10 Must-Read Queer and LGBTQ+ Books Releasing in May 2025
- Joao Nsita
- Apr 16
- 9 min read
Introduction
Imagine stepping into a New York night where the air hums with possibility, a trans woman’s first hormone-fueled steps igniting a journey through glamour and grit. Or picture a Hollywood of 1952, where a young actor’s smoldering dreams tangle with forbidden love and betrayal, or a Fire Island summer pulsing with disco magic and the fight for survival amid loss. These aren’t just stories—they’re the vibrant, defiant worlds of May 2025’s most essential queer and LGBTQ+ books, a lineup that celebrates identity, love, and resilience in ways that’ll leave your heart racing and your soul singing. If you’re a reader who craves narratives that break molds, defy norms, and shine a spotlight on the beauty and complexity of queer lives, this month is your literary Pride parade.
Queer and LGBTQ+ literature has always been a beacon—a space where voices too often silenced find their roar, where love in all its forms triumphs over hate, and where the act of storytelling becomes a radical act of existence. May 2025 amplifies this legacy with a dazzling array of releases that span genres, eras, and experiences. From Afsana Mousavi’s raw, electric Love Story to Christina Li’s haunting The Manor of Dreams, these books weave tales of trans nightlife, historical romance, speculative futures, and gothic mysteries—all through a queer lens. Mark B. Perry’s And Introducing Dexter Gaines resurrects 1950s Hollywood with a gay awakening, while Jaime Burnet’s milktooth grapples with pregnancy and abuse in a tender yet fierce narrative. Blair Fell’s Disco Witches of Fire Island dances through 1989’s AIDS crisis with magic and heart, and Jenny Adams’s A Poisonous Silence uncovers a 1920s murder with sapphic stakes. Emma Newman’s The Vengeance sails into a vampire-haunted pirate saga, Marisa Crane’s A Sharp Endless Need scores a queer coming-of-age on the basketball court, Emily Tesh’s The Incandescent battles demons with magical might, and Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness offers a poetic reckoning in a fading town.
This isn’t just a list—it’s a celebration of queer joy, pain, and power, a testament to stories that refuse to be sidelined. Whether you’re here for swashbuckling adventure, tender romance, or speculative twists, these 10 must-reads deliver. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through links on this site—your support fuels this content at no extra cost to you, so thank you! May 2025’s queer and LGBTQ+ releases are a vibrant tapestry of voices—some loud, some quiet, all unforgettable. Let’s dive into these worlds where love defies, identities soar, and every page is a victory.
1. Love Story by Afsana Mousavi
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Description:Io arrives in New York chasing reinvention, her first hormone dose sparking a nightlife odyssey that strips away her past. Barely clothed and fiercely alive, she’s drawn into the orbit of a renowned trans DJ, her parasocial obsession blurring the lines between fandom and fixation. In the city’s pulsing underbelly—fashion, art, literature—she navigates a world where femininity is currency, and survival means selling or being sold. Mousavi crafts a raw, electrifying tale of transition, cultural capital, and the stakes of chasing upward mobility in a city that devours dreams as fast as it births them. Io’s journey is a tightrope walk between glamour and desperation, forcing her to decide how much she’ll sacrifice for the life she craves.
Why It’s a Must-Read:Love Story is a visceral plunge into trans identity and urban nightlife, capturing the thrill and peril of self-discovery with unflinching honesty. Io’s story is a queer anthem for anyone who’s ever fought to define themselves against the odds.
2. The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Description:Vivian Yin, the first Chinese Oscar-winning actress, vanished from fame’s spotlight to live as a recluse in her Southern California estate. Now dead, her will shocks her daughters by bequeathing the sprawling mansion to an estranged family absent for decades. Both clans move in, igniting a tense reunion steeped in grief and paranoia. As Vivian’s daughters probe her final weeks, a vengeful presence—more sinister than regret—haunts the halls. Li weaves a gothic mystery where silence is deadly, and the truth about a fateful summer threatens to unravel everything. It’s a tale of legacy, loss, and the ghosts of unspoken queer histories.
Why It’s a Must-Read:Li’s The Manor of Dreams blends family drama with eerie suspense, offering a queer lens on legacy and betrayal. Its lush setting and haunting stakes make it a standout for May’s LGBTQ+ readers.
