Queer SF - March 2026
March 3, 2026
Black as Diamond — U.M. Agoawike
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
A cursed warrior. A reckless healer. A chance to save the world—or condemn it.
Like the rest of the winged eresh keyel, warrior Asaru has spent his life fighting the remnants of a long-dead enemy. When his brother’s squadron disappears from a border keep, Asaru travels into the human realm to investigate, only to become ensnared by a fatal—and unbreakable—curse that could wipe out his people.
When he inadvertently commits a terrible crime, Asaru is thrown into the path of Wren, an emotionally tortured former healer playing with dangerous magic. Bound to one another by a spell gone wrong, and on the run from freelance killers, they set out to find the Chronicler, keeper of the eresh keyel’s history who could bring them answers, redemption, and the cure to Asaru’s curse. But the truths they uncover about the past have the power to break the world into pieces, ending human civilization and settling its remnants into something entirely new.
From Nigerian Canadian author U. M. Agoawike, Black as Diamond is a fresh, dark, and thrilling debut that untangles questions of queer identity, history, and power, illuminating a society crushed by the lingering actions of a few.
Link: Goodreads
She Drinks the Light — Yasmin Angoe
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Addae has spent her whole life on the Golden Isle, a private island off the coast of South Carolina that has been in her family for centuries. Island residents don’t really fraternize with mainlanders, and for good reason. Golden Isle was founded by the Kinfolk, descendants—including Addae and her Nana Ama, the island matriarch—of escaped enslaved Black people.
But the Isle and the Kinfolk have secrets that must be protected from the outside world. Secrets of spirituality, mythology that are deeply rooted in their West African culture, beliefs, and traditions. The Kin are bound to protect the Golden Isle and, in turn, it protects them.
When Addae’s best friend Naria goes missing and one of the Kin turns up drained of blood, Addae’s way of life is threatened. It looks like the work of the Adze, West African supernatural beings that drink human blood in order to survive—also known as vampires.
Believing Naira is alive, Addae travels to the mainland. But as Addae gets closer to finding Naria, she uncovers deep secrets about Nana Ama’s past, and about her own… secrets that could change how she feels about the Golden Isle and her lineage.
Torn between two worlds, Addae will have to decide how far she is willing to go—and who she is willing to cross—to save her best friend, and even herself.
Link: Goodreads
I Was a Teenage Death God — M.J. Beasi
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Queer; non-binary MC
Seventeen-year-old Charlie can’t touch anyone without stealing bits of their life away, which would be enough of a curse without Lou—a ghost—forcing them to steal that life for her own use.
Lou has kept Charlie in line for years by threatening to take life directly from their twin sister, Sam. But when Lou goes after their friend and secret crush Ravi, Charlie refuses, and Lou makes good on her threat.
As Sam’s health rapidly declines, Ravi discovers that Charlie may not be the only person born with their unusual power. The trio embark on a weekend road trip to meet a pair of self-proclaimed “Death Gods” who may be the key to saving Sam and understanding Charlie’s abilities... but with all roads leading back to Lou, Charlie is forced to face a dark legacy—one that calls their humanity into question.
Link: Goodreads
Metropolis Down — Vesper Doom
Genre: Space horror romance
Rep: M/M; neurodivergence
Series: Book 1 of The Void-Touched
A relationship broken. A ship in distress. Horrors that shatter minds. A song that changes reality.
Jett Valla and Eddie Stone stand between life and death for a million souls.
But can they save each other?
The QSR Neo-Tokyo was the first ship in the Quasar Metropolis-class fleet: an immense spaceship housing a glittering, neon-lit city and half a million people. For forty-five years, it has traveled from Jupiter to Pluto and back without incident. For the last six years First Officer Eddie Stone and Head of Security Jett Valla have built a life together aboard the ship. But no longer.
When the Neo-Tokyo intercepts a corrupted distress signal, Jett and Eddie are forced back together to plan a rescue mission to the Golden Lion. But within the code lies an eerie song that haunts them both. They see and hear things that do not exist, and are bound together by its strange tune, forcing them to reckon with their lingering feelings for each other.
The song swells within the confines of the ghost ship, where only corpses and questions await them. Something within the hold tormented the ship and those horrors follow an unraveling Jett and Eddie back to the Neo-Tokyo. And when they think they are finally safe, the crowded streets of their city run red with blood. They must confront cosmic horrors once more, and there’s no guarantee that they, or the Neo-Tokyo, will survive.
Link: Author’s Website
Chasing Starlight — Jo Fischer
Genre: Fairy-tale retelling
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of Legends of Tyranna
Enter a world of fae, dragons, and magic in this spicy, sapphic retelling of a classic fairy tale about a lost princess, trapped in her tower by powerful magic, and the devilish thief who might be brave enough to scale the thorny walls around her heart.
In a kingdom built on lies, a tower hides the truth—and a thief is about to uncover it all.
River Cloudborne had always lived on borrowed time. A thief with a devil-may-care smile and a penchant for trouble, she’s spent three years clawing her way through the kings deadly service to earn her freedom.
But when a twist of fate leads her to the ruins of a forgotten castle, River stumbles upon the one secret King Theodric would give anything to possess—the girl she has pined after for a decade.
Trapped in a tower bound by magic older than the Kingdom itself, Aurelia is as resilient as she is beautiful. She’s determined to unlock the spell containing her and her magic, no matter the cost.
But as shadows rise and whispers of rebellion sweep through the land, Aurelia might be the key to more than River’s freedom—Aurelia could be the tether that drags her out of the darkness.
Trust is a risk River has never been willing to take. But this time, her heart may not give her a choice.
Link: Goodreads
The Citizen of Eastport — V.B. Ruth
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Queer; F/X
Series: Book 1 of The Eastport Ledgers
Schemes, secrets, and queer desire collide in this story of intrigue, perfect for fans of LEVERAGE, LADY EVE’S LAST CON, and NO BODY, NO CRIME.
Vi runs a bar, and that’s all she does. Once she dreamed of fighting for justice alongside her first love, but tragedy taught her that some fights cost more than she’s willing to pay. Amid the warring gangs and power-hungry tycoons that run the city of Eastport, she can count herself lucky if she manages to keep her family safe and her employees fed.
But luck has a way of turning, especially if someone with strings to pull wants something you have. Vi doesn’t know who is targeting her livelihood or why, but if she can’t find out soon, she’ll end up like most honest citizens: indentured for life to one of the bigger powers, or dead.
Kilo is not an honest citizen, but being one of the city’s finest thieves comes with its own problems. Ze’s stolen something that’s dangerous to have and dangerous to lose, and now ze has to turn zer skills to disposal instead of acquisition. Ze knows it’s a bad idea to mix business with pleasure, but zer best chance might just lie with zer latest conquest, the secretive and captivating newcomer from offworld.
Tempe is an exile, returning to Earth after many years with a forged background and a secret agenda. Her plans have been carefully made and all the pieces set in place. But when her Eastport contact disappears, the trail leads her to the last place she expects: the bar run by the childhood sweetheart who once betrayed her.
Link: Goodreads
Accelerated Growth Environment — Lauren C. Teffeau
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Sapphic
Dr. Jorna Benton is proud to be the Principal Scientist for the Climasphere, a massive, sea-going ecological nursery capable of supporting nearly every biome on Earth. On its inaugural mission to restore and re-wild collapsing ecosystems along the Atlantic coast, Jorna manages the Climasphere’s habitat and harvest, while her colleague—and inconveniently attractive commander—Ava Kaysar directs the rest of the vessel’s critical operations.
When an explosion rocks the Climasphere, Jorna’s carefully-managed world is thrown into chaos, threatening both her personal and her professional future. And worse: she’s the prime suspect.
To clear her name, save the mission, and preserve her chance at a future with Kaysar, Jorna must finally confront the secret she’s been running from all these years: a family and a faith that could destroy her.
Link: Kobo
The Ascension of Souls — Bronte-Marie Wesson
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of the Broken Cycle
A broken prophecy
In a land where an ancient prophecy is renewed every generation, two countries are trapped in a repeating cycle of war. But the cycle is broken, and destiny is beginning to unravel.
Two people bound by fate
Luminara, a palace servant, sneaks into the birthday party of the newly anointed ruler, Rianthran, where the two form a forbidden bond.
As Rianthran prepares for the sacred ritual of Ascension, Luminara’s secret powers start to make themselves known. Haunted by visions of the past and terrified of what it means for her country’s future, Luminara must choose a side.
One chance to right the world
As war looms, the Empire teeters on the edge of upheaval. Can the cycle be mended, the shared destiny of its people restored? Or will they forge a new future, free from the chains of prophecy?
