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10 Queer Rom-Coms to Read if You Loved ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’
From meet-cute to enemies-to-lovers, you’ll easily fall for these picks featuring LGBTQ characters / BY Nathalie Atkinson / August 24th, 2023
The adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s 2019 novel Red, White & Royal Blue has landed on Prime Video and it does not disappoint. The BookTok sensation’s legions of fans adore the story — about a romance between a U.S. president’s son and a British prince — because it’s all our favourite romance tropes, through a queer lens. Alex is the bisexual son of the first female U.S. president and Henry, Prince of Wales is the gay younger brother of the heir to the British throne. And because neither is publicly out, their relationship begins in secret. Between Red, White & Royal Blue and Season 2 of Heartstopper (now on Netflix), August is a romance-filled month to remember. Wondering what to read next for a rom-com fix? From meet-cute to enemies-to-lovers, you’ll easily fall for these picks.
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1Chef’s Choice Following up on their charmer Chef’s Kiss, the New York-based writer cooks up a fake dating arrangement that turns real, with delicious rom-com ingredients. Trans woman Luna is the girlfriend-for-hire to Jean-Pierre, a trans man who needs both a girlfriend and impressive cooking skills in order to inherit his celeb chef grandfather’s culinary empire.
Following up on their charmer Chef’s Kiss, the New York-based writer cooks up a fake dating arrangement that turns real, with delicious rom-com ingredients. Trans woman Luna is the girlfriend-for-hire to Jean-Pierre, a trans man who needs both a girlfriend and impressive cooking skills in order to inherit his celeb chef grandfather’s culinary empire.
2Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style Rudnick, 65, created the award-winning 1994 play Jeffrey — a comedy about the AIDS crisis. If you enjoy the New Yorker humorist, screenwriter (Sister Act, In & Out, Addams Family Values) and playwright’s presence on X [formerly Twitter] then you’ll absolutely love how his trademark acerbic humour is laced with poignant moments as he gives a gay love affair the epic treatment. The novel chronicles the relationship between the wealthy son of a prominent conservative family and “a nice, middle-class Jewish boy from New Jersey” over the course of 50 years, from the freedom of 1970s gay life in Manhattan through the AIDS epidemic through to near present day. “The book was influenced by everything from Brideshead Revisited to The Great Gatsby,” Rudnick said in an interview with Publishers Weekly.
Rudnick, 65, created the award-winning 1994 play Jeffrey — a comedy about the AIDS crisis. If you enjoy the New Yorker humorist, screenwriter (Sister Act, In & Out, Addams Family Values) and playwright’s presence on X [formerly Twitter] then you’ll absolutely love how his trademark acerbic humour is laced with poignant moments as he gives a gay love affair the epic treatment. The novel chronicles the relationship between the wealthy son of a prominent conservative family and “a nice, middle-class Jewish boy from New Jersey” over the course of 50 years, from the freedom of 1970s gay life in Manhattan through the AIDS epidemic through to near present day. “The book was influenced by everything from Brideshead Revisited to The Great Gatsby,” Rudnick said in an interview with Publishers Weekly.
3Lush Lives The latest book from culture critic Roxane Gay’s publishing imprint is a fraught love story about Glory, an artist who inherits her aunt’s Harlem brownstone and finds herself looking into the origins of a manuscript found in the attic, with the help of Parkie, a talented auction house appraiser. Gay calls the tale by Lyon (a teacher of visual studies and critical race theory at Bennington College) a novel of “queer love, ambition and the forgotten histories that define us.”
The latest book from culture critic Roxane Gay’s publishing imprint is a fraught love story about Glory, an artist who inherits her aunt’s Harlem brownstone and finds herself looking into the origins of a manuscript found in the attic, with the help of Parkie, a talented auction house appraiser. Gay calls the tale by Lyon (a teacher of visual studies and critical race theory at Bennington College) a novel of “queer love, ambition and the forgotten histories that define us.”
4For Her Consideration Heat and heart come together in this swoon-worthy story of Nina, a Los Angeles-based writer (like the author), who abandoned her dreams of TV scriptwriting, and the sparks that fly with actress Ari, whose celebrity email and social accounts she manages as part of her job at a talent agency. It’s an insider’s glimpse of the less glam side of Hollywood stardom.
