Queer SF - November 2025
November 1, 2025
Fangs Divide Us — Katherine Crowe
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: M/F; queernorm world
Series: Book 1 of Season of Souls (stands alone)
Hidden fangs. Not so hidden hearts.
Millicent Layne has been hiding in plain sight, a delicate existence that her fangs threaten to expose whenever her emotions spike. When a last-ditch effort to stall her arranged marriage goes awry, causing her brother Andrei to go missing, she needs Ellis Dacre’s help to find him. Nothing more. But as the autumn days roll on, every cozy inn and toasty tavern chips away at Millie’s secret and the walls she built around her heart.
Ellis Dacre is a carpenter with calloused hands, a gentle soul, and dreams bigger than the small town of Balcott. His sights are set on the capital guild—until Millicent Layne enters his life and his best friend Carolyn vanishes. In a desperate search between falling leaves and starry nights at sea, Millie and Ellis uncover a connection between them that stretches beyond this life.
And a conspiracy poised to eradicate Millie’s people forever.
Perfect for fans of Rebecca Thorne’s Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea and T. Kingfisher’s Swordheart.
Link: Goodreads
November 3, 2025
Floodwaters — Wren Rivers
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 0 of The Divine Archive
Theology and science mix like oil and water. Never in his life would Eris Vandermere have thought The Effect of Divine Presence on Human Behavior would be the topic of his final research paper of the year—yet he finds himself combing the city streets with sophomore Miri Chase, tracking the footsteps of a real-life god who walks the mortal realm.
When the God of the Sea rescues a child from certain death, his divine blood heals the child’s wounds, and the mortal world hails him as a hero. An undercurrent of intrigue among the mortal population grows and slowly festers, which leads Eris and Miri to stumble across a horrifying mortals will do anything to get their hands on God's Blood.
What starts as a simple school project morphs into a frantic scramble for human survival. What must one do to appease an angered god? And how far is a god willing to go in the name of justice?
After all, nothing is more devastating than divine rage.
Link: Goodreads
November 4, 2025
The Awakening of Lora Abernathy — MJ Anthony
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 1 of the Cosms Cycle
“What are you?” Lora whispers.
“What are you?” The wolf echoes, stalking towards her until it is close enough that Lora has forgotten to be afraid. “What is anyone? It’s not a polite question to ask.”
After a disastrous birthday ceremony and coming-of-age ritual gone wrong, Lora flees home, taking her new lycanthrope form for a test drive on the streets of Glenhurst, and hoping to prove her worth. When she answers a local job posting at random, Lora lands in the company of two other strangers: Nic and Art.
Nic has sought redemption from his own past failings on his fiancé’s family farm. When that security is threatened, he takes matters into his own hands, seeking out a connection from his sister’s college days, who is rumored to have experience with magic blades and killing tyrants.
Art longs for the past about as often as he longs to forget it, pouring his time into cooking, mutual aid efforts, bounty hunting gig work, and studying crosscosm theory (the idea of travel between worlds). This job will pay his rent, and, if he’s lucky, not give him time to think about his trauma.
The job? Enter the forest and eliminate the threat that’s been causing townsfolk and travelers to go missing. But the woods are dark, and they have eaten adventurers before. When their pasts come back to haunt them, can the fledgling party survive?
Link: Goodreads
Beautiful Brutal Bodies — Linda Cheng
Genre: YA horror
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Standalone in established universe
Full of skin-crawling folk horror and sapphic romance, this feral fairytale and standalone follow-up to GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES follows a reclusive songstress and her bodyguard who must unravel the occult mysteries of their past to escape from a cursed island.
Tian is a singer-songwriter with a massive online following, known for her hypnotic vocals and ethereal looks. But behind the glamorous façade is a disturbing reality: raised in an isolated mansion, Tian is a prisoner in her own life.
Liya is Tian’s childhood friend and her only close companion, tasked with protecting Tian at all costs. But hidden beneath Liya’s beautiful human exterior is a beastly secret: her teeth are far too sharp, and her appetite much too ferocious.
When several fans mysteriously suffer fatal injuries while watching her livestream, Tian, along with Liya, are sent to a spiritual healing retreat on a remote island in the South China Seas. They are joined by Tian's musical collaborator Shenyu, a troubled idol whose recent brush with the law and string of bad boyfriends has him seeking his own new start. But the trio soon discovers that the island is no peaceful getaway. There is constant surveillance, bizzare rituals, and something terrifying lurking in the forest. Something not quite human.
In order to escape with her loved ones, Tian must uncover her connection to the island’s blood-drenched legend—and the truth behind Liya’s monstrous identity—before the island claims them all as its final sacrifice.
