Must-Read Romances Just In Time to Celebrate Pride!

LGBT Romance Novels

Happy Pride Month! For the month of June, we celebrate each and every person in LGBTQIA2S family while remembering the Gay Rights Movement and all those that came before us. One way to celebrate Pride is by reading LGBTQ romance novels written by LGBTQIA2S authors, supporting them and their work.

For this article, our goal was to find romance books that cover many different gender and sexual identities by authors who belong to gender and sexual minorities. Consider reading an LGBTQ romance novel or two by someone with an identity different from your own. It can really help make your world larger and more compassionate while understanding where someone with a different identity is coming from.

We really hope you enjoy Pride Month this year and get the chance to read an LGBTQ romance! If not, there are plenty of other ways to celebrate and honor all the LGBTQ people in your life!

1. Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Claire Kann's novel, Let's Talk About Love, is a fantastic Young Adult novel everyone needs to read! Main character Alice is a biromantic asexual black woman home for the summer after her first year of college. A new friendship with Takumi begins to feel like something more, but after Alice's ex-girlfriend broke up with her for being asexual, Alice wonders if it's worth it to risk her heart again.

Buy Let's Talk About Love here.

2. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Meredith Russo's If I Was Your Girl is an own voices novel about a trans girl named Amanda Hardy entering a new school. She plans to keep her distance from her new classmates so they don't discover she's trans, but she meets and falls for Grant. Amanda wants to share everything with him, but she doesn't know how he'll react.

Get If I Was Your Girl here.

3. I Can't Think Straight by Shamin Sarif

Shamin Sarif's I Can't Think Straight is about Tala, a Palestinian woman living in London, and Leyla, an English India woman. They meet because Leyla is dating Tala's best friend, and the two immediately become friends, quickly turning into more. Along the way, Leyla discovers she's a lesbian and Tala admits she's bisexual or lesbian.

Make sure you watch the movie of the same name - it's a complete delight!

Find I Can't Think Straight here.

4. Tea by Matthew J. Metzger

Featuring a disabled bisexual trans man and a disabled gay man, Matthew J. Metzger's Tea is the story of Chris and John, two guys who meet when John accidentally spills coffee on Chris at a coffee shop. John has been burned in past relationships and is unsure of giving his heart away again, while Chris is frank about who he is and what he wants.

Buy Tea here.

5. Perfect Rhythm by Jae

Perfect Rhythm by Jae is a small town romance between Leontyne, a pop star who doesn't know what she wants anymore, and Holly, an in-home nurse for Holly's ailing father. In the novel, Leontyne is a lesbian and Holly is a homoromantic asexual, though she also identifies as a lesbian at times. They get off to a rocky start, but quickly find common ground.

Don't miss the second book in the Fair Oaks series, featuring a pansexual woman and a lesbian!

Purchase Perfect Rhythm here.

6. Learning to Want by Tami Veldura

Tami Veldura's Learning to Want features two gay men, Khoram and Atash. After getting betrayed by his boss and stranded on a deserted planet, chained to the only other human around. Khoram was once forced to submit to his boss but, as they get to know each other, fall in love, and learn what each other likes sexually, Atash shows Khoram that if he wishes to be submissive in bed, it should always be willingly given.

Find Learning to Want here.

7. Cinder Ella by S.T. Lynn

S.T. Lynn's Cinder Ella is a retelling of the classic fairy tale. Ever since she was a young girl, Ella knew she was a woman. After her father dies, her stepmother forces her to dress as a boy and calls her by her dead name. Ella, still dressed in boy's clothing, gets invited to attend the ball when she meets Princess Lizabetta, who isn't phased when Ella shows up as a beautiful woman. They dance the night away and fall in love. After, Ella's stepmother maliciously dumps her at the far edge of the forest. Ella will do anything to get back to her princess.

Get Cinder Ella here.

8. Soft on Soft by Mina Waheed

Mina Waheed's Soft on Soft is a lovely romance between a mentally ill pansexual Arab makeup artist and a demisexual Black model, both plus size women. There's also a lot of LGBT side characters. June has been Selena's makeup artist for awhile now and over that time, they've become friends. That friendship develops into something more.

Buy Soft on Soft here.

9. A Boy Called Cin by Cecil Wilde

A Boy Called Cin by Cecil Wilde features a trans man and a bisexual genderqueer character. On a whim, Tom decides to buy a coffee for Cin who looks as if he needs a cup. Cin recognizes Tom from the tabloids and is put off, only to realize Tom is the guest lecturer in his class. Cin finally agrees to go to dinner with Tom and the two of them discover they have more in common than they originally thought, including the discomfort of their assigned genders at birth.

Find A Boy Called Cin here.

10. Finding Lizzie by Karma Kingsley

Finding Lizzie by Karma Kingsley is a novel about a bisexual named Lizzie who breaks up with her boyfriend and meets a group of women, including a lesbian named Kerra, during a Pride parade. Lizzie and Kerra grow closer, but Lizzie wonders how she can come out in a small town where she doesn't feel comfortable.

Purchase Finding Lizzie here.

Let's Keep the Conversation Going...

How many LGBT romance novels do you plan to read in June?

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