35 - A Book Centering LGBTQ+ Characters That Isn't About Coming Out

[Cathern]

Would Bury Your Gays be able to work here. The main character does come out at the end of the book, but that isn't the main focus.

[Nike]

I'll read Orlando by Virginia Woolf. I can also recommend Albert Nobbs by George Moore and Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

[Nadine in NY]

I am currently reading I Leave It Up to You, and it is delightful, and funny, and emotional, and thought-provoking, and it perfectly fits this category.

[Joanna G]

Cathern wrote: "Would Bury Your Gays be able to work here. The main character does come out at the end of the book, but that isn't the main focus."

I read it and decided not to count it for this. Also it's not the main focus, it is the climax of the book, and part of it's message.

But as always, you get to pick what fits, so if you thought it works, use it!

[Jennifer W]

Last night, I started a book that I've had laying around here for a while (like it might be due any day...), Lavender House. The main character was outed at the beginning of the book, but the book isn't about that, and there are a lot of other lesbians and gays that are comfortably out.

Also, if anyone is working on past challenges, it has rabbits on the cover, which I didn't notice until I looked very closely.

[Rachel]

Until I find another one, I'm going to use Blackward for this prompt, because I'm also in my "graphic novel era."

[LeahS]

I read Days Without End, where the MCs are two soldiers fighting in the Indian and Civil Wars. The relationship between them is just there - one of them is also probably trans, but no big deal is made about either that or the relationship, so there's no coming out.

I thought this was an excellent book, some horrors in it but beautifully written and I was always just rooting for the characters.

[Sherri]

I read The Bones Beneath My Skin

[Anshita]

I am reading Kari by Amruta Patil. The blurb reads, "They were inseparable – until the day they jumped. Ruth, saved by safety nets, leaves the city. Kari, saved by a sewer, crawls back into the fray of the living. She writes ad copy for hair products and ill-fitting lingerie, falls for cats and roadside urchins, and the occasional adventuress in a restaurant. As Danger Chhori, her PVC-suit-clad alter ego, she unclogs sewers and observes the secret lives of people and fruit. And with Angel, Lazarus, and the girls of Crystal Palace forming the chorus to her song, she explores the dark heart of Smog City – loneliness, sewers, sleeper success, death – and the memory of her absentee Other."

[Claire]

I finished Mrs. Nash's Ashes and I would say it counts. About half of the book is told in flashbacks to the relationship between two women in Florida during WWII. The present day romance is between a man and a woman, but the reason they are thrown together is entirely because of the flashback romance.

[Britany]

Finished We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kat]

Denise wrote: "I'm not sure what I want to read yet, but if anyone is looking for one that isn't a romance (the couple is already together and married at the start) I recommend [book:Our Wives Under the Sea|58659..."

Thank you so much for recommending this! I just read it and it's absolutely one of my favorite books of the year so far.

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine)]

I've used The Kite for this. I love Asher and Harry but they are violent and unapologetic. Definitely worth it as an audiobook too, Glen Lloyd does justice to Asher's mystery accent.

[Laura Ruth]

Lots of great possibilities for this category. I wound up reading Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

[Ellen]

I'm reading by Robert W. Fieseler.