Diving into the kaleidoscope of queer stories, amplifying LGBTQ+ authors one narrative at a time.
It is truly unfortunate, especially given the open, accepting ethos behind it, but Pansexuality like Bisexuality is another identity that often comes under strain from both straight people and the queer community. Either it is insisted that Pansexuality and Bisexuality are the same things, or Pansexuals are treated as though they should ‘just make a decision’ and either ‘be gay or straight’. And this misinformation is something the best Pansexual books help to combat…
In reality, both bisexuality and pansexuality are different and defined identities – the other queer identities share similarities. While Bisexuality generally entails that a person is attracted to both males and females, Pansexuality is about experiencing attraction to others despite gender differences, with no care given to the matter whatsoever.
This is also different from Omnisexuality in the sense that Omnisexual individuals do care about gender and let it play a part in their attractions, while Pansexual individuals often refer to themselves as ‘gender blind.
This means that, as we covered earlier, gender plays no role in determining whether they find someone romantically or sexually attractive and that they feel no different being with people of different genders purely based on that factor alone.
It is subtle but important distinctions like the ones between Pan- and Omnisexuality that make respecting individual identities all the more important and pushing and pulling those with specific sexuality all the more dangerous and upsetting.
Forcing people to change something about themselves to fit in never ends well, and this mentality is why LGBT rights are still a matter having to be upheld and furthered to this day.
Despite what those judging Pansexuality with a negative tone might have to say about the subject, dating is not always made easier by default by having more options, and being objectively able to date people of the opposite sex as well does not make anyone less queer or more ‘straight’ than anyone else. Individual people are individuals and will always remain that way, whether others disapprove of their heartfelt identities.
So, with that said, it’s time to stretch out your arms and embrace it all – the fantasy, the thriller, and the autobiographical. There are ten top-notch Pansexual books featuring pansexual characters to come, and no sense waiting!
Long before the fresh apple crisis, my life had some form to it. I would wake in the mornings—I would perform something. For example, the day I tried, as one with acute passion might, to win one woman over but accidentally won another—that whole time I had been living like someone.
Though I can’t remember his name. His model of optimism provided me with a certain geography that I inhabit in times of need. This time the need was surprising. People tend to have faith that the juice they drink in the morning is the same juice they have always drunk. And apples take their shape naturally.
From Proportion Surviving by Renee Gladman
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A great resource for people who want to maximize their time and make the most out of their daily activities. Try a free 30-day trial from Audible today, and you'll get access to a selection of Audible Originals and audiobooks, along with a credit to purchase any title in their premium selection, regardless of price (including many of the books on this list!)
For ebook lovers, we also recommend Scribd, basically the Netflix for Books and the best and most convenient subscription for online reading. While they have a catalog comprising over half a million books including from many bestselling authors, for some of the books on this list, you'll still have to purchase individually - either as a paperback or eBook to load on your Kindle - due to publishing house restrictions.
In this article we will cover...
- A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
- Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore
- Soft on Soft by Mina Waheed
- The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis
- Final Draft by Riley Redgate
- Pyre at the Eyreholme Trust by Lin Darrow
- The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
- It Goes Like This by Miel Morelaand
- Ship It by Britta Lundin
- Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
Yet again, we’re starting a list of LGBT books with a strong, epic fantasy work – what is it for queers and fantasy! A Dark and Hollow Star strikes readers as bold and majestic from the beginning, spanning wide and far across a deceptively mundane landscape where vivid, unique characters live their adventure-filled lives.
In the case of the book’s story, those characters are four queer young adults from wildly different backgrounds, released upon a world that has hurt each of them in different ways. A Dark and Hollow Star takes place in the human world as we know it, but the only difference is that Fae and other mystical beings live just beneath the surface of the modern world.
Several books have taken this angle to incorporate mystical themes before, but none have done so well and comprehensively as this work by Shuttleworth.
Bearing the names Nausicaä, Vehan, Arlo, and Aurelian, the four friends and acquaintances are forced to work together to solve an ever-expanding collection of mysterious murders, venturing down a path that leads them ever deeper into dark intrigue.
Nausicaä is a member of a deadly warrior race known as the Fury, Arlo is a half-Fae living on the border between Fae and human life, and Vehan is the well-to-do prince of the Fae kingdom. Last but not least, Aurelian is Vehan’s companion and protection – though, as things go on, it turns out that his feelings for the prince are a little more intense than just that.
Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore
Lita Perez and Chicky Quintanilla have never been girls who let others tell them what they can and can’t do. Even though their chances of winning the Miss Meteor pageant are slimmer than some of the girls running for the spot ahead of them, there’s a lot more to try than just a hope of victory for the two ex-best friends.
They want to make a point to girls worldwide and redefine what it means to be ‘perfect’. It’s not going to be easy, and the two aren’t always going to agree, but it’s happening, and there’s no turning back now.
