50 Books like Filthy Animals

The Best American Short Stories 2024

by Lauren Groff • 2024

Lauren Groff gathers twenty stories of the year: surreal, tender, and unafraid of the dark.

3.77

846

🗣️ Diverse American Voices 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Literary Fiction ✨ Magical Realism 🌍 Immigrant Experience 🔄 Experimental Narrative

The Best American Short Stories 2024 Summary

The Best American Short Stories 2024 92%

Lauren Groff gathers twenty stories of the year: surreal, tender, and unafraid of the dark.

by Lauren Groff 2024

3.77

846 ratings

🗣️ Diverse American Voices 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Literary Fiction ✨ Magical Realism 🌍 Immigrant Experience 🔄 Experimental Narrative

Rejection

by Tony Tulathimutte • 2024

A group of very online failures chase validation through sex, money, and anonymous posts.

3.74

45k+

🖇️ Linked Stories 😬 Cringe Comedy 💣 Self-Sabotage 💼 Toxic Ambition 🎭 Digital Identities

Rejection 91%

A group of very online failures chase validation through sex, money, and anonymous posts.

by Tony Tulathimutte 2024

3.74

45k+ ratings

🖇️ Linked Stories 😬 Cringe Comedy 💣 Self-Sabotage 💼 Toxic Ambition 🎭 Digital Identities

Nocturnes

by Kazuo Ishiguro • 2009

Five stories of music at dusk: fading stars, borrowed dreams, and the quiet grace of letting go.

3.51

33k+

🖇️ Linked Short Stories 🌟 Fading Celebrity 💔 Marriage In Decline 🎭 Artistic Ambition 👀 Outsider Narrator

Nocturnes 91%

Five stories of music at dusk: fading stars, borrowed dreams, and the quiet grace of letting go.

by Kazuo Ishiguro 2009

3.51

33k+ ratings

🖇️ Linked Short Stories 🌟 Fading Celebrity 💔 Marriage In Decline 🎭 Artistic Ambition 👀 Outsider Narrator

Mudflowers

by Aley Waterman • 2023

Lonely in Toronto, Sophie falls for a poet while her oldest friend still shares her bed.

3.42

421

🏠 Chosen Family 💫 Queer Desire 🎨 Artist's Journey 💧 Emotionally Raw 🕯️ Maternal Grief

Mudflowers 90%

Lonely in Toronto, Sophie falls for a poet while her oldest friend still shares her bed.

by Aley Waterman 2023

3.42

421 ratings

🏠 Chosen Family 💫 Queer Desire 🎨 Artist's Journey 💧 Emotionally Raw 🕯️ Maternal Grief

Real Life

by Brandon Taylor • 2020

Grieving his father, a Black grad student seeks warmth in a white friend's volatile affection.

3.78

38k+

📚 Campus Novel 🍸 Toxic Friend Group 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Longing 🌫️ Racial Microaggressions 💔 Processing Grief

Real Life 90%

Grieving his father, a Black grad student seeks warmth in a white friend's volatile affection.

by Brandon Taylor 2020

3.78

38k+ ratings

📚 Campus Novel 🍸 Toxic Friend Group 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Longing 🌫️ Racial Microaggressions 💔 Processing Grief

Evenings and Weekends

by Oisín McKenna • 2024

London swelters. A whale beaches in the Thames. Three friends choose between desire and survival.

3.75

60k+

🏳️‍🌈 Queer London 🍻 Working-Class Lives 👬 Found Family 🩹 Trauma And Intimacy 🍸 Bittersweet Summer

Evenings and Weekends 90%

London swelters. A whale beaches in the Thames. Three friends choose between desire and survival.

by Oisín McKenna 2024

3.75

60k+ ratings

🏳️‍🌈 Queer London 🍻 Working-Class Lives 👬 Found Family 🩹 Trauma And Intimacy 🍸 Bittersweet Summer

If You're Happy

by Fiona Robertson • 2022

Sixteen stories of ordinary people who keep choosing happiness after life has broken their hearts.

