Queer SF - June 2025
June 1, 2025
Of Stardust: Lore Reshaped — Avrah C. Baren (ed.)
Genre: Fantasy anthology
Rep: Queer
Tales as old as time, each with a new twist. Lore reshaped brings you some of your favorite myths and legends, along with lesser known tales that will feel like old friends. Within these pages, the trees are hungry, the heroes are complicated, and the tragedies might just make you smile. These stories open doors into worlds both familiar and exciting, where queer people are not only welcome, but integral to making magic.
Stories by Avrah C. Baren, Lillian Barry, Gabriella Buba, Talia Greer, Hailie Kei, Ben Marit, D. E. Ott, Rose Regeant, & Valo Wing.
Link: Kobo
The Harmony of Falling Snow — Andora Brokaw
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: M/M/F
Series: Book 1 of Songs of Niaretya
Deported to the faerie world despite spending her entire life on Earth, Maggie needs help.
Yuri specializes in helping immigrants. But as Maggie’s ex, he shouldn’t work with her. And he certainly shouldn’t rope his boyfriend Vil into hosting her.
Vil is unable to turn someone in need of friends away. Even if she and his boyfriend are still in love. And even if she’s oddly attached to monogamy.
While magic sparks between Maggie and Vil, Yuri struggles with secrets that affect them all.
The triad will need to overcome expectations, fears, and even national politics to achieve lasting happiness together. Failure will leave at least one of them brokenhearted and alone. But success could make life better than they ever imagined in this sweet polyamorous romantasy about hope and resilience.
Link: Author’s Website
June 2, 2025
When in Erebus — Paris Vivian
Genre: Alternate history; decopunk
Rep: M/M; gay MC, bi LI
The Michelson-Morley Experiment gives a positive result. Light is indeed transmitted through aether.
Forty-five years later, the residents of Erebus (formerly New York City) live under the unending darkness made by aether-sucking machines. Although they were originally created for war, these apparatuses have been repurposed for the Erebus Project, a show of dominance over day and night themselves.
Lucian Prestwich is a skilled aether mechanic. Despite his interests and the cultural attitude towards Erebus, he’s always found the Project unsettling, a feeling that’s only reinforced after he’s sent to the city for a job. When his new friend Walter introduces him to Dielism, a rebellious artistic movement centred around imagery of the skies the city’s residents have been denied, he vows to help end the age of Erebus.
This mission proves fraught as his sabotages run the risk of discovery. And though Dielism is booming in popularity, some of its new followers seem to see it as nothing more than a collection of pretty pictures. In his quest to return the aether to the skies, it seems Lucian is bound to lose everything…
Link: Itch.io
June 3, 2025
Brimstone & Blades — Maria Alexander
Genre: YA historical fantasy
Rep: Bi MC
It’s 1689. Sixteen-year-old Julie de Maupin is on the run with her boyfriend, a young swordmaster named Sérannes. They perform sword fights and songs in taverns to survive. But when a diabolical creature kills Sérannes, it also injures Julie in the attack. Plunged into the dangerous world of French magic, Julie needs to return to Paris to find the great magician that can heal her devastating wound so she can avenge Sérannes’s death. On the way, she finds the creature is controlled by a necromantic coven called the Shadow Holders. Defeated during the Affair of the Poisons, they’ve returned but this time with traitors in the royal court to crush Louis XIV and terrorize France. With her found family of magical and moggie misfits, Julie must use her sword, wits, and gender-bending wiles to send the threat back to Hell. But will they be enough? Magic is illegal, and so is dueling. But that won’t stop La Maupin.
Link: Author’s Website
A Song of Legends Lost — M.H. Ayinde
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of The Invoker Trilogy
A SONG OF REBELLION. A SONG OF WAR. A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST.
In the Nine Lands, only those of noble blood can summon the spirits of their ancestors to fight in battle. But when Temi, a commoner from the slums, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she finds it could hold the key to ending a centuries-long war.
But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor. And some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.
A relentlessly gripping tale of revenge and rebellion, A Song of Legends Lost is an unmissable debut from a major new voice in epic fantasy, perfect for fans of John Gwynne, Anthony Ryan and Evan Winter.
Link: Goodreads
Black Salt Queen — Samantha Bansil
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of Letters From Maynara
There can be no victory without betrayal.
Hara Duja Gatdula, queen of the island nation of Maynara, holds the divine power to move the earth. But her strength is failing and the line of succession gives her little comfort. Her heir, Laya, is a danger—a petty and passionate princess who wields the enormous power of the skies with fickle indifference. Circling the throne is Imeria Kulaw—the matriarch of a traitorous rival family who wields recklessly enhanced powers of her own—with designs to secure a high-ranking position for her son and claim the crown for her family. Each woman has a secret weakness—a lover, a heartbreak, a lie. But each is willing to pay the steepest price to bring down her rivals once and for all.
Filled with passion, romance, betrayal, and divine magic, Black Salt Queen journeys to a gorgeous precolonial island nation where women—and secrets—reign.
Link: Goodreads
Vesuvius — Cass Biehn
Genre: YA historical fantasy
Rep: M/M
The end is coming. The gods are watching. This thrilling historical fantasy set in the days before Mount Vesuvius destroys Pompeii is a meet cute with an explosive fallout.
Clever thief Felix slips from city to city to survive the present and escape a past he can’t remember. When Felix steals a divine artifact—Mercury's helmet—from a temple in Pompeii, pieces of his forgotten past begin to surface.
Loren, an ambitious temple attendant, has seen Felix in his apocalyptic nightmares for years. The last thing Loren expects is for his dream to stumble headfirst through his temple doors, moments after an earthquake rocks the city.
When Felix shows Loren the helmet, Loren sees the world coming to an end. He knows they have mere days to uncover Felix’s ties to the relic and to Loren’s visions if they have any hope of saving the city. But Ancient Rome is ruled by bloody politics and unstoppable destinies, and now that Loren and Felix are intertwined, their lives aren’t all they risk losing. When all has turned to ash and rubble, the boys will have to piece together their fates to make it out of a burning city alive.
An exploration of ambition and class, autonomy and religion, survival and love, Vesuvius combines the romantic angst of They Both Die at the End and the blended magic and history of The Song of Achilles to show readers that it is never too late to change your fate—or change the world.
Link: Goodreads
Crueler Mercies — Maren Chase
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
“Vita’s rage overflowed until she was prepared to drown in it, and she knew that she would never again dam this anger to please another.”
After nine years as the people’s beloved princess in the sun-soaked Kingdom of Carca, Vita witnesses the execution of her mother by her father’s hand. Forced into exile, Vita fades into obscurity with her only friends—the crows that visit her window.
Eleven years later, Vita is given a choice: marry an enemy general, granting him legitimacy to take the throne, or die as the forgotten princess. With time running out, Vita meets Soline, an intriguing lady-in-waiting who introduces her to the powerful-but-unstable magic of alchemy.
If Vita and Soline can learn to control it—and the undeniable spark between them—they could burn the world of men to the ground.
Link: Goodreads
The Grimoire’s Heir — C.A. Davis
Genre: New adult dark fantasy
Rep: Queer M/F
Series: Book 1 of The Grimoire’s Legacy
It’s been over a decade since Rae Fairclough last saw her father, and she would have preferred to keep it that way. Except, he had to waltz back into her life while on his deathbed to transfer the Fairclough Grimoire. She’s ready to let him rot, until he entices her with the one thing she can’t refuse: tuition payments for The Argus College of Magic. Of course there are several strings attached. The biggest comes in the form of the family’s demonic familiar, Belfnir, to whom Rae’s soul will be bound upon her father’s death.
At Argus, she meets the Cassius Vale the Third, a Sorcerer with a quick wit and sharp cheekbones. Though her father warned her to trust no one, she finds herself quickly becoming attached to Cass and the salvation he offers. Unwilling to turn into the same monster that he was, they set out to find a way to break her family’s curse—even though generations of Faircloughs have failed.
