Spring highlights powerful LGBTQIA and diverse voices. These new releases center identity, love, and belonging. The stories feel authentic and timely. Both fiction and memoir shine. If you're socially aware, woke, nonbinary or LGBTQ+, add these newly released books to your stack for meaningful reading.
May LGBTQ Book Recommendations & New releases:
The Land and Its People: Essays
by David Sedaris
In this new collection, David Sedaris reflects on what it means to be a foreigner, a brother, a lifelong friend, in essays that are "among the best of his career" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
"A welcome return to form for the much-awarded and much-loved humorist...Sedaris remains a national treasure." -- Kirkus (starred review)
In The Land and Its People, Sedaris investigates what it means to be a traveler, a brother, a lifelong friend. Trying on the role of caretaker after his boyfriend Hugh's hip-replacement surgery, he both succeeds and fails. He covers ground with his friend Dawn and challenges her to eat a truck tire. A ambivalent Duolingo bot becomes his unlikely confidante as he attempts to describe his family in a foreign language. Ever adding to his list of "Countries I Have Been To," he rides a horse named Tequila in Guatemala, buys a bespoke priest's cassock in Vatican City, and goes on safari in Kenya without taking a single photo.
Time takes its toll: scrolling through his address book, he counts those he couldn't bear to outlive, and realizes how many are already gone. He is bitten by a dog and insulted by a wee train passenger. A woman on the street late at night either sexually harasses him or doesn't. It's easy to agree with the lady waving a sign that reads, "Enough Is Enough." And yet, life holds much to delight in: the massive testicles of a ram, a trip abroad with his sisters, a really excellent reptile video, a pair of well-made cotton underpants.
Throughout these essays--at once acerbic and tender, playful and profound--Sedaris shows how much there is to marvel at when you keep your head up and your eyes open, observing with warmth and curiosity our fascinating human species and the lands we inhabit.
Gay Mormon Dad
by Chad Anderson - Remy Burke
All his life, Chad Anderson was told he was broken. He believed with all his heart that being a good Mormon would make him straight, because that is what he was told. Chad followed the prescribed road map: mission, marriage, and children. But it didn't make him happy, and it didn't make him straight. For Chad, coming out meant losing everything and starting again.
Gay Mormon Dad is the story of one man learning to love himself in a complicated world. This inspiring autobiography unfolds in two parts, "Then" and "Now," woven together in a way that will hit you right in the heart. Vibrantly illustrated by artist Remy Burke, this moving graphic novel sheds light on the dangers of spiritual abuse and illuminates the path to healing.
Opioids and Organs
by Arizona O'Neill
A heartwrenching memoir of a daughter losing her father and a scathing indictment of the medical industry
Arizona grieves at the hospital bed of her father, a man she hardly knew, brain dead after a fentanyl overdose. Doctors encourage her to act quickly to recast him as a hero by way of organ donations. Distraught, Arizona makes a decision that will haunt her for the rest of her life. As she struggles to come to terms with her father's death and her role as next of kin in making his life's last decision, she uncovers inconvenient truths about the organ industry's own codependence on the opioid crisis.
Her parents were bohemian wild kids of 90s Montreal. He was a talented skateboarder, charming guitarist, and visual artist. She was an aspiring writer and outcast. They lived with other teenagers in the Plateau in a messy apartment filled with drugs, alcohol, and black-market animals. The city's macabre history -- McGill Medical School, the Mount Royal Cemetery, ancient cadavers at the Maude Abbott Medical Museum--takes center stage as Arizona sorts out fact from fiction.
Opioids and Organs is a damning critique of an industry that takes advantage of society's outcasts. It is also the graphic novel debut of O'Neill herself, who weaves together a dramatic personal history with that of how humanity made its scientific advances. A muted yet striking pastel palette and a doll-like fantastical elegance belie both the gruesomeness of the book's topic and the rage of its author.
Homebound
by Portia Elan
Five lives are entangled across time by one story of survival and hope, uploaded to a floppy disk in the 1980s and destined to ripple across the centuries ...
"A joy -- at once a gripping mystery that confidently spans centuries, and a hauntingly beautiful exploration of what makes us human ... It kept me up all night!" -- Madeline Miller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Circe and Song of Achilles
It's 1983 and Becks can't wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. She's nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to complete--one last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness.
Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connection--and by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space.
