Hello and welcome to the July 2026 edition of the Queer Lit Review! This month we have two young women falling in love one summer in Paris, a 35-year-old unprepared to sub in for her sister on a hike for queer women, and a trans man on a minor league baseball team upset when his rival joins his team.
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Title: Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Reviewer: Tali
Summary: In 1978, Laure, a French PhD student, and Erica, an English tourist, meet on the steps of Sacré-Cœur in Paris. They fall into a summer romance and forge a connection that will shape their lives for decades to come.
Year of Publication: 2026
Genre/Sub-Genre: Literary fiction, historical fiction
Book Format: Physical book
Length: 369 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: Lesbian main character, bisexual main character; lesbian, bi, and gay side characters
Content Warnings: Homophobia (including a homophobic hate crime), biphobia, an abusive/controlling relationship, alcoholism, terminal illness, and death of HIV/AIDS
Ratio of Sex/Plot: Mentions of nudity and desire are threaded through the text, and several brief, explicit sex scenes and sexual memories are described. I would say this book is sensual but not smutty.
Well-Written/Editor Needed: Well-written in some ways, though I wish an editor might have caught some of the Millennial turns of phrase, French mistakes, and overwrought descriptions
Would I Recommend?: Maybe
Personal Thoughts: I enjoy romances that follow complicated relationships over years or decades, including movies and TV like the Before trilogy, Past Lives, and One Day. So I was excited to try out a literary, sapphic take on this kind of romance in Almost Life. Though this book was breezily readable, with technically proficient and literary prose, its reliance on trite characters and ideas ultimately made it hard to connect with emotionally.
The characters of Almost Life come across as stock archetypes: the louche, artsy, chain-smoking French lesbian; the funny, flamboyant gay man wasting away, saint-like, of AIDS; the unhappy, exhausted housewife stifled by straight marriage and motherhood; and so on. Hargrave fleshes out these characters with (mostly) convincing dialogue, psychological insight, and believable evolution. But because they are defined by cliché, they are predictable and the plot plods to a foregone conclusion. (The dual-POV structure also does not help with this issue. Having both Laure and Erica’s perspectives drains the narrative of tension and makes their miscommunications feel obvious.)
Hargrave’s efforts to cultivate a sense of place are similarly marked by cliché. Ironically, even as multiple French characters deride Erica as “la touriste,” the novel itself takes a tourist’s-eye view of its main setting, Paris. The city is portrayed largely as it appears to foreign visitors: artsy, bohemian, and full of name-droppable tourist landmarks like Sacré-Cœur, le Musée de l’Orangerie, Les Deux Magots, etc. Readers hoping to see depictions of Paris’ diversity and actual history will be disappointed. For example, Laure in 1978 lives in a real neighborhood, Le Marais, but its then-heavily Jewish character and unique history are erased in favor of a narrow focus on Laure’s bohemian, squalid lifestyle. Real historical events, including a terrorist attack in Laure’s neighborhood, are glossed over in favor of inventions, such as a homophobic assault on a gay bar in 1978 that appears to have no real-life counterpart. While Hargrave’s vivid prose immerses the reader in her vision of Paris—along with lushly-written stopovers in Rouen and Norfolk—I wish that vision had been less stereotypical and more grounded.
Almost Life meditates lengthily on the power of art, with mixed results. Claude Monet’s paintings are a touchstone in Laure and Erica’s relationship, reappearing throughout the text. Many readers will have seen and appreciated Monet’s work at some point, making this artistic focus broadly relatable. At the same time, some of the references to Monet’s paintings—particularly placed in the mouth of Laure, who is meant to be an elite-educated art theorist—come across as “fake deep.” In the same vein, the inclusion of multiple characters who are authors felt annoyingly meta. This cliché served only to remind me constantly of the artificiality of what I was reading. While I understand that “write what you know” is a classic maxim, I might prefer for authors of litfic to go out and have more experiences rather than continue to regale us with novels about MFA workshops and book-release parties.
