LGBTQIA+

Encore

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by Miles Toriko Burks
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: June 2, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is some swearing and talking about sex. It will be in the Teen Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

It’s senior year, and Clay is determined to have a good year, surrounded by friends. But when his ex-best friend, Aron, suddenly appears in Clay’s theater class and (gasp) they are paired together, Clay isn’t sure where he stands. Especially since Aron is acting like nothing happened between them (and that he didn’t ghost Clay). As Clay and Aron spend more time together, Clay starts neglecting his current friends, and things spiral out of control. Can Clay save his friendships before it’s too late? (And what ARE those feelings he’s been having for Aron?)

The thing I kept thinking while reading this was that it was very much an American Heartstopper. Which is a compliment! I liked the characters, I liked their friendships, and I liked Aron’s journey to realizing his feelings for Clay and who he is as a person. I liked Clay’s journey to get past old hurt and to trust Aron again. I liked that it was effortlessly queer, and I liked the theater setting. It was all just joyful and fun.

I hope that Burke writes more, either with these characters or with new ones, because he is a talented artist, and I’d love to see more!

Audiobook: How to Fake it in Society

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by KJ Charles
Read by Will Watt
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen on Libro.fm
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some fade-to-black sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Titus Pilcrow is the fifth son of a wealthy (now dead) English landowner, and so has had to make his own way in the world. He was given an apprenticeship in making paints for artists, something he has come to love, and even has his own ship. Except that his landlord (a former lover) is raising the rent. Titus is pretty despondent, and when he goes to collect a bill from a wealthy customer, he is roped into her dying wish: marry her, inherit her fortune, so she can cut her despicable nephew off.

The problem was: she was going to marry Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte. So when Nico comes back from a business trip to find the woman dead and another man in his place, he’s a bit… upset. Especially since he and his cousin owe a money lender 2,000 pounds. So, of course, he’s going to find his way into Titus’s good graces. What he didn’t expect was to fall in love.

There was so much silliness in this one, and I found it absolutely delightful. Titus goes from a beleaguered and battered man – a terrible father and older brother as well as a cruel lover will do that to a man – to a more confident person because of Nico’s influence. And Nico learns to trust. And in between there are fabulous clothes, art, outrageous French accents, and a whole lot of delight. I really enjoyed this one a lot. It was silly, yet there was an undercurrent of seriousness (especially when Titus’s former lover was trying to blackmail him) and the reminder that not even wealthy people are exempt from people taking advantage of them.

An absolute delight of a book.

Audiobook: Pole Position

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by Rebecca J Caffrey
Read by Joshua Chase & James Joseph
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen on Libro.fm
Content: There’s a lot of swearing, including many f-bombs. There’s talk of sex and on-page sex scenes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Are we here for gay sports books? Yes. Yes, we are.

Kian Walker is the reigning F1 World Champion, and he has so much going for him. He’s methodical, prepared, focused, and the best in the world. Harper James is the exact opposite. A talented driver, but a party boy – he’s determined to never let anyone close enough to find out what demons he’s chasing. So when he ends up in the second driver position with Kian, sparks fly. And it doesn’t help that they feel this…. attraction. It’s not going to be an easy season for either of them.

I picked this up – I’ve had it kicking around for a while – because F1 started up again! So why not celebrate with a little gay F1 romance? It’s not deep, though they deal with abandonment issues and the trauma from bad parents, as well as the death of a parent. I did like the F1 references- sure, the teams were made up, but I think Caffrey captured the intensity of the sport and the way the drivers make decisions on and off the track. It’s probably not entirely accurate, but for a mid-level fan like me, it fit the bill. And I did like Kian and Harper’s relationship. I liked the push and pull and the way they eventually came to trust one another. And the narrators kept me engaged when the plot wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be.

So, was it great? No. But it was a lot of fun, which was excatly what I was looking for.

A Prince Among Pirates

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by Katie Abdou
First sentence: “Canon fire before breakfast is obscene – and waking up to it an atrocity.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: June 16, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is some violence, and lots of drinking (well, they are pirates). There are inferences to sex, but none actual. It will be in the Young Adult section of the bookstore.

