Queer SF - January 2025
January 1, 2025
Common Accord — K.N. Brindle
Genre: Science fiction, space opera
Rep: Queer
In a single conversation, Jes Moran lost a ship, a job, and a marriage.
Now, with not much more than a cool head, a few clever scams, and an odd assortment of friends—a seasoned spacer, a washout young pilot, and an alien engineer on the run from a vicious cabal—they might just have a shot at a future.
A rag-tag crew is one thing. A skip-ship cobbled together out of parts rescued from the recycler, though? Well, when you’re at the bottom of the ladder, you grab for the rung you can reach.
When a hot tip for a big score finds its way to Jes’s ears, a plan starts to come together. But the ship is barely space-worthy, and the crew isn’t the only interested party. The cargo could set them up for life if they can get to it in time. It could also make them a target. Everyone is playing for keeps. But there’s one thing that nobody bargained for:
Jes Moran really doesn’t like to lose.
Link: Books2Read
Nothing Gold — Avery Carter
Genre: Urban fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
In the city of Colores, art is magic and magic is power. As long as it’s the right kind of magic, anyway.
Mira spent most of her life being great at the exact wrong kind of magic, and running with the Quetzals, a gang of street artists that prefer spray paint to paint brushes as weapons in their turf war against rival gang the Panthers, gives her all the power she needs. Cece, on the other hand, spent her days being trained for the right art, the right magic, the right life, only to have it all ripped away from her as soon as her parents found out she likes girls. The leader of the Panthers takes her in, just as a series of murders begin to escalate tensions between the two gangs.
Soon, Mira and Cece are forced to work together in a desperate bid to keep the city from going off like a powder keg– and hope their own spark won’t get in the way.
Link: Goodreads
January 2, 2025
Feast of the King’s Shadow — Chaz Brenchley
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 4 of Outremer
Our heroes have arrived at the desert city of Rhabat, where they will be guests of the Sharai leader, Hasan. Whether they will be safe there is another matter. Morakh, the leader of the Sand Dancers, is still on the lose. And then there is the matter of what the ‘Ifrit are up to in the Dead Waters.
Marron may be coming to terms with becoming the legendary Ghost Walker, but many Sharai are still resentful of a Patric having that honour. Meanwhile Marron still has his relationship with Jemel to sort out. As for Julianne, she has to decide what to do about Hasan’s offer of marriage, given that in theory she is married already.
Link: Goodreads
Sunrunner — Sam Burns
Genre: Urban fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 3 of The Summertide Chronicles
My father is missing, and along with him, the Sunrunner family stone, Nausa. My aunt swears this is common for him, but I know different. Yes, my father is lost deep in his addictions, but he’s never disappeared before. If it weren’t up to me to handle the mess my family has made, I’d be a thousand miles away by now. But time is running out and the threatening eruption of Mount Slate keeps inching closer.
Now, Half the Moonstriker family has come to help me look for Nausa, including Kit, a freaking assassin, and his brother Frost, the most beautiful man ever born. Frost almost makes me want to stick around, for the first time in my life.
But suddenly, nothing can go right. From a brush with death in the car to a collapse at the palace, not to mention the way Kit Moonstriker keeps looking at me like he’s deciding where to stab, saving the world isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Sunrunner is the third in a series of four books, starring one beautiful mathematician ingenue, one bad boy who isn’t so bad—he swears, and one overprotective brother who might be forced to teach him a lesson or two. It contains Caspian and Frost’s HFN, and continues the overall story arc of the series.
Link: Goodreads
Carrion Saints — Hiyodori
Genre: Fantasy romance
Rep: Sapphic
Carrion Saints is a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance between an immortal saint and a severed head.
Crow can pass for human. She may come off as eccentric, but she’s good at hiding her wings. As a saint, she’s devoted her endless life to protecting humanity from other immortals: the ones they call monsters. She’s finally ready to take on the worst monster of all, a great evil sealed at the edge of civilization.
Magnolia is the worst monster of all. A villain who amuses herself by preying on valiant heroes. At first glance, she looks powerless. She looks, in fact, like a decapitated head (a very chatty one). But her magic lets her issue absolute commands to humans and immortals alike. She’s been waiting centuries for a challenger powerful enough to break the seal binding her in the wilderness. In other words, she’s been waiting centuries to magically seize control over someone like Crow.
Crow has always been patient and forgiving. Sadistic, remorseless Magnolia awakens new depths of loathing in her—a hatred of frightening intensity. And now, she's forced to use her full power to grant Magnolia’s one heartfelt wish: to see the rest of the world. To make up for all the years she spent trapped alone with only trees for company.
What follows is an ultra slow-burn romance between true enemies. Between good and evil. Between a winged woman and a talkative severed head (who occasionally sprouts the rest of her body, just to keep things lively). They travel together across a post-apocalyptic landscape marked by strange magic and scattered human settlements. Yet the apocalypse happened a long time ago, and eons will pass before their gradually fading world dies for good.
In the meantime, these immortals are stuck with each other. Even a saint and a monstrous villain might eventually fall in love—but the path there will be dark, crooked, and sometimes surprisingly cozy.
Link: Goodreads
January 3, 2025
In Love and Death — Aldrea Alien
Genre: Fantasy romance
Rep: M/M, bi MC
Series: Book 2 of Spellster and the Hound
In one day, Dylan’s whole life was destroyed. In one night, he may have found the beginnings of a new one.