Link: Goodreads
Running With the Alpha’s Son — Penny Jessup
Genre: YA paranormal romance
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 3 of The Alpha’s Son
The long-awaited third installment in Penny Jessup’s best-selling The Alpha’s Son series.
Max and Jasper are finally together! After months of agony and an eventful New Year’s Eve party, the path between souls has been lit, and the new couple are excited to date.
But being the mate of the alpha’s son comes with unexpected strings. Not only must Max take on official duties as a member of the alpha’s family, but some pack members aren’t happy about the newly public relationship. And with Jasper away at college and traveling to different packs as a representative for his father, it’s hard to find the time to bond.
When summer arrives, Jasper invites Max to run away with him to his family’s house in the Californian desert, away from the pack and prying eyes. But what starts as a vacation turns into something far less tranquil when their sanctuary is invaded by unfriendly interlopers.
When running away means running into trouble, can Max and Jasper still find the time and space to connect?
Link: Goodreads
Bad Creek — Peyton June
Genre: YA horror
Rep: Queer
Three lifelong friends confront restless ghosts and malevolent family secrets in this fierce, propulsive debut young adult horror novel.
Iris, Gum, and Aidan are vacationing in Bad Creek, just like every summer. Except Iris’s older sister, Glory, drowned in the lake last year, and Iris can’t seem to move on; Gum is hiding his sexuality from his family while being viciously haunted by Glory’s rotting ghost; and Aidan is distraught over a drunken argument with Glory that he fears may have led to her death. When Iris sleepwalks to the dilapidated house that Glory obsessively sketched in her final days, she and the boys begin to uncover a sinister history in the very bones of the town. The trio must reckon with the events of last summer and uncover what lurks within Bad Creek before it takes Iris’s life next.
Gripping and vengeful, Bad Creek confronts the intersection of religion, sexuality, and feminism, and forces readers to reckon with monsters in all their forms—human included.
Link: Goodreads
Lady’s Knight — Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Genre: YA historical cozy fantasy, humor
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of Lady’s Knight
A blacksmith’s daughter with a secret. A lady with a plan. We’re in for one unforgettable knight…
Gwen has spent the past several years manning the blacksmith’s in place of her father, an open secret in the village in which she lives. A much more covert secret, however, is that she knows not only how to craft but also how to wield a sword, and an incognito stunt at the local jousting tournament manages to catch the eye of the wily Lady Isobelle.
Isobelle has secret dreams too, but she’s been promised in marriage to the winner of the whole stupid tournament, which means an end to any freedom or choices for her. Desperate to avoid this fate, when she connects the newcomer knight to the female smithy she saw earlier that day, she begins to hatch a scheme…
Petty knights. Backstabbing noblemen. A prison breakout. Cheesecake-on-a-stick. One particularly large and angry dragon.
Will our ladies survive the night? And can our knight save the day?
Link: Goodreads
Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon — Annie Mare
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Sapphic
A multiverse novel about two women who fall in love despite living in worlds that are five months apart, as they try to find a timeline that doesn’t end in disaster, in this debut novel by Annie Mare.
Tressa Fay Robeson has never been shy, which is how she’s made a name for herself as an in-demand hairstylist and social media star. So she can admit that spending her days at her hair salon and her nights with her tight-knit group of friends (and one grumpy cat) is not the kind of exciting life she’d hoped for.
When a misdirected text from a stranger leads to a flirty exchange, she surprises herself by suggesting an impulsive meetup. But the woman, Meryl, never shows. Tressa Fay brushes it off—until Meryl’s sister and friend show up at the salon demanding to know what’s going on. Because, you see, there’s no way Meryl could have texted her. Meryl has been missing for a month.
Tressa Fay and her tight-knit group of friends soon discover they aren’t dealing with a catfish, but a temporal paradox. As they come to terms with the idea of parallel universes, they realize how many times their paths have crossed like this before. But even as they understand the multiverse more and more, nothing keeps Meryl from vanishing.
As it draws closer to the moment of Meryl’s disappearance, there’s only one question Have they done enough to change the outcome, or have they done so much that none of them will make it past that fateful day in September?
Link: Goodreads
Angel Eye — Madeleine Nakamura
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Gay MC
Series: Book 2 of The Cursebreakers
When a healer begins murdering hospital patients, Professor Adrien Desfourneaux discovers that the threat is far closer to him than he could have imagined.
Still recovering from a recent institutionalization and unable to trust his own mind or magic, Adrien is drawn into the witch hunt as suspicion falls upon those closest to him. The city’s inquisitors and witchfinders are losing control, the magicians are growing more and more resentful, and the scars from Adrien’s last brush with disaster refuse to fade. To put an end to the innocent deaths, to keep his dearest friends, and to prove himself worthy of a potential new romance, Adrien is forced to confront his own blind spots before he’s fatally ensnared by the angel of death’s machinations.
Link: Goodreads
The Two Lies of Faven Sythe — Megan E. O’Keefe
Genre: Space opera
Rep: Sapphic
A search for a missing person uncovers a galaxy-spanning conspiracy in this thrilling standalone space opera from award-winning author Megan E. O’Keefe.
The Black Celeste is a ghost story. A once-legendary spaceship collecting dust in a cosmic graveyard known as the Clutch. Only famed pirate Bitter Amandine knows better, and she’ll do anything to never go near it again. No matter the cost.
Faven Sythe is crystborn, a member of the near-human species tasked with charting starpaths from station to station. She’s trained to be a navigator her entire life. But when her mentor disappears, leaving behind a mysterious starpath terminating in the Clutch, she is determined to find the truth. And only Amandine has the answers.
What they will find is a conspiracy bigger than either of them. Their quest for the truth will uncover secrets Amandine has long fought to keep buried—secrets about how she survived her last encounter in the Clutch, and what’s really hidden out there amongst the stars…
Link: Goodreads
It’s Not the End of the World — Jonathan Parks-Ramage
Genre: Science fiction, climate thriller
Rep: Gay MCs
From the acclaimed author of Yes, Daddy, It's Not the End of the World is a terrifying climate thriller, a vicious takedown of the uber-wealthy, and a queer family saga that isn’t afraid to punch back.
It’s 2044 and life is bleak for many Americans, but not for Mason Daunt. Safe in his Los Angeles mansion, Mason can remain blissfully unaware of the relentless wildfires engulfing California, the proliferation of violent right-wing militias, and the rampant authoritarianism destroying American society. He’s so rich, in fact, that he and his partner Yunho Kim are throwing a 100-person, $100,000 baby shower to celebrate their newborn-on-the-way. When a potentially apocalyptic event hits Los Angeles on the day of their celebration, though, the wealthy gay couple refuses to cancel their party. Surely it’s not the end of the world? But as Mason runs a few last-minute errands, a staggering twist thrusts him into the mounting chaos, and threatens the lives of everyone he holds dear.
Shot through with biting wit, brutal gore, primal sex, and unexpected catharsis, It’s Not the End of the World is a nerve-shredding roller coaster of a novel that will leave readers shocked, heartbroken, and inspired to question their most firmly held convictions. What happens when our current battles with climate change, capitalism, and white supremacy are pushed to their breaking points? And how can we find hope?
Link: Goodreads
The Dragon Next Door — Vanessa Ricci-Thode
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: Sapphic, ace
Series: Standalone in established universe
Tollar’s got a stolen dragon egg, and that’s the least of her problems.
Tollar is a hero for hire who just wants to deliver a stolen dragon egg to its kin and get on with her next adventure. But when the dragon hatches, imprints on her, and refuses to leave, Tollar enlists her pyromancer best friend and neighbour, Beenala, to help keep the dragon alive. Tollar’s chaotic life exacerbates Beenala’s overwhelming anxiety, and being stuck at home leaves Tollar feeling stifled and unwanted. To make matters worse, in order to hide an entire dragon from local and foreign hostile factions, Tollar must risk exposing the truth behind her unprecedented power as an aquamancer and face being chased out of the only home she’s ever known.
When Draminedes, perhaps the worst spy in the world, lets slip that the people Tollar stole the dragon egg from are much worse than she thought, Tollar and Beenala realize their home is in danger. Now Tollar needs to stop making herself the outsider and Beenala needs to find some courage so they can team up with this unlikely ally to save everything they love, including each other.