Kit – otherwise known as Christopher-Henry – has spent his whole life living under his father’s thumb and in his shadow. The last thing he wants to do is marry the woman his father has picked out, even if she’s of a higher station than he is, and would increase his status in the English upper crust of the 1700s. So, he does the only thing he can think of: he runs away to the port and picks the first ship he sees to board. He charms (of sorts) his way on and convinces the crew that he can be of use. Two problems, though: 1 – the ship is captained by the charming and desirable Reggie Swan, and Kit finds himself smitten. And 2 – it’s a pirate ship. Kit finds a home and friends on the ship there, and will do anything to help and protect his shipmates, especially when his past catches up with him.

I picked this one up because the markup notes mentioned Our Flag Means Death, and oh, this scratched that itch. It’s not deep, it’s not historically accurate (it’s accurate-ish), it’s mostly just a lot of fun, which is exactly what I wanted out of it. I liked Kit’s growth arc, and the characters of all the pirates on the ship. I’m also here for any book that has me sailing around the Caribbean, experiencing the open air and the sea. It’s a delight of a book, and one that will make a perfect summer romance read.

Canon

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by Paige Lewis
First sentence: “On the day God arrived with His Big Mission, He found Yara preparing to leap, fully clothed, into the Spring River.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: May 19, 2026
Content: There is reference to sexual assault, some swearing, including f-bombs, and lots of violence. It will be in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

This is a hard one to describe. It’s an Epic Story, the story of a Final Battle and a Quest to stop it, of Discovery and of God and Humanity. There is a plot: there’s a Bad Guy and Yara is tasked by God to kill him. They go on a journey to get there – and the journey is the point. There is also a Prophet, Adrena, who wants to be a part of the Battle and goes on her own Journey to reach the end.

It’s a Lot of a book. I really liked it at first – there’s a lot of humor (the whale named HOWBIG is quite amusing) and just a lot of the over-the-top-ness of it all. But, I think this is meant to be read quickly (and it goes fast, despite its length), because I put it down for a couple of days, and it lost momentum. I thought it kind of lost direction near the end (but it may be that I missed the satire of it all); it wasn’t as satisfying as I was hoping it would be.

That said, it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and I think Lewis is a brilliant writer. It’s worth reading for the experience of reading it.

Heated Rivalry

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by Rachel Reid
First sentence: “Shane Holland was as close to losing it as he ever allowed himself to get.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: Oh. So much sex. So. Much. Every chapter, on page, lots and lots of sex. All the spice. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Shane Hollander is one of the best hockey players in the NHL. The only player who even comes close is Ilya Rozanov, who has been Shane’s nemesis since their rookie year. He has also, for better or worse, been Shane’s obsession. And his secret lover. What happens when their secret threatens to get out? Will it ruin their careers? Can they move their relationship into something more? (Do we care?)

Okay, yes, I picked this up because of the TV show and everyone is talking about it and I got curious. I am not proud of this decision. It is, objectively, by many measures (one being the couple of times they repeated entire paragraphs on the same page…) not a good book. This writing will not win awards. The chapters (for more than half of the book!) went hockey, sex, shame. We’re playing hockey against each other; we’re so angry and aroused. We have sex. But it’s bad to have sex with another man, we feel ashamed. For more than 100 pages. And yet, I kept reading.

Why? No idea. Except that I was still curious, and it wasn’t bad enough (or maybe it was the right kind of bad?) for me to put down. And the character development did happen somewhat in the second half of the book. Shane got a clue about his sexuality. Ilya stopped being Tough Russian Guy all the time. It’s never going to make my best-of list, and I do feel less intelligent for having read it, but I have to admit: my curiosity about the gay hockey thing is satiated.

We Burned So Bright

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by TJ Klune
First sentence: “Don switched off the television.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: April 28, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs. There is also discussion of suicide, murder, and violence. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy bookstore.

The world is ending. A black hole is coming, and there is no way to stop it. So, it’s just acceptance. Except everyone is facing it differently. For Don and Rodney, this means driving from Maine to the Pacific Coast to fulfill their obligations. Along the way, they meet a myriad of people, all dealing with the end of the world in their own way.

