Queer SF - August 2026
August 4, 2026
Survival Show — Juno Dawson
Genre: YA dystopian
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of Survival Show
American Idol meets The Hunger Games in this campy, dystopian satire about a teen betting her life that her singing talent can make her a star from the celebrated author of This Book Is Gay, Juno Dawson.
The world just seems to take and take from Taryn Beck, but there’s one thing it’ll never have: her voice. Only when she’s singing does Taryn feel like she can escape her reality—free from the aftermath of the War, free from the Scottish refugee camps where she and her family now live, and free from the responsibility of making ends meet for the sake of her sick brother.
Taryn’s voice is her one ticket out, and that’s why she enters to be a contestant on the world’s most watched television program: Starmaker, where kids from the New Peace Global Alliance compete for the chance to join an all-singing, all-dancing pop group. Rise to the top, and a life of luxury, stardom, and money awaits.
There’s only one small catch. The lowest ranking face a televised public execution. Starmaker thanks their participants for their noble sacrifice to Project Population.
Taryn’s about to sing for her life.
Link: Goodreads
Devour Me — Emily Rath
Genre: Paranormal romance
Rep: Queer; polyamory (MMF)
Series: Book 1 of Devour Me
From New York Times bestselling author Emily Rath comes a dark, spicy MMF paranormal romance series set on a New England island about the entangled fates of a witch, wraith, and mortal...
Dáinn the Devourer has spent the last two hundred years of his undead life reluctantly bonded to a dark witch, doing her dirtiest work. Devouring corrupt souls may not be satisfying for a wraith, but it keeps him fed.
Sent on a job to Burr Island, Dáinn is forced by his mistress to devour the soul of a powerful rival witch, Jasper Prescott. Dáinn is busy devouring the witch when he’s interrupted by a human. With one word, this human does what no being has ever done…she takes his breath away.
Forced to stop feeding, Dáinn is shattered as the soul he was devouring slips back inside the dying witch. Who is this human? And what dark magic must she possess to stop a wraith? The more Dáinn learns about Birdie Rhodes, hapless historian and sometimes shop girl, the more determined he is to become part of her world.
Sweet Birdie works for the witch Dáinn was ordered to devour. Now Jasper Prescott is on the hunt too. For answers. As a powerful witch, with a coven at his command, Jasper will stop at nothing to find out what magical mischief is happening on his island. Why is a wraith haunting his tea shop? Which fellow witch wants him dead? And who the hell is Birdie Rhodes?
Dáinn, Jasper, and Birdie become entangled in a magical love affair which could lead to their ruin.
Link: Goodreads
Immortal Game — Allison Saft
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Every 100 years, a small group of chess players are invited to enter the glittering world of Faerie to compete for the honour of playing the King of the Otherworld himself. Whoever defeats him is granted one wish.
Nineteen-year-old Shea Fury intends to be the first to win—it’s the only way to win back her sister, who was taken by the king years before. But standing in her way is her longtime rival and faerie princess, Ciara.
As the tournament progresses and players start to drop dead at their boards, the two are forced together in an unlikely alliance, if they are to outwit the forces of fae magic and survive until the very last move...
Link: Goodreads
Dangerous and Well-Read — Rebecca Sky
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Enemy princesses plot to kill each other after they are forced into an arranged marriage to unite their kingdoms against a dangerous enemy.
Link: Goodreads
Be Still My Unbeating Heart — Josh Winning
Genre: Cozy paranormal mystery
Rep: M/M
A cozy vampire vacation mystery set in a seaside Italian village, featuring a reformed vampire, his magical talking cat, and a handsome, brooding detective.
Bastian may be a vampire, but he doesn’t bite.
Not anymore, at least.
These days, Bastian just wants to live his best undead life: visit charming Italian villages, maybe dance in the square with a cute boy, all with Whitby, his best friend (and magical talking cat) by his side. What he doesn’t want? To stumble across a dead body on the beach, a girl who appears to have been killed by a vampire.
It wasn’t Bastian. He swears—on his own grave.
But the local police chief doesn’t trust Bastian, or any vampire, for that matter, so he assigns detective Nico De Luca to keep an eye on him until his trial. And while Bastian normally wouldn’t complain about having a gorgeous, mysterious man by his side, he has more important things to worry about, because the police chief has called the Vampire Council, and if the real killer is still at large when they arrive, the whole town could be in danger. As more bodies begin to pile up, Bastian, Whitby, and De Luca must get to the bottom of who in Vernazza is framing vampires, before it’s too late.
