Take a look at these brand-new fiction books for adults to celebrate Pride 2026! All these books and more are available for free with your library card.
Want more suggested books? Take a look at our recommendations.
Chosen Family
Madeleine Gray
Nell has accepted, at age 12, that hers will likely be a friendless existence. She does not care for boys, or makeup, or competing to see who can eat the least – so has no hope of success at tweenage girl social climbing.
But then, a new girl arrives at school. Eve has short hair like a boy’s, a wicked sense of humour and an unshakable confidence that she will one day find her place in the world. The moment they meet, Nell changes her mind about the friend thing.
From their childhood to their 20s and 30s, Eve and Nell will love each other and hurt each other – through teenage feuds and the chlorine-scented savagery of all-girls’ schools; through long, drunken nights in scruffy share houses; through the highs and lows of coparenting a child together without being romantically involved.
But always, despite a mire of unspoken feelings and sexual confusion, they will choose each other. Again, and again. As friends, as lovers, as family.
Stag Dance
Torrey Peters
Deep in the forest, a group of restless lumberjacks working an illegal logging outfit plan a winter dance that some will volunteer to attend as women; the broadest, strongest axeman finds himself caught in a rivalry with a pretty, young jack that culminates in jealousy, betrayal and an astonishing spectacle of transition.
Meanwhile, in other times and places, the gender apocalypse is brought about by an unstable ex-girlfriend; an illicit boarding-school romance surfaces intrigue and cruelty; and a Las Vegas party weekend turns dark when a young crossdresser must choose between a thrilling mystery man or a veteran trans woman offering unglamorous sisterhood.
Star Shipped
Cat Sebastian
Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can’t stand one another.
Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. They’ve spent the better part of a decade quarrelling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it.
Now that Simon’s contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie. Simon’s only problem is that people might assume he’s been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with.
He doesn’t get along with people – unlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behaviour during the show’s first season. Simon reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves.
Dearly Departed
Chip Pons
Hayden Harlow, once the mighty Hades, has spent centuries quietly resenting his fall from immortality. Stripped of his godhood by the allegedly irreversible Immortal Retirement Act, he now runs Harlow and Sons Funeral Home – a front for his eternal sentencing among mortals, and a bleak reminder of the purpose he’s lost.
Still, he’s determined to claw his way back – if only the Fates at City Hall would stop toying with him. Enter Levi Wilder: a florist with an artist’s heart, an infectious smile, and a gift for finding beauty in life’s messiest moments. When Hayden storms into Levi’s shop – their worlds collide. Hayden is all restraint and shadows; Levi is all sunshine and charm. But beneath the clash lies an undeniable spark neither can ignore.
As their connection blossoms, Hayden finds himself caught between the life he once knew and the bright future Levi dares him to imagine.
Killer Potential
Hannah Deitch
A scholarship kid with straight As and big dreams, Evie Gordon always thought that she’d be someone. But after graduating, she finds herself drowning in debt and working as an SAT tutor for the super-rich of Los Angeles.
Everything changes when she arrives for a weekly lesson at the Victors’ mansion to discover pure carnage: the bloody remains of Mr and Mrs Victor sullying their beautiful back garden, and a woman crying for help from within the walls of the family’s estate. Within moments, Evie and the woman go from bystanders to suspects to fugitives.
Anointed the new Charles Manson by the press, Evie is finally someone. At the heart of a nationwide manhunt, Evie is desperate to clear her name. But first she’ll have to break down the barriers of her new companion – who is inscrutable, surprisingly skilled at being on the run, and quickly becoming the most important person in Evie’s upside-down life.
Reality Check
Lizzie Huxley-Jones
They were meant to be looking for their perfect man, but they can’t ignore the sparks flying on and off screen.
Wedded Bliss is everyone’s favourite reality TV show where couples match, marry and compete for a grand prize. Dolly is in it for money. She doesn’t want a husband, but a partnership launched on international TV could definitely help her influencer career.
Model Warren might just be her man. Carys is in it for love. It’s not like she’s had much luck in the romance department, so why not trust the show’s matchmakers with her heart? Could handsome veterinarian Patrick be the one?
The tension building between them is as hot as the competition and the two women can’t deny their chemistry.
Open, Heaven
Sean Hewitt
On the cusp of adulthood, James dreams of another life far away from his small village. Beholden to the expectations of home and family, his burgeoning desire – an ache for autonomy, tenderness and sex – threatens to unravel his shy exterior.
Then he meets Luke. Unkempt and handsome, charismatic and impulsive, he has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle on a nearby farm. Luke comes with a reputation for danger, yet underneath his bravado lie anxieties and hopes of his own.
As the seasons pass, and the pair form an ever-changing bond, James falls into a terrifying first love that will transform his life forever.
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One
Kristen Arnett
Cherry Hendricks might be down on her luck, but she can write the book on what makes something funny: she’s a professional clown who creates raucous, zany fun at gigs all over Orlando.
Between clowning and her shifts at an aquarium store for extra cash, she’s always hustling. Not to mention balancing her judgmental mother, her messy love life, and her equally messy community of fellow performers.
Things start looking up when Cherry meets Margot the Magnificent – a much older lesbian magician – who seems to have worked out the lines between art, business and life, and has a slick, successful career to prove it. With Margot’s mentorship and industry connections, Cherry is sure to take her art to the next level. Plus, Margot is sexy as hell.
It’s not long before Cherry must decide how much she’s willing to risk for Margot and for her own explosive new act.