Still grappling with the loss of his home, Dylan has no choice but to head for Wintervale. His one solace is in travelling the same direction taken by the enemy. But the truth behind the attack on the spellster tower suggests things aren’t as clear-cut and the enemy may well be closer than they thought.
Crossing the kingdom also means remaining in the presence of Tracker, the King’s Hound who Dylan’s repressed desire refuses to let out of his head. The man’s gentle protectiveness, coupled with his flirting, certainly doesn’t help. It taunts him with ideas of the night they shared in the tower becoming something more, a thought that is no less ridiculous than remaining unleashed.
After all, it’s a hound’s job to escort or kill spellsters. They do not disobey orders. They do not falter. And they do not fall. Especially not in love.
Link: Goodreads
The Devourer — Alison Ames
Genre: YA fantasy, horror
Rep: Sapphic
When Adra Dantes’ half-brother Cameron attacks their father and robs him of a priceless treasure map, he leaves him a shell of the pirate captain he once was. Now Adra’s only aim in life is to kill Cameron, retrieve her father's map, and claim the treasure herself.
But her plans are thwarted. A sudden surplus of magic in the world is causing ancient sea monsters to awaken. Worse yet, Adra discovers that the ship she's been chasing for almost a year now is captained by a girl who’s been impersonating Cameron, while Cameron himself is missing.
The two pirate captains will have to work together if they are to find Cameron, but before they can do so, they must vanquish the beast―known as The Devourer―that is sinking ships and causing so much fear. Adra will have to descend leagues beneath the sea to the creature’s lair to strike a deal with her, but she’ll discover she isn’t the only one looking for her brother―and what he stole.
Link: Goodreads
An Honored Vow — Melissa Blair
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: Queer, bi MC
Series: Book 4 of The Halfling Saga
“Your land is not the one you take, it is the one you die for.”
Still reeling over her discovery of a staggering secret about her closest ally, Keera has no time to rest. She and her fellow rebels plan a desperate rescue mission after King Damien takes one of their own hostage. Opening the kingdom’s magical seals has transformed Keera in ways even the wisest Fae elders could not have anticipated. With the kingdom’s Halfling population suddenly posing a risk to the crown, the land is plunged into violence as the king begins a new blood purge. Keera and her allies gather an army to meet Damien’s forces in a final confrontation of epic, and tragic, proportions.
The epic final installment in the Halfling Saga will thrill fans of Melissa Blair’s lush, action-packed, romantasy series.
Link: Goodreads
The Last Bookstore on Earth — Lily Braun-Arnold
Genre: YA apocalyptic
Rep: Sapphic
The world is about to end. Again.
Ever since the first Storm wreaked havoc on civilization as we know it, seventeen-year-old Liz Flannery has been holed up in an abandoned bookstore in suburban New Jersey where she used to work, trading books for supplies with the few remaining survivors. It’s the one place left that feels safe to her.
Until she learns that another earth-shattering Storm is coming . . . and everything changes.
Enter Maeve, a prickly and potentially dangerous out-of-towner who breaks into the bookstore looking for shelter one night. Though the two girls are immediately at odds, Maeve has what Liz needs—the skills to repair the dilapidated store before the next climate disaster strikes—and Liz reluctantly agrees to let her stay.
As the girls grow closer and undeniable feelings spring up between them, they realize that they face greater threats than the impending Storm. And when Maeve’s secrets and Liz’s inner demons come back to haunt them both, they find themselves fighting for their lives as their world crumbles around them.
Link: Goodreads
Four Ruined Realms — Mai Corland
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 2 of The Broken Blades
The lies are bigger and the plots more treacherous when your favourite backstabbers return in the mind-blowing sequel to instant Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller Mai Corland’s epic adventure fantasy Five Broken Blades.
The King of Yusan may be the greatest liar of them all.
His sister’s ring is in his sights, and he will do anything to get what he wants. Even manipulating the five blades to steal it...
Bonded by deceit, the blades must rely on their skills to pull off King Joon’s pursuit or risk his legendary wrath.
A foreign rule of law stands between them and Quilimar, the Queen of Khitan. Now they have one month to steal the powerful Golden Ring of the Dragon Lord. But that impossible task might be easier than trusting one another, even though their lives, their families, and the realms depend on it.
They can all agree on one thing: the king can’t win. But can they beat him at his own game?
Because for the blades, this time it’s not just personal, it’s revenge. Lies may have torn them apart, but now vengeance will bring them together.
The lies have only just begun...
Link: Goodreads
This Is Not a Vampire Story — Simon Doyle
Genre: Paranormal
Rep: Gay MCs
Seventeen-year-old Victor Callahan holds a secret as ancient as the shadows.
Employed as a night porter in a quiet Irish nursing home, the teenager watches over a group of men he once knew a long time ago. Victor has orchestrated their reunion for a final farewell, a goodbye to those whose lives have shaped him through the years.
But can he keep his secret from Lakeshore Manor’s oldest resident, James O’Carroll?
As he cares for these remnants of his past, memories of a bygone era haunt him—of wild adventures on the rugged Irish coast, of forbidden love hidden beneath the threat of eternal night, and of a shipwreck that changes everything...
Gloria Pinto, the night nurse, doesn’t like him. But maybe she has her own secrets.
THIS IS NOT A VAMPIRE STORY weaves a tale of timeless bonds, the cost of immortality, and the lengths we go to for love.
But is love more important than life? Victor is about to find out.