4.27

138

🔗 Interconnected Stories 📖 Literary Realism 💔 Grief And Healing 🌱 Quiet Resilience 🍂 Bittersweet

If You're Happy 90%

Sixteen stories of ordinary people who keep choosing happiness after life has broken their hearts.

by Fiona Robertson 2022

4.27

138 ratings

🔗 Interconnected Stories 📖 Literary Realism 💔 Grief And Healing 🌱 Quiet Resilience 🍂 Bittersweet

Pages for You

by Sylvia Brownrigg • 2001

A college freshman falls for her mesmerizing female TA, and the consuming affair rewrites her world.

3.91

9k+

🌈 Queer Awakening 👩‍🏫 Age Gap Relationship 💕 First Love 🔥 Sexual Awakening 🍽️ Meet Cute

Pages for You 90%

A college freshman falls for her mesmerizing female TA, and the consuming affair rewrites her world.

by Sylvia Brownrigg 2001

3.91

9k+ ratings

🌈 Queer Awakening 👩‍🏫 Age Gap Relationship 💕 First Love 🔥 Sexual Awakening 🍽️ Meet Cute

The Rachel Incident

by Caroline O'Donoghue • 2023

An Irish bookshop clerk, her gay flatmate, and the married professor they both desire.

4.06

145k+

🏛️ University Campus Novel 👯 Platonic Soulmates 🏳️‍🌈 Gay Awakening 🤫 Secret Affair 🇮🇪 2000s Ireland

The Rachel Incident 90%

An Irish bookshop clerk, her gay flatmate, and the married professor they both desire.

by Caroline O'Donoghue 2023

4.06

145k+ ratings

🏛️ University Campus Novel 👯 Platonic Soulmates 🏳️‍🌈 Gay Awakening 🤫 Secret Affair 🇮🇪 2000s Ireland

At Certain Points We Touch

by Lauren John Joseph • 2022

A neon sign jolts a trans writer to recount their doomed love affair with a dead photographer.

3.62

1k+

🏳️‍⚧️ Transgender Narrative 💔 Doomed Romance 🌃 Queer Nightlife ✒️ Lyrical Grief 🫂 Chosen Family

At Certain Points We Touch 90%

A neon sign jolts a trans writer to recount their doomed love affair with a dead photographer.

by Lauren John Joseph 2022

3.62

1k+ ratings

🏳️‍⚧️ Transgender Narrative 💔 Doomed Romance 🌃 Queer Nightlife ✒️ Lyrical Grief 🫂 Chosen Family

Conversations with Friends

by Sally Rooney • 2017

A young poet's secret affair with a married actor unravels the friendship she once called love.

3.73

622k+

💔 Extramarital Affair 🏛️ Class Tensions 💜 Bisexual Protagonist ⏳ Age Gap Relationship 🇮🇪 Contemporary Dublin

Conversations with Friends 90%

A young poet's secret affair with a married actor unravels the friendship she once called love.

by Sally Rooney 2017

3.73

622k+ ratings

💔 Extramarital Affair 🏛️ Class Tensions 💜 Bisexual Protagonist ⏳ Age Gap Relationship 🇮🇪 Contemporary Dublin

Disappoint Me

by Nicola Dinan • 2025

A trans poet, weary of being left behind, falls for a man with a buried past.

3.97

9k+

🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Literary Fiction 👥 Queer Chosen Family 😮‍💨 Millennial Discontent 🇬🇧 Contemporary London 🥀 Wry Tenderness

Disappoint Me 90%

A trans poet, weary of being left behind, falls for a man with a buried past.

by Nicola Dinan 2025

3.97

9k+ ratings

🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Literary Fiction 👥 Queer Chosen Family 😮‍💨 Millennial Discontent 🇬🇧 Contemporary London 🥀 Wry Tenderness

Stag Dance

by Torrey Peters • 2025

Forcibly injected, a trans woman becomes the first carrier of a gender-collapsing plague.

3.83

13k+

🧪 Gender Contagion 🌲 Queer Frontier 🩸 Body Horror 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Sisterhood 🎭 Fetish And Fantasy

Stag Dance 90%

Forcibly injected, a trans woman becomes the first carrier of a gender-collapsing plague.

by Torrey Peters 2025

3.83

13k+ ratings

🧪 Gender Contagion 🌲 Queer Frontier 🩸 Body Horror 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Sisterhood 🎭 Fetish And Fantasy

Seduction Theory

by Emily Adrian • 2025

A campus affair, a shattered marriage, and the graduate student who will write it all down.