This sapphic ace romantasy is complete with mutual pining and odd-couple energy and is full of marginalized characters out living their best lives and having adventures while being nurturing and supportive in their relationships, including bonds between humans and dragons.
Link: Books2Read
The Lure of Their Graves — Laura R. Samotin
Genre: Dark fantasy
Rep: Gay MCs
Series: Book 2 of The Cursed Crown
In the heart-wrenching sequel to The Sins on Their Bones, The Lure of Their Graves forces Dimitri and Vasily to confront old ghosts and a new threat: political enemies-turned-suitors, all coveting Dimitri’s throne and his hand in marriage.
Dimitri Abramovich may have won back the throne of Novo-Svitsevo, but even after defeating his former husband, the usurper Alexey Balakin, he seems no closer to securing lasting peace for his people. Enemies are closing in on all sides, and pressure is mounting for Dimitri to play the one card he has left in a bid for stability—offering his hand in marriage for a second time.
But Dimitri is still healing from the tragedies of the war, his return to the throne, and Alexey’s years of torment. Vasily Sokolov is the only person with whom he feels safe, and giving up the comfort of their budding relationship feels unfathomable, even if it’s the only way to sever the alliances being formed among the countries surrounding Novo-Svitsevo. So as Dimitri and Vasily reckon with political treachery, the lasting consequences of Dimitri’s resurrection, and the sinister legacy of Alexey’s use of the Holy Science, they must also work to understand what it means to love each other even as they prepare to let each other go—which might prove the most difficult of all.
Link: Goodreads
Devils Like Us — L.T. Thompson
Genre: YA historical fantasy
Rep: Queer, trans, sapphic
Series: Book 1 of Devils Like Us
Our Flag Means Death meets The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue in this YA historical fantasy about three queer and trans teens facing down a secret magical society.
Cas has a rule: Don’t tell anyone. Not about the nagging gender discomfort, and certainly not about the prophetic visions of untimely deaths. Cas broke this rule only once, and in response, Remy DeWindt ended their friendship forever.
Remy has spent the last eight years researching the secret society that kidnapped her father and the dark magic they practice. She’s determined to take them down and bring her father home—no matter what her former friend Cas thinks happened to him.
Finn is desperately in love with Remy, but Remy would never give in to a desire the church deems a sin. But Finn isn’t worried about sin. She already committed the worst sin of all when she made a sinister bargain for a deadly price—a price that will soon have to be paid.
When Cas’s latest vision sets the three of them on a collision course, they embark on a journey that will force them to confront hidden secrets and deadly magic—and also offer them the chance to find out who they truly are.
Link: Goodreads
Of Monsters and Mainframes — Barbara Truelove
Genre: Science fiction fantasy, retelling
Rep: Queer
Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception.
Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.
To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team of monsters: A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil—Dracula.
The queer love child of pulp horror and classic sci-fi, Of Monsters and Mainframes is a dazzling, heartfelt odyssey that probes what it means to be one of society’s monsters—and explores the many types of friendship that make us human.
Link: Goodreads
I Can Fix Her — Rae Wilde
Genre: Dark fantasy, horror
Rep: Sapphic
This Is How You Lose the Time War meets Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke in this fast-paced queer horror novel in which an obsessive woman stumbles upon a second-chance romance with her flighty paramour, but it quickly deteriorates into a dark spiral of destruction.
Johnny spots her ex, Alice, at the local cafe with a vague sense that she’s been there before. Though she’s still angry about their breakup and Alice’s subsequent ghosting, Johnny can’t resist the draw of a second shot at their relationship and accepts Alice’s invitation back to her apartment. Once there, promises are exchanged. There’s talk of wonder and change and dreams made real. But after spending the night together, they face a morning in which Alice is still Alice, Johnny is still Johnny, and the dog has doubled in size.
Over the course of a week, increasingly bizarre changes in the world around them force Johnny to consider whether the pair can change just as easily, if they can change at all. Or if both her relationship and the bounds of reality are destined to implode. The narrative of I Can Fix Her operates on nightmare logic, putting forth an irresistible tale in which the world, the narrator, and time itself are not to be trusted.
Link: Goodreads
June 4, 2025
Lockjaw — Matteo L. Cerilli
Genre: YA horror
Rep: Trans
Death is neither the beginning nor the end for the children of Bridlington in this debut trans YA horror book for fans of Rory Power and Danielle Vega.
Chuck Warren died tragically at the old abandoned mill, but Paz Espino knows it was no accident—there’s a monster under the town, and she’s determined to kill it before anyone else gets hurt. She’ll need the help of her crew—inseparable friends, bound by a childhood pact stronger than diamonds, distance or death—to hunt it down. But she’s up against a greater force of evil than she ever could have imagined.
With shifting timeframes and multiple perspectives, Lockjaw is a small-town ghost story, where monsters living and dead haunt the streets, the homes and the minds of the inhabitants. For readers of Wilder Girls and The Haunted, this trans YA horror book by an incredible debut author will grab you and never let you go.
Link: Goodreads
June 5, 2025
Firerend — Emma Kennedy
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queernorm world; queer and non-binary characters
Series: Book 1 of Tales of Averna
One last job, one last chance.
Allara will do anything for her sick sister, but in a city like Oberon, gold is hard to come by and even harder to earn without selling your soul. With no marketable skills and high costs to keep up, Allara’s conscience might be the price she pays.
Nymm fled her past to survive, leaving everything behind, but when her guild falls on tough times, she’ll have to rebuild their reputation or risk losing the only family she has left. The odds are stacked against her, but she’ll do anything to keep them together.
Auren has been living for himself for so long, he’s forgotten what it means to have a purpose. With the chance of unimaginable wealth—and a shot at redemption—he jumps at the opportunity. But is this job enough to make up for his mistakes, or will it drag him deeper into the shadows?
When forces align to offer a job with more gold than most would see in their entire lives, no one is in a position to turn it down. But as the job starts to unravel, they’re reminded all gold comes at a price—and the question is, can they survive the cost?
The Tales of Averna are a series of interconnected, standalone stories. Each book can be read on its own, but they build on one another. Firerend is where the journey begins.
Link: Goodreads
The Woman From the Waves — Roslyn Sinclair
Genre: Romantasy, mythology
Rep: Lesbian
Love and hunger are not the same.
Six years ago, on a remote Scottish island, a mysterious woman saved Sister Madeleine Laurent from drowning. Now, after leaving her convent, Madeleine crosses the ocean again to find the rescuer who changed her life. Instead, her search is disrupted by Hæra North, a brazen, provocative local who stirs Madeleine’s repressed desires—and keeps a secret out of legend.
Hæra has one dream: to become the first female Stormhorse, a powerful leader in her clan of fearsome ocean horse spirits. To do so, she must capture, drown, and eat a worthy human. When she first saw Madeleine, she knew she’d found the one. So why did Hæra save her instead?
Now Madeleine’s back. All Hæra has to do is remain in human form, earn her woman’s trust, then devour her.
But Madeleine is awakening another kind of appetite…
The Woman from the Waves is an epic sapphic romantasy about the power of unleashed desire, the courage it takes to change, and a love so vast it spans the sea, earth, and sky.
Link: Goodreads
June 6, 2025
The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice — Margaret Killjoy
Genre: Fantasy, horror
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 3 of Danielle Cain
Danielle Cain is back!
Margaret Killjoy’s Danielle Cain book series is a queer, anarcho-punk fantasy that pits anarchist traveler Danielle Cain and her crew of demon-hunting friends against the spirits of the dead, unearthly cryptids, and the brutality of police. The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice is the long-awaited third installment and continues the series.
It’s Samhain, and Danielle and her friends are laying low in the wilderness Idaho, fresh off the road from their last adventure and hiding out from the magic feds. On Samhain the veil between the living and dead is at its thinnest. Danielle, Brynn, Vulture, Thursday, and Doomsday have to wait out the night, so they share stories around the campfire about magic—in its many forms. Listen with them as they encounter troll cults, murder faeries, and the horrors of the riot cops.
