Very Best LGBTQ+ Books To Read This Pride Month
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1 month ago
These stories transcend conventional ties to gender and sexuality
Pride month is back, so it’s time to get reading. From powerful reflections on relationships and soul-searching tales of acceptance to up-beat explorations of growing pains and flourishing communities, queer fiction has it all. Not sure where to start? These are the books by LGBTQ+ authors you should read now.
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield
Julia Armfield‘s dreamy fable of a debut novel bagged the Polari Prize in 2023 – an annual literary prize awarded to works exploring the LGBTQ+ experience – with judge Joelle Taylor describing Our Wives Under The Sea as ‘a strange, speculative, poetic and thrilling novel – a heart turner as much as a page turner.’ This novel is just that: strange and poetic, like reading a dream sequence. At the heart of it are wives Miri and Leah. Miri thinks she has got her wife back when Leah finally returns from a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe – but it soon becomes clear that Leah is not the same as she once was.
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
A screen adaptation of this deliciously invasive LGBQT+ book starring Jodie Comer was teased by HBO in 2024, but crickets since then. In the meantime, best to read it: centering on Greta, who transcribes therapy sessions for a living, Big Swiss is all about salacious secrets, love and madness. Enjoying knowing other people’s secrets wasn’t a problem until Greta met Big Swiss: a tall Swiss woman Greta luxuriates in transcribing the sex therapy sessions of, and giving her the comical nickname. So when Greta bumps into Big Swiss in a local dog park, a new, not entirely honest, relationship spirals from a not-so-chance encounter.
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
This instant bestseller from the Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain details a dangerous first-love-affair in ’80s Glasgow, with teenager Mungo at the centre. Protestant Mungo has been raised in a hyper-masculine world, raised on a Glasgow housing estate and brother to a territorial gang lead. Catholic James should be his sworn enemy. And yet… As they begin to fall in love, Mungo and James dream of escape, and Mungo must grapple to hide his true self from all those around him.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
For something uplifting, don’t underestimate Alice Oseman’s YA graphic novel series: there’s a reason Heartstopper has been incredibly successful. Now an equally, if not more, popular television series on Netflix, the coming-of-age series centres on the secondary school experience of a group of LGBTQ+ friends. With five volumes to devour and a sixth hitting the shelves in July, you’ll race through these heartwarming page turners, that also pack an emotional punch.
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
A slender classic, but no less of a vital read, James Baldwin’s second novel broke ground and established him as one of the greatest writers of his time. It’s 1950s Paris, where young American David is waiting for his fiancĂ©e to return from a vacation in Spain. But when he meets a handsome Italian barman, Giovanni, the two men are drawn into a life-alteringly intense affair.
Gunk by Saba Sams
In 2023, this author was the youngest name on the prestigious Granta Best Young British Novelists list, off the back of her debut publication, short story collection, Send Nudes (2022). In 2025, Gunk, drawing on Sams’ youth in Brighton, was her follow-up first novel. Strange yet mesmerising, we centre on Jules, a divorced nightclub worker whose ex, Leon, owns her grotty, student-filled place of work. But when Leon hires 19-year-old Nim, Jules’ interest is piqued for the first time in a very long time.
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
When Virginia Woolf wrote Orlando in 1928, no one could have predicted the seismic effect it would still be having on readers a century later. Her most unusual, fantastical novel pretends to be a biography, but in fact we read the story of a young Elizabethan nobleman who only Woolf could have dreamt up. That’s who he is in the beginning, anyway. By the novel’s end, Orlando will have transformed into a modern 36-year-old woman, and three centuries will have slid by.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
It’s no overstatement to say The Song of Achilles is a genre-defining book. Originally published in 2017, it reimagines Ancient Greece into an enticing, sexy and mystical tale fit for a modern audience. We follow an awkward young prince, Patroclus, who has been exiled to the court of King Peleus in the Greek Age of Heroes. There he meets King Peleus’ perfect son, Achilles – and despite their differences, they grow into close friends, and eventually something deeper…
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
Having bagged Waterstones Novel of the Year and The British Book Awards’ Debut of the Year, Alice Winn’s debut novel is an epic love story that begins in 1914. War seems a distant prospect to Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood who are too young to enlist. Gaunt, anyway, is fighting his own battle: one with his feelings for Ellwood. When Gaunt’s mother urges him to enlist, he’s relieved to escape his feelings – but Ellwood and his classmates soon follow him to the front. Just as Gaunt and Ellwood find love in the trenches, it becomes very clear war can tear them apart…
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
After leaving Dublin in search of happiness, Ava finds herself in Hong Kong teaching English. It’s not the life she envisioned for herself, nor is it the best financial option. But things start to look up when she meets Julien. His wealth provides the comfort and stability Ava always wanted for herself, and she soon jumps into a relationship with him. Things don’t always go to plan though, and soon Edith enters the picture. She’s striking and ambitious – and Ava wants her more than she’s ever wanted anyone else. But Ava must choose: settle into a comfortable life with Julien or take a leap of faith with Edith?