3.11

12k+

🏛️ Campus Novel 💔 Literary Infidelity 💍 Marriage In Crisis 👁️ Academic Obsession ✍️ Writing Program

Seduction Theory 90%

A campus affair, a shattered marriage, and the graduate student who will write it all down.

by Emily Adrian 2025

3.11

12k+ ratings

🏛️ Campus Novel 💔 Literary Infidelity 💍 Marriage In Crisis 👁️ Academic Obsession ✍️ Writing Program

The Happy Couple

by Naoise Dolan • 2023

Neither could admit their doubts, so they got engaged instead. The wedding is months away.

3.32

20k+

🔍 Relationship Autopsy 💜 Bisexual Protagonist 😏 Dark Humor 🖤 Melancholy Romance 🕸️ Entangled Exes

The Happy Couple 90%

Neither could admit their doubts, so they got engaged instead. The wedding is months away.

by Naoise Dolan 2023

3.32

20k+ ratings

🔍 Relationship Autopsy 💜 Bisexual Protagonist 😏 Dark Humor 🖤 Melancholy Romance 🕸️ Entangled Exes

Scaffolding

by Lauren Elkin • 2024

In Paris, a grieving analyst falls for her neighbor's boyfriend: her own first love.

3.63

6k+

🛋️ Psychoanalytic Fiction 💔 Affair With Ex 🌈 Queer Awakening 🥀 Melancholy Mood 🗼 Contemporary Paris

Scaffolding 90%

In Paris, a grieving analyst falls for her neighbor's boyfriend: her own first love.

by Lauren Elkin 2024

3.63

6k+ ratings

🛋️ Psychoanalytic Fiction 💔 Affair With Ex 🌈 Queer Awakening 🥀 Melancholy Mood 🗼 Contemporary Paris

All Aunt Hagar's Children

by Edward P. Jones • 2006

Black Southerners in Washington, D.C. build new lives while old ghosts unpack beside them.

3.83

2k+

🧩 Linked Story Collection 🚂 Great Migration 💔 Generational Trauma 🏠 Found Family 🖤 Survivor's Guilt

All Aunt Hagar's Children 90%

Black Southerners in Washington, D.C. build new lives while old ghosts unpack beside them.

by Edward P. Jones 2006

3.83

2k+ ratings

🧩 Linked Story Collection 🚂 Great Migration 💔 Generational Trauma 🏠 Found Family 🖤 Survivor's Guilt

The South

by Tash Aw • 2025

On a parched Malaysian farm, a gentle boy finds desire with the caretaker's son as family collapses.

3.59

5k+

🌈 Queer Coming Of Age 📖 Family Saga 💗 First Love ⚖️ Class Divide 🕯️ Intergenerational Trauma

The South 89%

On a parched Malaysian farm, a gentle boy finds desire with the caretaker's son as family collapses.

by Tash Aw 2025

3.59

5k+ ratings

🌈 Queer Coming Of Age 📖 Family Saga 💗 First Love ⚖️ Class Divide 🕯️ Intergenerational Trauma

Lawn Boy

by Jonathan Evison • 2018

Mike Muñoz is a lawn boy, a caretaker, and a man who's never been honest about who he loves.

3.83

10k+

🏗️ Working Class Fiction 🌈 Queer Coming Of Age 👨‍👦 Sibling Caretaker 🤝 Found Family 💔 Absent Father

Lawn Boy 89%

Mike Muñoz is a lawn boy, a caretaker, and a man who's never been honest about who he loves.

by Jonathan Evison 2018

3.83

10k+ ratings

🏗️ Working Class Fiction 🌈 Queer Coming Of Age 👨‍👦 Sibling Caretaker 🤝 Found Family 💔 Absent Father

Mothers and Sons

by Adam Haslett • 2025

A gay lawyer and his priest mother: thirty years of silence about the boy who died.

