Year of Queer Lit

Okay, “gave me all the feels” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that title. What I really mean is these five books wrecked me, healed me, made me laugh out loud, and in one case had me crying so hard I had to put it down and take a walk. So, you know. All the feels.

I read across the whole queer romance spectrum and these five are the ones that have stuck with me. There is something here for everyone, whether you love cozy and low angst or you want a book that will rip your heart out and hand it back to you with a bow on it.

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings
This book is pure cottagecore joy and I will not hear otherwise. Opal wins the lottery and impulsively buys a flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina, only to find that the very grumpy and very gorgeous Pepper Boden is already living there. What follows is a sapphic grumpy/sunshine opposites attract romance with beautiful neurodivergent representation, a flower sculpture contest, and so much warmth it will make your chest hurt in the best way. If you need a comfort read that still has enough spice to keep things interesting, this is your book. I loved every single page.

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
If you somehow have not read this yet, what are you doing? Go. I will wait. For those who need a refresher, Alex Claremont-Diaz is the First Son of the United States and his longtime nemesis is Prince Henry of Wales. When a very public confrontation threatens US and British relations, the two are forced into a fake friendship for damage control. Obviously the fake friendship becomes something neither of them was expecting. This book is funny and swoony and political and absolutely unputdownable. It is enemies to lovers at its most chaotic and delightful and the banter between Alex and Henry is the kind of banter that makes you want to read whole chapters out loud to whoever will listen.

Reverence by Milena McKay
I am still not okay. I will not be okay for some time. Reverence is a historical sapphic romance set in 1980s Paris, following two rival ballerinas at the Paris Opera Ballet. Juliette is the beloved star of the company. Katarina has just defected from the Soviet Union and she brings secrets with her that neither of them are prepared for. McKay writes enemies to lovers like nobody else and the Cold War backdrop adds a weight to this story that makes every tender moment between these two women feel earned in a way that genuinely wrecked me. Multiple times. If you want a romance that will also make you think, that will make you feel the full range of human emotion, and that will leave you staring at the ceiling at 2am, this is it. Just have tissues ready.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Okay we are taking a turn into paranormal territory and I am so glad we did. Yadriel is a gay trans brujo who accidentally summons the wrong ghost during a sacred ritual, and the ghost he gets is Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, who absolutely refuses to leave. What follows is a slow burn romance wrapped in Latinx culture and Dia de Muertos magic and a murder mystery and genuine queer joy. Aiden Thomas made history as the first openly trans author to hit the New York Times bestseller list with a trans main character, and honestly that feels right because this book is something special. It is the kind of story that makes you feel seen and celebrated and completely swept away all at the same time.

Anywhere You Go by Bridget Morrissey
Think of this as a queer version of the movie The Holiday, except better. Two women swap homes to escape the chaos of their personal lives and each end up finding love in the process. The book follows both romances at the same time, alternating between Tatum’s story and Eleanor’s story, and somehow Morrissey makes you equally invested in both. There is also a nonbinary character, Carson, who gets their own love story woven through everything, and the found family moments had me genuinely emotional. This is the book you read on a rainy afternoon with a blanket and a big cup of tea.

There you have it. Five queer romances that cover everything from cozy flower farms to Cold War ballet to the White House. Drop a comment and tell me which one you are picking up first, or come yell at me in the Discord if you have already read them all.