In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Sunday I’ll be posting interviews, opinion pieces, listicles, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx 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 Spring almost here, there’s plenty to read this April. From classic retellings to Hollywood romances and cat & mouse games with a spy twist, we’ve got you covered for the month of April with a list of LGBTQ+ books you should check out.
A special shoutout goes to Netgalley, the premier source of getting books in advance if you’re looking to review books. All the summaries were sourced from Netgalley (and from Amazon) and we hope this helps get readers interested in these creative queer writers!
1. The Hummingbird Sanctuary by Erin Zak
Summary: Enjoy your vacation at the Hummingbird Sanctuary, Colorado’s hottest resort destination. Come for the mountains, stay for the charm, and enjoy the drama as Olive, Eleanor, and Harriet figure out their lives, their loves, and the meaning of true friendship.
Owning and operating the Hummingbird Sanctuary was supposed to be the best time of Olive Zyntarski’s life. She was going to tackle the future with eyes wide open and forget about her guilty conscience. All that changes when a chance meeting with a mysterious new guest has Olive’s long-buried secrets bubbling to the surface.
As marketing director, Eleanor Fitzwallace knows how to present everything in its best light, everything except her nonexistent love life. When her high school heartbreak unexpectedly saunters into the Sanctuary’s restaurant, Eleanor’s determined to ignore her. She wants real love, and people don’t change, do they?
After hitting rock bottom, Harriet Marshall made a promise to herself: no more one-night stands that make her feel bad about herself. She’s determined to turn her life around, and that means focusing on keeping the Sanctuary’s restaurant and bar hip, trendy, and booked solid. So, of course, she meets the most gorgeous woman ever, and everything changes.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
2. Secret Agent by Michelle Larkin
Summary: Rogue agent Zoey Blackwood is having the time of her life traveling the world and evading the CIA’s capture. Her wisecracking humor keeps things light, but her mission is no joke: save millions of innocent lives that the US considers expendable in the wake of a deadly virus. Giving away the vaccine’s top-secret formula when the government plans to sell it lands her squarely on the CIA’s most-wanted list.
CIA Agent Peyton North’s mission is simple: apprehend Zoey and return her to headquarters. Peyton gives chase, ready to do whatever it takes to catch her. But every time she thinks she has Zoey cornered, the smart-ass agent pulls off another clever escape.
Sparks ignite between them during their cat-and-mouse trek around the globe. A bond is forged and loyalties are tested as their sizzling attraction approaches a point of no return.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
3. The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann
Summary: Thirty, flirty, and asexual Joy is secretly in love with her best friend Malcolm, but she’s never been brave enough to say so. When he unexpectedly announces that he’s met the love of his life—and no, it’s not Joy—she’s heartbroken. Malcolm invites her on a weekend getaway, and Joy decides it’s her last chance to show him exactly what he’s overlooking. But maybe Joy is the one missing something…or someone…and his name is Fox.
Fox sees a kindred spirit in Joy—and decides to help her. He proposes they pretend to fall for each other on the weekend trip to make Malcolm jealous. But spending time with Fox shows Joy what it’s like to not be the third wheel, and there’s no mistaking the way he makes her feel. Could Fox be the romantic partner she’s always deserved?
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
4. Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch
Summary: High school junior Blaine Bowers has it all—the perfect boyfriend, a pretty sweet gig as a muralist for local Windy City businesses, a loving family, and awesome, talented friends. And he is absolutely, 100% positive that aforementioned perfect boyfriend—senior student council president and Mr. Popular of Wicker West High School, Joey—is going to invite Blaine to spend spring break with his family in beautiful, sunny Cabo San Lucas.
Except Joey breaks up with him instead. In public. On their one-year anniversary.
Because, according to Joey, Blaine is too goofy, too flighty, too…unserious. And if Joey wants to go far in life, he needs to start dating more serious guys. Guys like Zach Chesterton.
Determined to prove that Blaine can be what Joey wants, Blaine decides to enter the running to become his successor (and beat out Joey’s new boyfriend, Zach) as senior student council president. But is he willing to sacrifice everything he loves about himself to do it?
