2022 was an incredible year for SFF – and it looks like 2023 is going to be just as excellent!
This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list – these are the SFF releases I personally am excited for, not every noteworthy release scheduled for 2023; and of those, only the ones with set pub dates. I’ll be doing my best to keep it updated throughout the year as more books are announced/I find out about them, covers are revealed, and release dates are confirmed!
Also, I’ve done my best to be accurate, but please feel free to comment and correct me on what kind of representation a book has!
Now, check out the fantasy and sci-fi books releasing in 2023 – mostly Adult, mostly queer – that I consider absolutely unmissable!
January
Genres: Fantasy, Portal Fantasy
Published on: 10th January 2023
Goodreads
A young girl discovers an infinite variety of worlds in this standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire, Lost in the Moment and Found.
Welcome to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go.
If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here.If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back.And the headphones that you swore that this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it….
Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. But when Antsy finds herself lost (literally, this time), she finds that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds.
And stepping through those doors exacts a price.
Lost in the Moment and Found tells us that childhood and innocence, once lost, can never be found.
The only correct way to start the year is with a Wayward Children book! Lost In the Moment and Found is apparently significantly darker than any of the previous books; we’ve been warned to pay close attention to the trigger warnings. I will definitely do that, but I’m also definitely going to still read it; this is not a series I can skip.
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Science Fantasy
Representation: Sapphic autistic MC, F/F
Published on: 10th January 2023
Goodreads
Final instalment from Philip K Dick Award-nominated series from Ada Hoffmann
Time is running out for the planet Jai. The artificially intelligent Gods who rule the galaxy have withdrawn their protection from the chaos-ravaged world, just as their most ancient enemy closes in. For Yasira Shien, who has devoted herself to the fragile planet's nascent rebellion, it's time to do or die – and the odds are overwhelming.
Enter Dr. Evianna Talirr. Talirr, the visionary who decimated the planet and began its rebellion, is not a woman to be trusted. But she's returned with an unsettling prophecy: the only way to save Jai is for Yasira to die.
Yasira knows it can't be that simple. But as she frantically searches for other options, what she finds will upend everything she knew about the Gods, the galaxy she lives in, and herself.
The finale of the Outside trilogy! I really have no idea how it’s all going to go down, but this is one of the most original, brilliant sci-fi series I’ve ever read (you can check out my reviews for book one and book two) and I both can’t wait for the ending and don’t want it to be over!
You can now read my review here!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
PoV: Queer MC
Published on: 17th January 2023
Goodreads
In a United States not so unlike our own, the Department of Balance has adopted a radical new form of law enforcement: rather than incarceration, wrongdoers are given a second (and sometimes, third, fourth, and fifth) shadow as a reminder of their crime—and a warning to those they encounter. Within the Department, corruption and prejudice run rampant, giving rise to an underclass of so-called Shadesters who are disenfranchised, publicly shamed, and deprived of civil rights protections.
Kris is a Shadester and a new mother to a baby born with a second shadow of her own. Grieving the loss of her wife and thoroughly unprepared for the reality of raising a child alone, Kris teeters on the edge of collapse, fumbling in a daze of alcohol, shame, and self-loathing. Yet as the kid grows, Kris finds her footing, raising a child whose irrepressible spark cannot be dampened by the harsh realities of the world.
With a first-person register reminiscent of the fierce self-disclosure of Sheila Heti and the poetic precision of Ocean Vuong, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is a bold debut novel that examines the long shadow of grief, the hard work of parenting, and the power of queer resistance.
I’m really intrigued by what this multiple-shadows thing will do to the worldbuilding, and I’m already outraged by the idea that a baby can be born with an extra shadow – how is that fair?! Definitely going to have to read this one to see how it all goes.
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC, disability rep
Published on: 19th January 2023
Goodreads
Kissen kills gods for a living, and she enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skediceth, god of white lies, who is connected to a little noble girl on the run.
Elogast fought in the god war, and helped purge the city of a thousand shrines before laying down his sword. A mysterious request from the King sends him racing back to the city he destroyed.
On the way he meets a godkiller, a little girl and a littler god, who cannot find out about his quest.
I’m not completely sure when or if Godkiller is coming to the US, but if it’s not, well – it definitely sounds like a book Americans should do their best to get their hands on! I’ve been excited for this one for a while, and there’s been an enormous amount of hype for it. With good reason, it seems like; at least, judging by the excerpt you can read here!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC, gay MC, M/M
Published on: 27th January 2023
Goodreads
Emmett might not have a job. He might not be going to school. He might not have any friends. Heck, he might not even be all that happy. But he’s clean; that’s the important thing. And all that spare time? It means he can really focus on screwing up his friendship (and absolutely nothing more than friendship) with Jim, who just happens to be the most important person in his life.
When their friend Chloe shows up at their apartment, being chased by men with guns, Emmett and Jim find themselves dragged into a conflict they don’t understand. A year ago, they saved Chloe’s life from a band of supernatural killers. Now, it seems someone is after her again. It’s up to Emmett and Jim to stop them, which might be easier if they could figure out why everyone wants her.
It won’t be that easy, of course. When Chloe’s on-and-off-again girlfriend gets taken hostage, Emmett and Jim will have to race to save her. But an invisible war is raging all around them, and they’ve just stepped into the crossfire.
It’s the second book in the Flint and Tinder series!!! I’ve been waiting for the sequel to Ember Boys for two years, and in fact, we’ll actually be getting the rest of the series in 2023 as well! I adore Gregory Ashe and I passionately love the world and characters he created for this series and the Hollow Folk books (which is set before the Flint and Tinder series with the same characters – make sure to read the Hollow Folk books first!) and I’m so happy to be getting back to them!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 31st January 2023
Goodreads
The Terraformers is an equally heart-warming and thought-provoking vision of the future for fans of Becky Chambers, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Martha Wells.
Destry is a top network analyst with the Environmental Rescue Team, an ancient organization devoted to preventing ecosystem collapse. On the planet Sask-E, her mission is to terraform an Earthlike world, with the help of her taciturn moose, Whistle. But then she discovers a city that isn't supposed to exist, hidden inside a massive volcano. Torn between loyalty to the ERT and the truth of the planet's history, Destry makes a decision that echoes down the generations.
Centuries later, Destry's protege, Misha, is building a planetwide transit system when his worldview is turned upside-down by Sulfur, a brilliant engineer from the volcano city. Together, they uncover a dark secret about the real estate company that's buying up huge swaths of the planet―a secret that could destroy the lives of everyone who isn't Homo sapiens. Working with a team of robots, naked mole rats, and a very angry cyborg cow, they quietly sow seeds of subversion. But when they're threatened with violent diaspora, Misha and Sulfur's very unusual child faces a stark choice: deploy a planet-altering weapon, or watch their people lose everything they've built on Sask-E.
Newitz became an auto-buy author for me with The Future of Another Timeline, and Terraformers sounds…very on-brand, ie, extremely strange and very interesting! This is another book where you can read a pre-release excerpt, this time over on Gizmodo!
February
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 7th February 2023
Goodreads
"World Fantasy Award winner Cooney imagines angels as Lovecraftian monsters . . . Plenty of charm!"
—Publishers Weekly"Many have spoken about how angels can be both terrifying yet beautiful, but few have successfully captured the idea well-until The Twice-Drowned Saint, at least. A sumptuous, saw-toothed read, it is a jewel box of a novel, glittering with a thousand details and a bright longing we're all familiar with, this want for a place better than we're in now."
—Cassandra Khaw, Bram Stoker and World Fantasy award-nominated author of Nothing but Blackened TeethWorld Fantasy Award winner C. S. E. Cooney takes readers on a journey of wonder, terror, and joy in this mind-bending, heartfelt novel. Contained inside impassable walls of ice, the city of Gelethel endures under the rule of fourteen angels, who provide for all their subject's needs and mete out grisly punishments for blasphemous infractions, with escape attempts one of the worst possible sins.