3. And Introducing Dexter Gaines by Mark B. Perry
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Description:Hollywood, 1952: Dan Root, a naïve 21-year-old with matinee-idol looks, steps into a world of celluloid dreams. Renamed Dexter Gaines by a manipulative producer and his fading movie-star wife, Dan’s ascent is shadowed by exploitation and a dangerous sexual awakening. Their trio’s passion ignites unrequited love and deceit, culminating in an attempted murder that forces Dexter to choose between stardom and survival. Decades later, a tragedy pulls him back to confront the emotional wreckage of his past. Perry’s historical drama pulses with glamour, heartbreak, and the cost of queer desire in a repressive era.
Why It’s a Must-Read:This lush, tragic tale of gay identity in Golden Age Hollywood is a love letter to resilience. Dexter’s journey is a poignant, thrilling must-read for fans of historical queer fiction.
4. milktooth by Jaime Burnet
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Description:Sorcha, 31, trades hook-ups for a dream of motherhood, falling hard for Chris—plaid-clad, romantic, and volatile. Their whirlwind romance promises a baby and a Cape Breton idyll, but Chris’s abuse escalates with Sorcha’s pregnancy, echoing the stifling family she fled. A lifeline arrives via Aunt Agnes, a retired midwife offering refuge in the Scottish Highlands. Burnet crafts a tender yet brutal story of escape, where Sorcha’s queer resilience battles isolation and violence. As she dreams of a new family with Agnes, the stakes rise—will she break free before Chris finds her?
Why It’s a Must-Read:milktooth is a raw, redemptive queer narrative of survival and hope. Sorcha’s fight for herself and her child is a powerful addition to May’s LGBTQ+ lineup.
5. Disco Witches of Fire Island by Blair Fell
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Description:It’s 1989, and Joe Agabian escapes to Fire Island Pines, reeling from losing his boyfriend to AIDS. With pal Ronnie, he’s swept into the orbit of Howie and Lenny, quirky cleaners hiding a secret: they’re disco witches protecting the island from tragedy. Weakened by the epidemic, their coven falters as Joe falls for a bisexual ferryman with webbed feet—while a mysterious hunk looms as a dark omen. Fell blends 80s hedonism with magical realism, crafting a queer tale of love, loss, and mystical resistance against a backdrop of pulsing beats and looming doom.
Why It’s a Must-Read:Disco Witches is a vibrant, heartbreaking ode to queer survival in the AIDS era. Its mix of magic and emotion makes it a unique, unforgettable May release.
6. A Poisonous Silence by Jenny Adams
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Description:Philadelphia, 1921: Edie Shippen, a fledgling PI, reunites with film star Ava Sylvester, only to take on her first case when Ava’s husband dies—poisoned, with Ava as the prime suspect. Edie teams with Gilbert Lawless, a coroner’s assistant wary of trouble, to probe a film studio rife with secrets. As bodies pile up, their investigation uncovers a sapphic bond tested by deception and danger. Adams delivers a historical mystery where queer love and ambition clash with a killer’s agenda, racing toward a climax that could claim them both.
Why It’s a Must-Read:This 1920s whodunit shines with queer heart and suspense. Edie and Gilbert’s dynamic is a thrilling, tender highlight for May’s LGBTQ+ readers.
7. The Vengeance by Emma Newman
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Description:Morgane, raised as a pirate’s daughter aboard The Vengeance, inherits a legacy of vengeance against the Four Chains Trading Company. When her captain—revealed not to be her mother—dies in battle, Morgane spares the enemy captain for answers about her true lineage. Her quest plunges her into a vampire-haunted world of royal intrigue and bloody secrets, unraveling her mother’s murder decades ago. Newman’s swashbuckling adventure melds queer identity with supernatural stakes, delivering a high-seas epic of revenge and revelation.
Why It’s a Must-Read:The Vengeance is a queer pirate saga with fangs—literally. Morgane’s journey blends action and emotion, making it a standout for adventurous LGBTQ+ readers.
8. A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane
Release Date: May 13, 2025
Description:Mack Morris, a star point guard in 2004 Pennsylvania, faces her senior year reeling from her father’s death and dazzled by transfer student Liv Cooper. On the court, their chemistry is electric; off it, a forbidden queer romance blooms, clashing with their small town’s norms and Liv’s conservative mom. Grief, drugs, and college pressures collide as Mack fights for her future—on her terms, with or without Liv. Crane crafts a coming-of-age tale that’s raw, exhilarating, and unapologetically queer, capturing the ache of first love and self-discovery.
