okay! itâs been bugging me that more people donât know about all the incredible books by weird horny women, queer and trans folks, authors of colors, etc, so here are some of my recommendations:
* The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - epic fantasy ft. dragons, quests, secret magicians, and one of my all-time favorite sapphic romances
All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle - Irish YA fantasy about queer girls confronting family curses and generational trauma
* She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan - reimagining Chinese history with a gender-noncomforming MC and tons of problematic faves
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo - paranormal/horror set among the secret, occult societies at Yale
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson - sci-fi ft. traveling between alternate dimensions and surviving a world that wants you dead
* Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo - Southern Gothic horror with pretty much an all-queer cast of characters
Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard - Vietnamese-inspired fantasy with sapphic characters and a good dose of anti-colonialism
* Graceling by Kristin Cashore - an oldie but a goodie! YA fantasy series with lots of incredible female characters and some of the most interesting explorations of gender in a fantasy world that Iâve ever read
* literally anything by Alix E. Harrow - The Ten Thousand Doors of January for portal fantasy magic, The Once and Future Witches for feral suffragists and witches, A Spindle Splintered for multiverse fairytale adventures
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse - post-apocalyptic world featuring a Navajo monsterkiller and old gods come back to life
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki - science fantasy with big found family vibes, trans and queer characters all the way down
The City We Became by NK Jemisin - Lovecraftian monsters in New York City vs. a diverse team of heroes who become literal embodiments of the city
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - sci-fi space odyssey following a shipâs crew, very focused on found family
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir - science fantasy locked house murder mystery with your new favorite himbo lesbian
* This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - time agents from opposite sides of a war who fall in love, very sapphic and beautiful and sad
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - this book is everywhere right now but it deserves the hype. retelling of The Iliad through the eyes of Achillesâ lover, Patroclus
The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente - post-apocalyptic world in which everyone lives on floating piles of garbage, yet surprisingly hopeful!
Damsel by Elana K. Arnold - YA fantasy that challenges the âdamsel in distressâ trope (plus dragons!)
* Dread Nation by Justina Ireland - YA historical zombie novel set in post-Civil War America and ft. lots of badass queer women of color
* = my top recommendations
Also, check out the books that Tor and Tordotcom put out! I love almost everything Iâve read from them (including most of the books from this list.)