Link: Goodreads
The Nameless Land — Kate Elliott
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Bi MC; trans character
Series: Book 2 of The Witch Roads
Surprising betrayals, surprising alliances, and surprising discoveries of heritage abound in this energetic sequel to The Witch Roads.
When the royal party finds themselves in a land they never believed they could access, it will take all of Prince Gevulin’s (admittedly impressive) diplomatic skills to forge a coalition with an unlikely group of would-be allies.
Meanwhile, as Erin mourns her lost love, an unwelcome visit to the land of her birth brings back the traumatic memories of the childhood she shared with her sister.
And a surprise visit from an unwelcome family member threatens to derail the plans of multiple opposing factions.
Loyalty cannot be demanded, only won.
Link: Goodreads
Deadly Ever After — Brittany Johnson
Genre: YA romantic fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Two dead princesses must find true love’s kiss to bring them back to life in this heart-stopping romantic fantasy debut. For fans of Cinderella Is Dead and Girl, Serpent, Thorn.
Amala has spent her whole life trying to be the perfect delicate, quiet, obedient. But when she’s murdered on the night of her wedding, her story is cut short before it begins.
Kha’dasia has been told her whole life that she is too rough, too loud, too much. She’s no ordinary princess but a ruthless warrior on a quest to fulfill her late brother’s dying wish. Except she dies before reaching her destination.
When both girls wake up in a cursed forest, the gods offer them a second chance at life—if they can find true love’s kiss. But there’s a catch, the gods warn. While the right kiss will save you, the wrong kiss will kill you.
On their journey, the princesses must overcome challenges that force them to face the truth of their lives… and their deaths. And as Amala and Kha’dasia grow closer, they can’t help but wonder if true love has been standing right in front of them all along.
Link: Goodreads
The Thorn and the Spire — Katherine McIntyre
Genre: Romantasy, retelling
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 1 of Monstrous Cravings
One lonely demon. One curious librarian. One tale twisted by time...
Beau’s father is missing.
The trail leads to the Spires, a casino with a dangerous reputation run by Cillian Ashmore, a demon whose ruthlessness is renowned. His father landed himself a ten-year imprisonment, but Beau offers to take his place. Yet Cillian is as cold and callous as he’s rumored to be, prepared to make Beau’s time as his personal assistant hellish.
The mysteries in the upper tiers of the Spires multiply by the day, and the further Beau explores, the more questions he has. Why sometimes the rooms are empty and other times monsters lurk within. Why Cillian seems cruel yet has the friendship and loyalty of those around him.
And the more Beau discovers, the more he learns that Cillian’s cruelty is a mask he dons, that the demon has depths he’d never dreamed of. Too easily, that loathing morphs to lust and to something intense and unforgettable.
Yet Cillian’s made himself dangerous enemies, true threats lying in wait beyond the Spires, and unbeknownst to Beau, he’s running out of time...
Link: Goodreads
A Heart of Crimson Flames — A.K. Mulford
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 3 of The Golden Court
The only thing more challenging than taming a sorceress is protecting her heart a second time...
War has begun, and the fate of humans and Wolves alike lies in the hands of three fierce members of the Golden Court scattered across every corner of Aotreas.
Briar Marriel, once the heir of the Golden Court, is now a prisoner in the heart of enemy territory. But when her ex-lover Maez—now a dark sorceress—comes to “rescue” her, Briar must decide if she’s willing to trust the twisted version of the woman she once loved or remain under the rule of the cruel King Nero. In a war where enemies wear familiar faces, escape might come at a terrible cost. But if she can harness Maez’s newfound magic, could it mean winning the war?
Meanwhile, Sadie with the help of Navin races to harness ancient magic that could turn the tide of the war. With their dragon at their side, the Songkeepers uncover long-buried secrets that could save their people—or destroy them all.
At the Golden Court, Queen Calla faces an impossible choice: prepare for the looming battle or risk everything to rescue their twin sister Briar. With alliances crumbling and betrayal lurking at every corner, Calla must rally their court and lead their people into war, knowing the price of failure is unthinkable.
As war ravages the land, and love is tested by darkness, Briar, Sadie, and Calla must confront their pasts and find the strength to reclaim their future. In this epic conclusion to the Golden Court Trilogy, the battle for freedom—and for love—has never been more harrowing.
Link: Goodreads
The War Beyond — Andrea Stewart
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Book 2 of The Hollow Covenant
In this thrilling sequel to the Sunday Times bestseller The Gods Below, loyalties will be tested, long-lost secrets will be revealed, and two sisters will face each other on the battlefield as the war between the gods ignites.
Hakara risked her life to find her long-lost sister Rasha, only to lose her all over again. Now she and her Unanointed rebels hunt for the shapeshifter Lithuas, knowing that defeating her would strike a blow to the plans of the tyrant god Kluehnn.
