December is the last month of the year, giving you a few more days to reach your reading goal for 2024. If you are looking to add more LGBTQIA stories to what you read throughout the year, we have some exciting titles that might make the end of the year more bearable.
If you have read the books in our LGBTQIA picks for November, we have 7 new titles to add to your TBR list. Xiran Jay Zhao, Cale Dietrich, and Samantha Allen are among the authors we highlight this month.
In order of release date, here are 7 LGBTQIA books we are looking forward to reading this December:
1. I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman – December 3
Once upon a time, David had it all. A six-figure book deal, the perfect boyfriend, and an incredible writing career. Now, he is single, dealing with the aftermath of a disastrous second book, and running his bank account to the bottom. While he struggles to come up with an idea for his third book, he decides to meet a stranger he connected with on a dating app.
The date turns out better than David expected, but when he wakes up the next morning, his date is dead next to him. Even though this sounds like an excellent storyline for his book, David must figure out what to do next. The only person he dares to call is his literary agent.
Book Description: A suspenseful dark comedy about a struggling writer who wakes up to find his date from the night before dead—and must then decide how far he’s willing to go to spin the misadventure into his next big book.
A few years ago, David Alvarez had it all: a six-figure book deal, a loving boyfriend, and an exciting writing career. His debut novel was a resounding success, which made the publication of his second book—a total flop—all the more devastating. Now, David is single, lonely, and desperately trying to come up with the next great idea for his third manuscript, one that will redeem him in the eyes of readers, reviewers, the entire publishing world…and maybe even his ex-boyfriend.
But good ideas are hard to come by, and the mounting pressure of a near-empty bank account isn’t helping. When David connects with a sexy stranger on a dating app, he figures a wild night out in New York City may be just what he needs to find inspiration. Lucky for him, his date turns out to be handsome, confident, and wealthy, not to mention the perfect distraction from yet another evening staring at a blank screen.
After one of the best nights of his life, David wakes up hungover but giddy—only to find prince charming dead next to him in bed. Horrified, completely confused, and suddenly faced with the implausible-but-somehow-plausible idea that he may have actually killed his date, David calls the only person he can trust in a moment of crisis: his literary agent, Stacey.
Together, David and Stacey must untangle the events of the previous night, cover their tracks, and spin the entire misadventure into David’s career-defining novel—if only they can figure out what to do with the body first.
2. Keep It in the Dark by Justin Arnold – December 3
Rowan Young and Casper Belamy aren’t meant to be together. Rowan is the golden son of Mockingbird Prep’s headmaster. He was raised to inherit his father’s legacy. Casper is a vampire who must prove to his found family that he can keep their kind safe by finishing high school without their secret being revealed.
At first, the two roommates hate each other. Rowan can’t stand Casper, and Casper finds it very hard to control his thirst around Rowan. As the days pass, they fall in love while facing challenges that belong to each of their worlds.
Book Description: In this unashamedly queer, supernatural romance, Justin Arnold, author of Wicked Little Things, challenges the institutions that have sidelined queer love to the shadows, and brings it into the light.
Rowan Young knew where his life was heading.
The headmaster’s son and golden boy of elite Vermont boarding school Mockingbird Prep, Rowan was set to inherit a legacy passed down through generations of forefathers.
Until a strange new student arrives to derail those plans.Casper Belamy didn’t ask to be a vampire.
But now that he is one, all he wants is to travel the world looking for more of his kind.
Before he can do that, he must accomplish an impossible task set forth by his adoptive family of vampiric royals: prove he can keep their kind safe and finish high school without being discovered.If controlling his thirst wasn’t hard enough, he is forced to share a dorm with the headmaster’s son. And despite their instant dislike for one another, Casper can’t ignore the mouth-wateringly delicious scent of Rowan’s blood.
When bitter fights become late night rendez-vous, forbidden romance blossoms in the shadows. Facing a fearful world that would rather they stay hidden, Rowan and Casper contend with an onslaught of troubles: Rowan’s father is breathing down his neck, the safety of Casper’s new-found family is on his shoulders, and a secret society of slayers threatens to destroy everything.
3. Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet by Samantha Allen – December 3
Adam Gallagher is a famous memoirist who focuses on sharing people’s lives through his words. His most recent gig involves ghostwriting the life story of famous Hollywood hunk Roland Rogers. When Adam arrives at Roland’s home, he doesn’t expect to discover that Roland is dead. The only way the two can communicate is through the kitchen’s speaker.
Roland wants to use this memoir to come out. However, to do so, Adam must write the book before Roland’s body is found under the avalanche that killed him. They have only one month to make this happen.
Book Description: It’s the gig of a lifetime for this ghostwriter, except there’s the client, a closeted A-list actor finally ready to come out in his memoir, is an actual ghost.
Adam Gallagher has knocked on thousands of doors. An ex-Mormon and almost-famous memoirist, he is used to sharing his life story with strangers. But this day, this house, is different. For it belongs to none other than Roland Hollywood Hunk, and soon to be author. Roland has a story to tell, a decades-old secret to spill, and he’s decided that Adam is just the guy to help him do it. Except there’s a problem. Roland Rogers is dead. Not in the metaphysical realm—if he focuses, he can summon enough energy to communicate via the kitchen speaker—but certainly in the physical, and he needs Adam to pen his story before his body is found frozen beneath the avalanche of snow that squashed it. That means one month, a hundred thousand words, no breaks. Ghostwriting is hard enough, let alone when you’re dealing with a real ghost, and so it isn’t long before Roland’s idea of what his book should be clashes with Adam’s vision for what it could be. But the clock is ticking, the ice melting. And as more truths are told, both men soon discover that this experience is less of a coming out, and more of a coming home . . . The sophomore novel from the beloved author of Patricia Wants to Cuddle, Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet is a witty and electric new rom-com for fans of Ashley Poston and Casey McQuiston.
4. Robin’s Worlds by Rainie Oet and Mathias Ball – December 3
Robin’s World could be the perfect read for younger queer individuals who are still trying to figure out who they are. Rainie Oet’s story, paired with Mathias Ball’s drawings, tells the story of Robin, an eight-year-old non-binary child who finds themselves on an adventure during their birthday. While it seems everyone forgot about their birthday, a Cat-Headed Wanderer takes Robin to a magical party.
While enjoying the celebration, Robin realizes they have been taken into this magical world for another reason. The only way to find out why is to go through the door in the back. What truly lies behind the door? Why was Robin brought into this land?
Book Description: A nonbinary child is whisked off on a spellbinding adventure for their birthday in this dazzling tale of friendship, community, and self-love.It’s Robin’s eighth birthday and it seems like everyone has forgotten. But things take a sudden turn when the Cat-Headed Wanderer shows up and sweeps Robin away to a magical party in a fantastical treehouse. It’s a joyful celebration full of song, dance, and newfound friends, but Robin soon realizes there’s another reason they’ve been brought there. To uncover that reason, all Robin needs to do is walk through the half-open door in the back—but what lies beyond?
Rainie Oet’s enchanting language and Mathias Ball’s stunning illustrations will sweep young readers off their feet, as they follow Robin on this fantastical and deeply moving adventure of discovering themself through the joy of new friends and the memory of loved ones lost along the way.
5. The Shutouts by Gabrielle Korn – December 3
The Shutouts tells three different stories. The first occurs in 2041 when Kelly drives across the US through storms and wildfires to find the daughter she gave up seven years ago. The second takes place forty years later when Ava and her daughter run away from The Inside Project. After being treated as lab rats for over two decades, they come across a woman from Ava’s past, and together, they try to find civilization in the wilderness.
The third centers around the North, where the weather has gotten worse. A group of people decides to leave their territory to find a better place, but two of their members are left behind. They realize that they are destined to be together.
Book Description: A brilliant queer dystopian novel from the author of Yours for the Taking, following a cast of characters on the margins of a strange and exclusive new society.
