Queer Joy đłïžâđđȘ©đȘ
Queer joy focuses on thriving rather than just surviving, highlighting self-acceptance, connection, and the reclamation of space in a world that often seeks to erase queer voices. Tragic queer stories are beautiful, but we deserve to have our fun, love and happiness!
Recs are definitely welcome!
created by wolfuil15
last updated April, 2026
Comments
Love this list! I just finished The House on the Cerulean Sea and I think it would be a perfect fitđ„°
Hello hello! Thanks! I'm so sorry for my late reply!
At first I was not fully convinced of The house of the cerulean sea, because the fact that the main romance is queer does not really change the story or the found family (I wanted to focus on happy, queer communities who make their own lives great, despite the world being ugly on gay people), buuuutt I've thought about it a lot, and this book is just so wholesome and the fact that queer love is harder is a bit adressed right? If I remember well? What do you think?
I'm listening to it now, and I would agree. The community may not be queer, but unless that is a literal and non-negotiable criterion, it is a community of misfits that are fighting for their place in the world even if it is not explicitly stated as such
Aah I loved the audiobook once I got used to the narrator. đ„° True about the misfit community!
I think it's inherenly queer regardless of the romance. It's about misfits banding together and communities adjusting to different people. There's a lot of conversations about identity and expression, including gender and sexuality as well as just in general. It's your list, so you know best, but I would think even if you cut the last few chapters with the MCs getting together it would still be queerđ„°đđłïžâđ
I loved your assessment sunflower!!! Warm feelings in my heart! đđđ
Aweđ„Č Thank you! I'm a horror writer so that's newđ
love this!! we could all use a little more queer joy! đ«¶đ» đłïžâđ
itâs been awhile since i read some of these, but from what i remember, even if thereâs conflict, thereâs a lot of joy and happy endings!
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea- Rebecca Thorne
D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding -Chencia C. Higgins
Don't Want You Like a Best Friend- Emma R. Alban
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love- Lex Croucher
Thank you so much for the recommendationsđ„° Indeed we need some hope and happiness!! Ooh I've seen most of these books passing by! Do they all feature the element of a queer community? (Most are on my tbr, but I haven't read them yet!
so sorry for the delayed response! of course! đ my brainâs a little fuzzy lol but i think so, at least somewhat! i would say for the last two, more so small found families. and for canât spell treason, i think they are more so building their community in the series and not as much in the first book! for dâvaughn and kris i remember a lot of queer side characters and family
Thanks for the thorough reply!! After this weekend I am gonna check them out!
Hey, the description says " I can find very few books" but I am confused because I have read a LOT of sapphic romances (incl One Last Stop) which come up regularly in Sapphic subreddits, and in which the gays prevail. It made me hesitate to recommend those in case I am missing something about the applicable criteria. Would you clarify? And Thanks for starting this list. Knowing about the existence of the Tragic: Queer Edition list depresses me, and this may be a suitable antitdote.
Hi! I'm so sorry for my late reply, life has been lifing :D I think part of the reason for not finding many books myself is that I read a lot of queer fantasy/sci-fi. There there's often characters that find love and are happy, but the fact that it is queer love is not really adressed? They just are gay, which is WONDERFUL (I wish it could be like that all the time).
The goal of my list is to focus on stories where queer people not just are/stay together, but thrive and have a happy, supporting queer community despite adressed harder circumstances/prejudice. I'm specifically looking for books like One Last Stop, where queer characters have a community and find each other (does not have to be romantically) and are happy despite the reality of life just being harder for them. Books that feature drag shows, positive protests, queer dance classes (or something else entirely, I don't want to be too narrow either!)...
Does that give some context on my criteria? I'm so sorry if my explanation is a bit chaotic. I honestly would love your thoughts and recommendations, or if you think I'm being too picky!
There's no such thing as being too picky. You explained wonderfully. I have a much better sense of what you are looking for. I sense you (and me) would like books with a strong found family, life being beautiful despite the everyday challenges, and injustices that are successfully fought off without going Game of Thrones on it.
Yes exactly!! Well put :)
The criteria for this list is a very tight balancing act (in a good way) so sometimes I may be off the mark but I'll try to be careful I don't become too loose with it in my enthusiasm when I try to post some recommendations.
Recs: I am trying to go with the spirit of the list creator's criteria not the exact words. The biggest criterion I am being fluid on are the number of members in the found family; sometimes it's a bunch of people, some times it is the one friend, sometimes they act like found family right at the end, sometimes they are there but don't hang out regularly but play an essential constructive role.
- Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler
- A Heart To Trust by AL Brooks
- Fitting in by Amanda/AE Radley
- Wounded Souls by RJ Nolan
- When You Least Expect It + Better Than Expected by Haley Cass (Better Than Expected showcases more of the found family aspect)
- The Snowball Effect by Haley Cass
- Just As You Are by Camille Kellog
- Love At First Set by Jennifer Dugan
I am currently also reading this and expect it will join this list once I am done.
- The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Done, and it totally does)
I haven't read this one (cuz I am not sure how sentimental it will make me and I can't handle feeling too strongly about nything these days), but based on the blurb and the commentary by those who have, it fits the bill. It is a very emotional story, dealing with difficult themes, but through this sentimental journey, in the end, everything is gay as in gay and gay as in happy.
- Here We Go again by Allison Cochrun
If you read any of them, do let me know if they fit the criteria of this list.