In all, while I felt that this book had a promising premise and sections of good writing, the flaws took me out of the narrative too much. I struggled to like, connect with, or root for the main characters or their relationship. As a result, what was meant to be a poignant, bittersweet story didn’t get much of an emotional reaction from me at all. Other readers looking for a sapphic, star-crossed literary romance may enjoy Almost Life more than I did, and I’ll admit that some of my critiques come from the fact that I hold literary fiction to a high standard. Nevertheless, I struggle to recommend this book without reservations.
Title/Author: Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun
Reviewer: Laura B.
Summary: Sadie is 35, questioning her sexuality and stuck in her routine. So when her travel influencer sister breaks her toe and can’t attend a scheduled trip to hike the Camino de Santiago, Sadie agrees to take her place. Sadie isn’t prepared for the physical toll the hike will take, but she is also surprised to discover that her sister sent her on a tour for queer women without telling her.
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: Romance
Book Format: Physical
Length: 368 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: Lesbian
HEA/HFN: HEA
Content Warnings: Past homophobia/parental rejection is discussed
Ratio of Sex/Plot: 5% sex, 95% plot
Well-Written/Editor Needed: Well-written
Would I Recommend it?:Yes!
Personal Thoughts: This wasn’t even on my TBR, but I picked it up for the We Are Pride pick summer reading bingo square and I’m so glad I did! I think Alison Cochrun does a great job of finding the right mix of emotional stuff and humor here, which means that the characters have realistic lives without the book being a bummer.
I think the reason I really loved this book though is Sadie. She’s a fantastic main character who is flawed but likable and who I found to be fully fleshed out in a way that is increasingly rare. It was also refreshing to read about a 35-year-old discovering her sexuality but still coming across as a 35-year-old. I find that a lot of times authors end up making characters who are either coming out later in life or who have experienced little sexual attraction throughout their lives read as much younger than they are, but even when she’s doing challenges for her “queer adolescence” Sadie still comes across as an adult.
Mal is also a great character, even if I didn’t love her quite as much as Sadie, and their relationship with each other develops nicely and realistically through the story. None of the conflicts feel forced, but even when Sadie and Mal are at odds, you’re still rooting for them to get back together. Cochrun also did a great job of creating a lovable cast of supporting characters who are all easy to distinguish from one another. I couldn’t tell you which one is my favorite — I think I’d have a different answer any time you asked me!
I definitely recommend this if you like travel romances, adult coming out stories, or just need a good pick for a Summer Reading prompt (in addition to We Are Pride pick, this would work for armchair travel, a love story, or multiple POVs)! Learn more about our Adult Summer Reading program here!
Title/Author: The Prospects by KT Hoffman
Reviewer: Ana
Summary: Gene, a trans man on a Minor League Baseball team, is furious when Luis Estrada—his rival from college—gets traded to his team and assigned Gene’s position. But after seeing Luis have a panic attack, Gene decides to extend an olive branch by offering extra practices together. As they grow closer and their team starts enjoying newfound success, Gene starts wondering whether his life has room for ambition and a relationship.
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: Sports Romance
Book Format: Print
Length: 336 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: Gay, trans
HEA/HFN: HEA
Content Warnings: Societal transphobia/homophobia/racism, mentioned past parent death, on-page panic attacks, brief hospitalization, needles (used for HRT and piercings), on-page sex, mentioned cyberbullying, sports-related injury of a side character
Ratio of Sex/Plot: 95% plot, 5% sex
Well-Written/Editor Needed: Well-written
Would I Recommend?: Yes
Personal thoughts: Baseball season is in full swing (pun absolutely intended), and this is the perfect summer sports romance to go along with it! All the characters are refreshingly well-developed, trans joy is centered throughout, and it strikes the perfect balance of humor, romance, friendship, and sports. I adored the ADHD and anxiety representation. As someone with both, I could tell that Hoffman wrote from lived experience, and it makes a world of difference for the better.
If I had to critique one thing, I would say that it might have helped to have a few of the baseball terms explained, or maybe a small glossary included. I’m unfortunately not a Sports Gay, so I sometimes felt a tiny bit lost. But it never took me too much out of the story!
It shocked me to learn that this is Hoffman’s debut—it reads like a seasoned author wrote it! I look forward to reading whatever he writes next.
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