In Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake, a small-town waitress with big dreams gets a second chance when her first kiss—now a Hollywood star—returns to town. It’s fame, flirtation, and fresh starts in this irresistible rom-com full of heart and heat. Narrated by Gail Shalan, Dream On, Ramona Riley is available now wherever books and audiobooks are sold!
Writing queer books is difficult. Everyone’s experiences are so different and you are never going to be able to please everyone while also pleasing yourself. Especially if you’re writing queer romance, everything gets even stickier — some readers are more than tired of reading about us struggling and suffering, so they want romance books with queer joy. Other readers think it’s impossible to write a queer book of any genre without some mention of our centuries-long struggle for liberation, acceptance, and equality. So the question remains, what’s a type of queer romance book that’s sure to win everyone over?
Well, as it turns out, I’ve yet to meet a reader of queer romance who isn’t a sucker for one that’s set in a small town. Small town romances, much like everything else, have historically been dominated by heterosexual love stories, so queer ones seem to check a lot of boxes for readers on both ends of the spectrum: they’re radical enough since they’re breaking down heteronormative barriers while also being cozy, dependable, and predictable, three things many romance readers look for. So I journeyed for many nights to find a list of queer romance books set in small towns that are sure to give you all the warm and fuzzies while also reminding you that reading queer literature of any kind is an act of resistance.
Look Up, Handsome by Jack Strange
The only queer bookstore in the town of Hay-on-Wye is a lifeline for many of its visitors, which is why it’s so heartbreaking when it’s threatened with having to shut down. But its owner Quinn Oxford isn’t going to let it go without a fight, prepared to do whatever it takes to save his small town’s beacon of hope for queer people. Everything is going as planned until romance author Noah Sage shows up in Hay-on-Wye, and he’s just the kind of distraction that Quinn does not need right now. On top of that, Noah has a history with the town that he’d rather forget. But when a snowstorm leaves these two small-town residents stuck with each other, Noah has to decide if he’s willing to let go of the past, and Quinn must decide if the universe is going to let him have a holiday romance and save his beloved bookshop at the same time.
Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper
In the small town of Barton Springs, Ohio, Jake finally feels like he’s coming into his own as his school’s first openly gay kid. Even if everyone in town isn’t as accepting, his family and friends have welcomed him with open arms. But when Jake’s dad decides to hang an extremely large pride flag in their front yard in an attempt to show his love and support, the mayor of Barton Springs starts to receive complaints from some of its more narrow-minded residents. Some of them are even worried that the display of a large pride flag in one family’s lawn could lead to the unthinkable: a Pride parade in Barton Springs. But to someone like Jake, that seems less of a bad idea and more of a great one. In order to do that, he’ll have to get support from the mayor and town council, who he already knows aren’t on his side. To make matters worse, the mayor’s son Brett starts spending a lot of time with Jake. Can he manage to overthrow local politics and find love all at once?
Her Own Happiness by Eden Appiah-Kubi
Maya Davis is living her dream life in her own apartment with her own career, and it all crumbles away fast when the unthinkable happens. Forced to pack up her life and move back in with her parents in her small Maryland hometown, all Maya wants to do is start figuring out her next move. The last thing she wants is to put down any roots in the town she left. But just as Maya is forced to move back home, her best friend Ant is moving out for the first time —yet he can’t seem to separate himself from her. Realizing she has to start thinking realistically, all Maya wants to do is find a job with health insurance. That’s when she meets Emme Vivant, an influencer who thinks Maya has great potential. Now she has new clothes, new contacts, and new opportunities. But is this the life that she’s truly meant to live? And will Ant manage to move on and find his own life without Maya?
Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley
In this seminal novel of gay romance that won the Stonewall Book Award for Literature in 1996, finding yourself in your small hometown is an act of defiance. For someone with secrets, finding your first love isn’t easy. For Nathan, who lives in a violent home with an alcoholic father, it might be one of the only things to save him from a landscape of bigotry and intolerance. In his rural Southern small town, Nathan must hide himself and who he loves from everyone he is close to, including his family, friends, and church. But since secrets always have a way of coming to the surface, Nathan might not be able to keep his secret love to himself forever.
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
Ijeoma’s coming of age has been unfortunately marked against the backdrop of revolution in Nigeria. She’s 11 years old when a civil war breaks out in the republic, and she’s sent away to live in safety in a smaller region of the land. That’s where Ijeoma meets another child who’s been displaced and their bond becomes unbreakable, transcending time, space, and love. They also happen to both be girls, which isn’t a safe union to have in a time of civil war in Nigeria. When Ijeoma’s secret love is uncovered, she’s forced to live a closeted life, which she learns always comes at a cost. In a country torn apart by political warfare, Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees asks if a romance between two girls can survive its own version of small-town prejudice.
Second Chances in New Port Stephen by T.J. Alexander
It’s been years since Eli Ward last set foot in his small hometown of New Port Stephen, Florida. Ever since transitioning and getting sober, staying away from the person he used to be has been vital to his survival. But when his lucrative career in television as a writer and comedian is threatened by scandal, Eli is forced to come back home to New Port Stephen for the holidays. He’s just hoping he can make it through Christmas in one piece with his well-intentioned, if misguided, family members. Just when it feels like things can’t get any worse, Eli runs into Nick Wu, his ex from high school. Divorced and hotter than ever, Nick is also just trying to keep his head above water by caring for his daughter and his father. But even he can’t deny the spark there was when he ran into Eli. Will these two lost souls be able to mend fences over Christmas in Florida?
What are some of your favorite queer small-town romance books?