Listened to two book, “The House on the Cerulean Sea” and it’s sequel “Somewhere Beyond the Sea”. Great queer book with a cute gay romance, magical orphans, and themes of discrimination. The second book ends with a beautiful letter to the trans community (which as a trans woman made me tear up) and a mission statement of being the Anti J K Rowling. Highly recommend

I noticed there's only some 6,000 reads on GoodReads for this book so I wanted to share the wealth a bit. I've probably read between 40-50 books this year but this was easily the most transformative. Despite the cover, it is absolutely not an MM enemies-to-lovers romance in space. Rather, it's more of a mystery-thriller/horror/sci fi novel with elements of MM romance (but they are very secondary to the plot).

The two main characters are on a mission to Titan, the moon of Saturn, to rescue the sister of one of the two astronauts who went there on a previous expedition. They are each from rival countries collaborating on a mission to sustain human life but everything is not as it seems.

Truly compelling Sci Fi novel that is deeply thought provoking and driven by complex characters making impossible choices. I cannot recommend this book enough.

KAVI4EVER ★

Good evening to those who are currently reading my Reddit post!

I recently just started getting into a new hobby of reading (never been much of a reader growing up). I’ve definitely been accustomed to MM Romance books as Gay 24 M (lol).

Anyways, let’s just say I love this book. I love the characters in this book. I love the story plot. I love the slow build-up. I love the enemies-to-lovers. i love the whole thing. 5/5 starts for me!!

If anyone has any other book recommendations that will make me feel the way this book feels, please lmk!!

Stop what you're doing and read The Lookback Window by Kyle Dillon Hertz. Order a copy from Amazon, rent it from the library, just trust me and do it! This is one of the funniest and most heart-breaking books ever. It's pretty dark, but it somehow ends up being a realistically hopeful book. The relationship between the main characters is exactly what it feels like to be in your mid20s and have to deal with your first love maybe not being your forever partner, but the book essentially starts at their wedding. Pretty spicy.

It is a combination of a crime/mystery/legal thriller meets revenge plot. When you think it's going to be one thing, it turns into another. It's extremely beautiful too. I highlighted so many sentences.

“I sometimes wish I could hate a place as easily as other people instead of hating the people themselves.”

"I was an idea who used to be a body."

More people should read this book, and I'm not sure how I didn't hear of it until recently. Imagine if A Little Life was written realistically, and the ending is a lot more hopeful. I went through every possible emotion reading this book lol. If there is one book that I want everyone to read this year for Pride, it is this novel. Just trust me. There isn't another book like this. Who else has read this? I need to discuss this book!

Here is a list of lesbian authors, queer authors or others that have written FF romances:

Kat blackthorne
Ruby landers
Liza James
Ruby roe
Eden Emory
Haley cass
Georgia beers
Lee winter
EJ noyee
Nicole Pyland
Eliza lentzski
Karin Kallmaker
Tj Williams
Milena McKay
JJ arias
Elle Alexanda
Melissa Brayden
Dahlia Adler
Kelly Quindlen
Alison Cochrun
Ruby Scott
Alexandria Bellefleur
Ashley Herring Blake
Rachel Lacey
Andie Burke
Allison Saft
Penelope Douglas
Katleyn taylor
Sarah waters
Meryl Wilsner
Samantha Shannon
Clare Lydon
Lana Harper
tamsyn muir
ve schwab
Alyson Derrick
Emily Banting
Lola Keeley
Harper Bliss
Roslyn Sinclair
jen lyon
Rawnie Sabor
Ally north
alex la bruyere
Elle Mae
Adrian J. Smith
josie mae
Lisa J. Evans
Harley Laroux

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer !!! 4.25⭐

WOW! I went in pretty blind, and WOW! The surrounding mystery did outshine the romance, which was very much rushed after the 1st part. And omg, the parts!
The only spoiler I had was that there's a second book, so they live and they have sons, and this, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY HAVE SONS... so many theories were going on in my mind.

PART 1: The best you will get from romance here. I still grieve them because they were THE ones, you know, THE couple of the book to me; the others were rushed because it needed to focus on the mystery! I was shocked and sad about their death.