Link: Goodreads
Flare and Bind — Lilian Zenzi
Genre: Science fiction romance
Rep: Non-binary MC; F/X
Series: Book 2 of Synchronists
The other side of the Outer Rings isn’t far enough to escape Meri’s past…
In the seven years since leaving their scavenger planet homeworld with the synchronists, Meri has made a good life for themself in the merchant corps. They like the work, they’re figuring out a situationship with way-out-of-their-league diplomat Xavia Tane, and they’ve made friends among humans and fai alike. If their next sale—an event collaboration with Xavia—is successful, Meri will finally have proven to themself and everyone else that they are right where they belong.
Then the boss’s shiny new flagship goes missing in a gate storm while carrying Meri’s cargo, station fai start acting strange, and a distant cousin shows up full of resentment and vague threats, throwing Meri off their game.
Everything falls apart.
With the help of the notoriously contrary fai known as the Curator, Meri untangles the connections. Everything leads back to their family and the planet Meri swore never to return to, but no one else–not even Xavia–seems to realize how far Meri’s family will go to get what they want…
Link: Author’s Website
June 10, 2025
We Can Never Leave — H.E. Edgmon
Genre: YA contemporary fantasy
Rep: Queer
Sweet Tooth meets The Raven Boys in this queer young adult contemporary fantasy about what it means to belong from H.E. Edgmon.
You can never go home…
Every day, all across the world, inhuman creatures are waking up with no memory of who they are or where they came from–and the Caravan exists to help them. The traveling community is made up of these very creatures and their families who’ve acclimated to this new existence by finding refuge in each other. That is, until the morning five teenage travelers wake to find their community has disappeared around them overnight.
Those left: a half-human who only just ran back to the Caravan with their tail between their legs, two brothers–one who can’t seem to stay out of trouble and the other who’s never been brave enough to get in it, a venomous girl with blood on her hands and a heart of gold, and the Caravan’s newest addition, a disquieting shadow in the shape of a boy. They’ll have to work together to figure out what happened the night of the disappearance, but each one of the forsaken five is white-knuckling their own secrets. And with each truth forced to light, it becomes clear this isn’t really about what happened to their people–it’s about what happened to them.
Link: Goodreads
The Witch Roads — Kate Elliott
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Bi MC; trans character-driven
Series: Book 1 of The Witch Roads
Status is hereditary, class is bestowed, trust must be earned.
When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen―once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall―is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.
When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice, and the man who emerges from the towers isn’t the same man who entered.
The journey that follows is fraught with danger. Can a group taught to ignore and despise the lower classes survive with a mere deputy courier as their guide?
Link: Goodreads
Ardulum: Mirrors of Andal — J.S. Fields
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 6 of Ardulum
The planet Ardulum has died and taken with it every last andal tree and piece of andal cellulose tech—dissolving the Alpha Plane down to lightspeed travel and archaic communication. Yet Ardulum’s consciousness still lives, unwelcome, inside Atalant’s body. But two consciousnesses cannot share one host—especially not when one is a former planet.
Amidst the remains of a shattered galaxy, Guard Four and the Keft scrapper Bell chance a return to the Neek homeworld, where andal is still rumored to grow. A stable forest of andal could power the Cell-Tal technology to save Eld Atalant’s life. Instead, Guard Four and Bell find a populace grappling with the aftershocks of Ardulum’s death, and find Ardulum’s genetic influence is wider than they thought.
What remains of Ardulum demands a new body of its own, and transport to a mysterious world of Thesby, where a stable bridgeway to another dimension is rumored to exist. Emn, desperate to save Atalant, promises to aid Ardulum in return for healing her wife’s battered body. If Emn can avoid Chartered Systems assassins long enough to get to Thesby, she stands to not only be reunited with Atalant, but to rid the galaxy of Ardulum, forever. If she fails, the Charted Systems will remain in the dark ages of space travel, and Eld Atalant of Ardulum, and her vision for the Neek people, will die.
Link: Goodreads
Epsilon Nine — Olive J. Kelley
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Trans lesbian MC
Series: Book 2 of Twin Suns
Six months after the attack on Adrestia, trans activist Juno Marcus finds her revolution at a standstill—they’ve been forced into hiding, only leaving the uncharted planet they call home to participate in protests as the Galactic Presidential Election grows near. But, when she and girlfriend Castor Quasar are torn apart in a riot, she finds herself directed to safety by a mysterious, anonymous signal—a transmission only signed as EPSILON 09.
However, while revolution moves quick, the galaxy moves quicker, and Juno and the rest of the rebels find themselves embroiled in conflict after conflict—a once-green planet ravaged by spilled oil, a fundraising gala that ends in blood, and a threat that forces Castor to confront old wounds. As the election grows nearer every day and messages from EPSILON containing impossible intel grow more frequent, Juno starts to question everything she thought she knew. Is she doing enough? Is the galaxy’s democracy still worth saving?
Or is it time to burn it all down and build something new from the ashes?
Link: Goodreads
Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe — C.B. Lee
Genre: YA cozy fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
A geeky overachiever determined to save the world through science and a troublemaking chosen one lashing out against her destiny meet and fall in love in a magical coffeeshop as their two very different universes begin to collide in Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe, C.B. Lee’s fun, sapphic, cozy fantasy YA romance.
When Brenda’s internet goes out right before an important scholarship deadline, she stumbles right into Kat’s family’s coffeeshop. Brenda is swept away by cool, confident Kat, who actually cares about Brenda’s 19-step plan to save the world through science. Meanwhile, Kat can’t stop thinking about Brenda, who is smart, passionate, and doesn’t seem to care that Kat is the prophesied Chosen One.
The only problem? Kat and Brenda are from different universes. Like need-to-find-a-portal-to-go-on-a-second-date different universes.
As their universes collide and things spiral out of control, can a girl who is determined to save the world find love with a girl determined to outrun her destiny?
Link: Goodreads
Flight of the Fallen — Hana Lee
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, post-apocalyptic
Rep: Queer, bi, polyamory
Series: Book 2 of Magebike Courier
Hana Lee’s gritty, queer Mad Max–inspired fantasy duology concludes in a second installment that features just as many friendly (and unfriendly) monsters, high-stakes political intrigue, and a high-speed motorcycle adventure to find the source of a disappearing magic.
Jin-Lu knows she should be happy. Princess Yi-Nireen of Kerina Rut and Prince Kadrin of Kerina Sol have united after ten long years, having survived a near-apocalypse at the hands of Yi-Nireen’s relative. They are happy and in love—thanks to Jin—and they want her to join them at their upcoming nuptials in Kerina Sol.
But happiness always comes at cost.
Jin has left Yi-Nireen and Kadrin’s ivory tower, hiding a her ability to use mana was lost in the fallout of saving the world, and she can no longer ride a magebike. And the deadly mana storms ravaging the cities dotting the wasteland should’ve gotten better after the averted disaster, but they’ve only gotten worse. Kerina Lav, one of the last outposts, has fallen, leaving tens of thousands seeking sanctuary with its two neighbors.
To save their own people and the refugees of Kerina Lav, the group will have to go back to Yi-Nireen’s cruel-hearted, terrifying father with a request he is sure to deny. But can they find another way to restore power and peace before humanity—magic and non-magic alike—crumbles to dust?
Link: Goodreads
The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses — Malka Older
Genre: Science fiction fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 3 of The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti
The Hugo and Nebula nominated science fiction detective series continues with The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, featuring a new mystery concerning alarming incidents of targeted, escalating academic sabotage.
When a former classmate begs Pleiti for help on behalf of her cousin―who’s up for a prestigious academic position at a rival Jovian university but has been accused of plagiarism on the eve of her defense―Pleiti agrees to travel alongside her and investigate the matter.
Even if she has to do it without Mossa, her partner in more ways than one. Even if she’s still reeling from Mossa’s sudden isolation and bewildering rejection.
Yet what appears to be a case of an attempted reputational smearing devolves into something decidedly more dangerous―and possibly deadly.
