Hayley Kiyoko Turns Queer Pride & Prejudice Into YA Romcom

Hayley Kiyoko is taking her love of period dramas to the page. The singer, actor, and bestselling author has released a new queer YA romcom, Where There’s Room for Us, a swoony love story set in a “reimagined” Victorian England that blends fantasy, romance, and unapologetically queer joy.

From Mr. Darcy to a Queer Victorian Hyperreality

Kiyoko told host Danielle Robay on the Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club podcast that the book was born from her long-standing obsession with classic period pieces. In particular, she cited the film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as a key influence, joking that she always saw herself as Mr. Darcy when she watched it. That self-insertion into a historically exclusive world helped spark the idea for a queerer, more inclusive take on the era.

Set during courting season in a reimagined Victorian world, Where There’s Room for Us follows the slow-burn relationship between poet Ivy and socialite Freya. Kiyoko described the book as her “queer, hyperreality version” of the period dramas she loves, where an Asian, gay heroine gets to thrive front and center. The novel is published by Wednesday Books, an imprint that has also released her earlier work, including her #1 New York Times bestselling debut Girls Like Girls.

An Era Without Phones—and With More Queer Hope

Kiyoko also pointed to the 1997 film Cinderella starring Brandy and Paolo Montalban as an early blueprint for inclusive casting in fairy-tale storytelling. Seeing an Asian prince on screen, she said, was a formative moment that made her feel there could be a place for her in romantic narratives. Recent hits like Bridgerton confirmed for her that audiences are eager for richly diverse, historically inspired romances.

For Kiyoko, the Victorian era itself adds an irresistible tension. She’s fascinated by what she calls the “no-phone era,” where characters must wait months for letters and live with the uncertainty of not knowing what someone is thinking or doing. That distance, she says, makes the romance feel “sexy and hot” in a way that modern texting culture can’t quite replicate.

Above all, the project fits into Kiyoko’s larger creative mission. “My main focus in life is to create hopeful queer content,” she explained, whether through music, novels, or film. After the success of Girls Like Girls, which expanded on her viral single and music video, she saw Where There’s Room for Us as a chance to write with “no parameters” and imagine a world where queer characters not only exist in historical settings, but get the big, romantic narratives they’ve long been denied.

Where There’s Room for Us is out now wherever books are sold. New episodes of Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club drop weekly for readers who want to hear more from Kiyoko and other authors reshaping the YA landscape.