Rasha once longed to be reunited with Hakara. No longer. Now she is a Godkiller and proud to serve Kluehnn’s divine will. Yet she also harbours doubts about Kluehnn’s teachings. When she is sent to destroy Hakara and her allies, Rasha will have to decide where her loyalty truly lies.
As the two sisters hurtle towards a bloody reunion, Sheuan continues her shadowy games of intrigue to uncover the secret that killed her father, while her cousin Mullayne seeks the tomb of Tolemne. There, Mull believes he’ll find the answers he desires.
Answers that could shatter the history of the world.
Link: Goodreads
Song of Spores — Bogi Takács
Genre: Space opera
Rep: Non-binary, genderfluid
Hugo Award winner Bogi Takács spins a tale of adventure, mystery, and political intrigue in space. Plus sentient fungus!
Three experienced counterintelligence operatives from Alliance Treaty Enforcement are on a mission to find the source of shapeshifting infiltrators within Alliance space. Will the gruff Ereni commander, the Chasidic Jewish shapeshifter, and the cynical insectoid grandma be able to work together? Or will their differences drive them apart before they can reach their goal?
Not to mention dealing with the sentient spaceship and symbiotic pilot, who only signed on to provide transportation, not to be eaten by giant space fungus. Are they even on the right side of history when everything comes crashing down?
Can the galaxy possibly survive? This is weird space opera at its finest!
Link: Goodreads
How Not to Kiss a Prince — B Wheeler
Genre: YA fantasy romcom
Rep: Sapphic
When Em’s best friend Carla is cursed to become a hag for all eternity, Em helps her hunt for the perfect prince to kiss her and break the spell. But soon the girls will move to different colleges, and Em is running out of chances to tell Carla how she really feels. Something is getting broken at the fairytale ball—Carla’s curse or Em’s heart.
Brimming with charm, cheekiness and heart, How (Not) to Kiss a Prince is a sapphic romantic comedy that flips fairytale tropes on their head. Set in a world where curses are as common as crushes, this vibrant YA debut explores friendship, identity, magic, and the messy beauty of first love.
Link: Waterstones
November 8, 2025
The Fault Mirror — Catherine Fearns
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Everyone sees the house they want to see...
Paris, 1900: Amidst the decadence of the Belle Époque, American heiress Lydia Temple falls in love with ethereal aristocrat Séraphine de Valleiry and builds her a whimsical castle in the Swiss mountains. The Chateau des Miroirs becomes a bastion of spiritualism until it is taken over by sinister forces during the First World War. And then it disappears. Or did it ever really exist?
Oxford, 2035: Elderly professor Cyrus Field is rapidly losing his sight and his will to live, when student Haydn Young presents him with a collection of letters previously lost to history. These letters may contain the answer to the philosophical problem that has been his life’s work. But does he really want to know the truth? With war closing in, Cyrus and Haydn must decide whether to risk everything in the quest for knowledge.
The mystery of the Chateau des Miroirs reverberates through the generations, connecting two souls that are destined to find each other.
Link: Goodreads
The Devil’s Brother — Darshaini G
Genre: Horror
Rep: Queer
Series: Standalone in established universe
They took his brother first. Now, the cycle has begun again. The Wicker Man meets Gannibal in this terrifying mystery-thriller where a teacher must protect his students from an island that devours its young.
When Veran returns to Daemonsford, the remote island of his childhood, he wants revenge. His teen brother’s death five years ago was no accident. And Veran will burn down the whole island to find the truth.
Taking a job as the island’s new teacher, Veran quickly notices something is wrong with the Year Ten students. They sit apart. No one speaks to them. And when he calls the register, they don’t answer with words. They hiss. They caw. They growl.
The deeper Veran digs, the more he understands the fear his brother must have felt—the same fear his students now carry. As time runs out, he races to unearth Daemonsford’s darkest secrets.
But the islanders are also afraid. They whisper about the Devil watching him. The wrath he’s provoking. And how he should leave—
—before the island eats him too.
Link: Goodreads
November 10, 2025
Alvin Alonso’s Secret Files Duology — Alex Woolfson
Genre: Urban fantasy
Rep: M/M
A hilarious, high-action M/M Buffy the Vampire Slayer—but all grown up, made spicier, and with a scrappy and lovable monster as the hero. Perfect for fans of TJ Klune, David R. Slayton, and K.D. Edwards.
I was born an incubus, a literal soul-sucking sex demon. But I’ve deliberately never fed, so I don’t have any powers.
Still, that doesn’t stop an arrogant fae prince from blackmailing me into stealing a magical watch from a creepy San Francisco mansion.
Turns out, the artifact contains Collin, an all-knowing spirit with serious golden retriever vibes who looks like a cute twentysomething guy my age. If I can keep him from the fae, he swears we can be together—even physically—without anyone getting hurt.
