Looking for something romantic to read or gift for Valentine's Day?

I got you.

if you missed it last year, here’s a list of some of my favourite queer romance novels. Read, or gift a friend!

Here’s a few more I’ve read and loved since:

The Pairing by Casey Mcquiston: my favourite McQuiston so far. Non-binary main characters, extremely slutty without having too many descriptions of sex in lieu of actual feeling, just really fun and emotional.

Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher: Queer Robin Hood’s queer grandchild kidnaps a teenage healer and proceeds to fall in love with her while leading a rebellion. Riotous fun.

Copper Script by KJ Charles: I’ve written about this before. Set in early 20th century London when the police were even far more terrible than they seem to be now. One hero is a cop who’s slowly realising this while falling for a handwriting expert he’s sceptical about. very satisfying.

This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: Two enemy agents conduct an epistolary love affair over time and space in this sci-fi time-travel romance novella. Unexpectedly beautiful.

After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian: A bookseller falls for his newest employee. (If you’ve read Chikkamma I don’t need to tell you that this is a very cool premise to me.)

Love Letters by Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West: actual letters, compiled and excerpted, with an introduction by Alison Bechdel. I loved this more than I’d expected.

And here is an excerpt from a poem on love that I wrote last year:

and on the queen each night we cuddle

or hold hands before turning away and all

the urgent grasping has become

a relaxing, a letting go with the utter safety of knowing

you’ll be caught each time.

Here’s the full thing. Come listen to me read this and other poems at Kala Ghoda on Sunday, 8 Feb, at 11 a.m. Here’s the event description:

Full Circle: A Gathering Of Poets
Join Akil Contractor, Dion D'Souza, Jerry Pinto, and Menka Shivdasani for a celebration of Mumbai's poetic voices. Featuring readings by some of the founding members of Poetry Circle, new members and some fresh voices; followed by an open-mic session.