[Top Ten Tuesday] LGBTQIA+ BOOKS

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish but is currently being run by That Artsy Reader Girl. A prompt is given each week, and I hope to do it every week so I always have something going up on Tuesdays. This week I am talking about LGBTQ books that I love!

I couldn't think of any answers for today's prompt because I am not a huge fan of traveling, so I decided in honor of Pride Month I'd talk about some of my new favorite queer books! I have a previous post about some of my favorite queer books with queer authors that I will link right here, so I won't be talking about those books in my post but I do recommend them!

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy 

This book means a lot to me because around the time  I started reading it, around the time I was coming to terms with my sexuality instead of suppressing it. And this story is about a main character who is realizing how fluid sexuality can be. Since then I have came out as bi/demi but at the time I wasn't sure where I belonged and I definitely feel like Ramona Blue helped me.

Synopsis: 

Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever.

Since then, it’s been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she’s fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she’s destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever.

The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona’s friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon he’s talked her into joining him for laps at the pool. But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to wonder if perhaps she likes girls and guys or if this new attraction is just a fluke. Either way, Ramona will discover that, for her, life and love are more fluid than they seem.

Cloaked in Shadow by Ben Alderson 

I loved the characters and the gay relationship in this story! I don't think we have enough queer fantasy stories and I definitely think this is one of the best ones. I cannot wait to read the prequel and the sequel that comes out today!!

Synopsis:

Zacriah Trovirn is concerned with two things in life: hunting and dodging Petrer, the boy who broke his heart.

Heartbreak becomes a distant concern when Zacriah is taken to the Elven capital of Thessolina, where he is forced into King Dalior’s new legion of shapeshifters. But Zacriah isn’t a shapeshifter. In truth, he doesn't know what he is.

Zacriah joins forces with new friends and they soon find themselves embroiled in a clash between the three Elven continents. With war looming on the horizon, Zacriah must learn to use his latent power to fight and protect those he loves before they are destroyed.

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore 

I am not always on the Magical Realism train although I do want to keep trying new ones. This is definitely one of the best ones for me at least. This book is, for lack of a better term, magical! It's also queer, diverse, and heartbreaking. The visuals are gorgeous and I cannot recommend it enough, if you like magical realism.

Synopsis:

Love grows such strange things.

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh 

I will be recommending this book to EVERYONE forever. I am in love with the writing, characters, and the plot. The main character, Odessa, is bisexual and maybe my favorite literary bisexual character. I cannot recommend this book enough please read it!! 

Synopsis:

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

This is such a great book for bisexual rep and mental illness rep! Our main character is figuring out her sexuality while her little brother is dealing with a recent bipolar disorder diagnosis. I did have issues with some of the stuff in the story but it had nothing to do with the romance or the mental illness representation. So if you're looking for great rep for both of those topics I would recommend this book!

Synopsis:

When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn't sure if she'll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.

But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new...the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel's disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself--or worse.
 

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

When I went into this book I assumed it was going to be a cute f/f summery romance but it is so much more than that!! The romance is incredibly sweet and although they are infatuated with each other from the get go it still is incredibly slow burning. This story also deals with alcoholic parents, a
topic I do see here and there in YA but I think this is the best case I've read.


Synopsis:

All seventeen year-old Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn't have to scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid. Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.

Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls, both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a connection with Maggie. As Grace's mother spirals downward, both girls must figure out how to love and how to move on.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

This book stole my heart, broke my heart, and then basically killed me. It's one of the best books I've read and I cannot recommend it enough. The bisexual representation is one of the best,there's a m/m couple, the story tackles topics about how women have been treated in society but also in Hollywood, and it such an amazing feminist story. Read this!! 

Synopsis:

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire 

I originally DNFed this book when I picked it up for the first time. But I recently gave it another try and absolutely loved it. It has an asexual main character and it's written so well! There's also a well written trans character! If you have ever dreamed to live in one of your favorite fictional worlds (Hogwarts, Middle Earth, Narnia, etc), this book was written for you.

Synopsis: 

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell 

This book of queer short stories is so well put together. Like all anthologies, some I loved, some I liked, and some I didn't like. But I definitely think that this is one of the best short story collections! I am dying for some of the stories to become full fleshed out books.


Synopsis: 

Take a journey through time and genres and discover a past where queer figures live, love and shape the world around them. Seventeen of the best young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens.

From a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in war-torn 1870s Mexico featuring a transgender soldier, to two girls falling in love while mourning the death of Kurt Cobain, forbidden love in a sixteenth-century Spanish convent or an asexual girl discovering her identity amid the 1970s roller-disco scene, All Out tells a diverse range of stories across cultures, time periods and identities, shedding light on an area of history often ignored or forgotten.

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann 

This story is such a great example of biromantic asexuality representation and I know there aren't many stories with that rep so if you're looking for it I think this is one of the best ones. I love the female friendship in this story also! That's another thing I'd love to get more in young adult stories.

Synopsis:

Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting--working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual). Alice is done with dating--no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.

But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.

Thanks for reading!