The wrinkle? He’s also being hunted by bloodthirsty vampires who need the watch to end the world.
And my only ally? A smoking-hot monster slayer who’s all “touch him and die” whenever I’m in danger but who would most certainly kill me if he ever discovered what I was.
I’ve spent my whole life trying to be good—and okay, maybe dreaming of someone who could make me feel less alone. But to save Collin and stop the apocalypse, I’ll have to feed.
And once I taste a soul, there might be no coming back.
Link: Amazon
November 11, 2025
An Outstretched Hand — R.K. Ashwick, Tess Carletta, et al.
Genre: Fantasy anthology
Rep: Queer
A hand reaching to you from the shadows. Six cards overturned. Six enchanting queer tales inspired by the magic of tarot.
The Star: A lighthouse keeper who influences the fate of her people by wrangling misbehaving stars back into place must remedy her own constellation.
The Hierophant: A knight who was disabled in battle gives up on asking the gods for healing and turns to something dark in the woods for help instead.
Strength: A warrior is sent to investigate the rumors of a raided village and is forced to face the trauma of his past, and has to battle more than his grief after a terrifying discovery.
The Chariot: Two witches vie desperately for a goddess’s blessing—but the fortune they seek might be right in front of them.
Temperance: A grieving mercenary searches for the tallest mountain to throw himself from, but a mystery and curious folk keep him grounded for a little while longer.
The Devil: A repressed Victorian finds fleeting release in a fae courtesan’s arms, until iron chains threaten their growing bond.
Explore the forest, meet the fae, pray to the gods, shepherd stars, or fight creatures of myth. An offering for you, if you accept the Outstretched Hand.
Link: Books2Read
Brigands & Breadknives — Travis Baldree
Genre: Cozy fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Standalone in established universe
Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller Fern.
Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!
If only things were so simple…
It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.
A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior surviving on inertia, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.
As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when there isn’t a job to get in the way.
Link: Goodreads
My Roommate From Hell — Cale Dietrich
Genre: YA paranormal rom-com
Rep: M/M
A swoon-worthy YA rom com about an ambitious college student whose plans get derailed when he discovers his roommate is the prince of hell.
Owen is not going to college to have fun. Nothing is going to stop him from achieving his study hard, get a good job, and set himself up for the rest of his life. The last thing he needs is to have a loud, obnoxious, and infuriatingly hot roommate. Especially since said roommate just so happens to be the prince of hell.
Prince Zarmenus has come to Point University for the first-ever Earth/hell exchange program, and he’s determined to make the most of it. Which may or may not include wild parties, bringing in random boys to his and Owen’s room, and accidentally setting Owen’s furniture on fire. Sparks fly (literally) as Owen and Zar clash, but Zar’s actions threaten to not only ruin Owen’s peaceful college life, but demon-human relations as well. To clean up his image, he asks Owen to be his fake boyfriend and teach him how to be a better human in exchange for an internship that will secure Owen’s future. That, and Zar will consider being a better roommate.
A deal is struck, and the two start pretending to be in a relationship where they each have agendas of their own. Only Owen has a secret—dating his mortal enemy, even if it’s fake, is the most fun he’s ever had.
Charming and fun, My Roommate from Hell is a rom com with a magical twist. Think just one bed, but that bed is in hell, surrounded by fire and brimstone.
Link: Goodreads
Daughters of Nicnevin — Shona Kinsella
Genre: Historical fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
Readers of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander will love this fantasy tale of folklore and witchcraft from Scotland.
Mairead and Constance, two powerful witches, meet in the early days of the 1745 Jacobite uprising. While the men of the village are away fighting, the villagers face threats from both the Black Watch and raiders, and the women are confronted with their vulnerability. They enlist the help of Nicnevin, fae queen of witches, to bring men made of earth to life to help protect their village. But just who do they need protection from? And what will happen when the village men return?
Link: Goodreads
Shadowplay — L.R. Lam
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Intersex, non-binary MC; queer secondary characters
Series: Book 2 of Micah Grey
In the second installment of the Micah Grey Trilogy from the award-winning, USA Today-bestselling author of Dragonfall, Micah must learn two types of magic—one for the stage, and one with deadlier consequences—while navigating a tender new love.
Old magics are waking. Will the world survive their return?
Micah Grey almost died when he fled the circus with Drystan. Now he and the ex-clown must use Glamours to disguise themselves and hide in the once-grand Kymri Theatre, run by a once-renowned magician, Jasper Maske. Drystan claims Maske’s stage magic is all smoke and mirrors, but where’s the line between trickery and real power?
Micah and Drystan will soon learn the answer, when Maske's arch-nemesis challenges them all to a duel that will seal all their fates.
