Whether you’re going on an obligatory trip with your in-laws, a solo adventure or a romantic getaway, there is always a reason to take a book along for some sort of escape. At least one (or three … or all) of these six 2023 queer-themed novels is perfect for sitting poolside, enjoying a quiet day in a café or picnicking by the beach. From raunchy and romantic to gothic and historic, pick your pleasure wisely. Or pack an extra suitcase solely for these spectacular new books. Up to you, gays.
Rosewater by Liv Little. Get Lifted Books
Published in April 2023, this long-awaited debut novel from a British writer of Jamaican and Guyanese descent touches on themes of blossoming independence and love, and the internal and external struggles of allowing ourselves to fully embrace the two. Elsie is a 28-year-old woman living in South London. She’s estranged from her family and struggling to find her place in the world. Her story holds the importance of community in high regard, and will remind you to appreciate the people around you when you’re away from your own friends and family. It might even inspire you to define and build your own version of home in each and every new place that you go.
Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis. Henry Holt and Co.
This debut adult novel, from a Brooklyn-based writer known for her 2017 YA novel Everything Must Go, was quickly named the best book of 2023 by Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Esquire magazines. The delightfully dykey story revolves around a queer couple who goes on a 10-day getaway with two other couples. Their spontaneous holiday consists of hilarious and heated situations in which secrecy, jealousy and infatuation take over. This steamy vacation story, set in a lavish lesbian couple’s country home, will definitely add some spice to any stale moments on your next trip.
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran. Bloomsbury YA
You won’t want to skip over this New York Times bestseller. This author’s fresh new voice and characters transcend typical themes of gender and sexuality. Trang, a queer Vietnamese-American writer who lives in the southern United States, jumps straight into gothic horror, exploring Vietnamese culture and the catastrophic aftermath of colonialism through a story of a visit to a haunted French colonial house in Đà Lạt, Vietnam. If you’re a fan of a little bit of a fright and worried that this terrifying tale will scare you too much during your next Airbnb stay, pack it for the plane ride back to your hopefully unhaunted home.
Lákíríboto by Ayodele Olofintuade. Cipher Press
In this unique revenge thriller set in Lagos, Nigeria, this Black, feminist, non-binary author paints a literary picture of four gender-bending women, two of them household servants, who find themselves under the thumb of an abusive doctor. They grapple with patriarchal traditions and pressures while on a journey toward freedom in both physical and psychological terms. This depiction of a queer and feminist side of Nigeria will open a new world, giving any open-minded reader and travel lover the joy of exploring a new culture through the turn of a page.
Blue Hunger by Viola Di Grado. Bloomsbury
The award-winning Di Grado tells the story of a young, grief-stricken Italian woman who resettles in Shanghai, China, where she meets a mysterious girl who also seems to be running away from something. You might come to think of the protagonist as a companion on one of your solo adventures, as she describes the sights, experiences and emotions of being in a strange new city and meeting the strange new people that dwell there. This romance novel is seductively dark, and deliciously dangerous. It will definitely keep you on the edge of your hotel reading nook or crafty café chair.
Your Love Is Not Good by Johanna Hedva. And Other Stories
A perfect novel for art-loving queer travellers, this dark romance, from a Korean-American artist, tells the story of a Korean-American artist who, while at a party in Los Angeles, falls under the spell of a beautiful muse. This inspiration in white, human form awakens a multitude of things within the protagonist, including a need to claim power and control by painting this seemingly perfect person. While she is still healing, bearing the scars of an abusive past, the artist’s newfound success takes her and her subject from Los Angeles to Berlin, where numerous new characters and obstacles force the artist to take an even deeper look at how racism and colourism control them and how they exist in the world.
