Books to Read in Celebration of Pride Month
Book Roundup - Books to Read in Celebration of Pride Month
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The Gay Best Friend by Nicolas DiDomizio
Bridesmaids meets The Guncle by way of Bridget Jones in this clever LGBTQIA+ romantic story about a people-pleasing gay man code-switching between the hypermasculine and ultrafeminine worlds of his two soon-to-be-wed best friends. He’s always been the token gay best friend—but now, stuck between this warring bride and groom hurtling toward their one perfect day, Dom Marino’s finally ready to focus on something new: himself.
The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre
For readers of The House in the Cerulean Sea comes a fantastical story of found family, love, and acceptance from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ann Aguirre. When Iris Collins unexpectedly inherits a house from her great aunt, her failed B&B becomes a haven for other magical lost souls.
Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert
It’s Lore Olympus meets Helen Hardt in the fifth installment of this New York Times and USA Today bestselling sexy modern-day deconstruction of our favorite Greek myths. Aphrodite has never flinched at getting her perfectly manicured hands dirty, and she’s not about to start now—even if that means marrying Olympus’s enemy number one, the new Hephaestus...leaving a trail of broken hearts in their cruel wake.
New Adult by Timothy Janovsky
Nolan Baker longs to be “thirty, flirty and thriving” in this charmingly quirky LGBTQIA+ romcom that’s one part 13 Going on 30 and one part One Last Stop. When wishing to “skip the hard part” sends Nolan 7 years into his own future with a life—and self!—he barely recognizes, he’ll need the help of his once-best-friend to figure it all out and send him back if he ever truly wants to have a life worth living.
Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles
Bridgerton meets Poldark in this sweeping LGBTQIA+ Regency romance about smugglers, adventure, mystery, and forbidden love. When Major Rufus d’Aumesty unexpectedly becomes the Earl of Oxney, he finds himself living in a remote Norman manor on the edge of Romney Marsh, infamous for its blackguards and scoundrels. There, his position is contested both by his greedy uncle and by unexpected claimant Luke Doomsday, a dashing member of the local smuggling clan who should be his sworn enemy…
Glitterland by Alexis Hall
First in Alexis Hall’s Lambda Literary Award-nominated series, expanded and in print for the first time. Ash Winters was once the golden boy of the English literary scene, but mental illness has dragged him into a cycle of self-destruction. A chance meeting with brassy Essex-born Darian Taylor may be the first step Ash needs to rebuild his life—if he’s able to let go of the class prejudice and dangerous negative self-image that threatens to drown them both.
Late Bloomer by Melissa Giberson
Melissa Giberson longs for something she can’t quite put her finger on until, one night at the Y, she finds herself mesmerized by the sight of a naked woman and levels with herself for the first time: Am I gay? This revelation sends Melissa on a head-spinning journey of self-discovery, one that challenges everything she thinks she knows about herself, forces her to decide exactly how much she’s willing to risk for authenticity, and shakes the foundations of the family she’s fiercely determined to shield from the kinds of wounds she sustained during her own childhood. Torn between her desire to be true to herself and her desire to protect her children, she is consumed by fear and conflicting emotions.
As Melissa wades through the difficult dissolution of her marriage and struggles with how to come out to her kids, she is met with overwhelming support from the Jewish LGBTQ+ community. “Late Bloomer” is a triumphant exploration of a mother navigating grief and fear to ultimately accept herself with the support and love of her ‘found family’ in her LGBTQ community.
Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane
An unashamedly proud, loud, and hilarious novel about a small town that’s forever changed by a big gay wedding, perfect for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue and The Guncle
Two grooms. One mother of a problem.
Barnett Durang has a secret. No, not THAT secret. His widowed mother has long known he’s gay. The secret is Barnett is getting married. At his mother’s farm. In their small Louisiana town. She just doesn’t know it yet.
It’ll be an intimate affair. Just two hundred or so of the most fabulous folks Barnett is shipping in from the “heathen coasts,” as Mom likes to call them, turning her quiet rescue farm for misfit animals into a most unlikely wedding venue.
But there are forces, both within this modern new family and in the town itself, that really don’t want to see this handsome couple march down the aisle. It’ll be the biggest, gayest event in the town’s history if they can pull it off, and after a glitter-filled week, nothing will ever be the same. Big Gay Wedding is an uplifting book about the power of family and the unconditional love of a mother for her son.
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
From Ibi Zoboi, bestselling, award-winning author of American Street and co-author of Punching the Air, comes a bold new YA coming-of-age story, which explores race, feminism, and complicated family dynamics, about a girl whose father is the leader of a Black liberation group. The ideal next read for fans of Roxane Gay, Jacqueline Woodson, and Elizabeth Acevedo.
Warrior Princess. That’s what Nigeria Jones’s father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch of their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.
Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. There, she begins to flourish and expand her universe.
As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.
From award-winning author Ibi Zoboi comes a powerful story about discovering who you are in the world—and fighting for that person—by having the courage to be your own revolution.
Sapphire Storm by Christopher Rice writing as C. Travis Rice
Ethan Blake has dedicated his life to satisfying other people’s appetites. At forty-three, he’s finally landed his dream job—head pastry chef at an exclusive resort. Now he’s got a jet-setting career that’s taken him to romantic locations all over the world. But years before, after his parents threw him out for being gay, Ethan supported himself in a manner he’d rather keep under the covers today.
Roman Walker is a twenty-five-year-old fitness celebrity awash in thirsty followers. But when he walks through the doors of Sapphire Cove, it’s not just to oversee the menu for his celebrity client’s wedding. Decades ago, Roman and Ethan crossed paths on a New York street corner during a terrible, life-changing moment that scarred them both. Now Roman’s back for revenge.
But when his plan goes wildly off the rails, Roman suddenly finds himself at the center of an even stranger and darker plot concocted by his most famous client. Well-versed in the ways of the wealthy and the entitled, Roman’s former target offers to be his strongest ally during a moment that might derail the young man’s newfound career. But the experienced older man’s offer also ignites an irresistible and forbidden attraction that threatens to consume them both, even as it exposes old secrets and incurs the wrath of the powerful and the famous.
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and celebrated author of The Guncle.
It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. That’s not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—and living well.
But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.
A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth, and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.
The Boy in the Rain by Stephanie Cowell
It is 1903 in the English countryside when Robbie, a shy young art student, meets the twenty-nine-year-old Anton who is running from memories of his brutal childhood and failed marriage. Within months, they begin a love affair that will never let them go. Robbie grows into an accomplished portraitist in the vivid London art world with the help of Anton's enchanting former wife, while Anton turns from his inherited wealth and connections to improve the conditions of the poor. But it is the Edwardian Era, and the law sentences homosexual men to prison with hard labor, following the tragic experience of Oscar Wilde. As Robbie and Anton's commitment to each other grows, the world about them turns to a more dangerous place.
