Queer SF - June 2026
June 1, 2026
BOOM Goes the Bride — Valiant Evermech
Genre: Science fiction fantasy, cyberpunk
Rep: Lesbian
Series: Book 1 of 2
A pulpy lesbian romance between an elven thief from another world and a corporate princess whose company is built on her clones. 300,000 and counting, and the woman they’re made from wishes they didn’t exist. Danger, spice, and everything not-nice.
When the twice-dead thief Nil steals a magical dagger from one of the world’s angriest trillionaires, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with his daughter Sook, the so-called Mother of a Million Clones. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and in this case the heart wants to be chased, shot at, and possibly exploded.
Til death do us part is gonna need a bit of an extension...
Link: Goodreads
Grief Eater — Emma Osborne
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
Visceral, gritty, and unforgiving, Grief Eater is a zombie story like you’ve never read before.
When Kristina rises from her violent death, she’s not the same fragile woman her family once abandoned. She’s rageful, powerful, and hungry—for the blood of the ones who were supposed to love her. With a newfound craving to see vengeance and grief served, she launches into a once-in-an-undead-lifetime journey across blood-slicked highways to the scorched Australian bush and her hometown. As her body fails and her mind fractures, she’s left with one final question: Is she here to forgive, or to feed?
A transgressive, gory examination of queer identity and found family, Grief Eater sinks its teeth into trauma and what it means to be devoured by grief.
Link: Goodreads
Vacation From Hell — Alli Temple
Genre: Urban fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 3 of Afterlife Incorporated
Six days, seven nights... with no return ticket?
It was supposed to be a vacation—just me, Kelly, some sun, sand, and zero Afterlife shenanigans. But then the Chief Drama Officer of HELL checked into an oceanview suite next door.
Ziggy, the underworld’s most unenthusiastic leader, has decided it’s time for a career change. Except he’s crashing our much-needed break, and his temper tantrum is unleashing plagues on our little slice of paradise. Those paper umbrellas in my drinks don’t offer much protection from paranormal storms or rogue waves.
Now, instead of sleeping in and watching the sunset, Kelly and I are chasing down Afterlife’s runaway executive and trying to convince him to get back to work before the apocalypse hits. If we can’t, our vacation from hell might turn into the end of the world.
Someone hand me another mai tai.
Vacation From Hell is the final (for now) installment in the Afterlife Incorporated urban fantasy trilogy. These books are not meant to be read out of order. You won’t get the inside jokes or fully appreciate the romantic payoff. Ember thanks you for your conscientiousness in this matter.
Link: Goodreads
June 2, 2026
The Grief Shop and Other Stories From a Broken World — Alex DiFrancesco
Genre: Speculative short story collection
Rep: Queer
From the author of Transmutation comes a linked collection of speculative short fiction following a woman who navigates surreal jobs in a near-future dystopia, where people have become completely numb to their emotions following a cataclysmic event.
The Grief Shop and Other Stories from a Broken World takes place after “the tragedy” transforms everyone into unfeeling people. At the center of the book is Gemma, who must cope with attempting to feel in light of the numbness. She works a series of jobs—at a grief-infused coffee shop, a boxing gym for pain therapy, a graveyard, and more—encountering a range of eccentric characters struggling to survive in a world where grief, ecstasy, suffering, and joy are commodities for some to purchase and for others to exploit. Gemma’s path is one of glimmering possibilities, ones with feelings she may not understand or accept.
The Grief Shop dares to wonder: how do we tell the story of being human when the very things that make us human have been stripped away from us?
Link: Kobo
Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous — Autumn K. England
Genre: Cozy fantasy
Rep: Queer; non-binary MC
STARDEW VALLEY meets STUDIO GHIBLI in a charming cozy fantasy about healing, redemption, and the subtle magic of simple living. Perfect for fans of Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea and The Spellshop. Welcome home, weary traveler.
When Oaklin Nettlewood accidentally joined an evil world-ending cult, mind control magic forced them to do unspeakable things. Years later, the realm’s heroes have finally saved the day, defeated the villain, and shattered the last remnants of the spell... leaving destruction in their wake. And so, with a spell-damaged memory and whole bushel of trauma, Oaklin escapes to a small farm on the edge of Mossley’s Rest and swears an oath: After all the things they were forced to do with their magic, they will never use it again. Ever.
The no-nonsense ghost granny who lives in Oaklin’s house has other ideas. As she coaxes Oaklin out of their shell and back into the world, they find companionship (a grumpy horse and a very good dog), friendship (a local bard and magical baker who should just kiss already), and tentative romance (a paladin-librarian who makes Oaklin’s heart come alive for the first time in ages.) Magic even seems possible again—though strictly for foraging magical mushrooms and protecting the farm from bugs.
Healing comes in gentle waves, and Oaklin doesn’t have to do it alone. So what does it mean when an inquisitor comes to town to hunt former cultists just as Oaklin begins to think that maybe, just maybe, they deserve a happy ending after all?
Link: Kobo
Muñeca — Cynthia Gómez
Genre: Gothic historical fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
A vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process.
It is 1968 Oakland, and Natalia Fuentes has been hearing rumors about the beautiful Violeta Miramontes. The young heiress to Spanish colonial wealth has been left paralyzed by a mysterious illness. But Nati knows a thing or two about witchcraft, and she is certain that this is the work of dark magic.
Armed with a plan to break the spell and earn a handsome reward, Nati works her way into the house as Violeta’s caretaker, and immediately discovers her suspicions are true. But who cursed Violeta? And why?
As feelings between the two women bloom into romance, Nati grows more and more reckless, and is forced to face her own ghosts— ones she hoped would stay gone forever.
Riveting and richly layered, Muñeca explores how far one will go to save the person they love—even if that means damning themselves. Cynthia Gómez fills her debut novel with moments that chill your bones and warm your heart, a razor-sharp examination of deep-rooted issues that will haunt readers long after the last page is turned.
