NB: Welcome to Flashback Friday! Carrie reviewed Dreadnought, a superhero story with a transgender teen that was a bit disappointing. If you’re looking for more transgender characters, especially in romance, check out our previous Rec League! This post was originally published December 22, 2016.
Last month, we had a Rec League with a focus on lesbian romances and there were some amazing recommendations. Hopefully, we can repeat that success with transgender romances! I recently did a post for Book Riot where I tried to find some LGBTA+ holiday romances, but it was deceptively hard to find romances that focuses on couples who weren’t strictly gay or lesbian. But I know there are romances out there with these characters!
From SBTB HQ, we only have a few suggestions from our brains.
Sarah: Roller Girl by Vanessa North! ( A | BN | K | AB )
Butch and the Beautiful ( A | BN | K | AB ) had a secondary character who may have been exploring.
Amanda: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is highly recommended, though I haven’t read it yet. It’s also a YA title.
Carrie: Courtney Milan’s Hold Me! ( A | K | G | AB )
Know any other transgender romances? Or books with romantic elements that feature transgender characters? Please give us all the recommendations!
I adored Coffee Boy by Austin Chant, a really lovely warm and fuzzy novella about a young trans man in a politician’s office, and the older grouchy guy who runs the place.
Documenting Light by EE Ottoman was one of my reads of the year. Lovely writing with trans man and nonbinary MCs and incredibly poignant. Hugely recommended. If you want great trans romance, EE is absolutely the writer to start with, they have a lot and are #ownvoices.
The Burnt Toast B&B by Heidi Belleau and Rachel Haimowitz–m/m with trans man.
The Queer and the Restless by Kris Ripper is m/f, trans man, lovely fun relationship and the whole series is great.
I adored To Summon Nightmares, JK Pendragon, horror-paranormal romance with trans man MC.
Oh, and A Boy Called Cin by Cecil Wilde–May-December billionaire Cinderella romance, trans and genderqueer characters
Spy Stuff by Mathew J Metzger.
Change of Address by Jordan Brock – I haven’t read this one, but I’ve read her fan fic which is ASTONISHINGLY GOOD
The Bluewater Bay series published by Riptide has a large number of non-traditional main characters. From the trans-man stunt double to asexual skateboarder, there are many orientations, professions and family situations. I haven’t read the book with the lesbian couple, but I have all of the others, and, some are available to me on Hoopla, which helps with a long running series like this.
+1 for the books KJ Charles recs above. EE Ottoman also has a terrific steampunk trans romance, A Matter of Disagreement, that is absolutely delightful. And Kris Ripper has trans characters in zir Scientific Method series, the most recent book (Ring in the True) being centered on a trans couple, although I wouldn’t suggest reading RitT as a standalone. But the entire series is brilliant!
Thirding E.E. Ottoman! I also rec J. K. Pendragon’s fantasy romance novella “Witch, Cat, and Cobb,” which is funny, sweet, and clever and has a f/f romance between a trans woman and a cis woman and a major secondary character who is a trans man. (J.K. is also #ownvoices.)
I have a bunch more on my TBR, so ask again later. 🙂
A few of my favorites that have not been mentioned yet:
Cinder Ella by S.T. Lynn – A whimsical version of Cinderella, about a trans woman who falls in love with a cis princess.
Love Rampage by Alex Powell – A unicorn appears to a teen trans girl in order to help her with her crush (a cis girl). It’s sweet and magical, but also touches on some deeper subjects.
The Fairy’s Gift by H.R. Harrison – A fairy tale about a trans princess going on quests, making her mark on the world, and finding love (with a cis man).
I have a few in the TBR that I haven’t read yet, including the aforementioned If I Was Your Girl (which my mom picked up at ALA over the summer and I’m planning to purloin from her) and Hold Me.
There’s also the recently released Bad Boy by Elliot Wake (born Leah Raeder pre-transition) which involves a trans man that works for an underground vigilante group whose mission appears to be punishing misogynistic assholes. He gets involved with his new vigilante partner, like you do. It sounds insane and I picked it up from the library yesterday.
Also, interestingly, there is a character introduced in agnus Chase: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan that identifies as both trans and gender-fluid. Most of the time she’s female, but will sometimes revert to the male persona if she feels the need. It was abundantly clear that the character was being set up as Magnus’s love interest.
I have a few in the TBR that I haven’t read yet, including the aforementioned If I Was Your Girl (which my mom picked up at ALA over the summer and I’m planning to purloin from her) and Hold Me.
There’s also the recently released Bad Boy by Elliot Wake (born Leah Raeder pre-transition) which involves a trans man that works for an underground vigilante group whose mission appears to be punishing misogynistic assholes. He gets involved with his new vigilante partner, like you do. It sounds insane and I picked it up from the library yesterday.
Also, interestingly, there is a character introduced in Magnus Chase: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan that identifies as both trans and gender-fluid. Most of the time she’s female, but will sometimes revert to the male persona if she feels the need. It was abundantly clear that the character was being set up as Magnus’s love interest.
