Coming down off Pride month, you might think shelves would be lacking in new LGBTQ+ releases, but I’ve done some digging to make sure the queer kissing keeps on coming! From historical to SFF YA to bi m/f to a new pairing in an old setting, here’s what to make sure is on your rainbow radar for July!
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Stars, Hide Your Fires
Author: Jessica Mary Best
Released: July 11, 2023 by Quirk Books
Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young AdultA wanted thief. A murdered emperor. A killer loose on the station.
Knives Out goes sci-fi in this gripping YA mystery set in space.
As an expert thief from a minor moon, Cass knows a good mark when she sees one. The emperor’s ball is her chance to steal a fortune for herself, her ailing father, and her scrappy crew of thieves and market vendors.
Her plan is
1. Hitch a ride to the planet of Ouris, the dazzling heart of the empire.
2. Sneak onto the imperial palace station to attend the emperor’s ball.
3. Steal from the rich, the royal, and the insufferable.But on the station, things quickly go awry. When the emperor is found dead, everyone in the palace is a suspect—and someone is setting Cass up to take the fall. To clear her name, Cass must work with an unlikely a gorgeous and mysterious rebel with her own reasons for being on the station. Together, they unravel a secret that could change the fate of the empire.
This delightful genre-mashup combines a fun space adventure, compelling mystery, and Sapphic romance laced with intrigue, betrayal, and banter. If a queer sci-fi romp where you have no idea who to trust but you do know whose faces you want to smush together and scream “Kiss!!!!” sounds like your jam, this is definitely the new release for you.
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A Rulebook for Restless Rogues
Author: Jess Everlee
Released: July 11, 2023 by Carina Adores
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Lucky Lovers of London #2London, 1885
David Forester and Noah Clarke have been best friends since boarding school. All grown up now, clever, eccentric Noah is Savile Row’s most promising young tailor, while former socialite David runs an underground queer club, The Curious Fox.
Nothing makes David happier than to keep the incense lit, the pianist playing and all his people comfortable, happy and safe until they stumble out into the dawn. But when the unscrupulous baron who owns the Fox moves to close it, David’s world comes crashing down.
Noah’s never feared a little high-stakes gambling, but as he risks his own career in hopes of helping David, he realizes two things:
One: David has not been honest about how he ended up at The Curious Fox in the first place
Two: Noah’s feelings for David have become far more than friendly
What future lies beyond those first furtive kisses? Noah and David can hardly wait to find out…if they can untangle David from his web of deception without losing everything Noah has worked for.
The second book in the Lucky Lovers of London series brings best friends-to-lovers to historical Europe, the perfect move to adult romance for fans of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. I absolutely love the idea of an underground queer club in the Victorian era as a setting, and the promise of one of the characters having a secret past is just the olive in the martini.
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The Third Daughter
Author: Adrienne Tooley
Released: July 18, 2023 by Christy Ottaviano Books
Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young AdultBook 1 in a sweeping YA duology about legacy, betrayal, sisterhood, and politicizing emotion in the quest for power—all balanced by a slow-burn LGBTQ romance.
For centuries, the citizens of Velle have waited for their New Maiden to return. The prophecy states she will appear as the third daughter of a third daughter. When the fabled child is finally born to Velle’s reigning queen all rejoice except for Elodie, the queen’s eldest child, who has lost her claim to the crown. The only way for Elodie to protect Velle is to retake the throne. To do so, she must debilitate the Third Daughter—her youngest sister, Brianne.
Desperate, Elodie purchases a sleeping potion from Sabine, who sells sadness. But the apothecary mistakenly sends the princess away with a vial of tears instead of a harmless sleeping brew. Sabine’s sadness is dangerously powerful, and Brianne slips into a slumber from which she will not wake. With the fates of their families and country hanging in the balance, Sabine and Elodie hurry to revive the Third Daughter while a slow-burning attraction between the two girls erupts in full force.
A must-read for fans of the BookTok sensations Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson, and These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Tooley’s one of YA’s most prolific new authors of Sapphic fantasy, though this is a slight departure from her earlier standalones, being a duology-opener. It’s got magic, it’s got royalty, and, most importantly, it’s got a slow-burn romance between a lesbian princess and a bisexual apothecary I can’t wait to see spark.
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Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review
Author: Tehlor Kay Mejia
Released: July 18, 2023 by Dell
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, RomanceA music critic stuck in a spiral of epic proportions targets her teenage crush for a career comeback and a chance at revenge. What could possibly go wrong?