A novel about our deep interconnectedness, Homebound is a clear-eyed, hopeful adventure into humanity's future and capacity for love.
Bromantasy
by Máire Roche
Two heroes. One brain cell.
BROMANTASY is a cozy, queer fantasy about the mortifying ordeal of being known by your totally platonic best friend and the epic quest that might force you to confront the truth.
This deluxe limited first run edition will feature beautifully designed colored edges -- while supplies last!
Fellas, is it gay to kiss your bff while on a quest through the forest you're unqualified for?
Juniper O'Reilly is good at only two things: demolishing a pint of mead and finding the perfect skincare routine. Everything else--taking care of the farm, bartering for goods, any sort of manual labor--falls to Juniper's best friend, the absurdly capable, endlessly patient Mo Elmthorn.
But when Juniper accidentally volunteers them both for a quest to kill a fearsome monster, he knows he's finally gotten in over his head. Juniper hates camping, he hates the dark, and there's no way all these foraged mushrooms are going to sit well in his stomach. One thing he doesn't hate? How good Mo's thighs look in his questing pants--he doesn't have time to think about that, though, with a monster to hunt and their futures on the line.
But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. When Juniper and Mo realize that the terrifying beast they've sworn to kill is just a scared little girl torn from her family, they're off to find not only the true villain of the story, but maybe even a happy ending.
Radiant Star
by Ann Leckie
Space opera's sharpest mind returns to the world of the Imperial Radch in this brilliant standalone from award-winning author Ann Leckie.
The Temporal Location of the Radiant Star has always been a source of both conflict and hope for the people of Ooioiaa. However, the imperial Radch see it only as an inconvenience, an antiquated religious site soon to be absorbed into their own, superior culture. But local politics is complicated, and the Radch have made a final concession: One last man will be allowed to join the mummified bodies in the temporal location to become a "living saint".
But this decision will ripple out to affect every part of the city. Amidst a slowly worsening food shortage, riots, and a communication blackout from the rest of the Radch Empire, a religious savant will entertain visions of his own sainthood, a socialite will discover hir comfortable life upended, and a young man sold into servitude will find unlikely escape.
April Books:
What Mattered Most: A Memoir
by Ty Herndon - David Ritz
An intimate, often hilarious but always sincere memoir from country legend Ty Herndon on his struggles with addiction, mental health, his career, relationships, and being the first openly gay male country superstar.
Ty Herndon may be most known for his beautiful country songs, but behind the music Herndon's own life could be the subject of a classic country ballad. His career began as a member of the band The Tennessee River Boys--the band that would later become Diamond Rio. He found solo success after signing to Epic Records and releasing the number-one hit "What Mattered Most," launching a decades-long career as one of country music's leading legends.
But behind the fame, Herndon struggled with addiction, mental health issues, and his sexuality--the latter of which had no place in mainstream country in the 90's, 2000's and arguably through today. Facing a series of setbacks including an arrest, lawsuits and a drug relapse, all while struggling to maintain his secret, his spiral ultimately led to a suicide attempt. His subsequent successful stay in rehab led to the inspiration for his song "God or the Gun."
Now, Herndon brings that song to life telling his full story for the first time. With profound introspection, brutal honesty, occasional humor and a lot of heart, Herndon shares how he fought against his demons and ultimately chose God over the gun.
We Burned So Bright
by Tj Klune
A heart-wrenching standalone novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, We Burned So Bright follows an elder gay couple on an end-of-the-world road-trip.
The road stretched out before them. No other cars, just the headlights on the blacktop. Above, the cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky....
Husbands Don and Rodney have lived a good long life. Together they've experienced the highest highs of love and family, and lows so low that they felt like the end of the world.
Now, the world is ending for real. A rogue black hole is coming for Earth and in a month everything and everyone they've ever known will be gone.
Suddenly, after 40 years together, Don and Rodney are out of time. They're in a race against the clock to make it from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it's all over.
On the road they meet those who refuse to believe death is coming and those who rush to meet it. But there are also people living their final days as best they know how--impromptu weddings, bright burning bonfires, shared meals, and new friends.
And as the black hole draws near, among ball lightning and under a cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky, Don and Rodney will look back on their lives and ask if their best was good enough.
Is it enough to burn bright if nothing comes from the ashes?
Nothing Tastes as Good
by Luke Dumas
He finally got the body he wanted. Now he's hungry for something worse.
