In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Tuesday I’ll be posting interviews, opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx/WOC community since I am Latinx.) Welcome to Queerly Not Straight! Enjoy and leave a comment below if you have a suggestion for what I should cover next.
With winter here it’s time to start planning what we’ll be reading! From holiday romances to fantasy novels that will sweep you away, we’ve got you covered for the month of December with a list of LGBTQ+ books you should read.
Special shoutout goes to Netgalley, the premiere source of getting books in advance if you’re looking to review books. All the summary’s were sourced from Netgalley and we hope this helps get readers interested in these creative queer writers!
1. The Mellification by Nat Buchbinder
Summary: Holly is a young transgender vampire in an underground society that values patience as their principle virtue. But as Holly watches his community become more isolated and reluctant to act in the face of danger, he begins to question if it might be better to leave. THE MELLIFICATION begins with Holly’s request for a new name, a sacred rite of passage in his colony. Holly’s request is denied, and he is told by both his spiritual leader Hierophant Marlowe, and his lover Cain, that he must be more patient. But just outside the tranquil gates of Green Hill Cemetery— where these vampires make their home in elaborate hidden catacombs—hostile forces seek to wipe all vampires off the face of the Earth. Holly’s new goal is to escape this claustrophobic colony before it is too late.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
2. The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre by Robin Talley
Summary: Melody McIntyre, stage manager extraordinaire, has a plan for everything. What she doesn’t have? Success with love. Every time she falls for someone during a school performance, both the romance and the show end in catastrophe. So, Mel swears off any entanglements until their upcoming production of Les Mis is over.
Of course, Mel didn’t count on Odile Rose, rising star in the acting world, auditioning for the spring performance. And she definitely didn’t expect Odile to be sweet and funny, and care as much about the play’s success as Mel. Which means that Melody McIntyre’s only plan now is trying desperately not to fall in love.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
3. A Bridge of Love by Lee Colgin
Summary: Everyone knows a proper troll must never leave his post. Arlo is thrilled to have his own bridge to guard, though it’s a lonely job. A troll should enjoy being alone, but Arlo has never been very good at being a troll. He longs for companionship, but guards that secret like he guards his bridge.
Toby, a cheerful wolf shifter, serves as a messenger between villages. When his route is suddenly blocked by a fearsome troll, he must charm his way across the bridge. Little does he know, he’s charming his way into Arlo’s heart as well. But Toby has his own secrets he dare not reveal.
As the season’s fly by and the holidays approach, their friendship blooms and begins to flourish into something more. But can Toby risk his heart for a troll bound so tight to duty? Will Arlo leave his bridge for love?
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
4. Holidays in Blue by Eve Morton
Summary: When Cosmin Tessler’s radio show is canceled and Eric Campbell’s acting jobs dry up, they find themselves unexpectedly back in their old Toronto neighborhood…and back in each other’s lives years after they’d gone their separate ways. With a series of failed relationships and one ill-advised marriage behind them, both believe their chance for love has come and gone.
Luck, in the form of a massive ice storm, throws the former neighbors together again and they find themselves stranded, alone, for Christmas. Despite their difference in age, long-ago crushes and undeniable attraction prove too much to resist. But when the ice melts, only time will tell if their burgeoning romance will become just another missed chance—or a love story whose time has finally come.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
5. Love Changes Everything by Jaime Maddox
Summary: Dr. Samantha Brooks is having a midlife crisis. Her twin sons are about to go off to college, leaving her struggling to find direction. On top of that, she’s being deposed for a lawsuit. And just when it can’t get any worse, she finds out her lawyer is Kirby Fielding, the woman she had a brief but dazzling affair with just before starting medical school. Sam didn’t have the courage to follow her heart back then, or to reach out to Kirby since, but now she’s ready for a change. She only hopes Kirby will give her another chance to prove that love changes everything.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
6. If You Dare by Sandy Lowe
Summary: Lauren West is stuck. Stuck in her hometown over the holidays. Stuck in a Wi-Fi dead zone. Stuck watching her longtime crush make out with her ex-best-friend. The small town of Sunrise Falls thrives on gossip, and everyone’s talking about the mess she’s made of her life back in San Francisco. One festively decorated bar and two vodka tonics later, a game of truth or dare seems like just the thing to distract her. Until the dare to seduce the next woman who walks through the door brings her face-to-face with librarian Emma Prescott.