Sammy Espinoza’s life is a raging dumpster fire. Her desperate attempt to win back her singer ex-girlfriend has landed her in hot water at work, and she has one last chance before her editor cuts her column. Luckily, Sammy has a plan to redeem herself, but it won’t be easy.
Rumor has it that Max Ryan, the former rock god, is secretly recording his first-ever solo album years after he dramatically quit performing. And it just so happens that he and Sammy have Right before Max got his big break, he and Sammy spent an unforgettable night together.
Exclusive access to Max’s new music would guarantee Sammy’s professional comeback and, even better, give her the opportunity to serve some long-awaited revenge for his traumatic ghosting.
But Max lives in Ridley Falls, Washington, and Sammy has history there as a family that never wanted her and a million unanswered questions. Going back would mean confronting it all—but what else does she have to lose?
Contemporary adult romance is a new frontier for MG and YA fantasy author Mejia, but I’m always down for a bi m/f, and always down for enemies-to-lovers, especially where a revenge element is involved. And the main character is a music critic? Threaten me with an excellent time, why don’t you!
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In the Case of Heartbreak
Author: Courtney Kae
Released: July 25, 2023 by Kensington Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Fern Falls #2With a gorgeous beachfront mansion, salty ocean breeze, steamy nights, and ALL the summertime feels, this funny, sexy queer rom-com is a celebration of summer love, as a cinnamon roll of a pastry chef finds his indie rocker crush suddenly within reach. Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston, Roan Parrish, Alexandria Bellefleur, Ruby Barrett, and Alexis Hall!
Ben has been baking his mother’s cinnamon rolls at the family café for years. He’s been quietly in love with Adam Reed, his musician-slash-mechanic neighbor, for just as long. But Ben’s done waiting behind the pastry case. Despite his fear of failure, he’s entered a make-or-break competition to build his recipes into a national brand. He’s going to take charge of his business instead of nearly tanking the café—again. And he’s going to finally confess his feelings for Adam. ON LIVE TV.
Except his big plans get punched down before they even half-rise. Soon Ben is dashing down the coast to his grandma’s 80th birthday party on the beach, hiding his broken heart in Maywell Bay, California. Sun, sea, and fresh breezes should blow in something new—except they don’t. They blow in Adam Reed, grinning like a pirate and stealing the show as the musical entertainment hired by Grandma for her big bash. Grandma’s signature Heartbreak Tea is the only remedy, and Grandma’s tea could take the paint off a fence.
But there’s a burn of truth along with the booze in his bottle, and Ben has a decision to make. Can he take the sweetness in front of him, and brave the bitterness that comes after? Or is a little sea salt just what this cinnamon roll needs?
Salty cinnamon rolls? Ew. Ben would never .
I loved In the Event of Love, the f/f Christmas romance that first kicked off the Fern Falls series, so picking up another book in the same universe (albeit its presumable polar opposite, being an m/m literal beach read) is a no-brainer. I’m a sucker for both boys who bake and musicians, so I have a feeling I will absolutely go down with this ship.
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Thank you for this excellent list. I’m now first in line at my library for several of these, which are on order. I can’t read, wait to read about a cinnamon roll baker who bakes actual, you know, cinnamon rolls.
I have one m/m romance on next week’s tbr: RELUCTANT RENEGADE (July 12), the next book in Garrett Leigh’s Rebel Kings series of motorcycle club romances. The previous books in the series have been gritty but also emphasizing found family. In this entry, one MC is fighting for custody of his daughter, and there appears to be a fake relationship element to the plot.
My new M/M release DRAMA QUEEN features a physician assistant who moonlights as a set medic and the actor he meets on set. Found family galore, career evolution, grief & resolution, with a happy ending guaranteed. (author Alexandra Caluen – find it at publisher JMS Books LLC, Smashwords, Kobo, Nook, & AMZ)
All on my TBR pile!
I cannot wait for Stars, Hide Your Fires!
Slightly late, but I just discovered that Brooke Blaine’s long-postponed m/m romance, BEDHEAD, was finally released in late June. It’s the first of a new series called Hate to Love You and obviously features antagonists-to-lovers, but it also has enforced proximity and only one bed. Not that I’m a trope queen or anything.
Harlequin has another queer category (Special Edition) coming out near the end of the month: “Diving Into Forever” by Laurel Greer.
“To complete his beloved late sister’s bucket list, chef Kellan Murphy needs to triumph over his fear of deep water. Enter American dive instructor Sam Walker, as kind as he is electrifying to every fiber of Kell’s being. Sam’s soon nudging his way into the Irishman’s heart. But with Kellan’s dive certification comes an inheritance…and the restaurant of his dreams a continent away. Is Kellan’s future really on Oyster Island—with Sam?”