This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
A week ago, I asked you to fill out a survey of your favorite queer books of 2024 (and a few other bits and bobs). Hundreds of you did, and it was so much fun to look through your replies! Your kind comments honestly really affected me. It’s nice to have a little queer community here, especially right now, and I’m so glad that the newsletter is helpful for you. Being able to write this as (part of) my job is a dream come true. I also appreciated your suggestions for what you’d like to see recommended—I think those will keep me occupied for most of 2025!
But enough sappiness: let’s get into the books! I asked you about your favorite 2024 queer books, and here are the titles that were mentioned the most frequently. Most of them only appeared once, so I’ve included a few books that appeared on the list two or three times as honorable mentions. The rest were named as favorites by at least six people. I included recommendations from Book Riot writers when available.
Honorable Mentions:
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
Romantasy (romance + fantasy) was the fastest-rising book genre of 2024, and this queer, sexy, adventure-filled romantasy by debut author Justinian Huang made waves. Two men destined to find each other across lifetimes are reincarnated again and again, from a young emperor and courtier in ancient China to a college student and handsome stranger in modern-day Los Angeles. As their love story is reenacted through the centuries, they’re tested by the strange and dangerous world around them. How long can their love survive? —Susie Dumond
Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly
This award-winning book follows siblings Greta and Valdin as they contend with an eccentric, multiracial family, queerness, and just trying to figure it all out. Valdin is doing superficially well after having been dumped by his boyfriend a year ago—his colleagues are only occasionally weird about his Maaori heritage, and he has intermittent sad sex with a friend—when work sends him from New Zealand to Argentina, where his ex is. Meanwhile, Greta has her own bubbling sadness. She’s experiencing unrequited pining, and her family is in a state made even more perplexing by her brother’s sudden, secretive move to South America. —Erica Ezeifedi
Icarus by K. Ancrum
I don’t know how to be objective about this book. It’s one of those books that comes to you at a time when you really need to read it. It made me feel seen and helped me trace back instances of small, quiet love in my life. It’s a little bizarre, carefully tender, and quite gay. It follows a high school student who has housed too many secrets for far too many years. We watch him find trust and love in ways that were never present for him growing up. The author’s note reminded me that caring about the world and the people in it is a good thing—probably one of the best things we do for each other. —Yashvi Peeti
Tied for #5:
Each of these was mentioned as a favorite of the year by six people.
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
It’s always nice when one of the biggest literary fiction titles of the year is queer. This is a bestseller that comes highly recommended by authors like Tommy Orange, Lauren Groff, John Green, Clint Smith, and more. It follows Cyrus, a twentysomething queer poet who has been numbing his pain with drugs and alcohol. His mother was killed when her plane was shot down over Tehran in a senseless act of violence by the U.S. military. His father recently died of a heart attack. As he becomes sober, Cyrus goes looking for meaning, and he finds it by researching martyrs. When he hears about an artist dying of cancer in an exhibition at a museum, he is determined to meet her. —Danika Ellis
The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
Natasha Pulley is no stranger to the science fiction scene, and her most recent novel might be her best yet. Once a principal in London’s Royal Ballet, January now lives in a colony on Mars. As a former Earther, he’s seen as an outsider and second-class citizen. Through a strange turn of events, January agrees to an arranged marriage with Gale, a xenophobic politician. Except behind closed doors, Gale is much harder to hate. As their romance starts to take root, the political situation grows more and more challenging. —Chris M. Arnone
#4:
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
Not to ruin the suspense, but all of the top four books are romance novels! This M/M historical baseball romance was mentioned seven times.
Mark is a reporter in the 1960s who’s stuck interviewing the obnoxious New York shortstop for his whole first season. Eddie is having a tough enough time on the team, so he’s also reluctant, but neither of them is exactly given a choice. Mark is still mourning the death of his partner, the one no one knew about. He’s vowed never to have a secret relationship again—but now Mark and Eddie are falling for each other…
#3:
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
Eight people named this “lesbian romcom about death” as one of their favorites of the year, and it’s also one of my top reads of the year!
This is about two women, Logan and Rosemary, who used to be childhood best friends, but now they’re rival English teachers at the same school. When their shared mentor’s dying wish is to be driven to his cabin in Maine, they reluctantly agree to go on a road trip with him together. They’re total opposites: Logan is messy and out of control, Rosemary is the model teacher and is always in control. They soon learn they have a lot more in common than they thought, though, including that they both have ADHD. I loved every part of this. As a queer former English teacher with ADHD, it hit close to home.
#2:
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
Another baseball romance! This sports romance with a trans main character was mentioned by nine people as a favorite.
In KT Hoffman’s The Prospects, readers meet Gene Ionescu, the first openly trans professional baseball player. Gene is finally hitting his stride on his minor league team, the Beaverton Beavers, when his biggest rival is traded to his team. But the electric tension between Gene and Luis slowly turns into the kind of chemistry that can help them win big time—on the field and off. It’s a joy-filled romance sure to have baseball fans and sport-hating readers cheering wholeheartedly for the Beavers. —Susie Dumond
#1
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
The most popular queer book of the year, at least by your votes, was not even close: sixteen people said this nonbinary bisexual travel romance was a favorite! It’s also a new favorite of mine.
Theo and Kit were childhood best friends who fell in love and were inseparable into their twenties…until a fight on the way to their dream vacation changed everything. Now, it’s four years later, and the voucher for this food and wine-tasting tour across Europe is about to expire, so Theo books the trip solo at the last possible moment—only to find that Kit had the same idea. Stuck on the same trip for weeks, they hesitantly begin to rebuild their friendship. Along the way, they make a bet about who can sleep with someone first in each of the cities they visit.
The descriptions of food and drink, plus the beautiful locales, make this feel so decadent. It’s steamy and sweet at the same time, with a heavy dose of yearning. I also loved the nonbinary and bisexual representation.
As mentioned, most of the books mentioned only appeared once or twice, so this is far from the complete list of titles you mentioned! For those of you who really want your TBRs to explode, I’ve included a link to the spreadsheet of all the responses as a bonus for All Access subscribers.
Bonus content continues below.
The comments section is moderated according to our community guidelines. Please check them out so we can maintain a safe and supportive community of readers!