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
5. Standom by Maryn Scott
Summary: Singer-turned-actress Sara Silver is thrilled when producer Mika Williams offers her the role of a lesbian detective in a hot new series. And with in-demand actresses Christina Landis and Abby Farina onboard, the show is sure to be a hit. But when Christina’s personal life gets in the way of her performance, and she exits the show in a wave of bury-your-gays backlash, Abby moves into the role as Sara’s love interest.
Totally fine. Except for that secret post-fundraiser kiss they haven’t talked about, and the fact Abby is supposedly straight.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
6. The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe
Summary: Janelle Monáe and an incredible array of talented collaborating creators have written a collection of tales comprising the bold vision and powerful themes that have made Monáe such a compelling and celebrated storyteller. Dirty Computer introduced a world in which thoughts—as a means of self-conception—could be controlled or erased by a select few. And whether human, A.I., or other, your life and sentience was dictated by those who’d convinced themselves they had the right to decide your fate.
That was until Jane 57821 decided to remember and break free.
Expanding from that mythos, these stories fully explore what it’s like to live in such a totalitarian existence…and what it takes to get out of it. Building off the traditions of speculative writers such as Octavia Butler, Ted Chiang, Becky Chambers, and Nnedi Okorafor—and filled with the artistic genius and powerful themes that have made Monáe a worldwide icon in the first place—The Memory Librarian serves readers tales grounded in the human trials of identity expression, technology, and love, but also reaching through to the worlds of memory and time within, and the stakes and power that exists there.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
7. Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco; Robert Siebert
Summary: Before becoming the actor, producer, advocate, and model that people know today, Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens, New York. At the hospital one day after he was born, Nyle “failed” his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents.
In this engrossing memoir, Nyle shares stories, both heartbreaking and humorous, of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people. From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now, Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him. A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington, DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting, and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions.
Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir, it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language, Nyle’s primary language. Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers, parents, and grandparents, Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
8. Love, Hate & Clickbait by Liz Bowery
Summary: Cutthroat political consultant Thom Morgan is thriving, working on the governor of California’s presidential campaign. If only he didn’t have to deal with Clay Parker, the infuriatingly smug data analyst who gets under Thom’s skin like it’s his job. In the midst of one of their heated and very public arguments, a journalist snaps a photo, but the image makes it look like they’re kissing. As if that weren’t already worst-nightmare territory, the photo goes viral—and in a bid to secure the liberal vote, the governor asks them to lean into it. Hard.
Thom knows all about damage control—he practically invented it. Ever the professional, he’ll grin and bear this challenge as he does all others. But as the loyal staffers push the boundaries of “giving the people what they want,” the animosity between them blooms into something deeper and far more dangerous: desire. Soon their fake relationship is hurtling toward something very real, which could derail the campaign and cost them both their jobs…and their hearts.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
9. Like a House on Fire by Lauren McBrayer
Summary: After twelve years of marriage and two kids, Merit has begun to feel like a stranger in her own life. She loves her husband and sons, but she desperately needs something more than sippy cups and monthly sex. So, she returns to her career at Jager + Brandt, where a brilliant and beautiful Danish architect named Jane decides to overlook the “break” in Merit’s résumé and give her a shot.
Jane is a supernova—witty and dazzling and unapologetically herself—and as the two work closely together, their relationship becomes a true friendship. In Jane, Merit sees the possibility of what a woman could be. And Jane sees Merit exactly for who she is. Not the wife and mother dutifully performing the roles expected of her, but a whole person.
Their relationship quickly becomes a cornerstone in Merit’s life. And as Merit starts to open her mind to the idea of more—more of a partner, more of a match, more out of love—she begins to question: What if the love of her life isn’t the man she married. What if it’s Jane?
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
10. A Veil of Gods and Kings by Nicole Bailey
Summary: Apollo is a deity… almost. Half mortal and refusing to take his position as god of the sun, he spends his nights drowning out haunting memories and his days avoiding responsibilities.
Until his father forces him into an ultimatum: Ascend immediately. Or spend the year mentoring under the obnoxious Prince Hyacinth.
Forced together, Apollo and Hyacinth grapple with their mutual disdain for each other. But what starts as a kindling of irritation begins to burn into something new. A spark that, if it turns to flame, could incinerate everything they’ve always protected.
Get it HERE. Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
What did you think about these LGBTQ+ books for April? Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below!
Queerly Not Straight posts every Sunday with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.)