"Our narrator is Ishtu Q'Aleth (Ish for short), the new owner of Gelethel's only cinema (having taken over from her father). More importantly, she's also the secret saint of Alizar the Eleven-Eyed, Seventh Angel of Gelethel, and one of the fourteen angels who holds dominion over the city. As Ish explains it, at the age of eight she turned down Alizar's offer to be his saint, but, in a moment that speaks to the novel's charm, the young girl and the all-knowing angel agreed to continue their relationship in secret after bonding over their shared love of cinema. Near thirty years later Ish is desperate to get her sick parents out of the city, a near-impossible task given Gelethel is surrounded by an impenetrable blue serac. But Ish's situation grows even more complicated when a new arrival to the city, a girl named Betony, appears as Alizar's true saint. There's so much to adore about the The Twice-Drowned Saint ... [a] sublime short novel."
—Locus"With The Twice-Drowned Saint, C. S. E. Cooney once again crafts dazzling feats of imagination grounded in human frailties and plunges her audience inside head-first. Her boldly unique characters live in a fever dream of balletic, graceful description that will make you gasp, even as they find their own escape through the seemingly-mundane world of movies. Like nothing else you've ever read, or will ever read."
—Randee Dawn, author of Tune in Tomorrow"Fabulous Gelethel is a city of godless angels who intoxicate themselves on human death, but within its icy walls a hidden saint and a dissident angel are hatching a plan. This story left me wrecked and rebuilt: it's a truly glorious tale of family bonds, forgiveness, sacrifice, courage ... and how gods are born. Written with Cooney's signature soaring prose, humor, and imagination, this tale shines a light on cruelties both fantastical and familiar. It honors sorrow and embraces joy-I will treasure it always"
—Francesca Forrest, author of The Inconvenient God"The way Cooney does world building, she makes the world absolutely gigantic, and then she focuses the lens onto these intimate moments in people's lives . . . My clumsy words don't do justice to The Twice Drowned Saint. Just read it. It is a sunrise, where all things are beautiful and possible, and it is blood on the ground surrounded by those who lap it up, hungering for more. This is one of the best pieces of fiction I've read this year."
—Little Red ReviewerCover art, cover design and interior black and white illustrations by Lasse Paldanius.
CSE Cooney has been on my auto-buy list since her collection Bone Swans, and there’s no way I’m going to miss out on her take on angels! Plus, that might be the most gorgeous cover I have EVER SEEN.
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Desi setting and cast
Published on: 7th February 2023
Goodreads
The epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence, only to be consumed by it over the centuries--from the transcendent imagination of Booker Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdie
In the wake of an insignificant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for the goddess Parvati, who begins to speak out of the girl's mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana's comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga--literally victory city--the wonder of the world.
Over the next two hundred and fifty years, Pampa Kampana's life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga's, from its literal sowing out of a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power. Whispering Bisnaga and its citizens into existence, Pampa Kampana attempts to make good on the task that Parvati set for her: to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and Bisnaga is no exception. As years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, the very fabric of Bisnaga becomes an ever more complex tapestry--with Pampa Kampana at its center.
Brilliantly styled as a translation of an ancient epic, this is a saga of love, adventure, and myth that is in itself a testament to the power of storytelling.
It’s been a lot of years since I read a Rushdie novel, but Victory City caught my attention. And can you blame me? A city that grows from magic seeds, whose goddess-appointed purpose is to be a place where women have equal rights? Um, hi, hells yes I want to read this!
Genres: Fantasy, Sci Fi
Published on: 7th February 2023
Goodreads
Scotto Moore's Wild Massive is a glorious web of lies, secrets, and humor in a breakneck, nitrous-boosted saga of the small rejecting the will of the mighty.
Welcome to the Building, an infinitely tall skyscraper in the center of the multiverse, where any floor could contain a sprawling desert oasis, a cyanide rain forest, or an entire world.
Carissa loves her elevator. Up and Down she goes, content with the sometimes chewy food her reality fabricator spits out, as long as it means she doesn’t have to speak to another living person.
But when a mysterious shapeshifter from an ambiguous world lands on top of her elevator, intent on stopping a plot to annihilate hundreds of floors, Carissa finds herself stepping out of her comfort zone. She is forced to flee into the Wild Massive network of theme parks in the Building, where technology, sorcery, and elaborate media tie-ins combine to form impossible ride experiences, where every guest is a VIP, the roller coasters are frequently safe, and if you don’t have a valid day pass, the automated defense lasers will escort you from being alive.
Wild Massive: The #1 destination for interdimensional war. Rate us on VacationAdvisor™!
An enormous building where every floor is its own world? Shapeshifters? Sir, you have my attention!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Brown bi/pansexual MC, major bi/pansexual characters, nonbinary PoV character, queernorm world
Published on: 14th February 2023
Goodreads
Krona and her Regulators survived their encounter with Charbon, the long-dead serial killer who returned to their city, but the illusions of their world were shattered forever.
Allied with the healer Melanie they will battle the elite of their world who have ruled their world with deception, cold steel, and tight control of the magic that could threaten their power, while also confronting beasts from beyond the foggy barrier that binds their world.Now they must follow every thread to uncover the truth behind the Thalo, once thought of as only a children's tale, who are the quiet, creeping puppet masters of their world.
I adored the first book in this trilogy, and cannot wait to get back to this very unique world and hopefully get some answers!
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Nigerian cast and setting
Published on: 16th February 2023
Goodreads
Soon you will become the thing all other beasts fear.
Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasure's daddy died. Haggling for scraps in the market, Treasure meets a spirit who promises to bring her father back - but she has to do something for him first.
Ozoemena has an itch in the middle of her back that can't be scratched. An itch that speaks to her patrilineal destiny, to defend her people by becoming a leopard. Her father impressed upon her what an honour this was before he vanished, but it's one she couldn't want less - she has enough to worry about as she tries to fit in at a new school.
But as the two girls reckon with their burgeoning wildness and the legacy of decisions made by their fathers, Ozoemena's fellow students start to vanish. Treasure and Ozoemena will face terrible choices as each must ask herself: in a world that always says 'no' to women, what must two young girls sacrifice to get what is theirs?
This sounds like an incredibly unique YA (I think YA?) that I’m already pining for. I know a little about the Leopard Men, and I adore the idea of them having to accept a girl into their ranks – there’s just so many girl-power vibes in this description, and I love it all!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Asexual MC, achillean MC, nonbinary secondary character, Indigenous American secondary character, queernorm culture
Published on: 28th February 2023
Goodreads
In the epic conclusion to K.D. Edwards' first blockbuster trilogy in The Tarot Sequence series, readers followed Rune on a race against time as an age-old threat rose to threaten the city of New Atlantis. Now, for the first time, The Eidolon tells what really happened to Max, Quinn, and Anna as prisoners in the Hourglass Throne's base of operation.
The Eidolon is the first in a brand-new collection of novels and novellas in the Magnus Academy Series. These stories will be told through the various points of view of Rune's found family, ultimately leading to a planned arc of novels set at the new Magnus Academy. The book was printed in partnership with Rainbow Crate, the world's largest queer subscription box service, which produced a limited-edition hardcover. There will also be an Audible version, along with a self-published eBook.
IT’S A NEW SERIES FROM K.D. EDWARDS!!! The Tarot Accounts will be set in the same world as the Tarot Sequence, with a bunch of the same characters…but the characters who are minor in the Sequence will be starring in the Accounts, with their own stories!