Heat and heart come together in this swoon-worthy story of Nina, a Los Angeles-based writer (like the author), who abandoned her dreams of TV scriptwriting, and the sparks that fly with actress Ari, whose celebrity email and social accounts she manages as part of her job at a talent agency. It’s an insider’s glimpse of the less glam side of Hollywood stardom.
5The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen They had me at “Bridgerton meets Poldark.” That’s it, that’s the blurb.
They had me at “Bridgerton meets Poldark.” That’s it, that’s the blurb.
6The Problem with Perfect Who doesn’t love a twin switch? In this case it’s a touching romance set in New York dreamed up by Stover, a clinical professor at NYU, whose previous sweet read was There Galapagos My Heart, a flirty gay rom-com set aboard a luxury cruise. In The Problem with Perfect, when the eponymous star of Myles of Style goes AWOL, Ethan (the hit LGBTQ decorating show’s producer and brains) enlists Beau, the star’s estranged but kinder, gentler identical twin brother, to pass as his celebrity brother during a crucial week of filming. Faster than you can say ‘the parent trap,’ high jinks (and a car full of elderly drag queens) naturally ensue.
Who doesn’t love a twin switch? In this case it’s a touching romance set in New York dreamed up by Stover, a clinical professor at NYU, whose previous sweet read was There Galapagos My Heart, a flirty gay rom-com set aboard a luxury cruise. In The Problem with Perfect, when the eponymous star of Myles of Style goes AWOL, Ethan (the hit LGBTQ decorating show’s producer and brains) enlists Beau, the star’s estranged but kinder, gentler identical twin brother, to pass as his celebrity brother during a crucial week of filming. Faster than you can say ‘the parent trap,’ high jinks (and a car full of elderly drag queens) naturally ensue.
7Love & Other Disasters This winsome and unabashedly charming rom-com sees desperate and recently divorced Dahlia Woodson falling for London Parker, the first openly non-binary contestant on Chef’s Special (a wildly popular amateur cooking competition show) who also happens to be the competition. While delivering romantic angst and subtly dealing with societal issues and misconceptions (such as misgendering), the successive chapters are as riveting as a real reality show.
This winsome and unabashedly charming rom-com sees desperate and recently divorced Dahlia Woodson falling for London Parker, the first openly non-binary contestant on Chef’s Special (a wildly popular amateur cooking competition show) who also happens to be the competition. While delivering romantic angst and subtly dealing with societal issues and misconceptions (such as misgendering), the successive chapters are as riveting as a real reality show.
8Something Fabulous The U.K. author of the hit Boyfriend Material admits the unofficial subtitle of their high-camp, gay Regency romp was Dude, Where’s My Curricle. It’s a historical romance about a reserved duke in a romantic conundrum with twins that has an arranged society marriage and a runaway bride — and is the first in what will hopefully be a long, fruitful series.
The U.K. author of the hit Boyfriend Material admits the unofficial subtitle of their high-camp, gay Regency romp was Dude, Where’s My Curricle. It’s a historical romance about a reserved duke in a romantic conundrum with twins that has an arranged society marriage and a runaway bride — and is the first in what will hopefully be a long, fruitful series.
9Vintage & Vogue The peripatetic wife-and-wife writing team, who spend much of their time travelling in an RV, launch this new series with a lust-to-love romance between two female enemies. It tells the story of Sena, a stylish tech dynamo and branding guru brought in to ‘revamp’ a town’s opportunities for women, who clashes with Hazel, the local librarian protective of the town and its history.
The peripatetic wife-and-wife writing team, who spend much of their time travelling in an RV, launch this new series with a lust-to-love romance between two female enemies. It tells the story of Sena, a stylish tech dynamo and branding guru brought in to ‘revamp’ a town’s opportunities for women, who clashes with Hazel, the local librarian protective of the town and its history.
10The Charm Offensive In this 2021 gem by a Portland, Ore., high school English teacher, awkward disgraced tech genius Charlie becomes a contestant on a Bachelor-like dating reality TV show, but falls for Dev, one of the producers, instead of one of the show’s female scripted options. It offers commentary on whose love stories get told, and which ones should.
In this 2021 gem by a Portland, Ore., high school English teacher, awkward disgraced tech genius Charlie becomes a contestant on a Bachelor-like dating reality TV show, but falls for Dev, one of the producers, instead of one of the show’s female scripted options. It offers commentary on whose love stories get told, and which ones should.