If you want to start the year on a high and get your books read numbers high, the beginning of the year is filled with new books coming to bookstores everywhere. Of course, there are plenty of LGBTQIA stories to make up for the lack of representation everywhere else. So, dig in and dive into worlds where being queer is accepted.
If you have read the books in our LGBTQIA picks for December, we have 7 new titles to add to your TBR list. Tara Tai, Aria Aber, and Makana Yamamoto 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 January:
1. Single Player by Tara Tai – January 7
For video game lovers, Single Player has the perfect story. Cat Li and Andi Zhang are forced to work together when Cat lands the job of her dreams, writing love stories for Compass Hollow. Initially, Cat has no idea how she will get along with Andi, who refuses to see that love stories are an essential part of the video game.
After being doxxed by internet trolls, Andi has closed the door on love in the game and real life. But as they begin to work with Cat and discover the talent behind the love stories, the door starts to open on the possibility of letting love flow. That might be what eventually saves Andi’s career.
Book Description: Two video game creators go head-to-head in this delightful, queer enemies-to-lovers workplace romance debut.
Cat Li cares about two things: video games and swoony romances. The former means there hasn’t been much of the latter in her (real) life, but when she lands her dream job writing the love storylines for Compass Hollow—the next big thing in games—she knows it’s all been worth it. Then she meets her boss: the infamous Andi Zhang, who’s not only an arrogant hater of happily-ever-afters determined to keep Cat from doing her job but also impossibly, annoyingly hot.
As Compass Hollow’s narrative director, Andi couldn’t care less about love—in-game or out. After getting doxxed by internet trolls three years ago, Andi’s been trying to prove to the gaming world that they’re a serious gamedev. Their plan includes writing the best game possible, with zero lovey-dovey stuff. That is, until the man funding the game’s development insists Andi add romance in order to make the story “more appealing to female gamers.”
Forced to give Cat a chance, Andi begrudgingly realizes there’s more to Cat than romantic idealism and, okay, a cute smile. But admitting that would mean giving up the single-player life that has kept their heart safe for years. And when Cat uncovers a behind-the-scenes plan to destroy Andi’s career, the two will have to put their differences aside and find a way to work together before it’s game over.
2. Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett – January 7
Peter and his mother have been estranged for many years after a night of violence that tore their bond apart. Nowadays, Peter works as an asylum lawyer in New York City. He tries to avoid any feelings and isolates himself, only opening the door for an occasional hook-up with another man. However, things begin to change when the case of a young gay man falls on his lap.
He begins to reflect on his first love and realizes he might have to confront his mother if he wants to move on. His mother now works at a women’s retreat center. Even though she is hurt by the decision she made, which separated her from her son, she is happy with the life she is leading. Nevertheless, she, too, will have to confront Peter.
Book Description: A mother and son, estranged but yearning for reunion, reckon at last with the secret that has kept them apart for decades in this highly anticipated novel by “one of the country’s most talented writers” (Wall Street Journal).
At forty, Peter, an asylum lawyer in New York City, is overworked and isolated. He spends his days immersed in the struggles of his clients only to return to an empty apartment and occasional hook-ups with a man who wants more than Peter can give. But when the asylum case of a young gay man pierces Peter’s numbness, the event that he has avoided for twenty years returns to haunt him.
Ann, his mother, who runs a women’s retreat center she founded after leaving his father, is wounded by the estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has built. She long ago banished from her mind the decision that divided her from her son. But as Peter’s case plunges him further into the memory of his first love and the night of violence that changed his life forever, he and his mother must confront the secret that tore them apart.
With unsurpassed emotional depth, Mothers and Sons reveals all that is lost by looking away from the past and what might be restored by facing it. In his spellbinding new novel, Adam Haslett demonstrates yet again his mastery of “a rich assortment of literary gifts” (New York Times).
3. Good Girl by Aria Aber – January 14
Nila is the daughter of Afghan parents living in Germany. As a 19-year-old trying to find herself, she dives into the underground life of Berlin, surrounded by techno and drugs. Trying to escape the cruel reality of public housing and graffitied swastikas, she feels attracted to philosophy, photography, and sex. That is how she meets Marlowe, an American writer.