The Eidolon is the first of the Accounts, and takes place during the events of The Hourglass Throne (book three of the Sequence) – I would not pick this up until you’re up to date on The Tarot Sequence, I doubt anything will make sense if you do! But equally, I can’t imagine any fan of the Sequence who won’t want to pounce on the Accounts!
(And I featured both of Eidolon‘s covers because they’re both so gorgeous – how am I supposed to choose between them?!)
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 28th February 2023
Goodreads
A young woman rises from the streets to battle a sinister evil in this magical fantasy adventure by the bestselling author of the Darwath series.
Something is amiss with the world's magic. Spells don't work the way they used to--when they work at all. Only the powers of the Crystal Mages remain as they were, powers founded on the use of the mystical element adamis, the harvesting of which has enslaved the peoples of the Twilight Lands.
They need a hero.
At the same time, ravenous beasts have begun to appear, legendary creatures that seem to be proof against any magic. And Clea Stylachos, granddaughter of a great sage of the Twilight people, has reason to fear that the Crystal Mages, instead of seeking to defeat these insanely destructive monsters, are attempting to weaponize them in their quest for power.
Clea's only hope to save her people is a wizard who retains his power, one who will not betray her, either to the great merchant houses or to the all-entangling web of the Crystal Mages. But that wizard--Ithrazel the Cursed, destroyer of a city and magically imprisoned to suffer undying, unremitting torment--wants nothing to do with saving the world, helping a hero, or unraveling the terrible secret at the heart of the Crystal Mages' plans.
From the slums and tunnels of the slave-city of Morne, to the watery wilderness of the Twilight lands, to the halls of her father's palace and the spell-soaked mysteries of the Crystal Mages' House of Glass, Clea works to untwist the deadly riddles of magic and monsters--to free her mother's disenfranchised people from slavery under her father's conquering forces. To save her mageborn brother from the Crystal Mages' power; to control a sorcerer legendary for his deed of evil; to keep her own small band of friends one step ahead of her father's troops and the Crystal Order's spells.
She is the Iron Princess, and she knows she must prevail or die.
But at what cost to herself?
Barbara Hambly is one of my favourite authors – she has one of the most beautiful writing styles I’ve never read, especially when it comes to describing magic and magical things. If you know her name, you probably know that she’s a MASTER fantasist; if you don’t know her, you’re going to have SO MUCH FUN devouring her backlist! Or, Iron Princess could be a great place to start come February – I have no doubt that it’s going to be epic!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Published on: 28th February 2023
Goodreads
In a dazzling new fantasy world full of whispered secrets and political intrigue, the magic of women is outlawed but four girls with unusual powers have the ability to change it all.
The Nightbirds are Simta’s best kept secret. Teenage girls from the Great Houses with magic coursing through their veins, the Nightbirds have the unique ability to gift their magic to others with a kiss. Magic—especially the magic of women—is outlawed and the city’s religious sects would see them burned if discovered. But protected by the Great Houses, the Nightbirds are safe well-guarded treasures.
As this Season’s Nightbirds, Matilde, Aesa, and Sayer spend their nights bestowing their unique brands of magic to well-paying clients. Once their Season is through, they're each meant to marry a Great House lord and become mothers to the next generation of Nightbirds before their powers fade away. But Matilde, Aesa, and Sayer have other plans. They know their lives as Nightbirds aren't just temporary, but a complete lie and yearn for something more.
When they discover that there are other girls like them and that their magic is more than they were ever told, they see the carefully crafted Nightbird system for what it is: a way to keep them in their place, first as daughters and then as wives. Now they must make a choice—to stay in their gilded cage or to remake the city that put them there in the first place.
It was the excerpt posted to Tor.com that sold me on this one – I fell in love with the prose immediately! The writing gives me Daughter of Smoke and Bone vibes, and the premise is intriguing…potentially rage-inducing (as stories about the exploitation of women should be!) but I love the sound of the magic in this one!
March
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC, F/F
Published on: 2nd March 2023
Goodreads
Non-stop action, space battles and intrigue abound in the second in a galactic-scale, gender-swapped space opera trilogy inspired by the life of Alexander The Great.
The Republic of Chaonia fleets under the joint command of Princess Sun and her formidable mother, Queen-Marshal Eirene, have defeated and driven out an invading fleet of the Phene Empire, although not without heavy losses. But the Empire remains strong and undeterred. While Chaonia scrambles to rebuild its military, the Empire's rulers are determined to squash Chaonia once and for all by any means necessary.
On the eve of Eirene's bold attack on the rich and populous Karnos System, an unexpected tragedy strikes the republic. Sun must take charge or lose the throne. Will Sun be content with the pragmatic path laid out by her mother for Chaonia's future? Or will she forge her own legend despite all the forces arrayed against her?
This series was pitched as ‘genderbent Alexander the Great in space’, and book one, Unconquerable Sun, did not fail to deliver! I know I’m not the only one eager to get back to Sun and her Companions, and see what the Phene Empire will be throwing at them next…!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Published on: 7th March 2023
Goodreads
Enter the dark and sensual realms of the Black Jewels in this sweeping story in the New York Times bestselling fantasy saga of three young women who must navigate life within the powerful SaDiablo family--and come to terms with Witch, the Queen who is still the heart and will of that family.
The Queen's price is to stand against what you know is wrong. To stand and fight, no matter the cost to your court or to yourself. Especially to yourself.
Zoey, a young Queen-in-training at SaDiablo Hall, is wounded...and vulnerable to taunts and criticism. When an opportunity arises to befriend a stranger seeking sanctuary at the Hall, she puts herself and others in danger by ignoring Daemonar Yaslana's warning to back off.
Meanwhile, the witch Jillian's family prepares for her Virgin Night, the rite of passage that assures a woman will retain her power and her Jewels. The trouble is Jillian secretly went through the ceremony already. Now she has to explain the omission of that detail to her powerful and lethal family. And the High Lord of Hell's daughter, Saetien, travels to Scelt to find out about Jaenelle Angelline's sister--and perhaps to discover truths about herself.
With some guidance from Witch, these three young women will learn when to yield because it is right--and when to take a stand, even if they must pay the Queen's price.
I’ve been a devotee of Bishop’s Black Jewels series since I was really far too young to have been reading it, and despite its flaws, it’s still a dear favourite. The Queen’s Price was a huge surprise, since I was certain that the previous book, The Queen’s Weapons, was the last we were ever going to get of this universe – or at least, with these characters. But I was wrong, and I’m so very happy to be!!!
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 7th March 2023
Goodreads
Since her village chased her out with pitchforks, Tara Abernathy has resurrected gods, pulled down monsters, averted wars, and saved a city, twice. She thought she'd left her dusty little hometown forever. But that was before her father died.
As she makes her way home to bury him, she finds a girl, as powerful and vulnerable and lost as she once was. Saving her from the raiders that haunt the area, twisted by a remnant of the God Wars, Tara changes the course of the world.
Max Gladstone's world of the Craft is a fantasy setting like no other. When Craftspeople rose up to kill the gods, they built corporate Concerns from their corpses and ushered in a world of rapacious capital. Those who work the Craft wield laws like knives and weave chains from starlight and soulstuff. Dead Country is the first book in the Craft Wars Trilogy, a tight sequence of novels that will bring the sprawling saga of the Craft to its end, and the perfect entry point for this incomparable world.
Max Gladstone’s Craft Sequence is a work of incredible genius and one of my favourite series – and now he’s taking us back to that world! I’m so excited! But also nervous – it doesn’t sound like things are going to go well for the characters I Iove so much…!
Genres: Fantasy, Sci Fi, Science Fantasy
Representation: BIPOC cast
Published on: 7th March 2023
Goodreads
A gathering of innovative, speculative fictions by writers of color, both established and emerging
The innovative fictions in Infinite Constellations showcase the voices and visions of 30 remarkable writers, both new and established, from the global majority: Native American/First Nation writers, South Asian writers, East Asian writers, Black American writers, Latinx writers, and Caribbean and Middle Eastern writers. These are visions both familiar and strange, but always rooted in the mystery of human relationships, the deep honoring of memory, and the rootedness to place and the centering of culture.
