Horizontal stripes in shades of blue, green, white, and teal making up the Gay Pride flag.

Gay Showcase

This page is to showcase books that celebrate gay characters whose stories are not centrally focused on coming out. Coming out stories are just as important but I want to highlight those stories that depict gay characters as more than that single story. My blog post describes this page in more detail.

When I add new books to this page, I will add them to the top of the list to make it easier for you to spot them. Also, please let me know if you have any recommendations that are not on this list! I am always looking to grow my collection.

A colorful book cover titled "The Entanglement of Rival Wizards" by Sara Raasch. The cover features an illustrated scene with two young men facing each other in a room with a pink lab table, test tubes, and books. One man has blond hair, glasses, and a thoughtful expression, while the other has dark, mohawk-style hair, tattoos, and pointed elf-like ears.

The Entanglement of Rival Wizards (Magic and Romance) by Sara Raasch (My Review)

This is another wonderful enemies-to-lovers gay romance. I love it and can’t recommend it enough. It has a unique magic system that is based in our world as well. The characters face struggle with processing past traumas as well so it feels well developed. Definitely give this book a chance.

Book cover titled "Master of One" by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett, with a grayscale background, large metallic letters spelling "ONE," and an artistic red and gray design featuring leaves and abstract shapes.

Master of One by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett (My Review)

This book is targeted to a YA audience with the main characters being older teens. It features a trans character and has a very slow burn gay romance as a subplot. I loved it and would highly recommend reading it! Though, it reads like Book One with no sign of Book Two.

Book cover for 'And They Were Roommates' by Page Powers, featuring two young people facing each other closely, one with glasses and dark hair, the other with blonde hair, bright smiles, and wearing red clothing, with a pink background.

And They Were Roommates by Page Powars (My Review)

Though this book is contemporary, I wanted to laud it on my main showcase page. It was incredibly good. Along with being a gay romance, this book features a trans main character who is 1,000% relatable. I highly recommend picking this one up.

Cover of the book titled 'Interview with the Vampire' by Anne Rice, with the subtitle indicating it's Book One of The Vampire Chronicles. The background color is green, with the title and author's name in large stylized fonts.

Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles) by Anne Rice (My Review)

This book is from the 1970s but has a clear gay plot revolving around the main character, Louis, and a few other male vampires. This book was a bit more subtle about it, I’m guessing because of the time period. I have hopes that the newer books in the series will be more upfront with it.

A book cover for WolfSong by TJ Klune featuring a white wolf howling at the moon in a forested landscape.

Wolfsong (Green Creek series) by TJ Klune (My Review)

This is by the same author as the book on the right of this row. I found a gem when I discovered this writer. Like the previous series I read, this book is fantastic! I have only read book one (review linked above) and will be reading and reviewing the rest, though this listing here is for the whole series.

Cover of a book titled 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' by TJ Klune. The illustration features a floating island with a red house, a leafless tree, and a red bus, against a colorful, dreamy sky with pink, purple, and blue clouds.

The House in the Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles) by TJ Klune (My Review)

This is easily one of my new favorite series! There is a great gay love story and found family story embroiled in this plot about magical beings and how they would fit into our world. It looks like this author has many other series that should live on my page here. I will definitely be checking them out. TJ Klune also has a similar mission as my own!

Book cover of 'The Nightmare Before Kissmas' by Sara Raasch, featuring two young men with holiday and Halloween-themed decorations.

The Nightmare Before Kissmas (Royals and Romance series) by Sara Raasch (My Review)

This is the newest release on this list. I finished reading it shortly after it came out and I loved it. I am looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Book cover for "Carry On" by Rainbow Rowell, featuring two characters, one with short red hair and a green jacket, and the other with black wavy hair and a gray shirt, standing in front of a purple background with a large creature with purple eyes.

Carry On (Simon Snow series) by Rainbow Rowell

This is one of my favorite sets that I recently had the opportunity to finish reading. The romance between Simon and Baz is an enemy to lovers. They find themselves in many magical conflicts throughout the series.

Three young characters from the book 'Unnatural,' part of the 'Archangel Academy' series by Michael Griffo, standing against a red background. The girl in the center has dark hair and is flanked by two boys, one with dark hair on her left and one with blond hair on her right.

