Lake Bluff Library Adult Reading Lists: LGBTQIA+ Romance

Beautiful, cunning Verbena Montrose must marry to save herself and her family from poverty, relying on gossip rather than a dowry. When a dangerous rumor threatens her queer friend Étienne, she proposes a marriage of convenience to protect him. Soon she learns that famed poet Flora Witcombe suspects their scheme, so Verbena poses as a poet to confront her and is unexpectedly charmed.
(Description from NoveList)

Signing on to record a podcast sharing relationship advice, best-selling romance novelist Truly Livingston finds herself bickering with a cynical divorce lawyer and walks out, but when he tracks her down, asking for a fresh start, they go from enemies to something else entirely. (Description from catalog)

Two fake-dating actors navigate their love story both on and offscreen. (Description from NoveList)

In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy, an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer. (Description from NoveList)

Bestselling and award-winning author Mason Deaver's adult romance debut is perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Casey McQuiston. Readers will delight in this sweet and steamy queer romance with trans representation.
(Description from NoveList)

When a late-bloomer librarian goes viral for coming out, she decides to use her newfound fame to get her first kiss—with the help of a sexy bartender.
(Description from NoveList)

Fresh off a breakup, Avery Jensen wants to do all the fun stuff normal people do in their twenties, but she lacks confidence in romance. Enter Taylor Cameron, Napa Valley's biggest flirt and champion heartbreaker. Taylor just broke up with her girlfriend, and so she offers to give Avery flirting lessons. With Taylor’s help, Avery finally has the life she always wanted - but now what she wants is Taylor.
(Description from NoveList)

A young noblewoman must pair up with an alleged witch to ward off a curse in this sapphic romance set 1814. (Description from catalog)

A small-town waitress and a Hollywood star’s worlds collide in this new romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.
(Description from NoveList)

A small-town waitress and a Hollywood star’s worlds collide in this new romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.
(Description from NoveList)

Fates collide and passions ignite in New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s steamy adult fantasy debut about three characters torn between chasing, betraying, and craving each other: a princess caught between duty and desire, the fearsome warrior king she’s promised to, and the assassin tasked with hunting them down.
(Description from NoveList)

In this hilarious and joyous rom com, sparks fly when a piano genius and a Hollywood heartthrob are thrown together for a charity performance of solos, heartfelt duets, and a big, showstopping finale. (Description from NoveList)

On a whim and hoping to pay off the hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt her grifter father left behind, Victorian history professor Toni Darbyshire sells her lesbian detective novel in a massive deal. Suddenly thrust into the overwhelming new world of publishing, plus a television adaptation, Toni's life gets even more complicated when her one-night stand turned pen pal shows up in person for casting of the show.
(Description from NoveList)

Two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food and wine tour and challenge each other to a hookup competition to prove they're over each other—except they're definitely not.
(Description from NoveList)

The son of one of the country's most powerful and conservative families falls for an aspiring writer from a nice Jewish family from New Jersey, resulting in passionate but catastrophic romance that spans decades of LGBTQ+ social changes. (Description from NoveList)

Simon and Charlie, co-stars on a long-running sci-fi show, have spent a decade feuding. Simon’s ready to leave for New York and start fresh—but first, he agrees to fake a friendship to protect his reputation. When a family emergency sends Charlie on a road trip, Simon tags along. Unexpectedly, he enjoys himself—and begins to see Charlie in a new light.
(Description from NoveList)

Hollywood actor Tess Gardner is not the kind of famous she set out to be. She's ready to show she’s more than Princess Platinum of the Vindicators series, a pretty face with CGI superpowers that literally sparkle. Tess wants to prove herself as an actor and that means theatre—the true calling of her thespian heart. But just when Tess lands a part working with an acclaimed stage director, a brewing scandal forces him out.
(Description from Amazon)

They say you never forget your first kiss. But Jordan Carter wishes he could forget the one he shared with Jamie Peters as teens. And the one they almost shared again last year before Jamie made it clear he wasn't the "right" man for Jordan to be with while he's figuring himself out.
(Description from NoveList)

"Momo Gardner is the kind of friend who's always ready to lend a helping hand. She's introverted, sensitive, and maybe a little too trusting, but she likes to believe the best in people. PG, on the other hand, is a bit of a lone wolf, despite her reputation for being a flirt and a player. Underneath all that cool mystery, she's actually quick to smile, and when she falls for someone, she falls hard. An unexpected meet-cute brings the two together, kicking off the beginning of an awkward yet endearing courtship--but with their drastically different personalities, Momo's overprotective friend, and PG's past coming back to haunt her, Momo and PG's romance is put to the test"-- Dust jacket.

It should have been a night of triumph for Alix's hockey team. But her mean teammate Lindsay decided to start up with her usual rude comments and today Alix, who usually tries to control her anger, let it finally run free. Alix lashes out and before she knows it, her coach is dragging her off Lindsay, and the invitation to the Canada National Women's U18 Team's summer camp is on the line. She needs to learn how to control this anger, and she is sure Ezra, the popular and poised theater kid from her grade is the answer. So she asks for his help. But as they hang out and start get closer, Alix learns that there is more to Ezra than the cool front he puts on. And that maybe this friendship could become something more. (description from publisher)

"Mads is pretty happy with her life. She goes to church with her family, and minor league baseball games with her dad. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. It's everything she hoped high school would be... until all of a sudden, it's not. Her dad is hiding something big--so big it could tear her family apart. And that's just the beginning of her problems: Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn't want to kiss Adam... because the only person she wants to kiss is Cat. Just like that, Mad's tidy little life has gotten epically messy--and epically heartbreaking. And when your heart is broken, it takes more than an awkward, uncomfortable, tooth-clashing, friendship-ending kiss to put things right again. It takes a whole bunch of them."--Page [2] of cover.

"In a world where priests are decked out in holy tattoos and brandish machine guns in the face of demons, a powerful exorcist and a mysterious boy cross paths...in a college classroom. Exorcist Ezra's faith is waning when God intervenes and sends him on a mission to protect Sunny, an outwardly normal human, from demonic forces. But as closed-off Sunny runs from a bloody past and Ezra attempts to fulfill his duty, the two find themselves drawn ever closer together. With his church under scrutiny and the threat of war on the horizon, will Ezra find his conviction in time to keep Sunny safe? Will Sunny even accepts his help? Or will they both suffer the consequences? From debut creator Lysandra Vuong comes the first volume of the supernatural action webcomic that explores religious faith, a slow burn queer romance, the weight of destiny, and what it means to be good in a world plagued by demons." (description from publisher)