The writers in this anthology mirror, instruct, bind and unbind, myth-make and myth-invert, transform and transmute, make us belly-laugh or hum our understanding, gasp or whisper gently, and remember that sometimes we need to holler and fight as we grieve. Any dangers herein, imagined or observed in poem and story, transport us: moving from latent to extant, then unleashed.
This work does not presume; it presents and blossoms, creating a constellation of appearances, a symphony of belonging.
“In collecting this work,” note editors Khadijah Queen and K. Ibura, “we felt humbled by the love threaded throughout the voices speaking to us in stories and poems that vault beyond expectation and settle in our consciousness as an expansion of what’s possible when we tend to one another with intention. We felt lifted, held aloft in these arrangements of language. We hope that as you read each story and poem, you will find the same sense of empowerment and celebration that we know has sustained us over countless generations, and in their beauty and humor and intelligence and complexity, continue to enrich us still.”
CONTRIBUTORS George Abraham / Kenzie Allen / Shreya lla Anasuya / Thea Anderson / Wendy Chin-Tanner / Alton Melvar M. Depanas / Yohanca Delgado / Jennifer Elise Foerster / Aerik Francis / André O. Hoilette / Brian K. Hudson / K. Ibura / Pedro Iniguez / Ruth Ellen Kocher / Ra’Niqua Lee / Tonya Liburd / Kenji C. Liu / Shalewa Mackall / Lucien Darjeun Meadows / Melanie Merle / Juan J. Morales / Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint / Cindy Juyound Ok / Daniel José Older / Soham Patel / Lynn C. Pitts/ Khadijah Queen / Sheree Renée Thomas / Sarah Sophia Yanni / dg nanouk okpik / shakirah peterson
I’m picky about collections, but there’s no way I can resist this one! It sounds – well, it sounds incredible, and SFF takes on identity and culture hit me hard in my worldbuilding-obsessed heart!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 14th March 2023
Goodreads
Feed Them Silence begs the question: what does it mean to “be-in-kind” with nonhuman animals? Dr. Sean Kell-Luden uses a neurological interface to translate a subject-wolf’s perception for human consumption, but as her relationship with the subject becomes complicated, she puts her research and her marriage at risk.
When Dr. Sean Kell-Ludon’s grant is accepted, she begins her research of cooperative behaviors in one of Minnesota’s last remaining wolf packs, but she is wholly unprepared for the emotional turmoil that comes with inhabiting and translating a wolf’s consciousness. The longer she observes the subject-wolf and her pack, the more Sean drifts away from her wife. As the harsh winter months threaten the pack’s survival and Sean’s marriage spirals down the drain, Sean will have to face the consequences of her negligence or let the world of wolves and the world she’s known both slip through her fingers.
Feed Them Silence sounds like it’s going to be extremely different from Mandelo’s debut, Summer Sons – but I’m not about to call that a bad thing, when Feed Them Silence sounds absolutely amazing. Just the basic premise – human-and-non-human communication – is something near and dear to my heart, and I am very ready to read all about how that can obsess and consume a person.
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 14th March 2023
Goodreads
Two destined rivals fall desperately in love—but the fate of medieval Europe hangs in the balance.
“A pair of thrones between us, and my heart clutched like a rosary within his hands ...”
Twelfth-century Europe. Newly-crowned King Philip of France is determined to restore his nation to its former empire and bring glory to his name. But when his greatest enemy, King Henry of England, threatens to end his reign before it can even begin, Philip is forced to make a precarious alliance with Henry’s volatile son—risking both his throne, and his heart.
Richard, Duke of Aquitaine, never thought he would be King. But when an unexpected tragedy makes him heir to England, he finally has an opportunity to overthrow the father he despises. At first, Philip is a useful tool in his quest for vengeance... until passion and politics collide, and Richard begins to question whether the crown is worth the cost.
When Philip and Richard find themselves staring down an impending war, they must choose between their desire for one another and their grand ambitions. Will their love prevail, if it calls to them from across the battlefield? Teeming with royal intrigue and betrayal, this epic romance reimagines two real-life kings ensnared by an impossible choice: Follow their hearts, or earn their place in history.
Look into my eyes: Alternate History is a sub-genre of SFF, even if there are no dragons or spaceships present.
No, I will not be taking questions at this time!
In other words, yes, Solomon’s Crown is totally allowed on an anticipated-sff list, especially because it is my list and I am anticipating the hell out of it!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 15th March 2023
An ancient Greek tale vividly reimagined in this radiant fantasy debut
Iphigenia seems to have it all.
As the eldest daughter of the House of Atreus and princess of Mycenae, Iphigenia has had an idyllic childhood despite her family’s bloodstained history. She is the darling of the people of her city, and at her side are her endearingly annoying sister Electra and adorable baby brother Orestes. As she comes of age, however, that fragile peace is threatened by strange, burgeoning feelings for her handmaiden. Amidst this crisis of identity, another looms as an ancient goddess only Iphigenia can see simmers beneath the surface of reality. All of this falls to the back burner when war with the Trojans looms high on the horizon, and Iphigenia’s father summons her with a proposal of marriage she would go to the ends of the earth to avoid.
In a desperate attempt to circumnavigate her fate, Iphigenia discovers a dark truth: the altar her father intends for her is sacrificial rather than matrimonial. It is only by an act of divine intervention that she survives, and it is by divine retribution that she will have her revenge.
It is from the desecrated shores of Aulis that Iphigenia will embark on a journey that will take her from the furthest reaches of the ancient Mediterranean to the underworld itself. Amidst romances with goddesses and her own terrifying deification, Iphigenia plots. Despite the pleas of everyone around her, she vows that blood will soon stain the marble halls of the House of Atreus once again.
Vengeance is sweet, but as Iphigenia soon discovers, it comes at a price that could cost her everything.
Iphigenia gets a pretty raw deal in most versions of her myth (I’m sure being turned into a deer, which is one version, is better than being sacrificed, but it’s not really ideal, is it?) so she very much deserves a retelling! I’ll be honest, it never occurred to me to think hard about Iphigenia as a character (except to be sad+angry re her death, I mean) but that’s kind of the point of many of the best retellings, isn’t it – respinning the story of characters who don’t get a lot of attention, and/or retelling the ‘traditional’ take from a perspective the rest of us never considered.
It sounds like Donai has massively reworked Iphigenia’s story, and I’m delighted and intrigued by the hints scattered through the synopsis. Bring it!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MCs, queernorm world
Published on: 30th March 2023
Goodreads
A half-drowned stranger turns up at the door of Garad Gaheris, retired King's Champion, with a hell of a story to tell. The ex-knight may have uncovered a conspiracy involving the very highest echelons of London's elite.
'A riveting tragedy of blood and desire. A masterwork of urban fantasy - and the coolest thing you'll read this year' - SAMANTHA SHANNON on Blackheart Knights
Current King's Champion Si Wyll, a master illusionist, still reeling from the betrayal of his lover and the death of his mentor, is poised to become the most dangerous man in London. Then a figure from his past surfaces, determined to blackmail him into a plot to change the balance of power for good.
'A brilliant, bloody wild' - JAY KRISTOFF on Blackheart Knights
And the city's godchildren, those born with illegal magical abilities, have had enough of being put down - but who must die to ensure their ascension?
