9 of My Favorite Queer Beach Reads

Don’t let the historical setting fool you: this romance is one of the steamiest I’ve ever read, and it kept me turning pages for hours on my last beach day. It follows Manuela as she plans to spend one last debaucherous sapphic summer in 1889 Paris before she is a married woman. There, she meets Cora, a wealthy lesbian — think Anne Lister vibes — who wants to buy a property off of her. Manuela agrees, but only if Cora shows her the underground queer scene. As the heat between them intensifies, it gets harder and harder for Manuela to imagine leaving. This is such a fun, escapist read that belongs in the beach bag of any romance fan. —Danika Ellis

Beach reads and contemporary romance are almost synonymous in my mind, and when I think of great contemporary romance, I think Red, White & Royal Blue. The rivalry between a prince and the son of the U.S. president causes an international incident. But when they’re forced to get to know each other, their growing chemistry almost causes an international incident of a very different kind. McQuiston’s writing is fun and witty, full of the kind of quick banter I love in a romance. A good beach read should leave you smiling and recommending the book to everyone you know, and this book will have you doing both before it’s through. —Rachel Brittain

Don’t let the historical setting fool you: this romance is one of the steamiest I’ve ever read, and it kept me turning pages for hours on my last beach day. It follows Manuela as she plans to spend one last debaucherous sapphic summer in 1889 Paris before she is a married woman. There, she meets Cora, a wealthy lesbian — think Anne Lister vibes — who wants to buy a property off of her. Manuela agrees, but only if Cora shows her the underground queer scene. As the heat between them intensifies, it gets harder and harder for Manuela to imagine leaving. This is such a fun, escapist read that belongs in the beach bag of any romance fan. —Danika Ellis

Romance is a great choice for beach reading, but I’m also particular to feel-good stories in other genres, like this cozy fantasy. Legends & Lattes is a very gentle, slow-paced fantasy novel about an orc hanging up her sword to start a coffee shop in a town where no one has even heard of coffee. It has low stakes, a found family element, and a slow-burn F/F romance. The prequel, Bookshops and Bonedust, is just as good, but set in a rundown bookstore. And it has an owl/pug gryphet named Potroast!

I always find it a little harder to be a cynic when the sun is shining, so beach reading is a perfect time to pick up a more optimistic book. The first line of the introduction to this book is “I didn’t used to like people much.” From there, we’re led into fantasy stories that allow us to also (maybe) fall in love with humanity again. There are several queer stories, including the novella. One of my favorites is about a gay couple who are trying to track down their missing fire-breathing chickens.

Look at that cover and tell me it doesn’t belong on a beach towel. I love a queer YA book as beach reading material, and this one is set during a summer working at a theme park. Lou convinces her best friend, Seeley, to fake date her in order to make her crush jealous, but it doesn’t exactly go to plan. This is a messy love pentagon. It does a great job of being a light read with just enough drama and angst to keep you flipping the pages.

This isn’t quite as light as the romances on this list, but it still has summer vibes. Hanna, Dia, and Jules used to be inseparable and had a band together. But then Hanna’s alcoholism landed her in the hospital at the same time that Dia’s boyfriend died—and she found out she was pregnant with his baby. They walked away from each other, but years later, their city is holding a battle of the bands with a $15,000 prize. Can they get the band back together and win it? This also has a very cute F/F romance with Jules and her coworker Autumn.

There’s a beach right on the cover of this one! Like Hot Dog Girl, Going Bicoastal is also set during a summer. Natalya is deciding whether to spend the summer with her dad in NYC or her mom in LA. Sliding Doors-style, we get to see what happens either way, with chapters switching back and forth between them. This is such a bisexual book, even down to the structure: it refuses to make a binary choice, instead letting us have both. And in each, she has a romance: in NYC with the mysterious girl she’s been crushing on, and in LA with the frustrating guy she’s interning with. It’s a fun, light read that has serious sunshine energy.

Call me literal, but I also like a ocean-themed book for a beach read. This gets into some dark topics, but it’s fascinating and absorbing. It weaves together facts about aquatic animals with related stories from the author’s own life, comparing queer life with sea creatures. Part memoir, part science writing, How Far the Light Reaches is a thought-provoking and moving read.

Now, let’s throw out all the rules for beach reads. Because the last time I went to the beach, I brought a curated stack of fluffy books to flip through. And yet, I had to put them all to the side in favor of Compound Fracture, a brutal and gory trans YA thriller. I read this squinting at a tablet in direct sun because I couldn’t put it down. So, I couldn’t put together a list of queer beach reads without including it, despite the clash in tone.