Link: Goodreads
Phoning Faust — Sophie Mutiara Nova
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
Queer mixed Indonesian college student Dian Faust attempts to call the suicide hotline only to dial the wrong number, her finger slipping and typing in six three times (the mark of the Devil). The mysterious voice on the other end of the line is revealed to be a charming scam caller named Memphis with a penchant for chattiness, trapped in a dingy bus stop bathroom, wanting to learn a concerning amount about the lonely Dian’s life.
But this scam caller is more than just a Mr. Robot hacker wannabe—a sinister presence lurks in the pixels on Dian’s laptop screen in the shadows of her apartment. The Devil themself has come to collect Dian’s soul, and “Memphis” is actually Mephistopheles—Hell’s foremost golden-tongued agent and notorious liar.
In this loose retelling of Goethe’s Faust, will Dian save her soul before time runs out—or will she fall prey to the renowned storytelling deception of the infamous Mephistopheles?
Link: Kobo
The Hyacinth Labyrinth — Jamie Pacton
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Standalone in established universe
A whimsical adventure full of magic, fantastical road trips, and a sapphic slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance—for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.
All magic begins in stories. That’s what Fae princess Hyacinth has always been told. As the unmagical daughter of Queen Mab, Hyacinth has never fit in at her mother’s court. She hopes that if she learns about her father, who disappeared fifteen years ago, she can finally learn more about herself.
When Hyacinth and her friend Chloe—a human stablehand trapped in Fae—sneak off to a riverside night market, Hyacinth learns that her father was last seen heading to a library at the heart of a treacherous labyrinth. The problem: The labyrinth was built long ago by three goddesses, and no one has ever returned from it.
Still, Hyacinth has to try.
With the help of Chloe and a tiny dragon named Coffee, she defies Queen Mab and sets off into the wilds of the Moonshadow Kingdom. Along the way they face bandits, magical creatures, a centuries-old human who hosts an Endless Ball, and Hyacinth and Chloe’s growing feelings for each other. Meanwhile, an ancient power lies in wait at the center of the labyrinth, and it is eager to write the girls’ ending.
A lush, fairycore, sapphic YA fantasy that returns readers to the Fae world introduced in Jamie Pacton’s bestselling novel The Absinthe Underground!
Link: Goodreads
The Secret World of Briar Rose — Cindy Pham
Genre: YA fairy tale retelling
Rep: Sapphic
A lush and immersive queer “Sleeping Beauty” retelling about escapism, grief, and dreaming of a better world, as imagined by YouTube star Cindy Pham.
A hundred years have passed since the last heir of Gyldan fell into eternal slumber and doomed the once-mighty kingdom into poverty and invasion. At least, that’s what the fairy tales claim.
Corin is a jaded thief who doesn’t believe in fables, even when she searches Gyldan’s underground tunnels to find her younger sister, Elly, who ran away to find the sleeping princess in hopes of a better life. Corin’s conviction is challenged when she discovers the ruins of the ancient castle, maintained by beings from the kingdom’s golden age, who protect a hidden portal into princess Amelia’s subconscious. Following Elly’s voice, Corin jumps in the portal and seals the entry behind her.
Inside the lush world of Amelia’s dreams, the sisters reunite for a new adventure as they meet Briar Rose, Amelia’s whimsical alter ego, and Malicine, a sharp-tongued demon with a gift for magic. But as they explore ice castles, sunflower mazes, and star-filled oceans, Corin suspects Briar Rose is hiding darker secrets behind her “perfect” paradise—and that there are some things their subconscious can’t bury forever.
Link: Goodreads
The Dawn Throne — Tara Sim
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 3 of The Dark Gods
This thrilling installment of the Dark Gods finds each of the heirs desperately attempting to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. But gods don’t stay defeated for long, and soon an old enemy threatens the very existence of their realm.
In the aftermath of the chaos and tragedy of Godsnight, the recovering heirs struggle to determine their next moves. But when Phos, the god of light, stages an attack on their home in a bid for cosmic control, the heirs decide to take the fight to Phos’s own realm of Solara.
Yet Solara hasn’t gone unscathed. It is being terrorized by an assassin named the Sunslayer targeting those in Phos’s bloodline, whose methods are troublingly familiar. As tensions run high and the Solarians prove reluctant to trust outsiders, Nikolas, Rian, and Julian set off to capture the Sunslayer to forge a delicate truce. Meanwhile, Angelica, Risha, and Dante search for a way to defeat Phos for good. But with adversaries closing in from every direction, the heirs will need to trust in one another if they want to survive long enough to take down a god.
That is, if they can survive the Sunslayer first.
Link: Goodreads
Where You’ll Find Us — Jen St. Jude
Genre: YA contemporary fantasy
Rep: Queer, sapphic
Calla Quick has no future. At least, that’s how it feels. Her parents disowned her via text message, and now she can’t afford to go to an all-women’s college with her girlfriend Ramona like they planned. But Calla wonders if maybe that’s for the best—because even though Calla told Ramona her parents disowned her because they found out she’s gay, the truth is, Calla has been questioning whether she’s a girl at all.
Calla wishes she had more time to figure everything out, and one night, her wish is seemingly granted. When Calla and Ramona stumble upon a mysterious farmhouse in the woods, they meet five teens who claim they’ve lived there for decades. The land, which they call Amaranth, acts as a safe haven for queer kids throughout history—a place free of hate, free of violence, free of time itself. Here, Calla can be Cal, and they feel instantly accepted. They don’t have to worry about the future because at Amaranth, it will never come—until one night when the clock strikes twelve.
Now under a literal ticking clock, the housemates must find a way to stop time again or face going back to their harsh realities, but as Cal learns everyone’s story, they begin to wonder what queer people lose when their history is lost to time.
Link: Goodreads
The Disco at the End of the World — Nathan Tavares
Genre: Alt-history science fiction romance
Rep: Gay
An alternate 1970s science fiction romance blending first contact and queer counterculture in the Los Angeles disco scene, perfect for readers of Vajra Chandraseker and Victor Manibo.
In 1977—a world where America launched its space program shortly after WWII—Mitch Ward is a grunt in the US Spaceguard. Stationed in a backwater base on the Moon, his only friend is Gloria, who performs “Lady Moondust” for fellow soldiers, until he’s briefly reunited with Flynn, a love from his youth who has never been far from his heart.