I somehow double posted. Sorry.
The only book with a Trans character that I have read is Hold Me by Courtney Milan, sadly (note to self: diversify your reading lady)
In the bowels of my kindle I have a couple others I haven’t read yet:
The Burnt Toast B&B- Belleau & Haimowitz (Romantic Comedy?)
None of the Above- Gregorio- does anyone know, is this a romance?
Static- Witt (Science Fiction/Fantasy?)
Breaking Free- Grant (BDSM?)
Now that I’m remembering it I think there is a reoccurring character in the KJ Charles series, Society of Gentlmen, that co-owns a gentlemans club with his partner but is a cis-woman living as a man. They have unique names (sorry brain fart) & I think would make a really interesting couple for a book in the series (if there is a story about just them please please let me know!)
Looking forward to everybody’s recommendations!
@Everyone: These recs are amazing and I already added several to my TBR!
Labyrinth by Alex Beecroft – queer historical romance set in ancient Crete with an agender protag. It’s a reimagining of the origins of the legend of the Minotaur, from the Minoan point of view. Oh yeah, and two of the main supporting characters are asexual and aromatic, respectively. Its also great. (#ownvoices)
Incursion by Aleksandr Voinoiv – m/m SFR space opera. Voinov is trans and while there are no overtly trans characters it deals a lot with trans themes.
I know I’ve read several novellas with trans MCs but I’ll have to look those up.
Not a book, but the movie Boy Meets Girl (2014) is amazing.
When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore. Riveting, tender love story, with surreal/fairy tale elements. https://www.amazon.com/When-Moon-was-Ours-Novel/dp/125005866X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482438012&sr=8-1&keywords=when+the+moon+was+ours+by+anna-marie+mclemore
Rebekah Weatherspoon’s So Sweet series has a trans woman as a supporting character (who has a love interest) and i believe she’s due to get her own book soon.
Circle of Change by Laney Cairo – dates from 2009, so a relatively early one.
+1 for LA Witt’s Static! I really enjoyed that near-future alt-u trans romance. Really interesting worldbuilding. And it’s not a book, but the Laverne Cox documentary for MTV, “The T Word,” is terrific.
If you like superheroes, I really loved Stronger, Better, Faster, More by Carlin Grant, Katey Hawthorne. One of them is a transmale and it’s discussed in the story but not the focus of the story, and everyone in it is very trans friendly.
Fourthing (? fifthing?) the EE Ottoman recs. I loved a Matter of Disagreement and Documenting Light. I also like Cecil Wilde’s nerdy, sweet novella Defying Convention.
One more recommendation for EE Ottoman.
Wriggle & Sparkle by Megan Derr has a MC that is a shapeshifting Kraken. I don’t know if you can count him as transgender but he changes his gender several times during the book, and he was born female but lives mostly as male during the story. Warning, tentacle porn, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
I think His Kind of Woman by Nona Raines has a Trans heroine – I haven’t read it but it is on my TBR list.
There are 94 “Romance Featuring Trans Characters” on this Goodreads list – https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/71292.Romance_Featuring_Trans_Characters
I particularly enjoyed Matthew Metzger – What It Looks Like; Spy Stuff
Marie Sexton – Saviors of Oestend
EM Leya – Love in Transition
Heidi Belleau – Burnt Toast B&B; Wallflower
2016 Rainbow Awards: Best Transgender Romance
Winners:
1. What It Looks Like by Matthew J. Metzger – Genre: Contemporary Romance
2. The Complete Horse Mistress Collection by R.A. Steffan – Genre: Fantasy Romance
3. The Gift of Gravity by Sage C. Holloway – Genre: Contemporary Romance
There are also some good romances with genderfluid characters – I really liked Elin Gregory’s “Eleventh Hour”, for example
Here’s my list of short stories and novellas.
My Husband by Zahra Owens (m/m) and Zones by Elyan Smith(f/f) both in Lashings of Sauce – LGBTQ romance short story anthology from authors at the 2012 UK Meet. This is one of the best free anthologies I’ve read – nice range in terms of identifies, orientations, heat levels and genres.
Elyan Smith, “Open Return” in O Come All Ye Kinky – bdsm threesome (Elyan Smith also wrote Portside, an m/m that I haven’t read)
TruNorth by Alexis Hall in How We Began queer ya anthology.
Vintage Toy for Lucky Boys by G R Richards (very short mm story)
Misc full length books:
His Fair Lady by Kimberly Gardner – m/f NA with a trans woman and cis man. Part of a series with m/m and m/f pairings.
Savior of Oestend by Marie Sexton has been mentioned – it’s queer fantasy. It’s full of WTFry – I can’t fully recommend it. I enjoyed the trans character and her partner but there was a secondary romance that wasn’t very satisfying.