Blackheart Knights was one of my favourite books of 2020, and in fact is one of my all-time faves ever – so of course I’m dying to get my hands on the sequel!!! Laure Eve’s take on the King Arthur mythos and urban fantasy are just mindblowingly epic – this is definitely one of the 2023 releases I’m most excited for!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 31st March 2023
Goodreads
The girls of Unbreakable Starlight were part of an ancient tradition of magical warriors defending the Earth from the forces of the Outside. They knew their powers and their place, and they planned to fight to the very end. They just didn't think the end would come so very soon.
And they never dreamt that when the dust settled, two of their members would be the last magical protectors in the world.
For Piper, her time as a member of Unbreakable Starlight was the best part of her life, the first and only time that she had been truly happy. She'd had friends, she'd had powers, and she'd had her animal companion to make sure that she understood the patterns she saw in all things. Until it all came crashing down.
For Yuina, whose sister died on the night of the assault that killed most of the world's magical protectors, forgetting what she used to be is all that's mattered to her for years. She's been trying her best to toe the line and be the good little symbol of a forbidden calling that her government wants her to be, and she'll keep trying even if it kills her.
But magical protectors existed for a reason, and even if they've all died and the heralds who used to invite replacements to the fight have been forced into hiding. And if the magical protectors aren't holding the line against the Outside, who is?
Lines exist because somebody drew them, and now, with the world left undefended, the lines are getting blurred. Soon enough, something's going to break.
We made a vow, unshakable:
In starlight, we're unbreakable.
We’ll protect the world with all we are,
And when we fall, we’ll fall like stars.
After all the amazing commentary Seanan McGuire – aka Mira Grant – has shared on Magical Girls over the years, I am all but levitating out of my seat to be getting a Magical Girls novella from her! I can’t wait to see her take on, dismantle, and recreate this trope – you know no one else could do it like she will!
April
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer autistic MC, trans femme secondary character, ace-spectrum MC
Published on: 4th April 2023
Goodreads
Arthurian legends are reborn in this upbeat queer urban fantasy with a mystery at its heart
The knights of the round table are alive in Vancouver, but when one winds up dead, it’s clear the familiar stories have taken a left turn. Hildie, a Valkyrie and the investigator assigned to the case, wants to find the killer — and maybe figure her life out while she’s at it. On her short list of suspects is Wayne, an autistic college student and the reincarnation of Sir Gawain, who these days is just trying to survive in a world that wasn’t made for him. After finding himself at the scene of the crime, Wayne is pulled deeper into his medieval family history while trying to navigate a new relationship with the dean’s charming assistant, Burt — who also happens to be a prime murder suspect. To figure out the truth, Wayne and Hildie have to connect with dangerous forces: fallen knights, tricky runesmiths, the Wyrd Sisters of Gastown. And a hungry beast that stalks Wayne’s dreams.
The Winter Knight is a propulsive urban fairy tale and detective story with queer and trans heroes that asks what it means to be a myth, who gets to star in these tales, and ultimately, how we make our stories our own.
More King Arthur SFF! Queer again, but this time with autistic rep as well! I’m autistic, and since my diagnosis I’ve been looking for more autist characters in the books I read – which is hard. So I’m especially excited for Winter Knight because it sounds like exactly the kind of story I’d love, plus autistic rep!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 4th April 2023
Goodreads
While we live, the enemy shall fear us.
All her life Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the all-powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the Majoda their victory over humanity.
They are what’s left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. But when Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to the nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, she knows she must take humanity’s revenge into her own hands.
Alongside her brother’s brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, she escapes from everything she’s ever known into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined.
A thrillingly told queer space opera about the wreckage of war, the family you find, and who you must become when every choice is stripped from you, Some Desperate Glory is award-winning author Emily Tesh’s highly anticipated debut novel.
I’ve been wanting to read more sci-fi for a while, and everything I’ve heard about Tesh’s debut novel makes me want to pounce on it – although it also sounds like it will be fairly heavy thematically, so I’ll need to be in the right headspace when I pick it up. I’m looking forward to trying it, though!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Published on: 4th April 2023
Goodreads
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them meets Neil Gaiman in this thrilling novel about an Iranian American girl who discovers that her father was secretly a veterinarian to magical creatures—and that she must take up his mantle, despite the many dangers.
Once was, once wasn’t.
So began the stories Marjan’s father told her as a little girl—fables like the story of the girl who sprung a unicorn from a hunter’s snare, or the nomad boy who rescued a baby shirdal. Tales of mythical beasts that filled her with curiosity and wonder.
But Marjan’s not a little girl anymore. In the wake of her father’s sudden death, she is trying to hold it all together: her schoolwork, friendships, and keeping her dad’s shoestring veterinary practice from going under. Then, one day, she receives a visitor who reveals something stunning: Marjan’s father was no ordinary veterinarian. The creatures out of the stories he told her were real—and he traveled the world to care for them. And now that he’s gone, she must take his place.
Marjan steps into a secret world hidden in plain sight, where magical creatures are bought and sold, treasured and trapped. She finds friends she never knew she needed—a charming British boy who grew up with a griffon, a runaway witch seeking magic and home—while trying to hide her double life from her old friends and classmates.
The deeper Marjan gets into treating these animals, the closer she comes to finding who killed her father—and to a shocking truth that will reawaken her sense of wonder and put humans and beasts in the gravest of danger.
Do you know how much I love vets who treat magical creatures? Do you know how HARD it is to find books about them? VERY. VERY HARD. So I was delighted when I heard about Once There Was, and I’m majorly looking forward to pouncing on it!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 11th April 2023
Goodreads
From World Fantasy Award-winning author Fonda Lee comes Untethered Sky, an epic fantasy fable about the pursuit of obsession at all costs.
Ester’s family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father’s painful silence and a single, overwhelming need to kill the monsters that took her family.
Ester’s path leads her to the King’s Royal Mews, where the giant rocs of legend are flown to hunt manticores by their brave and dedicated rukhers. Paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra, Ester finds purpose and acclaim by devoting herself to a calling that demands absolute sacrifice and a creature that will never return her love. The terrifying partnership between woman and roc leads Ester not only on the empire’s most dangerous manticore hunt, but on a journey of perseverance and acceptance.
I’m a total sucker for stories featuring giant birds, especially when they are companions to or ridden by humans! And – manticores?! I’m not sure I’ve EVER seen a book that featured manticores before!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Pansexual MC, queer secondary characters
Published on: 13th April 2023
Goodreads
Imagine you could be rid of your sadness, your anxiety, your heartache, your fear.
Imagine you could take those feelings from others and turn them into something beautiful.
Lynx is a Grief Nurse. Kept by the Asters, a wealthy, influential family, to ensure they’re never troubled by negative emotions, she knows no other life.
When news arrives that the Asters’ eldest son is dead, Lynx does what she can to alleviate their Sorrow. As guests flock to the Asters’ private island for the wake, bringing their own secrets, lies and grief, tensions rise.
Then the bodies start to pile up.
With romance, intrigue and spectacular gothic world-building, this spellbinding debut novel is immersive and unforgettable.
I’m not 100% certain if this is getting an American release, but it’s being pretty majorly hyped over in the UK. I haven’t been able to get a lot of details about it, beyond the official synopsis, but I’m fascinated by the idea of taking emotions away from people, and really want to see how the existence of Grief Nurses affects the worldbuilding of Spoto’s book.
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Elderly MC, gay, bisexual, and ace-spec rep (asexual and graysexual)
Published on: 21st April 2023
Goodreads
In which a geriatric-turned-Chosen-One sets out to take down a sorcerer killing knights like her long-dead son- until abuse in the ranks makes her question who needs saving.
When you’re a geriatric armed with nothing but gumption and knitting needles, stopping a sorcerer from wiping out an entire dragon-fighting organization is a tall order. No one understands why 83-year-old Edna Fisher is the Chosen One, destined to save the Knights from a dragon-riding sorcerer bent on their destruction. After all, Edna has never handled a magical weapon, faced down a dragon, or cast a spell. And everyone knows the Council of Wizards always chooses a teenager—like the vengeful girl ready to snatch Edna’s destiny from under her nose.
