Realistic YA by Subgenre

For Spec Fic by Subgenre, click here.

Coming of Age

Female Protag

  • *Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler – B+
  • This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow
  • Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
  • If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan
  • Off the Record by Camryn Garrett
  • Then Everything Happens at Once by M-E Girard
  • Love & Other Carnivorous Plants by Florence Gonsalves
  • Sister Mischief by Laura Goode
  • Paperweight by Meg Haston
  • Let’s Call it a Doomsday by Katie Henry
  • Run by Kody Keplinger
  • That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger
  • Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner
  • We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
  • Being Fishkill by Ruth Lehrer
  • Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
  • It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland
  • Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen
  • Final Draft by Riley Redgate
  • Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth
  • We Used to Be Friends by Amy Spalding
  • Odd One Out by Nic Stone
  • Fresh by Margot Wood

Male Protag

  • This is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves
  • Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles
  • The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch
  • The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian – G
  • Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by L.C. Rosen
  • History is All you Left Me by Adam Silvera
  • Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley
  • Tonight We Rule the World by Zack Smedley
  • Golden Boys and After Glow by Phil Stamper
  • Me, Myself & Him by Chris Tebbetts
  • The Kings of B’More R. Eric Thomas
  • Brighter than the Moon by David Valdes
  • How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters

Nonbinary Protag

  • Sasha Masha by Agnes Borinsky
  • Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff
  • Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin (Genderfluid)
  • Man O’ War by Cory McCarthy

Contemporary Romance

F/F

M/M

M/F

  • *Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler – B+
  • Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales (bi F)
  • Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson (demi F/bi M)
  • Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (biro ace F)
  • I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee (bi F/bi M)
  • Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith (trans M)
  • Wild by Hannah Moskowitz (bi F/bi M)
  • Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (queer F)
  • Noteworthy by Riley Redgate (bi F)
  • Birthday by Meredith Russo (trans F)
  • Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi (bi F)

F/NB

M/NB

  • I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
  • Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
  • The Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee
  • And They Lived by Steven Salvatore

Literary Historical

Female Protag

  • Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Historical Romance

F/F

M/M

Mystery/Thriller

Female Protag

Male Protag

Non-Binary Protag

Psychological Thriller

Retelling/Reimagining/Remix

  • *Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig (Romeo & Juliet)

Romantic Contemporary

*These are books that are not Romances by the genre definition (HFN/HEA) but have main romantic storylines

F/F

  • The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robin Brown
  • Look Both Ways by Alison Cherry
  • The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth

M/M

  • As Far As You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper

M/F

  • Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan (bi F/bi M)

 

Queering up your shelf, one rec at a time!

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