Charming, twisty, and laugh-out-loud funny, Be Still My Unbeating Heart by Josh Winning is a delightful romp through a swoon-worthy magical murder mystery.
Link: Goodreads
Find My Way Down to You — Julian Winters
Genre: YA fantasy romance
Rep: M/M
You’ve Reached Sam meets Hadestown in this enchanting, intoxicating romance across the mortal world and the underworld.
Eighteen-year-old August is trying to navigate life after the sudden death of his boyfriend left him devastated, aimless, and feeling guilty. Years after the tragic accident, August mistakenly stumbles into a world beyond his own—the Underworld.
Unlike his own gray existence, the underworld is a lavish extravagant place, full of mystery and a flurry of charismatic gods, all curious about August’s arrival in their world. Realizing right away the opportunity in front of him, August goes searching for his lost love, guided by Cary, the smoldering, broody ferrier of souls.
But the more time August spends down below, the more his intentions begin to blur. Is he visiting this realm to reunite with his soulmate? Or is he desperately, inexplicably, intoxicatingly drawn to Cary? With his own world in pieces and a dangerously seductive realm promising him a new existence at a heavy cost, August must a life with grief or a love that might destroy him.
Link: Goodreads
August 5, 2026
Hopefinder — Keir Hudson
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer; non-binary MC
Meric is part of a group of Hopefinders—magically powered humanitarians who follow the faith of the Light and travel the world seeking to help others. While on a mission in the town of Holtham, the group learns of an oncoming military invasion force from the Estolt Confederacy. Now Meric and their companions must balance their duty to protect the people of the town with their oaths of pacifism.
Yet the swiftly approaching battle isn’t the only ordeal Meric will face. The Estolt Confederacy is not only a military force to be reckoned with—it’s also Meric’s homeland. In order to keep Holtham and their fellow Hopefinders safe, they must also grapple with the shadows of their past.
Link: Kobo
August 6, 2026
Aliens in New Florida — Carmen Loup
Genre: Post-apocalyptic
Rep: Lesbian; polyamory
Mick’s a rogue journalist who's been trying to find her girlfriend since their village was raided two years ago. Her only clue is a note stuck to her machete: Meet me at The Kingdom. But The Kingdom is a far away, near-mythical city, and Mick has to get there in a solar-powered Shanty Van without reliable maps or roads.
Arriving in Welcome Center, she discovers that Rawr, the local cryptid, not only knows where The Kingdom is, but will pay Mick to drive them there to honor the dying wish of Madam Clandestina, an allegedly omniscient alien who tells Mick the exact circumstances of her own impending death. Drowned in two feet of brackish water.
As Mick and Rawr set out for The Kingdom, they get sacrificed by an alien cult; shot at by a homicidal diorama artisan; trapped in a liminal Waffle House run by what appears to be a blob of cheese; and chased by Putnam, mafia godmother and alien hunter.
All this cannot keep them from falling a little in love, but Rawr’s a walking biohazard, and Mick’s got a girlfriend waiting for her at The Kingdom. A girlfriend with a horrible secret. When Mick discovers the truth behind the raid, she must race against time and fate to rescue Rawr before Madam Clandestina’s prophecy comes true.
Link: Author’s Website
The Grand Shahala — Hypatia Rae
Genre: Romantic fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of the Daughters of Sand duology
A deadly race could set them free... or sentence them to a lifetime in chains.
Everyone knows winning the monster-racing Shahals means status, riches, and for an indentured servant like Sabine, freedom—except only men can compete. As her only means to a better life, Sabine must disguise herself as a man and take her chances in the races. As an empath, Princess Ianthe is an abomination to her people. She’s desperate to find her mother’s tribe and learn to control the magic that could send her to an early grave.
Instead, her father orders her to wed the winner of the Grand Shahala, the final monster race.
Two women with no choices, and only one way out—forming an unlikely alliance to beat the races together, share the proceeds, and earn the freedom they both desire. Now Sabine is caught up in a web of lies and increasingly dangerous races—made all the more difficult by her growing attraction to the sheltered princess.
Winning means freedom. Failure means a life in chains. And the most dangerous race is still ahead...
Link: Goodreads
August 11, 2026
For the Love of the Quest — Alexandra Ammon Parthun
Genre: Historical romance, retelling
Rep: Sapphic
The search for King Arthur’s Excalibur invites danger—and potentially love—in this sapphic historical romance, perfect for fans of Cat Sebastian and Freya Marske.
