Today’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is the one in which I have to admit that I’m a terrible gay man, and have yet to read really any books in which the central plot revolves around gay characters. To be quite honest though, the majority of books in which the main character is gay appear at this time to be contemporary romances, which is far and away my least favorite genre to immerse myself in.
Still, I do want to broaden my horizons and better acquaint myself with stories about characters that I know I’ll relate to. These are the ones that have caught my eye over the last few months/year that I really want to make time for soon!
{Top 5} LGBTQ Books I Intend to Read
{Peter Darling}
by Austin Chant
It’s weird. I grew up loving anything Disney princess related. Ariel and Belle were the two characters I was most obsessed with and I remember thinking I either wanted to grow up to be a merman, or to live in a gigantic castle full of books. While I have yet to sprout fins, and I’m still working on the castle full of books thing, I’ve found my taste for Disney-retellings has sort of shifted over the years.
I’ve become less invested in the stories about the princesses and more excited about Peter Pan retellings. I can’t get enough of them. I think it’s something to do with the fantasy of Neverland and never growing up. When I first came across the synapsis for Peter Darling, I knew I had to read it. This is a Peter Pan retelling with a twist and transgendered Peter Pan, who leaves Neverland, grows up, and begins to question his gender identity and feelings for Captain Hook. It just sounds so promising and creative. Unfortunately I wasn’t approved for an ARC like I’d hoped to be, but I’m planning on making time for it soon!
{Openly Straight}
by Bill Konigsberg
I actually own this book on my kindle. I bought it early this month and plan to read it in a few weeks time once I chip away at some of the many ARCs I suddenly found myself approved for. This one is a contemporary YA romance set in a boarding school in New England. Being a New England native myself, I’m surprised this didn’t catch my eye earlier! I’ll probably read and review this one next month at the latest.
{Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda }
by Becky Albertalli
This is one book that has been recommended to me repeatedly by friends on Goodreads. Centered around a closeted character who is being blackmailed when evidence of his sexuality falls into the wrong hands, this one sounds like more than a fairly straightforward romance between two characters. I have heard that romance plays a part in the storyline though, and I’m almost certain I can already guess how it will unfold, but I’ve heard great things about this book regardless and look forward to the day I can read it.
{The Song of Achilles}
by Madeline Miller
A gay love story set in ancient Greece between Patroclus and Achilles? Sign me up! I have a huge love for mythology of any sort, and framing a love story between two gay characters within one sounds like something I’d love. I have heard that while it’s not entirely faithful to the original mythos surrounding the characters, that it’s still a delightful read. I’m really excited to get to it actually. I want a physical copy of the book, so it’s just a matter of keeping my eye out for a good deal and then I plan on making time for it.
{The Seafarer’s Kiss}
by Julia Ember
Okay, I talked about sort of being over the Disney princess-retellings above, but when I came across this book and realized that it was a little Mermaid retelling with a lesbian romance, I threw all those previous notions to the wind and immediately started making plans to work this story into my reading schedule in the next couple of months. I absolutely love that the story appears to be infused with Norse mythology. It seems like a really creative retelling that I have pretty much only heard good things about. Plus, the cover is gorgeous and I would buy a physical copy just so I could find a place for it on my bookshelf really.
What do you think about my choices? Have you read any great LGBTQ books that I’ve missed? Do you know of any fantasy-focused stories with great LGBTQ characters?
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
I’ve only read Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda from your list and I really loved it! It was such an adorable read. And I have been planning to read The Song of Achilles and The Seafarer’s Kiss, hope I get to read those two soon!
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Glad to hear you enjoyed Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Poulami! I don’t think I’ve read a poor review of that book yet. Definitely looking forward to it. 🙂
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Excellent choices B! I’m interested in reading all of these, but Peter Darling keeps popping up and catching my eye. I’m a sucker for the retellings 😂 And I agree; I think I’d read more LGBTQ books in the YA category if there was more to choose from. Hopefully now that times are changing and there’s a growing interest from us readers there will be a wider variety! I’d love to see a YA fantasy series with a lead character/relationship as LGBTQ!