Following a visit from an unseen, terrifying but also maybe euphoric being, Mitch and Gloria find themselves quickly discharged from the Guard and sent back to Earth. Moving to Los Angeles to chase their dreams, the duo scrape by, dancing between joy and defiance at the discos in a rapidly changing city that’s unwelcoming to those who don’t fit the Golden Age of Hollywood standard.
But when Flynn crashes back into their lives, he comes with a warning. He claims to be the host for a traveler and emissary of a utopian civilization, who has caught notice of Earth. This civilization is either the source of humanity’s salvation—or its destruction. And they’re on the way.
With the strange new powers blooming in Mitch and Gloria, and Flynn’s motives perhaps as hazy as those fog-filled LA dance floors, it’s up to this community of disco-loving misfits to stand up for what is beautiful and right. And save those who maybe wouldn’t do the same for them.
They’re not going down without a fight—and one hell of a party.
Link: Goodreads
June 4, 2026
One Knight Stand — Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Genre: YA historical cozy fantasy, humor
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Lady’s Knight
Saddle up your dragons, the ladies are going on tour! The sapphic love story continues in the sequel to joyful medieval romp LADY’S KNIGHT from NYT bestselling duo, Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner. Perfect for fans of Gwen and Art are Not in Love and My Lady Jane.
Dearest reader… let me catch you up.
Gwen, our lady knight.
Isobelle, our knight’s lady.
They fight monsters, and they’re in love. Well, they fought one monster, once. And while they are in love, they haven’tdiscussed that fact with each other, and neither wants to be the first to bring it up. This is going to be fine.
Link: Goodreads
June 5, 2026
Her Bed on Fire — Rebecca Freeman
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Lesbian
Series: Book 3 of Cliffs of the Goddess
Twice now The Goddess in her many incarnations has weathered Bulsara’s attempts to destroy the realm, and thanks to his laziness and ineptitude, he has failed miserably. Locked out of the realm for good now, he accidentally discovers that he isn’t the only one who wants the realm of The Goddess destroyed—and the second competitor is glad to let Bulsara take the realm over, as long as he gets to be the one who destroys The Goddess.
How do the followers of The Goddess rescue one of her incarnations from the real world, without magic? How can they live without one of their incarnations? Most importantly, how will Halle get back her beloved Vee?
Link: Goodreads
June 9, 2026
A Dance of Burning Blades — M.H. Ayinde
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 2 of The Invoker Trilogy
War rages on in the second novel in M. H. Ayinde’s relentlessly gripping epic fantasy series The Invoker Trilogy, a sweeping epic of revenge and rebellion set in a richly drawn world of warring clans and ancestor magic.
Tension simmers across Nine Lands. In the capital, the people of Lordsgrave seethe with resentment after the horrors of the greyblood attack. Clan Adatali is in open rebellion against the king, and as war in the Feverlands rages on, a humble tree feller—who looks a lot like missing invoker Jinao Mizito—has not forgotten the promise he made to avenge his brother.
Meanwhile, in the shadows, Lyela continues to move her pieces across the board. Can the people of the Nine Lands reclaim their stolen history and unlock the secrets that have been kept from them for centuries?
Link: Goodreads
The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones — Lex Croucher
Genre: Fantasy, dark academia
Rep: Queer
Briar always dreamed of going to the elite Temple School of Thaumaturgy.
Briar’s best friend, Seb, just wanted them to stay together.
When Seb gets in and Briar doesn’t, their relationship is shattered.
Until, on the cusp of their final year, Briar secures a summer job sorting through the old magical textbooks strictly forbidden from the students who know how to read them, finally gaining entry to the notorious ivory tower to see what their closest friend has become and to learn, at last, who really controls the secrets of magical selection...
Link: Author’s Website
Her Sharp Embrace — Kate Koenig
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
In the glittering city of New Soleil, beauty masks danger at every turn. The Nightshades, a crew of magical outlaws, are no different. Their glamorous facades conceal the terror they strike into the hearts of the rich and powerful as they steal from the corrupt and fight for the forgotten.
Noa Toussaint fled her cossetted life as a Saint to join the Nightshades. Infatuated with their ferocious leader, Lennon, Noa aims to capture her heart and keep it. Her talent for alchemy is valuable, but her connection to her family puts all of the Shades in danger.
Now enemies are closer than Lennon knows and Noa must uncover the threat and keep them both alive. Because in a city where lies are lethal and magic is fading, secrets aren’t just costly—they’re deadly.
Link: Goodreads
The Boy With the Heart of Sea Glass — Laura Livingstone
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: M/M
When the end of a relationship brings eighteen-year-old Sam back to the Cornish Island where he was born, he’s forced to face dark family secrets lurking just below the surface.
Meeting Tryste, a fisherman with eyes like thunderstorms, provides Sam with a distraction from the truth about his father, but Sam’s wounds run deep, and he’s worried about having his heart broken again. While fighting his feelings, he’s haunted by eerie visions of a pale woman who lures him beneath the waves.
Soon, it becomes hard to tell dreams from reality, and when he wakes drenched in saltwater, Sam realizes he inherited more than just his father’s face.
Embracing the truth may mean losing the life he’s built, but when Tryste’s boat goes missing, Sam has no choice. To save the boy he loves, he must follow his heart to the bottom of the ocean, even if it means blurring the line between reality and fairytale forever.
Fans of “The Wicked Deep” by Shea Earnshaw and “Out of the Blue” by Jason June will enjoy “The Boy With the Heart of Sea Glass” by Laura Livingstone.
Link: Goodreads
Earth 7 — Deb Olin Unferth
Genre: Dystopian science fiction
Rep: Sapphic
An end-of-the-world love story, an epic full of pathos and humor, asking what can be saved of our planet.
Well, that’s about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her latest electrifying novel, life and love persist, even in the most unexpected, inhospitable places.
Two women meet on a beach of artificial sand. One was raised in a pod in the ocean and the other may or may not be a robot. Their love—or any love—seems so unlikely. Earth is severely depopulated. Some people have given up, gone off to Mars. Others pursue eternal life as digital code. And yet others, like Dylan and Melanie, are holdouts—and some of those holdouts are constructing a vast molecular collection in hopes that a future person may be alive to make a new Earth. Foolhardy? Misguided? Quixotic? Probably. But what can a human (or a robot) do?