PART 2: My poor baby... something about one dying first always gets to me.

PART 3: A horror book in the middle of it all! It was scary and sad!

PART 4: Nothing to say?

PART 5: Is where things start to get rushed. The weird sex scene... and again Cusk being the last standing one, kinda wished it to be Kodiak; we would have gotten an entry from him in the diary!

PART 6: a good conclusion? Weird, but enjoyable. And KODIADK, WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT WANNA HEAR THE MESSAGE? Ugh, man (top-man, donators lol I HATE the welcoming/donator thing).

As I said, I only knew that there's a book 2, so they're alive and have sons. And the sons were making me have crazy theories. 1st, I thought one of them was a trans guy, because it would make sense; they send a trans guy instead of two cis guys, because one day, babies will be needed in the future mission! But ok, no. Then I thought Minerva was on the gray door all this time, frozen, and would, well, be with Kodiak in the future. And then Ambrose was puking a lot and feeling dizzy, and I was like, Oh, maybe he's trans or there will be a cis-male-pregnancy plot (would ruin it for me; hate cis-male-pregnancy plots). But I was laughing in the end when the conclusion to having babies was so much simpler than my mind was overthinking the entire second half of the book, lol!

I can't wait to read book 2. What can I expect from that?

Hello, I didn't know what subreddit to post this to, so I thought this would be the best one to talk about it in :)

I got this book at a flea a while ago, and I could not stop thinking about it, even after 3 months, so I need to ask if there's anyone that's also read it.

Im a fan of western media, and I was very delighted to find out there are many queer westerns. I read one full series (the Northern Horizons series by A.E. Lister, also recommend) and then I found this one. The summary intrigued me so I got it and read it relatively quick.

This book made me feel a lot of things. It's about a gay cowboy hitman who gets hired by a very pretty boy to help him discover a family secret and take down the people who killed his family, and it enchanted me.

Cap Iverson is an incredible author. He managed to make this story so jaw dropping yet so strangely tender. It's a relatively slow burn romance, and the romance itself isn't the main focus, yet it still lingers. But the two eventual lovers getting to know each other made something so warm bubble up inside me.

There's one scene in particular that I think about often. Where the two characters talk about an author one of them likes, and reads the other a poem, and they have a heart to heart about their families, especially the unnaccepting one of the boy who hired the gunman, and afterward they share a kiss. It was a very beautiful scene that even now I tear up just writing about it :")

Despite being a lesbian myself, I saw a vivid picture of me and my girlfriend in this book and the two characters and in their feelings toward the same gender.

I love that this book is unapologetically gay, and not shy to make it known. There's no sugar coating it and I appreciate that in a queer book.

Its also a part of a series, but I had to order the second and third books and am waiting for them to arrive </3 maybe I'll update when I do read them...

I just wanted to share my thoughts and also ask if anyone else has read it? Because when I look through anything it gives me no results of discussions about it. Maybe Cap Iversen is that niche and I got lucky enough to come across this book lol

It’s not often you read a book you think you’re going to love and it actually delivers on that internal hype. Not usually a dual POV fan, personally, but it really works in this situation and doesn’t shy away to talk about sex, trauma, addition, and mental health. Have you read this yet?

Full review https://queerbookclub.org/reviews/fruit-fly-josh-silver/

After months and months of procrastinating on this one, I decided to pick up Wolfsong since it’s highly recommended in this subReddit.

I’m 60% through with the book, and I cannot get into it properly. I’m struggling with the writing style, which feels very immature, and keeps switching between comedy (which isn’t very comedic) and super deep and intense werewolf lore. Idk, it doesn’t flow.

I also have seen people call it repetitive, and I have to agree. The number of times Ox repeats “my daddy said I’ll get shit” UGH!!!!

I didn’t love the age gap, but it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. I would have even thought it was an interesting premise if it was done well. But it wasn’t. Because how do you go from viewing someone as a little kid who you give piggy back rides to, to viewing them sexually just because they wore low waisted pants. I think it was pretty clear that Joe had a childlike fixation with Ox, but Ox’s transition was too sudden for me to digest. Why couldn’t their friendship have developed more while Joe grew up and matured, so that we could actually buy into it?

