2025 has been a colossal year for LGBTQIA+ book releases and it has already given us some incredible stories to consume and obsess over, yet there’s still 3 months left of the year which means we have one last preview for what’s left in store! If you haven’t found your favourite book of the year yet, then maybe you will in this list! From sapphic rom-coms, to trans manifestos, to gay vampire B&B hosts… here’s what you should sink your teeth into for the rest of the year!

Starting off the list we have a (somewhat) realistic approach to the sapphic dating scene with this hilariously relatable rom-com. Hope has nothing going for her. She’s in a job she hates, she’s been forced to quit her band, and to make matters worse, her ex – the love of her life, Julia – is now getting married to her best friend’s ex (ouch) . But there’s one silver lining: Hope has been invited to play at their wedding… and she’s going to get Julia back. However, the road to true love is never easy. Will Hope win back the woman she loves, or does the universe have something else in store?

Another queer rom-com for you to cosy up with, but this time, with a time-loop twist! Sergio, renowned photographer and playboy extraordinaire, plans to welcome the New Year in style. Along with his brother Adrien, they’re off to the winter wonderland of Lake Placid, ready for a holiday filled with skiing, laughter, and good company. The festive spirit turns sour when Sergio crosses paths with Jeremy, the one who got away. After a series of blunders leaves everyone around him fuming, Sergio finds himself caught in a bizarre twist of fate: a time loop forcing him to relive New Year’s Eve repeatedly. Can Sergio navigate through his mistakes and salvage the relationships most important to him, or is he doomed to spend eternity making the same missteps on the last night of the year?

Switching it up from lighthearted fiction to a manifesto the world is in dire need of right now, veteran author and activist, Jude Doyle, reunites feminist and trans politics through this sharp and relevant body of work. When Doyle began his transition in the summer of 2020, he had a very public career as a feminist–winning awards from women’s organisations, writing for women’s magazines, publishing books on ‘women’s issues.’ Then, after a decade in the movement, he had to walk out in front of the public and tell them he had never been a woman at all. DILF offers a seldom-heard and much-needed transmasculine perspective on feminist subjects, drawing together strands of intersectional feminist theory and queer and trans politics to show that all their struggles are the same struggle. Using interviews, critical analysis, and Doyle’s own personal experience, he proves that feminism is a vital and necessary tool for understanding the politics of the body, whoever you are.

For the brillant mind behind The Lie and How We Told It and Men I Trust, the internationally-acclaimed and trans creator Tommi Parrish returns with an emotional, shapeshifting collection that will grip at your heart and refuse to let go. Balancing emotional honesty with a keen awareness of the human condition, Parrish navigates fear, loneliness, identity, body politics, queer desire, masculinity, fear, and the ever-fluid nature of all human relationships. Collecting over two dozen short stories of varying lengths, interspersed with ephemera from Parrish’s own life: diary entries, photographs, illustrations, paintings, and more, as well as showcasing Parrish’s expressionistic character designs and visual style, The Past Is A Grotesque Animal is a must-read.

This beautiful picture book breaks down gender in ways both a parent and a child can understand, regarding certain feelings with identity, change, acceptance and love. Call Me Gray follows different conversations between a child and their dad about feeling mixed up in who they are. Eventually, the child expresses their desire to be called ‘Gray’. This personal story, co-written by acclaimed author Andrew Larsen and his son Bells, is inspired by Bells’s own experience as a transgender person. It’s about the joy and comfort a child feels when a parent affirms their identity.

PM Press has published a groundbreaking anthology when it comes to understanding the experiences of trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people who have navigated pregnancy. Seahorses brings together a wide spectrum of voices to share unique stories about navigating family building, pregnancy, fertility treatments, conception, loss, healthcare, abortion, childbirth, the early days of parenting, and the intersections of legal, political, and cultural contexts. Alongside individual stories, this book features collaborative round-table discussions where contributors address shared questions about personal journeys, community, advice and information, and pregnancy care. This book is both a vital resource for trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive communities and an invitation for readers of all genders to get a glimpse of trans joy and resilience that will stick with you and inspire you to love a little deeper.

An Amateur Witch’s Guide to Murder is the perfect read to get you ready for Halloween. We follow two men, Mateo and Topher, as Mateo, an Occult Specialist, tries to lift Topher’s bad luck curse which keeps killing the people who get close to him. Yet it could never be that simple. With some hijinks and a deadly magical conspiracy along the way (as well as Mateo fighting off his inner demon, literally), this laugh-out-loud debut by K. Valentin is perfect for fans of queer romantic fantasy!