Meanwhile, the Shadow still haunts Micah’s steps, and as the duel draws near, Micah increasingly suffers from dark visions. Events that destroyed the ancient world are being replayed. Can Micah's latent powers break this deadly pattern?
In this rich and evocative second novel of the Micah Grey series, L.R. Lam blends a coming-of-age story, queer romance, and magical powers into a charming and original fantasy world, inspired by Victorian Scotland.
Link: Goodreads
The Liar’s Throne — SM Reine
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Series: Standalone in established universe
Nina Silverhand has never failed to assassinate anyone before Patrician Lorent. When the client tries to kill her instead—tying up loose ends—Nina and Lorent agree to team up against their would-be killer. But first they have to figure out who wants his throne, and Lorent has to hope it’s not anyone he likes. Nina doesn’t take losing kindly. And she’s not one for mercy.
“The Liar’s Throne” is for readers who like cross-dressing bodyguards, Dwarf ruins, and an ancient Elf assassin who will kill anyone who looks at her wrong.
This is a 400-page standalone fantasy novel in the same world as “Atop the Trees, Beneath the Mountains.” There’s no overlap in characters, geography, or time period, so you can read it on its own.
Link: Books2Read
November 12, 2025
Lesser Hungers — Rien Gray
Genre: Horror
Rep: Non-binary MC
There’s a haunting in Cameron Ciris’s blood, and the city they live in is hungry for every drop.
Chicago is like every other American built on a foundation of death. Little surprise that when a loving couple in a low-rent apartment cannibalize each other, the police write it off as a bizarre murder-suicide. Cameron—local fixer and addict in recovery—volunteers to take up the case as a favor to their neighborhood, the 49th Ward.
A year ago, Cameron overdosed on a hot new party drug and picked up an extra passenger, an entity that forces them to perform rituals written in blood. Being possessed is Cameron’s new normal, but as more cannibalized victims turn up, so does an eldritch doppelganger of Cameron’s old dealer, hunting them through nightmares and hallucinations.
Cameron tracks the molding remnants of their dealer from block to block, discovering a malicious growth that promises to spread through Chicago and give it a whole new shape. With a body not quite their own, Cameron faces the question lurking throughout the urban sprawl: who gets devoured, and who gets to feast?
Problem is, they’re getting real goddamn hungry.
Link: Goodreads
November 15, 2025
Magica Riot Full Bloom — Kara Buchanan
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Sapphic; trans girl MC
Series: Book 2 of Maidensong Magica
ENEMIES TO… ROOMIES?
Claire Ryland has just about figured this whole magical girl band thing out. The people of Portland really love Magica Riot, so much that they’ve been asked to play a concert at the biggest venue in town!
But when not one but two villains decide to make their presence known, Claire, Sara, Cass, Hana, and Nova have to figure out a new approach to their magic and their music… with some help from unexpected friends!
Magica Riot Full Bloom is the sequel to 2024’s queer magical girl novel Magica Riot, and the next installment of the Maidensong Magica series. An action-filled musical adventure inspired by classic magical girl anime, tokusatsu shows, and the vibe of the American Pacific Northwest, Magica Riot Full Bloom expands on Claire's story of trans self-discovery and her LGBTQ+ found family while introducing new threats and challenges for the magical girls of Portland to deal with! A story of colorful adventure, eye-popping magic, and queer love, Magica Riot Full Bloom shows that being yourself gives you the power to help people and change the world.
Link: Author’s Website
The Prince and His Stolen Throne — J.E. Ridge
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: M/M
Series: Book 2 of Stolen Groom
Five royal champions embark on a quest to break the curse on a haunted forest...
...but one of them is lying about their identity.
Trey is the Prince of Bane’s son from before his marriage. At least, that’s what he claimed when he showed up on Brendon’s doorstep twelve years ago. In truth, Trey is the son of an evil mage determined to destroy the defense spell protecting the Desolated Lands.
Now it’s Trey’s mission to lead the royal champions right into the evil mage’s trap—even if it means betraying the family who raised him. To assist him with this mission, the evil mage has sent along his apprentice, an arrogant and mysterious young man who is as enticing as he is frustrating.
While fighting monsters and outwitting magical traps, Trey must untangle his ties between his blood family and his found family. Will he choose to complete his mission? Or will he become the person he’s always pretended to be?
Link: Goodreads
Her Blood Runs Cold — Samantha Tano
Genre: Science fiction
Rep: Queer
What price would you pay to be yourself?
The frontier planet Celestine, millennia from now. Two months after the events of In the Valley, A Shadow, Alix and her crew are in hiding from the menacing Xypha Corporation.
As the crew works to repair her ship, the Shadow, outside a remote mining town, demons from her past are on the hunt, seeking revenge.
