10 Books About Trans Love Everyone Should Read
From memoirs to magical realism, these stories prove that queer people belong on our bookshelves.
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Welcome to Love Transcends, a special project by Cosmopolitan that celebrates the resilience, wisdom, hope, and joy of the trans community as its members navigate romantic love. Through in-depth interviews and personal essays, trans people share what it’s like to date, hook up, break up, and fall in and hold onto love in the midst of sweeping anti-trans legislation and attacks on personal safeties and freedoms of expression. Click here to see the entire collection, and click here for a list of resources specific to the trans community.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: Trans stories have always mattered and will always matter. They’re not new, and—despite what some politicians would have you believe—they deserve our attention. It's a good thing, then, that a slew of books by trans writers or featuring trans characters have hit bookstores in recent years.
For trans readers, this kind of representation is more important than ever, especially in the face of spreading book bans. And because everyone deserves a good love story, we’ve gathered some of the best trans-focused ones below. Steamy romances, beautiful tales of friendship, blood and chosen family sagas, and more. Happy reading!
We’ve all seen Dylan Mulvaney on our various screens. We watched her become a conservative punching bag after taking part in a Pepsi ad, and cheered as she rose above the vitriol and harassment. In her memoir, she opens up about her girlhood journey through writing that’s just honest, funny, and filled with joy.
Alexis Hall takes us back to Regency era London for the historical romance we’ve all been waiting for: After being presumed dead, Viola gets the chance to live the life she’s always wanted. But reconnecting with her old friend, the Duke of Gracewood, brings back complicated feelings. What does their happy ending look like? You’re going to have to read it to find out!
Like Challengers but on a volleyball court, Hot Girls With Balls follows two players on rival teams who also happen to be dating. With their popularity soaring and the pressure to one-up each other getting stronger, they have to reevaluate everything on and off the court. This brilliant satire is a one-of-a-kind debut from Benedict Nguyen.
Emily St. James’s first novel, full of heart and humor, follows a high school teacher in South Dakota who, while coming to terms with her trans identity, finds kinship with one of her students, an out trans girl. Through friendship and sisterhood, they help each other navigate their small town.
Back in 1998, three friends worked together to try to create the perfect video game. When their dream didn’t become a reality, they went their separate ways. Sixteen years later, they’re crossing paths yet again. Jeanne Thornton’s friendship saga is a look at trans lives in video games via chat logs, emails, and a hit of nostalgia that evokes the early days of gaming and the internet.
What happens when your biggest rival gets traded to your minor league team? Gene Ionescu’s life is turned upside down when Luis Estrada enters the locker room. As the season rolls on, however, this unlikely pair find themselves getting closer than ever before.
Detransition, Baby is a rich, eye-opening novel about a trio dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. In this widely acclaimed book, the group is forced to take a second look at their connection to one another. We also recommend Peters’ stunning follow-up, Stag Dance.
In this trailblazing YA novel, Aiden Thomas weaves a special kind of magic as we follow Yadriel in his quest to prove his gender to his family. After summoning the ghost of a bad boy, Yadriel is forced to help him find the answers he’s been looking for in the afterlife. The long-awaited sequel, Espíritu, is set to be released in September, so now is the perfect time to catch up!
In this Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning book, Kacen Callender shows us the highs and lows of Felix’s life as he figures out who is targeting him and who truly loves him for who he is. Originally released in 2021, it’s a book we wish we’d read in our teens.
The hardest part of making this list was probably getting to choose only one TJ Alexander book. But after giving us incredible contemporary novels like the Chef’s Kiss series and Triple Sec, seeing them take on regency romance is a refreshing change. This one is romantic and beautiful and completely leaves us wanting more.
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