Lady Edith Darling is supposed to live a quiet life in her family’s manor. She is not supposed to go unchaperoned on a quest to find Excalibur. But Edith won’t let that stand in her way, especially not when she's on this mission to honor her beloved grandmother’s dying wish. Determined to prove her grandmother right, Edith packs her satchel with Arthurian legends, pastries, and her grandmother’s ashes and runs off to hire a mercenary.
Thomasin Shaw leads the most feared gang in London. For years, she had the constabulary safely in her pocket, until a scandal involving the chief inspector’s wife was brought to light. Now he’s demanding an enormous sum of money—without which Thomasin will lose the protection of the police along with her criminal empire. But when the rich Lady Edith waltzes into her life seeking an escort for a treasure hunt, Thomasin sees a willing kidnapping victim and a massive ransom.
As Edith’s clues lead them to underground chambers booby-trapped with arrows, doors locked with arcane puzzles, and even Arthur’s fabled round table, Thomasin finds herself swept up in the quest—and in Edith herself. Edith is also drawn to Thomasin, despite the ruthless mask she wears. But the chief inspector won’t let Thomasin forget her crimes, and Edith’s father is intent on bringing her home. Every legendary quest has an ending, but finding Excalibur might not be enough to make this a happy one.
Link: Goodreads
A Trade of Blood — Robert Jackson Bennett
Genre: Fantasy, mystery thriller
Rep: Bi MMC
Series: Book 3 of Shadow of the Leviathan
In the canton of Sapirdad, two of the Empire’s most powerful families are moments away from going to war with each other, their hundreds of retainers gathered with swords drawn. If blood is spilled, the whole of the empire may be plunged into starvation and chaos.
To deescalate matters, someone must do the impossible: prove that one family’s eldest son is innocent of a gruesome and unforgivable murder, despite the incontrovertible evidence against him.
It is with this undertaking that the great detective Ana Dolabra is tasked, her assistant Din at her side—and the two find themselves racing with great speed and little dignity to the scene.
As ever, the impossible proves little obstacle for the deadly combination of Ana’s intellect and Din’s keen eye, and mere hours after riding into the dusty town, Ana glimpses the greater pattern behind the crime. A deeper, subtler web of death is being woven in plain sight, by a mastermind with an ancient magical technology at his disposal.
But even Ana’s uncanny insight is of little use when each new suspect she uncovers ends up dead—with each new killing calculated to bring tensions between the two rival clans past the boiling point. And as Din pursues their adversary through the canton’s wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses, he finds his loyalties divided in unexpected ways.
Link: Goodreads
She Haunts Me Still — De Elizabeth
Genre: Horror, fantasy, dark academia
Rep: Sapphic
These violent delights have violent ends.
After surviving a shadowed childhood, Mallory Webb is ready to start fresh as a theater major at her mother’s alma mater, a sanitarium turned liberal arts university in Rhode Island. Landing the lead role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet feels like a dream—until the blood-soaked wraith that caused her mother’s death resurfaces after years of quiet. With nothing to go on but cryptic symbols in an old college notebook, Mallory hopes the reason behind her mother’s haunting lies somewhere on campus, and resolves to find answers before she meets the same fate.
She’s surprised to make an unexpected ally in Ezra Pierce, the magnetic fourth year directing the play, and takes solace in their undeniable chemistry. But Ezra is a master secret keeper, and it’s clear he knows more than he’s letting on about Saskia Garin, Mallory’s elusive understudy whose past eerily mirrors her own.
When an ancient, bloodthirsty evil calls to collect a bargain that dates back to the New England vampire panic, Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia will have to untangle the tragic ways in which their histories are linked—and face the devastating consequences of their own star-crossed love story.
Link: Goodreads
Hollow Magic — Mars Lauderbaugh
Genre: YA fantasy graphic novel
Rep: Queer
Seventeen-year-old Rosefinch has been traveling along the weather-beaten coast for two years on a quest to find a witch strong enough to help her control her magic. Her magic is volatile, hard to wield, and Rosefinch is tired of the pain of magical backlash. When she’s directed to the sea-side village of Harp, she discovers the ancient castle of a long-lost Witch Queen with the inhabitants long gone; the only remaining soul is a knight encased in solid ice guarding the door.
