Author: Annika Barranti Klein

These gorgeous poems follow spoken word poet Jasmine Mans’s path as a queer Black girl in Newark, New Jersey, becoming a woman.

In these poems, award-winning memoirist Saeed Jones explores his voice as an unreliable narrator confronting white supremacy and looking at America through cultural icons including Little Richard and Aretha Franklin.

In these poems, nonbinary poet Andrea Gibson explores the world through self-reflection, looking at everything from their own queerness to climate change.

Queer poet and editor Holly Lyn Walrath explores the body in these tiny poems, taking the reader on a journey of questioning and acceptance. (Disclosure: I have written for Holly’s magazine.)

In these poems, queer poet Grace Lau explores Hong Kong history and life as a Canadian immigrant, using reference points in popular culture including boy bands, food, and more.

In his second collection, queer Vietnamese American poet, novelist, and MacArthur fellow Ocean Vuong reflects on his life and the experience as a product of war, following his mother’s death.

In Lovecraft-inspired horror poems, Black poet Brandon O’Brien explores Blackness through monsters in the form of racism, sexism, and violence.

In this collection, written during COVID-19 lockdown, Instagram poet Nikita Gill explores loneliness, mental health, and more. Included in the collection is her famous poem “Love in the Time of Coronavirus,” and the collection is illustrated with her own line drawings.

This is an M/M Edwardian historical romance, with class differences between the two leads. Maurice, based on the novel by E.M. Forester, is one of my favorite movies, and this book sounds like a great comp for it — I can’t wait to read it!

This F/F hometown romance takes Delilah, a successful New York–based photographer, and throws her back into the small town she grew up in when she agrees to photograph her stepsister Astrid’s wedding. Then she is reintroduced to Astrid’s friend Claire, and things go awry for them both. This one sounds so fun!

This one is an M/F second-chance romance about childhood friends and young lovers who haven’t seen each other since he walked out 13 years ago. They reconnect, at first just working together…then sleeping together…and eventually wondering if there’s a chance for more.

In this M/M romcom, perma-temp Declan is tired of temping, and tired of everyone talking about his fiancé leaving him at the altar. Then he agrees to let popular nonbinary YouTuber Sidney, who hosts an advice show, set him up on a number of dates and discuss them on the show. Unfortunately, the dates are all meh…because Declan only has chemistry with Sidney.

In this F/F romance, Emmy is a witch who exiled herself from her hometown due to the presence of her crummy ex, Gareth, but she returns for a spellcasting tournament in order to help out her family. Then she meets Talia, who just broke up with Gareth after learning that he was also seeing Linden…and she and Linden both want revenge, so they team up with Emmy, who finds herself drawn to Talia.

In this M/F Georgian era historical (and hilarious) romance, thief Rob blackmails duchess Marian and is surprised to find her utterly charming in the letters they exchange — and shocked when she kidnaps him and ties him up to prevent him from participating in her planned highway robbery of her own husband. When Marian is forced to shoot her husband in the robbery gone wrong, she only has Rob to turn to for help.

In this steamy F/F romance, Amy is trying to save her restaurant and hires hot new reality TV chef Sophie, who is tired of being a public figure and confused by her attraction to her new boss. I love a book where a main character learns a lot about themself, so this one is going on my teetering TBR!

In this delightful M/F romance, single mum Rosaline wins a spot on a baking competition show, and quickly finds herself hooking up with fellow contestant Alain. But it’s her steady friendship with Harry that she finds herself relying on.

In this M/F romcom, Dani just wants a friends-with-benefits situation. After she’s rescued from an elevator by hot former rugby player Zaf — and video of the rescue goes viral online — she thinks she’s found one. Unfortunately, he wants more than just sex…and he’s very persuasive.

This M/F romance explores grief as much as it does love. Feyi lost the love of her life five years ago and is finally ready to date again. She agrees to a vacation in the tropics with the man she’s casually seeing, but once there, she finds herself drawn to his father, who is also grieving a lover who died.

This collection of 11 short stories for adults by children’s author Becky Birtha, originally published in 1987, explores Black lesbian girlhood and is beautifully written.

In this “chick lit” from 2003, screenwriter Kristen Buckley gives us a twentysomething heroine just trying to make rent and pining for a TV doctor, who has to save her kidnapped best friend.

Tired of her sexual conquests never turning into romance, Natalie takes a vow of celibacy and explores her recent relationships a lá High Fidelity. 

You probably remember Rocky & Bullwinkle, the cartoon variety show from Jay Ward Productions. In this book, Keith Scott, who has voiced Bullwinkle since original actor Bill Scott (no relation) died, gives us the complete history of moose and squirrel.

In this book of essays on Black love in the romance genre, Book Riot writer Pryde brings together contributors, including romance novelists Beverly Jenkins, Jasmine Guillory, Piper Huguley, and Kosoko Jackson, as well as academics Sarah Hannah Gomez and Carole V. Bell, among others.

In this biography, Price’s daughter traces his six-decade career as well as his personal life, including his love of cooking, his art curation, and his work with the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.

