Essential LGBTQ+ Reads for National Read a Book Day
| 09/06/23
Celebrate the bookworm’s favorite holiday by opening up one of these hand-selected queer books.
Today is National Read a Book Day, which means it’s time to take some time for yourself with a good book, curled up getting lost in a new world. There are so many great LGBTQ+ books to enjoy, especially fated love that make these final days of summer much more romantic. From queer romances to stories of self-discovery, our site editors have chosen the hottest LGBTQ+ books to check out on a day all about reading.
Below you’ll find a selection of various books from Amazon that our editors have hand-selected for your bookshelf. Check them out and get to reading!
The editors of equalpride who publish this site selected these products and equalpride may earn a small affiliate share if you purchase which helps push our voice to more LGBTQ+ and increase print magazines to counter banned printed books.
Top LGBTQ+ Novels Chosen By Site Editors
First on our list of chosen LGBTQ+ books is the novel that spawned one of Prime Video's most successful original movies. Red, White & Royal Blue follows the First Son of the United States of America and the Prince of Wales as they navigate a relationship that finds them first as rivals and then true friends, before something more blossoms between them. Questions like how powerful is love and how do we find the courage to be our true selves are answered in this hilarious, soulful, and sexy book.
Heartstopper has been a major hit with the LGBTQ+ community. This four-volume book set has been the inspiration for one of Netflix's most popular and charming LGBTQ+ TV series, and now you can purchase them all as a box set on Amazon to celebrate the warm and tender love story between teens Nick and Charlie and the many situations that arise from their romance.
Are you ready for your next first love and self-acceptance classic? And They Lived... follows budding animator Chase Arthur, a queer hopeless romantic recovering from an eating disorder, and pragmatic poet Jack Reid who begins to question his sexuality after meeting Chase. External forces and internal battles threaten the romance between these two, but you'll be nothing but absorbed reading this fairytale-inspired YA novel.
It's refreshing reading I'm So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson. The novel follows aspiring journalist Kian Andrews and his ex-boyfriend Hudson Rivers as they navigate their relationship post-break-up in this swoony romantic comedy that opens the door for second chances. A multi-award winning novel, I'm So (Not) Over You is a liberating story of two POC protagonists who aren't too quick to give up on another chance at love.
Fans of The Bachelor, this one is for you with a gay twist! The Charm Offensive follows reality dating show producer Dev Deshpande as he tries to craft the perfect fairytale endings for his contestants even though he can't find luck in his own love life. When he has to work with the stiff and awkward disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw, Dev realizes that he has the chance to tell his own fairytale love story when Charlie likes him instead. But will he is the question Alison Cochrun proposes. Sweeping and witty, The Charm Offensive is a winning romantic comedy to read.
Shop Red, White & Royal Blue on Amazon starting at $10.38.
Shop Heartstopper on Amazon starting at $59.99.
Shop And They Lived... on Amazon starting at $10.10.
Top LGBTQ+ Novels Chosen By Site Editors cont.
There's something quintessentially charming about a British romcom, and Boyfriend Material is no exception. Alexis Hall's fun and frothy romantic comedy follows famous bad boy Luc O'Donnell who is in need of an image rehabilitation. In barrister Oliver Blackwood, Luc finds his chance to clean up. Although the two have nothing in common, they decide to pretend to date. Will fake dating lead to the real thing? Read and find out.
Are you ready to be devastated? There is no love without loss and no life without death, and that truth is beautifully explored in Adam Silvera's bestselling novel They Both Die at the End. Fated to die at the end of the day, Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio meet each other on an app to spend their final day together, exploring an entire lifetime in a single day. Uplifting and a tour de force, They Both Die at the End is an affirming love story for the ages.
The Darkness Outside Us is a thrilling sci-fi romance that infuses a space-set romance between sworn enemies with a perilous rescue mission where love might be the only way to survive. Similar in tone to They Both Die at the End, this award-winning novel from New York Times Bestselling author Eliot Schrefer will keep you on the edge of your seats as you fall in love with this tender love story.
Mason Deaver's stunning debut novel is an essential story for nonbinary readers looking for a love story to call their own. I Wish You All the Best follows Ben De Backer, a nonbinary teen thrown out by their parents when they come out. Trying to survive their final year at a new school, Ben is taken under the wing of funny and charismatic Nathan Allan who's feelings for his new friend begin to grow into something more. A beacon of hope in the face of tragedy, I Wish You All the Best is a celebration of life that can't be missed.
Shop Boyfriend Material on Amazon starting at $9.74.
Shop They Both Die at the End on Amazon starting at $13.40.
Top LGBTQ+ Novels Chosen By Site Editors cont.
In Man o' War, Cory McCarthy crafts an emotionally engaging character in River McIntyre, an Arab American trans teen trying to keep their head above water in a landlocked Midwestern town. When they meet Indigo "Indy" Waits on a class field trip, a journey of self-discovery, coming out, and transition takes place that turns this novel into an essential book for trans readers.
Ever since The Great Gatsby entered public domain, there was bound to be a queer reimagining of the classic text. In Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix, Anna-Marie McLemore crafts a brilliant take on the famous story, reimagining Nick and Jay Gatsby as trans men trying to achieve success in the Big Apple. As Gatsby tries to win back his love, Daisy, Nick assists but finds himself falling in love with the open and idealist man that Gatsby is. Talk about the love triangle The Great Gatsby always needed!
Finally a wlw story fit for the enemies to lovers trope. She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen is a queer love story that follows seventeen-year-old Scottie Zajac as she deals with the fallout of a humiliating break-up and a run-in with her ex-girlfriend's nemesis, Irene. What starts out as frosty between Scottie and Irene soon thaws into a blooming love story when the two fake date to get back at a common enemy.
Another great enemies to lovers novel is Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert, which follows effortlessly popular Conrad Stewart and his rival, the poster for perfection that is Alden Roth. During a road trip, a romance blossoms that could lead to something magical if the two boys don't let their pride get in the way, and the two realize that neither is as perfect as they seem. Effortless and breezy, Conventionally Yours is the perfect late-summer romance to curl up with.
Shop Man o' War on Amazon starting at $11.39.
Shop Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix on Amazon starting at $18.61.
Top LGBTQ+ Novels Chosen By Site Editors cont.
One of Out's favorite authors is Douglas Stuart, a novelist who always tells a well-constructed and intimate story that is always powerful and important to tell. His debut, Bain, tells the story of Hugh "Shuggie" Bain, and his life growing up in Thatcher's Scotland. What follows is a story of addiction, sexuality, and love. A monumental follow-up to Bain is Stuart's lyrical ode to people rarely acknowledged in the literary world with Young Mungo. In his second novel, Stuart follows the deep friendship between Mungo and James in Glasgow. What's explored in Young Mungo is a revealing story on the bounds of masculinity and the violence faced by many queer people who love someone too much.
A beautiful and quirky fairytale-like story takes the form of House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune who explores the nature of found families and marginalized identity in a magical story filled with adventure and wonder. A great story for readers of all ages, House in the Cerulean Sea is a multi-bestseller and shows the importance of connection between all kinds of people.
To end our editor's list, we wanted to choose the perfect children's book that we would read to our own kids. Heather Has Two Mommies is a heartfelt and educational book for young readers to teach all about how families can be different, but that doesn't mean they're anything less than a family. With beautiful illustrations, read to your young ones this story filled with joy and love for all.
Shop Bain on Amazon starting at $10.59.
Shop Young Mungo on Amazon starting at $14.89.
Shop House in the Cerulean Sea on Amazon starting at $10.89.
