Queer romance isn’t just having a moment—it’s having momentum. Case in point: the runaway popularity of “Heated Rivalry” by Rachel Reid, a gay hockey romance that has exploded online and launched leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie into the pop culture stratosphere.

Readers clearly want emotionally rich LGBTQ+ love stories that balance longing, humor, genuine stakes and endings that move beyond the genre’s historically tragic defaults.

Hollywood, meanwhile, is still playing catch-up.

Below are five LGBTQ+ romance novels that prove the demand is already there. This Valentine’s Day, these are the love stories ready for film and TV—whether Hollywood is paying attention or not.

‘One Last Stop‘ by Casey McQuiston

Casey McQuiston’s 2021 bestselling novel “Red, White & Royal Blue” has already been adapted into a successful 2023 film on Prime Video. The book and film follow Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the president’s son, and his longtime nemesis, Britain’s Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine). Their rivalry evolves into friendship and then romance.

The adaptation was such a success, a sequel “Red, White & Royal Wedding” is currently in production. 

Perhaps Hollywood can also give McQuiston’s time-traveling lesbian romantic comedy “One Last Stop” the film treatment. The story follows cynical August, who falls for Jane, a woman she keeps seeing on the New York City subway. The twist is that Jane has been stuck in time since the 1970s.

Who doesn’t love a dual timeline combined with a swoony romance? Apparently, hundreds of readers agree—a Change.org petition has circulated calling for the book to be adapted.

 
‘Boyfriend Material‘ by Alexis Hall

In the hilarious 2020 novel, disaster-prone nepo baby Luc O’Donnell’s messy personal life becomes tabloid fodder so he agrees to a fake relationship with buttoned-up barrister Oliver Blackwood. What starts as PR damage control slowly turns into something real.

Luc’s father, scandalous rock star Jon Fleming, his outlandish French mother Odile O’Donnell and a rotating cast of eccentric friends would translate epically to film or TV.

‘Coffee Will Make You Black‘ by April Sinclair

Set in Chicago’s South Side in the 1960s, this groundbreaking novel from 1994 centers on Jean “Stevie” Stevenson, a Black lesbian navigating adulthood, friendship, identity, and love during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.

Its sequels “Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice” (1996) and “I Left My Backdoor Open” (1999) continue to follow Stevie’s journey. A limited series could explore friendships, romance and the and the cultural and political shifts of the 1960s and 1970s.

‘The Celebrants’ by Steven Rowley

Hollywood has taken notice of author Steven Rowley. His novel “The Guncle” was acquired by Lionsgate in 2022 and additional works including “The Editor” and “Lily and the Octopus” have also been optioned. Hopefully, they are not stuck in development hell, but that is yet to be seen.

But what about his 2023 book “The Celebrants”? It follows a group of friends who make a pact after their college friend dies to meet up and throw each other “living funerals” to celebrate life as needed. As the years go by, the tradition becomes more complicated as adulthood, grief, divorce, illness, crime and lost jobs reshape the group. A gay couple—Jordan and Jordy—are at the center of the group.

This is ensemble storytelling with heart and shows adults grappling with very real drama,  delivered with Rowley’s trademark wit and warmth. 

‘Love & Other Disasters‘ by Anita Kelly

London, a nonbinary contestant on a popular competitive cooking show, finds unexpected romance with one of their fellow competitors, the clumsy yet charming Dahlia. Amid culinary chaos, ego and eliminations, sparks fly both on and off the set.

The 2022 novel has it all: a cooking competition, fun characters and a slow burn queer love story. A series would appeal to fans of food shows, romance and showbiz behind-the-scenes reality TV drama. 

Hollywood can adapt queer stories when it feels like it. What it’s still missing is how big the appetite is for queer romance that’s joyful, messy and grown. The readership is already there. The adaptations should be too.

About the writer

S. Lynn Bonanno is the co-founder and co-editor of Booked & Screened, covering book-to-screen adaptations and film and TV development. She was, at one point, obsessed with Oliver in “Call Me By Your Name,” her former favorite LGBTQ+ adaptation. The documentary “House of Hammer” cured that completely.