This was such a depressing book, especially for Klune. I suppose it’s because I’m used to end-of-the-world stories where humanity has hope of surviving. But, when faced with a black hole? Nothing. It’s nihilistic, in many ways. And yet, because it’s Klune, this was hopeful and touching, Don and Rodney had a beautiful life together, despite the challenges they faced being gay. They loved each other, supported each other and they were ready to face the end together. And Klune is a very astute observer of humanity, and every character, no matter how long we interacted with them, felt real.

So, no, it won’t be my favorite Klune book, but it’s absolutely worth reading.

First-Time Caller

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by B. K .Borison
First sentence: “Love is a lie.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some on-page sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Aiden is the host of a local call-in Romance advice show in Baltimore, but he’s lost his way. He’s gotten snippy with the callers, lost his will to care about their problems, and – possibly worst of all – has lost his faith in love.

Lucie is a single mom who’s not unhappy with her life. She’s co-parenting with her child’s dad and his husband, she’s got a good job as a mechanic. Except her 12-year-old daughter thinks differently. So, when her daughter calls in to Aiden’s show asking for help with her mom’s love life, he’s intrigued. And, after getting annoyed/upset/frustrated, Lucie is also intrigued. And what if, in the middle of trying to find someone for Lucie, they discover that maybe they don’t want to find someone else?

I haven’t read Borison’s work before, but I loved the cover of this one (yes, I do judge a book by it’s cover sometimes), and so I picked it up when it was on sale at the store. And I wasn’t disappointed! It’s such a delightful romance, with everything I want: fun characters, snappy dialogue, and a romance worth having (plus some spicy scenes!). It’s a good thing I liked this, because I have her other two books on my pile to read as well!

Audiobook: Every Step She Takes

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by Alison Cochran
Read by: Cindy Kay & Jeremy Carlisle Parker
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and on-page sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Sadie Wells needs a change. She’s been running her grandmother’s antique store (which was left to her when grandma died) since she was 21, and at 35, she feels stuck. So, when her travel-influencer younger sister gets a broken foot, Sadie jumps at the chance to take her place walking Portugal’s Camino de Santiago as part of a tour.

Mal, who had a falling out with her father 20 years ago, is back in Portugal on the heels of a breakup with her girlfriend, and is avoiding the aftermath of her father’s death (and his leaving his wine company to her). She has sworn off falling for yet another girl, and yet there is Sadie, who is having a gay awakening, and Mal can’t seem to resist the pull.

Can Sadie find herself and maybe help Mal make a change along the way?

I have decided that it really doesn’t matter what Cochran writes. I will read it. This was delightful – found family, discovering oneself, and travel in a gorgeous country, coupled with Cochran’s trademark wit and depth. I adored everything about this, from the delightful narrators to the story. Here’s to late bloomers and people discovering their authentic selves.

I loved it.

Joy to the Girls

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by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
First sentence: “I push through the heavy wooden doors out of the Cathedral of Learning, my last exam of the term finally complete.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: Sept 30, 2025
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some fade-to-black sex. It’s in the YA Romance/Holiday section of the bookstore.

Alex and Molly are nearly done with college, and they both have plans for the future. The problem is that neither one of them has talked to the other about said plans. Alex wants to move in together; Molly wants to go to King’s College in London for an MFA. On top of that, it’s winter holiday, and their friend May has invited them and their other mutual friend, Cora (who has a crush on May), to her hometown, which happens to be all-in on Christmas. Can Alex and Molly make it through the trip with their secrets and their relationship intact (while also setting Cora and May up).

I’ll admit up front that I haven’t read the book that this novella is a spin-off of, and so maybe I’m missing something when it comes to character development. Because while this was cute, it was lacking. I was constantly annoyed that Alex and Molly just DIDN’T TALK TO EACH OTHER, and I felt not quite enough was spent on Cora and May getting together. (Also, there was a definite lack of figure skating.) It was cute, but not cute enough to make me really love it. Maybe if I were the intended audience (read: a fan of the first book) it would have sat differently.