A Few Essential Reads for Pride Month (and beyond)

June is Pride Month — a time for celebration, reflection, and amplifying LGBTQ+ voices. As a literary content creator who spends much of life between the pages of fiction, I always look forward to curating a reading list that honours the richness, complexity, and joy of queer storytelling. Whether you're in the mood for tender romance, biting satire, intimate memoir, or powerful literary fiction, this list hopes to offer something for every reader.

​These are the books I’m recommending for this Pride Month — stories that have moved me, challenged me, and reminded me of the importance of representation on the page. 

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ll already know how much I adore The Roots of Chaos series by Samantha Shannon. Both The Priory of the Orange Tree and its prequel A Day of Fallen Night are five-star reads in my book — rich, sprawling fantasies full of dragons, politics, and powerful women. ​But what makes these novels particularly special for Pride Month is how beautifully and naturally they centre queer relationships and identities. From sweeping sapphic romances to nuanced trans and non-binary representation, Shannon’s world is as inclusive as it is immersive. I’m beyond excited for the upcoming third instalment (another prequel!) and can’t recommend this series enough if you’re looking for fantasy that celebrates queerness with heart, depth, and epic storytelling.

Sunburn is a stellar debut and one of my all-time favourites. Set in rural Ireland in the early ‘90s, Sunburn is a queer coming-of-age story which follows Lucy, long assumed to be on the road to marriage and kids with her neighbour and best friend, Martin. Aged fifteen, she is one of a group of girls tightly bound by friendship, fraught with all the worries and pitfalls of adolescence. Sunburn is a tender portrayal of first love, adolescent anxiety and the realities of growing up in a small town where tradition holds people tightly in its grasp. The writing is lyrical, tender, evocative and completely gripping. Add this to your summer reading list.

​Another fantasy series I absolutely devoured — and one I’ excited to include in this Pride reading list — is The Ending Fire trilogy by Saara El-Arifi. All three books are bold, immersive, and equally compelling, which is no small feat in a high-stakes fantasy series. ​At its heart lies a gorgeously slow-burning sapphic love story that lingers across the pages, adding emotional depth to a world already brimming with magic, rebellion, and myth. El-Arifi also weaves in powerful representations of queer identity and disability with care and complexity, making this trilogy not just thrilling to read but genuinely meaningful. ​If you're craving a fantasy series that’s rich in both representation and storytelling — this is one I recommend wholeheartedly.

For those drawn to bold, genre-defying writing, Carmen Maria Machado’s work is essential reading. Both In the Dream House and Her Body and Other Parties left a lasting impression on me — each offering something entirely unique yet equally powerful. In the Dream House is a haunting, inventive memoir about a psychologically abusive queer relationship, told through a kaleidoscope of literary forms that completely redefines what memoir can be. Her Body and Other Parties, meanwhile, is a collection of eerie, feminist short stories that blur the boundaries between horror, fantasy, and queer desire. Machado’s writing is razor-sharp, deeply imaginative, and unafraid to explore the darker corners of human experience — making both books vital, unforgettable reads for Pride and beyond.

If you’re drawn to queer historical fiction with a fierce, feminist edge, I highly recommend Saltblood by Francesca de Tores and The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron. Both novels centre on bold, complex women living on the fringes of society, carving out space for themselves in worlds that would rather see them silenced. Saltblood is a striking reimagining of the life of accused pirate Mary Read, exploring gender, identity, and survival with lyrical intensity. The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye, meanwhile, brings to life the legend of a 17th-century Caribbean pirate queen, brimming with rage, romance, and resistance. Queer identity pulses through both stories in ways that feel defiant, tender, and unapologetically alive — making them brilliant additions to any Pride Month reading stack.

No Pride Month reading list would feel complete without a nod to Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu — a gothic novella first published in 1872 and widely considered one of the earliest works of vampire fiction. Predating Dracula by over two decades, Carmilla tells the story of a young woman’s mysterious and intimate relationship with a female vampire, offering a dark, atmospheric exploration of queer desire at a time when such themes were rarely acknowledged in literature. It’s a fascinating, haunting read that still feels surprisingly resonant today. While the subtext is more veiled than modern readers might be used to, the book’s place in queer literary history makes it a compelling classic to revisit during Pride Month.

This is an emotional, very intimate, and poignant novella from Simone de Beauvoir, only recently published for the first time in English. The book tells a beautifully written story about an unusual bond between two very individual girls, exploring how a friendship can mean such different things to the people in them. The story challenges the expectations that society had for women at this time and sees the girls struggle with the conventions of the French bourgeois of the early twentieth century. Autobiographical in nature and written in 1954, the story was inspired by the inseparable friendship between Simone de Beauvoir and her friend Elisabeth ‘Zaza’ Lacoin.

Chase of the Wild Goose by Mary Gordon is a fascinating, lyrical biography that tells the intertwined stories of the Ladies of Llangollen—Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby—two upper-class Irish women who defied 18th-century gender norms by eloping together and living in rural Wales for over 50 years. Written in 1936, Gordon’s poetic and imaginative narrative blends biography with personal reflection, celebrating female autonomy, intellectual companionship, and a deep, enduring love that many interpret as queer. It’s a perfect Pride Month recommendation for readers seeking lesser-known sapphic histories, told with reverence and a touch of literary romanticism, ideal for summer reading that is both enriching and quietly radical.

One of the more recent novels I’ve read and loved is Mere by Danielle Giles — a beautifully written and emotionally resonant story that deserves far more attention. Set against the backdrop of a small, insular coastal town, Mere explores themes of queerness, grief, and belonging with striking tenderness and depth. At its heart is a queer love story that feels both quiet and profound, woven through with moments of tension, longing, and healing. Thoughtful, atmospheric, and emotionally layered, this novel stood out to me as something truly special — a hidden gem well worth seeking out this summer.

Whether you’re diving into these stories as a way to celebrate your own identity, broaden your perspective, or simply discover great writing, I hope this list offers something that resonates with you. Pride Month is a joyful time to honour queer voices past and present, to reflect on the power of storytelling, and to continue championing books that challenge, affirm, and inspire.

​Happy reading—and happy Pride!