Link: Goodreads
Six Wild Crowns — Holly Race
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of Queens of Elben
The king has been appointed by god to marry six queens. Those six queens are all that stand between the kingdom of Elben and ruin. Or so we have been told.
Each queen vies for attention. Clever, ambitious Boleyn is determined to be Henry’s favourite. And if she must incite a war to win Henry over? So be it.
Seymour acts as spy and assassin in a court teeming with dragons, backstabbing courtiers and strange magic. But when she and Boleyn become the unlikeliest of things—allies—the balance of power begins to shift. Together they will discover an ancient, rotting magic at Elben’s heart. A magic that their king will do anything to protect.
A captivating epic fantasy filled with dragons, court politics and sapphic yearning, perfect for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and House of the Dragon.
Link: Goodreads
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil — V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy, paranormal
Rep: Sapphic
This is a story about hunger.
1532, Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.This is a story about love.
1827, London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.This is a story about rage.
2019, Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers... and revenge.This is a story about life—how it ends, and how it starts.
Link: Goodreads
June 12, 2025
Cage of Starlight — Jules Arbeaux
Genre: Romantic fantasy
Rep: Ace, M/M
Don’t make waves, don’t get attached, and never let anyone see the tattoos.
Those rules have kept Tory Arknett alive, alone, and on the run for years in a country eager to put his healing hands to the work of war. When a desperate display of magic outs him to the authorities, Tory flees—right into the hands of cold and competent Sena Vantaras.
Caged in a cruel training facility and threatened with placement on the front lines of a brutal war, Tory needs to get out before he gets dead.
There’s just one thing to do before he goes: make Sena pay.
But when a mission strands them in enemy territory, they’ll have to work together to survive. As they learn more about each other and the myth behind the magic that connects them, Tory and Sena find belonging with each other. But the trackers the facility has implanted in them will kill them in three days if they don’t go back. Soon, Tory and Sena face a desperate decision: their freedom, or their lives?
A grumpy healer must work with his captor when a mission strands them in enemy territory in this action-packed, queer romantic fantasy by the author of Lord of the Empty Isles.
Link: Goodreads
All Woven With Ivy — Thea Hawthorne
Genre: Cozy romantasy
Rep: M/F; bi MCs; queernorm world
Series: Book 1 of Riversent
He’s as glittering and enchanting as the ballrooms he commands. She is as shadowed and quiet as the catacombs she studies. And yet his gaze finds her through every crowd.
Historian Zanthi Ilyston has never been likeable. She is too quiet, too plain and her strange eyes, while they allow her to see the unseen, unnerve others. All she wants is to disappear into a quiet life of research. Madoc Casca, heir to the famed healing Gardens, and Esk’s most notorious socialite, has other plans. He needs her help.
The healing waters of the Gardens are failing, and the secret to saving them is hidden in an ancient myth that refuses to be remembered. As she delves deeper into the dark waters of the past, her quiet life becomes as impossible to reclaim as Madoc is to ignore. He is everything she has never let herself want, but if she can't untangle the secrets of a forgotten history, she might lose him forever.
Because there is very little Madoc won’t sacrifice for his Gardens, and if the healing waters vanish into darkness, Madoc will too.
All Woven With Ivy is a fantasy romance with light academia, medium stakes, darkly cosy vibes, Orpheus & Eurydice undertones, and a glittering society steeped with the creeping unease of underworld myth. It has a bi FMC and MMC, and is set in a queernormative world. It is the first book in the interconnected and overlapping Riversent series. Each book follows a different couple and has a HEA.
Link: Goodreads
June 13, 2025
Lamb, Stag & Wolf — Airic Fenn
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
A priest. A woodsman. A secluded mountain village.
Sanctimonious, hypocritical, manipulative—Shelby Blackwood is a priest of the worst sort. To keep his secluded little village peaceful, he’s learned to carefully balance preaching of faith and fear. Ives Thatcher, the reclusive woodsman at the edge of the forest, has neither; the villagers are not pleased.
But converting Thatcher proves to be easier said than done when Shelby discovers there is something far more unnatural about him than his pagan ways, and Shelby can’t help himself from being tempted by the large man’s power and allure. Worse still, there’s a newcomer in town, and her curiosity and defiant personality may not just jeopardize Shelby’s secret, but the sanctity of the very system he’s worked to maintain.
Link: Goodreads
June 15, 2025
The Salt in the Sea — JD Rivers
Genre: Urban fantasy
Rep: Gay MCs
A downtrodden ex-soldier.
After leaving the military, werewolf Victor is shunned in his civilian life. Money is tight, so when an ex-comrade offers him an easy job—getting a package from an island—he jumps at the chance.
A lost inn owner.
When Selkie Thoma opens the door to a knocking patron, he wants to close it again immediately. Standing before him is Victor, his one-night stand from three years ago. The last thing Thoma wants is to have to explain why he left that night. As Victor and Thoma cross paths unexpectedly, emotions flare anew. But Victor is only on the island for a week, and Thoma can’t face his past, the consequences of his decisions, or the resulting condemnation from his sea-going selkie family.
A dead body in a post office.
When a corpse is discovered, fingers throughout the community point at Victor. With time running out before justice is served, it’s on Thoma to find out the truth. Because on the island justice is deadly.
Link: Duck Prints Press
June 16, 2025
A Witch By Any Other Name — Margery Bayne
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Three stories, three witches, and the destinies shaped by those who need them most. A feared sorceress secretly shelters those who have nowhere else to go. An old witch takes in a runaway princess with a kingdom on her heels. And a cursed girl makes a deal to break her family’s curse, only to find herself falling for the one person she’s supposed to hate.
These three queer, magical tales of love, fate, and found family celebrate the power of being true to yourself—even when the world would rather keep you in the shadows. From the author of Object Impermanence: Weird & Fantastic Stories comes this new collection of quick reads brimming with wonder, whimsy, and heart.
Link: Books2Read
Hate to Haunt You — Alli Temple
Genre: Contemporary fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Afterlife Incorporated
You always haunt the ones you love.
First, I got stuck as a ghost in the suburbs of Toronto. Now my reaper roommate is dying. Dying! Reapers aren’t even supposed to get the sniffles.
Turns out, we’re connected, and I don’t just mean a shared love of pineapple on pizza. Kelly and I have a rare and dangerous bond that’s draining my favourite reaper’s very essence away. If we don’t figure out how to break the link, Kelly is headed for a permanent sabbatical.
Now we’re exploring creepy corners of Afterlife, making risky deals with paranormal weirdos, and—worst of all—I might be falling for the reaper I’m literally haunting to death.
Being dead has never been easy, and there’s no way in hell I’m facing it alone. It’s time to save Kelly, even if it means breaking my own heart in the process.
Link: Author’s Website
June 17, 2025
The Folded Sky — Elizabeth Bear
Genre: Space opera
Rep: Queer, lesbian
Series: Book 2 of White Space
Dr. Sunya Song embarks on an interstellar journey across the Milky Way to connect with the artificial intelligence known as Baomind, a moon-sized entity that holds the key to humanity’s survival amidst cosmic challenges and unforeseen threats in Hugo Award–winning author Elizabeth Bear’s next epic science fiction novel.
Information doesn’t want to be free. Information wants to vanish without a trace. Sunya Song’s job is to stop that from happening. She’s an archinformist: a specialist historian whose job usually involves sitting at a console at her university job near the Galactic Core, sorting ancient documents and restoring corrupted files.
But now, the research opportunity of a lifetime has sent her—along with her teenage children and alien wife—halfway across the galaxy to preserve the data and aid in the retrieval of the archaeological find of the an ancient alien artificial intelligence called Baomind. As vast as a stellar system, the Baomind orbits a dying red giant, and the star’s time has nearly ended.
The isolated research station and its small fleet of ships come under attack by fanatic Freeport pirates who believe that artificial intelligence is an abomination that must be destroyed, putting the lives of Sunya and her family at risk.
Tens of thousands of light years from home, isolated from all help, Sunya is the only one who can save them all.