The nationally bestselling author of The Paleontologist and A History of Fear returns with a spine-tingling new thriller about a weight loss treatment with terrifying side effects.
Retail worker Emmett Truesdale has never fit the Southern California mold of six-pack, suntanned masculinity. Over three hundred pounds, he carries the weight of his childhood trauma and millennial ennui around his waist and in his soul. After trying every diet under the sun, he remains stuck--in his dead-end job, in love, and in his body.
Desperate for help, he enrolls in a clinical trial for a new weight loss product called Obexity. The treatment is as horrifying as the results are miraculous and as Emmett sheds pounds at superhuman speed, every part of his life improves overnight.
Unfortunately, Obexity comes with some killer side effects, including lost stretches of time and overwhelming cravings. Worse, people who were cruel to him have started disappearing and when the police warn of a cannibalistic killer on the loose, he fears that Obexity is turning him into a monster. But how can he give it up now that people are finally starting to treat him like he's human?
Nerve-racking, sinister, and at times surreal, Nothing Tastes as Good is an unputdownable thriller that combines the body horror and social commentary of The Substance with the best of Stephen King and keeps you guessing until the final page.
How to Fake It in Society
by KJ Charles
Bridgerton meets The Goldfinch in How to Fake It in Society, a stunning queer romance by rising genre star KJ Charles.
It is 1821 and Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte is making a splash in London Society. The son of Jeanne de Valois de La Motte, infamous for stealing a priceless diamond necklace meant for Marie Antoinette, Nico hopes to restore his wronged mother's reputation, if only he can raise the funds. But he must operate with great secrecy, because the Bourbon dynasty murdered his mother, and he fears for his life.
At least, that's what he tells Titus Pilcrow. Titus was a simple shopkeeper, making and selling artists' paints, when he found himself suddenly married to an immensely wealthy woman who wanted to disinherit her nephew on her deathbed. As word spreads of his fortune, Titus finds himself a target of every scammer and beggar in London...including one Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte.
Nico is on his last legs, out of money, and on the run from some terrifying gangsters. When Titus offers Nico a space in his household, it's the perfect chance for him to exploit London's newest golden purse--until he falls in love with the man he needs to cheat. Still, Nico is sure they can have a happy ending together. If he can just find his way out of his own web of lies...
The Duke
by Anna Cowan
A sapphic regency romance about the duke who fears nothing... until the woman she never forgot walks through the door and brings her to her knees.
This deluxe paperback edition features:
- Stunning, full-color inside cover design
- Dazzling designed sprayed edges
- A gorgeous full-color character illustration tip-in
Set in a world of powerful female nobles and the women who love them...
Kate, Duke of Howard, is known throughout Europe as a merciless autocrat not to be crossed. Consumed by a bitter rivalry, she avoids society and has vowed never to trap a woman into marriage with a monster like herself.
The beautiful, ambitious courtesan Celine Genet once threw herself on the mercy of the visiting Duke of Howard. She was desperate to escape the guillotine. But after a night of searing passion, the duke left her to the ravages of Revolutionary Paris and didn't look back. Now Celine is in London and in possession of a dangerous letter that proves the Duke of Howard committed treason as a child - and possibly even murder.
Celine wants a titled husband in return for keeping the duke's secret, leaving Kate no choice but to parade her around the most fashionable ballrooms. But as Celine takes society by storm, Kate finds herself growing fond of the woman set on destroying her. And as their attraction mounts, Kate faces an impossible choice: keep her childhood secret, or win the woman she loves.
Anna Cowan's The Duke is an utterly unforgettable, page-turning romance featuring two women who, separately, are a danger to each other, but together, could be the most powerful duo London has ever seen.
"Gorgeously written and desperately hot... Hands down, my favorite romance of the decade." - Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House
"The Duke is Georgette Heyer quadrupled and queered, flipping the erotic appeal of a cold-hearted alpha into an alternate England in which women can be dukes and marry whom they please. I loved and envied the way it combined the originality of My Lady Jane, the luxury of Bridgerton, and the smutty, fabulous sex of Fingersmith." - Eloisa James, New York Times bestselling author of Viscount in Love
March new releases:
The Witch Without Memory: Book Two of the Obsidian Throne
by Maithree Wijesekara
The second epic installment of the Obsidian Throne trilogy, an epic fantasy of betrayal, memory, and the fight for an empire, in which a prince and a witch must find a way to burn the world to the ground in order to raise it up out of the ashes.