Jailed by the local lawman, Alix hatches a reckless plan to escape and return home to the Isidis Valley. There, she comes face-to-face with the bloody consequences of her actions.
Facing down the man who raised her, Alix must reckon with the woman she’s become.
Can she save the people and planet she loves, or will her lust for violence drag them deeper beneath Xypha’s terrifying shadow?
Link: Goodreads
November 17, 2025
One Second to Forever — Bree Harlow
Genre: Romantasy, retelling
Rep: Sapphic
Liss Burgess hates all things romance.
When she is sucked into the pages of a fantasy romance book she was very clearly told not to touch, Liss finds herself trapped in a world built from the very tropes, plotlines, and brooding men she claims to despise the most.
The only way out? Collect a key from each of the kings of Foreverland and open the Door of Ever.
Liss has three days in each kingdom to prepare to survive a trial set by the kings, each more difficult and deadly than the last.
Her only allies are Tarran, the chaotic yet annoyingly beautiful guide who seems to be unraveling faster than the story itself, and the Carls, identical twins with questionable qualifications but surprisingly good hearts.
With each test, the book tightens its pages around Liss, and she begins to find love in the things she once thought she abhorred. As tensions rise, Liss must dive deeper than ever before to figure out where the fiction ends and her feelings truly begin.
Link: Goodreads
November 18, 2025
I’ll Make a Spectacle of You — Beatrice Winifred Iker
Genre: Horror
Rep: Black MC; queer
This heart-pounding horror debut from Beatrice Winifred Iker takes readers to Bricksbury University, the oldest and most storied HBCUs in the nation. But as one student is about to find out, a long history comes with a legacy of secrets.
Zora Robinson is an ambitious grad student at her dream program, the Appalachian Studies at Bricksbury university. When her thesis advisor suggests she research the local folklore about a beast roaming the woods surrounding campus, Zora finds a local population uneager to talk to an outsider.
As she delves into the history of the beast, she uncovers a rumored secret society called the Keepers that has tenuous ties to the beast…and Bricksbury itself. Zora soon finds herself plagued by visions, and her grip on reality starts to slip as she struggles to uncover what is real and what is folklore. But when a student goes missing, Zora starts to wonder if the Keepers ever really disbanded.
There’s something in the woods and it has its eyes on Zora.
Link: Goodreads
You Watched in Silence — H. Lee Justine
Genre: Horror, thriller
Rep: Sapphic
A shivery blend of queer psychological thriller and horror, evocatively set in the secluded islands of the Pacific Northwest, You Watched in Silence has the bite of Jessica Knoll with the twists of Verity and the atmospheric tension of The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Having been cut off by her best friend, Caitlyn is devastated—until a miracle occurs. Family vlogger Bella Greene—the celebrity influencer with whom her ex–best friend was obsessed—offers Caitlyn a job as nanny to her twins. Like millions of others, Caitlyn knows that Bella’s life is in pieces, too. Canceled (unfairly in Caitlyn’s opinion) over perceived indifference to a tragic suicide by one of her fans, Bella fled with her family to a remote island. For Caitlyn, the opportunity to help Bella Greene will also help her to heal; a way to honor the past while creating a new future.
At first, Caitlyn can’t believe how easily she bonds with the twins. She also feels an instant connection with the family’s flirtatious chef, Hannah Zhou, who soon stirs romantic impulses that Caitlyn never imagined having again. It feels like magic... until she catches a glimpse of a mysterious girl that nobody else can see. Before she knows it, Caitlyn is in constant terror, unable to tell if she is losing her mind or being haunted by a past she’d rather forget. Worse, there is magic here, a dark force that manifests in mysterious pentagrams, animal sacrifices, and scrawled threats. But who’s behind it? Is it a disgruntled employee? A scorned lover? Or someone out for unjust revenge? Because Bella didn’t do anything wrong... right?
Link: Goodreads
Slow Gods — Claire North
Genre: Space opera
Rep: Queer
From one of the most original and dazzling voices in speculative fiction comes an intergalactic tale of conspiracy, war and the fall of empires.
My name is Mawukana na-Vdnaze, and I am a very poor copy of myself.
In telling my story, there are certain things I should perhaps lie about. I should make myself a hero. Pretend I was not used by strangers and gods, did not leave people behind.
Here is one out there in deep-space, in the pilot's chair, I died. And then, I was reborn. I became something not quite human, something that could speak to the infinite dark. And I vowed to become the scourge of the world that wronged me.
This is the story of the supernova event that burned planets and felled civilizations. This is also the story of the many lives I’ve lived since I died for the first time.
Are you listening?
Discover this thrilling and breathtakingly imaginative space opera from the multi-award-winning Claire North, perfect for fans of Ann Leckie, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Arkady Martine.