By the end of Unferth’s wild, poetic, revelatory, and slyly philosophical novel, the reader has traveled to the very edges of the cosmos as a “soul globule” and between grains of sand as a microscopic tardigrade. A slim book tackling big questions (is all matter conscious? will we tech ourselves into salvation, or out of existence?), Earth 7 is a poignant inquiry into death, mourning, and indefatigable life, the most exhilarating work to date by one of our most original and beloved writers.
Link: Goodreads
The Way It Haunted Him — Laura R. Samotin
Genre: Horror
Rep: MLM
Guilt. Grief. Obsession.
Michael Stein arrives at the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies battered and broken, blaming himself for the tragic accident that took his boyfriend’s life. He is haunted by his guilt and grief, but is determined to repent while at Institute by completing his boyfriend’s research into demonic entities.
But instead of being welcomed by the archivist, Michael is met by Jacob Schechter—the archivist’s enigmatic, brooding grandson, who has inherited the Institute after his grandfather’s death. As Michael explores the archive, delving into cryptic texts and whispered histories, shadows from the past begin to seep into the present. Tormented by demons both real and imagined, Michael’s grief warps into something far darker—an intoxicating, yet increasingly toxic obsession with Jacob, whose own secrets threaten to destroy them both.
Now, Michael must confront the terrible truth behind his boyfriend’s death—and his obsession with Jacob—before the darkness they awaken in each other claims more than just their love, and consumes them entirely.
A twisted, claustrophobic descent into obsession and the dark side of love from the acclaimed author of The Sins on Their Bones.
Link: Kobo
The Silent Paths of Night — David R. Slayton
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Queer; MLM
Series: Book 2 of The Gods of Night and Day
From David R. Slayton, bestselling author of White Trash Warlock and Rogue Community College, comes the epic sequel to the award-winning Dark Moon, Shallow Sea.
For Raef, priest of the moon goddess Phoebe and one-time thief, it was too much to hope that resurrection of the moon and his mistress might set the world aright. The Grief still chokes the docks and streets of Versinae with vampiric ghosts, while the nations of Aegea prepare to war against each other.
Even worse, Phoebe did not return alone. Something evil came with her. Rerek, a demon who once waged war with the gods themselves, Corpse-Taker and sower of chaos, is back to make sure there is no peace in Aegea, now or ever again. And it has a plan.
Raef and his beloved Seth, knight of the sun god Hyperion, are all that stand between Rerek and utter destruction. But the ghosts of their respective pasts, the dangers they must face, and the truths that await them will test them as nothing they’ve yet endured. One way or another Rerek will get what it wants… and it will use Raef and Seth to achieve it.
Link: Kobo
Devils We Know — L.T. Thompson
Genre: YA historical fantasy
Rep: Queer, trans, sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Devils Like Us
We need to find Death.
Cas, Remy, and Finn are on the run from the Order of Lazarus, a secret society that wants to use Cas’s prophetic powers to capture Death and ensure that only the “unworthy” and “immoral” will meet their ends. Which will not only upend nature’s balance, but also tear apart the only place Cas has ever felt free to be himself. No matter what, he can’t let that happen.
To protect their found family of queer sailors, the three teens will need to find Death first and strike a bargain of their own. But the society is hot on their heels—and so is a demon who’s determined to claim the soul he’s owed.
Link: Goodreads
June 11, 2026
Love, Gods and Sinners — Camille Chong
Genre: YA urban fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Rule #1 of Not Dating Your Enemy: Rules are made to be broken.
Rule #2 of Not Dating Your Enemy: Keep your lives separate (don’t live or work together).
Rule #3 of Not Dating Your Enemy: If you can’t imagine life without them, you’re already screwed.
Set in an alternate futuristic world, where descendants of ancient magical clans don secret identities and do battle on the streets of Singapore, Camille Chong’s debut YA novel Love, Gods and Sinners is an action-packed enemies-to-lovers urban fantasy with a sizzling rivals-to-lovers romance at its heart.
Harper and Tia are roommates, and interns at the same tech company. They clash, they fight, they flirt. And, under cover of night, the two of them adopt secret identities and head out on missions across the city for their respective magical clans. Tia is the beautiful descendant of the Moon Goddess, and Harper is secretly Raven, the leader-in-waiting of the feared and villainous Foxes.
When each is tasked by their clan to kill the other, a deceitful game of cat-and-mouse begins. And Harper and Tia will start to understand that the concepts of right and wrong can be just as complicated—and dangerous—as falling in love.
Link: Goodreads
June 15, 2026
Where the Tides Meet — Elijah Her
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Queer
Prince Rylen of the merfolk has watched his people bleed beneath the weight of human cruelty for far too long. Desperate to turn the tide, he seeks out the exiled seawitch—feared, forgotten, and boundless in her magic. United by vengeance, she grants him a forbidden gift: the ability to walk upon land.
Disguised as a human, Rylen rises from the depths with a singular purpose—to uncover and punish those responsible for the suffering of his kin. But the world above is not what he expected. And neither is the human who begins to unravel his hatred.
As he treads deeper into unfamiliar soil, Rylen is forced to confront the truth: not all monsters wear legs, and not all kindness wears scales. Torn between duty and desire, vengeance and vulnerability, he must choose what kind of prince he wishes to become.
What if the divide between land and sea could be mended? And what if, against all odds, he found himself longing to be part of their world?
Link: Goodreads
June 16, 2026
A Prince Among Pirates — Katie Abdou
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: M/M
A charming nobleman accidentally joins a pirate ship and falls for its debonair captain in this swashbuckling queer debut that’s perfect for fans of F.T. Lukens and Our Flag Means Death.
Kit Davenport is in trouble—not that this would surprise anyone who knows him. Headstrong, reckless, and utterly unsuited for the stodgy House of Lords, Kit has spent years dodging his father’s stern disapproval and delighting in clandestine rendezvous. But time is running out. With an arranged marriage looming and the confines of white wigs and stiff decorum closing in, Kit is desperate to escape a life that feels completely wrong for him.