An empress with vengeance in her heart
Prince Ashoka's sister, Aarya, has named herself empress and is determined to reverse her brother's mercy for the mayakari.
A witch lost in dreams
Shakti is being held by shadowy figures, drugged and forced to commit an unspeakable crime. When she wakes, she finds herself prisoner, but gaps in her memory around the curse she has cast trap her more thoroughly than any cage.
The prince trying to change the world
Ashoka must find allies and quickly if he is to usher in a new dawn for the mayakari, but the tougher the decision he makes, the farther he gets from his true self. He must determine what he is willing to lose in pursuit of his vision of the future.
The first blow has been dealt by Ashoka and Shakti, but the empire not only remains, it appears stronger--and more brutal--than ever. Both must find ways to fight back before nature is deprived of its spirits and guardians, and the reign of the new empress spreads its destruction and oppression to lands beyond.
The Fox and the Devil
by Kiersten White
An obsession with an immortal serial killer entangles a vampire hunter's daughter in a sapphic romance in this enthralling gothic fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lucy Undying.
"Grisly and electrifying, innovating and moving . . . Kiersten White never misses."--Allison Saft, author of A Dark and Drowning Tide
This stunning hardcover edition features an illustrated book case with character art underneath the jacket.
Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, Abraham Van Helsing--doctor, scientist, and madman devoted to the study of vampires--until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. A woman who leaves no trace behind, other than the dreams and nightmares that now plague Anneke every night.
Spurred by her desire for vengeance and armed with the latest forensic and investigatory techniques, Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch this mysterious serial killer. Because her father isn't the only inexplicable dead body. There's a trail of victims across Europe, and Anneke is certain they're all connected.
But during the years spent relentlessly hunting the killer, Anneke keeps crucial evidence to herself: infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to her, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola.
The closer Anneke gets to her devil, though, the less sense the world makes. Maybe her father wasn't a madman after all. Diavola might be something much worse than a serial killer . . . and much harder to destroy. Yet as Anneke unearths more of Diavola's tragic past, she suspects there's still a heart somewhere in that undead body.
A heart that beats for Anneke alone.
That's What Friends Are for: A Hilarious, Tender Story Based on the Golden Girls (Original)
by Wade Rouse
"By turns hilarious, tender, and devastating, Rouse's novel explores what it means to be the sandwich generation of gays today -- caught between those who paved the way for equality, those who are too young to credit them, and a world that seems increasingly hostile." --Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author
In this poignant and hilarious story inspired by TV's beloved The Golden Girls, bestselling author Wade Rouse celebrates love, aging, finding your people, and the art of impeccably timed one-liners.
Theodore Copeland has created a fabulous life in the desert oasis of Palm Springs, where he shares a fabulous pink mid-century home with three fabulous friends: Barry, a former actor still clinging to his youth, his hair, and the memory of the dream role that killed his career; Ron, an uprooted Christian from the Midwest with a big heart but no one to give it to; Sid, who, after coming out late in life, has never found love. Teddy is the caustic, unspoken leader of "The Golden Gays"--the foursome's monthly drag tribute to The Golden Girls. Despite their foibles and bickering, they have turned their golden years into a golden era.
But the harmony of their desert enclave becomes a carousel of emotional baggage when Teddy's estranged sister, Trudy, shows up on their doorstep, her dramatic teenage granddaughter in tow. While Teddy keeps Trudy at arm's length, she manages to wheedle her way into the lives of the Golden Gays, until the real reason for her visit is revealed and the secrets they've all been keeping from each other unravel faster than a hastily stitched hemline.
A novel that gives thanks to "old" friends, That's What Friends Are For proves that while family may be the tie that binds, it's the chosen family that truly keeps us together.
Almost Life
by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
"Captivating...an entrancing read packed with the extreme highs and lows of an all-encompassing love." --People
Two young women meet in Paris one sultry summer in a decades-spanning tour de force about the enduring power of young love and the poignant heartbreak of missed chances--perfect for fans of One Day and Normal People.