Link: Goodreads
Secret Spark — Kelly Farmer
Genre: Superhero
Rep: F/F
Series: Book 1 of Vector City Supers
A hero? A villain? Maybe a little of both in this sapphic mistaken identity romance.
Sadie Eagan lives a fairly humdrum life in Vector City. Working at a coffeehouse is much safer than opening her own café. If only the local Superheroes and Villains would stop crashing through windows and driving up insurance rates. Then she meets her hot new a fit woman with amber eyes, a disarming smile, and an air of mystery. Obviously, this means she’s one of the city’s Superheroes. And dating a literal hero would break the cycle of being with partners who take advantage of her.
Joan Malone does have a secret identity—only she’s Spark, a notorious Supervillain. Shooting fire has always made people afraid of her. She’s been trying to get out of villainy to open a food truck with her twin brother. When her cute and bubbly neighbor assumes Joan’s a Superhero, well, Joan doesn’t correct her. Sadie is the nice girl Joan has dreamt of being with. Though she hates hiding things from someone who understands wanting a better life.
Joan has to keep some rather inept Villains at bay while getting the Supers off her back. And oh yeah, while proving to Sadie not all bad guys are bad and not all heroes are heroic. Not that Sadie’s paying attention—it’s too exciting hanging out with a Superhero.
Only she’s fallen for the bad girl. Again.
A rift with the other Villains forces Joan to choose what she truly wants. Can she be the goodhearted person Sadie thinks she is?
Link: Goodreads
Tavern Tale — Kristina W. Kelly
Genre: Cozy fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
What if the side quest is really the main quest?
Divine, a healer of the Goddess of Souls, has chased the thief who stole her talisman across half of Trelvania. The talisman is the key to accessing her magic well, and without it, she is powerless. While chasing her betrayer, former girlfriend, and servant of the Goddess of Condemnation, Divine meets Saph, a flirty tavern owner with an eyepatch and a proposition. Saph will help Divine locate her talisman if Divine helps her complete a mysterious quest in a chest.
Inspired by RPGs and set in scenic autumn, prepare for an adventure with gods and goddesses, deceitful exes, axe throwing, and fantastical creatures. Can Divine learn to trust again and find romance in the middle of finding her magic?
Link: Author’s Website
The Afterdark — E. Latimer
Genre: YA horror, dark fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Queer horror at a boarding school with a Lovecraftian twist in this new YA novel from E. Latimer, author of the acclaimed The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray.
Northcroft is an elite boarding school with a deadly secret. Each night as the bell tolls and the shutters slam down, cutting off the outside world, the Afterdark descends, turning the surrounding old growth forest into a macabre copy of itself. A negative photograph crawling with horrors.
Evie Laurent is certain of one thing from the moment she sees Holland Morgan on the front steps of Northcroft: she wants to know everything there is to know about her. But there are some things about Evie herself that are better kept secret. Especially the fact that she let her sister drown. And that it's getting harder to ignore her dark impulses . . .
Holland Morgan knows falling for Evie is just one more terrible choice in her long history of terrible choices. The problem is, she's not sure she cares.
As attraction turns slowly to obsession, they find themselves playing a dangerous game. Something out there is calling to each of them. Beckoning to the shadows within.
Do they fight the call and protect one another, or answer, and embrace the darkness?
Link: Goodreads
Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear — Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 10 of Wayward Children
Giant turtles, impossible ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned girl in search of a family in the latest in the bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.
Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.
Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she'd been missing from birth.
It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong. It wasn't her.
Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyrreka, the Land Beneath the Lake--and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyrreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.
But even in Belyrreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure.
Link: Goodreads
Lady Hell — Alyssa Page
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of Portrait of a Dead Girl
Ushered into an arranged marriage with Bramwell Hellthorne, the lonely Lord of Valen, Belle finds herself wandering the wicked walls of an eerie, gothic manor on a cliffside far from the shores of home.
When Belle’s sister experiences a demonic possession and slips into insanity following her visit to the mansion, Belle’s beliefs of religion, spirituality, and the unknown are suddenly tested, and Hellthorne Manor begins to haunt both Belle’s dreams and her reality.
With walls that weep tears of blood, pipes that whisper an untold tune, and a haunted portrait that dances between different locations, daily life within her new home shifts into a waking nightmare.
By the time Belle realizes that both the manor and her husband may have a bit more than just a few bones hidden away, it’s too late, and her remains may just rot away with the rest.
Link: Goodreads
Brewed With Love — Shelly Page
Genre: YA contemporary romantasy
Rep: F/F
A cozy, contemporary romantasy about a teen witch who wants to keep her family’s apothecary from falling to the competition but can only do so with assistance from her first crush.
Plant witch Sage Bishop is determined to run her family’s old apothecary one day. She spends her time trying to invent the perfect tonic to put Bishop Brews on the map. And she’s going to need one quickly, too, because their biggest competitor is drawing away customers.
Short-staffed, her nana hires Ximena Reyes, Sage’s ex-best friend and first crush, who’s more of an unwelcome distraction than anything. Ximena has always dreamed of leaving their small town behind while Sage wants to tend to her roots. And during one of their first shifts together, someone breaks into Bishop Brews, stealing several tonics, including the one Sage has been working tirelessly on, the same one that wipes a councilmember’s kid’s memory.