When she attempts to lift the curse, she frees Thierry, a human with no memory of who they are, wrapped in cursed magic so strong that they cannot leave the castle. Thierry is soft spoken, strong, and in possession of a fey sword that should be impossible for them to have. But they have secrets of their own, as do other members of the Harp family still hidden within the walls.
Harp castle was left in ruins for a reason, and Rosefinch must find a way to cure the curse or lose Thierry—and the chance to learn the truth about the Witch Queen—forever.
Link: Macmillan
Stay Buried — Jennifer McMahon
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
From the New York Times bestselling author of Children on the Hill comes a queer folk horror in which a woman must confront decades of secrecy and superstition to learn the truth about her mother’s death.
Some towns stay isolated for a reason.
1919: Frankie O’Massey has always been the black sheep of isolated Boone’s Ferry, Vermont. Her uncle, Dr. Thomas Endicott, has been training her in the science of medicine, something the townspeople are wary of. When a mysterious illness strikes the town, and the community suspects supernatural forces, the two desperately search for a logical explanation. Patient zero seems to be the town’s knackerman—a recluse who collects dead and dying farm animals to make use of their parts.
2016: Siblings Ashley and Malcolm lost their mother two years ago. When their grandmother dies, they inherit a property in Boone’s Ferry—a place they’ve heard of but their grandmother has always refused to talk about—and embark on a trip to their ancestral home. The idyllic town is full of autumnal décor, picturesque farmland, and small-town charm. But some of the townspeople aren’t very welcoming—and they have some unsettling traditions, like leaving offerings to a vengeful spirit four times a year.
Link: Goodreads
In What World — Bridget Morrissey
Genre: Speculative contemporary romance
Rep: Sapphic
Two high school rivals begrudgingly reunite as adults to investigate the disappearance of their beloved former teacher, only to wind up traveling through a series of alternate realities together.
Total opposites, Marlowe Jenkins and Priscilla Covington-French hated each other in high school. Now in their thirties, Marlowe is barely scraping by while Priscilla is wildly successful. Their rivalry should be long dead, yet both women remain connected through their mutual mentor, drama teacher Dallas Winthrop. Their unending tension has nothing to do with the fact that they’ve kissed. More than once.
When Dallas goes missing, each woman believes she can figure out where he is. Except this is no ordinary disappearance. Dallas has found a way to explore alternate versions of reality. While trying to follow him, Marlowe and Priscilla find other versions of themselves instead, surprised to learn not all Marlowes and Priscillas are fueled by hate. In fact, some Marlowes and Priscillas have very different strong feelings for one another...
The more Marlowe and Priscilla are forced to rely on each other, the harder it becomes to ignore their simmering attraction. But with every alternate reality they search, they only get further from their real life and responsibilities. Do they play it safe and hide behind their rivalry, or take a chance on each other that could permanently change the world as they know it?
Link: Penguin Random House
Winterborne — J.D. Netto
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Bi MMC
Series: Book 1 of Winterborne
Treacherous politics, deadly secrets, ancient magic, and forbidden romance: The battle for ultimate power has begun in the first book of this epic fantasy.
Even before his mother’s mysterious murder, Henric Sabio never felt at home in his small town or at his private high school. He figured that was because of his cynical personality and tendency to daydream about dragons. But when a sudden supernatural attack transports him, his father, and his sister to a frozen magical world, Henric quickly learns he is different in ways he never imagined. He is Henric Iceheart, son of a disgraced prince and heir to a throne that desperately needs to restore the glories of a lost age.
Plunged into the elegant hierarchy of court life, Henric starts to discover hints of a secret history beneath the kingdom’s glistening surface. As he navigates ruthless nobles, sacred laws, and a rival family hungry for his family’s throne, his dormant powers―a deadly command of ice and a bond with an ice dragon long thought extinct―ignite. And soon rumors are spreading, naming Henric the prophesized Prince of Winter who will unite the land, albeit at a terrifying cost.
With help from the gentle elf Hundarian Silvermore and his ambitious twin sister, Kellenen, Henric attempts to prove himself worthy of this moniker and change his foretold fate. But his growing and complicated attraction to the Silvermore twins reveals long-buried prejudices that threaten his path to the crown. As rebellions rise and enemies close in, he must decide whether to claim his newfound destiny or reject it and face the consequences.
Some legacies save kingdoms. Others destroy them. Henric’s might be destined for both.
Link: Goodreads
Death Card — Jasmine Smith
Genre: YA romantic fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
A dark contemporary fantasy featuring witchcraft, tarot, death, and a bit of romance that’s perfect for fans of Immortal Dark and Cinderella Is Dead.
