By happy coincidence (or not, you decide), our rec list today comes on the heels of some twitter discourse stemming from an opinion that is—how to put this politely—really fucking stupid. And because of that opinion, in addition to making sure that each of these books is gay, today I’ve challenged* myself to not include a single cis white man!
*It’s not really a challenge.
You can also find part one of this list here. And, handily, you can find a massive thread of recs here!
Point of Hopes
Melissa Scott
Goodreads
Rep: bi mc, gay mc
Why Should I Read It?
The Astreiant series has to be up there as one of my favourite fantasy series. It’s kind of low world stakes (mostly), but high personal stakes in its plot, with the focus mostly on solving mysteries. On top of that, the way it constructs the social aspects of the world is just *chef’s kiss*. Personally, I think this series, not anything by Jordan, Tolkein or Martin, is what should be considered a classic of fantasy literature. But don’t just take my word for it! Have a read yourself.
The Jasmine Throne
Tasha Suri
Goodreads
Rep: Indian-coded cast & setting, lesbian mcs
CWs: homophobia, gore, violence, execution by burning, forced drug use
Why Should I Read It?
I’m sure I’m just preaching to the choir here, but The Jasmine Throne is one of the best fantasy releases of 2021, and was solidly one of my favourite reads of 2020 (of the 620+ that I read. So yeah. This says a lot). So you want morally grey lesbians, so you want empire burning, so you want that yearning? This is the book for you!
The Unbroken
C. L. Clark
Goodreads
Rep: Black lesbian mc, disabled bi mc, sapphic side characters, achillean side character, nonbinary side character
CWs: violence, gore, past attempted rape, threats of rape, torture
Why Should I Read It?
If a slower, denser fantasy is your jam, with political machinations our of your ears, then you can’t do better than picking up a copy of The Unbroken for yourself. In fact, my main questions is why you haven’t already done so? Then you too can have a good scream and curse at the ending and the fact there’s no book two release date yet.
City of Lies
Sam Hawke
Goodreads
Rep: bi mc with OCD, lesbian mc with chronic illness, sapphic side characters, achillean side characters, nonbinary side character
Why Should I Read It?
Frankly, I take it as a personal slight that this duology isn’t more popular. It has characters you’ll fall in love with from the first page, exquisite, immaculate worldbuilding, and a slowburning, tightly-plotted mystery that will keep you turning the pages with a desperate need to find out more. And that’s not even mentioning how very gay it is!
The Devourers
Indra Das
Goodreads
Rep: Indian cast & setting, achillean mcs
CWs: gore, violence, rape
Why Should I Read It?
The kind of book that transports you to where it’s set, The Devourers is one you really don’t want to miss out on, trust me. It weaves a story within a story, as the narrator is hired to write up a stranger’s life story. Along the way, he gets to know the stranger and the world he inhabits. It’s a book that you sit down for a quick session of reading and before you know it, you’ve been sat there for two hours and you’re almost done with it.
No Gods, No Monsters
Cadwell Turnbull
Goodreads
Rep: Black bi mc, Puerto Rican American sapphic mc, biracial bi ace trans mc, nonbinary side character, Black bi side character
CWs: implied sexual abuse, drug abuse, implied domestic abuse, police brutality, gun violence
Why Should I Read It?
Have you ever considered how society might react if it suddenly turned out that paranormal creatures like werewolves and such really did exist? How it would all tie into modern life? Well, if you haven’t, now you can, with Cadwell Turnbull’s fast-paced urban fantasy about just that! If you haven’t yet had a chance to look at this book, consider this a sign!
A Master of Djinn
P. Djèlí Clark
Goodreads
Rep: Egyptian cast & setting, lesbian mc, sapphic li
CWs: immolation, gore, self-mutilation
Why Should I Read It?
P. Djèlí Clark is one of those authors who could write anything and I’d read it. A Master of Djinn is his first full-length novel, and follows on from a couple of novellas set in the same universe (which are not necessary reads before you start this, but they’re very good in their own right, so you should read them anyway). Here, we have Fatma and her girlfriend faced with the apparent resurrection of one of the most famous men in history, a resurrection that ties into a series of gruesome murders…
Son of the Storm
Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Goodreads
Rep: African-coded cast & setting, sapphic mc, nonbinary li, sapphic side characters
CWs: gore, immolation, violence
Why Should I Read It?
Sometimes you just want to read about gays who are also fucking awful people, and that is exactly what the character of Esheme provides here. Corruption arc this, corruption arc that. Why do you even need to be good, when you can just be fucking awful from the start? Also, not to be a hetero apologist on this blog, but Danso is probably my favourite fictional himbo ever.
The Black Tides of Heaven
Neon Yang
Goodreads
Rep: East/Southeast Asian-coded characters & setting, achillean mc, nonbinary characters
Why Should I Read It?
What you find about a lot of fantasies is that, while they reimagine many other aspects of society, they never really touch on gender (I can only think of three others besides this one that do, somehow). Luckily Neon Yang is here to provide a welcome antidote to that, with a world where individuals choose their gender later in life, rather than being assigned one at birth. The entire series has also just been rereleased in one collection, so now’s the perfect time to get on it!
The Councillor
E. J. Beaton
Goodreads
Rep: bi mc, sapphic side character, gay side characters
Why Should I Read It?
Months on from reading this book, and I still haven’t found a better hook for it than: an mc who likes to dominate her bed-partners and a not-quite-li who very much wants her to dominate him. But really? Do I need more? If that doesn’t suck you in, I don’t know what will. Perhaps the promise of politics and machinations, and the kind of book for fans of The Queen’s Thief series?
What would you rec?
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