Looking for your next great queer read? Make room on your TBR. From unsettling horror to swoon-worthy romance, these 10 books are just a small sampling of the great LGBTQIA+ books hitting shelves in 2026—meaning you can read queer all year. Many of these are even available for request on NetGalley!
Psst: Consider making a List of Queer Reads on NetGalley to keep track of all of the books you want to check out!
Rottenheart by Kat Dunn
Fans of Hungerstone have been counting down the days until Kat Dunn’s sapphic Hamlet reimagining. Best friends Odette and Cecilia have grown up together, spending countless hours at Herne House in Suffolk. But when Odette’s mother dies, and her vicious aunt Claudine becomes her new stepmother, Odette and Cecilia witness something dark awakening in the manor. With horror, Odette realizes that her mother’s spirit isn’t done with them.
You’re No Better by Andrew Joseph White
Andrew Joseph White returns with a YA thriller about a trans teen grappling with the legacy of his serial killer father. Morgan helped put his father in prison, but that isn’t stopping everyone, from his mother to the documentary crew following them, from believing that he’ll grow up to be just like him. In an effort to prove he’s different, Morgan reluctantly teams up with a classmate to investigate the identity of his father’s unnamed final victim.
Appetite by P. Paramita
In her working hours, Zarina is an underappreciated and overworked prep cook at a fancy restaurant. But in her free time, Zarina creates new versions of the Bangladeshi dishes she grew up on and loses herself in watching professional wrestling. When a social media post connects Zarina with Sierra Myst, her wrestling idol, it feels like a dream. But as they grow closer, Zarina finds herself losing sight of her own life and acting like an assistant in Sierra’s.
Strange Lights by Mira González
A cryptozoologist and chupacabra toddler investigate a string of UFO sightings in this fall book. Reggie would love nothing more than to leave the past behind and carve out a quiet life with her blood-sucking adopted kid, Eldi. But she can’t resist the draw of mysterious crop circles and UFOs, and soon their small family is deep in an investigation that draws the attention of an anti-supernatural agency. With the help of their sentient Winnebago and a werewolf podcaster, they might just be able to escape with their lives and save the universe while they’re at it.
The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker
Forbidden romance, dragons, magic—what more could you ask for? In this romantasy, two princes on the run cross paths in the Wraithwood. Prince Reverie is fleeing from his kingdom’s cruel king and his plans for seizing more power. Prince Xandreth is hunting for a friend who disappeared, one that his brother, the king, won’t acknowledge as missing. When they meet, the two agree to help each other and unknowingly change the fates of their kingdoms forever.
Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun
Jane Schoenbrun, the writer and director of I Saw the TV Glow, makes their literary debut with a queer horror novel about a danger lurking on the other side of our screens. In 1988, a weatherman mentions Public Access Afterworld before dying by suicide on live television. In 2009, a teen witnesses static transform into strange broadcasts. In 2026, a content moderator begins to put the pieces together and starts to uncover the truth behind Public Access Afterworld.
Hallie’s Rules for a Recovering Romantic by Jessica Lewis
YA readers looking to be swept up in a rom-com this summer should bump Jessica Lewis’ latest to the top of their TBRs. Hallie is tired of having her heart broken, and when she’s admitted to an exclusive academic summer camp, she realizes it’s her chance to start fresh and reinvent herself. Her plan to have a romance-free summer seems like an easy one until she meets her roommate, Julia. As they grow closer, Hallie wonders if New Hallie will be able to avoid old mistakes or if it’s worth letting Julia see all of Hallie, as she truly is.
Thoughts Be Bloody by Auden Patrick
Queer Shakespeare fans are being blessed this year with not just one but two Hamlet retellings—this one is a dark academia novel featuring a trans protagonist. Horatio Bithersea is a student at Elsinore, a prestigious school known only to those who are part of the world’s secret magical society. His only goal is to graduate without hurting himself or his fellow students with the powers he can barely control. But his plans are interrupted when the ghost of a dead professor places a curse on him and his classmate Hamlett. They’re tasked with destroying the school or losing their souls.
Bloom Town: Genesis by Ally North
Ally North transports readers to the year 1852 for this sapphic historical romance where a preacher’s daughter and a gallows-bound outlaw cross paths. Abby Proctor’s dreams of starting a new life are derailed when she’s kidnapped on her way to California by the infamous outlaw Joey “JT London” Taylor. She’s determined to escape, but along the way, she uncovers secrets that make her question who she can truly trust. This is the first in a duology you won’t want to miss.
Call Me Traitor by Everina Maxwell
A soldier must reckon with her trust in the empire she serves when she is sent to retrieve an exiled traitor. En travels to the Far Peninsula, a place of deadly magic where a group of traitors were banished and left to die. When the empire realized they had survived and discovered something valuable in that wilderness, En was charged with finding them. To complete her dangerous mission, she teams up with a common soldier—only to realize that Tamol is one of the traitors she’s hunting.
Which queer book is at the top of your TBR?
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