May 2025 Queer Releases

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white square with a thin outline and text that reads "194 queer books coming out this May!". The 191 is in matching horizontal rainbow stripes and May is in yellow text. Text between the number and month are all caps black font.

🌈 What's COMING OUT (pun intended) this May? Which books are you excited for? Which books are you adding to your TBR? Any other queer releases you know of?

We do our best to screen books for AI usage and do not include books with covers that are made by generative AI, or books written by generative AI. If there was a mistake, please let us know so we can update our post!!

Check out the embedded link for more information about the book.

Note: Some dates may have changed. We haven’t read all of these books, so please check reviews for more details on queer identities represented and The StoryGraph for content warnings!

1

The Sun Blessed Prince by Lindsey Byrd

The Boy Who Was Saved by Jazz by Tom Bentley-Fisher

All Humans Outside: Stories of Belonging in Nature by Tommy Corey

My Lady Hiraya by Steven Sy

Tyler’s Guarded Heart (Cardinal Falls Book 2) by E.J. Stoll

Going Solo by D.P. Clarence

The Scavengers & the Stray by Rae Ryan

Clean Slate (A Lord & Burton Mystery) by Barbara Winkes

Those We Run From by Fiona Zedde

The Architecture of Us by Lisa Elliot

Discovering Nicola by Clare Ashton

Sound Check by Jennifer Fenn

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

2

To Sway a Charlatan by Daphinie Cramsie

 

5

5 Elements by Banks Benson

 

6

The Survivor Wants to Die at the End (Death-Cast Book 2) by Adam Silvera

The Vengeance (The Vampires of Dumas Book 1) by Emma Newman

Murder Land by Carlyn Greenwald

Rainbow! Volume 2 by Sunny & Gloomy (Illustrator)

A Spell for Change by Nicole Jarvis

The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li

Motherlover by Lindsay Ishihiro

Sometimes the Girl by Jennifer Mason-Black

Star Wars: The Acolyte: Wayseeker by Justina Ireland

And Introducing Dexter Gaines by Mark B. Perry

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

milktooth by Jaime Burnet

Archangel’s Ascension (Guild Hunter Book 17) by Nalini Singh

A Poisonous Silence by Jenny Adams

The Butcher’s Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett by Corinne Leigh Clark & David Demchuk

Love Languages by James Albon

Are You Happy?: Stories by Lori Ostlund

Disco Witches of Fire Island by Blair Fell

Growing into You!: An Inclusive, Shame-Busting, Get-Real Guide to Your Changing Body and Mind by Melissa Pintor Carnagey &Brianna Gilmartin (illustrator)

Overgrowth by Mira Grant 

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang

Modern Divination (Spells for Life & Death Book 1) by Isabel Agajanian

Love Is for All of Us: Poems of Tenderness and Belonging from the LGBTQ+ Community and Friends edited by James Crews &Brad Peacock, illustrated by Lisa Congdon

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez

I Can’t Even Think Straight by Dean Atta

All’s Fair in Love & Field Hockey by Kit Rosewater

The Rebel’s Guide to Pride by Matthew Hubbard 

Beyond They/Them: 20 Influential Nonbinary & Gender-Diverse People you should know by Em Dickson & Cameron Mukwa (Illustrated)

Come Home to My Heart by Riley Redgate

Rink Rash by Santana Knox

Bound by Their Blood by Autumn Hawthorne

Milf: A Holiday Romance by AS Adams

 

7

Pyg by Pip Landers-Letts

At Her Service (Club Velvet) by Anna Stone

 

8

See You at the Finish Line by Zac Hammett

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Waist Deep by Linea Maja Ernst, Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg (Translator)

Taken to the Shadow Realm (Stolen Demon Brides Book 2) by Elle Mae

Hits Different by Joel Rustin

 

9

The Crystal Island (Talent Continuum Trilogy Book 2) by Phoenix McDonald

Unveiling The Shadowbearer's Burden (A Dark Fantasy Spicy Anthology) by Jasmyn Morning

10

Soul Burn (Blood Tethered Book 3) by I.S. Belle

Butterfly Pinned by Leslie Liautaud

The Year of Us: May by Kate Hawthorne and E.M. Denning

Only Want to Be With You (Portland Symphony Bonus Standalone) by London Price

 

11

Carnations & Commitment (Chicago Sapphics Book 3) by H.B. Cliffy

 

12

Never Nix Up by Ali Williams

 