The first in the Broken Cycle trilogy, The Ascension of Souls is an epic fantasy with intricate worldbuilding, complex characters, political schemes and a unique magic system.
Link: Goodreads
March 4, 2026
The Demon and His Viper — Ben Alderson
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 2 of The Witch Trials
THE DEMON AND HIS VIPER is the final book in a MM paranormal romance series of heart-pounding romance, witchcraft, and bloodthirsty enemies, perfect for fans of The Serpent and the Wings of Night and Her Soul to Take.
Hector Briar may have walked away from the Witch Trials alive, but not whole. His failure handed the Witch Hunters a weapon capable of shattering Witch-kind—and placed the ancient demon Bahmet firmly in their grasp. Now the Hunters are poised to burn magic out of the mortal world forever.
Arwyn Hopkin spent years living a lie. Meeting Hector changed that. Manipulation got him so far, until his success during The Witch Trials bound him to Bahmet, a demon who whispers promises, demands obedience, and hungers for freedom. Everyone wants to use the Witches, the Hunters, and the demon inside him. Surviving any of them may be impossible.
When Hector and Arwyn’s paths converge, the Witch Trials ignite once more. Forced into a deadly contest of loyalty and power, Hector will do whatever it takes to stop fate from repeating itself. In Bahmet’s domain, love becomes a weapon, trust a gamble, and every choice carries a cost that could reshape the world. Witches and Hunters face off in one final battle that will determine the fate of their world forever.
And beneath the rising chaos, desire sparks hotter than it ever has between them—dangerous, undeniable, and impossible to control. As enemies and lovers collide, their bond becomes both salvation and ruin, pushing them to the edge of temptation and betrayal. To claim each other—and save magic itself—sacrifices must be made, and the price of their passion may be the one thing neither is ready to give.
Link: Goodreads
History Will Call Them Tombmates — Lou Wilham
Genre: Fantasy, magical academia
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of The Tombmates Duet
Adventure? Or a grave mistake?
After Beatrice “Bat” Hernan’s expulsion from Wynter’s Eve Institute she washed her hands of the world of magical academia, and she thought it had done the same to her. She’s spent the last several years building a small business, solving hauntings, and generally keeping to herself. The last thing she expects is to get a job she literally can’t refuse from the institution that expelled her.
Valeska Dracon is a 200-year-old permanent student with a disturbing amount of advanced degrees, and no desire to leave the safety of academia. So when the funding for her department is in danger, and her mentor offers her a way to help, she takes it—however reluctantly.
Jace Elwood—yes, those Elwoods—prefers the party scene to hitting the books. How did he get dragged into this mess, you ask? Well, he was clearly thinking with the wrong head. After months of drooling over Valeska in secret, he’s offered the chance to accompany her on an expedition, and act as her personal juice box. He’d be a fool not to take it, right?
With deadly haunts, killer spirits, and a shady benefactor looming over them, these three might dig up more than just cursed objects.
Link: Goodreads
March 7, 2026
The Sun King’s Dawn — Briar Niran
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: Ace, M/M, queernorm world
Series: Book 1 of The Sun King and His Knight
Book one of an epic MM romantasy series set in the queer-normative fantasy realm of Ardenia, featuring an asexual king, the knight who loves him, and the people they must protect.
Burdened with an inability to desire others, King Richard of Ardenia still finds peace in his unruly siblings, his loyal circle, and even in his young knight, Sir Kaelen, whose yearning stares he has spent years ignoring.
But when Richard rides to a borderland village to investigate eerie happenings, all peace shatters. The veil containing Gloamvarn, a neighbouring realm filled with fell beasts and unimaginable horrors, is cracking. Sooner or later, it will fall.
As Richard hunts for a way to safeguard his kingdom, Kaelen stays close, a constant, protective presence that stirs a strange tenderness Richard doesn’t dare name.
For the monsters have a new ruler. And the tyrant hungers not only for Ardenia, but its king, too.
Link: Goodreads
March 10, 2026
Spoiled Milk — Avery Curran
Genre: YA horror
Rep: Sapphic
The untimely death of a student at a girls’ boarding school turns out to be the first in a haunting series of escalating supernatural events. A thrilling debut novel about teenage repression, queer desire, and the everyday horror of coming of age.
In 1928, Emily Locke’s final year at the isolated Briarley School for Girls is derailed when Violet, the school’s brightest star (and a cunning beauty for whom Emily would do anything), falls to her death on her eighteenth birthday. Emily and her buttoned-up rival Evelyn are, for once, in agreement: Violet’s death was no accident. There’s an obvious culprit, the French schoolmistress with whom Violet was getting a little too close—they only need to prove it.
Desperate for answers, Emily and her classmates turn to spiritualism, hoping for a glimpse of wisdom from the great beyond. To their shock, Violet’s spirit appears, choosing pious Evelyn as her unlikely medium. And Violet has a warning for them: the danger has just begun.
Something deadly is infecting Briarley. It starts with rotten food and curdled milk, but quickly grows more threatening. As the body count rises and the students race to save themselves, Emily must confront the fatal forces poisoning the school. Emily’s fight for survival forces her to reevaluate everything she knows: about Violet, Evelyn, Briarley, and, ultimately, herself. Avery Curran channels the indelible ambience and intrigue of the classic boarding school novel while turning the beloved genre on its head in this visceral, exuberant debut.
Link: Goodreads
The Brightest Blaze — Kelly Farmer
Genre: Superhero
Rep: F/F
Series: Book 3 of Vector City Supers
Being a hero can sometimes really blow.
Sadie Eagan has everything she’s always wanted: a stable relationship with her superpowered girlfriend, her dream café, great friends. She also has self-doubt about running her own business and wonders when she’ll stop faking it ’til she makes it. And what’s with the odd distance between her and Joan?
Joan Malone knew there would be growing pains now that she’s one of Vector City’s Superheroes. All the grunt work she has to do as Spark is much more stressful than her days in villainy (so many SuperWatch claims). Conflicting schedules means less time and snuggles with Sadie. Plus her twin brother’s acting weird, her old friends are hiding things, and she feels like she’s losing control.
A group of norms who want to restrict the use of superpowers tries to gain access to power-suppressing technology. They’re also getting more vocal in their disdain and demands. Sadie wants to support Joan and the Supers but struggles with how to go about it. Joan’s trying not to be framed or blamed for her past. It doesn’t help that a Hero from another city has gone rogue to save the world by any means necessary.
Sadie’s learning how to own her power while Joan can’t quite embrace change. Their future is hindered by the threat of external forces and, okay, how hard it is to open up about feelings. They’ll have to fight side by side for themselves and each other to keep their love blazing bright.
Link: Kobo
How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend — Jordon Greene
Genre: YA contemporary fantasy
Rep: Queer; M/X
The Feeling of Falling in Love meets While You Were Sleeping in this delightful rom-com about a nonbinary teen kitchen witch finding both family and romance in the least likely of circumstances.
Standing at the foot of my comatose crush’s hospital bed is not how I envisioned becoming Hayden's partner. First I needed to find out if he’s even into the theys, then hopefully some flirting, a cute date up in the valley or at Taco Bell, a kiss. The normal cutesy stuff, but this? No! Hayden wasn’t supposed to get hurt, especially not a trauma-induced extended nap from slipping on a wet floor at my job. On top of that, one of the nurses told his family we’re dating. Sure, it might have been because that’s what I told her when I was trying to get to his room to see him… but it’s not true.
The wild part is his family believes it! They really think I’m the Hayden Marcus’s short little curly-haired enbyfriend. His partner! With one little lie, now they think he isn’t straight, and I’m terrified he actually is.
So now I’m having Thanksgiving with a family I barely know because, as far as they’re concerned, I’m “dating” their son. I can’t tell if this is a sign my love spell worked, or if I royally messed up and I’m being punished. I mean, this family is amazing. It’s everything I wish I had, and honestly more. But it’s all based on a lie.
Oh, and as if all of that wasn’t bad enough, my comatose crush has an even cuter brother who I think I might be falling for...
Link: Author’s Website
Hell’s Heart — Alexis Hall
Genre: Science fiction, retelling
Rep: Sapphic
Earth is a ruin, and the scattered remnants of humanity scavenge what they can from the stars under the watchful auspices of a grab-bag of collectives, corporations, and churches which are all that remains of what we once called society. Having long exhausted any conventional sources of energy, life in the solar system is now sustained by a volatile, hallucinogenic substance called spermaceti, which is harvested from the brains of vast cetacean-like Leviathans that swim the atmospheric currents of Jupiter.
