23 LGBTQ Books Out April 9, 2024
Including a trans M/M baseball romance, a vampire roller derby graphic novel, an ace/aro nautical adventure, and lots more.
Today’s Our Queerest Shelves is brought to you by: Blackstone Publishing and Kalie Holford
A Queer YA Mamma Mia for fans of Nina LaCour, Laura Taylor Namey, and Emma Lord!
After high school graduation, Mia Peters faces a summer full of painful goodbyes. Everyone she knows is moving on, including Britt, her biggest supporter...and kind-of-sort-of-girlfriend. But she refuses to follow in the footsteps of her late mother—country music star Tori Rose—who abandoned her family to pursue her dream. Desperate for a sign of what might lie ahead, Mia finds a mysterious letter from the past, addressed to her in her mother’s handwriting. One-by-one, more letters lead Mia on a wild scavenger hunt to discoveries she never expected. Find out more about Blackstone Publishing and Kalie Holford here!
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According to my spreadsheet, there have been at least 300 notable LGBTQ releases so far this year — and that’s far from a complete list. It definitely doesn’t include every self-published queer ebook published in 2024 so far. That’s huge! Even narrowing it down to my personal tastes, my TBR is still overflowing. But there are worse problems to have than an abundance of great queer books to read. Speaking of, let’s jump into the most exciting new LGBTQ books out this week!
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New LGBTQ Releases This Week
Our sponsor today is also out this week!
Spring on the Peninsula by Ery Shin (Queer Fiction)
Kai is a millennial office worker in Seoul mourning the end of his relationship. We follow him through gay bars, bathhouses, and the countryside as he struggles with a drug addiction and suicidal thoughts. Author Rubén Gallo calls it a “beautifully written, lyrical account of gender-bending erotic adventures south of the demilitarized zone.”
The Prospects by KT Hoffman (Trans M/M Romance)
This is one of the biggest queer romance novel releases of the year. Sports romances are having a moment right now, and this trans M/M baseball romance is getting a lot of buzz. It doesn’t hurt that it also has a great cover. When rivals Gene and Luis end up on the same team, they struggle to get along as teammates — but soon, those feelings turn into something much more inconvenient.
A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland (Sapphic Folkloric Historical Fantasy)
One thing about me is that I can’t resist a sapphic mermaid or selkie story — and there aren’t nearly enough sapphic selkie stories. In 19th century Nova Scotia, midwife Jean wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of a woman screaming. She finds a stranger outside who is in labor as a storm rages. She brings the woman, Muirin, in to help her, but when Muirin’s husband arrives, Jean is suspicious of him. As she tries to uncover the mystery of this couple, she begins to fall for Muirin — and unwittingly puts her and the baby in danger.
Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa (M/M YA Contemporary)
You might remember this from the excerpt that went out last week! Rafael didn’t plan to move and change schools for his senior year. Still, he expects to take the lead vocalist spot in his new school’s Mariachi group — after all, he led his group to eleven consecutive first-place finishes. But there’s a complication: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist…and it’s the guy he kissed eight months ago.
The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella (Asexual and Aromantic YA Adventure)
I was sold on this book by a tweet from the author that describes the main character Ophelia as the “aroace daughter of a pirate queen who joins the navy because her only true love is the sea.” Betsy is Ophelia’s nervous half-sister, who tracks down Ophelia to try to bring her home when their father falls ill so that they can save the family business. There’s just one small complication: Ophelia joined the Navy under Betsy’s name — it turns out they’re not big fans of the children of pirates — and if they find out she’s been lying, she’ll be executed. Now Betsy has to set sail to save Ophelia from the authorities and get them both home safe.
Blood City Rollers by V. P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill (Sapphic Middle Grade Fantasy Graphic Novel)
This is a middle grade graphic novel starring Mina, an ice skater who gets recruited to a vampire roller derby team to be their mandatory human teammate. We’ve all been there. Now she has to learn both the rules of roller derby and the rules of the paranormal world…while also developing a crush on her team captain.
When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll (Sapphic Vampire Graphic Novel) (Rerelease)
I had to read this book as an inter-library loan because it was so difficult to find, so I am very excited that it’s been re-released! This is a sexy, unsettling sapphic vampire graphic novel that is exactly what you’d expect from Emily Carroll. The page layouts are so beautiful I’d want them framed on my wall — if they weren’t so creepy. I will be buying it myself this week.
✨ Paid subscribers can find more LGBTQ books out this week at the end of this post! ✨
For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter and the New Release Index — you can even filter by queer books!
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Queer Bookish Goodies
In honor of the two queer vampire graphic novels out this week, here’s a set of All Vampires Are Gay / There is No Such Thing as a Heterosexual Vampire enamel pins. $17
That's it for me! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog the Lesbrary. You can hear me on All the Books, and you can also read my Book Riot posts and subscribe to my other Book Riot newsletter, Read Harder.
Happy reading!
Danika
16 More LGBTQ Books Out This Week
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