On an ordinary Monday morning, eighteen-year-old Mikaela Broussard receives the shock of her life. During a customer’s tarot reading at her family’s occult shop, she turns over the Death card and envisions the beautiful stranger stabbing her in the heart.
In order to determine why the girl, Joelle, wants to kill her, she’ll have to keep her close. But the more time Mikaela spends with her soon-to-be murderer, the more irresistible she finds her.
As if imminent death isn’t worrisome enough, witches are turning up with their magic stolen. And it’s clear some very dark magic is at work. Mikaela, as the next Witch Queen of her coven, is tasked with figuring out who’s behind the horrific acts—a mystery that will put her and her power to the test.
Death Card is a dark, pacy, and romantic fantasy about one witch’s journey to find the strength to fight for herself, her future, and her beloved community.
Link: Goodreads
August 18, 2026
Dragon’s Liberty — K.B. Diaz
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of Dragon’s Liberty
War is not needed to kill a nation.
Princess Wanda was never meant to rule. After the violent death of her older brother, her father has forbidden her to leave the castle for the last seven years. Her only steadfast friend is her cousin Stach, who tells her tales of the sky on dragonback. When rumors spread of a sorcerer with the power to kill dragons, Wanda takes flight to capture them to prove to her father that she is worthy of being sovereign. But when she forges a friendship in the most unlikely of places, Wanda begins to see the cruelty in her father’s love—and wonders if everything she knows is a lie.
Stach’s satisfaction with the establishment is shaken when a diplomat is found dead under mysterious circumstances. He traverses the perilous world of court politics to investigate their death, forced to reckon with the corruption of the nobility in every coin embezzled and every law circumvented. As he uncovers a treasonous plot and a disaster brings him to his knees, he must come face-to-face with the restrictions of royal authority—and questions if there should be any limits at all.
Both cousins must grapple with decisions, loves, and betrayals that will unravel the Republic. When their land descends into war, Wanda and Stach must ask how to save their nation when its system is irredeemably broken.
Link: Goodreads
The Halls of the Dead — S.M. Hallow
Genre: Gothic horror romance
Rep: Sapphic
London, December 1849
Irene Shallcross Haley has dedicated her life to necromancy, a forbidden, reviled art that is passed along through sentient grimoires bound in human skin. With her undead husband St. John—a marriage of kindred spirits and platonic convenience—she has been protecting the knowledge of generations of witches that came before her. Like any magic, it has come at a her reputation, her relationship with her sister, and her soul. But when Irene’s love, Agnes, is hanged for witchcraft, Irene refuses to let Agnes be one more thing that is taken from her.
A true resurrection has not been achieved in two thousand years, but Irene is determined. With the help of St. John, Irene bangs on the doors of the Halls of the Dead, demanding the third part of their triumverate back... or did she? Because the Agnes that awakens comes with both a hunger for raw flesh and a malignant ghost tied to her soul.
Necromancy is the art of saying no—no, I won’t let you go; no, I won’t let you be destroyed—and Irene’s work is not yet done. She must find a way to bring Agnes back to her true self, she must navigate her feelings for her resurrected lover as well as St. John, and she must do all of this without catching the attention of Sir Silas Underhill, the man who sentenced Agnes to death.
Death is not the end of love. But Irene may realize it can actually be the beginning.
Link: Goodreads
In Vacuo — Andrea Morstabilini
Genre: Gothic fantasy
Rep: Queer
A queer gothic coming of age novel about a young boy confronting the ghosts of the past and the restless, obsessive pursuit of immortality. Perfect for fans of Susannah Clarke and Kelly Link.
All bones have a story.
Henry arrives at the vast estate of Dr Robertson Hammond alongside his pregnant mother one rain-soaked night. But after a sudden tragedy, the young boy finds himself orphaned and the ward of the enigmatic doctor.
But stories surround Dr Hammond. There are those who call him an alchemist, those who accuse him of murder. And the more Henry hears, the more he questions his life at the house. Why won’t Dr Hammond talk about his mother’s sudden death? Why are the entire household staff sent away on the anniversary of the event? And what is the truth of the wild woman who roams the woods, whispering the names of the dead?
As the years pass Henry starts to explore the land upon which he lives, from the wilds of Bald Mountain to the impossible revelations of the towers that he climbs with the enigmatic Xavier. And when the truth behind Dr Hammond’s research is finally uncovered, Henry will have to make a decision that will affect everyone he cares about, and which has the power to change reality as we know it.