Still, Edna leaps at the chance to leave the nursing home. With her son long dead in the Knights’ service, she’s determined to save dragon-fighters like him and to ensure other mothers don’t suffer the same loss she did. But as Edna learns about the abuse in the ranks and the sorcerer’s history as a Knight, she questions if it’s really the sorcerer that needs stopping—or the Knights she’s trying to save.
Honestly, all I need to hear is ‘elderly Chosen One’ and I’m good. That’s all you need to tell me. I’m already sold.
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC, secondary character with anxiety
Published on: 25th April 2023
Goodreads
New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.
In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.
The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.
When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.
Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?
Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.
I’m an absolute heathen who enjoys Klune’s series more than his standalones – at least so far! But I’m very hopeful for this one, which sounds adorably weird. And a Pinocchio retelling! Haven’t seen one of those in…ever???
May
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Nonbinary MC
Published on: 2nd May 2023
Goodreads
From USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw comes The Salt Grows Heavy, a dark and deliciously twisted mermaid tale.
After murdering her husband and burning his kingdom to cinders, a mermaid joins a strange doctor on a journey through the eerie taiga. Deep in the woods, the pair stumble upon a village, full of seemingly ageless children and the three surgeons who oversee them—called only “the saints.”
After discovering the villagers’ taste for a sinister blood sport, the mermaid and her companion must embrace the darkest parts of their true nature, if they hope to survive.
Will this give me nightmares??? Honestly, probably, but I’m certain it’ll be worth it; Khaw’s prose is so damn beautiful that I can’t stay away from their work…even if it means occasionally waking up screaming. IT’S WORTH IT. And mermaids? Khaw’s take on mermaids? Yeah, I was doomed the second the pub deal was announced.
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MCs
Published on: 3rd May 2023
Goodreads
A stunning, enthralling story about unconventional love, the power of creativity and the courage of women who struggle to make their voices heard - for fans of Jennifer Saint, Madeline Miller and Pat Barker.
Their love transcends every boundary. Can it cheat death?
Orphia dreams of something more than the warrior crafts she's been forced to learn. Hidden away on a far-flung island, her blood sings with poetry and her words can move flowers to bloom and forests to grow ... but her father, the sun god Apollo, has forbidden her this art.
A chance meeting with a young shield-maker, Eurydicius, gives her the courage to use her voice. After wielding all her gifts to defeat one final champion, Orphia draws the scrutiny of the gods. Performing her poetry, she wins the protection of the goddesses of the arts: the powerful Muses, who welcome her to their sanctuary on Mount Parnassus. Orphia learns to hone her talents, crafting words of magic infused with history, love and tragedy.
When Eurydicius joins her, Orphia struggles with her desire for fame and her budding love. As her bond with the gentle shield-maker grows, she joins the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece. Facing dragons, sirens and ruthless warriors on the voyage, Orphia earns unparalleled fame, but she longs to return to Eurydicius.
Yet she has a darker journey to make - one which will see her fight for her love with all the power of her poetry.
Is Orpheus my favourite Greek hero? Not really, but Elyse John is one of my favourite authors and I will read anything she decides to write – especially genderbent queered mythological retellings! The snippets that have been revealed, mostly on John’s insta, already have me swooning!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Indigenous American-coded bisexual MC, autistic-coded secondary character, polyamory
Published on: 9th May 2023
Goodreads
A young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy—and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things—in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series.
The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.
Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.
For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.
Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.
I’VE BEEN SHRIEKING ABOUT THIS BOOK SINCE I FIRST HEARD ABOUT IT! What about that premise is not mindblowingly awesome?! I need everyone to preorder this one immediately, okay? We can leave the publishing world NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER that we want stories like this one!!!
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Chinese setting and cast, sapphic MC, nonbinary secondary characters
Published on: 9th May 2023
Goodreads
"S. L. Huang is amazing."—Patrick Rothfuss
Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, S. L. Huang's The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history—or tear it apart.
In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.
Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor's soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.
Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.
Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.
Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.
I didn’t need to read more than the first paragraph of the synopsis before I hit the pre-order button. What part of ‘The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history—or tear it apart.’ does not sound a) ridiculously awesome and b) ridiculously fun???
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Sapphic MC, F/F
Published on: 9th May 2023
Goodreads
For readers of Circe or Ariadne, a brilliant literary revisiting of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein with a fresh, queer, provocative twist.
It's 1853 London. Ex-medical student Victor Frankenstein has been missing for years now. Frankenstein's great niece Mary Sutherland and her husband, Henry, are trying to follow in his scientific footsteps and become renowned paleontologists. They have the brains and the ambition; the only thing they lack is the reputation. Mary is a woman with a sharp mind but a fierce tongue and Henry is an unemployed gambling addict: none of this earning appeal with their peers.
But after finding clues to her great uncle's disappearance, Mary's luck may just change. She constructs a plan that will force the scientific community to take her and her husband seriously; no one will be able to ignore them after they learn to create life. Once they have successfully constructed their Creature, Henry's ambition soars, but Mary finds herself asking deeper, more important questions than she's ever confronted before. As Henry's desire for fame grows, Mary must decide how far she is willing to go to protect the Creature she has grown to love.
I’ll admit, Frankenstein isn’t a story I care very much about…but Our Hideous Progeny sounds much more interesting! It certainly doesn’t hurt that I’ve been hearing very good things from early readers!
Genres: Fantasy, Portal Fantasy
Published on: 9th May 2023
Goodreads
March's End is a multi-generational portal fantasy of strange magics, epic warfare, and deadly intrigue, in which the personality conflicts and toxic struggles of the Harrow family are reflected in the fantasy world they've sworn to protect.
The Harrows are a typical suburban family who, since time immemorial, have borne a sacred and terrible charge. In the daylight they are teachers, doctors, bartenders and vagrants, but at night they are the rulers and protectors of the March, a fantastical secondary world populated with animate antiquated toys and sentient lichen, a panorama of the impossible where cities are carried on the backs of giant snails, and thunderstorms can be subdued with song.
But beneath this dreamlike exterior lie dark secrets, and for generation after generation the Harrows have defended the March from the perils that wait outside its borders – when they are not consumed in their own bitter internecine quarrels.
In the modern day the Harrow clan are composed of Sophia, the High Queen of the March, a brilliant, calculating matriarch, and her three children – noble Constance, visionary, rebellious Mary Ann, and clever, amoral Will. Moving back and forth between their youth, adolescence, and adulthood, we watch as this family fractures, then reconciles in the face of a conflict endangering not only the existence of the March, but of the ‘real world’ itself.
THE MARCH’S END is a book about growing up, in which the familial struggles of the Harrows are threaded through the mythic history of the fantastical land they protect. It is a story of failure and redemption, in which the power of love is tested against forces that seek to break it, and the necessity of each generation to recreate itself is asserted.
Portal fantasy written for adults is something I’m always on the look-out for, and March’s End sounds like exactly my cup of tea on so many levels!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 9th May 2023
Goodreads
A boy has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, older than empires and larger than cities.
A girl has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.
The world has never even noticed them. That's about to change.
Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty, and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.
Listen, I am a simple bookwyrm; you offer me a book about books, and/or magical libraries??? That’s it, that’s all I need to know.
(It’s clear there’s going to me a lot more to The Book That Wouldn’t Burn than that, but the fact remains: that’s all I need to know!)
And check out that COVER! *swoons* I’d buy this book for the cover alone!!!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans MC, bigender MC
Published on: 16th May 2023
Goodreads
Two enemy kingdoms are forced to work together to break a curse in this lush YA fantasy, featuring a transgender prince and a bigender dama/assassin in the lead roles.
Keep your enemy closer.
