The Queer Books I Read in August

First up was Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun, which I read for the September 2nd episode of All the Books. It’s a sapphic romance set in the Camino trail. I enjoyed it, though Here We Go Again is still my favourite.

Then I picked up Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology by Angela Hsieh, a middle grade fantasy graphic novel. It’s the perfect book for Tea Dragon Society fans, which I definitely count myself as. The illustrations are so beautiful that I immediately bought a bunch of prints. It’s a cozy story that also deals with grief and cultural divides between generations. Like the Tea Dragon series, it’s set in a queernorm world and has queer side characters. The ending seems to suggest the two girls might eventually have a romantic relationship, but it can be read either way.

The book I spent the most time with was To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage, which is a literary fiction title about a Cherokee young woman trying to become an astronaut. It’s such a thoughtful, heart-wrenching story about ambition, identity, family, belonging. Her college girlfriend really steals the show. I’m worried this will be overshadowed by Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but I hope it finds the audience it deserves.

I’m almost done Rebel in the Deep by Katee Robert, the third book in the Crimson Sails series, and I’ll definitely finish it by the end of August. This is a romantasy series that I find is a lot stronger in the romance department versus the fantasy aspects. Since this is the last book in the series, it’s more plot-heavy, which I haven’t been very interested in. On the other hand, it’s a polyamorous romance (M/F/NB) and there is a scene with a… device… that I can’t say I’ve ever read about before. I also appreciate how queernorm this is, with side characters using a range of pronouns, including neopronouns.

I have so many books I want to read in September that I hardly know where to start! First off, C.L. Clark has TWO new books that come out September 30th, including the final book in the Magic of the Lost trilogy, The Sovereign, which I have an ARC of and I am SO EXCITED and also scared to read it. Should I reread the first two books first? I can’t decide. I’m also looking forward to reading Fate’s Bane, her new sapphic fantasy novella.

And then there’s Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson (out October 7), the first in a bisexual polyamorous gothic fantasy series. I loved A Dowry of Blood and An Education in Malice, so I’m looking forward to this one. The premise is giving me Rocky Horror vibes, but that’s probably just because they are forced to take shelter at a manor during a storm and find themselves trapped with some eccentric people.

There are so many other exciting queer books out in September, plus the books I have out from the library, including Trans History: A Graphic Novel and The River has Roots. And then there are the physical ARCs I have piled up, like the sapphic gothic This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May and the sapphic cozy fantasy The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong (out October 14).

That’s only scratching the surface of what I want to read as the weather cools off, though, and who knows what will distract me in the meantime!