Finding herself with no money and little to occupy her groundside, the narrator (“I”) takes a commission aboard the hunter-barque Pequod as it sets out in pursuit of precious spermaceti. Once aboard, however, she finds herself pulled inexorably into the orbit of the barque’s captain, a charismatic but fanatically driven woman who the narrator names only as “A”. As the Pequod plunges ever deeper into the turbulent, monster-haunted atmosphere of the gas giant, the narrator begins to lose herself in the eerie word of Leviathan-hunting and the captain’s increasingly insistent delusions; the only thing that might keep her grounded is the bond she develops with Q, a woman from the wreck of Old Earth whose skin is marked with holographic light and who remembers things otherwise lost.
Link: Goodreads
Orbital Bebop — Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Queer; Black lesbian MCs
A young Black lesbian activist reclaims land from a greedy billionaire, but struggles to hold peace against a rise of fear-based security culture and a toothache that seems to whisper to her.
An alien intelligence marvels at the human form, then horrifies at the ugly human condition underneath it.
When two childhood friends reunite on different sides of a lunar corporate hierarchy, romance and possibly something more blooms.
On Mars, a birthday party is ruined by an interstellar decree, yet somehow saved by a tantric sexual experience.
In Saturn’s orbit, a Black lesbian scientist trains for interdimensional travel while yearning for a woman she’s never met but half-remembers.
On the cusp of the Year 3000 millennium, a group of dirty clones find community and forgiveness, but at a cost.
Orbital Bebop spans both the solar system and the human race in plotting out how societal ills on Earth travel with us, while also offering the seeds for how humanity can redeem and heal itself.
Link: Goodreads
Shake Out the Ghosts — Al Hess
Genre: Contemporary fantasy romance
Rep: M/M
After a brutal assault left eccentric artist Micah Wildsmith struggling with PTSD and extensive facial scars, he grapples with a new fear of leaving his home. When his sanctuary is interrupted by loud 80s synthpop and shadows where there shouldn’t be, he’s convinced his apartment is haunted by the deceased previous resident, Cosmo. One night, Cosmo’s form materialises out of nowhere, and Micah is more charmed than frightened. But when Cosmo's ghost disappears without a trace, Micah is determined to lure him back.
Dramatic, unconventional, and very much alive, Cosmo Koslov mourns his old self. His boyfriend’s a serial cheater, he’s continually passed over for a promotion at work, and he’s lost contact with his best friend. To make matters worse, his apartment is being haunted by the ghost of a bespectacled man with an eye socket of scars. It's his last straw, and seeking a new start, Cosmo moves out.
When Cosmo and Micah cross paths again, there's no denying the chemistry between them. But the phantoms of their pasts still linger. In order to find a future where they can both be happy together, Micah and Cosmo need to confront their trauma once and for all.
Link: Goodreads
Intergalactic Feast — Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Flavour Hacker
It has been three months since Saraswati Kaveri and Serenity Ko won Interstellar MegaChef with their groundbreaking new food simulation, Feast.
But victory is only the beginning. Saras is busy promoting their invention as the public face of Feast, while Ko keeps fighting battles to steer its development at XP Inc. And then there’s the kiss. They’ve decided to just be friends for now, at least until the sim’s impending launch, but the memory of that heady night hangs over them.
And sometimes it seems the whole galaxy is lined up against them. Saraswati’s secret past is coming under scrutiny, while old rivals are running smear campaigns against her. The cookery world is divided over Feast, proclaiming it a bold new invention and a betrayal of the chef’s art by turns.
And others see Feast’s darker potential—not as an experience, but as a weapon...
Link: Goodreads
Time-Tripping Over You — Brennon Lane
Genre: YA speculative, time travel
Rep: M/M; trans man MC
“You’re not from here? Where are you from?”
“Your future. I know you, Jude. And I know you want control over the time traveling. I can fix it.”College freshman Silas Turner is a scientific anomaly. Thrown back in time uncontrollably, he’s forced into his pre-transition body for hours to days at a time, reliving random events in his past. Why? Every cell in his astrophysics major brain is straining to figure it out. But the “time trips” just keep on coming, disrupting Silas’s life, and he’s certain he’s a one-of-a-kind phenomenon—until brash, guitar-playing Jude Forrester barges into his life, exhibiting the same symptoms.
He claims a future version of Silas visited him, and that, according to future-Silas, they’re meant to help each other stop the time trips. If working together can really lead to finding a cure, Silas can handle Jude’s tortured-artist attitude; Jude can humor Silas’s nerdy obsession with the stars.
As they get closer to a solution, they grow closer to each other. But Jude is still grieving an old connection that broke his heart, and he can’t help but wonder if changing the past might save himself and Silas a lot of heartache. Amidst cataclysmic consequences, Silas and Jude must face the cosmic circumstances that brought them together if they hope to protect their timeline—and the future they seem destined to share.
Link: Goodreads
Witch of the Shadow Wood — Tori Anne Martin
Genre: YA contemporary fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Fifteen years ago, a little girl’s father bartered her away to the old witch in the woods for some magic. Abandoned by her brother, Hans, who promised to keep her safe, Greta learns to embrace her new life as an apprentice to the witch, and starts a new life as Miria.
Two years ago, she rescued a young woman who was lost in those woods, and she fell in love.
Just now, she learned that woman was engaged—against her will—to a man who once was complicit in trading his little sister, who’d used the magic her life had bought to give her former family wealth and power beyond measure, and then forgot all about her.
Soon, the young witch will leave the woods. Stop the wedding. Save the woman she loves. Get revenge.
But beyond the woods, nothing is ever that simple.
Link: Goodreads
Cabaret in Flames — Hache Pueyo
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
Hache Pueyo returns after But Not Too Bold with her new novella Cabaret in Flames, where Interview with the Vampire meets Certain Dark Things in an alternate-Brazil where brutal flesh-hungering Guls stalk the night streets and manipulate the government from their glittering cabaret.
Guls can be brutal. Few know this better than Ariadne, who lost half her body to their appetites, but their brutality is a predictable constant amid Brazil’s political chaos. Now, she treats them in the specialized clinic she inherited from Erik Yurkov—the mentor who rescued her as a child, trained her in medicine, built her prostheses, and disappeared without a trace.
Ariadne’s routine is disturbed when Quaint knocks on her door: a charming, tattooed gul claiming to be Erik’s oldest friend. Quaint suspects foul play in Erik’s disappearance, and they soon discover Erik sought asylum at Cabaré, an infamous club in Rio de Janeiro frequented by the gul elite.
Together, Ariadne and Quaint will unravel the conspiracy behind their friend’s disappearance, navigate the labyrinthine world of Ariadne’s memories, and discover what Erik means to them—and what they are starting to mean to each other.
Link: Goodreads
Sink or Burn — Cristy Road Carrera
Genre: Dystopian
Rep: Queer BIPOC cast
A Punk Rock Love Story of Resistance, Revolution, and Resilience in a Dystopian Future.
In Sink Or Burn, the year is 2121, and fascism has overthrown a once-thriving utopia. Amid the ashes of a fallen nation, Cheap Glitter—a queer, punk rock band—becomes the voice of resistance. As they tour across a fractured America, raising funds for the fight against a brutal regime, they navigate wildfires, sunken landscapes, and the terrifying laws of a collapsing society.
At the heart of their journey is CT, a lovelorn survivor whose romantic entanglement with a fellow bandmate—a survivor of a different war—complicates their quest for both personal healing and social revolution. As the band balances the weight of trauma with the urgency of their fight, they discover that love, however chaotic, may be their greatest weapon.
A memoir, a punk rock anthem, and a manifesto for the broken-hearted, Sink Or Burn tells the story of a tortured artist’s evolution into a divine healer. Cristy Road Carrera, a punk rock icon and Latinx artist, weaves together personal survival with the broader struggle for liberation. Set against a dystopian backdrop where love transcends time and violence, the novel challenges the very notion of survival under oppression. Rooted in the experiences of queer, Latinx, and punk communities, this book is an exploration of how art, love, and resilience can shape a future in defiance of societal decay.
Link: Goodreads
These Shattered Spires — Cassidy Ellis Salter
Genre: YA gothic fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of The Wyrdos Trilogy
Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots.
Those yet to succumb to the curse of decay inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from across the four magical disciplines—blood, bone, stone and botany.
The castle is thrown into chaos when the ruler of Fourspires is assassinated. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their human familiars are forced to kill or be killed in the Slaughter, a bloody fight for succession at the top of the Fifth Tower. Familiars, both servants and sources of power to arcanists, are forbidden from even speaking. For them, the Slaughter means certain death.
When Nixie, a botanical familiar, learns that her fate can be avoided and the rotting curse of Fourspires lifted, she’ll stop at nothing to save herself. But she must work with familiars from across the rival disciplines—not easy when one of them is her bone witch ex-girlfriend, Taro—find four magical curse keys and climb the deadly Fifth Tower. With just 48 hours until the Slaughter begins, Nixie and Taro must forge an unlikely alliance with rival familiars Alis and Elliot. Together, the four Wyrdos must battle re-animated skeletons, poisonous and possessed plants, un-dead nuns and the deadliest enemies of all: each other.