Link: Books2Read
The Mercy Makers — Tessa Gratton
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Bi or pan MC
Series: Book 1 of The Mercy Makers
A talented heretic must decide between the pursuit of forbidden magic, or the ecstasy of forbidden love—either way, her choice will upend the world, in the start of a sweeping, romantic epic fantasy trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Gratton.
Can an empire trip and fall on a mere strand of silk?
Iriset is a prodigy and an outlaw. The daughter of a powerful criminal, she dons her alter ego Silk to create magical disguises for those in her father’s organization, but she longs to do more with her to enhance what it means to be human by giving people wings, night-sight, and other abilities; to unlock the possibilities of gender and parenthood; to cure disease and even to end mortality itself.
Everything changes when her father is captured and sentenced to death. To save him, Iriset must infiltrate the palace and the empire’s fanatical ruling family. There, she realizes she has a chance—and an obligation—to bring down the entire corrupt system. She'll have to entangle herself in the lives of the emperor and his sister, getting them to trust and even to love her. But love is a two-way street, and Iriset’s own heart holds the most mysterious and impenetrable magic of all.
Link: Goodreads
The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery — Clarence A. Haynes
Genre: Paranormal
Rep: Queer secondary character
In a fast-paced, sexy, ghostly adventure, a publicist at the top of her game must confront her secret mystical past.
To be a client of Gwendolyn Montgomery’s—New York’s most powerful publicist at Sublime Media—is to be infused with a certain oomph, a mysterious glamour. She seems to have created the ideal life with her handsome new boyfriend, the perfect match. But Gwendolyn has a secret: She’s a mystical practitioner who can tap into the interdimensional, metaphysical realm of the dead known as El Intermedio. Gwendolyn has hidden her powers, buried her old life, and started anew.
After a grisly, bizarre incident at the Brooklyn Museum, Gwendolyn begins to realize that something nefarious is happening tied directly to her past, right as Fonsi Harewood comes back into her world. Fonsi is a queer Latinx psychic from the South Bronx who’s caught up in a love triangle with a ghost and his mortal ex. He’s able to communicate with the dead, having established a robust business interpreting messages from departed loved ones. And he comes with a dire warning for Gwendolyn that the barrier between humans and spirits is weakening.
Gwendolyn would prefer not to have anything to do with ghostly drama. Yet in order to get to the bottom of the spookiness derailing her life, she must face the demons she’d long left behind. Or the spirit world will be unleashed, threatening her very existence and all of New York. The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is a sensuous, funny, mystical adventure that will leave you spellbound as you keep the pages turning.
Link: Goodreads
This Princess Kills Monsters — Ry Herman
Genre: Fantasy, fairy tale retelling
Rep: Queer; bi MC
A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on horrible monsters, a dozen identical masked heroes, and a talking lion in a quest to save a kingdom—and herself—in this affectionate satire of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale The Twelve Huntsmen.
Someone wants to murder Princess Melilot. This is sadly normal.
Melilot is sick of being ordered to go on dangerous quests by her domineering stepmother. Especially since she always winds up needing to be rescued by her more magically talented stepsisters. And now, she’s been commanded to marry a king she’s never met.
When hideous spider-wolves attack her on the journey to meet her husband-to-be, she is once again rescued—but this time, by twelve eerily similar-looking masked huntsmen. Soon, she has to contend with near-constant attempts on her life, a talking lion that sets bewildering gender tests, and a king who can’t recognize his true love when she puts on a pair of trousers. And all the while, she has to fight her growing attraction to not only one of the huntsmen, but also her fiancé’s extremely attractive sister.
If Melilot can’t unravel the mysteries and rescue herself from peril, kingdoms will fall. Worse, she could end up married to someone she doesn’t love.
Link: Goodreads
A Covenant of Ice — Karin Lowachee
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 3 of The Crowns of Ishia
The exciting conclusion to the gunslinging dragon-rider trilogy!
After years of separation, Havinger Lilley has finally reunited with his lover, Janan. He now hopes to heal from the experience that changed his life forever: being bonded to the soul of a king dragon and to the man Raka who died to save it. But this bond is consuming him, making his thoughts and feelings not his own.
Compelled by this to return to the frozen north that was once Raka’s home, Lilley and his companions Janan and Meka make the arduous journey toward a confrontation with the power-hungry Kattakans that could result in another devastating war.
In this final chapter of The Crowns of Ishia series, the survival of the Ba’Suon people, their dragons, and the land itself rests on the decisions of Lilley, Janan and Meka.
Link: Goodreads
If We Survive This — Racquel Marie
Genre: YA horror, apocalyptic
Rep: Queer
The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets in If We Survive This, a tense and emotional young adult horror novel from award-winning author Racquel Marie about a teen girl leading a group of survivors on a perilous journey during the apocalypse.
Flora Braddock Paz is not the girl who survives. A colorful creative who spends as much time fearing death as she does trying to hide that fear from her loved ones, she’s always considered herself weak. But half a year into the global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transforms people into violent, zombielike “rabids,” she and her older brother Cain are still alive. With their mom dead, their dad missing, and their LA suburb left desolate, they form a new plan to venture out to the secluded Northern California cabin they vacationed in growing up―their best chance at a safe haven and maybe even seeing their dad again.
The dangers of the world have changed, but so has Flora. Still, their journey up the state is complicated by encounters with familiar faces, new allies, hidden truths, and painful memories of the family’s final time making this trip last year. And for Flora, one thing inevitably remains: No matter how far you run, death is never far behind.
Link: Goodreads
Wearing the Lion — John Wiswell
Genre: Fantasy, mythology
Rep: Bi, ace
This second novel from Nebula Award-winning John Wiswell brings a humanizing, redemptive touch to the Hercules story in this mythological fantasy for fans of Jennifer Saint and Elodie Harper.
Heracles, hero of Greece, dedicates all his feats to Hera, goddess of family. Heracles’ mother raised him to revere Hera, as her attempt to avoid the goddess’ wrath. Unbeknownst to Heracles, he is yet another child Hera’s husband, Zeus, had out of wedlock.
Hera loathes every minute of Heracles’ devotion. She finally snaps and sends the Furies to make Heracles kill himself. But the moment Heracles goes mad, his children playfully ambush him, and he slays them instead. When the madness fades, Heracles’s wife, Megara, convinces him to seek revenge. Together they’ll hunt the Furies and learn which god did this.
Believing Hera is the only god he can still trust, Heracles prays to Hera, who is wracked with guilt over killing his children. To mislead Heracles, Hera sends him on monster-slaying quests, but he is too traumatized to enact more violence. Instead, Heracles cares for the Nemean lion, cures the illness of the Lernaean hydra, and bonds with Crete’s giant bull.
Hera struggles with her role in Heracles’ life as Heracles begins to heal psychologically by connecting with the monsters—while also amassing an army that could lay siege to Olympos.
Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings his signature humanizing touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth—and the goddess reluctantly bound to him.
Link: Goodreads
June 18, 2025
Enemies to Enemies — Ash Kreider
Genre: Fantasy erotica
Rep: Aromantic; trans-coded; bisexual
An erotic why-choose bisexual novella: trans-coded M/M & trans-coded M/F.
Tano, a shapeshifter and Commander of the Tinoran City Watch, is cursed by a god to become human, and is completely overwhelmed by his new anatomy and attendant biological urges. He accidentally falls into definitely-not-a-relationship with his long-time enemy Karchak—a mediocre smuggler, fence, and tavern owner.
At the same time, he begins exploring a friends-with-benefits situation with a nearby cafe owner who just wants something nice and simple after the end of her previous marriage. In the end, everyone gets what they want.
Link: Itch.io
A Light From the Nether — Molly Dowd Sullivan
Genre: Urban fantasy
Rep: M/M
This thrilling urban fantasy novel grabs you and won’t let go. Dark elements of psychic infection, body horror, trauma, and tragic love play against the backdrop of a compelling murder mystery.
