After the long, heavy blog post I put up last week, I’ve decided to go with something a little lighter. Today’s post is just a list of some of my favorite LGBTQ+ books.
(And if you want more book recommendations and reviews after this, check out Avery Ramsey’s wonderful bookish blog, Valley Shelf Talk.)
The Montague Siblings Series by Mackenzi Lee
Excluding the Poppy War series by R.F. Kuang, the Montague siblings series is probably my favorite collection of books ever. I’ve even gotten my family to name our cat Monty in honor of the first Montague book’s main character.
The Montague siblings series is made up of three novels and one additional short story: “The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue,” about Henry “Monty” Montague and his journey around Europe (and crush on his best friend); “The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy,” about his sister Felicity and her ambitions to become a doctor and “The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks,” about their youngest sibling Adrian and his political ambitions and debilitating anxiety. The short story, “The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky” is set between the first and second books.
All of these books are 500 page historical fiction novels — with additional fantasy elements — set in 1800’s Europe. In each of these books, Lee’s style of writing is very character driven, where the plot is moved forward by character choices, rather than an external pressure.
Every plot point in “The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue” is caused by Monty making the most idiotic decisions possible (he is my favorite character). This makes the story very engaging and allows for really strong characterization of these endearing, yet flawed, characters.
As for the LGBTQ+ representation in these books, Monty is a bisexual disaster and Felicity is an independent woman who is aromantic and asexual (like me, except the woman part).
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
This fantasy book follows 40 year old Linus Baker in his job as a case worker at the Department of Magical Youth, where he’s been assigned to report on Marsyas Island Orphanage.
On this peculiar island, Linus meets the caretaker Arthur Parnassus and his magical wards. As he spends more time at the orphanage, Linus must decide what he should and shouldn’t report back to management — and what that will mean for these magical children, as well as for Linus’ entire worldview.
This book does have a subplot of a developing romantic relationship between two of the male characters — you can probably guess who — but it’s primarily a heartwarming story about found family and overcoming trauma. It’s a great book that deals with serious topics while still feeling very wholesome. If you’ve read “Pet” by Akwaeke Emezi, it gives off a similar vibe.
And if you do end up reading “The House in the Cerulean Sea,” know that there’s a very good fanfiction on Ao3 that tells the whole story from Arthur’s perspective.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Okay, I promise it’s not what it sounds like — this isn’t an anti-trans book on par with “Irreversible Damage” by Abigail Shrier, it’s actually written by a trans woman. “Detransition, Baby” is a book about a trans woman (Reese), a cis woman (Katrina) and a detransitioned ex-woman (Ames) and their complicated relationships with each other.
Reese is Ames’ ex-girlfriend, who dated Ames before he detransitioned, and has always wanted to be a mother. Katrina is Ames’ boss and new girlfriend, who wasn’t aware Ames was previously a trans woman, and now has gotten pregnant by Ames. Ames has a decidedly queer plan to make all these facts work together for the three of them and this baby, but first, they all must navigate what this baby means to them, what they want and how they feel about each other.
Of all books I’ve read about the queer experience, “Detransition, Baby” stands out as one of the most phenomenal depictions of the diversity and complexity of the LGBTQ+ community. It never feels watered down to be more digestible to straight, cisgender readers — which, of course, means it’s not for everyone.
Please be aware, this is not a YA novel. It’s realistic fiction that centers on adult relationships and several mature topics. Not to mention that some of the vocabulary in there stumped even me (and I know so many words). Still, it is a fantastic book that I would highly recommend, it’s altered my brain forever.