To avoid being shut down by the sheriff, Sage decides to investigate. If so much wasn’t at stake, she’d do it alone. But with her grandmother’s legacy and her future on the line, she must partner with her ever smug and unfairly pretty new coworker. As Sage begins to fall for Ximena (again), she’ll have to decide if the comfort of the familiar is worth missing out on a chance at real happiness.
Link: Goodreads
The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting — Natalie C. Parker
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
This riveting, superpowered adventure unveils a shadow world of Talented bounty hunters—and plumbs the nature of identity, deadly secrets, and found family.
Tru has been hiding all her life. Her parents taught her to conceal her bastion Talent: indestructible skin, muscles, and bones. In a world where Talents are common and varied, no one trusts a bastion—they’re too powerful. Hiding failed to keep Tru’s parents alive, but moments before their murder, Tru’s mom pointed her to Logan Dire, a famed recluse assassin who adopted and trained orphaned Tru. At seventeen, she’s still hiding. Not even her closest friends know her true name or Talent, or that she’s balancing high school with knife and stealth training (while crushing on her BFF’s older sister). When assassins interrupt a mundane babysitting job booked through BountyApp—where lethal hunters find work and babysitters for their kids—Tru flees with a one-year-old strapped to her chest and spiraling questions: Who killed her parents? Whom can she trust? What does it mean to be a bastion? And is it ever OK to kiss a girl who’s trying to hunt you down? From an award-winning author comes a masterfully plotted thriller that holds character and relationship on a par with action and nail-biting suspense.
Link: Goodreads
The Haunting Between Us — Paul Michael Winters
Genre: YA horror, paranormal
Rep: M/M
Heartstopper meets Haunting of Hill House in this queer coming-of-age romance and ghost story.
Cameron can’t believe the boy of his dreams just moved into the house of his nightmares.
Sixteen-year-old Cameron Walsh dreads the haunted Victorian mansion across the street, where the ghost of the White Lady roams the halls. When he sees her through the bay window, his ghost-hunting friend Abby wants to investigate. But then the new owners pull up, and Cameron is captivated by the brooding, handsome boy moving in. He longs for a boyfriend, but years of bullying have shattered his self-esteem.
Sixteen-year-old Hugo Cruz and his father flip old houses, moving often, fleeing from the grief at the loss of Hugo’s mother. They unknowingly move into the most haunted house in Port Townsend, Washington. From day one, Hugo encounters shadows that move by themselves, locked doors without keys, and hidden rooms. He hides the mysteries from his superstitious father, not wanting to uproot their lives.
When the White Lady becomes impossible to ignore, Hugo turns to Cameron to help uncover the house’s dark history. They soon form a bond that goes beyond friendship, but as their feelings deepen, the White Lady's wrath intensifies. Entangled in a web of sinister secrets, they risk not only their love but their very existence.
Link: Goodreads
January 9, 2025
Stories From the Deep — Claudie Arseneault
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Asexual, aromantic, non-binary, lesbian
Series: Book 4 of The Chronicles of Nerezia
Fate and friendship brought Horace, Rumi, Keza, and Aliyah together in Rumi’s sentient self-propelling wagon. They seek the forest haunting Aliyah’s dream, hoping for answers about the elf’s past and unique abilities—but first, they need to traverse a world haunted by Fragments, dangerous shards that can possess travellers and react to Aliyah’s presence.
They finally leave the coast to undertake a long ocean crossing filled with the sailors’ brand-new games and fearsome myths, but no one expects the latter to come to life. At sea, the Fragments that roam the world have coalesced into a gigantic beast—the kraken of legends—and unfortunately, it shares its landbound cousins’ obsession with Aliyah. The crew may have bested countless storms, but no amount of sea-worthiness can save the ship from the wrath of its colossal tentacles.
If they want to escape the kraken and continue their journey, the wagon’s team will need to unravel more of the Fragments’ mysteries, and learn to listen beyond the murmur of the sea.
Link: Books2Read
Queen O’Nine Tails — Lindz McLeod
Genre: Fantasy, pirates
Rep: Sapphic
Pirate queen Valentina Mallozzi kidnaps civilian Miss Gloria Vane for ransom at the nearest port, but Gloria isn’t the helpless girl she pretends to be—she’s a talented pickpocket and observant spy. Her best chance of escape lies in seducing Mallozzi, but the famed Queen O'Nine Tails won't be wooed so easily.
When a demon sneaks aboard the ship, jumping from body to body in an attempt to gain power amid the chaos, Gloria's situation goes from bad to much, much worse. The remaining crew must find and kill the demon while juggling an increasingly paranoid and out-of-control Mallozzi, whose foretold destiny threatens to destroy them all.
Link: Books2Read
January 10, 2025
Dudes Rock: A Celebration of Queer Masculinity in Speculative Fiction — Jay Kang Romanus, et al.
Genre: Speculative anthology
Rep: Queer masculinity
What does masculinity mean to you?
Whether the answer is “toxic” or something more aspirational, speculative fiction can help you find the language to talk about it. The stories in this anthology visualize all the different ways masculinity might look in a world different than our own, for better or worse.
Imagine living in a universe where you’d feel safe telling your best friend you’ve always loved him, or where smoking hot demons exist to indulge all your worst impulses. From buff aliens to gender-affirming werewolf bites, Dudes Rock is about celebrating everything that queer masculinity can become beyond the confines of a single world, and we want you to rock with us.