Cipher Press is back with another phenomenal novel. Terry Dactyl has lived many lives. Raised by boisterous lesbian mothers in Seattle, she comes of age as a trans girl in the 1980s in a world of dancing queens and late-night house parties just as the AIDS crisis ravages their world. After moving to New York City, Terry finds a new family among gender-bending club kids bonded by pageantry and drugs, fiercely loyal and unapologetic. She lands a job at a Soho gallery, where, after partying all night, she spends her days bringing club culture to the elite art world. Twenty years later, in a panic during the COVID-19 lockdown, Terry returns to a Seattle stifled by gentrification and pandemic isolation until resistance erupts following the murder of George Floyd, and her search for community ignites once again. In propulsive, intoxicating prose, Terry Dactyl traces an extraordinary journey from adolescence to adulthood, delivering a vital portrait of queer identity in all its peril and possibility.

One for the yoai fans now (me included). This is the first of Komachi Katsura’s works which have been officially translated into English! Amidst the dark glamour of host club Velvet Kiss, Juri/Juliet commands a vice-like grip on the number one position. Impressed by this poker-faced beauty’s supreme reign, newbie and number-two host Akatsuki decides he must learn Juliet’s secrets and shoot him down from the top of the pack. But Akatsuki’s first up-close taste of Juliet’s intoxicating charm leaves him craving more than he’d expected. And as he may soon learn, some secrets are better left in their bottles, and the bullet that shoots through one heart might take out more than it bargained for…

Complete with never-before-seen photos and iconic artworks, this is an unfiltered and intimate chronicle of portrait artist Don Bachardy’s Hollywood life. Don Bachardy has lived an extraordinary life at the heart of Hollywood, literary, and artistic circles. His drawings and paintings reside in museums throughout Europe and the United States, and include portraits of movie stars, writers, artists, and public and private figures of every background-from Bette Davis and Joan Crawford to Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote-all rendered in a candid, expressive style unmistakably the artist’s own. In this unique oral biography, Bachardy recounts his astonishing story, providing illuminating recollections of celebrity portrait sittings and revelations about his 30-year relationship with Christopher Isherwood.

Snack break anyone? Perfect timing as next we have an anthology of essays, comics, and recipes that reveals the dynamic and transformative relationship between queerness and food. Food has long played an important role in queer culture. Lesbian and queer women run feminist restaurants, cafes, and coffeehouses have been safe spaces for queer and trans folk where gender norms can be challenged and where female authority is legitimised. During the AIDS epidemic, gay men and their allies centered food as an expression of collective care for those who needed it most. And queer and trans folk have asserted themselves in a restaurant culture largely controlled by white cisgender men. Queers at the Table celebrates the various intersections between queers and food. In its essays, comics, and recipes, the book shows how queer food fosters connections, defies norms, honours legacies, and creates community.

Another debut novel, yet this time it’s from renowned and acclaimed poet Rosemand Taylor, taking us on a genre-bending coming-of-age story. Orla is discovering her sexuality in the hostile and misogynistic world of Ireland’s school system; when her friend Muireann rejects her advances, she turns to her online community for support, and her charismatic English teacher Irene Wall for a love affair both passionate and annihilating. A novel in verse telling a story of sexual awakening, masochistic love, and the transformative possibilities of communities that transcend binaries, Filly is an exploration of intergenerational love and trauma, and an explosion of queer joy. Perfect for fans of Chloe Michelle Howarth.

Speaking of Chloe Michelle Howarth, we are very excited for this highly anticipated release. Much like Howarth’s sensational debut, Sunburn, her second novel explores rural Irish life at a specific moment in time and delves into the claustraphobic relationships and tangled identities. January 1965. The orphaned O’Leary siblings – Tom, Jack, Anna and Peggy – arrive in the village of Ballycrea, tight-lipped about their troubled past and desperate for a fresh start. After being met with suspicion from most of the locals, the family are thrilled when they’re taken under the wing of their well-respected neighbours, Bill and Betty Nevan, who offer them work, companionship and an opportunity to fit in. But for one of the O’Learys, this new friendship sparks an intense attachment that makes the dynamic dangerous for all. It’s difficult to bury secrets, but almost impossible to bury feelings…

Silver Sprocket always publishes sensational indie comics and Letters of the Heart is no exception. Why has no one ever seen the lady of the house? Mary and Edith are maids in Lady Julia’s household, yet they have never met her. Prompted by the terrible thought their lady might be lonely, Mary and Edith set out to solve the mystery and finally talk to their benefactor. With the help of the other maids, Miki the cat, and their own love and support of each other, the girls uncover the truth about Lady Julia – and a bit about themselves as well. A heartwarmingly sweet story about the bonds of the heart and what creates a community, drawn in Ignatz Award winner Pa-Luis’s signature manga-inspired style.