Link: Goodreads
Erase Me — Josh Silver
Genre: YA science fiction
Rep: Queer
A struggling teen discovers solace in technology that lets him view the erased memories of others. As he delves into the past of another boy harboring a dark secret, he embarks on a thrilling journey that uncovers a love he was forced to forget.
Seventeen-year-old Eli has been in a near-fatal car crash. As the anniversary looms, his therapist and family struggle to help him deal with the fall out. The accident has left him emotionally numb, with no memory of the months following the crash.
Desperate to feel something again, Eli discovers a black market for people’s memories. Erased memories that others can watch via a virtual reality simulation.
When he enters the story of a boy called Jack, he discovers a darker truth... a mind-blowing secret that sets Eli on a dangerous journey of what he was supposed to forget that can lead his heart back to where it belongs, or shatter his life forever.
Link: Goodreads
You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom — Vincent Tirado
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
Demons clash with inheritance claims as secrets unfold and violence is unleashed over twelve harrowing hours trapped in a house with the worst thing imaginable: family.
When Papi Ramon, the patriarch of the wealthy Abreu family, dies, he gives the family one last message in the will: “One of you is el bacà, the demon that I made a deal with. Get rid of them or you will be damned.” Xiomara, the uncontested favorite of Papi Ramon (and therefore the least liked in the family), watches as everyone dismisses this as the joke of a senile old man and demands the lawyer obtain the previous will Papi wrote.
While the lawyer drives back to his office, a storm breaks out, forcing the entire family—Xiomara’s aunts and uncles and cousins—to remain in the house. And the words of Papi’s will hangs over their heads even heavier than the rain clouds. Over the course of the night, scandal after scandal is revealed to the public about the family. Suddenly a tense few hours of surviving her family turns into a vicious night of recrimination, violence, accusations... and murder.
Xiomara is faced with an impossible task: uproot a demon and somehow kill it, or excise the ghosts that linger within her own family.
And the clock is ticking...
Link: Goodreads
Nobody’s Baby — Olivia Waite
Genre: Cozy science fiction mystery
Rep: Queer, sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Dorothy Gentleman
Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in the second entry of this cozy sci-fi mystery series, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective.
Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.
A wild baby appears! Dorothy Gentleman, ship detective, is put to the test once again when an infant is mysteriously left on her nephew’s doorstep. Fertility is supposed to be on pause during the Fairweather’s journey across the stars—but humans have a way of breaking any rule you set them. Who produced this child, and why did they then abandon him? And as her nephew and his partner get more and more attached, how can Dorothy prevent her colleague and rival detective, Leloup, a stickler for law and order, from classifying the baby as a stowaway or a piece of luggage?
Told through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, this novella series is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take. Perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie, this well-paced story will leave readers captivated and hungry for the next installment.
Link: Goodreads
The Fox and the Devil — Kiersten White
Genre: Fantasy, horror
Rep: Sapphic
An obsession with a beautiful serial killer entangles a vampire hunter’s daughter in an immortal sapphic romance in this enthralling gothic fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lucy Undying.
Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, Abraham Van Helsing—doctor, scientist, and madman devoted to studying vampires—up until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. A woman who leaves no trace behind, other than the dreams and nightmares that plague Anneke every night.
Spurred by her desire for vengeance and armed with the latest in forensic and investigatory techniques, Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch her mysterious serial killer. Because her father isn’t the only inexplicably dead body. There’s a trail of victims across Europe and Anneke is certain they’re all connected.
But during the years spent relentlessly hunting the killer, Anneke keeps some crucial evidence to infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to Anneke, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola. Devil. The obsession is mutual, and all the more dangerous for it.
The closer Anneke gets to her devil, though, the less sense the world makes. Maybe her father wasn’t a madman, after all. Diavola might be something much worse than a serial killer... and much harder to destroy. Because as Anneke unearths more of Diavola’s tragic past, she suspects there’s still a heart somewhere in that undead body.
A heart that beats for Anneke alone.
Link: Goodreads
The Witch Without Memory — Maithree Wijesekara
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 2 of Obsidian Throne
The second epic installment of the Obsidian Throne fantasy trilogy, melding Indian myth and history into a story of a witch and a prince determined to burn an empire to the ground in order to raise it up out of the ashes.
An empress with vengeance in her heart
Prince Ashoka’s sister, Aarya, has named herself empress and is determined to reverse her brother’s mercy for the mayakari.
A witch lost in dreams
Shakti is being held by shadowy figures, drugged and forced to commit an unspeakable crime. When she wakes, she finds herself prisoner, but gaps in her memory around the curse she has cast trap her more thoroughly than any cage.
The prince trying to change the world
Ashoka must find allies and quickly if he is to usher in a new dawn for the mayakari, but the tougher the decision he makes, the farther he gets from his true self. He must determine what he is willing to lose in pursuit of his vision of the future.
The first blow has been dealt by Ashoka and Shakti, but the empire not only remains, it appears stronger—and more brutal—than ever. Both must find ways to fight back before nature is deprived of its spirits and guardians, and the reign of the new empress spreads its destruction and oppression to lands beyond.
Link: Goodreads
March 11, 2026
Consorting With the King — C. Quince
Genre: Fantasy, solarpunk
Rep: M/M
Prince Francis of Sachs-Stormburg has two objectives.
One: join the long line of suitors vying to become King Omar’s next gentleman consort.
Two: find out anything he can about the natural energy powering his kingdom, especially the fabled solar power which has him called ‘The Solar Sultan’ across Europe.
Francis arrives at King Omar’s palace in Istanbul, and discovers much to his horror that all suitors must compete in a tournament of skills to win the king’s favour. King Omar, meanwhile, is nowhere to be seen. When Francis takes refuge from the competition in the palace gardens, he meets a handsome man tending to the palace cats.
Francis and the stranger strike up a friendship which quickly develops into something more. He senses his new companion is hiding something, but Francis himself has not divulged who he truly is either.
As their romance unfolds, Francis has to choose between his royal duty, or abandoning it entirely to explore this new relationship.
But, perhaps, not all is lost, when it is revealed who the stranger really is...
Link: Books2Read
March 12, 2026
Making of a Warlock — Dominic Anaya
Genre: Urban fantasy
Rep: Gay
Series: Book 1 of A Warlock’s Beginning
Heartbreak wasn’t supposed to change Victor Russo’s life forever—but magic had other plans.
Reeling from the end of a five-year relationship, Victor reluctantly joins his friends on a birthday getaway to New Orleans, a city steeped in mystery, magic, and secrets that refuse to stay buried. A visit to an enigmatic tarot reader, Madame Jeanette, shatters Victor’s sense of reality when her cards reveal truths that cut straight to his grief, fear, and untapped power.
Though Victor tries to walk away, the magic calls him back.
Soon, Victor discovers that his late grandmother was one of the most powerful witches of her generation—and that her legacy lives on in him. Drawn into a hidden world of warlocks, witches, and ancient curses, Victor must confront a destiny he never asked for and a dark enemy long thought buried: Florence Maryweather, the force that cursed his grandmother and still hungers for power.
As Victor struggles with identity, loss, and self-acceptance, he must decide whether to embrace the magic within him—or risk losing everything.
Making of a Warlock is an LGBTQ+ urban fantasy about found family, queer identity, inherited power, and becoming who you were always meant to be.
Link: Books2Read
Afterbirth — Emma Cleary
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
A fractured sisterhood. A disturbing transformation. A desperate obsession.
Abandoning the ruins of her stalled life after an ill-omened romance, Brooke flies to Vancouver to care for her estranged sister, Izzy, who is recovering from reproductive surgery. But Izzy’s rapidly decaying apartment building, its hallways stalked by an ominous crone known only as Medusa, offers little of the refuge Brooke craves.
Seeking solace in the horror movies her ex-girlfriend loved, Brooke soon finds traces of horror bleeding from the screen into their lives. As old wounds reopen, strange forces begin to exert their power over the sisters, culminating in an unexpected and inexplicably accelerating pregnancy that will lock Brooke and Izzy in a nightmarish rivalry, and send one of them spiraling into dangerous obsession.
Eerie, macabre, and startlingly original, Emma Cleary’s haunting literary debut powerfully explores questions of maternity, sisterhood, and bodily autonomy. Threaded with a beautifully evoked yearning, Afterbirth reverberates with menace and the echoes of classic horror cinema, lingering in the mind long after the final seconds play.