3.72

5k+

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Literary Fiction 🌍 Immigration Stories 💔 Mother Son Estrangement 🖤 Lost First Love 😔 Survivor Guilt

Mothers and Sons 89%

A gay lawyer and his priest mother: thirty years of silence about the boy who died.

by Adam Haslett 2025

3.72

5k+ ratings

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Literary Fiction 🌍 Immigration Stories 💔 Mother Son Estrangement 🖤 Lost First Love 😔 Survivor Guilt

Mr Salary

by Sally Rooney • 2016

For her dying father, she returns to Dublin and the older man she has never left.

3.73

43k+

📚 Literary Romance 🕰️ Age Gap 💭 Unspoken Attraction 💔 Dying Parent 🌧️ Melancholy

Mr Salary 89%

For her dying father, she returns to Dublin and the older man she has never left.

by Sally Rooney 2016

3.73

43k+ ratings

📚 Literary Romance 🕰️ Age Gap 💭 Unspoken Attraction 💔 Dying Parent 🌧️ Melancholy

Call Me By Your Name

by André Aciman • 2007

For one summer in Italy, a teenager's obsession with the visiting scholar undoes and remakes him.

4.10

605k+

📖 Literary Romance 🌈 Queer Coming-Of-Age ☀️ Summer Romance ⏳ Age Gap 🔥 Slow Burn

Call Me By Your Name 89%

For one summer in Italy, a teenager's obsession with the visiting scholar undoes and remakes him.

by André Aciman 2007

4.10

605k+ ratings

📖 Literary Romance 🌈 Queer Coming-Of-Age ☀️ Summer Romance ⏳ Age Gap 🔥 Slow Burn

Less

by Andrew Sean Greer • 2017

A novelist flees his ex's wedding by accepting every awful literary invitation across the globe.

3.62

226k+

🧳 Midlife Crisis Journey ✍️ Writer Protagonist 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Literary Fiction 🎭 Wry Literary Comedy 🌏 International Travelogue

Less 89%

A novelist flees his ex's wedding by accepting every awful literary invitation across the globe.

by Andrew Sean Greer 2017

3.62

226k+ ratings

🧳 Midlife Crisis Journey ✍️ Writer Protagonist 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Literary Fiction 🎭 Wry Literary Comedy 🌏 International Travelogue

The Knockout Queen

by Rufi Thorpe • 2020

Two suburban misfits bond over drag shows. One of them will kill for the other.

3.74

16k+

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Coming-Of-Age 🤝 Unlikely Friendship 🫂 Found Family 💄 Drag Culture 💔 Tragic Friendship

The Knockout Queen 89%

Two suburban misfits bond over drag shows. One of them will kill for the other.

by Rufi Thorpe 2020

3.74

16k+ ratings

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Coming-Of-Age 🤝 Unlikely Friendship 🫂 Found Family 💄 Drag Culture 💔 Tragic Friendship

The Imperfectionists

by Tom Rachman • 2010

Orbiting a dying English-language newspaper in Rome, flawed lives come undone one edition at a time.

3.55

50k+

📚 Linked Story Collection 📰 Newsroom Fiction 🏛️ Dying Institutions 🕊️ Quiet Grief 🌍 Expat Life

The Imperfectionists 89%

Orbiting a dying English-language newspaper in Rome, flawed lives come undone one edition at a time.

by Tom Rachman 2010

3.55

50k+ ratings

📚 Linked Story Collection 📰 Newsroom Fiction 🏛️ Dying Institutions 🕊️ Quiet Grief 🌍 Expat Life

So Old, So Young

by Grant Ginder • 2026

Mia boarded a plane with seventeen years of photos and one funeral she wasn't ready for.

3.77

23k+

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Friend Group Saga 🕰️ Right Person Wrong Time 🫂 Found Family 🤫 Secret Affair 💔 Unrequited Love

So Old, So Young 89%

Mia boarded a plane with seventeen years of photos and one funeral she wasn't ready for.

by Grant Ginder 2026

3.77

23k+ ratings

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Friend Group Saga 🕰️ Right Person Wrong Time 🫂 Found Family 🤫 Secret Affair 💔 Unrequited Love

The Three Lives of Cate Kay

by Kate Fagan • 2025

She left her best friend paralyzed, then wrote a bestseller under a new name.