Link: Penguin Random House
Vicious Miscreations — Jenn Neal
Genre: New adult fantasy
Rep: Queer
One treacherous conspiracy. Five reckless outcasts. Survival will make monsters of them all.
On the surface, Topensi is a bustling hub of interworld trade, but a cesspool of crime and desperation boils underneath. Trapped by an indenture to the brutal Ripper Gang, Lux does whatever he must to claw his way free. When he discovers a monster controlled by the city guard, he plans to capture the creature and exchange it for his freedom.
Lux assembles a volatile team: a naïve Earthborn mage whose violent magic festers under his skin, a fugitive with a score to settle, a revolutionary who has lost his way, a criminal princess who leaves a trail of ruin in her wake, and a troublemaking tabby cat.
Lux and his crew may be the only ones who can defeat the terrifying power that threatens to devour their world, if they don’t betray each other first.
Link: Goodreads
Homeward for a Spell — Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos
Genre: Romantic fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
In this cozy queer romantic fantasy from the award-winning authors of Homegrown Magic, two members in a motley crew of adventurers must confront monsters, hostile landscapes—and their growing attraction for each other.
Sage has made her living as a ranger, moving constantly between adventuring parties, but has never had the chance to lead one. So when she’s offered the chance to hire a crew of her own in pursuit of a rare magical artifact, it seems a dream come true—until she learns that they’re headed into the most inhospitable part of the kingdom with winter looming. Still, it’s a chance to finally put her name on the map… and how bad could it really be?
Araphi has always loved music, in defiance of her powerful family’s priorities. All she wants is one last chance to perform before she’s married to a man she does not love for the good of the family. So when she sees a poster seeking a bard for a party, she eagerly sneaks away to audition. Only to discover that the party in question is no festival, but an adventuring party, led by a woman she’s been fascinated with since she first laid eyes on her. It’s an unexpected twist, but if she takes the job, she’ll still be back in time for her own wedding… and how bad could it really be?
What follows is a life-altering journey for them both, filled with danger and misfortunes as their ragtag band of adventurers—most of whom have just met—must learn to work together to overcome the many obstacles before them. Not the least of which is the explosive chemistry between the rugged party leader used to watching her own back, and the pampered city-girl bard who may be far out of her element but is beginning to feel at home for the very first time.
Link: Penguin Random House
The Salt King — Natasha Pulley
Genre: Fantasy, apocalyptic
Rep: M/M
A novel about belief, religion, and the power of myth that blends the gripping, end-of-the-world storytelling of The Passage with Natasha Pulley’s biting wit and queer romance.
Jesuit priest Avelyn Brocken was born into a mining family in Hreodwater, a small, isolated salt town in England. At 16, after a mining disaster killed his family, he fled.
When a fellow priest is miraculously healed only to then be turned to salt after a visit to Hreodwater, Avelyn is sent to investigate. When he arrives, the town’s doctor, Jericho, tells him that the priest is not the only one experiencing strange cures—and may not be the only one in danger from a substance in the mine that the locals call “salt light.”
As Avelyn and Jericho team up to protect the Hreodwater from salt light, strange happenings occur at mines around the world. At an archaeological dig on the Dead Sea, electrical devices froth salt, while at a huge salt works in Poland, communication is lost, and rumors circulate of total annihilation.
As salt light devastates cities around the world, Avelyn must decide what to believe—and whether his faith is strong enough to withstand an apocalypse.
Link: Goodreads
Stitcher — Tobias J. Rooke
Genre: Paranormal romance
Rep: Queer
Everyone craves immortality. Very few can afford it.
In a world where immortality goes to the highest bidder, two struggling resurrectionists must stop a murderous cult intent on destroying the Death Trade and raising a beast of nightmarish proportions.
Link: Goodreads
The Divine Gardener’s Handbook — Eli Snow
Genre: Science fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Perfect for fans of Tamsyn Muir and Rebecca Thorne, this joyful debut follows a gardener fighting to secure her dream job in the Divine Gardens―manipulating God, antagonizing her attractive rival, and running afoul of a brewing rebellion along the way.
Cyprin grows perfect apples.
No other worker tends the orchards like she can. Sick of living in a Jenga-esque megacity where she’s never alone (there’s always a rat), Cyprin dreams of a job in the Divine Gardens, tending to the plants overseen by God.