Featuring stories by Chase Anderson, Johannes T. Evans, Oliver Fosten, Jonathan Freeman, Rick Hollon, Sam Inverts, S. C. Mills, Franklyn S. Newton, Jay Kang Romanus, Aubrey Shaw, Simo Srinivas, Candy Tan, and Scott Vaughn.
Link: Goodreads
January 14, 2025
Lightfall — Ed Crocker
Genre: Fantasy, horror
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of The Everlands Trilogy
An epic fantasy of vampires, werewolves and sorcerers, Lightfall is the debut novel of Ed Crocker, for fans of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire and Richard Swan’s The Justice of Kings.
No humans here. Just immortals: their politics, their feuds—and their long buried secrets.
For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave.
Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s definitely had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered and she finds the only clue to his death, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood. She falls in with the Leeches, a group of rebel maids who rein in the worst of the Lords. Soon she’s in league with a sorcerer whose deductive skills make up for his lack of magic, a deadly werewolf assassin and a countess who knows a city’s worth of secrets.
There’s just one problem. What began as a murder investigation has uncovered a vast conspiracy by the ruling elite, and now Sam must find the truth before she becomes another victim. If she can avoid getting murdered, she might just live forever.
Link: Goodreads
Mere Flesh — Catherine Labadie
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: Bi+, polyamory
Wynnifred Treloar has everything she needs to succeed as a budding occultist on the cusp of vowing her allegiance to king and country…and marrying the most tame yet influential man in society she can find. Yet everything is not enough for her when she knows more influence than she can dream of will be withheld from her because of who she is.
Breaking one rule after another, she sacrifices portions of her body to summon a demonic entity to take over the world. There should be no harm in demons are only dark energy, after all, and Wynnifred is a prodigy. When the demon she summons into a circle vows she’ll die screaming in his claws and omens plague her friends and estate, Wynnifred begins to realize there are worse mistakes to make than marrying the wrong society darling.
Like beginning to fall for the demon’s allure.
Link: Goodreads
Cat/Mouse — Eliza Mares
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Sapphic
After a string of bold heists rocks the Edenite art scene, veteran hunter Nadine picks up the bounty of a fifty thousand credits to capture a crafty forger and bring her in alive. It should be an easy job... but one look at her mark tells Nadine she might have bitten off more than she can chew. On a space station full of secret dealings, dirty money, and luxurious lies, it seems even the simplest contracts are prone to complication.
Ulu'zah likes to keep things professional. Slip in unseen, swap priceless art with a perfect fake, and get out before anyone's the wiser. Simple. This job is no different... until the quadrant's peskiest bounty hunter gets Ulu'zah in her sights. As her deadline approaches and Nadine's meddling worsens, the elusive thief must cobble together a plan or risk defaulting on a very dangerous debt.
Link: Goodreads
The In-Between Bookstore — Edward Underhill
Genre: Science fiction, time travel
Rep: Trans man MC
A poignant and enchanting novel about a magical bookstore that transports a trans man through time and brings him face-to-face with his teenage self, offering him the chance of a lifetime to examine his life and identity to find a new beginning.
When Darby finds himself unemployed and in need of a fresh start, he moves back to the small Illinois town he left behind. But Oak Falls has changed almost as much as he has since he left.
One thing is familiar: In Between Books, Darby’s refuge growing up and eventual high school job. When he walks into the bookstore now, Darby feels an eerie sense of déjà vu—everything is exactly the same. Even the newspapers are dated 2009. And behind the register is a teen who looks a lot like Darby did at sixteen. . . who just might give Darby the opportunity to change his own present for the better—if he can figure out how before his connection to the past vanishes forever.
The In-Between Bookstore is a stunning novel of love, self-discovery, and the choices that come with both, for anyone who has ever wondered what their life might be like if they had the chance to go back and take a bigger, braver risk.
Link: Goodreads
Hammajang Luck — Makana Yamamoto
Genre: Science fiction, cyberpunk
Rep: Sapphic; trans/non-binary butch lesbian MCs
Series: Book 1 of Hammajang Luck (stands alone)
HAMMAJANG | adjective. Definition: In a disorderly or chaotic state; messed up. Chiefly in predicative use, esp. in all hammajang. Etymology: A borrowing from Hawaiian Pidgin. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
Edie is done with crime. Eight years behind bars changes a person—costs them too much time with too many of the people who need them most.
And it’s all Angel’s fault. She sold Edie out in what should have been the greatest moment of their lives. Instead, Edie was shipped off to the icy prison planet spinning far below the soaring skybridges and neon catacombs of Kepler space station—of home—to spend the best part of a decade alone.
But then a chance for early parole appears out of nowhere and Edie steps into the pallid sunlight to find none other than Angel waiting—and she has an offer.
One last job. One last deal. One last target. The trillionaire tech god they failed to bring down last time. There’s just one thing Edie needs to do—trust Angel again—which also happens to be the last thing Edie wants to do. What could possibly go all hammajang about this plan?
Ocean’s 8 meets Blade Runner in this trail-blazing debut science fiction novel and swashbuckling love letter to Hawaiʻi about being forced to find a new home and striving to build a better one—unmissable for fans of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
Link: Goodreads
January 15, 2025
Ikarys the Damned — Taylor Hubbard
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer, trans
Ikarys is the Keeper of Record in the Academia Apocrypha. He takes pride in his work, gathering knowledge and lore while inviting scholars and learned people from all over the world to his library and center for study. In his world, he is in command. But his world is consumed by the politics of the city he lives in, Glentharis, and the gods the city holds dear. At one time, Ikarys too followed the guidance of the gods.