His solution? A wildly impulsive decision that lands him aboard the Deliverance, a galleon captained by the infuriatingly charismatic Reggie Sharpe. With a devil-may-care attitude and a delicious grin, Captain Sharpe commands the waves with his crew of misfits…who all turn out to be pirates. Before Kit can say “wrong ship,” he’s trading ballroom etiquette for rum-soaked camaraderie, explosive gunfights, and, perhaps most excitingly, heart-stopping kisses under the stars.
But life at sea holds just as many secrets as treasures. And when Kit’s past catches up with him, he’ll have to decide who he truly wants to be: a gentleman or a pirate?
Link: Goodreads
Agnes, We’re Not Murderers! — Jessica Alexander
Genre: Gothic horror
Rep: Lesbian
Lesbian vixens from another dead world thread through moon-drenched cornfields and opulent drawing rooms in this literary horror remix of iconic gothic sagas.
Agnes is wasting away. In a bed of velvet and silk, she dreams of death—and Mary.
Mary—a wraith with bloodstained gown and mouth—drips mystery and menace. She materializes beside a lake, beneath a pear tree, outside the window. She turns servants feral and plunges the manor into anarchy. Since her arrival, nothing is right. The maids snarl. The nights grow strange. Agnes swoons.
Her brother, Arthur, calls it a sickness. A curse. He stalks the halls with scissors in his fist. He wants purity and order. He’ll strike out the unintelligible. He is not the only one. Others have begun to stir—jilted lovers, disgraced doctors, moralists with sharpened knives. The disorder is spreading. It’s riotous. Contagious. They’ll purify the world in flame.
Written partially through footnotes and with a mystery of interwoven red text, Agnes, We’re Not Murderers! is an atmospheric gothic vampire journey for fans of Kathe Koja and Mark Z. Danielewski.
Link: Goodreads
Heaven’s Graveyard — Grace Curtis
Genre: Science fantasy
Rep: Lesbian
From the Sunday Times-bestselling author of Floating Hotel and Idolfire comes a science fantasy tale of history and myth, magic and mystery, perfect for fans of Shelley Parker-Chan and A. K. Larkwood.
Be careful what you pray for...
Cod became an archaeologist to chase the ghost of her hero, Aleya Ana-Ulai. History may have written Aleya off as a myth, but Cod is determined to prove she existed, even if it means sifting through relics for the rest of her life.
Then a message arrives summoning her home. Cod’s former teacher has found something monumental: the ruins of an enchanted city, slumbering beneath the soil.
This could be the breakthrough they’ve always dreamed of. But with war brewing, rival powers circling, and ancient magics stirring underfoot, their discovery soon becomes far more trouble than it’s worth. Even Cod starts to wonder if some things are better left buried...
Heaven’s Graveyard is a sinister lesbian history mystery bringing old magic into a dangerous new century.
Link: Goodreads
Endless Blue Beneath — Shannon K. English
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of Daughters of Atlantea
A young mermaid is forced to choose between her old life above the waves and her new life below them in this eerie, romantic queer fantasy duology from debut author Shannon K. English.
Eppie has never quite understood why the world hates her—all she did was kiss a girl. Must that mean she suffers isolation, with whispers and glares following her at every turn? She tries to focus on her duty to her family, but options are limited for a woman alone, and life in the seaside village of Hwenfirth is agonizingly mundane.
One day, as Eppie walks along the beach, she spies someone drowning in the shallows. Without thinking, she runs to rescue the poor soul—but when she gets up close, instead of a sputtering victim she finds an inhuman creature smiling up at her with rows of sharp, white teeth that snap closed on her arm and drag her beneath the waves.
When Eppie awakes in a deep ocean cave, she finds her own body has changed: she can breathe underwater, her skin is turning scaly, her teeth have been replaced by fangs, and she is suddenly ravenous for human flesh.
She has become a dreaded creature of the ocean—a mermaid.
Things aren’t all bad, though. The mermaid colony is mesmerizing and Eppie’s new sisters are fiercely loyal. And when Eppie meets Marie, a stunningly beautiful mermaid with a past as shadowed as her glossy, raven-black scales, she finds she no longer needs to resist the desires that were denied to her on land.
But the mermaid hunters are coming, and Eppie must decide whether to protect the new, monstrous family she’s found or leave it all behind for a chance to live above the waves once again.
Link: Goodreads
The Shape of Monsters — Tessa Gratton
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Bi or pan MC
Series: Book 2 of The Mercy Makers
A talented heretic and the emperor she both loathes and loves will learn what monsters are really made of in the second installment of the Moon Heresies trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Gratton.
Iriset—prodigy, outlaw, now sunderer—has broken the Moon-Eater god’s prison at the heart of the empire. But the consequences of her actions land her in a city of monsters where the heretical magic of human architecture is freely practiced, and the only person she knows—and can trust—is Lyric, the emperor she’s lied to and loved in equal measure. As scheming kings and capricious gods drive them towards different extremes, they soon realize that to find their way home, they must remake the world…at the risk of breaking it forever.
Link: Goodreads
The Rifter, Vols. 1 & 2 — Ginn Hale
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Books 1-2 of The Rifter
The Shattered Gates:
When John opens a letter addressed to his missing roommate, Kyle, he expects to find a house key, but instead he is swept into a strange realm of magic, mysticism, revolutionaries and assassins. Though he struggles to escape, John is drawn steadily closer to a fate he shares with Kyle—to wake the destroyer god, the Rifter, and shatter a world.
Witches’ Blood:
Once, Kahlil was a divine assassin, tasked with killing a god to protect his holy order. But the Rifter escaped through the Great Gates.
When Kahlil attempts to follow him, he is left injured and uncertain of his place in a world he no longer recognizes as his own.
Now, just when Kahlil has forged a new life for himself, the Rifter reappears as a powerful leader at the center of an assassination plot. And, ironically, Kahlil finds himself tasked with saving the man who destroyed his world.