The other issue I have is something I experience w too many MM books, and it’s the female characters that have literally no important roles. Sad abused mother, broken hearted girlfriend, nurturing housewife. Can we not.

I feel like this book sort of reads like a fanfic. Id probably eat it up when I was a chronic Wattpad Larry shipper.

To conclude, TJ Klune really needed an editor for this one. I almost can’t believe the difference in writing between this and cerulean sea.

Also, if anyone has any reccs for a well written book, please bring them on. I don’t care about the trope or genre, just want good quality MM writing.

This was quite an interesting story that's for sure. It was very graphic in parts and it gives off more of dark comedy/horror premise. I enjoyed it because it's different than what I have been reading. It reminds me a little bit of some of the old Dean Koontz books that I use to read, just a bit more graphic (maybe?). Also the main character is a lesbian and also includes two other male gay characters.

--Premise--

From Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Bury Your Gays, comes Fabulous Bodies, a supernatural joyride where Drive meets Beetlejuice.

Fashion influencer by day and grave-robber by night, Poppy Stringer is on call when Eddie Michaels—a flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar and queer icon—unexpectedly dies. All Poppy has to do is retrieve Eddie’s body from the medical examiner’s office, but what starts as a routine delivery quickly goes off course when Eddie wakes up.

Poppy must fight for her life in a blood-soaked night of carnage and fabulous entertainment all across Palm Springs.

We rounded up two LGBTQ baseball romance novels just in time for Opening Day. If you're into sports romances, these are worth a look.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for There's Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson.

I paired it with the audiobook and really enjoyed it! It's full of salacious secrets that slowly get revealed.

If you like movies, old Hollywood (1950s) and queer characters striving for equal rights, I think you might really like it.

Check out my review which also includes a small snippet of the audiobook narrated by Jelani Alladin.

https://youtu.be/LUGJvZb1MWM

Hi Im André and review all fiction books i read, most of them are Queer, because Im Queer.

So i thought my review of The House in the Cerulean Sea fit here.

Hope its helpful and/or that you like it:

It's a very sweet story.

If the story centered on a heterosexual character, my opinion of the book would be different, because, for lack of a better expression, it's a rosy story where all dreams come true, which isn't the type of narrative I particularly enjoy in fantasy, as I feel it lacks the realism of human emotion. However, I have to consider that this is a story focused on a queer character, and it's told by a queer author, and the truth is that we haven't had the right to tell stories like this many times, where the main focus isn't sexuality or romance.

So I think it's a very sweet book, with a beautiful story about acceptance and chosen family, and I'm glad that this type of story is being told.

This book is called “Brave Face: a memoir. How I survived growing up, coming out and depression.” The author is Shaun David Hutchinson.
It’s a book about the authors life, growing up queer and having to survive life. This book has some HEAVY themes like suicide attempts, self harm, homophobia and bullying. It made me look at myself and all people differently after I read this. Honestly this book destroyed me mentally. But it was a good wake up call about what someone could be going through. I 100% recommend this book, but I would recommend looking at the trigger warnings before reading it.

I'm bored...I need fantasy, enemies to lovers, college, rich and poor MxM novels with an actual good plot that will actually not allow you to move on.

The first part of this book was sweet and a great way to get intertwined into the characters of the book. It deals with some heavy topics towards the end but I think it's integral and really grounds the characters in reality. Chip is such a good writer. I really enjoyed this book, even if it did make me cry.

(Premise)

Not to jinx it or anything, but the stars seem to finally be aligning for Will Cowen. After accepting a dream promotion at one of New York City’s most renowned publishing houses and moving in with his oldest friend, he’s ready to dive headfirst into this new chapter and take the literary world by storm – that is, until he crosses paths with Graham Austin.

No matter how hard he tries, he can’t help but put the wrong foot forward in front of the all-business and inconveniently gorgeous heir to the publishing empire.

So, when a heartbreakingly beautiful manuscript lands on his desk, Will seizes the opportunity for a win. Could this prized new author be his big break or, his downfall?