Unnatural (Archangel Academy series) by Michael Griffo (My Review)

This is series does a good job of portraying the main character’s coming out story as a subplot to a good versus evil supernatural main conflict. Along with the main romance, there are also many gay side characters.

Book cover for 'Havemercy' featuring a mechanical dragon breathing fire, with clockwork gears and detailed metallic designs.

Havemercy (Havemercy series) by Danielle Bennett and Jaida Jones

This is a series of 4 books and each one has 4 distinct narrators. There are multiple gay characters shown in this fantasy series about steampunk dragons. Book three also showcases a trans character.

Book cover titled 'Captive Prince' by C.S. Pacat, with a brick wall background and a small illustration of a window and a lion emblem labeled 'Extra Exclusive Story'.

Captive Prince (Captive Prince trilogy) by C. S. Pacat

I really enjoyed reading this series a few years ago. This is another enemies to lovers romance in a fantasy world. The main conflict features a power play for the throne and the rivalry of two princes.

A young man dressed in winter clothing holding a broom, with a snowy winter scene in the background showing a horse-drawn carriage and trees covered in snow. The text on the image reads 'Frost Fair Erastes.'

Frost Fair by Erastes

When I originally read this book, I loved it. Unfortunately, it was a number of years ago and I don’t remember much about it. I can say that it is a historical fiction where one man struggles to save his print shop, which is when another man with a fortune comes into his life.

Book cover titled 'The Song of Achilles' by Madeline Miller with a golden, ornate background.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

This is another historical fiction. This one takes place in ancient Greece and is the tale of Achilles told through the eyes of his companion Patroclus. It had a slow start but a whirlwind emotional ending.

Book cover with a depiction of a luminous human figure at the center, surrounded by electric blue and purple lightning bolts radiating outward, and the title 'The Fever King' in prominent gold letters, with the author's name Victoria Lee at the bottom.

The Fever King (Feverwake series) by Victoria Lee

I have only read book one and am planning on rereading this book when I finish the series. It features a post-apocalyptic setting with technology based magic.

Book cover titled "A Strong and Sudden Thaw" by R.W. Day, featuring a pine tree branch with pine needles and two dragons flying in the background.

A Strong and Sudden Thaw (A Strong and Sudden Thaw series) by R. W. Day

This is another that I read a number of years ago. I really liked it at the time. It is another dystopian setting and it also features dragons. This one has a bit of a coming out story line too.

Book cover of "The Raven Boys" by Maggie Stiefvater, featuring a dark illustration of a raven with black and blue feathers and red accents, with the author's name and title in bold red and black text.

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle and The Dreamer Trilogy) by Maggie Stiefvater

I loved the original 4 book series. I will not name the gay romance here because I feel it verges on spoiler. I will be rereading this set because I need to read The Dreamer Trilogy.

Close-up of a man's face with blue eyes, overlaid with symbols and the title 'Witch Eyes' by Scott Tracey, with a dark, wooded landscape at the bottom.

Witch Eyes (Witch Eyes series) by Scott Tracey

This was a great fantasy series that I read many years ago. I remember it is a Romeo and Juliet type romance where the main boys are from rival families.

The cover of a book titled 'The Culling' by Steven Dos Santos featuring a person walking into a green, glowing vortex or portal in a dark, forest-like setting.

The Culling (The Torch Keeper series) by Steven Dos Santos

I read book one of this series a while ago and will be rereading it now that I have the rest of the set. It has another dystopian story line.

Book cover for 'Aisling: Book One Guardian' by Carole Cummings featuring a man with brown hair and another man with dark curly hair against a dark background.

Guardian (Aisling series) by Carole Cummings

Another one I read book one of many years ago but have no recollection of anything much about it. I know I liked it and I will be rereading it to finish the series.

Book cover of "Hero" by Perry Moore, featuring a blue eye mask with the author's name and the title in colorful letters.

Hero by Perry Moore

This one does have a bit of a coming out subplot but the main plot is centered around a league of superheroes. Tragically, the author of this book died in 2011.

Book cover for 'Brokeback Mountain' by Annie Proulx featuring two young men with cowboy hats against a mountain landscape.

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

I know, this one tackles the themes of being gay as the main conflict. It is a classic and I absolutely love the movie so I thought it was worth including here.