Jaded and scorned by the divinities he once devoted himself to, Ikarys seeks knowledge from other, less savory entities. On the morning of the Anointing Ritual, an ancient tradition, Ikarys is visited in his dreams by an unnamed figure that warns of devastation should Ikarys continue down the path he’s on. After Ikarys dismisses the messenger, he discovers his library was ransacked in the night. The first of many oddities.
As the ritual unfolds and secrets come to light, Ikarys finds himself receiving everything he ever asked for, and so much more.
Link: Goodreads
January 16, 2025
How to Survive This Fairytale — S.M. Hallow
Genre: Fantasy, retelling, cozy horror
Rep: Queernorm world, mental health, disability
You are not a hero.
You don’t get your True Love.
This is the part where you lose everything.
This is the part where you rewrite your story.After losing everything in service to the Evil Queen, and driven to the edge of sanity by a cruel narrator who won’t let him die, Hansel must bring himself to do the impossible: forge his own destiny or give up on his Happily Ever After.
For fans of T. Kingfisher’s THORNHEDGE and Tamsyn Muir’s HARROW THE NINTH, comes a story crafted by S. M. Hallow. Twining together a dark fairy tale retelling with mental health and disability representation plus queer normative world-building splashed with a cozy horror game vibe, HOW TO SURVIVE THIS FAIRYTALE is rewriting Happily Ever Afters.
Link: Books2Read
January 18, 2025
Everyday Aliens — Polenth Blake
Genre: Speculative anthology
Rep: Non-binary aroace author
The everyday lives of aliens are explored in this collection of flash fiction and poetry.
An amoeboid shares recipe tips. Cartwheeling worms carry messages across the desert. A living planet has suspicions about a new moon. Humanoid aliens fade into the background as the truly alien aliens take the stage to tell their own stories.
Link: Goodreads
January 21, 2025
Motheater — Linda H. Codega
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
In this nuanced queer fantasy set amid the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, the last witch of the Ridge must choose sides in a clash between industry and nature.
After her best friend dies in a coal mine, Benethea “Bennie” Mattox sacrifices her job, her relationship, and her reputation to uncover what’s killing miners on Kire Mountain. When she finds a half-drowned white woman in a dirty mine slough, Bennie takes her in because it’s right—but also because she hopes this odd, magnetic stranger can lead her to the proof she needs. Instead, she brings more questions. The woman called Motheater can’t remember her true name, or how she ended up inside the mountain. She knows only that she’s a witch of Appalachia, bound to tor and holler, possum and snake, with power in her hands and Scripture on her tongue. But the mystery of her fate, her doomed quest to keep industry off Kire Mountain, and the promises she bent and broke have followed her a century and half into the future. And now, the choices Motheater and Bennie make together could change the face of the town itself.
Link: Goodreads
Searching for the Prince — Rebecca Cohen
Genre: Paranormal mystery
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 2 of Fang and Fae
When a fae prince goes missing, Gwil and Hyax are called in to help.
Nothing is easy when you’re a vampire dating fae royalty, but with his sire demanding his help, and his boyfriend’s parents trying to split them up, finding a fae prince who has vanished into thin air is one of the least complicated parts of Gwil’s afterlife.
Searching for the Prince is the second installment of Fang & Fae, an MM Paranormal Romance series, where a vampire and a fae prince go from best friends to lovers while solving mysteries along the way.
Link: Goodreads
The Uncontinented Stars — Haden Cross
Genre: Science fiction, retelling
Rep: Queer trans man narrator; other queer characters
A queer, science-fiction re-imagining of Moby-Dick.
The year is 2776. When celebrated xenozoologist Abelard Cousteau returns five years after his assumed death following an accident in deep space, he seeks out his former protégé, Noah Starbuck, to accompany him on his first post-resurrection assignment. The two of them and the other six in their crew are tasked with auditing the first batch of humanity’s exoplanet research bases, but Abelard’s attention is focused elsewhere—on the creature that allegedly caused his accident, the creature he and Noah studied as theory, the creature he now wants to kill.
Still, too, is the issue of the research bases. Founded as part of an effort to backfill extinct ecological niches after averting climate collapse, their purpose appears innocent enough. But as the mission unfolds, darker motives creep to the surface, just as Abelard’s quest for revenge tugs too hard at arcane secrets of existence.
The Uncontinented Stars questions humanity’s place in the universe as well as our individual places in the galaxy of our fellow humans—and what we owe each other.
Link: Books2Read
Tarnished — Erica Rose Eberhart
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of The Elder Tree
An outlawed magic, a hidden curse, and a love tested by fire.
In the struggling city of Braewick, a determined 20-year-old gate guard named Ailith MacCree longs for a chance at financial stability and adventure. Little does she know, her wish is about to come true. She accepts a mission from Princess Greer that promises both: escort Princess Caitriona to the Endless Mountains to meet the enigmatic hermit for a great financial reward. Ailith jumps at the opportunity and bids goodbye to all she’s ever known. But as they journey together, Ailith discovers that Caitriona holds a dangerous secret—she possesses powerful magic in a kingdom where magic is outlawed.
Ailith and Caitriona face mysterious attacks and supernatural challenges. But as they delve deeper into the treacherous landscape, Ailith learns of Caitriona's tragic past and the dark curse that threatens her very existence.
