Tales of the Realm: Pride Month 2022— 5 of my All Time Favourite Queer Books to Ever Have Been Written

Hello besties !!!

Today I shall be talking about 5 of my favourite queer books !!! I don’t know what else to say, so let’s just begin I guess?

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Everyone likes Humaira “Hani” Khan—she’s easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she’s in a relationship…with a girl her friends absolutely hate—Ishita “Ishu” Dey. Ishu is the complete opposite of Hani. She’s an academic overachiever who hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for college. But Ishita agrees to help Hani, if Hani will help her become more popular so that she stands a chance of being elected head girl.

Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.

Thoughts:

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating was the very first book I read with two South Asian main characters that were queer. It was the first book that I read that contained people who looked like me, and were like me and words cannot describe how grateful I am to this book. I cry fat tears every time I re-read it 🥹

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Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie

A teen girl navigates friendship drama, the end of high school, and discovering her queerness in Ophelia After All, a hilarious and heartfelt contemporary YA debut by author Racquel Marie.

Ophelia Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys – way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn’t change, even if she wanted to.

So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia’s firm image of herself. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love–and sexuality–never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she’s always imagined or upending everyone’s expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all.

Thoughts:

Ahh!! So Ophelia After All is a book I discovered long before it released and I waited and waited and waited till I could start reading this lovely book. And you know what? It did not disappoint at all!! Racquel Marie creates such a tender and beautiful story of discovering yourself, your queerness, and growing up— and how rediscovery isn’t always as smooth as we think it to be. Honestly Ophelia came into my life at a perfect time, and I have never related to a character as much as I relate to her, ever. I LOVE OPHELIA AFTER ALL.

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The Kindred by Alechia Dow

To save a galactic kingdom from revolution, Kindred mind-pairings were created to ensure each and every person would be seen and heard, no matter how rich or poor…

Joy Abara knows her place. A commoner from the lowly planet Hali, she lives a simple life—apart from the notoriety that being Kindred to the nobility’s most infamous playboy brings.

Duke Felix Hamdi has a plan. He will exasperate his noble family to the point that they agree to let him choose his own future and finally meet his Kindred face-to-face.

Then the royal family is assassinated, putting Felix next in line for the throne…and accused of the murders. Someone will stop at nothing until he’s dead, which means they’ll target Joy, too. Meeting in person for the first time as they steal a spacecraft and flee amid chaos might not be ideal…and neither is crash-landing on the strange backward planet called Earth. But hiding might just be the perfect way to discover the true strength of the Kindred bond and expose a scandal—and a love—that may decide the future of a galaxy.

Thoughts:

So, I read The Kindred just a few months ago and I loved everything about it 🫶 I loved that the world of The Kindred was a queer and POC normalised society, I simply loved that. I was also so happy to read about a fat MC because, well, fatphobia is so rampant people never talk about books with fat MCs and I hate it. I adored the concept of having a ‘kindred’, and Joy and Felix were so perfect with each other 😭 Also, Joy the MC was a bundle of Joy (pun intended), I loved her so much, she’s so amazing!!

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Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan

In an empire on the brink of war…

Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.

Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.

When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities.

But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.

Ferocious action, shadowy intrigue, and a captivating romance collide in June CL Tan’s debut, a stunning homage to the Xianxia novel with a tender, beating heart, perfect for fans of The Bone Witch and We Hunt the Flame.

Thoughts:

I loved everything about Jade Fire Gold!! I loved that it was inspired by aspects of ATLA and also Chinese mythology. The dynamic between Ahn and Altan was soo good, I enjoyed reading about them a lot. I also loved that so many characters in the main cast were queer, and throughout the book we see wlw and mlm relationships!! Also I would like to say I am totally in love with Tang Wei 🥹

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Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

He saw the darkness in her magic. She saw the magic in his darkness.

Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend—the girl she loves. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate, Colwick Hall, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, she seizes her chance to redeem herself.

The mansion is crumbling, icy winds haunt the caved-in halls, and her eccentric host forbids her from leaving her room after dark. Worse, Wren’s patient isn’t a servant at all but Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s sworn enemy. Hal also came to Colwick Hall for redemption, but the secrets in the estate may lead to both of their deaths.

With sinister forces at work, Wren and Hal realize they’ll have to join together if they have any hope of saving their kingdoms. But as Wren circles closer to the nefarious truth behind Hal’s illness, they realize they have no escape from the monsters within the mansion. All they have is each other, and a startling desire that could be their downfall.

Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night.

Love makes monsters of us all.

Thoughts:

I loved the bisexual representation in this book so much!! It was nice to see that Wren is bisexual but she’s in a m/f relationship. Down comes the night is the perfect gothic book, with a touch of romance, and also a lot of feels 😭 Whenever I read about Wren and Una, and what their relationship was like, I tear up. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!

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I hope you found these books interesting and want to read them if you have not already!! HAPPY PRIDE 🏳️‍🌈