Link: Kobo
Wildflower — Becky Jenkinson
Genre: Cozy fantasy
Rep: Queer
A magical florist journeys from the kingdom’s capital to its wild woods to fulfill an unusual request, and stumbles upon friendship, conspiracy, and the buds of new love in this debut cozy fantasy.
The book contains hand-drawn floral sketches inside!
Cursed from birth to always tell the truth, magical florist Felicity “Fliss” Farrow chooses her words carefully to avoid trouble. But when she receives an anonymous request for a mysterious flower, her search leads her directly into trouble’s path: to Willoh Vane.
Fliss knows the outcast—yet teasingly handsome—sorcerer is rumored to have used dark magic to corrupt the northern forest five years ago. She’s witnessed the resulting feud with Prince Bastion, whom her best friend, Card, is soon to marry. Despite her divided loyalty, Fliss reluctantly accepts Will’s help with gathering rare flowers and finds herself increasingly drawn to him.
As the royal wedding approaches, Fliss fears the flowers she’s delivered are intended for a sinister purpose. But when her warnings are ignored, can she and Will save the kingdom from disaster, and ultimately discover what Fliss has sought for so long—the truth.
Link: Goodreads
Dearly Departed — Chip Pons
Genre: Fantasy romcom
Rep: M/M
Hope is a dangerous thing for gods. Even former ones.
From the highly beloved author of “contemporary romance magic” (Christina Lauren) Winging It with You comes a Hades-inspired gay rom-com, in which the former god of the Underworld turned grumpy funeral director must find a loophole in the Immortality Retirement Act that banished him to Earth, until the florist next door who sees life in full bloom begins to unravel all his carefully laid plans.
Hayden Harlow, once the mighty Hades, has spent centuries quietly resenting his fall from immortality. Stripped of his godhood by the allegedly irreversible Immortal Retirement Act, he now runs Harlow and Sons Funeral Home—a front for his eternal sentencing among mortals, and a bleak reminder of the purpose he’s lost. Still, he’s determined to claw his way back… if only the Fates at City Hall would stop toying with him.
Enter Levi Wilder: a florist with an artist’s heart, an infectious smile, and a gift for finding beauty in life’s messiest moments. When Hayden storms into Levi’s shop to complain about a bouquet of sunflowers—an offensive choice for a funeral, in his opinion—their worlds collide. Hayden is all restraint and shadows; Levi is all sunshine and charm. But beneath the clash lies an undeniable spark neither can ignore.
As their connection blossoms, Hayden finds himself caught between the life he once knew and the bright future Levi dares him to imagine. But trusting Levi means risking the walls he’s kept in place all these years—and it’s not just his heart on the line. Because in the threads of fate, one choice can change everything.
Link: Goodreads
Six Savage Thrones — Holly Race
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Queens of Elben
From a major new voice in epic fantasy, Six Savage Thrones continues the Queens of Elben trilogy, a breathtaking epic fantasy of dragons, courtly intrigue, sapphic yearning, and the wives of Henry VIII defying their destiny.
DIVIDED HE WINS, UNITED HE FALLS.
The kingdom of Elben is in turmoil. One of its magical palaces lies in ruins at the bottom of the ocean and the king is on the hunt for the traitor Queen Seymour. He will not stop until he brings her to her knees.
No one would ever suspect Queen Howard of treachery or spy craft, but she is no longer content to be the king’s songbird. She will see to Henry’s downfall. But there is a new gentleman at court, one who seems to know more about her true motives than he should—is he friend or foe?
Queen Cleves has already survived a war. She knows what she must do to protect herself, but now she finds herself fighting a longing for another queen that is so fierce it might swallow her up.
Amidst the turmoil, King Henry’s sister Cecilia vies for the power she has been denied. But the queens will soon learn they must work together to break the bonds that tie them to the king. For Henry is delving deeper into strange old magics, ones that could birth a monster.
Link: Goodreads
Embers of Analon — Paul Michael Winters
Genre: Fantasy romance
Rep: Queer, M/M
Series: Book 1 of The Emberborn
As this city burns, so does his heart...
Cas Nightbrook lives on a knife’s edge, surviving by precision, cunning, and grit. A thief in the brutal City of Analon, his only goals are protecting his younger sister and avenging his parents’ murder at the hands of the crown. So when Cas is invited to The Emberlight Trials—a deadly initiation run by a rebel order tied to a forbidden and hunted magical race—he doesn’t hesitate. It may be his best chance at justice.
What he doesn’t anticipate is Darion Thorne.
Charming, infuriating, and always one step ahead, Darion keeps showing up in places Cas doesn’t expect. As the riddles and danger of the Trials intensify, Darion becomes a complication Cas never planned for: someone who sees through Cas’s defences and tempts him to want something more than just survival. And that’s exactly what terrifies him.
But Darion’s secrets run deep. As the rebellion breaks into the streets and the city burns, Cas must choose between vengeance, his sister’s life, and falling for a man whose hidden past could destroy everything Cas has built to survive.
Link: Goodreads
June 23, 2026
Nemesis Mine — Amy Archer
Genre: Cozy fantasy romcom
Rep: M/M
A not-so-evil villain strikes a deal with a not-quite-perfect hero to fake a feud, boost their reputations—and try not to fall in love in the process—in this hilarious, tender, sexy, and outrageously fun romp that blends the humor of Assistant to the Villain with the unforgettable romance of Red, White, & Royal Blue and the cozy fantasy vibes of Legends & Lattes.
Fake nemeses. It’s a dastardly plan that can’t go wrong… until love crashes the act.
Nobody is more surprised than Cyrus to learn that he’s no longer considered the greatest villain in the land of Athaca. Sure, he’s lying about the fact that his magical power is making flowers grow. And maybe lately he’s spent more time embroidering pillowcases than tormenting the locals. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be yesterday’s evil news. Enter the hero Maximillian: the realm’s golden boy, complete with a blinding smile, chiseled abs, and an infuriating habit of spreading hope and joy. (Gross.) If Cyrus wants to be taken seriously, he’ll have to take this guy down.
But Maximillian isn’t quite as perfect as he seems. When he proposes a scheme to fake an epic rivalry and increase their fame, Cyrus can’t resist. Stage the battles, soak up the spotlight, share the spoils—it’s a villainously good marketing plan.
