It’s June 30, which means two things. A: It’s the fifth Tuesday of the month, which is usually a quiet time for new releases — but that small batch includes some great titles. Two: It’s the last day of Pride Month.
We read queer books all year round here, but this is an excellent excuse to pick up some more LGBTQ books for your TBR. Check out this spreadsheet of 650+ new queer books due in the first half of 2026, available to All Access members. And sign up for Our Queerest Shelves to get quirky book recommendations delivered to your inbox every week.
Now, onto the new release!
curtain of silence By Danielle Abi-Saab
In 1985 Beirut, a teenage girl longs for love more than anything amid the chaos and violence that engulfs her city due to the Lebanese Civil War. Her parents, believing that they are doing what is best for her, arrange for her marriage to a man more than twice her age. Hoda hopes this will be the fairy tale romance she’s always dreamed of, even if it’s not the wedding she expected. Tony has promised her a better life away from the destruction in Beirut, but is the life he promises really the one she’s dreamed of? And with religious orders and familial expectations at stake, will she ever be able to tell the truth about the life that has been imposed on her? -Rachel Brittain
snake heat By Cecilia Udave
Set during a particularly hot summer in Guadalajara in 1977, snake heat It begins when a young girl meets the “Serpent Woman” at a traveling fair and asks to know her future. The woman’s reaction is mysterious, but her words will stay with the girl and haunt her, her sister, and their entire neighborhood. The story follows a wide range of perspectives from the neighborhood’s residents during the worst summer they have ever experienced. -Emily Martin
loom tree By Angela Mi Young Hero
Ahead, a Korean American dark academia fantasy! When V has an unusual episode where she climbs inside a tree and text appears on her body, it leads to a diary. On its pages, V and her mother write memories and their family history, including their time spent at Alvsdahl, an exclusive East Coast college. -Liberty Hardy
The Feywild Job (Dungeons & Dragons) by CL Polk
Author OF even though i knew the end And magic mark Today comes a strange romantic book that is an official D&D novel! Seldian is a con artist whose magic comes from a pact to never fall in love. His latest task is to steal “The Kiss of Enduring Love” gem and return it to the Feywild. But things become more complicated when Seldian learns that his ex, Kel, is part of the team. Working together rekindles the spark between them, but they also discover that there is more risk in this heist than they were led to believe. -Danica Ellis
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forever cursed By Andy C. Naranjo
In this devastatingly romantic debut, Risa is cursed with bad luck, causing everyone in her village to blame her for anything and everything that goes wrong. But she’s approaching her 17th birthday, and soon her wish to run away will come true – a wish that comes with conditions. Risa actually owes a favor to an annoying witch and has to complete a quest to see this wish come true: she must accompany Prince Javi, the youngest and least important of the king’s sons, to a wedding. Far from a relaxing quest, this task involved entering a dark and deadly forest with risk at every turn. And because it’s romance, we know some emotions will make things even more complicated. -Vanessa Diaz
dreaming of dead but electric sheep by Paul Tremblay
Paul Tremblay’s sci-fi dystopian horror follows former gamer Julia Flang, who takes a strange job working for one of the world’s biggest tech companies. She will take care of one man across the country. Hunt? The man may not be dead, but he is in a vegetative state, able to move only through the use of proprietary AI. Julia controls the person’s movements through a smartphone controller. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, the man is trapped in his own mind and experiencing increasingly frightening surreal visions. -Emily Martin
hold me like a grudge By Celine Ong
For fans of heated rivalry, It’s an enemies-to-lovers sports romance that you’ll definitely fall in love with. In the ring, Asher Ross is the baby-faced hero and Caleb Knight is the villain. But when Asher and Caleb aren’t in front of screaming fans, their rivalry slowly turns into romance. However, the wrestling world hasn’t always been the most supportive of queer relationships, so Asher and Caleb are forced to keep their feelings a secret. -Emily Martin
Other Book Riot New Release Resources:
- all booksOur weekly New Book Releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about the books coming out this week that we’re most excited about.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books being published this week that are trending.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you need to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! This is where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by genre, age group, and even LGBTQ new releases!
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