Rep: neurodivergent MC * Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy
Tropes/themes/secondary plot: opposites attract complex family dynamics a cast of secondary characters who are in turns lovely, annoying, endearing, and frustrating. MCs: a shy twenty-something with social anxiety who lives alone and works at a soda fountain and a loud, outgoing sort-of-hipster. Rep: gay MCs * Trouble and the Wallflower by Kade Boehme Tropes/themes/secondary plot: friends to lovers total hilarity a satisfying and authentic secondary cast of friends and family tasty homemade Italian food described in detail. MCs: two lifelong best friends and Brooklyn firefighters (who may or may not have been hiding their feelings for each other for years) who decide to work as models for a gay porn website because one of them is basically broke. Tropes/themes/secondary plot: fake marriage sports romance characters dealing with grief parenting secondary characters that matter to the plot. MCs: an NFL player, widower, and single dad raising his teenage son and a ballet dancer from Russia seeking asylum in the U.S. Rep: trans MC, bisexual MC His Convenient Husband by Robin Covington Tropes/themes/secondary plot: workplace romance the MC dealing with transphobia from coworkers (but not the love interest) some fun behind-the-scenes political campaign drama. Setting: the offices of a political campaign somewhere in contemporary America MCs: an intern at a political campaign, just out of college and stunned he’s landed his dream job, but also dealing with the stress of being out and trans in a not-very-supportive workplace and the somewhat prickly and uptight campaign strategist who actually ends up being super charming and kind. Rep: black genderqueer MC * Coffee Boy by austin chant Tropes/themes/secondary plot: workplace romance lots of food and cooking friends-to-lovers an age gap an interracial relationship characters dealing with grief. MCs: a restauranteur still mourning the death of his husband and the determined college graduate he hires as part of his staff reboot. Rep: bisexual, polyamorous MC Idlewild by jude sierra Tropes/themes/secondary plot: BDSM, polyamory, characters dealing with PTSD, lots of on-the-page sex (this one is definitely erotic romance).
MCs: a gay SWAT commander who’s mostly in the closet about being kinky and submissive and a bisexual, polyamorous kinky doctor who works for the coroner’s office. Rep: disabled MC contemporary Gay Romance Novels Tactical Submission by ada maria soto Tropes/themes/secondary plot: enemies-to-lovers a mystery involving blackmail interesting and complicated family dynamics explorations of class differences and disability. Setting: Regency London and the English countryside MCs: a grumpy, unscrupulous, street-smart private eye (think: Olivia Pope in 1820s London) who grew up in the slums and despises nobility and a retired (and very proper) soldier who craves order and predicability. Rep: Indian, neurodivergent MC The Soldier’s Scoundrel by Cat sebastian Tropes/themes/secondary plot: a murder mystery a beautifully depicted tight-knit queer community some kink. MCs: a quiet boarding-house keeper and one of his lodgers, a taxonomist. Rep: black MC, trans MC An Unseen Attraction by K.J. As a result, we have decided to go with the general understanding of Dupree's ballroom category for the purposes of this story.Tropes/themes/secondary plot: an exciting and action-packed rescue of a hospital patient about to be committed to an asylum racism and transphobia in 1830s NYC. As there was very little writing from the community's perspective at the time, it is unknown what Dupree would have self-identified as given the chance. Within the ballroom community, Dupree walked as a "butch queen in drags" which was generally understood to be a gay man wearing feminine garments - some might term this nonbinary or gender nonconforming today. Some, today, consider Dupree to be a trans woman. *Editor's Note: As with many LGBTQ+ elders, it can be difficult to be definitive about someone's identity prior to the 1990s. Today's voguing competitions and balls are still influenced by Dupree. In 1981, the House of Dupree hosted a ball that introduced the concept of categories to the ballroom scene. Dupree started dancing, pulling a copy of Vogue magazine out of his bag, and stopped, posing to the beat while imitating the models' poses. According to legend, Dupree was at a nightclub called Footsteps when some gay Black men started throwing shade at each other. The founding member and mother of the House of Dupree, Paris Dupree is said to be one of the originators of voguing.