top 17 QUEER books that SNATCHED me

[@hitatchiqueen]

Why am I cracking up 1 second in at the scene kids😂

[@hitatchiqueen]

The author has a new book out?!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

wait which author!

[@hitatchiqueen]

@@JesseOnKZbin I wrote this under the wrong comment. I was talking about Vincent Tirado! Meant to put it under my Burn Down, Rise Up comment 😂

[@danaslitlist1]

Jesse talking queer books? Sign me the hell up😭😭😭 Edit: ooof y’all are so right about dark academia hitting differently when written by BIPOC authors. There’s so much more nuance and discussion that happens when BIPOC authors get to explore dark academia that is ignored or handled poorly by white authors (even the well intentioned ones). I feel the same way with “unhinged women” books.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

the monthly urge to re-read Babel with you just to relieve those days we had together

[@reneewalters2013]

@@JesseOnKZbin hi Jesse i was wondering if you have read Lies we Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley and Alone by EJ Noyes. The first is about a interracial sapphic relationship set during the Jim Crow Era. the author is a white lesbian, but she handles the racial issues so sensitively. it is dual pov The second book is a kinda like pyschological sapphic romance. Its about a young woman with a history of trauma who has signed up for a psycholgocal experiment where she is to be anyalysed living completely alone for four years in exchange for a half a million dollars. and then one day she meets an injured hiker called Oliva who turns up outside the compound and it all goes from there.

[@JulyMoon82]

This video hit me in such a personal way. Thank you for sharing! As a WOC and parent to a bi identifying teenage girl who experienced so much bullying during her elementary school period of life, from both her peers and the administrators, I can fully relate to what you described your mom did for you. The countless hours I spent dealing with school leaders and my child's treatment was so exhausting. We're finally in a place where she feels safe and she's been able to develop healthy relationships with her peers and the school faculty. Regardless, I still check in on her mental and emotional health, because she still carries those scars. That said, I will absolutely put Ace Of Spades on her TBR. I appreciate your recommendations and how you explain why certain books spoke to you. I will definitely put Burn Down Rise Up on my TBR. Sounds like it's right in my wheel house of subject matter. By the way, not sure if I missed it... but could you maybe share recommendations of Gothic and other dark academia books by BIPOC authors? Babel is on my list. I've seen some sprinkled throughout videos. I'm not sure if there is a video dedicated specifically to that.

[@effloress]

Oooooh y'all are writing a book?! And it's a RETELLING??? Hell yeah! I'm cheering with my whole soul for y'all 🥺✨ This is such a fantastic list of books - all the ones I haven't read have been put on hold via libby ~ 📚

[@JesseOnYoutube]

ty ty we cant waiiiiiit

[@ditumiriam-ioana4387]

Nice to meet you ^^ This is the first video I saw ( for now ) Let me give u a recommendation. It is a book called Aristotle and Dante discovering the universe. They are both mexican and I absolutely love both of them. It is also queer of course and really intense also funny. There is also a second book which tells what is next after this book, that is perfect too.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

hello hello!!! thank you so much for being here and for giving such a loving recommendation

[@Sad.Purple.unicorn]

29:29 this sounds so good? I have never heard of it before. feels like I would love it

[@JesseOnYoutube]

ahhh ty ty! cant wait

[@mirandaburberry5744]

Y'alls channel has been an absolute godsend, I'm really trying to make a more conscious effort of diversifying my reading and just added so many of these recs to my TBR. Can't wait to check them out especially The Honeys if it gives Candyman vibes 👌

[@JesseOnYoutube]

🥺🥺🥺🥺💓😭💓🙏🏽

[@dimerymichaels3539]

The Frankenstein retelling?!?!?!?! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 I must have it. Absolutely love hearing y’all talk about Akwaeke Emezi ❤❤

[@somethingbookishthiswaycomes]

