Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa (m/m)
Half Court Shot by Kimani Mae (f/f)
Loving the Legend by Kit Grey (m/m)
Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter (f/f)
Two Can Play That Game by Zakiya N. Jamal (f/x)
Fave Five: QBIPOC Sports Romance
Fave Five: Queer Jamaican Fiction
The Lovers, the Liars, and Me by DeAndra Davis (YA)
Songs of Irie by Asha Bromfield (YA)
Broughtupsy by Christina Cooke
Here Comes the Sun and Patsy by Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn
Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde
Bonus: These all star Jamaican MCs, but for a Jamaican-inspired fantasy duology, check out So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole (YA)
Fave Five: Roommates-to-Lovers Romance
Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao (f/f)
Off Campus by Amy Jo Cousins (m/m)
The Roommate Arrangement by Jae (f/f)
Cattle Stop by Kit Oliver (m/m)
The Snowball Effect by Haley Cass (f/f)
Bonus: These are all contemporary, but for a paranormal take, check out The Invisible Roommate by Timothy Janovsky, coming this fall
Exclusive Cover Reveal: Not Just a Stage by Kelsey B. Toney
Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome Kelsey B. Toney to reveal the cover of her bi Contemporary Middle Grade debut, Not Just a Stage, releasing April 20, 2027 from Crown Books for Young Readers! Here’s the story:
A funny, accessible upper middle grade novel about young performer Sunny, who is torn between her rock band and the theater world—and between her guitarist, Kennedy, and a castmate, Carlos.
Sunny Cavendish knows exactly who she is onstage.
Actually… she knows who she is on two stages. By day, Sunny is a musical theater powerhouse, fresh off her final middle school show and chasing a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to an elite summer workshop that could change her future forever. By night, she’s the lead singer of The Pulled Petals, an all-girl rock band on the verge of their biggest break yet.
The problem? Both dreams want everything. When Sunny’s band lands a career-making audition the exact same week she earns a callback for the workshop, Sunny decides to do the impossible: she won’t choose. She’ll juggle it all. Sneak between rehearsals. Say yes to every opportunity. Make everyone happy. What could go wrong?
As exhaustion mounts, lies pile up, friendships strain, and a crush on two very different people complicates everything, Sunny is forced to confront a truth she’s been avoiding: sometimes chasing every dream means risking the ones that matter most.
And here’s the cover, designed by Jade Rector with art by Emma Ream!
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | PRH
Kelsey B. Toney writes humorous, heartfelt stories about the hope that exists after we’ve made our most laughably bad decisions. She is the author of the USA Today Bestseller, THE UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCE OF BLEEDING ON A TUESDAY which was a NYPL and Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year, an ALA “RISE: A Feminist Book Project List” Top Ten Selection, an ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten Selection, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. In past lives, Kelsey has been a teacher, recording artist, and actress—always in pursuit of connection through art and empathy. Learn more about Kelsey at kelseybtoney.com, on her podcast, or in her newsletter.
Fave Five: New Polyamorous Fiction, 2026 Edition
For 2025 titles, click here.
The Beast by Katee Robert
They All Fall in Love at the End by Haili Blassingame
Devour Me by Emily Rath
The Halls of the Dead by S.M. Hallow
Strange Lights by Mira González
Bonus: These are all standalones or series openers, but for a sequel, check out Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer, sequel to Warrior Princess Assassin
Double Bonus: These are all Adult, but for New Adult, check out The Third Wish by T.E. Forest
Fave Five: Royal F/F Romance
Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst (YA Fantasy)
 Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales (YA Contemporary)
Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins (YA Contemporary)
Her Royal Happiness by Lola Keeley (Contemporary)
How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole (Contemporary)
Fave Five: Sporty Graphic Novels
Blood City Rollers by V.P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill (MG)
Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu (YA)
Fence by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad (YA)
Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frazier, Val Wise, and Oscar O. Jupiter (YA)
Grand Slam Romance by Ollie Hicks and Emma OosterhousÂ
Out in the 17th Century: a Guest Post by My Love All Love Excels Author Norena Shopland
Today on the site I”m pleased to welcome Norena Shopland, author of My Love All Love Excels, the biography of Katherine Philips: the seventeenth-century Welsh poet whose love for two women dominated her life. Before we get to the post, here’s a little more info on the book:
Katherine Philips: the first woman to have a play commercially produced; a seventeenth-century poet writing about love, society and relationships during the tumultuous years of the English Civil War. But as with many early women writers, she has been largely forgotten by historians, and she slipped into obscurity a few decades after her death in 1664.