Link: Goodreads
March 13, 2026
Woman of Sorrow and Blood — Dianna Gunn
Genre: Gothic horror
Rep: Sapphic
When 18-year-old Alma is invited to live with Nightfather and pursue the Pleasures of Power, she’s determined to win his affection and ultimate gift: eternal life.
Yet life in the House of Night is not what she expected. Nightfather spends all of his time alone with Nightmother, leaving his second wife to rule with an iron fist. The servants brought from Alma’s home are hollowed out versions of their former selves. Others—including Alma’s own mentor—have disappeared entirely.
Alma buries her suspicions and throws herself into attending to the Daughter of Night, an extraordinary woman who requires special care.
When Nightfather calls upon Alma at last, she begins to see that his eternity is not a reward but a trap—and that it is not him, but the woman he calls his daughter, that her heart longs for. But tragedy lurks in every corner, and sometimes the only escape is death.
Link: Books2Read
March 15, 2026
Beasts Within Our Blood — S. N. C. Fletcher
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of The Spheire Saga
What would you become to save what you love?
In a dense jungle landscape teeming with perils, 18-year-old Faylen finds the real threat lurks beneath his skin.
His people’s ancient power allows them to mimic the untamed creatures of their surroundings. However, when it is Faylen’s turn to take on the claws, speed, and superhuman strength of his ancestors, he feels a darker presence accompanies them.
While Faylen battles internally, he faces a dangerous coming-of-age rite: the Hunter Trials, filled with dizzying chases across titan-filled woods and brutal blood duels for coveted acclaim. As his generation proves itself in this unruly game, the world beyond his secluded village simmers to a boil. Four other bloodlines also command their own unique and devastating powers, and today, despite a heavily regulated era of peace, old alliances are quietly rekindling in faraway lands.
As the threat encroaches on his quiet woodland home, Faylen realizes he must become stronger to protect his people. The only way he knows how is by reaching further into the jungle’s ferocity than any have before. But if he digs too deeply for that power, what might claw its way out?
Link: Goodreads
Everything the Sun Touches — C.M. Kuhtz
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of Sun & Flame
As the only daughter born into one of the most prominent merchant families in the south of the kingdom, Qonna has always known that one day she would have to marry—but she has never fallen in love and she isn’t really sure that she can.
Cisir falls in love with everyone he meets and has left his noble family in the north to start a new chapter in his life, after everything has gone terribly, embarrassingly wrong.
When Qonna and Cisir meet in the flourishing trading port of Seagard, neither of them knows that they have been given a very specific magical gift that will force them to work together and that their destinies will become irrevocably intertwined with the fate of the bustling and politically volatile city they both try to survive in.
As a queer twist on the marriage of convenience trope, Everything the Sun Touches is a tale of chosen family and deep, complex friendships, perfect for fans of Gwen and Art Are Not in Love and Little Thieves.
Link: Goodreads
March 16, 2026
Dragon Blood Curse — Kai Butler
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 4 of Emperor’s Assassin
The generals that once served Emperor Tallu now pursue us across the continent. General Bemishu and Kacha have made their move and we find ourselves trapped by the role Tallu has been playing his entire life. As we search for allies, the rules of imperial politics force Tallu to act more and more like his deranged father.
Still, we have a hint of hope: somewhere in the dangerous Tavornai swamps, another animalia spins her webs and rearranges fate to her own desires. Can she change ours?
We have one chance to save our lives, one hope at a future that we both so desperately want. With new allies and old nemeses, we have to risk our lives to create a world for our love.
Link: Amazon
March 17, 2026
Cyberscion — Thomas Bulen Jacobs
Genre: Science fiction, cyberpunk
Rep: Sapphic
In a far future New York City, Benjiro Ibn Benjiro Ayad Nakamura is about to ascend to leadership of the Nakamura Cybersinecure, a tech monopoly-government.
But his family’s prized katana has been stolen.
So Benjiro recruits a team of thieves, led by the Nigerian refugee Amina and her girlfriend, Kiral, to recover the blade.
Link: Neon Hemlock
The Orc and Her Spy — Lila Gwynn
Genre: Fantasy romance
Rep: F/F
Series: Book 2 of The Sapphic Orcs of Torden (stands alone)
An orc queen. Her human bodyguard. Ten years of trust, tension, and yearning.
ASTRID KARRSDAUGHTER, orc queen of Torden, has dealt with threats from the west since before she was elected to her throne. When the southern kingdom sends an ambassador to Torden’s royal court, Astrid needs the help of her beloved spymaster—even knowing she relies on her too heavily.
FREYA WEDD is the queen’s human bodyguard, spymaster, and handmaid all in one. When she receives divine prophecy that something bad will happen to her queen, she will do whatever she can to protect the woman to whom she’s sworn her life.
Tension between the two has been simmering for years, and their feelings are about to boil over.
A masc human bodyguard protects her dutiful, emotionally distant orc queen in this sapphic fantasy romance. This novel is second in The Sapphic Orcs of Torden series but can be read as a standalone.
Link: Books2Read
Sweetbitter Song — Rosie Hewlett
Genre: Fantasy, retelling
Rep: Sapphic
Sweetbitter Song is a story of two women on the shores of Ithaca, in the shadows of a legendary war, who must face their own battle—one of sisterhood, survival, and a forbidden love that could destroy them both.
One summer night, within the palace of Sparta, a young slave girl stumbles across a grey-eyed princess. Despite living worlds apart, Melantho and Penelope are instantly drawn to one another, and a powerful friendship blossoms. But the Spartan royals do not approve of this bond, and soon Melantho and Penelope find themselves viciously torn apart, their trust irreparably shattered.
Years later, their paths cross once again upon the rocky shores of Ithaca, where Melantho is sent to serve Princess Penelope and her new husband, Prince Odysseus. Embittered by life as a slave, Melantho is determined to keep her distance. But, once again, the two women find themselves drawn to one other, pulled by the echo of their friendship, and something far stronger they are too afraid to name.
When war blazes across Greece, Odysseus and the men of Ithaca are driven to foreign lands. In their absence, Melantho finds a new world opening up before her—one where women rule, where family can be found, and where a forbidden love is finally given the space to bloom.
A profound tale of love, identity and defiance, Sweetbitter Song tells a story forgotten by history. One of bravery and hope, celebrating two women who fought to protect their love from a world that tried to deny its very existence.
Link: Goodreads
Masquerade — L.R. Lam
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Intersex, non-binary MC; queer secondary characters
Series: Book 3 of Micah Grey
In the high-stakes conclusion to the Micah Grey Trilogy from the USA Today-bestselling author of Dragonfall, Micah faces his own magical power, nebulous alliances, and a conspiracy that unravels all the way to the Royal Palace.
The gifted can’t hide their talents forever. But monsters await when they step into the light...
Micah’s Chimaera powers are growing, just as dark visions threaten to overwhelm him. Drystan is forced to take him to the Royal Physician, but can they really trust the doctor? Especially when he gets Micah hooked on a mysterious medicine, and a close friend is revealed to be his spy.
Meanwhile, violent unrest is sweeping the country as anti-royalist factions fight to be heard. When a royal secret and an attack on Chimaera brings Micah into the heart of the conflict, he and his friends must fight an ancient sect that aims to spread terror once more. The fate of all Chimaera—and the world—hangs in the balance.
In this satisfying and thrilling conclusion to their inventive fantasy trilogy, L.R. Lam raises the stakes like never before.
Link: Goodreads
Wayward Souls — Susan J. Morris
Genre: Historical fantasy, retelling
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Harker & Moriarty
Six days before Samhain—the night when the veil between worlds is thinnest—Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula’s killer, and Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the famed criminal mastermind, are thrown into their next the mysterious disappearance of two Society field agents in Ireland. Only this time, the Royal Society is sending Jakob Van Helsing to keep an eye on them.
Sam and Hel may have solved the Paris case, but that doesn’t mean the Society trusts them. Sam has the power to slip into the minds of monsters, and Van Helsing has sworn to kill her at the first sign of corruption. And if Hel can’t prove her father’s existence, she’ll soon go down for his crimes.
Their investigation takes them from the crumbling ruins of Ireland’s untamed wilds to the occult societies of the rich and powerful. The connection between the Sam and Hel is electric, but as they fall deeper into each other’s orbit, their secrets only multiply. For Hel, it’s the sins she committed when she was her father’s pawn. For Sam, it’s a plague of death omens, mysterious black feathers, and a siren song no one else can hear. And then comes a chilling revelation that is poised to shatter The agents who disappeared were each haunted by a ghost. And so, it seems, is Sam.
