11 of the Best Queer Books of 2025 (So Far)

Awakened by A.E. Osworth

When I heard that Awakened was about a coven of trans witches that fight an evil AI, it immediately rose to the top of my most-anticipated list. I’m happy to say it lived up to those expectations, from its dedication—”For everyone who feels betrayed by J.K. Rowling”—to its final page. The whimsical narrator makes for a fun contrast to the cynical main character, reluctantly adjusting to their new powers. Each of the members of this coven is complex and multifaceted, making their slow progression into a chosen family feel satisfying and realistic. Yes, this is a fantastic read for ex-Harry Potter fans, but it’s so much more than that.

Sympathy for Wild Girls: Stories by Demree McGhee

This collection of stories about queer Black women is going to live in my head for a long time. If you love Carmen Maria Machado’s work, you need to pick up Sympathy for Wild Girls. They both excel at writing feminist, fabulist/magical realist stories that get under your skin. These stories explore intense, undefined relationships between women; the horror at having a body (especially a racialized, sexualized body); and the strange paths grief can lead you down. Visceral, evocative, and thought-provoking, these are stories that benefit from discussion and deep reading. This collection deserves to be recognized as a new classic.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

V. E. Schwab breathes new life (teehee) into the undead with this opulent sapphic vampire tale. Following three women from three different centuries, it’s a story of hunger, feminism, and ferociousness. To say more would almost spoil its magic, so just know that it’s a vampire novel unlike any other, spanning hundreds of years, with monsters who will dazzle and horrify you. These women are not satisfied being bit players in their own lives, and their thirst for more leads them down dark paths. Like many of Schwab’s novels, it has lush writing and entrancing storytelling, and the results are mesmerizing. I’ll continue to follow her anywhere. —Liberty Hardy

So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color by Caro De Robertis

In this essential oral history, queer elders of color share stories of self-discovery, activism, resistance, and survival. Their testimonies are a necessary record of lived experience and hard-won progress, a love letter to queer history, and gorgeous reminder to treasure the wisdom of those who’ve witnessed history, helped shape it, and allowed us to imagine brighter futures. There is so much beautiful humanity in these pages, so much laughter and joy even in periods of profound struggle and loss. That joy is resistance, that joy is protest, that joy is unshakable. I need everyone to read this book. —Vanessa Diaz

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare

I’d hoped for a similar explosion in cozy science fiction as we’ve seen in fantasy over the past few years. Cosmic Love is just what I’d been looking for, with a sweet queer love story that ties the multiverse fun together. Annie Mare is one half of a writing duo with their wife Ruthie Knox (couple goals!), but this is their first standalone novel. It stars Tressa Faye Robinson, a hairdresser who discovers that Meryl, the woman she has been flirting with by text, is living five months apart from her—and that Meryl recently went missing. —CJ Connor

Alligator Tears: A Memoir in Essays by Edgar Gomez

I picked up Edgar Gomez’s 2022 memoir based solely on the title—High-Risk Homosexual—and deeply enjoyed his voice, which stayed with me long after I read it. So his follow-up, Alligator Tears, was a must-read. Gomez writes about growing up queer in Florida, the American Dream, class, family, love, community and so much more, all with a through line tied to his relationship with his mother that will break your heart and heal it. He has an insightful, fresh voice, and his books would make an excellent dark comedy sitcom adaptation. Bonus: he narrates the audiobook! —Jamie Canaves

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan

Nicola Dinan’s books are nearly impossible to describe in a tidy little hook. But that’s also what I love about them. They explore the true messiness of moving through today’s world as a queer person, searching for your place through joy and pain and confusion. Disappoint Me stars Max, a British trans woman turning thirty and grappling with what it means to grow older without heteronormative standards of success and happiness. When she starts an unusually traditional relationship with Vincent, Max starts to understand the appeal. But Vincent is hiding some heavy secrets about his past relationships that continue to impact his love life. It’s a poignant, wonderfully complicated, and layered novel that I’m still thinking about weeks after reading. —Susie Dumond

Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett

This is an excellent introduction to trans history in comic format, from ancient history to interviews with trans people today. It’s a broad yet thorough glimpse into the myriad ways gender has been expressed throughout time, and the ways trans people have been oppressed and erased from history. The beautiful illustrations enhanced and made the details more accessible. While listed as young adult, I would recommend it for anyone who wants to better understand the history of gender expression and transness, no matter their age. My only complaint is that I wanted an entire book for each chapter! I didn’t want it to end! —Margaret Kingsbury

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang

This slow, biracial character study is nestled in a deeply sapphic Asian-inspired fantasy novella. Famous dragon hunter, Yeva, was sent away from home to train after saving her sibling from a baby dragon attack, permanently injuring her arm in the process. She hasn’t been back since. But when the king hears word that the dragon-worshipping nation of Quiambao may be hiding a dragon, she is sent to investigate. So close to home, Yeva is finally living dangerously, showing her face, falling for the girl King Sookhee, and reorienting everything she’s ever been taught. —R. Nassor

A Gentleman’s Gentleman by T.J. Alexander

This Regency trans romance is everything I want out of a historical romance novel. It’s a boy-meets-boy story, only neither of them realizes the other is gay—or trans—yet. Despite all they have in common, Christopher and James butt heads at first. Lord Christopher Eden doesn’t want a valet, after all. He likes to dress himself. Not only that, James is far too stuffy and traditional. But the fact that they dislike each other initially only makes their eventual romance all the sweeter. It’s that Pride and Prejudice “they have to grow on each other first in order to fall in love” factor. —Rachel Brittain

Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries

This dreamy graphic novel is a planetary sci-fi story with a superpowered twist. Most of the children of the spacefarers who first landed on Meridian develop strange mutations, like telekinesis and charismatic influence. In fact, it’s far stranger not to have powers, which is only part of why Oberon feels like such an outcast. Recovering from depression and dropping out of school certainly don’t help. But when Oberon’s dreams start seeping into the real world, he realizes having superpowers isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Romantic and lushly illustrated, and filled with complicated feelings and relationships that will pull you right in. —Rachel Brittain

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth (Sapphic Fiction) (US Release)

Ascension (The Summoner’s Circle #2) by S.T. Gibson (Bisexual Polyamorous (M/M/F) Fantasy)

The Gryphon King by Sara Omer (Bisexual Woman Fantasy)

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 9 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou (M/M Fantasy)

The Lavender Blade by E.L. Deards (M/M Paranormal)

The Rebel Girls of Rome by Jordyn Taylor (Sapphic YA Historical Mystery)

Muted: Volume One by Miranda Mundt (Sapphic and Polyamorous Fantasy Graphic Novel)

Haberdashery Ginmokusei, Part 1 by Mamita (M/M Manga)

Nice Girls Don’t Win by Parvati Shallow (Queer Memoir)

Ballroom: A History, A Movement, A Celebration by Michael Roberson (Queer Nonfiction)