Erica and Laure meet on the steps of the Sacré-Coeur in Paris, 1978. Erica is a student, relishing her first summer abroad before beginning university at home in England. Laure is studying for her PhD at the Sorbonne, drinking and smoking far too much, and sleeping with a married woman. The moment the two women meet, the spark is undeniable, but their encounter turns into far more than a summer of love. It is the beginning of a relationship that will define their lives and every decision they have yet to make...
Erica and Laure's love story spans decades, marriage, children, secret trysts, and the agonizing changes--both personal and political--that might mean they can be together, after all. But when life brings them within touching distance again, will they be brave enough to seize a future together?
Beautifully capturing young love and all its complexities, Almost Life is a story of longing for the paths not taken, and the almost lives we live.
Whidbey
by T Kira Madden
A Most Anticipated Book by People - Vogue - Esquire - Harper's Bazaar - USA Today - Seattle Times - Bookpage -Chicago Review of Books - Crimereads - Goodreads - The Millions - Publishers Weekly - Kirkus Reviews - Book Riot - Literary Hub . . . and many more!
"Epic in its scope, intimate in its evocation, Whidbey reads like a thriller, compels like a mystery and regarding the human condition, converses with the classics. This is the book everyone will be talking about." -- Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning author of The Orphan Master's Son and Fortune Smiles
A portrait of three women connected through one man in the aftermath of his murder--a stunning literary achievement and the explosive and highly anticipated debut novel from beloved award-winning memoirist T Kira Madden.
Birdie Chang didn't know anything about Whidbey Island when she chose it, only that it was about as far away as she could get from her own life. She's a woman on the run, desperate for an escape from the headlines back home and the look of concern in her girlfriend's eyes--and from Calvin Boyer, the man who abused her as a child and who's now resurfaced. On her way, she has an unnerving encounter with a stranger on the ferry who offers her a proposition, a sinister solution and plan for revenge.
But Birdie isn't the only girl Calvin harmed back then. There's also Linzie King, a former reality TV star who recently wrote all about it in her bestselling memoir. Though the two women have never met, their stories intertwine. Once Birdie arrives on Whidbey, she finally cracks the book's spine, only to find too much she recognizes in its pages. Soon after, on the other side of the country, Calvin's loving mother, Mary-Beth, receives a shocking phone call from the police: her only son has been murdered.
Calvin's death sets into motion a series of events that sends each woman on a desperate search for answers. A complex whodunit told from alternating points of view, Whidbey is searingly perceptive and astonishingly original. Exploring the long reach of violence and our flawed systems of incarceration and rehabilitation, this is a tense and provocative debut that's sure to incite crucial questions about the pursuit of justice and who has real power over a story: the one who lives it, or the one who tells it?
Star Shipped
by Cat Sebastian
Cat Sebastian's long-awaited foray into contemporary romance! A witty, emotional, and deliciously slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between two costars on a popular sci-fi television series.
Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can't stand one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. They've spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it. Now that Simon's contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie.
Simon's only problem is that people might assume he's been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with. He doesn't get along with people--unlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the show's first season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visit--and he finds he's actually not having a terrible time.
The more he gets to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects he's underestimated his former coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon is about to move three thousand miles away, so whatever's starting between him and Charlie can't really amount to anything... right?
Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Opposites Attract
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
The Ex-Wives Murder Club (Main)
by Mette Ivie Harrison
Ever want to kill your partner? Join the club! Three ex-wives band together to murder their evil husband and wind up in the business of killing the worst of humanity. A darkly humorous suspense, with a heartwarming LGBTQ+ romance, perfect for fans of Elle Cosimano, Joanna Wallace, and Katy Brent.
What do you do when you realize you married a horrible man?
Kill him of course!
For Meg (wife #1), Jenny (#2), and Amelia (#3), the term 'a woman scorned' isn't strong enough. They want more than revenge for the years of their life they wasted with their pitiful excuse for a husband. They want him dead.
As they carry out their lethal plan, they soon realize they're thinking too small. What about all the other men (and women) who cause immeasurable suffering and get away with it?
Thus 'the business' is born. A dazzling new female-owned venture that will change the course of their lives--and shorten many others! And, for Meg and Jenny, it could allow them to experience a love they never thought possible . . .
A laugh out loud, feminist revenge story with horror elements. Readers will be clamoring for more from Mette Ivie Harrison.
Related: For even more nonfiction titles, memoirs and biographies that can open your mind and shift your perspective, check out our book recommendations for Lifelong Learners.