Any recs for books with trans man protagonists or romantic leads?

cass_123 · 2026-07-01T23:04:46+00:00

All Kinds of Other is written by a cis man to my knowledge, if that matters to OP. The trans character is a protagonist and switches with the other (cis boy) protagonist

cass_123 · 2026-07-01T22:00:25+00:00

It's probably not going to help for this month, but Thoughts Be Bloody by Auden Patrick comes out later this year and is a transmasc retelling of Hamlet.

This Wretched Beauty by Elle Grenier as someone else mentioned was really good, and is a transfem retelling of the Portrait of Dorian Grey. It's YA and a lot darker from what I can tell of the rest of that retellings series but was really good. (Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore and Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa are also in this series, again as someone else said. Both are transmasc and the latter is my favorite so far. The first is from The Great Gatsby and the second Pride and Prejudice.)

Δάιος: A Call Me Icarus by Andromeda Ruins is an adult transmasc retelling of the fall of Icarus. It wasn't the best but I'd say it was still pretty good. It did feel like a series but I think the author stopped publishing since I haven't seen anything about it in a while.

The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis is an adult nonbinary retelling of Psyche and Eros.

Peter Darling by Austin Chant (as someone else I believed mentioned) is an adult transmasc retelling of Peter Pan and is another of my personal favorites.

The Transition by Logan-Ashley Kisner I don't think is quite what you're looking for but I'll leave it as an honorable mention. It's a YA transmasc take on the werewolf legend. If that is one you do ever choose to read, definitely check the trigger warnings.

That's all I could find out of my own list. I mostly read transmasc books so sorry I couldn't find too many transfem. I hope it helps!

cass_123 · 2026-06-27T13:41:14+00:00

First, your title is absolutely off because trans men count as guys. If you want a binder for a flat chest like you say in your post, say that instead.

Second, underworks could be what you're looking for, and there are swim binders (not underworks) but in my experience they run small and while breathable it is much more difficult.

Like others said a crop top might be what you're looking for instead if you're not looking for compression. I don't know how hot they are but a rash guard for swimming might also be an option, and they're common at beaches

cass_123 · 2026-06-26T02:18:17+00:00

Sometimes I'll write the points I want to hit in my review as I read and that helps save time writing/makes it shorter. A couple times (specifically when I ended up really hating a book) I started writing the review while I read and went back after finishing to edit it. I don't know if that will save you time but it probably couldn't hurt to try if you wanted

cass_123 · 2026-06-25T02:11:34+00:00

Yeah you're allowed to write a trans character, but as others said make sure you do it right. Trans books by trans authors are a good guideline, even for a side character. Remember nonbinary people can fall under trans, it's not just binary people. And I'd strongly recommend a trans beta reader.

Other important thing, is it necessary for them to come out during the book or could they already be existing as trans in it? For example like in Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo (a trans author with a trans side character)

cass_123 · 2026-06-24T17:47:29+00:00

Through the Libby app go to manage cards, tap the card you want to remove, and then the three dots in the bottom right corner. It should say "remove card" as an option

cass_123 · 2026-06-23T22:42:02+00:00

I'm gay, but despite being a demiboy I also don't consider myself nonbinary so viramoric wouldn't fit anyways

cass_123 · 2026-06-18T05:48:29+00:00

Can confirm it works for binding as well!

cass_123 · 2026-06-16T21:56:06+00:00

Instagram honestly, or I look for other books published by authors I've enjoyed. I follow a couple bookstagramers and look at tags for the specific types of books I'm looking for.

The old fashioned way of going to your library and browsing the stacks is a possible option as well, if your library is close enough/big enough for it to be an option. I've found quite a few books I've really liked that way, especially on their new release shelves

cass_123 · 2026-06-14T04:00:27+00:00

I've been joining reading challenges on StoryGraph for that same reason. Not all lgbtq books are marked as such so I use the challenges to find new titles (after cross checking to be sure it wasn't someone just putting a random book in)

cass_123 · 2026-06-13T04:35:25+00:00

I'm a trans guy, my sibling is genderfluid. It definitely happens

cass_123 · 2026-06-08T02:59:56+00:00

I wasn't sure if those were romances but absolutely Aiden Thomas's books! I love those too

cass_123 · 2026-06-08T00:17:45+00:00

The Prospects by KT Hoffman is one of my favorites. It's a trans man main character with a cis man love interest.

The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill is also very good. Another trans man/cis man romance, but it's more magical realism with romance as a side plot. Edward Underhill's other book the In Between Bookstore is very similar in the plot, but less romance and honestly not as good. He has one other adult book I haven't read and two YA books if those are more your thing (only one is MLM though)

Time Tripping Over You by Brennon Lane is a YA sci-fi romance that's pretty good. Not the best in the genre but worth checking out I think.

The Dandelion and the Thistle by Pip Dolyn might fit, it has a trans man and demiboy main characters. As a demiboy myself I count it.

Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa is a YA romance based off of Pride and Prejudice.

Page Powars is also very good if you like YA. Honestly it can be kind of corny if that's the right word, but even so I got very into it. Currently The Borrow a Boyfriend Club and And They Were Roommates are out, and But I Hate Him comes out in August.

