Happy Pride Month Readers!
One of the biggest changes to my reading habits since I started blogging has been the addition of queer books to my reading palette. I’ve come across plenty of books with LGBTQ+ representation, but until recently I’d never read any that centered queer stories. So in celebration of Pride Month, I’ve compiled a list of 50 fantasy books with queer main characters.
A Few Notes About the List:
- There is a key at the bottom of the post if you’re unsure what certain acronyms or terms mean.
- Some of these books were listed as sci-fi and fantasy so I’ll put + next to the title of books that have major sci-fi elements
- I’ve included the relevant labels for the main characters since this list is meant to highlight queer protagonists in fantasy
- The list is split into 2 sections: books I’ve read and other books to check out
- For the books I’ve read, I included whether the books contained romance or not since this is a detail I often consider when picking up books
- For the books I haven’t read, I’ll include as many details as I can find.
Queer Fantasy Books That I’ve Read
These are all books I’ve read and recommend checking out!
1. Gideon the Ninth+ (The Locked Tomb Trilogy #1) by Tamsyn Muir
✅ Lesbian MC
✅ F/F Light romance
2. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
✅ Transmasculine + Bi/Pan MC*
✅ NB/F *very* Light romance
*The story is narrated by a god and the focus is on the trans character
3. The Unbroken by C.L. Clark
✅ Lesbian MC
✅ F/F Light romance
4. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
✅ Trans + Gay MC
✅ Queer Found Family
✅ M/M Heavy romance
5. A Curse of Roses by Diana Pinguicha
✅ Lesbian MC
✅ F/F Heavy romance
6. The Black Veins (The Dead Magic Series #1) by Ashia Monet
✅ Bisexual MC
✅ Queer found family
🆇 No romance
**Read my review of The Black Veins**
7. Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard
✅ Sapphic MC
✅ F/F Heavy romance
8. The Empress of Salt and Fortune and When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle #1 and #2) by Nghi Vo
✅ Non-Binary MC* in both books
✅ Sapphic MCs**
✅ F/F Heavy romance**
*The series is formatted as stories told to the non-binary MC
**Sapphic romance in the second book
More Queer Fantasy Books to Check Out this Pride Month
Note: Since I haven’t read these books, it will be hard for me to confirm the correct labels. I’ll do my best to provide the details I’m sure of! I’ll use the terms “Sapphic” and “Achillean” when I’m unsure of the MCs exact sexuality. (See key at the bottom of this post for definitions of terms).
9. Silver in the Wood (The Greenhollow Duology #1) by Emily Tesh
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
10. She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor #1) by Shelley Parker-Chan
✅ Genderqueer MCs*
✅ Achillean + Sapphic MCs
*There are two storylines. Both follow genderqueer MCs
11. The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms #1) by Tasha Suri
✅ Lesbian MC
✅ F/F Romance
12. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
✅ Sapphic MC
✅ F/F Romance
13. Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse
✅ Bisexual MC
✅ Multiple Trans + Non-Binary/Genderfluid Side Characters
14. Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle #1) by C.L. Polk
✅ Gay MC
✅ M/M Romance
15. Amberlough (The Amberlough Dossier #1) by Laura Elena Donnelly
✅ Gay MC*
*The story follows 3 characters, one of them is gay
16. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
✅ Lesbian MCs*
✅ Gay MC
✅ F/F Romance
*There are 4 POVs, two of them are lesbians
17. Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite (Anthology)
✅ Various Queer MCs*
*Bi/Pan MC, Achillean MC, Sapphic MC
18. The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
✅ Sapphic MC
19. A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
✅ Sapphic MC
✅ F/F Romance
20. The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
✅ Bisexual MC
✅ M/M Romance
21. Of Honey and Wildfires (Songs of Sepfate #1) by Sarah Chorn
✅ Sapphic MCs
✅ Trans MC
*Multi POV
22. Of Dragons Feasts and Murders: A Dominion of the Fallen Story by Aliette de Bodard
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
*Technically this book is book 3.5 in a series but based on the reviews I’ve read it works great as a standalone.
23. Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace
✅ Asexual MC
24: A Dark and Hollow Star (A Dark and Hollow Star #1) by Ashley Shuttleworth
✅ Pansexual Rep
✅ Lesbian Rep
✅ Bisexual Rep
✅ Gay Rep
✅ Genderfluid Rep
*Multi POV story with lots of queer characters
25: The Sound of Stars+ by Alechia Dow
✅ Bisexual + Demisexual MC
26: Pheonix Extravagant+ by Yoon Ha Lee
✅ Non-Binary MC
27: Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
✅ Lesbian MC
28: The First Sister+ by Linden A. Lewis
✅ Sapphic + Non-Binary MC
29: The Infinite Noise (The Bright Sessions #1) by Lauren Shippen
✅ Achillean MC
30: The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht
✅ Achillean MC
31: Lava Red Feather Blue by Molly Ringle
✅ Achillean MC
32. Spellbound (Magic in Manhattan #1) by Allie Therin
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
33. Wranglestone (Wranglestone #1) by Darren Charlton
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
34. The Fell of Dark by Caleb Roehrig
✅ Gay MC
✅ Lesbian, Gay + Pansexual Side Characters
35. The City We Became+ (Great Cities #1) by N.K. Jemisin
✅ Gay MCs
*Multi POV story with several queer protagonists
36. Peter Darling by Austin Chant
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
37. The Black Tides of Heaven (Tensorate #1) by Neon Yang
✅ Non Binary MC
38. The Ninth Rain (The Winnowing Flame Trilogy #1) by Jen Williams
✅ Lesbian MC*
*Multiple MCs, one of them is a lesbian
39. The Obsidian Tower (Rooks and Ruin #1) by Melissa Caruso
✅ Bisexual MC
40. Luck in the Shadows (Nightrunner #1) by Lynn Flewelling
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
41. Wolf at the Door (Big Bad Wolf #1) by Charlie Adhara
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
42. Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley
✅ Sapphic MC
✅ F/F Romance
43. A Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn Universe #1) by P. Djèlí Clark
✅ Sapphic MC
44. Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
*Expected publication September 2021
45. The Witness for the Dead (The Goblin Emperor #2) by Katherine Addison
✅ Gay MC
*Note: this book can be read as a standalone
**Expected publication June 2021
46. Breaking Legacies by Zoe Reed
✅ Lesbian MC
✅ F/F Romance
47. Riwenne & the Mechanical Beasts (Divine Warriors #1) by Kristen S. Walker
✅ Sapphic MC
48. The Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates #1) by A.K. Larkwood
✅ Sapphic MC
49. The King’s Sun (The Brass Machine #1) by Isaac Grisham
✅ Achillean MC
✅ M/M Romance
50. The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1) by Jenn Lyons
✅ Bisexual MC
Whew. That was a long list. Turns out I knew about more queer fantasy novels than I expected! What’s your favorite queer fantasy novel? Did you see any covers that caught your eye? Let me know in the comments below!
Clarification of Terms:
– Light romance: romance is present, but doesn’t dominate the story*
– Heavy romance: romance is the primary focus of the story*
– M/M: a relationship between two men
– F/F: a relationship between two women
– NB/NB: a relationship between nonbinary individuals (could also be NB/F or NB/M)
– Sapphic – a woman who is attracted to other women (used if I’m unsure whether a character is a lesbian or bisexual/pansexual)
– Achillean – a man who is attracted to other men (used if I’m unsure whether a character is gay or bisexual/pansexual)
– MC – main character
*Note: light vs. heavy romance is not meant to indicate whether the book contains sex scenes or not. Just the focus of the plot.
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Peyton
This is a really impressive list, I’m sure it took you quite a while to put it together! Some of these I’ve read, some of them I already planned to read, but I’ve definitely added quite a few to my TBR now! One thing I will say is that Priory of the Orange Tree also has a gay MC, though there is no element of romance apart from in flashbacks 😊 thank you for putting this together!
Thank you so much! It did take a while to put together, but it seemed like as soon as I started listing all the queer books I knew about I just kept remembering more. All in all, it ended up being one of my favorite posts, so I’ll probably make more like this.
I tried to get all the details I could find, but I know I missed some things. Thanks for letting me know about the gay MC in Priory of the Orange Tree! I’ll have to add that.
Going farther back, there’s the Last Herald-Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, The Northern Girl by Elizabeth A. Lynn, and The Door Into Fire by Diane Duane.
I haven’t heard of those so I’ll have to check them out. Thanks for the recs!
Peyton recently posted…My YA Summer
You may have to hit the used bookstores for the last 2, I’m not sure they’re still in print.
In response to your list of titles, I found The Raven Tower an interesting experiment in structure and POV, but it didn’t grab me otherwise; I really enjoyed the 2 books by Nghi Vo and the Tensorate series by Neon Yang; I’m in the middle of A Master of Djinn and finding it great fun (I like everything I’ve read by Clark); I was frustrated by Fireheart Tiger, I wanted more story than the novella form allows, plus I think de Bodard is not an author whose works I enjoy in general.
Yes, I liked the Raven tower, but the long introspective chapters about the rock made it hard to get through. I loved Nghi Vo’s stories and am looking forward to reading her Great Gatsby retelling! Also, I agree that Fireheart Tiger could have been better if it were longer. I really enjoyed the story otherwise.