Y'all's editing humor is the best thing on booktube 😂 Sooo many great recs in this video, I can''t wait to read the ones I haven't read! I finally read Iron Widow last month and loved it! I was talking to Nkechi about this in one of their reading sprints, but I now need all love triangles to just be poly romances lol. Y'all keep making me interested in these horror books even though I'm a huge fraidy cat lmao I keep adding them to my tbr

[@JesseOnYoutube]

The way we find our own humor so amusing and it’s just mad cringy lmao

[@novareadsthings]

oh man, SO many of these were already on my tbr! i just watched y'all's vlog where y'all read the boy with a bird in his chest and i knew i had to read it. i have read iron widow though - i was also scared because of the hype, but i ate it up in a night and LOVED it. i can't wait to dive into these!! also, i would highly recommend hell followed with us by andrew joseph white! it seems very up y'all's alley and is also a YA book for folks who struggle with YA. it's got medical horror, gnarly body horror, every kind of queer rep and a trans MC, and awesome autistic rep! as i was reading, i was like "i can't believe this was allowed in YA" hahah. if you can handle heavy religious-cult themes, oh man i thought it was fantastic and i'm happy it exists for queer youth.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Am dying to read that! It was an anticipated read we never got to but we’re seeing it EVERYWHERE now and are like….did it get rereleased? Lmao

[@novareadsthings]

@@JesseOnKZbin i'm glad the internet caught wind of it!!! the author's follow up novel comes out next month so i hope the push is beneficial

[@BookNerd-Maggie22]

Ahhh I love Ace of Spades. Author is Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

[@Bo0cupcake]

Just came across your channel! Love your content and you're so easy to listen to/watch. ☺️ Been looking to expand my queer reading list, so thank you! 😌

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you so much! I’m thrilled to have you here

[@Nixx0912]

Oh cool I already saw the first video with the sound problem, thanks for reapload.❤

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thank you for rewatching and thank you for supporting!!!! it means so much!!!

[@MandaTheBiblio]

Whenever I see a recommendation from Jesse, I just know I've got to have my Storygraph open and ready to add more books to my TBR. Thank yall for this list!!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank u manda!!!!!

[@TheGalacticGrizzly]

Y'all are writing a book?! That's so great! I'm loving the premise so far ❤

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thank you so so much!!!!

[@chriscze6153]

NGL, y'all are probably the only bookish content creator I follow that when a book is recommended I will probably buy it. A quick recap of books I bought based on your recs: The Hollow Kind - 5 stars Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens - 4.75 stars Natural Beauty - 4.5 stars Moths - 5 stars And then two books y'all mentioned (though I don't think y'all have read them yet) that I really enjoyed were She Is a Haunting and especially Ghost Music (one of my favorite books of the year so far). I will duly be taking notes in this video, thanks!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

omg yes we havent read those two and are so excited no cap!!!!!!!! it means a great deal that you enjoy our recs and they werent a waste of money LMAO books w similar vibes to the hollow kind are The Troop and The Ruins (youve prob heard about them or seen us talk about them in our camp horror video) both have stellar body horror

[@wiggytea]

Not the humbled book drop!!!!! I’m shaking !

[@JesseOnYoutube]

not shaking hahaa love this!

[@Sad.Purple.unicorn]

Just By Looking at Him means so so much to me because I have CP too and I barely see it represented in fiction

[@JesseOnYoutube]

huge hugs. you deserve rep and GOOD rep at that

[@anna6878]

so many great books 😊 also appreciate y'alls vulnerability and somebody who also struggles with shame surrounding stuttering/misspeaking in general i appreciate y'all for keeping those moments in ❤ The picture when y'all said seen made me giggle 😅

[@JesseOnYoutube]

lmaooo glad we could bring a lil joy!

[@taleforquill]

Love the way y'all did the advertisment (and the bird intermission oh my god). It really made me laugh! Also, I read Ace of Spades last month and it is so so so good. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is a master at writing thrillers, I swear

[@taleforquill]

And aaaaaah I'm so excited about the fact that y'all are writing a book! The premise sounds amazing!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

we literally were like ' why are we doing this ' with the bird interlude LMAOOOOO we just felt like we had to.