Tehlor Kay Mejia is an established bestseller, and Anna-Marie McLemore is a well-rounded award-winning author. Miss Meteor is their first book together, and what a wonderful art piece it is.
The book’s characters and battles feel more real than many non-fiction works, and the issues they set out to confront feel almost too real, given how closely they mirror those that far too many people come up against in the real world that we live in.
Miss Meteor is one of those books that prove that something doesn’t need to be overly complex or thought up to be excellent. Just like Lita and Chicky hope to prove to the world by winning the title of Miss Meteor, sometimes all it takes to be great is the right passion and mindset. Greatness is within our reach whether we see it or not!
Soft on Soft by Mina Waheed
We’ve all heard the saying ‘opposites attract’, and there’s no better representation of it in literature than Waheed’s Soft on Soft. Content ‘cat girl’ June Bana is known well online as a makeup wizard and general cheery face, but the person that gets posted in those photos could not be further from the real June.
That woman is reserved, sensitive, doesn’t like people all that much, and is practically a hermit. Her only trusted companions are her two cats, as her heart is a closed locker most of the time, thanks to a wide range of bad experiences.
Her opposite? Selena Clarke. Selena is a model and actress from ‘Sunshine Reincarnated’, and practically lives in the limelight. She’s outgoing, stunningly beautiful, and everything a celebrity ‘should be’. If there were a word that could be singled out as describing her the least accurately, it would be ‘homely’ or ‘reclusive’.
The attraction? Selena balances June out, and she knows it. Not only that, but she’s the perfect caregiver for both June’s cats and June’s heart, and she can’t deny it much longer without exploding. It’s time for her to make the hardest decision she’s ever had.
Does she leave her nice, quiet life for something different that could have the chance of failing terribly, or does she bite on her tongue and allow the opportunity of a lifetime to slip away when she may never have the chance to change herself for the better ever again?
The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis
Sometimes things seem like they’re going just perfectly, and other times everything you built about yourself comes crashing down around your ears before you can even properly realize what’s happening. That’s exactly how Chris Morrison feels now that her entire life seems to be ruined for good, and there’s no escaping the feeling, either.
She broke up with her long-time girlfriend, her job is mind-numbingly mundane, and she does not want to go back to college any time soon. She has other things to worry about and work through other than inviting yet more people to tell her what to do while letting her down at the same time.
Just as she’s feeling on the brink of quitting and walking away from even more of her life, however, Chris’s monotony is abruptly broken by the unexpected arrival of a cute, smart girl at the bookstore where she works. That girl’s name is Josie Navarro, and her greatest love books.
The two start seeing one another more and more regularly as Josie chews her way through the bookstore’s shelves, and – before long – sparks begin to fly. Is it fate that they came to meet, or is this just another fake chance thrown out to lead Chris astray? How can she even know that Josie feels the same way about her?
She can’t. There’s no way to be sure, but she will have to leap soon. Claire hopes that this time she’ll be right.
Final Draft by Riley Redgate
We all know the feeling of trying to be the best at what we do. Be it a job, a hobby, or a special interest, it is a large part of the human drive to want to be ‘better’ at something than other people so that we can feel like we are important and like we can contribute something to the world that no-one else can.
For Laila Piedra, that ‘thing’ always has and always will be writing. She writes every day, and it consumes her. Her characters are her friend and family, and the worlds she creates are more real to her than the ones in which she lives.
Laila is only three months away from graduating high school – and with sky-high marks in everything related to writing, too – but it seems that studying life has a curveball to throw at her yet. Just after she thought everything was set for the end of the year, the school’s creative writing teacher suddenly leaves her post and is replaced by the enigmatic, harsh, and unapproachable Nadiya Nazarenko.
Nazarenko has more writing experience under her belt than every student and teacher in the school combined, but that doesn’t mean that her first few assignments make any sense to Laila. Thrown off of her perch of being ‘the writing girl’, Laila is forced to do whatever it takes to climb back up, and what lies in her path is an investigation of self that she never expected.
Pyre at the Eyreholme Trust by Lin Darrow
Now, this is a special one. Not quite fantasy – rather taking on a retro approach to things and falling somewhere in the Prohibition-themed glamor and air of the mid-1920s – Pyre at the Eyreholme has to be the unique book out of all those on this list. Its writing style is unique, its characters are unlike any other, and the imagery it gets across in the form of words is almost tangible.
Eli Coello knows how to wheel and deal. He sells jewelry and fancy watches at night and wows the gents and ladies at night with his talented singing. But that’s not all that he’s good at, far from it.
While he might seem like an avant-garde, smarmy slimeball on the surface, there’s a side to Eli that he doesn’t allow anyone to see, no matter how close they think that they are to him. He has the magical power to manipulate ink and whatever that ink may lay upon.