Her only way in is winning an annual flower pageant―one that’s been dominated by the Divine Gardens’ head gardener for five years running: an insufferable woman with an undeniable affinity for plants. When Cyprin plays dirty (criminally dirty) and wins, she jumps headfirst into life in the gardens and her rivalry with the head gardener, who she just can’t stop thinking about.
Pranks, backstabbing, and a lot of heated glaring unite them, until they’re both drawn into a plot to take down God―who’s really just some guy with a great garden. As they spiral through layers of the city’s history and underground rebel group, Cyprin and her rival will find they understand each other like no one else does, even if there can only be one head gardener in the end.
But rise or fall, at least Cyprin will always have the rats.
A chaotically queer exploration of love, ambition, and toxic work culture, The Divine Gardener’s Handbook is a romp of a science fantasy that will leave you gasping for more.
Link: Goodreads
A (Dead) Thing Like Me — E.G. Young
Genre: YA paranormal
Rep: Queer
A teenage ghost in love with life becomes bound to the house of the grieving artist who summoned her via Ouija board in this darkly funny YA paranormal.
One hot dog with banana peppers. That’s all Hot Dog wants. An invisible teenage ghost, she haunts a food cart outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Until one night, she’s accidentally summoned via Ouija board to a house party in Florida... where finally finally finally, people can see her.
All the party guests scatter, except for Logan: the cool artist girl who doesn’t just see Hot Dog, she actually wants to talk to her. Logan, who isn’t scared of Hot Dog’s stitched mouth or chattering dress. Logan, who’s grieving her own dead BFF—and called Hot Dog by mistake.
Hot Dog wants to prove it’s not a mistake.
She can be Logan’s new best friend. She can go to Logan’s Halloween party. She can eat snacks, have sleepovers, and hang out. She can definitely smile without scaring people. Exactly like a real, human girl.
There’s one problem: Hog Dog’s not a real, living human girl, and something in Logan’s sprawling house knows it. It scratches like rats in the walls. It opens a secret door in Logan’s attic. It wants to drag Hot Dog into the nothingness where dead things go. And unless Hot Dog can confront the dark truth of how she died, it will unmake Logan too.
Gorgeously strange and stunningly written, this YA paranormal masterfully melds camp and creep into a beyond-the-grave coming-of-age.
Link: Goodreads
August 25, 2026
Summer Coven — Kat Hillis & Rosiee Thor
Genre: Cozy paranormal mystery
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 2 of A Dead & Breakfast Mystery
Everyone’s favorite vampire odd couple is back for another bloody good time in this new supernatural mystery from the authors of Dead & Breakfast.
Arthur Miller (no relation to the playwright) and his beloved, Salvatore Conte, are settling into their (para)normal lives in Trident Falls. Finally, everything seems to be going swimmingly… business is booming at the inn and Arthur is hard at work on his first case as a private detective: finding their friend Brody’s missing mom.
But when a pet psychic is felled by a poisoned potion she (somehow) didn’t see coming, Arthur’s investigation takes an enchanting turn—and not in a good way. It turns out the psychic was a member of the Celestine Coven, a powerful group of witches who sell their charms for a price. Did the pet psychic find herself on the wrong side of the coven? Or did she trigger someone’s pet peeves with her predictions? It will require all of Arthur’s wit and Sal’s whimsy to solve this murder, find their missing person, and avoid becoming part of the witches’ wicked brew.
Link: Kobo
Daggerbound — T. Kingfisher
Genre: Cozy fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 2 of Swordheart
New York Times bestselling author T. Kingfisher returns to the cozy fantasy world of Swordheart in this deliciously charming sequel.
Four hundred years ago, three warriors were trapped inside enchanted swords, cursed to be immortal servants of whoever wielded the blade. One of them is the Dervish, a restless, fiery soul who hates his captivity and hates his wielders even more, but has never found a way to escape the sword’s magic.
Then one day, a disillusioned scholar named Learned Edmund is tasked with delivering the sword to a distant city, and, in the greatest of peril, draws the blade. The Dervish finds himself bound to a sweet, brilliant, and above all kind young man. And while he may be able to protect Edmund from bandits, cultists, dragons, and strange inhuman diplomats, he may find it much harder to protect his own heart.
Link: Goodreads
A Viper Among Kings — Sydney Olivia
Genre: Epic science fantasy
Rep: Queer; bi FMC; polyamory
Brace yourself for an exhilarating epic fantasy trilogy with a diverse cast, polyamory, and chaotic sentient magic, for fans of V.E. Schwab and Antonia Hodgson.
