October is LGBTQ+ history month. To celebrate, we chatted with two local bookstores, Literati and Schuler Books, on their top recommendations for recently released books with queer characters.
We’ve got a fantastic list here for the adults, from whodunnits to rivals-to-romance to a story narrated by a mountain lion. And, of course, there’s two kids books too!
Children’s books
“A Song for You and I” by K. O’Neill is a gorgeous middle school graphic novel about a ranger who seeks adventure with flying horses and protecting their friends—but when they accidentally injure a loved one instead, they question their mission…and wonder who can protect them too. Literati mentioned this as one of their top queer middle school stories.
“Canto Contigo: A Novel” by the nonbinary author Jonny Garza Villa. This was the first book that Schuler recommended to us, and for good reason. Described as, “a love letter to Mexican culture, family and legacy, the people who shape us, and allowing ourselves to forge our own path,” it’s a beautiful rivals-to-romance story.
Adult
“The Lighthouse at the End of the World” by J. R. Dawson, recommended by Schuler Books is a sapphic Orpheus and Eurydice. Set along the shores of one of our Great Lakes, it’s a romantic, magical tale about family, reckoning and love.
“The Night of Baba Yaga” by Akira Otani, recommended by Literati. Think Tokyo, 1979—think The Handmaiden meets Thelma and Louise meets Kill Bill—think a mixed-race outcast forced to protect a gang princess and begrudgingly falling in love with her.
“The Entanglement of Rival Wizards” by Sara Raasch has fantasy academia rivals-to-romance Dungeons and Dragons vibes. And the Literati booksellers note that you can get a deluxe edition of the book with turquoise sprayed edges.
“The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy” by Roan Parrish is a very Halloween tale—perfectly on brand for this time of year, said Schuler Books booksellers. Described as a “cozy, ghostly, LGBTQIA+ romance,” this book features a man who creates haunted houses but doesn’t believe in them—until he meets Edgar, who’s been haunted by ghosts all his life.
RELATED: Fall Reading Recommendations by Schuler Books
“You Weren’t Meant to be Human” by Andrew Joseph White, an autistic trans bestselling author. Recommended by Literati’s booksellers, this book is deeply personal, a visceral horror, a chilling focus on identity, transformation and survival in an alien invasion in rural West Virginia.
“Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One” by Kristen Arnett, at Literati. A comedic novel with audacious humor, tenderness and grief–filled with misfits, magicians, musicians and mimes.
“Red Rabbit Ghost” by Jen Julian. Focusing on a young outcast who is forced to return to the small town he swore he’d never see again—only to discover volatile, haunting secrets that should never be uncovered. This story is bittersweet, haunting and cosmic
“A Queer Case: The Selby Bigge Mysteries series” by Robert Holtom is a page-turning Gilded-Age style whodunnit. A murder takes place in a London mansion and the queer sleuth must uncover the truth while keeping his own sexuality hidden—or face prison.
“Open Throat” by Henry Hoke was described by a Schuler’s bookseller as, “A wonderful and heartwrenching book.” It’s narrated by a lonely, lovable, queer mountain lion—and a definite star-making fever dream of a novel. 12+.
“The Nightmare Before Kissmas” and “Go Luck Yourself” by Sara Raasch, both Royals and Romance novels. Schuler’s bookseller remarked that a coworker absolutely adores these books. They’re very enemies-to-lovers, forbidden romance, delightful sexy romps.
Bonus book recommendations
From Literati:
- “The Resurrectionists” – Rae Dunlap.
- “Wavelength” – Cale Plett.
- “Vesuvius” – Cass Biehn.
- “Archive of Unknown Universes” – Ruben Reyes Jr.
- “The Starving Saints” – Caitlin Starling.
- “The Faceless Thing We Adore” – Hester Steel.
- “Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One” – Kristen Arnett.
- “Volatile Memory” – Seth Haddon.
- “Private Rites” by Julia Armfield.
From Schuler Books:
- “The Prospects” by K. T. Hoffman.
- “Here We Go Again” by Alison Cochrun.
- “A Dark and Drowning Tide” by Allison Saft.
- “Legends and Lattes and Bookshops and Bonedust” by Travis Baldree.
- “When the Tides Held the Moon” by Venessa Vida Kelley.
- “Tomes and Tea” by Rebecca Thorne.