With rebellion brewing in Braewick, and the oppressive king hot on their trail, Ailith must not only navigate her growing feelings for Caitriona, but also fight against relentless foes. As they race against time to stop the curse, Ailith and Caitriona uncover shocking truths about their kingdom, their families, and themselves.
Will their burgeoning romance survive the trials ahead? Can they break the curse and save their homeland from tyranny? Join Ailith and Caitriona on a thrilling quest filled with magic, danger, and heart-pounding adventure. Fans of high-stakes fantasy will not want to miss this epic tale.
Link: Goodreads
A Happy Beginning — B.A. Richards
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: M/M
Step into the heart of New Orleans, where legends of vampires, witches, spells, and curses are as alive as the city itself. But what if there’s a nugget of truth to the stories?
Alard Fairchild isn’t your average man—he’s a fairy prince from the Kingdoms of Earth and Sky, hiding in plain sight as a poverty lawyer in the French Quarter. All he wants is a normal, human life. That is, until he meets Razi Miller, a hot tourist with a wild side who’s looking for a little adventure—and ends up entangled in something far more dangerous than he ever expected.
After one unforgettable night together, Raz wakes up to find himself magically bonded to Alard by an ancient marriage tattoo. Neither of them knows how it happened or why, but one thing’s for the consequences are far-reaching—and deadly.
As Raz is dragged into a hidden world of legendary creatures and mystical portals between realms, he faces a terrifying new Alard is already betrothed to Meyda, the ruthless Princess of Fire and Ice. Their accidental marriage could ignite a brutal war between the kingdoms, and Raz is now a pawn in a deadly political game.
With danger closing in, Alard and Raz must work together to undo the chaos they’ve unwittingly unleashed. But the more time they spend together, the more they realize the one thing neither of them can control… is love.
Packed with sizzling romance, high-stakes adventure, and dark magic, A Happy Beginning will keep you hooked until the very last page.
Link: Goodreads
The Oblivion Bride — Caitlin Starling
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
A deathly magic. An arranged marriage. A curse in the blood.
In the glittering city state of Volun, Lorelei Steddart never thought she’d be anything but an office drone—until her family all die under mysterious and likely magical circumstances, leaving her to inherit everything. To figure out what’s happened, her uncle marries her off to the city state’s top War Alchemist, Nephele Corisande, an intimidating older woman who might just be able to save her.
But what starts as a marriage of pure convenience becomes something deeper. Soon Lorelei and Nephele must untangle a terrible magic that has metastasized into something new and unstable, born in Lorelei’s blood.
Link: Neon Hemlock
January 25, 2025
Artifice & Access: A Disability in Fantasy Anthology — Ella T. Holmes (ed.)
Genre: Fantasy anthology
Rep: Trans, disability
It’s long been acknowledged that disability representation is lacking in the fantasy genre landscape, so in this cozy anthology, fourteen writers from around the globe come together to bring you wonderful fantasy stories centering disabled and chronically ill characters.
Teeming with magic, otherworldly creatures, discoveries, and journeys, every story is as thrilling and fascinating as it is passionate and meaningful. Worlds are discovered, lives are changed, and swords are drawn.
Disabled and chronically ill characters go questing, fighting dragons, healing, and enacting strange magics. Familiar fairy tales are reimagined, and new fairytales are forged, with each story shattering stereotypes and challenging traditional narratives. Come see yourself reflected—or discover something new.
Link: Goodreads
January 27, 2025
Because My Mom Said So — Or M. Bialik
Genre: Science fiction thriller
Rep: Queer, non-binary, sapphic
Series: Standalone in established universe
Ismat’s dating life is terrible, and a lot of it has to do with honesty. Not that he doesn’t want to be honest, he just can’t—or it will ruin his life. He can’t tell anyone he works for the Dominion Security Bureau counter-terrorism division; he can’t tell his date who his father is, even if he knows them, and he most definitely can’t tell them how he actually feels about the gender he has to wear.
A possible security breach in the Bureau means that he and his immediate boss are the only people who can be trusted with a case. Things rapidly become more complicated as the Bureau’s Director pulls in two foreign agents into the mix. More complicated than others because Ismat finds one of them very attractive, which he would rather the agent not know, unfortunately—she’s telepathic.
When the investigation leads them to a women-only charity event, Ismat finds there is some use to the dresses kept in the back of the closet and that having a partner who knows what you think is not such a bad thing.
Link: Amazon
The Valkyrie’s Legacy — Tiana Warner
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: F/F
Series: Book 3 of The Helheim Prophecy
The blood of a princess
…and the heart of valkyrie.Sigrid may be the last surviving royal of Vanaheim, but she’s more warrior than princess. Her world is collapsing under the onslaught of their enemies, who are ripping apart Sigrid’s home and everyone in it. Even astride Sleipnir, her legendary eight-legged horse, Sigrid can’t fight the darkness unleashed by the Night Elves. And at any moment, the god Loki could unleash chaos upon them all...
With the fate of nine worlds perilously close to breaking, there’s only one way to restore the balance: by restoring Vanaheim’s gods-given magic. But doing so means undertaking a journey that’s not only treacherous but nearly impossible.
With her beloved Mariam by her side, Sigrid must find a way to unite all the worlds…including Helheim.
It will take courage.
It will take strength.
Most of all, it will tempt Sigrid to draw upon the thing she fears most: the darkness inside her own heart. Because the only way to take on a god—and win—will be to raise an army from the most fearsome corners of the nine worlds.