Link: Goodreads
November 22, 2025
A Verdant Vendetta — Aimee Donnellan
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: M/F; bisexual
Series: Book 2 of Nightwalkers of Concord (stands alone)
A werewolf overwhelmed by obligation. A hermit in crisis, isolated to protect her own heart. And a beast that could devour everything they hold dear.
Nikos doesn’t mean to run from his people. But ever since he’s been brought back to life, no one has quite looked at him the same, and he just needs to breathe. When he stumbles into a skirmish and unearths a much greater threat, he leaps at the chance to run away from his responsibilities a little longer.
Juniper has never felt at home in civilisation, only in the heart of the forest. But when her twin brother is taken from their isolated home, and a mysterious stranger appears and offers his help, she has little choice but to accept the additional advantage.
Neither is what the other expects, and both know much more about vulnerability and fear than they want to admit. But when they learn the being behind the abductions is none other than a corrupted, magic-eating dragon, both hunters know that only a powerful alliance can bring it down. Problem is, with every moment they spend together, they risk falling into the most terrifying thing of all... intimacy.
Link: Goodreads
Paper Moon — Marley Sheridan
Genre: YA fantasy
Rep: Queer
Following a numbing ten years in a home in which grief has overstayed its welcome, seventeen year old Rowan is attempting to find a sense of normalcy and peace with the death of her mother. Despite continuously facing the hardships of being compared to a person she feels is a stranger, Rowan takes the difficult step of adding her mother's maiden name to her own to honor her, and lay to rest the shadows that linger in the corners of her bedroom.
A rude awakening shocks Rowan to the core when she finds herself haunted by something dangerous—herself.
A monster wearing her reflection begins to hunt her, hovering just outside her periphery as Rowan attempts to grapple with the fear of her world beginning to change, and the unprocessed grief that pounds against a locked door within her.
Link: Kobo
November 25, 2025
Of Potions and Honey — Cara N. Delaney
Genre: Romantic fantasy
Rep: Sapphic
An unexpected inheritance. A potion shop in a sleepy little town. An aloof neighbour with walls around her heart.
When Mira receives a letter from a distant relative bequeathing her an old potion shop in the small town of Emberglen, she grasps this opportunity to flee a miserable job in the city and start anew. With little experience but ample enthusiasm, Mira throws herself into running her late uncle’s shop right at the edge of the beautiful Honeywood.
While Mira is busy fixing up her new house, making friends with the townspeople, and learning how to brew, things in Emberglen turn out to be not quite as idyllic as they appear. Mira’s former employer is already in town, and the mystical spring that has let the villages along the Honeywood flourish for so long is drying up. With her fledgling business at stake, Mira teams up with her equally grumpy and attractive neighbour Yoni and her old childhood friend Kayden to try and save the town that is just beginning to become her new home.
Link: Goodreads
As Many Souls as Stars — Natasha Siegel
Genre: Speculative fiction
Rep: Sapphic
For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, an inventive and romantic speculative novel about two women—a witch and an immortal demon—who make a Faustian bargain and are drawn into a cat-and-mouse chase across multiple lifetimes.
1592. Cybil Harding is a First Daughter. Cursed to bring disaster to those around her, she is trapped in a house with a mother paralyzed by grief and a father willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of magic.
Miriam Richter is a creature of shadow. Forged by the dark arts many years ago, she is doomed to exist for eternity and destined to be alone—killing mortals and consuming their souls for sustenance. Everything changes when she meets Cybil, whose soul shines with a light so bright, she must claim it for herself. She offers a bargain: she will grant Cybil reincarnation in exchange for her soul.
Thus begins a dance across centuries as Miriam seeks Cybil in every lifetime to claim her prize. Cybil isn’t inclined to play by the rules, but when it becomes clear that Miriam holds the key to breaking her family curse, Cybil finds that—for the first time in her many lives—she might have the upper hand. As they circle each other, drawn together inescapably as light and dark, the bond forged between them grows stronger. In their battle for dominance, only one of them can win—but perhaps they can’t survive without each other.
Link: Goodreads
Tethered — TJ Williams
Genre: Science fiction romance
Rep: Sapphic
Series: Book 1 of Symbiosis
One boy, his mother, and a captain with secrets from her crew. Amongst the stars, all things lost are found.
Marlowe Rose has been fighting her ex, Dominik, for a decade. When he kidnaps their son, she sneaks onto his starship, planning to give him hell. Instead, she ends up caught, sequestered and questioned by the captain. But Tanisira Sekmith isn’t what Marlowe thought she was, and when it becomes clear that they’re all just puppets in Dominik’s eyes, Marlowe convinces the stoic captain to help rescue her son.
