Although I read widely across various fiction and nonfiction genres, I always come back to romance as my absolute favorite. Romance is, I think, fundamentally a genre of hope– hope that, no matter how bleak things seem, what may look irretrievably broken can mend with care and attention; hope that everyone can find their place in community and with partner(s); and, yes, hope that everyone can love and be loved in return. If you’re looking to carry some warm and lovely hopeful feelings into Pride Month, check out these queer romances that celebrate love in all its forms.

(P.S. Interested in connecting with other romance readers? Join us on the first Saturday of the month at Slow Burn Book Club, the Main Library’s romance book club! Our next meeting is on July 5th, where we’ll be discussing Emily Henry’s Beach Read.)

I picked up The Prospects on a whim last year, and it totally ended up becoming one of my favorite reads of the year. The Prospects follows trans minor league baseball player Gene, who is unexpectedly reunited with ex-teammate and current rival, Luis, after Luis gets traded to Gene’s team. As the season gets underway and the men travel together for away games, Gene and Luis begin to thaw the long estrangement between them and grow closer, leading to burgeoning feelings. But when a major-league opportunity comes knocking– but only for one of them– Gene and Luis must decide what they’ll be willing to risk to make their dreams come true. So tender, swoony, and romantic– definitely recommend this one for fans of baseball or queerness (or both!)

Another unexpected read and new favorite! I read The Pairing back in April for Slow Burn Book Club and totally fell in love with this book about former best friends (and now-exes) Theo and Kit who reunite to take a nonrefundable European food tour booked back when they were still together. Featuring lots of sumptuous descriptions of food and wine, travel to gorgeous locales, and delicious forced proximity, The Pairing is a feast of desire and more, more, more. This book would be the perfect vacation read for any travels you have coming up this summer.

Cash Delgado is Living the Dream features bar manager Cash, who teams up with her best friend Inez to save their local bar, only to discover that spending all this time together leads to the development of some not-so-friendly feelings… I think this one will especially be a hit for folks who are fans of the friends-to-lovers and queer awakening tropes!
 

In Single Player, two queer game developers partner up to add a romantic storyline to the next great video game and find love offline in the process. Add a grumpy-sunshine pairing, a dash of a forbidden office romance, and a heaping portion of fighting the patriarchy– I’m sold!

I’m such a sucker for relationships that start casual only to turn into something more. In I’ll Have What He’s Having, sommelier David and teacher Farzan have an unusual meet-cute– David pulls out all the stops to impress Farzan and give him a magical evening after he mistakenly identifies Farzan as an influential food critic. After straightening out the mix-up, the two men never imagine they’ll cross paths again, only to find themselves back in each other’s orbit after Farzan inherits his family’s bistro. Farzan and David agree to a friendship and mutually beneficial-exchange– David will teach Farzan about the restaurant business if Farzan will help David study for the master sommelier exam. But when heat inside the kitchen and out threaten their platonic partnership, Farzan and David must decide if they’re willing to take a risk on a real relationship.