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I am the biggest fantasy fan in the world, but even I have to admit that the area the genre lacks in the most is in diversity. So many straight, white male protagonists that fall in love with a beautiful female healer character. I definitely agree that it would be great to see more fantasy in general with LGBT leads. I’ve considered writing a fantasy with a gay romance myself just to put one out there, but I’m about tapped out for free time at the moment. xD
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I’ve never heard of the Seafarer’s Kiss, but it sounds really good! I just added it to my TBR shelf. Great list!
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Woo hoo! Glad I pointed it out to someone! Thanks Chanda. 🙂
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The Song of Achilles is one of my favorite books, I hope you love it when you get around to it! (And I say this as a massive Iliad fan – the changes from the original story honestly didn’t bother me too much.) If you like mythology you might also want to check out Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, which is a retelling of the Geryon and Herakles story with an LGBT twist. It’s a ‘novel’ told in the form of poetry so you can read it in about an hour. It’s definitely different and not for everyone, but the writing is absolutely gorgeous.
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Thanks for the suggestion Rachel! I read some poetry by Anne Carson in a contemporary literature class I took and enjoyed it, so I bet I’d love that. 🙂 Glad to hear you enjoyed SoA too!
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That’s so awesome, I wish I had read Anne Carson for school!!
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I have an ebook of the Song of Achilles. Can’t wait to read it! And I’m sure you’re gonna love Simon! c:
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I’m glad to hear you liked Simon! I’ll keep my eye out for what you think about Song of Achilles when you read it. 🙂
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A million times yes for Openly Straight, I love that book! 🙂
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Yay! That’s so good to hear! Makes me excited to get to it soon.
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Good books on here! I haven’t read them but a few are on my TBR list. Love posts like this. Awesome share, B3!
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Thank you James! 🙂
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The Seafarer’s Kiss sounds ridiculously amazing. Clearly I was sold by the Princess retelling (XD although there is a lotttt going on as you said), but with the addition of Norse mythology and LGBTQ rep and that stunning cover, I’m so sold. :O Wonderful post! 😀
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I know, doesn’t it?! It was one of those books that I knew I had to have it the second I first heard about it haha
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Simon is really great! I enjoyed reading it. Achilles seems interesting. I think I’m gonna read it 😃👍
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Awesome! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed Simon too! 🙂
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Great list!
Now I want to read Peter Darling too haha
I’ve wanted to read Openly Straight since last year but I couldn’t buy the book yet 😥 I had to choose between History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera, and that one won.
The Song of Achilles is absolutely amazing though! ❤
Have you read Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare yet? It's the series that came after The Mortal Instruments series. There is LGBT in there too.
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I debated putting History is All You Left Me on this list too. I’ve heard that book is really good! I’m still working my way (slowly) through the Mortal Instruments series! I just read the first 3 books for the first time early this year. They were some of my first reviews I posted on my blog. I can’t wait to read Lady Midnight though.
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Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda has been on my tbr for a long time as well, but is one I hope to get to soon. I hadn’t heard of The Seafarer’s Kiss and Peter Darling though, both of which sound really interesting, so thanks for alerting me to some new titles to check out!
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Happy to have pointed out something new for you Chelsea! This is why I love book blogging. I get so many great suggestions I wouldn’t have known of otherwise. 🙂
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I loved this post! I’m adding Peter Darlinh to my TBR RIGHT NOW. I have only read one LGBT in my life, and it’s definitely time to read more. Thanks for your suggestions 😊
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You’re welcome Cova! I’m glad it gave you another book to add to your TBR. 🙂
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The Song of Achilles is brilliant!
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Glad to hear Jo!
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AHHH I LOVE TSOA! I’m also looking for physical copy, I usually don’t buy physical copies, but that book is so amazing I need it! I haven’t read Simon vs Homo Sapiens, but people have been raving about it, so I’m excited!
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I am addicted to physical copies! I have a bookshelf in my living room because I love showing off all my favorite books! xD
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Try Josh Lanyon, Ellen Hart and Neil Plakcy—all have some really good mysteries.
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Thank you for the suggestions!!
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