This recommendation is for the gamers out there. This is a captivating collection of personal essays that unpack the mystifying and often intimate roles that video games play in our lives. Interweaving memoir with cultural critique, Kawika Guillermo explores the subtle yet transformative influences of video games in shaping them as a queer and mixed-race grandson of two preachers; as a traveller, immigrant, and games scholar; and as a father, caretaker, and mourner. Through a mixture of fanciful musing, rigorous inquiry, and unflinching self-reflection, Of Floating Isles reframes the gamer’s retreat from others not as social isolation, but as a quest for a different community, one where they feel seen, heard, and understood.

We’re almost at the end of the year and this list, and I have been saving the best picks til last…

Married odd couple Arthur and Sal are totally normal. They wear sunscreen, not because the sun can kill them, but because even the undead need a skincare regimen. They eat garlic whenever they want, though it gives Sal indigestion. They can talk to creatures of the night, but only the raccoons that rifle through their garbage. Really, they don’t bite… except into delicious baked goods. Ready to settle down and stay out of trouble, the two have opened a bed & breakfast in the idyllic, if not-so-paranormal-friendly, town of Trident Falls, Oregon. But trouble finds them when the mayor is discovered dead in their begonias with two puncture wounds in his neck. With the help of a werewolf barista, the elven town coroner, and a very human city manager, Arthur and Sal will need to prove they aren’t literally out for blood by catching a killer…

Another important read if you want to be informed of trans history and its impact in the early 90’s. In 1993, Mirha Soleil-Ross and Xanthra Phillipa MacKay, fed up with a gay scene that rejected trans people and a trans scene that saw no alternative to going ‘stealth,’ began to publish the zine Gendertrash From Hell. Over four issues, they interviewed sex workers and prisoners; they printed collages, soap operas and polemics; they ran regular sections with titles like ‘Trannies Speak Out’ and ‘Hooker of the Month’. They redefined transsexual culture forever, and their explosive ideas resonate deeply today. Remastered from the original layouts, this foundational work is now available in book form for the first time, including previously-unseen drafts from the unfinished fifth issue and essays by Trish Salah and Leah Tigers.

If you’re looking for a heartwarming teen graphic novel, this is the answer. Wrack & Rune follows nineteen-year-old Rory Denborough who was born into magic by way of the insular society known as The Translators. For his entire life, Rory has been given control over a world of awe-inspiring wonders – telekinesis, shape-shifting, teleportation, advanced healing, even time travel. Everything is possible thanks to his family’s enchanted bloodline and an ancient language passed down through generations. But he’s not happy. Because Rory’s world is also a world of secrets. Translators hide in the shadows, keeping their power from the world around them. Rory struggles in this secrecy, sneaking out of his family’s hidden highrise apartment to blend into the wonderfully normal streets and peoples of New York City. After sneaking out one night, Rory meets Tyson, an Outsider, who knows nothing about the Translators or their gifts. Soon, the two young men are falling in love… but this idyllic romance starts to fall apart once Rory reveals his magical origins.

If you haven’t heard the news, Dead Ink is truly spoiling us with their new series, Outsider Classics. This series exhumes lost literary voices that were ahead of their time to restore them to the cult status they always deserved. From forgotten masterpieces to once-censored provocations, each title is a reaction against the canon curated for readers who want to stray into the margins and away from the mainstream.

Dick and Reggie are ‘leather boys’, working-class London teens with an affinity for leather jackets and motorcycles who become friends through their involvement in a gang. For Dick, the money he gets from the gang’s thefts helps to support his ailing grandmother; for Reggie, membership in the gang provides relief from an unhappy home life and a loveless marriage. When Reggie decides to leave his unfaithful wife and move in with Dick, the two soon discover their feelings for each other are much stronger than mere friendship… Gillian Freeman’s The Leather Boys is a groundbreaking classic of gay fiction that remains moving and compelling today. Freeman’s novel and its 1964 film adaptation played a vital part in liberalising British attitudes towards homosexuality.

And just like how the year has flown by, we are at the last recommendation of the year, and it wouldn’t be 2025 without the looming threat of AI…

When Stella Renee Johnson’s roommate invites her to a party but bails at the last minute, Stella decides to use the opportunity to finally cash in her V-card. But just when things are heating up between Stella and a mysterious stranger, they realise they don’t have protection and Stella flees. Frustrated in more ways than one, Stella is shocked to learn that the digital media website where she works is partnering with an AI company, threatening her job. She’s even more shocked when the alluring man from the previous night walks in, Max Williams, the CEO’s brother. Despite the conflict of interest, Stella and Max can’t resist their magnetic attraction toward each other, and agree to keep their personal lives separate from what’s happening at work. But the more similarities they discover at home – both Black, book smart, and bisexual – the more they butt heads at work. Stella and Max must decide whether to think with their heads and walk away from their budding relationship, or follow their hearts and take a chance on love, no matter the cost.