Emma’s a good girl with a mind dirty enough to make a sex worker blush. A painful experience as a teenager has left her anxious and afraid of her own desire, but when gorgeous Lauren West kisses her senseless, Emma thinks maybe she’s finally found the perfect person to help her break free. That is, until Lauren comes clean about what really turns her on and reveals passions far darker than Emma ever anticipated.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
7. From the Woods by Charlotte Greene
Summary: When Fiona’s friends drag her along on a two-week backpacking trip in the remote Colorado mountains, she’s pleasantly surprised to learn that she’ll be spending that entire trip with their attractive trail guide, Roz.
Once in the woods, however, far from anything resembling civilization, something or someone comes for them. With their lives in danger, Fiona and Roz are forced to set off on their own to look for help, drawing the threat from the woods and away from their friends but directly toward them.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
8. All I Want for Christmas by Georgia Beers, Maggie Cummings, and Fiona Riley
Summary: In Triple Dog Dare by Georgia Beers, Sasha Wolfe has been talking up her new girlfriend to her overbearing mother for months, and when her skeptical sister dares her to invite this new squeeze over for family Christmas, Sasha accepts the challenge. After all, how hard can it be to bring your nonexistent girlfriend home for the holidays?
In Hustle & Bustle by Maggie Cummings, Hannah Monroe is ready to dazzle customers with her pop-up shop at NYC’s winter holiday market. NYPD beat cop Toby Beckett, who just wants to protect and serve, barely notices the spirit of the season until events keep pushing her into Hannah’s path.
In A Christmas Miracle by Fiona Riley, Mira Donahue’s bar, Mirage, is the hottest Christmas party venue in Boston, despite Mira’s secret: she hates Christmas. When self-described Queen of Carols Courtney Rivers books Mirage for her company’s holiday party, she clashes with Mira over the plans. Then a freak storm strands them in the bar, and more than miracles abound.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
9. 16 Steps to Forever by Georgia Beers
Summary: If there’s one thing Brooke Sullivan knows for sure it’s that people let you down, but that hasn’t stopped her from going after the life she wants. In a new city, with a new job and a new start as a high-end real estate agent, she’s finally back on her feet. The last thing she needs is a distraction. Not her volatile neighbors, not a damn stray cat, and certainly not the flaky, infuriatingly adorkable girl-next-door property stager she has to work with.
Macy C arr believes in soul mates and true love. She knows because she had it all until a freak accident took the love of her life. She’s doing okay though, surrounded by her family, her animals, and her BFFs. Home staging gives her a sense of control, and she’s made her job her happy place. If only the super sexy, super cold new agent working for Macy’s biggest client wasn’t determined to ruin that.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
10. Right Move by A.M. Arthur
Summary: Levi Peletier is settled—for now. With his life on the rodeo circuit reined in, he’s content doing trick riding demos for tourists at Clean Slate Ranch and spending his off-hours with three finicky felines. It’s a life he’s grateful for, one that keeps his heart safe.
George Thompson couldn’t be less like the ruggedly sexy Levi. A onetime figure skating star, he’s hung up his skates to live in introverted anonymity in San Francisco. An effort to shake up his regular routine finds him at Thanksgiving dinner, dude ranch style, and he immediately falls in love with the gorgeous view—the wide-open spaces and big blue sky aren’t bad, either. The country cowboy and the stay-put city boy strike up an unlikely friendship that blossoms into something more. But getting attached is a bad idea. Because the open road is calling to Levi, and it’s a call George can’t imagine answering. When the past catches up to them, this odd couple will have to decide if a future together is worth fighting for.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
Queerly Not Straight posts every Tuesday with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.)