Cade McKenna is a transgender prince who’s doubling for his brother.Valencia Palafox is a young dama attending the future queen of Eliana.Gael Palma is the infamous boy assassin Cade has vowed to protect.Patrick McKenna is the reluctant heir to a kingdom, and the prince Gael has vowed to destroy.
Cade doesn’t know that Gael and Valencia are the same person.Valencia doesn’t know that every time she thinks she’s fighting Patrick, she’s fighting Cade.And when Cade and Valencia blame each other for a devastating enchantment that takes both their families, neither of them realizes that they have far more dangerous enemies.
Cowritten by married writing team Anna-Marie and Elliott McLemore, Venom & Vow is a lush and powerful YA novel about owning your power and becoming who you really are - no matter the cost.
Exactly what part of Venom & Vow am I not supposed to love, pray tell??? Because that entire synopsis sounds like it was written explicitly to win me over.
CONSIDER ME WON.
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans & NB MCs
Published on: 16th May 2023
Goodreads
Perfect for fans of All Out and Cemetery Boys, this anthology claims a seat at the table of fantasy literature for trans and gender nonconforming stories.
Transness is as varied and colorful as magic can be. In Transmogrify!, you’ll embark on fourteen different adventures alongside unforgettable characters who embody many different genders and expressions and experiences—because magic is for everyone, and that is cause for celebration.
Featuring stories from:
AR Capetta and Cory McCarthy
g. haron davis
Mason Deaver
Jonathan Lenore Kastin
Emery Lee
Saundra Mitchell
Cam Montgomery
Ash Nouveau
Sonora Reyes
Renee Reynolds
Dove Salvatierra
Ayida Shonibar
Francesca Tacchi
Nik Traxler
I’ve already mentioned that I don’t read a lot of collections – but one that’s specifically built around trans and nonbinary magic? OMG YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU I’LL TAKE ELEVEN!
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Published on: 30th May 2023
Goodreads
Martha Wells, the New York Times bestselling author of the Murderbot series, pens a major fantasy novel in Witch King.
Kai-Enna is the Witch King, though he hasn’t always been, and he hasn’t even always been Kai-Enna!
After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.
But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?
Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.
He’s not going to like the answers.
Witch King is a rousing tale of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.
Martha Wells can do no wrong – I’ve been adoringly following her since Cloud Roads, and was so damn happy when Murderbot brought her the attention and acclaim she deserves! Now she’s back with a new Fantasy novel and I CANNOT EVEN. The only way I can think of to chill is to reread her entire backlist while we wait for Witch King. OH NO, WHAT SUFFERING. /dramatic sarcasm>
June
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Achillean MC, M/M
Published on: 5th June 2023
Goodreads
Rejected by his aristocratic family, Gil Irichels has been content to make his living as a traveling cursebreaker, working with his lover, the feral mage Envar Cassi, and their bodyguard, swordswoman Arak min’Aroi. After a series of deaths leave him the sole heir to the family’s house and fortune, Irichels’s main concern is to do whatever he must to settle the estate and return to his previous life. But these is something very wrong in seaborne Bejanth, starting with the deaths of his kin and spreading into the complex web of politics and magic that holds the city together. As he struggles to discover the truth behind his family’s losses, he realizes that there is more at stake than the fall of one house. Someone is unraveling the web of curses on which the city depends, and Irichels is the only person who can stop them—if it’s not already too late.
Melissa Scott is one of my all-time faves, so I have had GREAT TROUBLE containing my excitement for this new book!!! It sounds utterly fabulous – and a FERAL MAGE??? Oh my gods, give it to me now!!!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Nonbinary MCs
Published on: 6th June 2023
Goodreads
"There are few who write science fiction like Ann Leckie can. There are few who ever could."―John Scalzi
The mystery of a missing translator sets three lives on a collision course that will have a ripple effect across galaxies in this powerful new novel by one of the masters of modern science fiction. Translation State is at once a sweeping space adventure and a brilliant exploration of how in order to belong, we must first become.
When Enae's grandmaman passes away, Enae inherits something entirely unexpected: a diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. No one actually expects Enae to succeed; it's an empty assignment meant to keep hir occupied. But Enae has never had a true purpose—no one ever expected hir to do more than care for grandmaman—so sie is determined to accomplish this task to the best of her ability.
Reet knows nothing about his biological family. He loves his adoptive parents, but has always secretly yearned to understand his identity, the roots that would explain why he seems to operate just a bit differently. After all, no one else hungers to study the world by ripping it apart, by slicing into those around them in order to make sense of things. So when a political group approaches him with the claim that he has ties to a genetically mysterious, long-deceased family, Reet is only too eager to believe them.
Qven was created to be a Presgr translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presgr and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something different isn't "optimal behavior". It's the type of behavior that will have you eliminated. But Qven rebels anyway, determined to find a way to belong on their own terms.
As a Conclave of the various species approaches—and the long-standing treaty between the humans and the Presgr is on the line—the paths of all three will collide in a chain of events that will have ripple effects across galaxies.
It’s Ann Leckie. I mean. What more could you need to hear???
Besides, that synopsis sounds ridiculously epic – and I’m so excited that we are, in fact, going to see the Conclave that was declared at the end of the Imperial Radch trilogy!!!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: QBIPOC cast
Published on: 6th June 2023
Goodreads
Crack open your spell book and enter the world of the illustrious Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary. There's been a murder on campus, and it's up to the students of Galileo to solve it. Follow 18 authors and 18 students as they puzzle out the clues and find the guilty party.
Professor of Magical History Septimius Dropwort has just been murdered, and now everyone at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect.
A prestigious school for young magicians, the Galileo Academy has recently undergone a comprehensive overhaul, reinventing itself as a roaming academy in which students of all cultures and identities are celebrated. In this new Galileo, every pupil is welcome--but there are some who aren't so happy with the recent changes. That includes everyone's least favorite professor, Septimius Dropwort, a stodgy old man known for his harsh rules and harsher punishments. But when the professor's body is discovered on school grounds with a mysterious note clenched in his lifeless hand, the Academy's students must solve the murder themselves, because everyone's a suspect.
Told from more than a dozen alternating and diverse perspectives, The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows Galileo's best and brightest young magicians as they race to discover the truth behind Dropwort's mysterious death. Each one of them is confident that only they have the skills needed to unravel the web of secrets hidden within Galileo's halls. But they're about to discover that even for straight-A students, magic doesn't always play by the rules. . . .
Contributors include: Cam Montgomery, Darcie Little Badger, Hafsah Faizal, Jessica Lewis, Julian Winters, Karuna Riazi, Kat Cho, Kayla Whaley, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Marieke Nijkamp, Mason Deaver, Natasha D�az, Preeti Chhibber, Randy Ribay, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Victoria Lee, and Yamile Saied M�ndez
The entire concept of The Grimoire of Grave Fates delights me utterly – a collection where every story is a bit like a chapter of a kind of mosaic novel! And specifically, a mosaic novel about a modern magic school! One that’s been working to be more inclusive! AND THEN AN ASSHOLE IS MURDERED! Gasp! GIMME!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 6th June 2023
Goodreads
A girl matches wits with a war god in this kaleidoscopic, thought-provoking tale of oppression and the cost of peace, where stories hide within other stories, and narrative has the power to heal -- or to burn everything in its path -- from World Fantasy Award–winning author Alaya Dawn Johnson.
A girl and a god, alone in communion ...
In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great peacekeeper of the three systems, a heinous secret lies buried -- and Freida is the only one who can uncover it. As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library's ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique -- and dangerous.
When Freida meets Joshua, a Tierran boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future.
With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives -- if he doesn't destroy her first.