3.73

115k+

📖 Novel Within A Novel 🎭 Hidden Identity 👯 Platonic Soulmates 🔺 Love Triangle 🥀 Bittersweet

The Three Lives of Cate Kay 89%

She left her best friend paralyzed, then wrote a bestseller under a new name.

by Kate Fagan 2025

3.73

115k+ ratings

📖 Novel Within A Novel 🎭 Hidden Identity 👯 Platonic Soulmates 🔺 Love Triangle 🥀 Bittersweet

A Visit from the Goon Squad

by Jennifer Egan • 2010

A punk turned producer and his kleptomaniac assistant reckon with the thief that is time.

3.70

252k+

🕸️ Interconnected Stories 🔀 Nonlinear Narrative ⏳ Passage Of Time 🎸 Music Industry 🎶 Music And Memory

A Visit from the Goon Squad 89%

A punk turned producer and his kleptomaniac assistant reckon with the thief that is time.

by Jennifer Egan 2010

3.70

252k+ ratings

🕸️ Interconnected Stories 🔀 Nonlinear Narrative ⏳ Passage Of Time 🎸 Music Industry 🎶 Music And Memory

Come and Get It

by Kiley Reid • 2024

A visiting professor's relationship with a student RA upends her research and her sense of self.

3.32

47k+

🏫 Campus Novel 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Protagonist 🌀 Blurred Boundaries 💸 Financial Anxiety 🎭 Social Satire

Come and Get It 89%

A visiting professor's relationship with a student RA upends her research and her sense of self.

by Kiley Reid 2024

3.32

47k+ ratings

🏫 Campus Novel 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Protagonist 🌀 Blurred Boundaries 💸 Financial Anxiety 🎭 Social Satire

Martyr!

by Kaveh Akbar • 2024

Haunted by his mother's death, a queer Iranian actor plays dying patients while seeking a sign.

4.14

200k+

📚 Immigrant Fiction 🤝 Found Family 🤫 Family Secrets 💭 Existential Crisis 💪 Addiction Recovery

Martyr! 89%

Haunted by his mother's death, a queer Iranian actor plays dying patients while seeking a sign.

by Kaveh Akbar 2024

4.14

200k+ ratings

📚 Immigrant Fiction 🤝 Found Family 🤫 Family Secrets 💭 Existential Crisis 💪 Addiction Recovery

Interpreter of Maladies

by Jhumpa Lahiri • 1999

Nine stories of the Indian diaspora: the small devastations of distance and the search for home.

4.18

208k+

✈️ Immigrant Fiction 🔗 Linked Short Stories 💔 Marital Estrangement 🌍 Cultural Displacement 🗝️ Confession And Secrets

Interpreter of Maladies 89%

Nine stories of the Indian diaspora: the small devastations of distance and the search for home.

by Jhumpa Lahiri 1999

4.18

208k+ ratings

✈️ Immigrant Fiction 🔗 Linked Short Stories 💔 Marital Estrangement 🌍 Cultural Displacement 🗝️ Confession And Secrets

Disobedience by Naomi Alderman

by Naomi Alderman • 2006

When her father dies, she returns to London's Orthodox enclave and the woman she left behind.

3.68

14k+

🕍 Orthodox Jewish Life 💞 Second Chance Love 🏘️ Insular Community 😔 Religious Guilt 🌈 Queer Longing

Disobedience by Naomi Alderman 89%

When her father dies, she returns to London's Orthodox enclave and the woman she left behind.

by Naomi Alderman 2006

3.68

14k+ ratings

🕍 Orthodox Jewish Life 💞 Second Chance Love 🏘️ Insular Community 😔 Religious Guilt 🌈 Queer Longing

The Boyhood of Cain

by Michael Amherst • 2025

His father's ruin exiles him to the countryside, where a golden rival mirrors everything he lacks.