However, as Nila allows herself to drown in Marlowe’s very controlling orbit, racial tension begins to grow in Germany, affecting her family and her community. Now, it might be time for Nina to stop escaping reality and truly figure out the kind of person she wants to be.
Book Description: An electric debut novel about the daughter of Afghan refugees and her year of nightclubs, bad romance, and self-discovery—a portrait of the artist as a young woman set in a Berlin that can’t escape its history.
A girl can get in almost anywhere, even if she can’t get out.
In Berlin’s artistic underground, where techno and drugs fill warehouses still pockmarked from the wars of the twentieth century, nineteen-year-old Nila at last finds her tribe. Born in Germany to Afghan parents, raised in public housing graffitied with swastikas, drawn to philosophy, photography, and sex, Nila has spent her adolescence disappointing her family while searching for her voice as a young woman and artist.
Then in the haze of Berlin’s legendary nightlife, Nila meets Marlowe, an American writer whose fading literary celebrity opens her eyes to a life of personal and artistic freedom. But as Nila finds herself pulled further into Marlowe’s controlling orbit, ugly, barely submerged racial tensions begin to roil Germany—and Nila’s family and community. After a year of running from her future, Nila stops to ask herself the most important question: Who does she want to be?
A story of love and family, raves and Kafka, staying up all night and surviving the mistakes of youth, Good Girl is the virtuosic debut novel by a celebrated young poet and, now, a major new voice in fiction.
4. Lightfall by Ed Crocker – January 14
If you are a fan of Empire of the Vampire and The Justice of Kings, Lightfall might be the perfect book to start the year. First Light is the city the vampires who survived the Grays’ attack fled to. Here, there is only one rule: if you are poor, you drink weak blood, but if you’re nobility, you get better blood. Sam is a maid in charge of cleaning the bedpans of the vampires who impose this rule, but she is tired of following the rule.
As she comes across evidence of who murdered the city’s ruler’s son, she uses this to her advantage to drink better blood. While doing so, she comes across the Leeches, the rebel maids of the city, and a sorcerer who is a werewolf assassin. However, as the days go on, the murder mystery uncovers a conspiracy that might lead to Sam’s deadly end unless she figures out what is going on.
Book Description: An epic fantasy of vampires, werewolves and sorcerers, Lightfall is the debut novel of Ed Crocker, for fans of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire and Richard Swan’s The Justice of Kings.
No humans here. Just immortals: their politics, their feuds—and their long buried secrets.
For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave.
Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s definitely had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered and she finds the only clue to his death, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood. She falls in with the Leeches, a group of rebel maids who rein in the worst of the Lords. Soon she’s in league with a sorcerer whose deductive skills make up for his lack of magic, a deadly werewolf assassin and a countess who knows a city’s worth of secrets.
There’s just one problem. What began as a murder investigation has uncovered a vast conspiracy by the ruling elite, and now Sam must find the truth before she becomes another victim. If she can avoid getting murdered, she might just live forever.
5. Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto – January 14
Edie has spent eight years behind bars in a prison spinning below the catacombs of Kepler space station. After doing a job with Angel, their life was changed forever. Due to early parole, Edie has the chance to start over, leaving the life of crime behind and spending time with the people who need them most.
But the moment they set foot outside the prison, Angel is waiting for them with an offer. They could do one last job to bring down the trillionaire tech god they couldn’t get the last time. Edie is conflicted between trusting the person who put them behind bars or taking on one last job that could change their lives forever.
Book Description: HAMMAJANG | adjective. Definition: In a disorderly or chaotic state; messed up. Chiefly in predicative use, esp. in all hammajang. Etymology: A borrowing from Hawaiian Pidgin. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
Edie is done with crime. Eight years behind bars changes a person – costs them too much time with too many of the people who need them most.
And it’s all Angel’s fault. She sold Edie out in what should have been the greatest moment of their lives. Instead, Edie was shipped off to the icy prison planet spinning far below the soaring skybridges and neon catacombs of Kepler space station – of home – to spend the best part of a decade alone.