When Hailee’s family wins the lottery, she is excited to finally be able to get the things she wants. No, needs. But her parents’ decisions about how to spend their newfound fortune don’t line up with her expectations, and suddenly she’s in a new (private) school and everything is different.

Each book of the lower middle grade Derby Daredevils series focuses on a different team member. In this first installment, Kenzie dreams of playing roller derby, but she has to put together a team of at least five in order to even try out.

In YA and romance author Amy Spalding’s second novel, 2013’s Ink is Thicker Than Water, Kellie feels out of place in her family, but a job at her stepdad’s tattoo parlor might help change that.

This book is indispensable in my kitchen! The dry seasoning recipe alone is worth the price of the book, and there are dozens of other amazing recipes for meat, vegetables, and desserts.

Rioter Susie Dumond told me about this book, and it’s now the one I turn to, even for recipes I already had a go-to version of. (Chocolate cake? Hers is richer. Cornbread? Perfection.)

This is more than a cookbook; it’s a history of Palestine and a window into the food, which is, of course, the culture. I’ve only cooked one recipe from this book, but I’ve read it like I would read a memoir or anthology.

Based on pre-Columbian peoples of the Americas, Black Sun takes place in the holy city of Tova during the winter solstice. There is a ship heading for Tova whose captain believes her only passenger to be a villain, and an eclipse is on the horizon.

Dread Nation (and its sequel Deathless Divide) follow Jane, born into a United States where zombies walked off the battlefield at Gettysburg and young Black and Indigenous women are trained to fight them.

The world is ending and a woman must find her kidnapped daughter while grieving her murdered son. The first book in the Hugo Award–winning Broken Earth trilogy.

In Jazz Age Mexico, overworked Casiopea Tun dreams of adventure, and that’s just what she finds when she opens a trunk and finds the Mayan God of Death, who needs her to help him take back his throne from his brother.

Grieving her mother, Bree Matthews attends a university program for teenagers where she witnesses a magical attack and learns that there is a secret society fighting demons, and she might belong with them. A modern day Black Girl Magic retelling of the King Arthur mythos.

Fatima finds an alien artifact and loses her memory, becoming Sankofa, the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Now her touch can destroy. She wanders with her fox companion, seeking the artifact that changed her life.

Yumeko’s adoptive family is killed and she runs away with part of a scroll the killers were looking for. She forms an alliance with samurai Kage Tatsumi, who is trying to recover the scroll. Book 1 in the Shadow of the Fox trilogy.

Look, if you save a demon in a wine-drunk stupor, you might be stuck helping him kill an evil witch and set his people free. Or so I hear.

When Samantha’s father is killed and their home burned to the ground, she runs away with Annamae, an enslaved girl, both of them taking on boy’s names for protection. They join a group of cowboys on their way from Missouri to Oregon.

When the Wang family loses everything in the financial crash, father Charles packs up his only un-repossessed car and, with his wife and two of his children, sets off across the country to the home of his oldest daughter.

At a tropical resort for her 40th birthday, Tess meets Lucas under embarrassing (topless) circumstances. Then her best friend sets her up for tennis lessons…with Lucas. Who is 26. What could go wrong?

In one of her rare contemporaries, Miss Bev tells the story of 52-year-old Bernadine Brown buying the all-Black town of Henry Adams, which desperately needs her help. But they might not like her ideas for the town…especially Mayor Trent July.

Widow Agatha needs help with some bees that have moved into her printing warehouse. Penelope cares for Melliton’s bees, and she and Agatha strike up a friendship, complete with longing for something Agatha never knew she needed. Both heroines are in their 40s.

Gideon desperately wants to be a good neighbor to silver fox Paul, who is something of a Scrooge. But then Paul’s brother is coming for a visit, and he asks Gideon to help him decorate in a hurry. Both heroes are in their 40s.

Newly divorced 47-year-old Lela has a one-night stand with her college crush Donovan and accidentally confesses her feelings. He leaves in a hurry, but they are thrust back together when she becomes the face of his daughter’s company, where he works in marketing.

Rae is 40 and in need of a date for an event where her ex will be on the arm of his new wife. Her hot playboy best friend Zach is up to the task of pretending to be her boyfriend. Now he just has to convince her his feelings are real.

This book is on every list, and for good reason! Bertrice is 73 and has no interest in her terrible nephew. Violetta is 69 and tired of said terrible nephew causing problems at the boarding house she runs. The women team up to get revenge on him, and find love as they buck the patriarchy.

Vivian’s daughter Maddie convinces her to take time off work (a rarity for Vivian) and accompany her to England to style a member of the royal family. Malcolm is the Queen’s private secretary, and is suddenly interested in taking some time off to show Vivian around. Both protagonists are in their 50s.

Nate moves back to his hometown with his teenage daughter and reconnects with his best friend Jack, who’s back in town recovering from addiction. Nate has always had a crush on Jack, and Jack is attracted to Nate now that he’s come out as trans, but they both have fears in the way. Both heroes are in their mid-40s.

When straight Eliza accidentally texts stranger Denny, they strike up a friendship and Eliza slowly figures out that she is not a straight as she thought. Denny is 41 and Eliza is 30.