Summer Reads for Woke Up Like This Reader Types
Smart, Sassy, and Culturally Sharp Books to Read This Season
If you're drawn to books with an LGBTQ presence—you’re a Woke Up Like This Reader. At Bookfinity, we pair you with fresh reads that are as informative as they are entertaining. Think pop culture meets literary flair, with a touch of glam and grit.
This summer’s picks bring voicey fiction, laugh-out-loud memoirs, and sharp social commentary to the forefront. Whether it’s fiction with flair or real talk that resonates, these reads deliver the kind of attitude and insight that make them impossible to put down—and even harder not to talk about.
We present a few extra new releases to help celebrate Pride Month!
August New Releases
Lucky Day
by Chuck Tingle
"An existential masterwork that, like life, is equal parts atrocity and delights."--Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of Masters of Death
Lucky Day is the latest from Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays, where one woman must go up against horrifying odds to save the world.
Four years ago, an unthinkable disaster occurred. In what was later known as the Low-Probability Event, eight million people were killed in a single day, each of them dying in improbable, bizarre ways: strangled by balloon ropes, torn apart by exploding manhole covers, attacked by a chimpanzee wielding a typewriter. A day of freak accidents that proved anything is possible, no matter the odds. Luck is real now, and it's not always good.
Vera, a former statistics and probability professor, lost everything that day, and she still struggles to make sense of the unbelievable catastrophe. To her, the LPE proved that the God of Order is dead and nothing matters anymore.
When Special Agent Layne shows up on Vera's doorstep, she learns he's investigating a suspiciously--and statistically impossibly--lucky casino. He needs her help to prove the casino's success is connected to the deaths of millions, and it's Vera's last chance to make sense of a world that doesn't.
Because what's happening in Vegas isn't staying there, and she's the only thing that stands between the world and another deadly improbability.
Also by Chuck Tingle:
Bury Your Gays
Camp Damascus
Straight
Baldwin: A Love Story
by Nicholas Boggs
Drawing on new archival material, original research, and interviews, this spellbinding book is the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, revealing how profoundly his personal relationships shaped his life and work.
Baldwin: A Love Story, the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, reveals how profoundly the writer's personal relationships shaped his life and work. Drawing on newly uncovered archival material and original research and interviews, this spellbinding book tells the overlapping stories of Baldwin's most sustaining intimate and artistic relationships: with his mentor, the Black American painter Beauford Delaney; with his lover and muse, the Swiss painter Lucien Happersberger; and with his collaborators, the famed Turkish actor Engin Cezzar and the iconoclastic French artist Yoran Cazac, whose long-overlooked significance as Baldwin's last great love is explored in these pages for the first time.
Nicholas Boggs shows how Baldwin drew on all the complex forces within these relationships--geographical, cultural, political, artistic, and erotic-- and alchemized them into novels, essays, and plays that speak truth to power and had an indelible impact on the civil rights movement and on Black and queer literary history. Richly immersive, Baldwin: A Love Story follows the writer's creative journey between Harlem, Paris, Switzerland, the southern United States, Istanbul, Africa, the South of France, and beyond. In so doing, it magnifies our understanding of the public and private lives of one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century, whose contributions only continue to grow in influence.
Black Flame
by Gretchen Felker-Martin
One woman's deadly obsession with a haunted archival film precipitates her undoing in Black Flame, from the USA Today bestselling author of Manhunt, Gretchen Felker-Martin.
A cursed film. A haunted past. A deadly secret.
The Baroness, an infamous exploitation film long thought destroyed by Nazi fire, is discovered fifty years later. When lonely archivist Ellen Kramer--deeply closeted and pathologically repressed--begins restoring the hedonistic movie, it unspools dark desires from deep within her.
As Ellen is consumed by visions and voices, she becomes convinced the movie is real, and is happening to her--and that frame by frame, she is unleashing its occult horrors on the world. Her life quickly begins to spiral out of control.
Until it all fades to black, and all that remains is a voice asking a question Ellen can't answer but can't get out of her mind.
Do you want it?
More than anything?
Also by Gretchen Felker-Martin:
Manhunt
Cuckoo
Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire
by Don Martin
WELCOME TO FOXFIRE
The rules here are simple:
Don't look in the trees.
Don't whistle in the woods at night.
Don't answer if you hear your
name called.
And remember . . . everything wants.
Verity Vox is a witch-in-training who has never met a problem her spells can't solve. But when a cryptic plea for help sends her to the forgotten coal mining town of Foxfire, she soon learns even magic has its limits.
Verity discovers a curse was laid years ago by a traveling magician who vanished into the ancient Appalachian hills to seek greater power. Crops won't grow. Bellies go hungry. Even treasured possessions fall apart. What's worse, people have gone missing amidst rumors that they've sought out the magician who is lying in wait for those foolish or desperate enough to strike a deal with him.
The witch must break the curse, find a missing girl, and solve the mystery of what's really under the mountain before the town falls forever into the clutches of the monster lurking in the hills.
Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything: A Memoir
by Alyson Stoner
Actor-dancer Alyson Stoner's revelatory and incisive memoir--from family violence and betrayal, to eating disorders and religious trauma--may begin in Hollywood, but its chilling relatability will resonate with anyone navigating identity, privacy, purpose, and mental health in a digital age.
Raised on soundstages and studio lots from the age of six, shuffling between auditions for Disney Channel, Cheaper by the Dozen, or Missy Elliott music videos, Alyson Stoner experienced many of the defining moments of childhood inside the bizarre fishbowl of Hollywood. From working eighty hours a week at eight years old, to learning how to distinguish fan mail from kidnapping plots, to TV execs saying they weren't "anorexic enough" to stop working and get help, Alyson struggled to find stability and sanity in a chaotic world.
In Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything, Alyson shares their powerful story for the first time, detailing a turbulent home life fractured by substance abuse, harrowing accounts from rehab, the messy process of discovering their sexuality in church, rebuilding a life after an early professional peak, and charting a path of self-discovery and advocacy. With striking introspection, Alyson connects the dots across the entertainment industry ecosystem, child development, and media culture, exposing the "toddler to trainwreck pipeline" of child stars and sparking timely conversations about success and society's enchantment with fame.
Bold, entertaining, warm, and galvanizing all at once, Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything is more than a personal memoir: it's a beacon for industry reform, a road map for breaking the bonds of generational trauma, and a testament to the freedom and strength that come from finally trusting your own voice and power.
july new releases
A Return to Self: Excursions in Exile
by Aatish Taseer
A blend of travelog and memoir spanning from Turkey to Mexico, exploring Aatish Taseer's uniquely blended identity and asking: Why do certain cities become epicenters of great historical shifts and sites of unpredictable communities?
In 2019, the government of Prime Minister Narenda Modi revoked Aatish Taseer's Indian citizenship, thereby exiling him from the country where he grew up and lived for thirty years. This loss, both practical and spiritual, sent him on a journey of revisiting the places that formed his identity, and asking broader questions about the complex forces that make a culture and a nationality, in the process.
Hot Girls with Balls
by Benedict Nguyen
In this outrageous and deeply serious satire, two star indoor volleyball players juggle unspoken jealousies in their off-court romance ahead of their rival teams' first rematch in a year
Six is 6′7″, scheming to rejoin the starting lineup, and barely checks her phone. Green is 6′1″, always building her brand, and secretly jealous of her more famous girlfriend. Together, they're going where no Asian American trans woman has gone before: the men's pro indoor volleyball league. Our hot girls with balls just thought playing with the boys would spare them some controversy . . . haha.
The Goldens
by Lauren Wilson
A delicious, intoxicating debut thriller about a young woman who is swept into a glamorous world of fascinating influencers, glittering parties--and possibly murder.
Chloe has always dreamed of becoming a bestselling writer. Then she meets Clara Holland, a prominent influencer, socialite, and model. Clara is enigmatic, dazzling, gorgeous. And at last, ordinary Chloe has something to write about.
Wayward Girls
by Susan Wiggs
"After decades of bestsellers, Wayward Girls might be Susan Wiggs' opus. A gut-wrenching story of survival, friendship, and justice. Masterful."--Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
"The magnificent Susan Wiggs takes a leap into the history of women..a page-turner, replete with mystery and suspense."--Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone
From New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs, a wrenching but life-affirming novel based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption. Set in the turbulent Vietnam era in the All-American city of Buffalo, New York, six girls are condemned to forced labor in the laundry of a Catholic reform school.
In 1968 we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd--a dark and secretive institution controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns--locked away merely for being gay, pregnant, or simply unruly.
No Body No Crime
by Tess Sharpe
From the bestselling author Tess Sharpe comes a new action packed thriller about two women whose lives--and hearts--are destined for each other.
Murder either bonds you or breaks you.
Rural PI Mel Tillman knows this well. She's seen her fair share of bloody cases and botched cover-ups. But killing with someone? That is a different kind of mess all together, and Mel's got real experience with it.
No one's heard from Toby Dunne since Chloe Harper's sweet sixteen party--because the birthday girl and sixteen-year-old Mel buried him so deep in the backwoods, no one's ever finding him. Mel loses little sleep over it--Toby had been terrorizing them.
Necessary Fiction
by Eloghosa Osunde
From the acclaimed author of Vagabonds! an audacious and eye-opening exploration of cross-generational queer life in Nigeria.
What makes a family? How is it defined and by whom? Is freedom for everyone?
In Necessary Fiction, Eloghosa Osunde poses these provocative questions and many more while exploring the paths and dreams, hopes and fears of more than two dozen characters who are staking out lives for themselves in contemporary Nigeria.
Across Lagos, one of Africa's largest urban areas and one of the world's most dynamic cities, Osunde's characters seek out love for self and their chosen partners, even as they risk ruining relationships with parents, spouses, family, and friends.
June New Releases
If I Told You, I'd Have to Kiss You
by Mae Marvel
Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets The Pairing in this heart-racing romance of secrets, spies, and steam.