Link: Goodreads
Daughter of the Hunt — K. Arsenault Rivera
Genre: Romantasy, mythology
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 2 of Oath of Fire
Iphigenia Pelops lives to serve her family. It is her responsibility and privilege as the Heir, as well as the only safeguard against the family curse. So when Artemis, queen of the Court of the Wild, demands a sacrifice in exchange for her blessing in a dangerous power struggle, Iphigenia is the natural choice.
However, Artemis is horrified that Iphigenia’s family, and not Iphigenia herself, made the final decision. As recompense, she takes Iphigenia under her wing and teaches her the ways of the hunt—and soon, the ways of the body, as feelings blossom between them.
But can their bond survive the weight of the Pelops curse?
Link: Goodreads
March 18, 2026
Learning to Bleed — Cat Rector
Genre: Gothic horror
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 2 of Vampires of Coal Dust
You can take the girl out of Penny Harbour, but you can’t take the monster out of the girl.
When Spencer and Laurel left Penny Harbour after her death, he promised she could learn to control her hunger. Once she stops being a danger to the people she loves, he can bring her home. His centuries as a vampire should have prepared him to guide her, but every night, he cleans the blood from her hands and hides the corpses she’s made. No amount of careful planning stops the inevitable, and Spencer can’t figure out why.
Laurel is lying. The monster that took root in her veins never left. It whispers to her, robs her of reason, and twists the truth. Out in the big, broad world for the first time, she’s overwhelmed by cities, her own queer reckoning, and the monsters waging war inside her. Terrified of what will happen if she tells Spencer, Laurel has decided to push through in isolation. Things were supposed to get easier, after all. With practice, she should have been in control by now.
Will Laurel be able to overcome the rage long enough to take advantage of her new freedom, or will the violence destroy everything she’s fought so hard to get?
Link: Books2Read
March 19, 2026
The Relic — Lloyd A. Meeker
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Echoing through the world of stone abbeys and iron-fisted warlords, the earth sings its relentless song.
Betrayed by his monastery brotherhood, Magnus is sent into a brutal desert on a mission intended to kill him: deliver an obscure relic to a ruthless warlord. The relic is a known forgery, but the desert is both real and unforgiving.
When the relic begins to speak to him, it promises Magnus happiness, inviting him into its strange magic. But its gifts are double-edged—sight to see the world’s secret soul, the power of flight, and the terrifying burden of a healer.
From the corridors of a corrupt monastery to the sacred spring at the heart of a witch’s garden and a home in the arms of a traveling musician, Magnus follows a rejected, wild magic which endures more powerfully than the world of human making.
An enchanting tale of nature, magic and love, The Relic treads a thin line between ecstasy and madness and asks, “How much courage does it take to truly belong in the world?”
Link: Kobo
This Splintered Sea — Haley J Munroe
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of Ends of the Earth
Fifty competitors, three trials, and one woman desperate enough to risk it all.
Let the games begin.
Killing her betrothed and fleeing an arranged marriage was meant to free Briar, the Princess of the Sea, from a life trapped on land and chained to a throne. Powerful, ruthless, and wild, she once sailed the seas under her queen mother’s rule as the feared captain of The Twelfth Night.
A decade later, she’s a pickpocket and the king’s favorite courtesan in a foreign, enemy court, working as an undercover spy while having a secret affair with the queen. As punishment for her murderous revenge, she’s stuck on land—cursed, forgotten to history, and stripped of her ruthless power that once made her so formidable. One spray of the sea against her skin will kill her.
She’s trapped, hiding in plain sight, until the King announces a competition in which the winner will be granted a single wish—a wish that could undo her curse. Determined, she conceals herself as a pirate, and magically seals herself to The Gales and its trials.
Only, the pirate identity she stole is being hunted by notorious bounty hunter and fellow trials competitor, Kressa—the same bounty hunter Briar is supposed to seduce and spy on as a courtesan.
The same woman whose kiss ignited Briar’s dormant magic, breaking all the rules of her curse.
Link: Goodreads
March 20, 2026
Indigent — Briana N. Cox
Genre: Literary horror
Rep: Queer Black MC
“Eat. They twisted in deeper. Eat. Still so simple. An impulse. Repeated again and again. Eat...”
“Acid-bath class struggle intermingles with parasitic terror in Briana N. Cox’s slippery, slithering, symbiotically suffocating debut.” - Clay McLeod Chapman, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
LEIGH PIERCE ESTATES is home to a diverse array of tenants: families, immigrants, students, the forgotten elderly. All working poor, and all in danger.
Because the tenants of Leigh Pierce are disappearing.
Live-in handyman Xavier seems to be the only one who notices. Or cares. After a chance encounter with the culprit leaves him infected with something horrifying, Xavier is thrust into a surreal nightmare of starvation and consumption all too familiar to his gentrifying Atlanta neighborhood.
Succumbing to his infection, Xavier is drawn into the cobbled-together family squatting in Leigh Pierce’s basement. People who, through a myriad of doomed roads, fell into the same self-destructive cycle of indigency, harboring dark secrets... and darker appetites. Trapped in a dynamic of codependency and complicity, Xavier and his family—new and old—are forced to confront the cost of survival in a world that has disregarded them.
Link: Goodreads
March 22, 2026
Awaken, My Love — Marat Earendel
Genre: Gothic horror romance
Rep: M/M
He feels nothing. The vampire feels everything. The castle wants the rest.
Astaire Bloom, an unfeeling man devoid of hope, takes a job in a remote castle under a mysterious employer. As sinister events unfold around him, he begins to feel things he thought himself incapable of. And the castle is hungry for it.
To uncover the secrets buried within the ancient, decrepit walls, Astaire must endure more than he ever imagined.
Hurt, and bleed, and want, and fear. Fear it all. Feel it all.
Awaken, My Love is a gay gothic vampire romance about ruin, longing, and the dangerous tenderness of monsters. Perfect for readers who crave atmospheric castles, morally complicated men, and prose you can chew on.
Link: Amazon
March 23, 2026
The Lost Lovelies — Vanora Lawless
Genre: Historical fantasy
Rep: M/M
Famed war correspondent Kit Lovely left Nova Scotia seventeen years ago under the crushing weight of a broken heart, swearing never to return. But after he receives an ominous letter from his new sister-in-law, Kit rushes back across the Atlantic, where he discovers their ransacked house tingling from mysterious magic. With his brother and sister-in-law gone without a trace, Kit’s left reeling. His own faulty magic can’t work a tracking spell, nor are the police much use. Desperate for answers, Kit has no choice but to turn to the very man who once shattered him.
Reserved mage Gus North is an expert PI specializing in missing persons cases. He’s also guarding a dangerous secret: he hails from a long line of talented blood magic users. When the only man he’s ever loved begs for help to find his little brother, Gus can’t turn him away. Not even with all the lies, and hurt, and lingering feelings between them clawing him up.
As they chip away at the case, their core beliefs about themselves, each other, and the world they live in unravel, exposing a deadlier enemy than either of them could have imagined.
After all, in a world of magic, not all monsters in fairytales are just stories.
THE LOST LOVELIES is an intensely emotional second-chance romance full of queer found family, mystery, and magic. Set in 1945 Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Link: Books2Read
March 24, 2026
This Will Be Interesting — E.B. Asher
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Standalone in established universe
Set in the same magical, madcap world as E. B. Asher’s USA Today bestseller This Will Be Fun, this heartwarming, hilarious fantasy follows an unlikely band of heroes who must get to the bottom of an assassination plot gone wrong without breaking the one rule of questing: do not fall in love with your questmates.
Galwell True was the perfect hero, the legend who sacrificed himself to save the realm... only for his friends to unexpectedly resurrect him ten years later. These days, he’s feeling less “Galwell the Great” and more “Galwell the Lost.”
River Pricemark is an excellent assassin. When the Deathrose Guild, an organization known for banishing evil, tasks her with eliminating Galwell, she sees her chance to climb the ranks. So, it’s bad luck when her ambush is interrupted by Celine Hazelton, a scribesheet reporter who questions why the Guild is targeting Galwell at all. It’s worse luck that Celine is also her childhood crush.
Queen Thessia of Mythria is tired of being the damsel. She’s just married the kind and handsome King Hugh and is meant to live happily ever after—but her story feels incomplete. Upon learning Galwell, her ex, is in danger, she turns her royal honeymoon into a rescue, bringing everyone overseas to the opulent land of Vestriya.
Between underground lairs, magical grottos, horseball matches, and masquerades, Galwell must rely on his newfound questmates—including beautiful Vestriyan criminal Mona Grandhart, who seems determined to corrupt him in more ways than one. Good thing he’s set a single rule for everyone on this no romance.
But we all know how this ends, don't we?
Link: Goodreads
Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories — Amal El-Mohtar
Genre: Speculative short story collection
Rep: Queer
Full of glimpses into gleaming worlds and fairy tales with teeth, Seasons of Glass and Stories is a collection of acclaimed and awarded work from Amal El-Mohtar.
