LGBT Books You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Our First Pride Post

I have never heard anyone talk about the following books, which makes me so disappointed:

• Cross My Heart and Never Lie by Laura Dåsnes

• In the Role of Brie Hutchins by Nicole Melleby

• Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

• A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Never mind how I neglected to make a Pride Month post last year. I make my own monthly themes, thank you very much!

Going in chronological order by age, allow me to highlight the mentioned novels and tell you why you should read them, too.

Cross My Heart and Never Lie by Laura Dåsnes

Audience: Middle Grade

After relationship drama forces Tuva to choose sides between friend groups, she finds out she has developed feelings for a new friend, who is a girl.

I loved the natural development of Tuva’s fondness for her friend. I also loved how she bonded with her dad over music. Nothing in this novel is high-stakes, which gives Tuva’s realization about her crush the proper breathing room.

In the Role of Brie Hutchins by Nicole Melleby

Audience: Teens

Brie Hutchins, budding actress, is at odds with her conservative Catholic mother. Maybe they’ve stopped bonding over their love of soap operas. Maybe Brie isn’t the most well-behaved kid. Maybe Brie’s mother is upset Brie likes girls. Maybe all of the above.

This novel flew under the radar because it was published in 2020, but maybe that’s a good thing? Discovering this book was like finding a gem in a haystack. Instead of receiving backlash for its subject matters, I’d like this novel to be secretly passed around from friend to friend.

The complicated relationship between Brie and her mother is excruciatingly truthful in its pacing. And the soap opera history? Real. I was there when Bianca Montgomery came out on All My Children, and saw how my own mom stopped watching the show soon after. Funny how what our mothers don’t say can damage just as much as what they believe.

This novel doesn’t tie everything into a neat little bow, and I commend Melleby for showing us how life is sometimes messy and it will still be okay.

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Audience: Older Teens

Years ago, this book was the first bi representation I encountered in YA. Years later, I still think about it.

Tanner moves with his family moves to Utah, and while being out and proud is great for him, it’s no so great for his Mormon crush. This novel was both hopeful and sad. It’s a story about love and a story about a crisis of faith. I don’t have experience with this specific religion, but I do understand the conflict of someone from a conservative family. This is as much Sebastian’s story as it is Tanner’s.

Plus, I’m a sucker for purple book covers, starry book covers, and booky book covers.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Audience: Adults, more notably fans of Historical Fiction and fans of Will-They-Won’t-They tension.

Trans. Period. Romance.

I need to leave my wheelhouse more often because TRANS PERIOD ROMANCE.

Viola, formerly a soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, is presumed to be dead. When she’s forced to come face to face with her childood friend, sparks fly.

This novel raises questions about whether we can truly leave our pasts behind. It forces us to question who we are in the eyes of our loved ones, or in our memories. Some complicated questions no matter who you are.

On top of that, it’s a trans period romance.

Have you read any of these? Take a gander. Take a goose if you’re feeling silly.