A few rules for the international superspy:
(1) Never blow your cover.
(2) Never accept the first plan.
(3) Never fall for anyone at the agency. Especially if she's your ex-girlfriend.
Yardley Whitmer, code name "the Unicorn," can do no wrong. She's honed her spycraft and become an instant legend in the field. If only breaking up with her girlfriend were as easy as rappelling off the Eiffel Tower. Living a full-time cover story has slowly eroded her relationship until there's nothing left but lies.
So Gay for You: Friendship, Found Family, and the Show That Started It All
by Kate Moennig - Leisha Hailey
An intimate, hilarious memoir of art, friendship, queerness, and found family by Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey, stars of The L Word--including never-before-shared stories and photos from behind the scenes of the show and their personal lives.
"Are you comfortable with nudity?" my manager asked.
In the early 2000s, Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey--both young artists trying to figure it all out--met at auditions for an unknown little TV show. Given that it was a show about lesbians living in Los Angeles, with the first ever ensemble cast of openly queer female characters, Kate and Leisha knew the project was going to be unlike anything else out there--that is, if it even got picked up.
Maybe This Will Save Me: A Memoir of Art, Addiction and Transformation (Original)
by Tommy Dorfman
*An Autostraddle Most Anticipated Queer Book*
"I'm determined to get to know the real Tommy, to trace the shape of my scars."
For years, Tommy Dorfman turned her back on her thoughts and emotions, hoping they'd simply go away.
After a lifetime of confusion, she finally gained clarity around her gender and began to transition.
But there were still parts of herself she'd locked away, elements of her story that she needed, for the first time, to fully confront.
She sought guidance in a tarot deck.
Be Gay, Do Crime
by Molly Llewellyn - Kristel Buckley - Alissa Nutting - Anna Dorn - Aurora Mattia - Emily R Austin - Francesca Ekwuyasi - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya - Maame Blue - Crane Crane - Myriam Gurba - Myriam LaCroix - Priya Guns - Sam Cohen - Sj Sindu - Soula Emmanuel - Temim Fruchter - Venita Blackburn
"Chaotic, sexy, and binge-worthy as hell, Be Gay, Do Crime is an EVENT."-Ruth Madievsky, author of All Night Pharmacy
A follow-up to their runaway success Peach Pit: Sixteen Stories of Unsavory Women, editors Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley return with Be Gay, Do Crime, a celebration of queer chaos from an all-queer author lineup featuring Myriam Gurba, Emily Austin, Alissa Nutting, and Francesca Ekwuyasi
A trans woman makes increasingly frequent hoax calls to a business where she's had a negative experience, watching the consequences with perverse joy.
This Princess Kills Monsters: The Misadventures of a Fairy-Tale Stepsister: A Novel
by Ry Herman
A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on horrible monsters, a dozen identical masked heroes, and a talking lion in a quest to save a kingdom--and herself--in this affectionate satire of the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale The Twelve Huntsmen.
Someone wants to murder Princess Melilot. This is sadly normal.
Melilot is sick of being ordered to go on dangerous quests by her domineering stepmother. Especially since she always winds up needing to be rescued by her more magically talented stepsisters. And now, she's been commanded to marry a king she's never met.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
by V E Schwab
This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
This is a story about love.
1827. London.
This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
This is a story about life--
how it ends, and how it starts.
USA Today, 15 Most Anticipated of 2025
BookBub, Most Anticipated of 2025 (and Reader's Pick)
Readers Digest, 20 Most Anticipated Books This Year
Paste Magazine, Most Anticipated Fantasy Books of 2025
BookRiot, Most Anticipated Books of 2025
Men's Health, 25 Best & Most Anticipated Books of 2025
The Nerd Daily, SFF to Devour in 2025
Goodreads, Readers' Most Anticipated Books of 2025
A Language of Limbs
by Dylin Hardcastle
"The prose is textured, viscous almost, an ooze of sweet honey shot through with golden light . . . A Language of Limbs is a novel of (impeccable) vibes and mood, a gay hymnal written from inside the guts of the two protagonists."
--Yves Rees, Australian Book Review
A breathtaking, sliding-doors, will-they-won't-they love story and a tender epic that explores the weight of a choice, the love of community and how joy is found in even the darkest corners.
Newcastle, Australia, 1972. On a sticky summer night, a choice must be made: To give in to queer desire or suppress it? To venture into the unknown or stay the course? In alternating chapters, we trace the two versions of a life that follow.
The South
by Tash Aw
A radiant, intimate novel of the longing that blooms between two boys over the course of one summer--about family, desire, and what we inherit.
When his grandfather dies, Jay travels south with his family to the property they've inherited, a once flourishing farm that has fallen into disrepair. The trees are diseased, the fields parched from months of drought.
Jay's father, Jack, sends him out to work the land, or whatever land is left. Over the course of these hot, dense days, Jay finds himself drawn to Chuan, the son of the farm's manager, different from him in every way except for one.