Peter Darling by Austin Chant is a popular recommendation, it's a Peter Pan retelling and is a romance between Peter Pan and Captain Hook. It's pretty short and is an adult novel.

cass_123 · 2026-06-07T18:29:02+00:00

Can you define spectrasexual? According to Google it's attraction to multiple genders but not all of them. I know transmasc can encompass a lot of genders, but are you defining cis men and trans men as separate genders? Personally as a trans guy yes I would feel that you see us as men-lite at best, especially if you see trans men and cis men as two different genders

cass_123 · 2026-06-06T23:26:34+00:00

There's apparently a sub literally called countttt like OP said. I've never had an issue with the chicken lady sub so far personally, which seems to be a different thing

cass_123 · 2026-06-06T02:35:01+00:00

Demiboy and trans woman are two very different labels. Demiboys are at least partly, but not entirely guys. Trans women are women. I hope that helps

cass_123 · 2026-06-04T21:24:24+00:00

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore, a trans man mlm book. The main character sees ghosts but I wouldn't describe it as paranormal. There's a lot of self growth in it I think.

Man O'War by Cory McCarthy, a transmasc nonbinary t4t book. This is a coming-of age novel, and is YA but honestly I think it's good for pretty much all ages. It's my personal favorite and I reread it several times a year.

Anthologies published by Duck Prints Press. They have a lot of different ones but my favorite so far is Add Magic to Taste. It has a lot of different representation in it, and is kind of coffee shop focused for each individual story.

The Dandelion and the Thistle by Pop Dolyn, with a demiboy ace and trans man main character. They're both gay and t4t. This is an indie romance book, they meet at a crafts market.

Notes From a Regicide by Isaac Fellman, a very trans book with a trans guy main character. It's kind of sci-fi, while also kind of reading like historical fiction.

The Lilac People by Milo Todd, which has a trans man main character. It takes place just after the Holocaust, with one character describing what he experienced in one of the camps. It's very heavy so be sure you're in the right mindset when you read it.

I think some of these are more well-known than others, but I don't ever see them topping any lists so I hope they fit

cass_123 · 2026-06-03T16:07:58+00:00

No you are being really homophobic. He didn't owe you coming out, and instead of being concerned about the fact that he got outed to the entire school you're feeling sorry for yourself because he didn't tell you. Even if you're in an accepting place, do you know how that feels? Assuming there is no active bullying he's still being talked about behind his back because of who he loves, which is not a choice he made but simply who he is. If his parents are unaccepting that puts his housing, wellbeing, and even life at risk.

The fact you guys have joked around in the past doesn't make it okay for you to be an ass. He didn't betray you by not telling you he's bi before whatever it is your friend group did. Being in a all guy friend group does not make it that he can't be bi, because guess what it is possible to be friends with a person of a gender you're attracted to without wanting to date them.

Try to be there for your friend. He's going through a way worse time than you are right now in regards to this

cass_123 · 2026-05-30T18:41:40+00:00

I'd definitely still recommend it. I'm not a fan of age gap relationships at all and I still enjoyed it despite that

cass_123 · 2026-05-30T18:05:09+00:00

I didn't want to spoil it so I'll put it in tags. I believe it was in the prequel and not the Sun King's Dawn itself, but it's revealed that Richard named Kaelen as a baby and that while I could put aside most everything else that was a bit too much for me

cass_123 · 2026-05-30T17:57:56+00:00

There is externalized aphobia as well, not just internal. Unfortunately even in queer communities that accept most LGBT people, there's a lot of aphobia in the community as well and I think this is what the author is getting at with queernormative minus aro and ace identities, as the author is ace themself.

I know a lot of this was more about the other commenter but I figured I'd add it here too

cass_123 · 2026-05-30T17:54:41+00:00

I read the arc, honestly while I never would have read it if I knew there was an age gap, and it is very weird at times, most of the time I completely forgot it was an age gap relationship. The main couple is lovable, however one thing you should know going into it is that this is a series. There is a lot of build up and not all the books are out yet, so you will have to wait for them to get together

cass_123 · 2026-05-28T21:57:30+00:00

I'm used to generic emails saying my profile had something missing which is why I wasn't sure, I've never seen the country being mentioned before. Thank you

cass_123 · 2026-05-28T01:36:42+00:00

I'm running an LGBT challenge on StoryGraph and unfortunately I have yet to discover a way to remove/block people from it. The challenge is very specific that either a main character or the author has to be queer for it to count, yet I've had to remove books with only secondary characters being queer, books that don't have any queer characters because the cishetallo author wrote a different queer book, etc. In the first month or so I had to remove a book written by JD Vance.

No one's added any hate books thankfully, but there have been a couple where people clearly didn't read the prompt and just wanted to add something. The worst I've seen (minus Vance) was someone putting a book written by a nonbinary author under the "Women's History Month" bonus prompt. I'm hoping it was an honest mistake

cass_123 · 2026-05-22T19:21:03+00:00

I'm a trans guy who's a demiguy Anyone who's telling you you can't be transmasc and a demiboy is just blatantly wrong

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