Link: Goodreads
January 28, 2025
Landlocked in Foreign Skin — Drew Huff
Genre: Science fiction, horror
Rep: Sapphic
The Fisherman can’t fathom why anyone would want to be human. Small wonder. They’ve been ripped from their underwater home under Europa’s ice, and stripped of their skin—the nebulous outer layer that enables them to shapeshift for survival. Imprisoned on a ship that’s hunting for a mad undersea god, they must help the crew find it if they want to retrieve their skin and return home.
Dame Isobel, an insane young heiress, owns the ship, desperate to find the god in the hopes that it will heal her lobotomized girlfriend. The Fisherman is stuck in a female human form. They’re pulled into a toxic, codependent sexual relationship with Dame Isobel—in a world where homosexuality is punishable by death. In the midst of this insanity, it’s quite clear to the Fisherman: humanity is confusing, inefficient, and messy.
When Isobel reveals that she will never let the Fisherman go, even if they find the mad god, the Fisherman knows:
It’s time to get violent.
Link: Goodreads
Carving Shadows Into Gold — Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: YA romantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 2 of Forging Silver Into Stars
Dangerous magic. Fateful choices. Broken promises. The spellbinding series by New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer continues.
The King’s Courier Tycho has made a treacherous bargain. Now beholden to the magical scraver who saved King Gray’s life, one false move could end everything.
Jax escaped his life in Briarlock and traveled with Tycho to Emberfall. But life outside his small village brings unexpected challenges—and unlikely adversaries.
After years of hating the royal family and their magic, Callyn never expected to be at the Queen’s side, with magic on her fingertips. But at the royal court, she can't trust anyone—including the man she thought she loved.
Cast apart, Tycho, Jax, and Callyn must learn to wield the magic that is dividing their kingdom. As the magical scravers attack from the north and the king's rivals gain strength, time is running out.
War is looming. Love is tested. And magic could be the only answer...
Link: Goodreads
The Teeth of Dawn — Marina Lostetter
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 3 of The Five Penalties
The Teeth of Dawn concludes the riveting and mind-ripping epic fantasy trilogy from acclaimed author Marina Lostetter, where a rebellion struggles to tear the mask off the illusions and enchantments of a society shrouded in layers of mystery.
After barely surviving their encounter with the Savior, who has shaped the rules and realities of Arkensyre for generations, Krona and the other members of the growing rebellion see only one chance of overcoming his free and enlist the ancient gods he caged to augment his own power.
But it’s one thing to believe in gods. It is quite another to meet them.
And it’s not only the Savior who wants to hold fast to the illusions that govern all the lives in the valley, the Grand Maquis, his agencies and the elites of Arkensyre will do anything they can to snuff out change.
To remake the world, first you must break it.
Link: Goodreads
The Cosmic Color — T.T. Madden
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Queer, trans
CAN ANYONE ESCAPE THE MACHINERIES OF FLESH AND STEEL?
Eric Fisher, a Black recruit finishing up his training, has always felt strange in his own skin. Now that he’s finally a mecha pilot, ready to join the fight against the monstrous Imago, he gets to be in a body that feels more right. But this new sense of self and gender must be navigated while uncovering revelations about the machineries of flesh and steel he’s now a part of.
Link: Neon Hemlock
On the Wings of la Noche — Vanessa L. Torres
Genre: YA contemporary fantasy
Rep: Bi MC; M/F; past F/F
Noche is a Lechuza by night, an ethereal jet-black owl who guides the dead to the after. Except now, Noche cannot bring herself to escort her dead girlfriend, whose soul is fading the harder Noche holds on—an aching romance about first and second loves and finding the strength to let go.
Death waits for Estrella (Noche) Villanueva. In her human form, she is a lonely science girl grieving the tragic accidental drowning of her girlfriend, Dante Fuentes. At night, she is a Lechuza who visits her dead girlfriend at the lake, desperate for more time with her. The longer Dante’s soul roams the earth, the more likely it is that she will fade into the unknown, lost forever, but Noche cannot let go...
That’s when a new kid comes to town, Jax, another science nerd like Noche. They connect in a way she can’t ignore, seemingly pulled together by an invisible thread. For the first time, Noche begins to imagine a life without Dante. As Noche’s heart begins to beat for two people, her guilt flares. Then, she finds herself at risk of losing both Jax and Dante, and Noche is forced to question her purpose as a lechuza and everything she has ever believed in.
Link: Goodreads
January 30, 2025
The Two Hungers of Prince Fierre — Darcy Ash
Genre: Fantasy romance
Rep: M/M
Prince Fierre has three big problems. He’s suffering from a mystery illness. He’s surrounded by lords who expect personal favours. And worst of all, he’s in love with his best friend, Aiven, a former farm boy and studious enforcer of rules, now right hand to the prince.
Can Fierre heal himself, deal with the noblemen snapping about his ankles, and confront his desire for a man who has no noble blood…but a very noble heart?
Set in a Scottish-inspired world, The Two Hungers of Prince Fierre combines a happily-ever-after romance with a story of disordered eating and healing. Blending queer joy with glittering aesthetics, this fantasy explores what it means to learn to love yourself amidst the harshest strictures of diet culture. Perfect for fans of Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light and Foz Meadows’ A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, this book will have queer romance fans feverishly page-turning all the way to its triumphant and heated finale.
Link: Goodreads