There’s just one hitch. Pretending to hate your nemesis becomes a lot harder when you start falling for them instead.
Link: Kobo
A Great and Powerful Tyranny — Victoria Carbol
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Thia is the perfect granddaughter—how could she be anything else when a tragic accident left her the sole family to Grandma Winnie? But one stormy Kansas day, Thia accidentally uncovers clues that reveal her grandma has been lying to her: her mother was never a medical doctor, she was studying the supernatural and all she left behind was a strange mirror.
Angry with her grandma, Thia drives off in a rage, only to fall through the mirror into a terrifying land ruled by the cruel Mage King—and he might be the only one who can send her home.
With the aid of newfound allies, Thia must confront her family’s legacy, which is tied to the struggle to overthrow the Mage King, the undeniable connection between her and a cursed, heartless girl, and where, in the end, Thia truly belongs.
Link: Goodreads
Little Wild — Laura Evans
Genre: Historical fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Suffolk, 1937. As the English countryside swelters in a historic heat wave, preparations for a party at Snare House are in full swing. The Winthers’ only daughter, Joanie, is returning from a summer in Europe, a flying visit before she leaves for university in Oxford. Only Margaret, long-time ward of the family and Joanie’s closest friend, knows the Joanie won’t be going to Oxford. Instead, the two will be leaving the stultifying society they know to live together in London, as lovers.
Then the pair is discovered, and everything goes wrong. Banished to a cabin in the nearby woods, Margaret is alone with her estranged father. As summer curdles into fall and magpies throng the forest, Margaret begins to lose herself. Her dreams turn dark and terrifying, and she wakes from them with dirt on her soles and scratches on her back. Everything suggests that a perverse power is awakening within her—perhaps the very one which led to her mother’s ostracism and eventual death. If she can harness it, Margaret may be able to secure an approximation of the love she’s always craved—but at what cost?
Little Wild is at once a feminist fairy tale, a haunting meditation on the dangers of desire, and a gripping debut from a talented new voice.
Link: Goodreads
The Monsters We Made — Peyton June
Genre: YA horror
Rep: Sapphic
Two friends must uncover the truth about the bloody reappearance of a cryptid in this queer, X-Files-inspired thriller from the author of Bad Creek.
To save her family’s struggling ranch, 18-year-old Claire fabricates a video of her hometown’s legendary alien cryptid, Old Lucky, that grabs the attention of paranormal vloggers Lenny and Evan. Lenny is plagued with doubts about their channel’s future, so catching Old Lucky might just be her chance at finding something real.
After Evan deserts Lenny, believing the investigation to be a hoax, Claire agrees to “help” Lenny uncover the history of Old Lucky—and preserve her deceit. But the more the girls are drawn together and the more clues they unearth, the more secrets rise to the surface. The cows are being mutilated, the ranch hand has disappeared, and the strange lights in the sky are back. Something inhuman lurks in Scarberry, where danger lives close to home. The Monsters We Made is an eerie and suspenseful exploration of one town’s dark history and the people who brought it back to life.
Link: Goodreads
The Bloodweaver — C. N. Kuster
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of The Bloodweaver
A divisive magic. A shattered family. A brewing war.
In a world where some can manipulate life with a single touch, siblings fight on rival sides, forced to reckon with the choices that led them there.
Three generations ago, ancient and mysterious beings introduced the world to the arcane art of Bloodweaving, which allows its practitioners to manipulate life with merely a touch. Now, Bloodweavers must hide in plain sight or risk being hunted by violent regime soldiers known as Breakers, who will stop at nothing to eradicate weaving once and for all.
Though his family’s vineyard has flourished thanks to Bloodweaving, Kerick DeLuvena has kept his powers a secret from everyone, including his beloved fellow triplets, Mel and Emiel. When a squad of Breakers arrives on the day of Emiel’s wedding, Kerick weaves himself a new face and flees to protect his family, setting out in search of the Ravel, a secret society of Bloodweavers who stand on the precipice of an uprising.
Meanwhile, Mel’s girlfriend is identified as a Bloodweaver and arrested. Devastated by so much loss, Mel hatches a plan to get captured in the same raid, hoping to protect her love at all costs, even if it means allying herself with the Breakers’ ruthless commander and serving the very force that tore her family apart.
As the consequences of the siblings’ diverging paths ripple across a divided and hostile world, both must eventually face the same question: Is Bloodweaving a miracle―or a curse?
Link: Goodreads
Wanted Boys — S.E. McPherson
Genre: Dystopian
Rep: Queer; MLM
Logan technically doesn’t exist. He is terrified of the Black Lapels and their Swordsman church, who imprisoned his parents for bearing an unlicensed, “unnatural” child. When he’s taken to a home for unwanted boys, he meets Jace—a master liar who isn’t afraid of anything.
Their world wants them to become Swordsmen and soldiers. All they want is a life together where neither has to hide.
WANTED BOYS is a queer dystopia where found family is the only thing that can save the boys who will change the world.
Link: Kobo
Edge of Mercy — Allie Therin
Genre: Urban fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 3 of Sugar & Vice
In this fight, feelings are the most dangerous weapon of all.
In the gripping conclusion to Allie Therin’s slow-burn urban fantasy MM romance series, an empath and an empath hunter face off as the fate of an alternate-universe Seattle—and their own future—hang in the balance.
Caught in the crosshairs of a deadly conspiracy, empath Reece Davies was forced to embrace his darker nature to protect the enemy he’d fallen for. Now, joining forces with others like him, drawn to chaos and vengeance by the corruption in his veins, Reece is being hunted…by the very man he saved.
Evan Grayson, a notorious empath hunter known as the Dead Man, was engineered to never falter from his mission—until he met Reece. Even corruption can’t cool their desire for each other, but with Reece’s dark side in control and all of Seattle at stake, Grayson must stop him, no matter the personal cost.