Why It’s a Must-Read:This basketball-fueled queer romance is a slam dunk of emotion and defiance. Mack’s story resonates with anyone who’s battled for love against the odds.
9. The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
Release Date: May 13, 2025
Description:Doctor Walden, Chetwood School’s Director of Magic, is a powerhouse magician guarding centuries of legacy. Her days are a whirlwind of teaching chaotic teens, managing meetings, and fending off demonic incursions. But when a demon taunts, “Look at you, eating magic like you’re one of us,” Walden’s control wavers. Tesh spins a fantasy where power is a double-edged sword, and Walden’s queer strength battles inner and outer threats. As she fights to protect her students, she risks becoming the danger she fears most.
Why It’s a Must-Read:The Incandescent is a magical tour de force with a queer heroine at its heart. Walden’s blend of grit and vulnerability makes this a spellbinding May read.
10. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Release Date: May 13, 2025
Description:In East Gladness, Connecticut, Hai teeters on a bridge in the rain, ready to leap—until Grazina, an elderly widow with dementia, calls him back. Becoming her caretaker, Hai, a nineteen-year-old queer soul, finds solace in their bond, a lifeline amid his grief and a crumbling town. Vuong’s poetic prose weaves a tale of empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, exploring Hai’s evolving ties to himself and his community. It’s a quiet, luminous story of connection that reshapes despair into something radiant.
Why It’s a Must-Read:Vuong’s lyrical genius shines in this tender queer narrative. The Emperor of Gladness is a soul-stirring gem for May, celebrating love’s quiet power.
Conclusion
May 2025 is a radiant showcase of queer and LGBTQ+ storytelling, offering 10 must-read books that span the spectrum of human experience—love, loss, defiance, and dreams. From Io’s trans odyssey in Love Story to Vivian’s haunting legacy in The Manor of Dreams, from Dexter’s Hollywood heartbreak in And Introducing Dexter Gaines to Sorcha’s escape in milktooth, these stories pulse with authenticity and power.
Disco Witches of Fire Island dances through history, A Poisonous Silence uncovers sapphic secrets, The Vengeance sails with queer pirates, A Sharp Endless Need scores on and off the court, The Incandescent wields magic, and The Emperor of Gladness heals with poetry. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through these links—your support keeps this content thriving at no extra cost, so thank you! These books aren’t just reads; they’re acts of rebellion and joy, proving queer voices are here, loud, and unstoppable. Preorder now and let May 2025’s LGBTQ+ releases light up your world.
15 FAQs About the 10 Must-Read Queer and LGBTQ+ Books of May 2025
Why is May 2025 special for queer books?
It’s a powerhouse month of diverse LGBTQ+ releases, spanning romance, mystery, fantasy, and more from bold voices.
Are these books standalone or series?
Most are standalone (Love Story, The Manor of Dreams), but The Incandescent hints at future tales.
Which book has the strongest trans narrative?
Love Story by Afsana Mousavi dives deep into Io’s transition and nightlife struggles.
Is there a historical queer story?
And Introducing Dexter Gaines explores gay love in 1950s Hollywood with stunning depth.
Which book blends genres best?
Disco Witches of Fire Island mixes 80s gay history with magical realism seamlessly.
Are there any thrillers?
A Poisonous Silence offers a sapphic 1920s mystery with murder at its core.
Which has the most romance?
A Sharp Endless Need delivers a heartfelt queer love story on and off the court.
Is there a fantasy with queer leads?
The Vengeance sails into a vampire-filled pirate adventure with Morgane at the helm.
Which book is the most poetic?
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong weaves lyrical beauty into a queer bond.
Are these suitable for all ages?
Most suit 16+ due to mature themes (sex, violence); check individual titles.
Which author is a debut writer?
Afsana Mousavi’s Love Story marks a bold new voice in queer fiction.
Is there a book with a magical school?
The Incandescent centers on Chetwood School and its fierce queer magician.
Which is best for emotional depth?
milktooth tackles abuse, pregnancy, and queer resilience with raw power.
Can I preorder these now?
Yes—all are available for preorder on Amazon via the links above.
Where can I find more queer reads?
Explore That Love Podcast’s blog for more LGBTQ+ book recommendations!
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