[@freddie.spaghetti]

so many amazing books!! (and many books on my tbr that i’m now even more excited to get to) i’ve been meaning to read the boy with a bird in his chest since i saw the video where y’all first read it. this video was the sign i needed to bump it up my tbr (i’ve already way overcommitted in terms of what i’m reading this month, but i’m really hoping to get to it in september!)

[@maddysbookopinions]

Y’alls review has made me more excited to read Just By Looking At Him then I already was (and I was already keen). Also y’all are drastically impacting my TBR istg!!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

wanna buddy read something?

[@maddysbookopinions]

@@JesseOnKZbin don’t tempt me with a good time!

[@BookinItWithAhtiya]

Awesome list! I read The Vanished Birds due to y'alls recommendation maybe a year ago and it's truly fantastic. Also, thank you for being real and vulnerable about y'all's neurological disorder. I've been slowly coming to grips with how my own (chronic migraine) impacts (and has been impacting) my daily life, and it's freeing to be able to just say "fuck it, this is me" and have space to do so. Y'all are forever an inspiration

[@matissebourgeois4098]

have you read skye falling by Mia McKenzie? it’s SUCH a funny book like laugh out loud many times, and it’s also so beautiful and moving. when you said comedy in books often falls flat (i agree) i automatically thought of how much i laughed while reading that book.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

i had it on my selves for awhile but ultimately unhauled because i never reached for it! dangggg

[@100frogsinatrenchcoat]

Y’all keep hitting us with so many good recs I can’t decide what to read😩❤️

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Awl of dem!

[@Milo-ep1tr]

I'm so excited for y'all's book and novella omg !

[@BasilGab]

Some of my most impactful queer books were the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce, We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson, Hero by Perry Moore, the Siren by Tiffany Reisz and A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone

[@indeche]

Yesss! Loved this so much. Also cannot wait for y'alls books...and that novella, sign me up somewhere and everywhere for it, yes!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

thank you! we cant wait to share it with the world

[@Cookiesy]

Iron Widow was my absolute favourite read last year - it's phenomenal. I also have a massive shout out for Ace of Spades - that was terrifyingly brilliant. Excellent, excellent list!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Thank you so much 😊

[@stephanielow2537]

New fan heree 🖤 Can't wait to binge your whole backlog ✨️💖

[@JesseOnYoutube]

stephanie!!! this means a great deal. thank you!!!!

[@anovelbeauty]

I love how much y'all love horror and happily watch all the horror recs with the full knowledge that I can't handle reading a single one of them (the mere mention of body horror has me SWEATING) 😅 I'm def keeping the non-horror books I haven't read on my tbr tho

[@anovelbeauty]

also retellings are one of my FAVORITE types of stories to read so I am SO SO excited to hear y'all are writing a Robin Hood retelling. Can't wait to read it one day. ♡ ♡

[@TSfan217]

I LOVED Just By Looking at Him 💕

[@thepokepoet9482]

I already love ya'll's reviews!! Ya'll are so honest and almost moves me to tears but that might just be the empath in me. I hope nothing but success for ya'll's upcoming books!!!!🎉❤

[@jordynsharpe8301]

Thank you for putting me The Honeys that was an amazing experience to read

[@JohnSaxon-vw5vi]

I have stopped this amazing video 7 seconds in to write this and say that we will get a chance to finally see what makes you smile and feel good about yourself with your amazing books 📚 this video will be five stars ⭐️ and I will love it so prayers and blessings for you and your mom and your puppy 🐶 love your number one Aussie family friend John ❤❤❤take care of yourself ❤❤❤

[@JesseOnYoutube]

I LOVE U JOHN 🎸

[@JohnSaxon-vw5vi]

@@JesseOnKZbin no problem 😉 lovely young lady and please say hello to mom and get her to pick your books 📚 please

[@Nao_Craft]

So many fantastic books! Thank y’all for a wonderful video ❤

[@sweetstacks3631]

I'm so glad someone else has heard of Gemma Doyle! It's such a good and heartwrenching series. The girls do go into a magical world, and portal fantasies with an underlying horror? We need more of that, especially with queer characters.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

You just got this one soooo much more pumped to read it. Have you read her other stuff?