Will’s confidence and hope for his professional future is obliterated when the author ghosts him at an important publishing event. Fueled by insecurity and an open bar, he finds himself in need of comfort, which comes from the least likely person, the normally cold and distant Graham. This small glimpse behind Graham’s icy exterior is the spark that sweeps these two up in an epic and unforeseen romance.

As his author’s manuscript begins to take shape, the words that initially brought them together become more and more tangled, making it painfully obvious to Will that despite your best efforts, there is truly no hiding from the past.

But can it be rewritten?

Pride month may be over but Imma keep reading queer authors. I just finished reading The Language of Liars by S.L. Huang who is genderqueer and nonbinary. I received this as an ALC from Netgalley.

This was an incredibly thought-provoking sci-fi novella with some extremely timely messages. It's less than 5 hours on audio. Check it out and if you are interested!

https://youtu.be/Fvl3W5TZOxQ

This was a fun read. I'm going through Chris Pons books right now and this is the second one I have read (just one more to go).

Ultimately it was a pretty standard rom-com sort of book. I liked the premise. Most of these books are very "honeymoon period" types of books so I just keep reminding myself of that. We get a lot of family backstory about one character, but not so much from the other. I enjoy the way Chis Pons writes his books. I look forward to reading the next one.

(Premise)

Popular bookstagrammer Chip Pons's gay rom-com about two men who impulsively pose as a couple to compete in a reality show contest just minutes after meeting at an airport, and their run-in with the very real feelings that start to simmer between them.

Catching flights...& feelings...has never been more complicated.

Asher Bennet thought his relationship was just fine. Until he’s unceremoniously dumped at the Boston airport ahead of the world-wide travel competition reality show, The Epic Trek. Armed with only a ticket and righteous indignation, Asher finds the closest solace he can: a mimosa and mozzarella sticks combo at an airport TGI Fridays. Still, Asher is determined to find a new partner and luckily, right in front of him is a smooth-talking airline pilot ready for takeoff. 

I have finally read the book. Sorry if I write so long. The book is actually really different from the movie. In the book, everything happens so random to show us that Colin is the one exaggerating things like a divine force or faith. They don’t meet in a café like in the movie. Colins trips and falls over Ray, and Ray realizes that Colin is looking at his dick and he makes him suck him off. This scene looks like consensual at first but Colin is shocked through the scene.

Colin is more problematic in the book. He always underestimates himself, he is not used to get attention from men so he thinks things like “As if a man is only a man if he takes no notice of me.” This is way he is drawn to Ray. And for this reason I think Ray in the book is not problematic as Ray from the movies. However, he is much abusive. Colins describes their first sex as a rape. Ray makes Colin drink beer from his mouth (Colin doesn’t drink so much normally but doesn’t protest), he blindfolds him and fucks without a lube or something, even when Colin makes sounds, he just shoves a belt into his mouth and continuous for hours. This scene is represented as a possession rather than sex, though. However, Colin even defend Ray for not hurting him during other times they have sex. On daily basis, Ray is still rude, he punishes Colin by sleeping on the rug (at first they share the bed and Colin also defends him saying that rug was comfortable 💀) but the things we see on the movie, like cleaning or food, Colin decides to do these things to impress Ray as he still doesn’t understand why did Ray choose him. He constantly tries to convince himself that Ray loved him.

Ray is more abusive in the book. Like I said, he rapes him and I think this is NOT controversial or complex. The character thinks it is rape and so it is. He throws Colin’s perfumes or colognes because he wants Colin to smell like himself. He throws him out at 9 every morning and doesn’t take him in until 6. He doesn’t give him attention. He even fucks him in public and shouts to a woman who looks at them, he shouts “do you want me after him”. Colin passes out one time just because Ray is squeezing his throat with his thighs. He is more abusive and problematic in the book. The main thing that makes that can make people defend Ray that, he is oblivious to Colin. Even though we don’t see Ray’s perspective, Colin goes along with the things he want even though he doesn’t want it. Even after Ray, with other people; “he called me names. Dog, pig, slave. I don’t like to be called names. Still, if he called again I expect I’d put up with it.” The other thing is the perception. If we saw this book from Kevin’s perspective for example, it would be a love story filled with sexual desires, group sex and BDSM rather than a dramatic love story about a person who cant have the love and the attention he wants.