Liam O’Connor is special. When a Fissure opens in someone’s mind, he’s the one who sews it up again. When a parasite creeps through that Fissure, Liam is the exterminator who purges it. And when Liam loses everything, he’s the coward who runs. But when he moves to an old house in coastal New England, hoping for isolation, something from his past follows. Fissures start tearing open; minds are devoured. People die. It’s not long before Liam realizes a murderer has come to Shoalport, and he’s the only one who can stop them.
Well, him, and the man who keeps haunting his dreams.
Link: Goodreads
June 19, 2025
The Last Soldier of Nava — Yejin Suh
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
In this Korean-mythology-inspired sapphic fantasy, a young woman with shadow magic is awakened after a thousand years to heal her nation and her own troubled memory, even as she falls for the sister of a saint she killed in her past life.
According to legend, the Soldier drowned entire kingdoms in darkness.
Yet, the Soldier was only a girl, robbed of her will and raised as a weapon for her power-hungry father. When she awakens years later, freedom takes the form of a hidden life and a new name: Shadow.
As war brews and magical dead zones devour the natural world, Shadow is captured and pulled back into court life by her immortal father’s new prodigy, Scarlet, a diabolical woman obsessed with her sister’s murder. A murder Shadow herself committed in a past life.
Shadow’s control over darkness holds the key to restoring the balance of their world, but a serpentine court hides greed, corruption, and her father’s new plot to resurrect his fading magic.
If she’s to survive and save her nation, Shadow will have to hide her past and rely on the woman who captured her—even as they unwind the legends that brought them together and face their growing attraction.
Link: Goodreads
June 21, 2025
Office of the Lost — J. Scott Coatsworth & Kim Fielding
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 1 of Chaos and Order
When perfection collides with chaos, sparks fly.
Crispin Eladrin, desk fae at the Office of the Lost, could find a needle in ten haystacks. His desk is so neat it would make an accountant blush, and he’s never failed to complete a recovery mission. He has no idea how adorable he is, especially when he’s at his most annoyingly officious.
Enter utterly chaotic Leopold Lane. His life is a masterclass in disastrous events—and it’s about to get worse. He’s the latest thing that Crispin has been sent to retrieve, but when they meet, sparks fly. Literally. And now they must find their way back before someone—or something—enchants them, eats them, or stomps them to death.
Neither knows why the Office of the Lost is so hell-bent on acquiring Leo, but they’re determined to survive long enough to find out—and to see if opposites really do attract.
Link: Other Worlds Ink
June 24, 2025
Arc of the Universe — Nikki Alexander
Genre: Near-future science fiction
Rep: Queer Black FMC
How do you design a system of government from scratch when you’ve lost faith in government itself?
Carrie Davenport, a renowned constitutional law professor, has been given the career opportunity of a lifetime. Project Mars, the brainchild of a billionaire tech tycoon, has ambitious plans to establish the first human settlement on Mars. And Project Mars selected her—a Black, queer, publicity-shy professor in North Carolina—to design a system of government for the colony.
Carrie eagerly begins researching how to craft a suitable constitution for space. But when she is stopped by the police in a case of mistaken identity and subjected to police violence, the filmed encounter thrusts Carrie into a spotlight she never asked for, putting her at the center of the ongoing debate about race and justice in the US. Suddenly, American democracy doesn’t seem like a shining beacon to carry into space. Carrie must decide whether to speak up—against the police brutality she endured, the tech-bro culture of Project Mars, and an even deeper underbelly of corruption behind the mission.
Can Carrie regain faith in herself and in society to craft the “government of the future” and prevent the prejudices of Earth from tainting human life beyond?
Link: Goodreads
Incendiant — Virginia Black
Genre: Paranormal, urban fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Joan of Crows
Author Virginia Black burst onto the queer speculative fiction scene with her powerful debut, Consecrated Ground. Now Joan of Crows returns to Calvert in this high-octane thriller that pits good versus evil in a penultimate showdown.
War witch Joan Matthews wants little more than to build a life with Leigh Phan. Their hometown is rebuilding under Joan’s protection, but not everyone is happy with her solution to the most recent vampire crisis.
Meanwhile, Leigh’s bloodling powers lead to unforeseen consequences, and Joan is forced to honor a favor owed to a dangerous foe. Neither knows a greater threat lurks behind seemingly unrelated attacks across the land.
Together, Joan and Leigh once saved the town of Calvert. Now that they are separated, each must learn to save herself, or all their gains will be forfeited—and everyone they know will pay the price.
Link: Goodreads
Lesbians in Space — J.S. Fields (ed.), William C. Tracy (ed.) & Heather Tracy (ed.)
Genre: Science fiction anthology
Rep: Lesbian
Peanut butter and chocolate. Cheese and wine. Sex and rock ’n’ roll. History is full of great pairings. Get ready for your new favorite: Lesbians and Space!
Join a host of intrepid explorers heading to the outer reaches of the galaxy, exploring planets, space stations, strange new worlds and interesting aliens.
Launch into stories that span the cosmos, covering Space Opera, Xenobiology, Space Stations, Adventure, and Spaceships! From spaceship mechanics to intergalactic colony queens, heists, smugglers, gods, and sentient planets, Lesbians in Space explores the galaxy from the unique perspective of the lesfic world, blending the best of sapphic literature with modern sci-fi and space opera tropes.
With stories by Mary Robinette Kowal, Seanan McGuire, Travis Baldree, Emma Newman, MK Hardy, Ashleigh Martin, Nathan Chu, Stewart C Baker, Kayla Whittle, Joel Glover, Caye Marsh, Kira Neu, Jes Honard, Scarlet Passmore, Sylvie Althoff, Jasmine Gower, Siena Buchanan, Beáta Fülöp, Danielle Woolhead, J.S. Fields, and Heather Tracy.
Link: Goodreads
A Treachery of Swans — A.B. Poranek
Genre: Fantasy, fairy tale retelling
Rep: Sapphic
An enthralling sapphic retelling of Swan Lake, for fans of Allison Saft and V.E Schwab.
Magic has long been outlawed in Auréal. Odile has always known she’d be the one to restore it.
Raised by a sorcerer, Odile has spent years preparing for the heist of a lifetime. It’s perfectly simple. Impersonate a princess, infiltrate the palace, steal the king's enchanted crown and restore magic to the kingdom.
But when the King is unexpectedly murdered, she’s forced to recruit the help of Marie d’Odette, the real princess, and the two begin to unravel a web of lies and deceit that leaves Odile uncertain of who to trust.
Soon though Odile must decide—her mission or the girl she’s falling for?
The fate of the Kingdom depends on her making the right choice...
Link: Goodreads
A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace — Emily Skrutskie
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
In this charming fantasy with a swoony friends-to-lovers romance, two soldiers must decide the futures they want in the wake of a last-chance hook-up on the night before the world was supposed to end.
On the eve of the battle that will decide the realm of Telrus’s fate, Katrien takes a hard look at her prospects. A mere legionnaire, she and her spear will be at the fore in the morning, facing off against the Demon Lord and his wretched army, and it’s all but certain she’ll perish in the fight. But if the end of the world is mere hours away, there’s no reason not to hook up with her handsome, dedicated battle partner Emory—despite any anti-fraternization policies their centurion may have in place.
Only, the world doesn’t end the next day. Instead, an insufferable prince raised in hiding comes out of nowhere with a plucky band of heroes, defeats the Demon Lord, and seals the rift to the hellish plane. The realm is saved. The war is over. And Kat suddenly has a lot more future than she knows what to do with. It’s a future that could include Emory... if only he weren’t so set on staying enlisted with the very army Kat was unwillingly drafted into.
And while the Demon Lord has been destroyed, peace is still a long march away. When Kat inadvertently draws the eye of the prince, she, Emory, and the rest of their motley unit are pulled to the fore of the formation—and the heart of the danger—as the army embarks on one last campaign. The mission: laying a road as a foundation for the prince’s future rule. The real mission: scouring the last of the Demon Lord’s servants from the material plane.
As Kat and Emory work to secure a lasting peace, they’ll have to decide what they want their futures to look like—and if there’s room for love at the end of the road.