[@sweetstacks3631]

@@JesseOnKZbin My one goal in life is to get everyone to read it! I haven't, but The Diviners is on my to-read list.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

Ooo yes, absolutely loved ace of spades!!!

[@triple..a]

I’ve only read a couple of these, a few more I own, but I want to read them all. I tend to really enjoy y’all’s recommendation and I’m always open to reading queer books as a queer person myself. Love the vid 🫶🫶🫶 /gen

[@JesseOnYoutube]

hugs hugs with consent!!!!

[@OliviasCatastrophe]

Ace of spades has been languishing on my shelves and y'all have reminded me to prioritise it more. And have y'all read promise boys by nick brooks? I don't know if y'all like YA murder mystery but its about Black boys in an elite school being accused of murder with a Black latinx character in it too. Just by looking at him is on my wishlist and I want to read it so bad. I recently bought myself the lesbiana's guide and I adore YA so it's gonna be an easy love for me 🤗

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Unmmmmm promise boys sounds so good wtf we need it

[@Sad.Purple.unicorn]

11:41 insects creep me tf out so I’ll def read this book

[@JesseOnYoutube]

aha i love being scared too!!!

[@frannook]

What a great list of books, Jesse!! 😍 I did not know that A great and terrible beauty was queer?!!? *adds it to her TBR* For pride month I read The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes and it gutted me and I loved it so much (I gushed about it for 15 min in my latest wrap up, totally deserved it 🥺) so I need to read The Lesbiana's Guide too! 💚

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Omgg we keep forgetting they have a new book out ahhhh

[@frannook]

@@JesseOnKZbin yess and it’s SO GOOD

[@AbiofPellinor]

Yessss for dark academia written by BIPOC/BAME authors! There's just so much more depth

[@JesseOnYoutube]

oooo abi what does BAME mean?

[@AbiofPellinor]

@@JesseOnKZbin it stands for Black Asian and Minority Ethnic, it's a term we use in the UK because we don't have a marginalised indigenous population ☺️

[@Sad.Purple.unicorn]

I missed y’all. My net was really bad and I couldn’t watch much booktube in the past week.

[@chocolateoreo6489]

I’m sending you love❤

[@JohnSaxon-vw5vi]

Also thank you for sharing some amazing and inspiring books 📚 with us too ❤

[@hitatchiqueen]

Lmao, just reminded me of a moment in Burn Down Rise Up that got me so mad at the love interest. Amazing book tho

[@JesseOnYoutube]

The moment we had lmaoooooo

[@graceezri8870]

So many good books!!

[@Sad.Purple.unicorn]

I loved Ace of Spades

[@KirstensKorner]

Ace of spades >>>>>>

[@KirstensKorner]

Ok I’m back and ready to actually finish this video

[@KirstensKorner]

Back for round 3 cause I keep getting INTERRUPTED

[@justycewithay]

where's The Stars & the Blackness Between Them? 🥺

[@JesseOnYoutube]

OMG i am aFAKE FAN FOR THAT!!! LOVEEEE THAT BOOK

[@balletbookworm]

Fantastic list of books

[@bijismythe551]

Y is KZbin trashy enough to put an ad for an anti trans movie in Front of your video?!!!! The algorithm is whack!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Ewwwww

[@triple..a]

I recently read The death of Vivek Oji because of your recommendations of Akwaeke Emezi’s works and it has become a favorite of all time. I will definitely be checking out more of their books. Thanks to y’all for your amazing recommendations! I really appreciate y’all 🫶

[@JesseOnYoutube]

vivek is such an underrated work. we appreciate you as well triple a

[@strawberrywitch333]

you're so pretty

[@JesseOnYoutube]

omg this is really nice of you to say. thank you.