In the twisted city of Amaris, magic spawns from chaos. Prone to driving humans mad, it can only be wielded safely by the Wraiths—seven immortal beings magically bound to obey the king.
Esme is the most notorious Wraith. She has spent the last century forced to kill on behalf of the nation that stole her from her homeworld while building a secret life for herself and her wife away from violence.
That is, until the current king turns up murdered, and a magical will demands his successor be chosen through three trials. Esme cannot break the magical shackles that bind her, but she will suffer no more tyrants. She rigs the king’s succession trials in favour of her chosen candidate: the righteous General Balthazar, who she can’t help but fall for.
As Esme weaves together the threads of the court on Balthazar’s behalf amid a strange tide of sentient magic in the city and a growing war on the horizon, she will come face to face with Balthazar’s bloody past, troubled present, and countless betrayals.
He isn’t the man Esme thought he was—but she was born to make and break kings.
Link: Goodreads
The City of Slaughter — Aden Polydoros
Genre: YA historical fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 2 of The City Beautiful
The World’s Fair has packed up, the tents and food stalls disappeared. And the dybbuk, a restless spirit that possessed Alter, is gone. Life returns to normal for Frankie and Alter, as both boys inspire each other to start a detective agency—using skills from Frankie’s dark past and Alter’s desire to do good in their community. But when children start to go missing, Frankie is certain the supernatural is once again to blame, as they race to track down a sheyd, a demon-like entity. But in order to save his future with Alter, Frankie will have to confront his past.
Link: Goodreads
Whispers of Shadows and Gold — Meghan Saint
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of The Shadowborn Saga
Failure will cost her more than love. It will cost her freedom.
Avelina Wright swore she would never return to Terridon—the city ruled by the Ruthless Divine Order. Her home.
But love has a way of making you break vows.
Already reeling from the death of her closest friend, when a warlock binds her sorceress lover to a lethal bargain, Avelina accepts a mission to save her. To do so, she must steal a forbidden artifact locked deep within Terridon's vaults.
Gathering a team along the way—including a Fae warrior bound to her past, Avelina must risk becoming ensnared once more in the cult's grip, uncover truths while guarding her own secrets, and face a power awakening within her that may prove just as dangerous as the enemies she faces. All to save the woman she loves.
But even love cannot overcome the truth.
Link: Kobo
The Burn Line — Jonathan Sims
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
From the dark and twisted mind behind the podcast sensation The Magnus Archives comes a suffocating, socially charged nightmare that reveals how fear festers in the cracks of everyday life…
Beneath the streets of London, it hungers…
It’s the hottest summer on record and the city is suffering. Prices are high, pay is low. And on one fateful morning five travelers find themselves trapped in a tube car deep in the London Underground.
It will change their lives forever.
By the time they leave the train they will be bound together as witnesses to a single horrific event. Something terrible, irreversible, and monstrous. Something hungry.
But they can’t remember what it is.
On their own, they each begin to experience strange dissociative events. Time gets lost. Friends disappear. Something stalks them in the shadows. They make an unlikely team, but to remember what they encountered that day on the train, they will have to work together. Because now it’s up to them to understand what horror they saw—and stop it in its tracks before it drags everyone else down below.
Link: Kobo
August 27, 2026
The Haunting of Avis Lovelock — M.K. Hardy
Genre: Supernatural historical mystery
Rep: Sapphic
A professional sceptic must join forces with the professional spiritualist who has a knack for getting under her skin in this supernatural Victorian mystery for fans of Voyage of the Damned and The London Seance Society.
Avis Lovelock is a professional sceptic. Using her sharp insights and powers of observation, she sets out to debunk every nefarious spirit medium and psychic she can find. When American businessman Carlton Brooksbank invites her aboard the ocean liner Excambion to take her skills to America, Avis discovers she has been hired to prove to potential buyers that the vessel is not haunted.
As she begins her investigations, she runs afoul of the famous twin spiritualists onboard, Gideon and Rachel Duquesne. They are her polar opposites, and Rachel especially has a knack for getting under her skin. The more Avis works to discredit her adversaries and absolve the ship of its haunted reputation, the more she starts to have visions of water filling her cabin, drowned bodies on decks, and flickering lights on the sea. Then someone is found dead.
To discover the truth, Avis must join forces with her opponents, and confront some haunting secrets of her own.
Link: Geni.us