13

When Love Gives You Lemons by Steven Salvatore

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

The Duke Steals Hearts & Other Body Parts by Elias Cold

One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller

The Einstein of Sex: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, Visionary of Weimar Berlin by Daniel Brook

A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane

Grand Slam Romance Book 3: Farewell to Babes by Ollie Hicks & Emma Oosterhous (Illustrator)

Shampoo Unicorn by Sawyer Lovett

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

The Mutant and the Mule by A. A. Blair

Atana & the Jade Mermaid (Atana Book 2) by Vivian Zhou

Slaying You (An Amber Jamison Book 2) by Michelle Gagnon

Dream On, Ramona Riley (Clover Lake Book 1) by Ashley Herring Blake 

Get Real, Chloe Torres by Crystal Maldonado 

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Two Weddings and a Funeral by Claudia Parr

To Broadway by Maurane Mazars

Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Alex L. Combs & Andrew Eakett

So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer & Two-Spirit People of Color by Caro de Robertis 

Blades of Furry Volume 1 by Emily Erdos & Deya Muniz

Summer Girls by Jennifer Dugan

Athlete is Agender: True Stories of LGBTQ+ People in Sports edited by Katherine Locke & Nicole Melleby

The Intermediaries: A Weimar Story by Brandy Schillace

Learning to Fall by Peach Morris

Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

The Smallest Day (A Micky Knight Mystery Book 12) by J.D. Redmann

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Portalmania: Stories by Debbie Urbanski

Love Letters & Pocket Knives by J.J. Celli

Emma by the Sea by Sarah G. Levine

Dream a Little Dream by Melissa Brayden

Astrophobia: An Anthology of Space Horror curated by Vesper Doom

To Please Her by Elena Abbott

Goodbye, Hello by Heather K. O'Malley

Drowning Lessons by Ana Hazel

You’re Ours: A Not so Normative Novella by D.C. Emerson

Discovering Gold by Sam Ledel

One Measure of Love by Annie McDonald

 

14

Obsessed (The Pointe of Love Book 3) by Sonia Blue

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Enemies by Nature (The Shape-Shifter Series Book 7) by Jae

 

15

The Lady of the Lake by Jean Mezies

Binds of the Forsaken by Elijah Her

Riyati Rivals (Riyati Book 2) by Kai Zeal

Seed Beetle by Mahaila Smith

Origin by Jaz Pate

Caught by Cupid by Claerie Kavanaugh

Sage by Yaffa

Sweet Mother, I Cannot Weave by T.D. Cloud (Itch.io Exclusive)

 

16

The Divide That Binds Us by Michelle J

 

20

Everyone Sux But You by K. Wroten

Let Them Stare by Jonathan Van Ness & Julie Murphy

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Rainbow Boy and the Pride Parade by Taylor Rouanzion and Stacey Chomiak

Out of Step, into You by Ciera Burch

Checked Out by Katie Fricas

Behooved by M. Stevenson 

In Case You Read This by Edward Underhill

The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling

Don’t Let Me Go by Kevin Christopher Snipes

Rebel in the Deep (Crimson Sails Book 3) by Katee Robert

Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline

One Day in June: A Story Inspired by the Life and Activism of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline & Charlot Kristensen (illustrator)

Aggregated Discontent: Confessions of the Last Normal Woman by Harron Walker

Dinghai Fusheng Records Vol. 1 by Fei Tian Ye Xiang

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

The Bi Book by A.J. Irving & Cynthia Alonso (Illustrated)

Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus

Hardly Creatures: Poems by Rob Macaisa Colgate

Give My Love to Berlin by Katherine Bryant 

The Mage of Mourning (Otherworldly Anarchist 2) by Dreamer's Riot 

Mrs. Victoria Buys a Brothel by Talhí Briones

Fulfillment City by E.M. Arons

Blood and Flame (The Quinate's Faithful Book ) by Brendan Corbett

All I Know so Far by Nicole Zelniker

Those Who Burn the Brightest by Kayla Morton

Dragon Boats & Doctor’s Notes by Hudson Lin

 

21

Do You Believe in Life After Loss?: Queer Stories of Loss, Hope & Resilience by Andrew Flewitt

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

The Silence of Storms (A Three Realms, Nine Monarchs Novel) by Nico Silver

 

22

Brim Over Boot (The Darling Brothers Book 2) by Emmy Sanders

Shade Spells with Strangers (Fae & Human Relations Book 3) by Sarah Wallace & S.O. Callahan

