The hit TV show Will & Grace has us all hooked with its witty banter, heartwarming friendships, the vibrant backdrop of the big city, and open gayness. They aren’t making any more episodes, you’ve binged them a handful of times on Hulu already, and you’re yearning for more stories featuring the hilarious messiness of adulthood and the ups and downs of queer romance. We’ve rounded up six LGBTQ+ rom-com novels that capture the same magic. Whether it’s the bustling streets of a big city, the unbreakable bonds of besties, or the laugh-out-loud moments of love and life, these books are guaranteed to deliver everything you’re craving in queer romantic comedies.
The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore
A Gay Pretty Woman Reimagining
Teddy Hughes is down on his luck and can’t even afford one more beer in his favorite dive bar. He’s a moment away from giving up on his dreams and leaving New York City for good. Then enters the gorgeous mass of contradictions known as Cole Vivien. A successful entrepreneur who developed an app to allow sex workers and consumers to form connections, Cole needs a fake boyfriend to project a certain image to potential investors. And he thinks Teddy might just be perfect for the part. For one week, all Teddy has to do is follow two rules: (1) no kissing, and (2) no falling in love. Then, he’s home-free with plenty of money to get his NYC dreams going again. Easier said than done!
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins
Winning this competition is going to be a piece of wedding cake!
Kris Zavala and D’Vaughn Miller are two women who have six weeks to plan their dream wedding. Just one thing: their whole relationship is fake! This stint on the reality TV show called Instant I Do could be the big business break Kris was looking for — and the $100,000 prize money when they win is nothing to sneeze at either. Meanwhile, D’Vaughn plans to use this big splashy fake wedding to come out to her mom. Now all they have to do is trick everyone they know into thinking they’re getting married in six weeks. When their pretend chemistry on camera feels surprisingly real off camera, it’s soon apparent that the prize money is not the only thing at stake here.
The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian
A Sharp, Smart, and Oh-So-Swoony Historical Romance
Kit Webb used to be an exceptional thief, and he has to admit — he’s starting to miss those days. Then an arrogant aristocrat barrels into his coffee shop and Kit already knows he’ll be helpless to deny this man anything. It’s super-good-gentleman Lord Holland, and he desperately needs to steal a book that belonged to his mother in order to save himself and his best friend Percy. For once, these highborn men are out of their league and they need a professional criminal — retired or otherwise. They strike a deal: Kit won’t participate in the robbery, but he will teach Percy how to do it. Soon after the lessons in thievery begin, Percy realizes thievery isn’t the only deed he wants to commit with Kit.
Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
Longing for Connection in the Messiness of Adulthood
Young twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter has just finished her PhD in astronomy, and she’s headed to Vegas with her girlfriends to celebrate. This hard-working, straight-A overachiever has a great time and wakes up the next morning realizing she’s participated in the biggest traditional Vegas experience there is — getting drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t remember. Looking at the silver lining, Grace seeks to escape the staggering weight of her parents and her own feelings of burnout and runs off to New York City with her brand-new stranger wife, the creative and beautiful Yuki Yamamoto. Without any of her life’s distractions, Grace falls hard for Yuki, but eventually the reality she has been running from is going to catch up to her and come crashing in.
Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick
The Crown Prince and That Guy From New York
It’s a match made in tabloid heaven! When an American event planner and the openly gay Prince of Wales start dating, their unlikely but meant-to-be romance sets the media on both sides of the Atlantic into a frenzy. Everyone has an opinion, the spotlight is constant, and the Queen of England disapproves. To reach their happy ending, they are going to have to fight through this royal uproar together.
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
Even when you have a taste of everything, you still crave what you can’t have!
In this latest bisexual rom-com novel, Theo and Kit have been many things to each other: childhood besties, crushes, lovers, and now estranged exes. Four years later, the two of them accidentally book the same dream European food and wine tour. When they bump into each other on the tour bus, they both realize they’re now stuck with each other for three weeks in stunning, romantic cities like France, Spain, and Italy. It can’t get any worse, right? Wrong! Why not challenge each other to a full-on European hookup competition to prove who’s over who while we’re at it?
Witty, Pretty, and Gritty!
And there you have it, darlings! These queer rom-coms are the perfect match for fans of Will & Grace, offering all the sass, class, and romance your book-loving heart can handle. Every chapter is a celebration of queer love. So, happy reading, you beautiful bibliophiles!
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