3.26

1k+

🎓 Literary Bildungsroman 🌈 Queer Coming Of Age ⚠️ Toxic Mentorship ⚔️ Male Rivalry 🌧️ Quiet Melancholy

The Boyhood of Cain 89%

His father's ruin exiles him to the countryside, where a golden rival mirrors everything he lacks.

by Michael Amherst 2025

3.26

1k+ ratings

🎓 Literary Bildungsroman 🌈 Queer Coming Of Age ⚠️ Toxic Mentorship ⚔️ Male Rivalry 🌧️ Quiet Melancholy

Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory

by Raphael Bob-Waksberg • 2019

Love stories for the battered optimist: surreal, funny, and unflinchingly tender.

3.98

50k+

🌀 Absurdist Love Stories 🔀 Alternate Lives 💔 Ordinary Heartbreak 🍬 Bittersweet Humor 💒 Wedding Satire

Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory Summary

Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory 89%

Love stories for the battered optimist: surreal, funny, and unflinchingly tender.

by Raphael Bob-Waksberg 2019

3.98

50k+ ratings

🌀 Absurdist Love Stories 🔀 Alternate Lives 💔 Ordinary Heartbreak 🍬 Bittersweet Humor 💒 Wedding Satire

Unaccustomed Earth

by Jhumpa Lahiri • 2008

Eight tales of Bengali immigrants and their American children, bound by love, divided by silence.

4.14

97k+

🖇️ Linked Story Collection 🇮🇳 Indian Diaspora 🌱 Immigrant Children 🤫 Unspoken Grief 👥 Troubled Sibling Bond

Unaccustomed Earth 88%

Eight tales of Bengali immigrants and their American children, bound by love, divided by silence.

by Jhumpa Lahiri 2008

4.14

97k+ ratings

🖇️ Linked Story Collection 🇮🇳 Indian Diaspora 🌱 Immigrant Children 🤫 Unspoken Grief 👥 Troubled Sibling Bond

Last Exit to Brooklyn

by Hubert Selby Jr. • 1964

Drag queens and dockworkers in 1950s Brooklyn seek a tenderness their world is built to crush.

3.95

33k+

🚬 Transgressive Fiction 🌃 1950s Brooklyn 🥀 Doomed Queer Longing 🔁 Cyclical Despair 💪 Toxic Masculinity

Last Exit to Brooklyn 88%

Drag queens and dockworkers in 1950s Brooklyn seek a tenderness their world is built to crush.

by Hubert Selby Jr. 1964

3.95

33k+ ratings

🚬 Transgressive Fiction 🌃 1950s Brooklyn 🥀 Doomed Queer Longing 🔁 Cyclical Despair 💪 Toxic Masculinity

To Paradise

by Hanya Yanagihara • 2022

Across three centuries, a New York house shelters lovers, rebels, refugees, each seeking paradise.

3.73

56k+

🕰️ Alternate History 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Historical 🦠 Dystopian Pandemic 🎭 Triptych Narrative ❤️‍🔥 Forbidden Love

To Paradise 88%

Across three centuries, a New York house shelters lovers, rebels, refugees, each seeking paradise.

by Hanya Yanagihara 2022

3.73

56k+ ratings

🕰️ Alternate History 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Historical 🦠 Dystopian Pandemic 🎭 Triptych Narrative ❤️‍🔥 Forbidden Love

The Book of Luke

by Lovell Holder • 2025

His husband's scandal costs him his kids. He returns to the reality show that broke him.

3.69

3k+

📺 Reality Show Romance 🏈 Closeted Athlete 🎭 Manipulative Partner 💕 Second Chance Romance 🫂 Chosen Family

The Book of Luke 88%

His husband's scandal costs him his kids. He returns to the reality show that broke him.

by Lovell Holder 2025

3.69

3k+ ratings

📺 Reality Show Romance 🏈 Closeted Athlete 🎭 Manipulative Partner 💕 Second Chance Romance 🫂 Chosen Family

Greta & Valdin

by Rebecca K. Reilly • 2021

Two Auckland siblings, two impossible loves, and one messy family trying to hold it together.

