The Most Exciting LGBTQ Releases Out This Week!
From sapphic historical fiction to queer horror to gay romantic thrillers, here are the biggest queer new releases this week!
Today’s Our Queerest Shelves is brought to you by: A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui
You can check out of Room 9, but you can never leave. The room is watching. But Mira and Layla don't know this yet. When the best friends are stranded on spring break, they find themselves at the Wildwood Motel. Mira can't shake the feeling there is something wrong. She's haunted by nightmares of her dead brother. When she wakes up, he's still there. Layla doesn't see him or notice anything suspicious. But when they learn eight people died in that same room, they have to find the connection before Mira becomes the ninth. Find out more about A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui here!
I hope you like sapphic books, because this week’s new releases is stacked with them. We also have Chuck Tingle’s horror debut out today! How exciting.
Today, I want to highlight Black Trans Liberation, an organization celebrating and empowering trans Black people. You can donate through Venmo or CashApp, and you can learn more on their Instagram.
What do S.A. Cosby, Khaled Hosseini, Sarah Bakewell, and Yahdon Israel have in common? They've been guests on Book Riot's newest podcast, First Edition, where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O'Neal explores the wide bookish world. Subscribe to hear them and stay to hear Book Riot's editors pick the "it" book of the month.
New LGBTQ Releases This Week
Counting Lost Stars by Kim van Alkemade (Sapphic Historical Fiction)
This is a book told in two timelines: in 1960s New York, Rita Klein is a young computer programmer who is pressured by the Hudson Home for Unwed Mothers to give up her baby. When she meets Jacob Nassy, a man separated from his mother during the Holocaust, she is determined to help him — especially when she discovers Hollerith punch-card computers were used by Hitler. In 1940s Holland, Cornelia Vogel is a punch-card operator working on a census, with help from her Jewish neighbor, Leah Blom, who she’s falling for. When she discovers the purpose of the census is to persecute the Jewish people of Holland, she will risk everything to get Leah out.
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle (Queer Horror)
Yes, this is by Chuck Tingle, the author of erotica classics like Pounded In the Butt By My Own Butt. His horror debut with Tor is no joke, though: N.K. Jemisin calls it “a genuinely terrifying nightmare.” Rose is an autistic Christian woman disturbed by her feelings for a female friend, so she goes to Camp Damascus, a gay conversion camp — after all, they have a 100% success rate in “curing” people. When she starts vomiting insects and seeing mysterious figures, though, Rose begins to suspect something else is going on. As you might expect, serious content warning for religious trauma in this one.
The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean (Achillean YA Romantic Thriller)
James is the first Black heir to the throne, and that comes with more than enough media scrutiny — that’s why he’s keeping his new boyfriend a secret. When his father dies, though, James is unprepared for what happens next. His secrets come out, and then his boyfriend disappears. Now he has to find the person who is leaking his personal life to the press, and everyone is a suspect…
The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley (Lesbian and Bisexual YA Fantasy)
I really enjoyed Sweet & Bitter Magic, so I had to pick up Tooley’s newest sapphic YA fantasy: The Third Daughter. This one is about Sabine, an Apothecary approached by the princess Elodie. Elodie wants to put her sister Brianne’s rise to the throne on hold — 13 is a little young to rule, and Elodie questions the church’s plans for Brianne. When Sabine accidentally gives her a potion that puts Brianne into a never-ending slumber, Elodie and Sabine will have to team up to save her — and fall for each other along the way.
Firebird by Sunmi (Queer YA Graphic Novel)
This is a graphic novel about two Asian American teenage girls falling for each other in San Francisco. When sophomore Caroline starts tutoring Kim, she can’t help being intrigued by the charismatic lesbian senior. Soon, they start going out on late-night drives, sharing secrets beneath the stars. But can this connection survive in the sunshine?
Women of the Post by Joshunda Sanders (Sapphic Historical Fiction)
What a Desi Girl Wants by Sabina Khan (Bisexual YA Contemporary)
Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review by Tehlor Kay Mejia (Bisexual F/M Romance)
A Guide to the Dark by Miriam Metoui (Sapphic YA Horror)
Hirano and Kagiura, Vol. 3 by Leighann Harvey and Shou Harusono (M/M Manga)
For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter and the New Release Index — you can even filter by queer books!
Recent LBGTQ Book Riot Posts
New Sapphic Romance for Summer 2023
Looking for new sapphic romance for summer 2023? Whether you need a vacation read or something to read from the couch, swoons are guaranteed.
Queer Goodies of the Day
This protect queer kids suncatcher is perfect for your car, your home, or a classroom! Add some more rainbows to the world. Also, 50% of profits from this sticker are donated to Black Trans Liberation Kitchen. $10
That's it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog the Lesbrary and (sigh) Twitter. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.
Happy reading!
Danika