Tanisira promised herself she’d make no waves, catch no one’s attention, and cruise under the radar. Misplacing her trust once changed the trajectory of her whole life. After the fallout from her last job, flying a pleasure yacht is supposed to be boring and easy—exactly what she wants. But finding Marlowe on the ship changes everything. Marlowe sees her, shadows and all, and it forces Tanisira to face things she tried to leave behind.
Marlowe doesn’t expect to find, on this journey that she dreaded, something she’d given up. And Tanisira doesn’t know if she deserves happiness, but she doesn’t want to lose this: a kid with big, green eyes and his fierce, captivating mother.
Link: Goodreads
November 27, 2025
The Wolf and His King — Finn Longman
Genre: Fantasy
Rep: Queer
Step into the resplendent courts and forests of The Wolf and His King, the luscious adult fantasy debut of medievalist and YA author Finn Longman...
Bisclavret is to live his life in exile; to take a wolf’s shape involuntarily; to lie to everybody he meets. And yet he has always dreamed of knighthood, of brotherhood and belonging. When the old king dies unexpectedly, Bisclavret travels to the royal court to seek his rightful inheritance and swear fealty to the new king. It’s here that he discovers the mysterious young warrior now wearing the crown is willing to offer him far more than just his father’s lands, and suddenly the life that seemed like an impossible fantasy is catapulted within his grasp. But can someone who is hardly a man ever truly be a knight?
The king is recently returned to court from an exile of his own to inherit a crown he never wanted. And yet he’s fascinated by his newest knight, a man who carries secrets along with his sword, and fascination quickly turns to longing. When Bisclavret is seemingly killed by a wolf, the weight of the king’s grief almost destroys him. He swears to have his vengeance, but at the height of the hunt he encounters an animal that seems too intelligent to be the violent beast he seeks. One might even say it has the mind of a man...
Link: Goodreads
The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver — Rafael Torrubia
Genre: Epic fantasy
Rep: Queer
No one remembers the calamity that killed the gods and stole the names of their people. Now Shipwright and Shroudweaver are known only by their professions.
She’s a master of magical shipbuilding. He’s a maker of the gilded gods that fuel their sails, stitched from the souls of dead sailors.
When a chance to save their world sets the horizon alight, they decide they’ll stop at nothing to vanquish the ultimate evil, embarking on a deadly race against time to beat the grief-wracked sorceress Crow-kisser to the notorious mountain kingdom in the legend-infested north before she unleashes the ancient evil entombed at its heart—the one that could destroy them all.
The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver introduces the most exciting new voice in Scottish fantasy with an epic adventure set in a post-apocalyptic landscape of god-fuelled ships, goth-as-hell villains, shadow-warping assassins, effortless queerness, and well-worn love—unmissable for fans of by Jay Kristoff, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.
Link: Goodreads
November 28, 2025
Oath — Kate Butler
Genre: Romantasy
Rep: M/M
A lord in a gilded cage.
A knight forged in war.
An oath that binds them tighter than chains.
Lord Aerion Valemont is everything the court whispers; vain, venom-tongued, and untouchable in his sapphires and silk. But behind the peacock feathers lies a man raised in a cage of duty, bitterness, and the crushing weight of a dying dynasty. Better to mock the world than let it see the cracks beneath his mask.
Sir Clyde of Blackholt, the king’s most feared hound, arrives sworn to Aerion’s protection. A man of war, not words, Clyde’s silence is a shield as much as his sword. But in that quiet lies something Aerion cannot a gaze that sees too much, and a loyalty that cuts deeper than he dares admit.
What begins as venom and disdain becomes something sharper—letters passed through battlefields, glances heavy with what cannot be spoken, a devotion tested by blades, assassins, and the cruelty of court. In the gilded halls of Valemont, where heirs are bartered like coin and bloodlines weigh heavier than desire, a single oath may cost them everything.
For fans of Captive Prince and A Taste of Gold and Iron, this is a lush, slow-burn romantasy about yearning, loyalty, and love that defies crowns and cages.
Link: Goodreads
Terra Flux — Dani Finn
Genre: Science fiction romance
Rep: Lesbian
Series: Standalone in established universe
“There was so much to learn about women, and so little time.”
Jane is a gynoid scientist assessing a newly discovered planet’s viability for mining. Dirk is her cybernetically enhanced bodyguard who also has the hots for her. Little does Dirk know, the feeling is mutual, insofar as gynoids can be said to have feelings.
Things quickly get weird as they explore Terra Flux. Is the planet somehow alive? Is it trying to communicate with them? What is it trying to say?
Murderbot meets The Machine Mandate in this mechanical lesbian sci-fi romance novella.
This book is set in the distant future of the Incorporated States universe, where intergalactic corporations have grown more powerful than governments.
Link: Books2Read