With confidence and style, El-Mohtar guides us through exquisitely told and sharply observed tales about life as it is, was, and could be. Like miscellany from other worlds, these stories are told in letters, diary entries, reference materials, folktales, and lyrical prose.
Full of Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Hugo Award-winning and nominated stories, Seasons of Glass and Stories includes “Seasons of Glass and Iron,” “The Green Book,” “Madeleine,” “The Lonely Sea in the Sky,” “And Their Lips Rang with the Sun,” “The Truth About Owls,” “A Hollow Play,” “Anabasis,” “To Follow the Waves,” “John Hollowback and the Witch,” “Florilegia, or, Some Lies About Flowers,” “Pockets,” and more.
Link: Goodreads
Wretch — Eric LaRocca
Genre: Horror
Rep: Gay MC
From rising horror star and award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke comes a nightmarish, haunting, tech-Gothic thrill ride about sorrow, memory, and the unabashed complexity of love as a transgressive act.
After his husband dies, Simeon Link finds himself overcome by grief and seeking comfort in an unusual support group called The Wretches, who offer an addictive and dangerous source of relief. They introduce Simeon to a curious figure known as Porcelain Khaw—a man with the ability to let those who are grieving have one last intimate moment with their beloved... for a price.
Hallucinatory, fiendish, and destructively beautiful, Wretch transports us to a world where not everything is as it seems, and those we love may be the ones who haunt us most.
Link: Goodreads
The Beheading Game — Rebecca Lehmann
Genre: Historical fantasy, horror
Rep: Sapphic
Disgraced. Beheaded. And out for revenge...
We all know what happened to Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. But what if she woke up the day after her execution and took it upon herself to seek justice?
“Nobody was surprised at Anne’s conviction. The world loves to put a woman in her place.”
The Beheading Game begins in the hours after Anne Boleyn’s beheading, when she wakes to find herself unceremoniously in an arrow chest, her head wrapped in linen at her knees. Discarded by King Henry VIII for not being able to give him a male heir, reviled by Cromwell for being too smart for her own good, and executed based on trumped-up charges, Anne escapes the tower, sews her head back on, and sets out on a quest for vengeance.
Traveling in the guise of a commoner, with the help of a prostitute, Anne navigates the London streets she never before walked and soon realizes how little she knew about life in the real world.
If Kelly Link had teamed up with Hilary Mantel, the result might be The Beheading Game. An epic journey through the wilds of British royal history and a prescient reminder that “mouthy” women have always been punished, The Beheading Game finally allows one of history’s most maligned women a chance to tell her side of the story.
Link: Goodreads
Goblin Heart — Fae Loxley
Genre: Fantasy romance
Rep: M/M; trans men
As a goblin prince living in the human court of Morvane, Luc is unerringly loyal to his best friend, Prince Ramon. While his feelings seem genuine, his loyalty is forced, magically-controlled by the false heart beating in his chest. The royal wizards have hidden his true heart out of reach, keeping Luc as a well-mannered captive in the Morvanish palace.
Will Fletcher is an irritable apprentice smith, more comfortable sneaking off to the goblin kingdom of the Brightwood than staying in his family home. When Luc stumbles into his life, Will learns that he and the goblin prince have more in common than he expects. In order to steal back Luc’s heart and free him from magical bondage, Will must confront the shadows hiding in his past and forge a new life.
Link: Bookfunnel
Charmed and Dangerous — Shelly Page
Genre: YA contemporary fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
A teen mystic will do anything to solve a series of love-related magical mishaps plaguing her high school, including fake dating her boss’s daughter, in this charming sapphic romance.
Magic lingers in the cozy town of Fair Glen, Illinois, and it’s up to the agents at the Bureau of Mystical Affairs to keep it in check. Monroe Bennett, a junior recruit at the Bureau, is ready to ace her first tracking down the source of a rogue love charm.
Protecting her charmed classmates, including the bureau director’s daughter Iris James, is top priority. But when Iris asks Monroe to fake date her to make her ex jealous, things get complicated.
Monroe believes in duty, not romance. Yet the more time she spends with Iris, the harder it is to ignore the very real sparks flying between them. Can Monroe protect herself from love long enough to solve this case, or will her growing feelings get in the way?
Link: Goodreads
Sourwood — Logan Spurgeon
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
Reed and Leighton never imagined they would meet their grandparents or discover the place their family came from. The roots of their family tree had been concealed by their parents and all their secrets died with them. That is, until the siblings received a call from their estranged grandmother, Violet.
After years of searching Violet finally found them, but she gives them surprising news. Their grandfather Royce will pass soon and a sizable inheritance awaits them on one condition—they pay a visit to Ashfeld Manor, their ancestral home.
The siblings, each with their own hidden motivations, agree. But nothing at Ashfeld Manor is as it seems: the house is falling apart, a humming noise fills the stale air, the sourwood trees around the property are rotting, and a strange creature roams the night sky.
As they uncover the roots of their family tree, Reed and Leighton unveil horrific secrets that will forever transform them. Together they must save each other from their cursed bloodline.
Link: Goodreads
Spacious Skies, Amber Waves — D. D. Webb
Genre: High fantasy western
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 2 of The Gods Are Bastards
A band of adventuring young hopefuls strikes out into the wild—and straight into peril—in the thrilling second installment of this fantasy western series.
The Empire of Tiraas has spent ages casting off its sword-and-sorcery shackles in favor of high finance, practical magic, and keeping those with power in power. Everything is malleable in the name of progress. And those that cannot be bent can easily be broken—quite painfully if necessary.
But far away on the frontier, anything goes. And the University has not ceased instructing would-be adventurers on the finer points of unlocking their potential as elves, warriors, paladins, pirates, half-demons, and anything else the empire considers a threat. Now, the latest batch of brash, brawling freshmen are venturing outside the classroom on a trek to the Golden Sea for a lesson in reality. A seriously harsh lesson, to be precise. This sea is like nothing they have ever an ever-shifting desert of mystery, myth, and monsters where friendship, loyalty, and their very souls will be challenged.
Meanwhile, trouble brews in the nearby town of Last Rock, as a dangerous enforcer and a battle-hardened wizard duel over a cunning elven thief who has a greater role to play in the power structure of Tiraas than anyone realizes. The pieces are set, and all will have to overcome their differences—and some very temperamental similarities—if they hope to survive.
The second volume of the genre-blending fantasy epic based on the hit web novel with more than eleven million views—plus almost four million views on Royal Road—now available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!
Link: Goodreads
March 25, 2026
The Wine-Dark Sea — Kris Madigan
Genre: Historical fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
When her wife’s ship vanishes somewhere in the Aegean Sea, Helena decides to leave the island of Rhodes—the only home she’s ever known—and embark on an odyssey to bring her beloved home before she’s lost even to the gods themselves. With the sole survivor of the wreck as her guide and the goddess Artemis at her back, Helena pushes her devotion to its limits as she faces countless obstacles and her greatest fear: the wine-dark sea itself.
Link: Itch.io
March 31, 2026
Ruins — Lily Brooks-Dalton
Genre: Science fiction, literary
Rep: Queer
From critically acclaimed, bestselling author of The Light Pirate comes a powerful, deeply resonant novel about an ambitious archaeologist in pursuit of a rare artifact from an ancient civilization that would not only change her life but potentially society at large.
Professor Ember Agni is a rising star in archeology, trying to balance an unfulfilling career in academia and a crumbling marriage, all while pursuing her true passion: unearthing a lost empire that no one else believes existed. Just as she’s about to give up on the ambitious expedition she spent a decade trying to fund, a message arrives from overseas. A former student claims to have found something extraordinary—an artifact that hints at the forgotten world lying beneath history’s tidy surface.
With vindication finally within reach, Ember risks everything for the sake of discovery and undertakes an odyssey that will either make her name or ruin her. Driven by unwavering faith in her vision of the past, she challenges the limits of her nation, her colleagues, and herself in order to exhume the missing pieces of how humanity began. But as she journeys deep into an untouched wilderness, in dogged pursuit of a dead civilization, she collides with the wreckage of her own life.
On the brink of either discovery or destruction, Ember must choose who she wants to be, and to what kind of world she wants to belong.
Link: Goodreads
CyberSnow — A.E. Bross
Genre: Science fiction, cyberpunk
Rep: Sapphic; ace; everybody’s queer
New Velles is a city built for the elite, for those who sit atop a capitalist throne while everyone beneath them has to beg for the scraps. No group carries more power and privilege than the Nieve family, owners of the Nieve Corporation.