Transitional by Munroe Bergdorf
From the English model and activist, Transitional is a new book that explores change and transition as an essential facet of the human experience, expressed in the fluidity of identity, relationships, sexuality and gender. Drawing on both her own experience and key experts, Munroe’s first book is a powerful guide to navigating the world and its differences, prioritising community building and care.
All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad
Despite her parents providing a seemingly perfect portrayal of marriage, Maggie Krause has always struggled to form intimate connections with her lovers – until she met Lucia. However, when her mother, Iris, suddenly dies in a car accident, leaving behind five letters addressed to five different men, Maggie is left to discover the truth about Iris’s past. But once secrets come to light, relationships become tense – what will Maggie tell her family about Iris?
To My Trans Sisters by Charlie Craggs
This is a collection of letters, collected by Charlie Craggs, from successful trans women addressed to the next generation, with the goal of assisting them to become their best selves. From journeys to womanhood and success stories to navigating dysphoria and transphobia, this honest collection is both funny and furious, heartrending and hopeful.
Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey
Small towns are known for being close-knit and a bit insular, sharing the same values and keeping quiet when they don’t. But when Big Burr, Kansas is dubbed ‘the most homophobic town in the US’ by a national non-profit and a task force of queer volunteers is sent in as an experiment, the small town suddenly becomes everyone’s business. The volunteers, who are set to live and work in the community for two years in an attempt to broaden hearts and minds, quickly become a source of tension in Big Burr.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
This debut novel from Torrey Peters explores the relationship of three women – transgender and cisgender – whose lives collide unexpectedly after an unexpected pregnancy. Reese was happy with her life, until her girlfriend detransitioned and became Ames, leading to the collapse of their relationship and Reese’s downward spiral into self-destructive habits. But when Ames, who still mourns the loss of his relationship with Reese, gets his new lover, Katrina, pregnant, a spark of hope flares. Could the three of them form some kind of unconventional family – and raise the baby together?
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
Juliet Milagros Palante just came out to her family – and the response wasn’t as warm as she hoped it would be. With a sinking feeling that her mother will never speak to her again, Juliet leaves for Portland, Oregon. Once there, she gets the opportunity to intern with the author of her favourite book, Harlowe Brisbane, who is the ultimate authority on feminism, and women’s bodies. Juliet’s hoping the summer will give her time to figure out her life (if that’s even possible).
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy takes place in a high school like no other – think cheerleaders who ride Harleys, a trans homecoming queen and a gay-straight alliance formed with the purpose of teaching the straight kids how to dance. Paul meets Noah while at school, but one (rather huge) mistake is enough to seemingly blow his chances. But Paul won’t give up on Noah, even when he’s juggling the stresses of friendships, exes and love all at once. A heart-warming romantic comedy about young love.
I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver
After coming out to their parents as nonbinary, Ben De Backer is forced to leave home and move in with their estranged older sister and her husband (who Ben has never met). Reeling from their parents’ rejection and coming to terms with an anxiety disorder, Ben makes the decision to only come out to their sister, brother-in-law and therapist – otherwise keeping a low profile in their new school. This doesn’t go exactly to plan, however, when the outgoing Nathan Allan decides to take Ben under his wing. What follows is a story of new – and happier – beginnings.
Memorial by Bryan Washington
Couple Benson and Mike have come to an impasse in their relationship. They’re happy with their careers, Mike’s cooking is still top-notch and they still love each other – but this doesn’t seem enough anymore. When Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives for a visit, he immediately leaves to say his final goodbyes. In Japan, Mike uncovers new truths about his family that change him completely. And back home, unlikely roommates Mitsuko and Benson are forced into an absurd domestic situation that soon grows into something more meaningful. As they say, change is often for the better.
This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender
For all the films he watched and books he’s read, Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings. As an aspiring screenwriter, he’s seen too many relationships meet an untimely end in the real world. He’s quite happy playing it safe, especially after seeing his mother’s spiral after the death of his father – but this is all put to the test when his childhood best friend, Oliver James Hernández, unexpectedly re-enters his life.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the Red Scare, Last Night at the Telegraph Club follows the blossoming relationship between Lily Hu and Kathleen Miller. The two meet at a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club, but 1950s American is a dangerous time to be in a same-sex relationship – especially for Lily and her family, who run the risk of deportation despite holding American citizenship. Will Lily and Kath’s love beat the odds?