Link: Goodreads
Viscounts & Villainy — Allie Therin
Genre: Historical fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 3 of Roaring Twenties Magic
Love redeemed them, but the past isn’t done with them yet.
New York, 1925
For jaded Lord Fine—Wesley, to the friends he’s surprised he now has—falling into his lover Sebastian’s world of magic and intrigue has changed everything. But when a plot to destroy magic is linked to Wesley’s own aristocratic world, he’s determined to root it out—especially when it threatens newly vulnerable Sebastian.
Sebastian will never regret sacrificing his magic to save Wesley’s life, even if life without magic is challenging and sometimes dangerous. But now he faces the biggest danger infiltrating Wesley’s viscount circles to find a villain, without magic to protect them, because Sebastian’s magic is gone forever… isn’t it?
Joined by old friends, Wesley and Sebastian follow the clues from New York’s speakeasies, across the ocean to England, and finally to a duke’s country estate. Always one step behind, they must race against time to stop those responsible and end the threat to the world, and magic, once and for all.
Link: Goodreads
This Gilded Abyss — Rebecca Thorne
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Lesbian
Series: Book 1 of The Titan’s Wrath Trilogy
From USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Thorne comes This Gilded Abyss, a thrilling lesbian fantasy where Arcane meets Titanic.
Sergeant Nix Marr is a damn good soldier, but she’s desperate to leave her haunted past in the bioluminescent ocean, buried alongside old friends… and old flames. Unfortunately, even the icy ocean can’t extinguish some fires. When Kessandra, everyone’s favorite princess—and Nix’s loathed ex—requests Nix’s help investigating a massacre in the abyssal city of Fall, Nix refuses. Vehemently.
But Kessandra always gets what she wants.
Consigned as Kessandra’s bodyguard, Nix grudgingly boards a luxurious submersible that offers the only transportation to Fall. It’s frustrating, irritating, how quickly Nix and Kess fall back in sync—much as she tries to fight, Nix can’t deny their spark. But Kessandra wasn’t truthful—surprise, surprise—and Nix quickly realizes their “investigation” isn’t about the massacre, but rather what caused it: an illness that incites its victims into a violent craze.
When another royal is brutally murdered, it becomes apparent the disease has spread—and no one on the submersible is safe. Suddenly, survival hinges on trusting each other, which would be a hell of a lot easier if Kessandra didn’t keep lying. Injured, fighting for their lives, Nix has to decide if she can trust Kessandra again… and what she’ll lose this time.
Link: Kobo
June 25, 2025
Goldheart — Tess Carletta
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 1 of Foxglove & Feud
Senna Kane was taken from his bed as a child and raised to be the Goldheart, the highest ranking guard in his kingdom charged with protecting the prince. They dwell in a kingdom veiled in utter darkness to protect from the sun sickness, a deadly disease that causes its victims to grow plants from their bodies when they touch sunlight.
Senna agrees to help his prince venture outside their dark land to seek a cure in the rival neighboring kingdom, Redwind. There, they find allies who welcome the magic the sun sickness brings. Among them is Captain Emrys Calloway, the princess’ handsome guard who encourages Senna to do reckless, impossible things, like learn to wield the sun’s magic himself.
GOLDHEART is a story about chosen family, choosing love, and the impossible feat of staying good in times of darkness.
Link: Author’s Website
Among Ghosts — Rachel Hartman
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 5 of Southlands
Set in the world of New York Times bestseller Seraphina, a boy on the run from a dragon—among other dangers—seeks refuge in a haunted abbey in this wholly original YA ghost story about what haunts us, and what connects us.
A few things to know about the town of St. Muckle’s: It’s too out-of-the-way to interest greedy lords, and too damp and muddy for marauding dragons to burn. And anyone, from a humble serf to a runaway nun, may earn their freedom by living for a year and a day within the town walls. Seven years ago, Charl and his mother fled to St. Muckle’s and made it their safe haven, building a new life in this so-called Peasant’s Paradise. But when Charl sees something impossible—a ghost—soon the embers of his past are threatening to engulf his world in flames. A tragic accident is quickly followed by murder, a deadly plague, and a mercenary dragon.
Charl manages to escape to an abandoned abbey outside of town, but finds no safety within those ruined walls. A treacherous nun, a chorus of murdered girls, and the fearsome Battle Bishop await, ready to ensnare him in a complex web of history, magic, and fate. For some things should never be forgotten, however much they haunt us, and Charl will need all his wisdom and resiliency if he is to fight for the world he knows... and the people he calls home.
Link: Goodreads
June 26, 2025
Painted Flock — Claudie Arseneault
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Aromantic (x3); asexual; nonbinary (1 agender, 1 questioning)
Series: Book 2 of Val-de-mer (stands alone)
Clémence Voyer’s one and only priority is Alain, ols five-year-old brother. Ol had been ready to kill countless witches to keep him safe. With Montrant Industries’ crimes exposed, Clémence is freed from their clutches and under witness protection, granting ol a rare opportunity to give the boy a sense of normalcy and indulge his bird obsession.
The city of Val-de-mer is left with one obvious problem, however: over a thousand witches trapped in exocores need to be transferred safely into new bodies, and ols involvement in the creation of exocores is not so easily forgotten—not by the lovely Emmanuelle Duclos, the scientist in charge of devising the exocore transfer, not by the witch community ol betrayed, and not by Montrant Industries, who needs ol dead to protect itself.
Mired in the middle of the exocore restoration project, Clémence is forced to face the people ol harmed. Ol will need to learn to trust again determine what it means to be accountable if ol wants to move forward and finally give Alain the idyllic life he deserves.
Link: BookFunnel
June 30, 2025
Run Like Hell — Eira Brand
Genre: Science fiction, cyberpunk
Rep: Queer, trans
A shootout at a streetside bazaar. A pursuit through darkened city streets. A courier brutally murdered by his pursuers. Blown apart and left to rot in the gutter. All of that makes for an average day in the bowels of the megatropolis of New York City—at the bottom of the Barrel.
But for Raide, that day was anything but average. That courier was a friend—probably Raide’s best friend—and he left a life-changing contract behind. The job and its promised rewards force Raide to face impossible odds, all while eluding relentless corporate security agents and outrunning a horrifying plague that’s sweeping the city.
When faced with such a situation, there are really only two options...
Lie down and die or run like hell.
Link: Goodreads
Nine-Tenths — J.M. Frey
Genre: Paranormal romance
Rep: M/M
Colin Levesque is at loose ends. He’s finished university, but has no career; he adores romance novels, but he’s crap at relationships; and his prickliness is a detriment at the café where he’s making ends meet. He also has a crush on his regular Dav, a homo draconis who comes in every morning to read his newspaper, sip his double-strong coffee, and stare longingly at Colin in return.
So it figures that the day Colin gets up the courage to do something about the sexual tension simmering between them, he also learns that Dav has an embarrassing habit of hiccupping fire when he’s nervous. Which, in this case, destroys the fancy custom-made bean roaster. When Dav volunteers to take over the coffee roasting with his fire-breath, being squished together in the hot, cramped kitchen leads to even hotter kisses.
Everything’s finally happening for Colin—until people start claiming the dragon-roasted coffee has cured their genetic ailments. As their budding relationship struggles under the scrutiny of scientists and media, the hype around the coffee leads the lovers to be inducted into a centuries-old conspiracy: dragon-roasted food has always healed humans. And the most powerful draconic nobles have been withholding this symbiotic advantage to keep themselves on top. Colin and Dav are determined to expose the truth, but if they’re not careful, their objections could goad power-mad monarchs into destroying everything they hold dear.
Including each other.
Link: Goodreads
The Dead Withheld — L.D. Lewis
Genre: Paranormal neo-noir
Rep: Black sapphic MC
MEET DIZZY.
Private investigator.
Blues enthusiast.
Deadwalker witch.
In this sapphic paranormal neo-noir, follow Dizzy’s exploits in the neon-drenched desert city of San Guin as a break in the cold case of her wife’s murder leads to her stepping on the toes of some ambitious demons.
Link: Neon Hemlock