3.90

32k+

🏡 Multicultural Family Saga 👫 Dual Sibling Pov 🫂 Chosen Family 💞 Second Chance Romance 🤷 Quarter-Life Crisis

Greta & Valdin 88%

Two Auckland siblings, two impossible loves, and one messy family trying to hold it together.

by Rebecca K. Reilly 2021

3.90

32k+ ratings

🏡 Multicultural Family Saga 👫 Dual Sibling Pov 🫂 Chosen Family 💞 Second Chance Romance 🤷 Quarter-Life Crisis

The Tragedy of Felix and Jake

by J. Daniels • 2023

A former Marine's sobriety is tested when his sponsor becomes the man he can't resist.

4.29

12k+

🩹 Recovery Romance 🚫 Forbidden Romance 🤝 Friends To Lovers 🏠 Found Family 💔 Hurt/Comfort

The Tragedy of Felix and Jake 88%

A former Marine's sobriety is tested when his sponsor becomes the man he can't resist.

by J. Daniels 2023

4.29

12k+ ratings

🩹 Recovery Romance 🚫 Forbidden Romance 🤝 Friends To Lovers 🏠 Found Family 💔 Hurt/Comfort

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

by Sarah Waters • 2006

In postwar London, queer citizens carry forbidden loves and the weight of wartime secrets.

3.71

33k+

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Historical 💔 Forbidden Love ❤️‍🩹 Trauma Recovery 🤝 Found Family 🇬🇧 Postwar Britain

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters 88%

In postwar London, queer citizens carry forbidden loves and the weight of wartime secrets.

by Sarah Waters 2006

3.71

33k+ ratings

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Historical 💔 Forbidden Love ❤️‍🩹 Trauma Recovery 🤝 Found Family 🇬🇧 Postwar Britain

Sunburn

by Chloe Michelle Howarth • 2023

Her first love is another girl. 1990s Ireland demands she hide behind the boy next door.

4.28

61k+

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Coming Of Age 🤫 Secret Relationship 💕 Best Friends To Lovers 📜 Compulsory Heterosexuality ✝️ Catholic Guilt

Sunburn 88%

Her first love is another girl. 1990s Ireland demands she hide behind the boy next door.

by Chloe Michelle Howarth 2023

4.28

61k+ ratings

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Coming Of Age 🤫 Secret Relationship 💕 Best Friends To Lovers 📜 Compulsory Heterosexuality ✝️ Catholic Guilt

The Refugees

by Viet Thanh Nguyen • 2017

Eight Vietnamese refugees find the past crossed the ocean with them and demands its due.

3.86

22k+

🖇️ Linked Short Stories 🌊 Refugee Experience 🛶 Vietnamese American 👻 Ghosts As Metaphor 💔 Divided Family

The Refugees 88%

Eight Vietnamese refugees find the past crossed the ocean with them and demands its due.

by Viet Thanh Nguyen 2017

3.86

22k+ ratings

🖇️ Linked Short Stories 🌊 Refugee Experience 🛶 Vietnamese American 👻 Ghosts As Metaphor 💔 Divided Family

The Thirty Names of Night

by Zeyn Joukhadar • 2020

A Syrian American trans man follows a ghost bird and a hidden diary toward becoming himself.

4.01

5k+

🦋 Trans Self-Discovery 📜 Hidden Queer History 🫂 Chosen Family 🌍 Arab American Lives 🎨 Art And Healing

The Thirty Names of Night 88%

A Syrian American trans man follows a ghost bird and a hidden diary toward becoming himself.

by Zeyn Joukhadar 2020

4.01

5k+ ratings

🦋 Trans Self-Discovery 📜 Hidden Queer History 🫂 Chosen Family 🌍 Arab American Lives 🎨 Art And Healing

That Green Eyed Girl

by Julie Owen Moylan • 2022

Decades-old letters pull a teen into the forbidden romance that shattered in her New York apartment.

3.87

2k+

🕰️ Dual Timeline 📚 Sapphic Historical 💔 Forbidden Love 🔗 Intergenerational Trauma 🌫️ Quiet Grief

That Green Eyed Girl 88%

Decades-old letters pull a teen into the forbidden romance that shattered in her New York apartment.

by Julie Owen Moylan 2022

3.87

2k+ ratings

🕰️ Dual Timeline 📚 Sapphic Historical 💔 Forbidden Love 🔗 Intergenerational Trauma 🌫️ Quiet Grief

Lives of Girls and Women

by Alice Munro • 1971

Del Jordan grows up watching women's lives in rural Ontario and resolves to write her own.

