Thaw Your Winter Blues With One Of These Hot New Queer Reads

Look, it’s not easy right now…for anyone. To quote The Little Mermaid, “The human world is a mess,” plus it’s cold out! Picking up one or more of these new and forthcoming queer books may not solve everything, but reading serves multiple purposes: 1) a healthy dose of gay warmth and escapism; 2) a tangible way to support LGBTQ+ authors and creators at a time when it’s sorely needed; 3) a means of revolution. Award-winning author Arundhati Roy said in 2020, “Literature is the opposite of a nuclear bomb”—this winter, get cozy, smart, and even more gay with the titles below.

Note: while these books can be found on multiple platforms, all links in this piece lead to Bookshop, which supports independent bookstores–and they now have ebooks too. Happy reading!

For complex modern-day sibling dynamics, try Sister Snake. After a violent incident in Central Park, free-spirited sugar baby Emerald relocates from New York to Singapore to live under the watchful eye of her sister Su, the buttoned-up wife of a politician. The sisters have been estranged for years–but will their reunion go as planned? Find out in this contemporary queer retelling of the Chinese folktale “The Legend of the White Snake.”

Are conservative loved ones frustrating you? Pick up How to Sleep at Night. Ethan and Gabe have the picture-perfect queer marriage and family—until always right-leaning Ethan decides to run for a Republican seat in Congress. Meanwhile, bisexual housewife Nicole slides into the DMs of her most memorable ex: lesbian political reporter and Ethan’s sister, Kate. Surprise: this book is funny while tackling the mental gymnastics many of us are facing right now.

For an extremely sweet and very British teen romcom, order Lover Birds. For high school students Darci and Elle, it’s dislike at first sight. Darci’s the new girl, a wealthy London transplant with perfect grades, while scrappy, working-class Elle is navigating a new ADHD diagnosis. Besides, Elle doesn’t even like girls that way…or does she? When Darci becomes Elle’s tutor, the girls realize they have more in common than they thought—including a chemistry neither can deny.

Be one of the first to read an emerging lesbian voice with Fragments of Wasted Devotion. Full disclosure: I know the author! I first met Mia Arias Tsang at a writing workshop in Paris and immediately became obsessed with her prose, which is both heartfelt and extremely, totally gay. In her debut essay collection, Tsang explores queer heartbreak in all of its incarnations, from the first blush of attraction to the devastating final text message, through an incisive and vulnerable lens, with illustrations from Georgia-based artist Levi Wells. Bonus: this book is released through Quilted Press, a scrappy queer publishing collective.

If a cannibalistic mother-daughter story sounds delish, devour The Lamb. For Margot’s entire life, she’s made a home with her beloved Mama in a cozy cottage in the woods. Normally, Mama’s appetite for the drop-in guests she calls “strays” is just part of daily life, until a blizzard heralds the arrival of beautiful, enigmatic Eden. Now Margot is torn: should she stand by while Eden becomes yet another casualty of Mama’s needs, or face her own repressed wildness once and for all?

If the phrase “sapphic monster romance novella” makes you say “yes, PLEASE!”, read But Not Too Bold. For Anatema and Dália, it’s love at first sight. The problem? Anatema is a humanoid spider with a craving for beautiful women like Dália, and she just had Dália’s predecessor for dinner. Will love conquer all, or will the spider’s hunger win? (This book has also been described as The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic, in case you weren’t fully convinced—and it’s a short, fast read that packs a wallop. Perfect for a long, cold commute.)

Dark fantasy and queer romance fanatics will adore The Antlered King. In the conclusion to the Raven’s Trade duology, which began with The Gilded Crown, brave Hellevir continues to bargain with Death, while protecting Princess Sullivain, to whom she is duty-bound. The country is now on the verge of civil war, and negotiating with Death is inherently complex, requiring an increasing amount of sacrifice—and to make matters worse, Hellevir and Sullivain might just be falling for one another. 

For a badass Snow White story with an environmental angle, snap up The Wildest Things. Snow wakes from two decades of sleep (thanks, poisoned apple) to find that the kingdom is now a wasteland, complete with mutated animals and destroyed grounds. If Snow becomes the Seasonkeeper, she’ll have access to the magic that will restore the land—but she’ll have to resist the beauty and charm of the evil Queen’s daughter in this sapphic young adult fantasy.

Read the year’s best in LGBTQ+ nonfiction with this collection of 2025 Stonewall Award winners and honorees. Since 1971 (with the lesbian novel Patience and Sarah), the American Library Association’s Rainbow Roundtable Committee has recognized books of all genres with “exceptional merit to the LGBTQIA+ experience.” There’s always something for every queer, but this year’s standouts include:

• Nico Lang’s American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era is an informative call to action against the attempted erasure of trans youth. Award-winning journalist Lang follows eight gender nonconforming and trans teens and their respective communities for an in-depth look at growing up trans.
• Annie Liontas’s Sex With a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery is the winner of the Israel Fishman Nonfiction Award and a searing exploration of sexuality, disability, and mental health in women and the LGBTQ+ community from an author who endured multiple concussions in her thirties.
• Rae Garringer’s Country Queers: A Love Letter, which began as a community-based oral history project, is now an acclaimed narrative of LGBTQ+ folks thriving in small towns and rural spaces across America.
• Sara Glass’s Kissing Girls on Shabbat is the author’s true story of preserving both her family and her queer identity in a strict Orthodox Jewish community.