As the battle between the two enemies heats up, so does their forbidden attraction. But the danger is growing and closing in on them from all sides. Because Grayson isn’t the only one hunting the empaths—and they both may have finally met their match…
Link: Goodreads
June 24, 2026
The Game of Hearts — Natania Barron
Genre: Historical fantasy romance
Rep: M/M; mental illness rep
Series: Book 3 of Love in Netherford
A Comedy of Manners and Werewolves.
The doors to Faerie have been thrown open, straining the already tense relations between mundane and magical folk. As the home of the half-mortal son of a great fae queen, the quiet village of Netherford has become a rallying place for those striving for peace.
But for Roland de Grateloup—only son of the High Witch, confirmed bachelor and rake, and werewolf—it is an agonising exile. After his mother’s abduction, he is urged to flee London for the country until the danger has passed. The prospect of a whole season among country folk yawns ahead of him.
To distract himself, Roland sets about his favourite hobby: matchmaking. He throws himself into the Game of Hearts, interfering in the lives of the people of the village, and tries not to dwell too much on his own loneliness. If only he could stop thinking about his business partner and landlord, the beautiful if awkward Basil Hode…
Link: Goodreads
June 26, 2026
Price of a Thousand Blessings Volume 4 — Ginn Hale
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 4 of Price of a Thousand Blessings
The infamous port city of Yanyeo appears vibrant and charming. Lotus-strewn canals teem with lively merchants by day, while pleasure houses and gambling dens light the night with indulgent revelry. All of it reminds Cymin of the delights he and Laithondi shared in a past life.
But deep beneath the canal waters, a curse has been released and an enemy from Cymin’s past stalks him once again. Talented mages all across the city are quietly going missing. Mutilated remains have washed ashore.
Then Cymin’s friend Xaon disappears.
Racing to find him, Cymin and Laithondi plunge into the lair of a criminal syndicate, where their secrets are in danger and their lives are at risk.
Link: Goodreads
June 27, 2026
A Forest of Blackened Trees — R. L. Davennor
Genre: Fantasy, retelling
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 3 of Curses of Never
Peter Pan is dead…
…only worse. He’s imprisoned within the Sea of Eternal Woe. Untouchable and unreachable, not even the gods have the power to bring him back to the realm of the living. To save him, we need answers, and Neverland is the only place to get them.
But we’re not alone.
Everything remains as dead as it was the day I first laid eyes on it, and the handful of survivors are desperate and starving. Only this time, they aren't monsters. They’re people. And they hold me responsible for their suffering.
Any attempt at peace turns to all-out war, and once again, I’m at its center. Long-buried secrets rise from the grave, and the more we learn, the less I understand. What is clear is that to save Neverland, we need Peter. And if he doesn’t die in that Sea?
I’ll happily kill him myself.
Link: Goodreads
June 30, 2026
Pasha the Storm — Linda H. Codega
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Moby-Dick meets The Bone Shard Daughter in this swashbuckling queer fantasy adventure packed with piracy, political intrigue, and the eternal souls of the drowned, for fans of The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi and Black Sun.
An exiled pirate queen hunts a killer whale on the high seas, while caught between a power-hungry empress and a revolutionary conspiring to end her reign...
Pasha the Northern Storm was once the most infamous Meridian pirate who ever sailed the sister oceans. Now, a decade into her exile, Pasha’s afterlife is being held hostage by Atle, an absurdly attractive noble who knows far too much about pirate magic—but not enough about sailing to realize how dangerous Pasha really is.
Minister Atle Itaavar is duty-bound to serve the Kingdom of Garda, but as Queen Thivaldís gathers support for her ambitions of empire, Atle turns to treason to stop her. In order to destroy the Queen’s new necromantic navy, Atle plans to steal the Queen’s flagship, kidnap a washed-up pirate to sail it, and track down a legendary killer whale to bring it down.
But the hunt for the great undying whale drags Pasha, Atle, and the crew of the Dog into a cosmic reckoning as they face threats from ghosts and gods alike—and the Queen of Garda is close behind.
Link: Goodreads
The Feywild Job — C.L. Polk
Genre: Cozy fantasy romance
Rep: Non-binary MC; M/X
Sparks fly when bitter exes are forced to team up for an elaborate Feywild heist, in this cozy fantasy romance by the bestselling author of the Kingston Cycle and Even Though I Knew the End.
Saeldian has sworn never to fall in love. That oath isn’t just a personal promise, but rather a magical pact, granting them powerful abilities. The only catch? They must never give their heart away—a deal that Saeldian is perfectly content with. They’ve seen firsthand how messy love can get.
Saeldian prefers their no-strings-attached life as a con artist, pulling off heists and leaving a trail of broken hearts behind them. But when a grift goes horribly wrong, they catch the eye of a mysterious patron with a job offer they can’t refuse.
The mission? Steal a gem called “The Kiss of Enduring Love” and return it to the Feywild. Simple enough, until Saeldian discovers their ex-partner, Kell—a charming bard—is part of the team.
The last time Saeldian saw Kell, things hardly ended on good terms. A kiss became a betrayal, leaving Kell hurt and confused for almost a decade. But Kell can’t just walk away—not when this job might finally be his ticket back to the Feywild.
Forced to work together again, their adventure takes them from high-society parties to Feywild couples’ therapy. But as Saeldian and Kell rekindle their chemistry, they realize the gem is much more than a fey bauble, and their simple heist has summoned powerful enemies....
Link: Penguin Random House
Dream the Deep — Clara Ward
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Queer
You don’t need to reach Mars to reach your dreams.
Robbed of their chance at leaving Earth to pursue green-energy innovations, Ryn embraces new dreams—fighting deep sea threats in conjunction with a giant cephalopod. It’s 2139 in the Cali-Coastal Corporate Zone, and Ryn struggles with their own body and brain as they fight to survive five days locked up with academic rivals and the military-backed billionaires who’ve misled them all since their teenage years.
Ryn needs an exit strategy but doesn’t know whether to trust Akira, the hacker-spy who may have saved their life, or Jay, the geeky military rebel with a secret stash of hot chocolate. Not to mention, Jay keeps falling asleep in their bed, and Ryn’s not sure if either of them is interested in more—but at least they like the same shows!
Five Days. One Ocean. Unlikely allies connect to Dream the Deep.
Link: Atthis Arts