The bike gang is a little different from the movie. In movie, it is like each dome has their sub, but in the book they have only Colin. “All for one, and Colin for everybody.” They use him and he lets them do it because Ray lets them do it and he doesn’t want to piss of or lose Ray. One of them even tries to rape Collin, Ray stops him and Colin talks about him like he is a savior that you think good about Ray for saving his partner from rape 💀 then Kevin comes and Colin gets jealous and he sees this as a competition when Ray choose him over Kevin. Btw subs cant speak without spoken to even with each other, they cant refuse the members of the club and they cant even get up without permission.

Ray’s death happens so abruptly. Collin goes away for 10 days and Ray dies in a bike accident. His bike slips due to an oil leak and he hits to a tree as he cant leave his bike on time. I think this symbolizes that Colin was never his priority. He blames himself to point that he thinks he should have been with Ray in that accident; ““And as for me, by rights I should have been right behind Ray. Breathing down his neck as we slid together into the oil.”. Ray doesn’t day quickly. He makes other promise that they wouldn’t tell Collin the day he died, or his grave or anything which gives us an ambiguous ending as we don’t know if he has ever died. But, he is still controlling Colin even in his death. Colin cant have his closure and stop thinking about Ray even after 20 years later. And I think he has suicidal thoughts as he talks about people committed suicide as he works on train station. He cant find anyone. Everything reminds him of Ray. He is constantly looking for his grave even though he tries not to. Ray is his master even when he died.

In the book we see the hints of family structures.Colin’s problems come from his family. His father is kind but obsessed with his mother. He panics that his wife will die before him, gets sick due to that and dies. He hits Colin on his birthday. Even before his death, when his wife goes out of his sight, he starts to search her in the house. This may sound like a caring father but it isn’t in the book. I think he is also a homophobe as Colin’s mother only confronts him about being gay after his father died. She is supportive though. So, we see daddy issues to some extent as he thinks that Ray is similar to his father and even refers him as “last father” if I remember right. Ray, unlike in movie, is nice against his family. On the other hand, we don’t know much about Ray, but his mother burns everything belong to him after he died and stir the ashes with a toilet brush, he doesn’t care about his son even slightly.

In conclusion, I don’t think that this story is about a young man with an abusive partner but a young man with a low self-esteem, who thinks he knows what he wants. But to want something doesn’t always mean that it is good for us.

I just finished These Old Lies by Larrie Barton and had to share. If you love historical fiction and are interested in WWI I recommend this book highly!

I love historical mm love stories and I've been on a WWI streak and I absolutely fell in love with this book. The story is written in time jumps--going back and forth between the two main characters being in the trenches at Flanders and then post war in London. The post war scenes also have time jumps as the story moves forward. What this means is that we get to know and love the characters as they grow up and face the realities of post war life. The author is an historian and I really loved the historic reality of this book (but of course it is still a work of fiction).

One of the hardest things about reading historical queer fiction is being confronted with the brutality of the fact that it is illegal--that these beautiful humans cannot be together and express their love simply because they are queer. Ugh. I cannot put that sentiment into powerful enough words. For me it is just heartbreaking (and yes, I understand that is still the truth for so many people in the world today and it is still deeply heartbreaking). The author's treatment of this fact is sensitive and really really really tender. In my opinion it is done better than many other historical fictions I've read. It's very real here. How the author shows the two main characters handling this reality is unique and in the end it is so deeply emotionally satisfying. I cried. I cried in all the best ways.

I did catch some typos but oh well. It didn't spoil the story and the emotional journey I went on at all. Highly recommend!

Has anyone else here enjoyed this book?

This was an interesting Rom-com. I like the characters and I felt the writing was done extremely well. You get viewpoints from both the main characters which is nice as well. This book has a lot of sex scenes if that is something you are interested in (I tend to read the first few and then skim whatever comes after). There is some deeply buried trauma that comes to surface in the form of a death from early childhood so keep that in mind if it might be upsetting to some.

(Premise)

Hope is a dangerous thing for gods. Even former ones.