3.94

16k+

🖇️ Linked Stories 🏡 Small Town Coming Of Age 👩‍👧 Mother Daughter Tension 🌸 Sexual Awakening 👁️ Outsider Narrator

Lives of Girls and Women 88%

Del Jordan grows up watching women's lives in rural Ontario and resolves to write her own.

by Alice Munro 1971

3.94

16k+ ratings

🖇️ Linked Stories 🏡 Small Town Coming Of Age 👩‍👧 Mother Daughter Tension 🌸 Sexual Awakening 👁️ Outsider Narrator

Every Day

by David Levithan • 2012

A drifts through borrowed lives until a single day with Rhiannon makes leaving impossible.

3.89

244k+

🔄 Body Swap 💫 Star-Crossed Lovers 🌈 Nonbinary Protagonist 🥀 Bittersweet Ending 💖 Love Beyond Appearances

Every Day 88%

A drifts through borrowed lives until a single day with Rhiannon makes leaving impossible.

by David Levithan 2012

3.89

244k+ ratings

🔄 Body Swap 💫 Star-Crossed Lovers 🌈 Nonbinary Protagonist 🥀 Bittersweet Ending 💖 Love Beyond Appearances

The Interestings

by Meg Wolitzer • 2013

At arts camp, six teenagers decide they are exceptional. Forty years of ordinary life disagree.

3.60

124k+

🎨 Creative Ambition 💰 Class And Privilege 🕰️ Long Friendship 💔 Unrequited Love 🫂 Found Family

The Interestings 88%

At arts camp, six teenagers decide they are exceptional. Forty years of ordinary life disagree.

by Meg Wolitzer 2013

3.60

124k+ ratings

🎨 Creative Ambition 💰 Class And Privilege 🕰️ Long Friendship 💔 Unrequited Love 🫂 Found Family

A Single Man

by Christopher Isherwood • 1964

Bereaved, a gay professor teaches, drinks, and searches for connection across one day in 1960s LA.

4.05

38k+

🌊 Stream Of Consciousness 🎓 Campus Novel 💔 Age Gap Desire 🖤 Partner Grief 🎭 Performance Of Self

A Single Man 88%

Bereaved, a gay professor teaches, drinks, and searches for connection across one day in 1960s LA.

by Christopher Isherwood 1964

4.05

38k+ ratings

🌊 Stream Of Consciousness 🎓 Campus Novel 💔 Age Gap Desire 🖤 Partner Grief 🎭 Performance Of Self

All-Night Pharmacy

by Ruth Madievsky • 2023

When her wild sister vanishes, a young woman claws toward sobriety and a long-buried self.

3.50

8k+

🏳️‍🌈 Sapphic Literary Fiction 💊 Addiction And Recovery 👯 Toxic Sisterhood 🔍 Missing Sister 🌀 Unreliable Narrator

All-Night Pharmacy 88%

When her wild sister vanishes, a young woman claws toward sobriety and a long-buried self.

by Ruth Madievsky 2023

3.50

8k+ ratings

🏳️‍🌈 Sapphic Literary Fiction 💊 Addiction And Recovery 👯 Toxic Sisterhood 🔍 Missing Sister 🌀 Unreliable Narrator

Compare Features	Free	Pro
📖 Read Summaries Read unlimited summaries. Free users get 3 per month
🎧 Listen to Summaries Listen to unlimited summaries in 40 languages	—
❤️ Unlimited Bookmarks Free users are limited to 4	—
📜 Unlimited History Free users are limited to 4	—
📥 Unlimited Downloads Free users are limited to 1	—

People love SoBrief

Join our global community of 600,000+ readers

★★★★★

This site is a total game-changer. I've been flying through book summaries like never before. Highly, highly recommend.

— Dave G

Worth my money and time, and really well made. I've never seen this quality of summaries on other websites. Very helpful!

— Em

Highly recommended!! Fantastic service. Perfect for those that want a little more than a teaser but not all the intricate details of a full audio book.

— Greg M