Kiln Me Softly by B.B. Woods

 

23

Accepted Precedent (Love & Politics Book 2) by Irene Bahrd

Scent of Sanctuary by N. Slater

There's a Badge for That by Relly Moring

A Soft Place to Land by Kelsey Lranz

black&white – episode 2: saturation by Soph Tang

 

24

Shades of Spring (Shades of Spring Book 1) by Niranjan

 

25

Bears & Bakeries (Sweet & Stocky Book 2) by Dylan Drakes

First Rose (Deity Chronicles Book 2) by Jake Vanguard

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Demon Engine by Marten Norr

Ace Thompson by Sharif Nsubuga

 

26

Don’t Give a Nix by Ali Williams

 

27

These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa

And They Were Roommates by Page Powars

Lava at First Sight by Adelaide Snow

Going Overboard by Caroline Huntoon

Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Before Gender: Lost Stories from Trans History, 1850-1950 by Eli Erlick

Flirty Dancing by Jennifer Moffatt

The South by Tash Aw

Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me (Dark Lord Davi Book 2) by Django Wexler

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Time After Time by Mikki Daughtry

And the Trees Stare Back by Gigi Griffis

A Fate Forged in Fire (Bonded to Beasts Book 1) by Hazel McBride

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan

A Game of Monsters (Realm of Fey Book 4) by Ben Alderson

Costumes for Time Travelers by A.R. Capetta

Summerhouse by Yiğit Karaahmet, trans. by Nicholas Glastonbury

Qiang Jin Jiu (Ballad of Sword and Wine Volume 4) by Tang Jiu Qing & ST (Illustrator)

Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity, ed. by Lee Mandelo

All-Nighter by Cecilia Vinesse

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee

Price of a Thousand Blessings Volume 2 by Ginn Hale

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

Maybe This Will Save Me: A Memoir of Art, Addiction and Transformation by Tommy Dorfman

The Glade by Naseem Jamnia

To the End of the Line by Sage Greer

Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg

Divine Blessings by K.R Thompson

Joey and the Ocean of Possibilities by Mike Jakubowski

Who We Thought We Were by Alex Hoeft

Delicious: An MM/MMM Food Themed Charity Romance Anthology

 

28

Loyalty to the Max by Maya Darjani

The Other Jay & Eve by Emma Jayne & Ashanti Fortson (Colorist)

Magic & Other Mishaps by TJ Nichols

Shifting Nature (The Shape-Shifter Series Book 8) by Jae

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Each spot has a book cover.

29

The Ayatollah's Gaze: A Memoir of the Forbidden and the Fabulous by Majid Parsa

Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive

You Can't Get Rid Of Me: An adopted son’s search for family by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault

Do Ask, Do Tell: Queer Life, Love and Culture Laid Bare by Lotte Jeffs, Stu Oakley

 

30

Gratuitous Games (Disaster Bi Design Book 2) by Darby Quinn

On Wings of Fallen Stars (Starbinder Book 1) by Vaela Denarr & Micah Iannandrea

 

31

The Dreammonger by Emma T. Shannon

The Blood of the Covenant (Book 1) by Andy J N McRae

Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions by Fae Quin

And Another Thing by Patrick Paridee Samuel

Conscious Tongues by Elenia Graf

A graphic with a background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow. In the middle is a white white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. There are 11 book covers and 1 pale yellow rectangle in the bottom right.

Late Additions:

For Whom the Belle Tolls (Hell’s Belles Book 1) by Jaysea Lynn

We Could be Something by Will Kostakis

Diffidence & the Rift by Amy Crook

We post an open call for new releases around the 20th of the month preceding on Twitter/X, Blue Sky and Threads. Authors can add their books to these posts to be included in future new release lists. Or you can email andy@rainbowcratebookbox.com with the title/series name, author, book cover and a link to more information/purchase options (Goodreads/Author website/Itch.io).

ID: A post of seventeen slides. Background is made up of a diagonal oriented 6-stripe rainbow for each slide. Slide 1 has a white square which reads "191 queer books coming out this May!". The 191 is in matching horizontal rainbow stripes and May is in yellow text. Text between the number and month are all caps black font. Slide 2-16 features a white grid outline with a column on the left that has the release date in black over a yellow rectangle and book covers in three rows of 4 book covers each. Slide 17 features the same setup with 11 book covers and 1 pale yellow rectangle. End ID. 

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