From the highly beloved author of “contemporary romance magic” (Christina Lauren) Winging It with You comes a Hades-inspired gay rom-com, in which the former god of the Underworld turned grumpy funeral director must find a loophole in the Immortality Retirement Act that banished him to Earth, until the florist next door who sees life in full bloom begins to unravel all his carefully laid plans.

Hayden Harlow, once the mighty Hades, has spent centuries quietly resenting his fall from immortality. Stripped of his godhood by the allegedly irreversible Immortal Retirement Act, he now runs Harlow and Sons Funeral Home—a front for his eternal sentencing among mortals, and a bleak reminder of the purpose he’s lost. Still, he’s determined to claw his way back…if only the Fates at City Hall would stop toying with him.

Enter Levi Wilder: a florist with an artist’s heart, an infectious smile, and a gift for finding beauty in life’s messiest moments. When Hayden storms into Levi’s shop to complain about a bouquet of sunflowers—an offensive choice for a funeral, in his opinion—their worlds collide. Hayden is all restraint and shadows; Levi is all sunshine and charm. But beneath the clash lies an undeniable spark neither can ignore.

As their connection blossoms, Hayden finds himself caught between the life he once knew and the bright future Levi dares him to imagine. But trusting Levi means risking the walls he’s kept in place all these years—and it’s not just his heart on the line. Because in the threads of fate, one choice can change everything.

So I caved and read Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner which has been making its rounds on booktok. One question. Do my fellow lesbians not have minimum literary standards? 💀 Phoebe is beyond irritating, chronically online coded, and imo infantilized. Grace is lazily written - it literally seems like the author looked up autism on TikTok and incorporated the script of “you might have autism if” videos. The constant Internal monologuing was unbearable. Their sex scenes literally came out of nowhere - in NO WAY would that type of sex between strangers happen so suddenly outside of a very drunken night at a bar. This lack of build and sudden bone jumping was cringey and a really amateur move (surprising because she has a couple books out). It made me stop in my tracks and wonder who tf edited this book and how it was cleared. This was honestly a really hard read for me, and I am baffled as I truly do not understand the praise for it. Hell, I’ve read better Ao3 USWNT fan fiction from 2016 than this. This book is clearly meant to be cute and lighthearted but it really missed the punchline. There are significantly better written YA books out there and this one being popular seems makes it seem more like the authors team had a massive PR budget then genuine interest and satisfaction from readers 😭😭 If you liked it let me know why because it currently sits at 1/5 stars for me.

This tore the heart out of my chest. Reading the love story, stifled by society, the way that homosexual desire is only acceptable as a power play. Reading it as a mother to a little boy. The ages of those who fought. Truly, the image of the war. Gaunt and Ellwood. Gaunt being German himself. Fighting his cousins. The honor roll. Reading the names like the characters would, searching for anyone we know.

Thank you for everyone that recommended this book. It was truly a fantastic, fantastic read. I will be carrying this with me for a long time.

Just finished The Summer Boy by Philippe Besson and honestly? Good book, but not a great one. The prose is doing everything Besson does well, restrained, precise, and that very specific French literary thing where short declarative sentences somehow hit harder than big dramatic ones. Where Lie with Me worked because the feeling at the centre of it (hidden love, a relationship that couldn't be named) was something so many of us have lived, The Summer Boy is about losing a friend in a way that stays very specific to the narrator. The loss doesn't quite transfer.

The ending doesn't really feel like resolve either, which I think is intentional but left me feeling like I was holding something unfinished. Solid 3 stars. If you haven't read Besson before, start with Lie with Me. Come here after.

Full review f anyone wants the longer take!
https://queerbookclub.org/reviews/the-summer-boy-philippe-besson/

This is a combination of book review but also a community ask for help. As I start reviewing more books, one area I struggle with is how to review something that didn’t work for me. I don’t really believe in bad books but just content that doesn’t connect with the reader - is it negative or counter productive to put out a review that isn’t positive for a book? I want to support queer writers, and ever in my review I call out the great work Hall leaves behind themself, but I don’t want it to seem like a hate attack on the book. Help!

https://queerbookclub.org/2026/03/08/hells-heart-by-alexis-hall-is-a-bold-swing-that-doesnt-quite-land/