LGBT Month is hosted by Laura @ Laura Plus Books and Cayce @ Fighting Dreamer. It runs throughout the month of April and it’s here to celebrate LGBT+ readers, LGBT+ authors and of course LGBT+ books.
LGBT Favourites for LGBT Month
As part of LGBT Month I wanted to highlight some of the amazing authors/books I read in the last year that really affected me. Some of these books have pride of place in my all-time favourite reads and I wanted to share them with you. I have only included Young Adult and New Adult titles (though some cover a longer period of time) in this list.
I have already discussed the Seasons series by Jay Bell, Survivor stories by J. P. Barnaby, Hannah Moskowitz’s Gone, Gone, Gone and Teeth, and the Gives Light series by Rose Christo in Part 1. I wrote about Hushed, Suicide Watch and Made of Stars by Kelley York, Pantomime and Shadowplay by Laura Lam and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz in Part 2. Here are more of my favourite LGBT books/authors.
(In)visible by Anyta Sunday
I was riveted by this lovely little story. I have read and enjoyed several of Anyta Sunday’s books but this one is definitely my favourite. It is about two boys who meet and form a beautiful connection which is suddenly severed when tragedy strikes. It is far more complicated than that though. Rune, one of the boys, is invisible and Scott (the other boy) is the only one who can see him. Sweet and touching but never overly so, this book completely charmed me. It was not without its fair share of heartbreak but it was a very hopeful story at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.
Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson
I tend to favour LGBT books with a healthy dose of angst (it’s just how I roll). That does not mean I do not enjoy more light-hearted stories and Know Not Why absolutely ticked all my boxes. Great main characters and quirky and endearing supporting characters. I found myself laughing out loud many times when reading this (which doesn’t happen to me very often). Howie and Arthur – two polar opposites who ended up being just about perfect for each other – I loved them. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Hannah Johnson writes a sequel one of these days and preferably soon!
Crush by Laura Susan Johnson
This is a stunning debut from Laura Susan Johnson but it is one of the most heart-breaking books I have ever read (and believe me I read a lot of angsty books). Child abuse is never an easy subject matter to read about for me but this story sucked me in. I was completely and utterly captivated from beginning to end. Though there were times I did want to put my book in the freezer (sorry just trying to inject a little levity and Friends references are sure to do just that!) Seriously though, read this book. It will crush you to pieces but it is so worth the devastation you will feel.
Silent by Sara Alva
This book gutted me. It truly is an amazing read. The characters were so real and flawed but at the same time so perfect. I loved Alex and Sebastian and was totally rooting for them to get a happy ending even though the outlook looked really bleak at times. This book also gave an insight into homelessness which really made me think. I felt very helpless when reading this. I just wanted these boys to be safe and happy and when it looked as though this may not happen I was totally beside myself. Under all the heartbreak this really is a lovely little coming-of-age tale and Sara Alva did not pull her punches – this story will really make you feel.
Anything at all by Mia Kerick!!!
Mia Kerick is a relatively new discovery for me and has quickly become a firm favourite. I have loved all of her books so far and am eagerly anticipating her next sure-to-be amazing release. I love Brett and Cory from Beggars and Choosers and Unfinished Business – they were so sweet and cute together.
Intervention broke my heart and soul. I have a soft spot for Kai and Jamie – they are my favourite boys so far! Package Deal introduced another lovely pairing in the form of Robby and Tristan (and Savannah too!), and Not Broken, Just Bent had just about the sweetest couple of youngsters ever – I just loved Ben and Timmy.
Out of Hiding was perhaps my least favourite book but it was still a fabulous read and Philippe and Dario made such a great couple. Both The Red Sheet and Us Three dealt with the devastating trauma that can be caused by bullying. Bryan and Scott I just couldn’t help but root for (despite of what happened between them previously). I honestly never expected to become so invested in a menage relationship. Casey, Nate and Zander proved me so very wrong!
Mia Kerick has proven herself to be a really great writer. Any of her future books will be a definite auto-buy for me. She writes her characters with a truly authentic voice and isn’t afraid to tackle the more difficult and hard-hitting topics. I thought about just covering a couple of her books in this post but I couldn’t do it – I love them all!
Well that’s the third (and final) part of my favourite LGBT books. I hope you have enjoyed my somewhat scattered and meandering thoughts and I really hope you will check some of them out!
This will probably be my last post for LGBT Month (it has gone by so quickly) but I had a blast and really enjoyed seeing all the amazing content from other bloggers and all the authors who contributed and donated to the event.
A huge thanks to Cayce and Laura for hosting LGBT Month – I really hope to take part again next year!!
I loved (In)visible (haven’t seen this cover though), Know Not Why and Silent. And I have Crush on my maybe-shelf (kinda afraid it would be too dark for me…)
And so many Mia Kerick books! I’ve read Beggars and Choosers and Intervention and really enjoyed both (gave them 4 stars on GR) so I’ll definitely be reading more from her.
Seems to be the new version of the cover – I recently upgraded my kindle and it shows this cover now. I think it looks prettier than the old one. 😉 Crush is very dark but I loved the characters and the story (I did have to skip a few parts that were just too hard-going though).
Lol – I have become a bit of a Mia Kerick fangirl. I would particularly recommend The Red Sheet and Us Three if you enjoyed Intervention – they are both so amazing!!