But then a chance for early parole appears out of nowhere and Edie steps into the pallid sunlight to find none other than Angel waiting – and she has an offer.
One last job. One last deal. One last target. The trillionaire tech god they failed to bring down last time. There’s just one thing Edie needs to do – trust Angel again – which also happens to be the last thing Edie wants to do. What could possibly go all hammajang about this plan?
Ocean’s 8 meets Blade Runner in this trail-blazing debut science fiction novel and swashbuckling love letter to Hawai’i about being forced to find a new home and striving to build a better one – unmissable for fans of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
6. The Relationship Mechanic by Karmen Lee – January 21
Jessica is in Peach Blossom, Georgia, for a few weeks, not intending to fall in love. However, her mind changes when her rental car breaks on the outskirts of town, and the town’s mechanic, Vini, gives her a ride back. Vini seems like the perfect girl to fall for, but she also seems uninterested in Jessica.
Vini loves her job, family, and hometown and knows exactly what she is missing: falling in love. She believes it is possible when she meets Jessica but is afraid of what might happen when she leaves town. Nevertheless, she agrees to drive Jessica around town, and things between them begin to change.
Book Description: There’s more than one way to love and more than one place to call home in this rousing small-town romantic comedy that’s sure to charm fans of Hannah Bonam-Young’s Next to You and Ashley Herring Blake’s Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.
There’s no fix for a lonely heart like a little TLC…
Jessica Jae-un Miller came to Peach Blossom, Georgia, for a visit, not a breakdown. But when her rental car dies on the outskirts of town, mechanic Lavenia “Vini” Williams provides a tow—and a very welcome jump start to Jessica’s heart. It’s been a minute since Jessica’s last fling—her relationship specialty—and Vini checks all the right boxes. If only the sexy car whisperer seemed interested…
Vini knows herself and what she wants. She loves her job, her family, her hometown—but she’d love to fall in love. Jessica stirs up all the right feelings, but the city girl has no intention of staying in Peach Blossom. Why sign up for a broken heart?
But the temptation is real as Vini goes out of her way to drive a carless Jessica around town. The pair can’t seem to keep their distance—or their hands to themselves. With only six weeks to figure out where their red-hot chemistry might lead, Vini and Jessica will have to decide if home can be where the heart is when the heart only knows how to run.
7. I Think They Love You by Julian Winters – January 28
After Denz’s father announces his retirement, he is ready to become CEO, but his family doesn’t believe he can commit. He lies and says he has been in a serious relationship for some time to get their approval and prove he isn’t afraid of commitment. The only person he knows who can help trick his family is his best friend, Jamie. However, when the time comes for Jamie to step in, he is a no-show.
That is when Denz turns to the only other person available: his ex-boyfriend Braylon. His ex only agrees because he is also looking at a promotion, so it would be a business transaction. But as the days go by, the two exchange text messages and kisses that have Denz wondering if fake dating his ex could turn into something else.
Book Description: Sometimes fake dating your ex can turn into a second chance.
When Denzel “Denz” Carter’s workaholic father and CEO of 24 Carter Gold unexpectedly announces his retirement, the competition is on for who will become his successor. To convince his judgmental family members that Denz is capable of commitment he impulsively lies about being in a serious relationship. Problem is the last serious relationship he was in hung him high and dry after leaving the continent.
Now Denz needs to find a fake boyfriend to bring to family functions and seal the deal on the CEO position. To do so he enlists the help of his best friend and roommate, Jamie. Someone his family already accepts in their inner circle. But when his BFF is a no-show, Denz is forced to turn to the last person he wants to be in a pretend (or any) relationship Braylon, the man who broke his heart.
Braylon’s sudden reappearance in Denz’s life turns everything upside down. But apparently, he needs Denz’s connections to the mayor to win his own promotion and Denz is currently up a creek without a paddle. So, they strike a deal. It’s all business, but between the funny texts and the confusing kisses soon enough Denz is struggling to separate business from the affairs of his heart.
In Julian Winters’s I think They Love You, sometimes fake dating your way to success can mean finding the second chance at love you’ve needed all along.
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What will you be reading in January? Share your picks in the comments below!
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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.