The year is 2041, and it’s a dangerous time to be a woman driving across the United States alone. Deadly storms and uncontrollable wildfires are pummeling the country while political tensions are rising. But Kelly’s on the road anyway; she desperately needs to get back to her daughter, who she left seven years ago for a cause that she’s no longer sure she believes in.
Almost 40 years later, another mother, Ava, and her daughter Brook are on the run as well, from the climate change relief program known as The Inside Project, where they’ve spent the past 22 years being treated as lab rats. When they encounter a woman from Ava’s past on the side of the highway, the three continue on in a journey that will take them into the depths of what remains of humanity out in the wilderness.
At the same time, way up North, weather conditions continue to worsen and a settlement departs in search of greener pastures, leaving behind only two members, drawn together by a circumstance and a mystery they are destined to unravel together.
Set in the world of Gabrielle Korn’s Yours for the Taking, The Shutouts tells the captivating story of those who have been shut out from Inside, their fight to survive, and an interconnectedness larger than all of them.
6. The Rules of Royalty by Cale Dietrich – December 10
If royal romances and The Princess Diaries are your cup of tea, The Rules of Royalty will be your new favorite LGBTQIA book. Jamie Johnson suddenly discovers that the father he has been dying to meet is the king of Mitanor. Erik Von Rosenborg is tired of feeling controlled while the eyes of the world turn to his family before his elder brother’s wedding. Their paths cross when Erik is summoned to teach Jamie the royal ways.
Their bond grows stronger as Erik teaches Jamie about royal etiquette, politics, and history. They must decide whether to follow their hearts or the royal protocol.
Book Description: Two princes from neighboring countries fall into a whirlwind royal romance in this sparkling spin on The Princess Diaries by Cale Dietrich.
Jamie Johnson has never been the centre of attention, and he’s perfectly okay with that. His entire world unravels as a hidden truth emerges: he’s the heir to the throne of Mitanor, a sun-drenched southern European country, and the press is ready to expose this secret to the world. An invitation to spend the summer in his father’s palace arrives, giving Jamie a chance to get to know the man he never thought he’d meet.
Meanwhile, in a northern European kingdom known for its cold climate and stoic royals, Erik Von Rosenborg, the spare prince, grapples with the upcoming marriage of his golden-boy elder brother. With the country’s spotlight trained on his family more than ever, Erik feels sidelined and tightly controlled. So when he receives an offer to tutor the newly found American prince in the ways of royalty, he accepts without hesitation.
At a magnificent summer palace, Erik guides Jamie through the intricacies of royal etiquette, politics, and history. What neither prince anticipates is the connection that sparks between them—one that challenges both of their futures. Now each must make a choice: follow their hearts, or the time-honored royal path where crown and country reigns supreme, no matter the personal cost.
7. Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao – December 24
Zetian is now in control of Huaxia’s power. However, she is faced with the revelation of an enemy she couldn’t imagine. To keep her seat and save her loved one from being held hostage, Zetian must join forces with a man she despises. This man doesn’t share her views on bringing down their country’s corrupt and misogynist system.
Can Zetian and this man truly join forces to defeat their enemy? Or will the enemy succeed and harm Zetian’s loved one in the process?
Book Description: After suffering devastating loss and making drastic decisions, Zetian finds herself at the seat of power in Huaxia. But she has also learned that her world is not as it seems, and revelations about an enemy more daunting than Zetian imagined forces her to share power with a dangerous man she cannot simply depose. Despite having vastly different ideas about how they must deconstruct the corrupt and misogynist system that plagues their country, Zetian must join this man in a dance of truth and lies and perform their roles to perfection in order to take down their common enemy, who seeks to control them as puppets while dangling one of Zetian’s loved ones as a hostage.
With political unrest and perilous forces aiming to undermine Zetian at every turn, can she enact positive changes as a fair and just ruler? Or will she be forced to rely on fear and violence and succumb to her darker instincts in her quest for vengeance?
—
What will you be reading in December? Share your picks in the comments below!
Follow us on X and on Instagram!
Like us on Facebook!
Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature who works in PR. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Tell-Tale TV, Geek Girl Authority, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.