She lived in violent times; a Royalist while her husband was a Parliamentarian. With the restoration of the monarchy she faced a choice, leave him to his fate or save him. Yet it is her love for two Welsh women that dominated Katherine’s life, and these relationships were writ large in her poems to the point where scandal, detailed for the first time in this book, threatened to destroy her reputation.
My Love All Love Excels is an extraordinary account of a remarkable writer who was deeply passionate, complex and loyal. A woman who lived life on her own terms.
Buy it: Parthian Books | Bookshop (November preorder)
And here’s the post, by Norena Shopland:
Same-sex relationships between women in the historic past are often harder to find than those of men. Many that do exist in queer history are there because of what was written about them, rather than because we hear from the individuals themselves.
Katherine Philips is different. She wrote openly of her love for two women.
Inside an Anthology: Living, Together ed. by Samantha Paige Rosen
Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome a number of the queer contributors of Living, Together: Reimagining Community in the Age of Disconnection ed. by Samantha Paige Rosen, a brand-new nonfiction anthology from Beacon Press! Before we get to the insider peek from the contributors, here’s a little more about the book:
21 writers and organizers on chosen family, hacking adulthood, and other lessons communal living can teach us about the future of housing in America
At age 29, when Samantha Paige Rosen made an unexpected move back home, she was surprised to find how much she loved living with her parents again. Inspired and curious, she began searching for others who had redefined home and community.
The essays and Q&As in Living, Together are about carving out spaces of communal connection and joy in our 3-bed, 2-bath starter home culture. Although they recount life at different stages and in different regions, these stories showcase the delights and tradeoffs of more dynamic shapes of “home.” Across sections on family, intentional community, and what lies beyond housing, readers will hear from voices like:
- Kristen Arnett, whose found family kept her afloat, from weddings to hurricane season and everything in between
- Kim Stanley Robinson, who describes the magic of communities that are led by everyone
- Sarah Thankam Mathews, who founded a pandemic mutual aid group and discovered, like so many of us, how essential connection and care are in times of crisis
- Rodney M. Bordeaux, who explores how strength and unity are inextricably tied to life on First Nations reservations
Communal living isn’t just for cults or millennials with a pipe dream. Amidst the climate crisis, a hostile housing market, and the loneliness epidemic, Living, Together opens a window into how people in the US are thriving through collective care. This book invites us to imagine what new opportunities for connection exist when we push through the walls society has built for us.
And here’s a selection of the contributors to talk about their essays!
Continue reading Inside an Anthology: Living, Together ed. by Samantha Paige Rosen
Happy International Nonbinary Day 2026!
Happy International Nonbinary Day 2026! We’re celebrating, as we do, with books starring nonbinary main characters and/or love interests! For even more recs, check out past years’ posts.
Early Reader
Witchycakes #1: Sweet Magic by Kara LeReau and Ariane Moreira
Welcome to the most magical bakery — Witchycakes! Little Blue, a witch-in-training, delivers baked goods all over their town, and helps their neighbors with a touch of magic. Cozy up with this sweet chapter book with irresisitible full-color art on every page!
In a magical bakery called Witchycakes there’s a young witch-to-be named Blue. Blue’s Mama bakes with magic and Blue makes the deliveries! They ride their bike all over town with their basket filled with magical scones, tartes, and pies to deliver. There’s always something going on in Shelville and Blue loves to help their neighbors — especially if helping them means they get to use a little bit of magic.
Cook up some love with Blue as they use magic and problem-solving to be the best helper they can be in their whimsical little town. And there’s a special magical recipe at the end of the book!