It’s been a long time since Eli considered this ability a gift, but it manages to get him into trouble regularly. This time the trouble’s name is Duke. Duke is the leader of the Pyre gang – well known for their association with fire and flame – and Eli is the first target in what could be his most daring scheme ever. He’s going to rob Eli’s boss, and Eli’s powers will help him get away with it.
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
This list of best Pansexual books is certainly quite a fantasy rich, and that’s nothing but a good thing, in our opinion! It’s always wonderful to put a bit of a mystical spin on writing, and when it has queer themes and LGBTQ representation, things start to sound like the perfect recipe for a five-star book soup.
But enough with the food metaphors. As one might infer from the book’s title, Hackwith’s The Library of the Unwritten is not just a story in itself but also a story that involves other stories.
Unfinished stories, specifically, that have been tossed aside by their authors and discarded from the minds of creators both talented and bland. Both the half-compiled masterpieces and wastes of pages are all held together in the titular Wing of the Unwritten, where dedicated Librarians keep a close watch over them.
Characters escaping their manuscripts and causing chaos is always a real threat, and it’s the job of the Librarians – and Head Librarian Claire especially – to ensure that everything stays in order.
On the odd occasion that a character does escape the library, the librarians are the ones who have to track them down and bring them back to where they can be safely kept in the library, which is a lot easier than it sounds.
When a simple escape leads to some not-so-simple issues and a massive standoff, will Claire be able to live up to her title, or will the pages of her success burn from the pressure?
It Goes Like This by Miel Morelaand
It Goes Like This is Moreland’s debut novel, though you wouldn’t have guessed it from the colorful, well-polished, and energetic contents of the book’s pages. The story contained within is one of friendship, personal development, and – most importantly – learning to accept, love, and forgive against all odds.
Eva, Gina, Celeste and Steph have been close with one another and with the art of making music for as long as they can remember. It’s almost as if their entire lives thus far have been a blur of notes, bright evenings spent laughing and hanging out together, and daydreaming about the success that their band – Moonlight Overthrow – will have in the future.
Little did those younger girls know, however, that their older selves would be living out their dreams. Moonlight Overthrow is now famous worldwide, and its music is on the lips of almost every school kid. But, as always, with fame comes trouble. Where the four once saw their friendship as positively unshakable, it turns out there is a potential for cracks nonetheless.
The final blow is Eva and Celeste’s relationship, which tears the band into pieces. While Celeste and Gina remain with the band, Steph and Eva fall off and are left heartbroken and wondering what they can do next.
Are all hope for the band and their friendship lost forever, or can they find and embrace one last opportunity to try everything all over again?
Ship It by Britta Lundin
Yes, you interpreted the meaning of the title correctly. Or, rather, you did if you guessed that it’s something to do with shipping and fandom.
We’ve all had our stages of obsession with fictional media of some kind – be it Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or even something much more niche that happens to catch our eye and our attention – but what if you had the chance to meet one of your legends in real life?
The proposition may seem ideal at first, but – as the saying goes – it must be remembered that one should never meet their hero. This was very much the case for Claire – a sixteen-year-old girl with a deep love for the TV show Demon Heart.
She lives, breathes, and sleeps with the show on her mind and even writes wildly successful spicy fan fiction online about two of the show’s characters – Forest and his erstwhile companion. All was perfectly well for her until she met the actor who plays Forest at a Comic-Con.
Forest instantly shoots down her theory that his character is gay, and Claire is left heartbroken and shaken in her faith in the show.
But, thankfully for her, not all is lost. The Q&A video with Claire’s question takes off like wildfire across the internet, and she is soon propelled to stardom higher than she could have ever imagined. Now she’s part of the show’s Comic-Con panel, and things only get wilder from there.
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
We all know Carmilla – the 1872 queer vampire novel that defined the genre of bloodsuckers as we know it today – but the spin that the literature legend Butler puts on the genre is something else altogether.
Released in 2005, back when the world had yet to become fully obsessed with and then consequently entirely over Twilight, Fledgling is the story of a ‘young’ vampire girl named Shori and her quest to recover her memory and her understanding of why she is how she is.
Fledgling’s greatest strength comes from its ability to intercept expectations and turn them on their head – which is greatly important given that it sits in a niche that has been explored so much as of late that it seems somewhat like an old, overused trope.
Fledgling, however, acknowledges this and uses those overused tropes to its advantage, pulling readers to and fro in a truly unique way.
Shori’s quest slowly expands and evolves as she runs back down her past until she ends up hot on the tail of those who injured her, ruined her life, and killed her family.
Although Fledgling’s queer themes aren’t necessarily one of the book’s focal points, its steps in representation and story incorporation are admirable nonetheless, as is the wonderful, gripping structure that Butler writes with. Fledgling is a worthy finish to this list of pansexual books and a strong entrant to all three of the main genres it falls into – sci-fi, horror fantasy, and queer literature.
