10 Queer Books That Feel Like A Breakup Text, A Crush, And A Revolution All At Once

For the longest time, queerness in pop culture has followed a tight and fairly calculated script: coming out, trauma, maybe some forbidden desire, and obviously, it would have a tragic end. Off late though, the new wave of queer represenation, from the tender hand-holding of Alice Oseman’s bestselling graphic webtoon into a smash hit Netflix show Heartstopper to the gender euphoria of Sex Education, pop culture is finally catching up to queer joy. Sure, the chaos and the heartbreak still exist, but the stroies today are more authentically representative of living queer lives in all their messy, aching, peculiar glory and we’re surely not complaining.

One of the most fascinating drivers of this welcoming change has been the stories that authors across the world have chosen to tell through their books, essays and columns. They have crafted space for nuance, for longing, for layered characters who are soft, selfish, horny, terrified, and occasionally feral. So this pride month, if you’re hoping to read a queer book that’s full of angst, heat, the politics, confusion or the breakup, this list has something that will make you feel something. You may cry a lot while on the commute or at work—you have been warned.

1. In Memoriam By Alice Winn

A queer coming-of-age love story set against the backdrop of World War I? Yes. Is it as devastating as it sounds? Also, yes. Two boys, a boarding school, lots of repressed longing and pining, and the brutal frontlines of a war they didn’t ask for but got to experience anyway. Fascinatingly beautiful and emotionally shattering, this book brings slow-burn romance and high-stakes tragedy together in ways you’d have never experienced before.

2. Deviants By Santanu Bhattacharya

Set in India, this multi-generational novel is a deeply moving exploration of inherited trauma, digital intimacy, and how queer love finds a way, even when the law and society are against you. Love Wins? Yes—one way or the other! Unflinching, tender, and deeply relevant especially since there aren’t very many Indian queer authors writing queer books like this.

3. And They Were Roommates By Page Powars

A trans teen, a terrible roommate, a fake letter-writing scheme and a whole lot of unresolved history. This hilarious, adorable rom-com packs major Gen Z energy while tackling difficult topics like trans identity, second chances, and what it means to be truly seen in today’s world. If you loved Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue, you’re in for a treat!

4. They Hate Each Other By Amanda Woody

If you love enemies-to-lovers character arcs, fake dating settings, and an unexpected emotional depth that hits way too close to home, then this book should be a no-brainer. This utterly chaotic romance between two boys who can’t stand each other (until they really can, of course!) is the kind of young adult gold that makes you feel 17 again, and in all the best and worst ways possible.

5. Swimming In The Dark By Tomasz Jedrowski

Think of this book as Andre Aciman’s humongously powerful Call Me by Your Name-meets-resistance. Set in 1980s communist Poland, the book is a poetic and gut-wrenching tale of first love amidst political divide. It's a slow ache in novel form, with prose that’s tender and lyrical, and characters that live in your head long after the last page.

6. Silk Route By Sachin Kundalkar, Translated By Aakash Karkare

Coming up next from the author of Cobalt Blue is this quietly powerful story of queer desire, grief, and escape set across multiple locations, from Pune to Mumbai to London and back, weaving through heartbreak and longing to belong. With sharp urgency and a bold insight, Kundalkar illuminates the everyday through a queer Indian lens, and once again, making even the quietest moments feel profound and intimate.

7. Evenings And Weekends By Oisín McKenna

A group of friends with messy pasts and uncertain futures in London collide over two evenings on a weekend, and uncover their collective desire, hopes, and the future. Brimming with millennial anxiety, casual hookups, and lots of queer longing, this book reads like an indie film you’d obsess over on Letterboxd and we hope it gets picked up for a movie or a limited series soon.

8. Stag Dance By Torrey Peters

Following the phenomenal Detransition, Baby, Peters returns with a dazzling mix of a short novel and three bold stories that unpack gender, obsession, friendship, and betrayal. Weird, whip-smart, and deeply original, this book is wild and in very unpredictable ways. Also, have you looked at the cover? How could one say not THAT?

9. My Fair Brady By Brian D. Kennedy

This book is for the theatre kids and early 2000s romcom lovers. It follows a classic makeover plot with a queer twist, this sweet and swoony Young Adult romance gives you all the feels without dumbing anything down. High school, heartbreak, musicals and healing? It’s funny, emotional, and charmingly cute.

10. Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil By V.E. Schwab

This genre-defying and time-hopping novel from the international best-selling fantasy and science-fiction author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a haunting queer triptych of love, hunger, and rage. Set across multiple timelines and locations, Schwab weaves together the lives of three women bound by queer desire and impossible choices. Think of this as intimate and gothic, and a book that asks: What would you give to live freely across centuries?

Also Read:

Why India’s Queer Community Is Rewriting The Rules of Sex Education