5 Of The Best LGBTQ+ Romance Books To Dive Into During Pride Month 2025

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With June comes Pride Month — a time where you can attend parades and protests, see some amazing outfits from the kink community, and continue to embrace love in all its forms. Many use this month as an opportunity to declare their sexuality or show support for their loved ones. However, when you need some downtime, you can also quietly enjoy Pride Month by curling up in your favorite chair with some good LGBTQ+ reads. It's hard to imagine a time when there weren't books. And in that temporal abyss, cishet boy-meets-girl stories have reigned supreme. But these days, more inclusive romance books are filling up bookshelves everywhere, and it's about time.

In June 2022, an NPD BookScan finding showed that LGBTQ+ book sales had significantly risen, per Publishers Weekly. "What was once considered a niche area of publishing is now becoming mainstream, with a number of titles leading the national bestseller lists and books being shared across generations of readers," analyst Kristen McLean shared. With the growing popularity of LGBTQ+ romantic fiction, those who are exploring their sexuality or simply want to read about queer relationships have plenty of options, and we've gathered the best ones that are perfect for celebrating Pride Month this year.

For those who love fantasy romance books, "Tarnished" by Erica Rose Eberhart is sure to entice you. The first installment of the Elder Tree Trilogy follows 20-year-old Ailith, who is hired to escort Princess Caitriona on a mission. The story is full of adventure, magic, and, of course, romance as the two make their way to the Endless Mountains and discover their feelings for each other. Eberhart, who describes herself as a "queer, disabled, [neurodivergent] fantasy writer" said in an interview of her debut novel, "I really adore the romance of my characters Ailith and Caitriona. In 'Tarnished,' they have such love for one another without saying 'I love you,' and I adore that, because love can be shown through actions and not just verbally."

"Tarnished" is great for LGBTQ+ readers who want to get lost in a fantasy world without having romance as the central plot. And, it's completely women-positive, with two heroines who use their powers to fight off monsters and a power-hungry king. "I wrote this book for myself and anyone else who always saw themselves in both the knight and the princess of fairy tales. I wrote it for anyone who wanted to love both characters as well," Eberhart shared on Goodreads.

Vampires, forbidden romance, and a three-story arc over five centuries — "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" by V.E. Schwab has it all. The book centers around Maria, trapped in a marriage in the 16th century, who is given a way out. In the 19th century, Charlotte is banished from home after she's caught attempting to kiss her friend, and in the present day, Alice wakes up one day to discover that she's now a vampire. Somehow, all three women are connected, navigating society while trying to find love as queer women.

On why she wrote this book, Schwab told People, "For many years, and many books, I've tried to make my identity smaller, more palatable. I think this novel is a reckoning — both with myself and with my work. It's unapologetic, a tale of hunger and the many shapes it takes. Hunger for life, for freedom, for love, for more."

"Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" releases on June 10, which is perfectly timed for Pride Month. However, a lucky few were able to get their hands on an early copy, and one wrote on Goodreads, "How do I even express my love for this??? I feel like words can't do it justice. I just loved it ... plain and simple as that. Her writing made me feel like I was there with the characters. I felt their rage, their love, their grief, I felt it all."

If you're looking for a light-hearted beach read for your summer 2025 reading list, look no further, because Jessica Lewis's YA novel, "Nav's Foolproof Guide to Falling in Love," is a great choice. The book has Nav as the protagonist, who is asked by Gia to help woo her best friend, Hallie. As Nav helps the awkward new girl by giving her dating and flirting tips, she realizes she's falling for Gia. Aside from the book being queer-positive, it also touches upon mental health as readers experience Gia's anxiety disorder, relating her to many readers.

While the characters may be young for many book lovers, "Nav's Foolproof Guide to Falling in Love" is great for those who want to go back to their high-school years of first kisses, butterflies, and falling in love. It's not just a light-hearted LGBTQ+ romance either — the book delves into Nav's grief and feelings of abandonment, showing her growth throughout the story. "Nav's up and down relationship with her dad felt extremely real and progressed beautifully, especially the fact that they were both going to therapy and working on becoming better for each other despite their past trauma," a fan shared on Goodreads. With such well-rounded characters who just want to find love, we guarantee you'll be rooting for them and leave the book with a big smile on your face.

"How to Sleep at Night" by Elizabeth Harris is a contemporary novel that echoes the country's political divide with a touch of humor, through the lens of gay couple Ethan and Gabe. When Ethan announces that he wants to run for Congress as a Republican, left-wing teacher Gabe reluctantly gives him his blessing. Soon, Ethan is thrown into the spotlight, hobnobbing with politicians whose values don't align with his husband's. Meanwhile, Gabe's sister Kate is contacted by a former girlfriend named Nicole, a bored housewife with a husband and two kids. Against her better judgment, Kate gets tangled up in a messy affair with someone who broke her heart years ago.

The book may center politics as its major theme, but readers found "How to Sleep at Night" a fun and witty read. "I love how the author created completely believable relationships between the 4 main characters, who just happened to be gay, without the book focusing on their sexuality as a plot point," one reviewer wrote on Amazon. The reader continued, "In these insane times, it was interesting to imagine a situation where a difference in politics can have a major impact not only on one's family but also on one's own reputation, regardless of personal beliefs." With Harris sprinkling in issues like reproductive rights, gay marriage, and people on the opposite ends of the political spectrum having to live harmoniously, this book is the perfect commentary on present times.

Jinwoo Chong's novel, "I Leave It Up to You," is a heartwarming story about a young Korean American man named Jack Jr. who falls into a coma before the COVID-19 pandemic and wakes up to find that his life is gone. With no place to live and his boyfriend gone, Jack Jr. moves in with his parents in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and helps them run their sushi restaurant. Over time, Jack Jr. develops a new relationship with his family, and also sparks a romance with the male nurse who had taken care of him during his hospital stay.

Jack Jr.'s sexuality isn't a taboo subject with his parents, and they seem to accept it, unlike many other LGBTQ+ books in which the main character's family is disapproving. "I really set out to do this book not to rehash something that's been done, I think, in a lot of fiction about gay people and their families," Chong explained on the podcast "Gays Reading." When talking about his own experience, the author shared, "It wasn't this explosive moment ... It took my parents a long time to become comfortable with it. Once they met my husband, it was a whole journey." For a poignant story about loss and finding a place that feels like home again through the lens of a gay main character, "I Leave It Up to You" is sure to give you all the feels during 2025 Pride Month.

There are a plethora of great LGBTQ+ reads out there, so narrowing it down to just five was a difficult task. However, since we were aiming for Pride Month 2025, we chose ones that were published in or around this year. Although one of our picks is historical fiction, and one takes place in a fantasy realm, we feel like their messages surrounding LGBTQ+ topics resonate with readers today. We also made sure to choose a variety of genres to suit multiple tastes, and included a fun Young Adult read, along with some contemporary books and a bit of mystery.

The five books we chose were highly reviewed by readers across Goodreads and Amazon, with all of them receiving a least four stars. With the choices spanning lighthearted beach reads to thrilling escapades, we're positive you'll find something that'll whisk you away for a few hours as you ring in Pride Month this year.