Bianca Nieve is the sole heir to the Nieve Corporation, forced to follow in her father’s footsteps. She knows there’s more to the corporation than wealth. There’s the corruption, injustice, and cold-blooded adherence to profit over the lives of people as well. She wants nothing to do with it. Torn between loyalty to family and her own conscience, she finds her only solace in the relative anonymity of the net, secretly broadcasting the misdeeds of Nieve Corp under the guise of CyberSnow.
Suddenly, Bianca finds herself a fugitive for a crime she didn’t commit, a crime that could shake the very foundation of New Velles. Her only chance of survival lies in the dark corners of a city she has only ever seen from afar.
Taja Soliño wouldn’t call herself an enthusiastic part of the resistance in New Velles. She’d call herself someone who hates seeing regular people caught up in the twisted machinations of the city’s corruption. That quickly changes when she decides to make a bit of her own “good” trouble. She accidentally invites chaos into her life by saving someone she thought was an innocent bystander caught in a crossfire. That someone turns out to be Bianca Nieve herself.
Now Taja, Bianca, and those around them are thrust further into the steadily escalating conflict between the corruption that runs New Velles and the effort of the resistance to release the city from its oppressor.
Link: Books2Read
The Celestial Seas — T.A. Chan
Genre: YA science fiction, retelling
Rep: Queer
Ishara Ming is the sole survivor of the Essex, a spacefaring whaler destroyed by the legendary Ballena. Left with a damaged memory chip and a missing arm, Ishara has vowed to avenge the twenty-three lives lost to the rogue Mech-Operated Bio-Integrated Spacecraft (MOBIS), an autonomous spacecraft containing an intricate blend of mechanical hardware and code-controlled bacteria.
To take on the Ballena, Ishara assembles a crew of capable misfits, including her first mate, Quinn, the girl who makes Ishara’s heart stumble over its own beats. Quinn has always believed in her, even when the rest of the system thinks she’s a delusional captain who hallucinated the Ballena.
That is, until Augustus, a handsome ship mech with his own reasons for revenge, convinces Ishara to let him join the crew. He’s armed with a specialized tracking system Ishara can’t refuse, but there’s something familiar about him she can’t quite shake. Torn between Quinn’s cautious guidance and Augustus’s encouragement, Ishara issues increasingly risky orders. But one too many brushes with death will force her to choose between her newfound family or the vow to avenge her old one—and the two closest to her she can’t help but fall for.
Inspried by Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, this retelling brings a much-needed modern update to a beloved classic.
Link: Goodreads
Nothing Tastes as Good — Luke Dumas
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
The acclaimed author of the “disorienting, creepy, paranoia-inducing” (Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World) A History of Fear returns with a spine-tingling new thriller about a weight loss treatment with potentially murderous side effects.
Retail worker Emmett Truesdale has never fit the Southern California mold of six-pack, suntanned masculinity. Over three hundred pounds, he carries the weight of his childhood trauma and millennial ennui around his waist and in his soul. After trying every diet under the sun, he remains stuck—in his dead-end job, in love, and in his body.
Desperate for help, he enrolls in a clinical trial for a new weight loss product called Obexity. The treatment is as horrifying as the results are miraculous and as Emmett sheds pounds at superhuman speed, every part of his life improves overnight.
Unfortunately, Obexity comes with some killer side effects, including lost stretches of time and overwhelming cravings. Worse, people who were cruel to him have started disappearing and when the police warn of a cannibalistic killer on the loose, he fears that Obexity is turning him into a monster. But how can he give it up now that people are finally starting to treat him like he’s human?
Nerve-racking, sinister, and at times surreal, Nothing Tastes as Good is an unputdownable thriller that combines The Substance with the best of Stephen King and keeps you guessing until the final page.
Link: Goodreads
Our Immortal Bind — Christopher Hartland
Genre: YA urban romantasy
Rep: M/M
To enter the afterlife, one must first pass through a door unlocked by the angel of death, but when the keys to those doors are stolen, the entire human race is rendered immortal.
With the world heading into global crisis and the very fabric of the universe at risk, Death tasks her son, the half-angel/half-human Orpheus, with the retrieval of the keys.
Orpheus soon encounters Evan, a warlock who lives in fear thanks to laws punishing the use of magic.
The Witchfinders are already pointing the blame for the immortality at the witches and warlocks of the world, so Evan agrees to help Orpheus in the hopes of fixing things before anti-magic rhetoric reaches an all-time high.
In a quest that pushes them both to their limits, what neither boy expects is to find there may be more to life, each other, and themselves than they ever thought possible.
Link: Goodreads
The Kingdom of Almonds — Ariel Kaplan
Genre: Historical fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 3 of The Mirror Realm Cycle
In the enchanting conclusion to the Mirror Realm Cycle, the fate of all three realms hangs in the balance as Toba, Naftaly, and their companions must settle the question of Luz once and for all...
Toba and Naftaly have stepped through the Gate of Luz into the mythic world of Aravoth, home to the Ziz, the bird of legend capable of raising the sea. Aravoth—the fabled third realm—is more dizzying and terrifying than Toba or Naftaly could have imagined. Nor had they expected to find someone already there, waiting for them.
After barely escaping the burning city of Zayit, Elena and the old woman have a new Barsilay, heir of Luz, is being held for an exorbitant ransom by the paranoid Queen of P’ri Hadar. As Barsilay sits in his dark, demon-inhabited prison cell, he begins to realize the queen is guarding an ancient secret that might be the key to his release.
And the tyrant Tarses continues to close in on P’ri Hadar, wielding an army that spans the Mazik and mortal worlds and newly-powerful visions that reveal his most longed-for future—visions that he and Naftaly seem to share.
In this triumphant finale, the mirror realms must find their balance, or risk being lost altogether.
Link: Goodreads
The Need for Dandelions — Alex Larkspur
Genre: Fantasy romance
Rep: M/M
Galen did not need someone to protect him in the Candiru Quarter. He simply did not. He was a devotee of the Lady of Flowers and he knew that he was perfectly safe in Candiru Quarter. However, the governor of Dragonet City has decided that every healer working in the city needed to have a guard with them to protect them in the dangerous streets, especially in Candiru Quarter.
Sasha did not want this posting. The last thing in the world that he wanted to do was follow around a devotee of the Lady of Flowers, a god that he hates. But because of his own horrible track record, he is stuck guarding Brother Galen. He hates every single moment of it. Galen and Sasha clash immediately, and everything seems to be doomed to end in catastrophe. One night changes all of that.
When a strange new disease emerges in the center of Candiru quarter, it forces the two men to confront each other and themselves. Only then can they work to discover the origin of the sickness and save Dragonet City, as well as each other.
Link: Books2Read
Loading...The Machine Child — TT Madden
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Queer, transfemme
Abby, a transfemme videogame YouTuber, finds an anonymous package left at her door. Inside is a VHS tape that seems to call to something within her, and opens up a door to the 40-year-old mystery of Polybius. The urban legend claims that an arcade cabinet allegedly caused madness and hallucinations in its players while it was installed over a single month in Portland in 1981. The package indicates that there may be even more to the story.
Something about it compels Abby on a journey across the country to discover the truth about the mysterious cabinet and the men in black watching over it, and to finish the story started in 1981.
Link: Goodreads
Ruiner — Lara Messersmith-Glavin
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of Tellers
A political fantasy where storytelling is combat magic and ordinary people must fight against exploitation and environmental destruction.
War and physical violence have been rendered obsolete. Now tellers are pitted against each other, spinning tales out of storylight to outmaneuver the other, whether in battle, for glory, or in a bid to stave off poverty and hunger. But the teller must be careful, as a story lost in combat is lost forever—and with it, sometimes, a part of the teller.
Kell is a ritual lorist, trained in her people's legends and tradition of navigating by way of the pulsar stones across the vast and ever-changing desert. A gift from the gods, these ancient stones with their strange heartbeats are their most sacred resource. When the unthinkable happens and the imperial capital of Soogway annexes the stones, mining them for geologic resources, Kell must make her way to the city as an envoy of her clan—and reluctant combat teller, should negotiations fail.
Shade, a scrappy genderqueer street fighter of indeterminate age, is a regular of the illegal underground combat circuit, a fierce survivor of the city’s rougher spots, and a keen storyteller. When offered the chance to better their lot and train for an illustrious prize fight, Shade falls under the influence of a shadowy backer whose unorthodox techniques in story combat reveal capabilities beyond what they’d ever imagined possible. Soon, this taps something already broken in Shade.
Ruiner is the first installment of the Tellers series, an epic fantasy of colliding worldviews that demands its fighters draw on all their resources to stop an encroaching extractivist power. Lush and complex, the story wrestles with trauma, the high cost of resistance, and the nature of violence.
Link: Goodreads