Forgot the Magic University series by Cecelia Tan – crazysauce queer sff NA – think Harry Potter goes to college, has a lot of magic sex and then saves the world. There’s a trans / gender fluid main character but it’s a little spoilery to even mention that. There’s a lot of sex and love stories in all books but there’s not a romance with an hfn until book 4.
Chasing Death Metal Dreams by Kaje Harper, a free read from M/M Goodreads Dont Read in the Closet event.
Whisper, Loudly! by Robert Moore, a YA book which seems completely unrealistic in that everyone is so accepting. But it is nice to have things work out well every once in a while.
Skin Deep by J.T. Marie.
Designing Sam by Kira Harp, another YA. In the collection Rainbow Briefs.
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
I’ll double the recommendation for “Static” by L.A. Witt – really thought provoking, enjoyable, and well written.
I also really loved Courtney Milan’s “Hold Me”, but then she is an author that can Do No Wrong as far as I am concerned 😉
If you want to go for the big (literary: it won a Pulizer) guns, Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex is amazing. Not strictly a romance, but there are romantic elements, and it ends hopefully and romantically. I feel like this was the time I ever encountered intersexuality in popular culture. What a fantastic book.
I thought of more short stories – Family Ties and Family Matters by D C Juris. I haven’t read them and I think there are more Derek and Oscar stories but I couldn’t find them. D C Juris is openly bi and trans.
@Kate – it’s interesting about intersex -it’s something that I only became aware of within the last few years and it feels like it’s just started to show up in pop culture.
Alex as Well by Alyssa Brugman is ya with a trans and intersex main character. There’s no real romance in it. The author is cis and not intersex (as far as I know) so I can’t vouch for the authenticity.
And the tv show Faking It (I think it’s on Mtv – I haven’t actually watched it but I have read the re-caps on AutoStraddle) has an intersex character that is apparently pretty well done.
Uncovering Ray by Edie Danford (I haven’t read this one, but from the description one of the MCs is androgynous)
Outside the Lines by A R Barley features a cross dressing hero. She sings in a nightclub and usually is dressed female, but likes to be referred to as the gender she is wearing at the time. This one is very good, the other hero has children (he’s bisexual, his wife died) and the story is pretty compelling.
Elizabeth Varlet has a series called Sassy Boyz (terrible name, it’s the name of their dance troupe), featuring gender fluid or transvestite characters. There are good and bad things about these books, but overall they’re good reads. Be prepared for some drug use, homelessness, and mental health issues, which could need trigger warnings (for instance, one of the characters in the first book, Fierce and Fabulous, sometimes goes out dressed as a woman and picks up straight men, even knowing when they figure out he has a dick it’s going to end badly for him).
Cinder Ella by S.T. Lynn is a fantasy f/f retelling of Cinderella (obviously). Ella is a trans woman of color. Check out the cover. Isn’t it gorgeous? ^_^
Lovelight Press mostly does novella-length books, lots of m/m, a good amount of f/f. No separate category for trans* characters, but dig around on their website and see what else you can find. They have a huge variety of stories, and the shorter format can be great if you are strapped for time or struggling to focus on longer books. I keep an eye on their books and stock up when the price drops to 99 cents on titles – though I did spring for the 3-book box set Love In Action. Archaeologist professor heroine and Army vet heroine bond while on a dig? Yes, please!
Just a heads-up that while If I Was Your Girl is amazing and nontragic and has a central love story, it’s not a romance.
@Katie Lynn: I LOVE Uncovering Ray, and yes, it has a non-binary MC.
“Finding Your Feet” by Cass Lennox. Wonderful. Ase f, transgender straight m.
While I think Wallflower, recommended in Kaje’s comment, is a great romance, the main character isn’t trans. He’s a gay man who enjoys crossdressing and developing a feminine persona, but he (and the story) is quite clear that he identifies as a cis man.
The Lumberjanes graphic novel series has a transgender character.
If I Was Your Girl won the Stonewall Award; When the Moon Was Ours is a Stonewall honor book. Don’t have a blinking clue if #1 is a romance; pretty sure #2 is, and, if it’s anything like Anna-Marie McLemore’s first book, it’s likely to be quite lovely.
Symptoms of Being Human (on last year’s Rainbow List) has a gender-fluid teen protagonist. Not a romance, but Every Heart a Doorway (2016 Rainbow List) has a trans character.
Anyway, I am a librarian and I work with teens a lot, hence I know 1) award winners and 2) YA. Also can’t resist unsolicited readers’ advisory. 😛
Argh! I am going crazy because I KNOW I have an amazing YA book with a cross-dressing/possibly trans character. He dresses like a girl in a party and gets caught by one of the jocks in his school, they develop a relationship and there was this hilarious scene where they go golfing with his dad
Oh, I can recommend the most wonderful novella: Artemis by Jessica Cale, from the Regency anthology ‘Holly And Hopeful Hearts: A Bluestocking Belles collection.’ The heroine is an actress, the hero is a reclusive Earl who’s a transman. Well-written, yearning, intensely erotic through the most fleeting touch of a hand or a glance. I only regretted it wasn’t longer.