the narrative. It’s a historical lesbian pirate romance adventure novel with some feminist themes in it and I freaking loved every second of it!

Full review Here.

It may be a short story but it made me cry, happy tears!! It was emotional and sad, but it ends up very happy and cute f/f romance between a witch and a mermaid! I loved how it talked about Riven’s anxiety and all that. I was able to relate to her and it touched me. The world-building was fantastic for such a short story. The mermaids name can not be pronounced by humans. The witch, Riven, has no choice but to call in the tides with a shell and a song because the moon was lost long ago, no one knows where it went/what happened to it, and the tides must go on. She is all alone. Both her and the mermaid, named Moon-Bright because her name that isn’t pronounceable by humans, ment how the moon would shine on the water, are lonely for different reasons.

I loved the characters and their depth! I was very much able to relate and put myself in Meela’s, the MC’s, shoes. I love the water too and she felt a connection to the ocean even though she wasn’t “supposed” to. There is so much more to her than meets the eye. It’s in first person POV so you get her thoughts and I connected with her so much! She is also a POC, many of the characters are on Eriana Kwai.

She has a best friend Annith and I really enjoyed seeing their friendship. Stuff gets tested, but female friendships <3.

Full review Here. F/F. Mermaids. YA Fantasy. I have finished the trilogy and loved it!

Is this all my LGBTQ+ rec’s? No. But that’s enough for 1 post. There will be more!

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