Johnson’s an incredible writer – she won me over forever with Summer Prince back in 2013 – so you bet I paid attention when I heard she had a new book coming out! More, this is apparently a story she’s been working on for seven years – which suggests it’s a story that matters a lot to her, and that would make me extra-interested even if it wasn’t also a book about stories and libraries and the daughter of a Library God!!!
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MCs, Chinese cast
Published on: 6th June 2023
Goodreads
For readers of Outlawed, Piranesi, and The Night Tiger, a riveting, roaring adventure novel about a legendary Chinese pirate queen, her fight to save her fleet from the forces allied against them, and the dangerous price of power.
When Shek Yeung sees a Portuguese sailor slay her husband, a feared pirate, she knows she must act swiftly or die. Instead of mourning, Shek Yeung launches a new plan: immediately marrying her husband's second-in-command, and agreeing to bear him a son and heir, in order to retain power over her half of the fleet.
But as Shek Yeung vies for control over the army she knows she was born to lead, larger threats loom. The Chinese Emperor has charged a brutal, crafty nobleman with ridding the South China Seas of pirates, and the Europeans-tired of losing ships, men, and money to Shek Yeung's alliance-have new plans for the area. Even worse, Shek Yeung's cutthroat retributions create problems all their own. As Shek Yeung navigates new motherhood and the crises of leadership, she must decide how long she is willing to fight, and at what price, or risk losing her fleet, her new family, and even her life.
A book of salt and grit, blood and sweat, Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea is an unmissable portrait of a woman who leads with the courage and ruthlessness of our darkest and most beloved heroes.
I don’t know what speculative elements Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea contains, but I’ve seen it listed as SFF in multiple places and honestly, even if it’s pure Historical Fiction I still covet it desperately. I know a tiny bit about Shek Yeung; enough to know that I am definitely going to love reading an entire novel about her!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Science Fantasy
Representation: Desi-coded cast, bisexual MCs
Published on: 13th June 2023
Goodreads
This Hindu philosophy-inspired debut science fantasy follows a husband and wife racing to save their living city—and their troubled marriage—high above a jungle world besieged by cataclysmic storms.
High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below.
Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few. Like most others, she cannot manipulate the plants. And she desperately seeks change.
Their marriage is already thorny—then Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to forbidden limits. He needs Ahilya to help clear his name; she needs him to tip the balance of rule in their society. As their paths become increasingly intertwined, deadly truths emerge, challenging everything each of them believes. And as the earthrages become longer, and their floating city begins to plummet, Iravan and Ahilya's discoveries might destroy their marriage, their culture, and their entire civilization.
There was a significant stretch of time when I was checking every day for preorder links for The Surviving Sky – and I regret nothing. Main characters who are already a married couple??? Both of them are bisexual??? Plant magic??? Flying cities??? Archaeology??? THIS IS TICKING SO MANY OF MY BOXES! Definitely a must-read.
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Jewish MCs
Published on: 22nd June 2023
Goodreads
Three things about Toba Peres are strange: she can speak but she can’t shout; she can walk but she can’t run; she can write faster than she can speak, in multiple languages, with both hands at the same time. Three things about Naftaly Cresques are strange: every time he dreams, he dreams of square-pupiled strangers in a magical world; when awake, he sometimes sees things that aren’t real; and his family has passed down to him a book, seemingly of nonsense words, which he knows it’s essential never to lose and never to read.
One thing Toba and Naftaly share in common: they are forced to leave their home in the city of Rimon after the Queen of Sefarad orders all Jews to leave the country or convert. Driven off the road by a bandit, Toba stumbles through a magical gate in an unseasonable pomegranate grove on the night of the full moon, and finds herself in the world of Maziks: mythical square-pupiled immortals. With nowhere else to go, she follows a pair of Maziks—a taciturn academic and an orange-eyed rogue—back to the ruined castle where they live alone, until a dangerous chance encounter reveals the cause of Toba’s strangeness: she is half-Mazik, the child of a mortal mother and a Mazik father. And, as such, her existence is forbidden by Mazik law and she is a target of La Cacería, the Mazik Inquisition—which is also hunting for an ancient lost book of mysterious power.
Naftaly, left behind at the gate, leaves the pomegranate grove to find himself fifty miles off course, with no money, no food, and only the company of an old woman who followed him into the woods. But Naftaly’s problems are only beginning: he learns the Inquisition isn’t allowing books out of the country, and he seems to be falling for the handsome orange-eyed Mazik who haunts his dreams—a Mazik whose identity will place all of them in danger from La Cacería.
To survive, Toba and Naftaly will have to uncover secrets about magic, myth, and how Toba’s parentage and Nafaly’s book are tied to an ancient conflict in Mazik history, the mythical lost city of Luz, and the mysterious connection by which events in the human world are reflected in the realm of Maziks.
This sounds marvellous and strange, and strange and marvellous is basically the byword here at Every Book a Doorway, so absolutely yes I must get my hands on The Pomegranate Gate!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 27th June 2023
Goodreads
War machines and AI gods run amok in The Archive Undying, national bestseller Emma Mieko Candon's bold entry into the world of mecha fiction.
WHEN AN AI DIES, ITS CITY DIES WITH IT
WHEN A CITY FALLS, IT LEAVES A CORPSE BEHIND
WHEN THAT CORPSE RUNS OFF, ONLY DEVOTION CAN BRING IT BACKWhen the robotic god of Khuon Mo went mad, it destroyed everything it touched. It killed its priests, its city, and all its wondrous works. But in its final death throes, the god brought one thing back to life: its favorite child, Sunai. For the seventeen years since, Sunai has walked the land like a ghost, unable to die, unable to age, and unable to forget the horrors he's seen. He's run as far as he can from the wreckage of his faith, drowning himself in drink, drugs, and men. But when Sunai wakes up in the bed of the one man he never should have slept with, he finds himself on a path straight back into the world of gods and machines.
The Archive Undying is the first volume of Emma Mieko Candon's Downworld Sequence, a sci-fi series where AI deities and brutal police states clash, wielding giant robots steered by pilot-priests with corrupted bodies.
Come get in the robot.
The Archive Undying sounds like nothing else I’ve ever read, and I’m never not looking for books like that! I love the idea of AI cities and gods, and mixing that up with mecha robots??? I CAN’T WAIT.
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 27th June 2023
Goodreads
In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection--a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.
For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements--books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.
All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .
In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue--and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.
Again: books about books and libraries? ESPECIALLY magical books and magical libraries? Gets me every time.
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 27th June 2023
Goodreads
In a world locked in eternal winter and haunted by prophecy, a young boy trains for years to become the Chosen One, only for another to rise and claim his place in the start of an unmissable epic from a rising star in fantasy.
The northlands of Crua are locked in eternal winter, but prophecy tells of the chosen child – who will rule in the name of their God, and take warmth back from the South. Cahal du Nahere was raised to be this person: the Cowl-Rai, the saviour. Taken from his parents and prepared for his destiny. But his time never came. When he was fifteen he ceased to matter. Another Cowl-Rai had risen, another chosen one, raised in the name of a different God. The years of vicious physical and mental training he had endured, the sacrifice, all for nothing. He became nothing. Twenty years later, and Cahal lives a life of secrecy on the edges of Crua’s giant forests – hiding what he is, running from what he can do. But when he is forced to reveal his true nature, he sets off a sequence of events that will reveal secrets that will shake the bedrock of his entire world, and expose lies that have persisted for generations.
I was slow to discover RJ Barker, but after The Tide Child trilogy I couldn’t hit the pre-order button fast enough when I heard he had a new book coming out! Stories that play with Chosen One tropes are my JAM, and the complicated position Cahal finds himself in? I absolutely need to know more!
Genres: Sci Fi
Published on: 27th June 2023
Goodreads
A delightful romantic comedy about love, alien invasions, and the incredibly silly things people are willing to believe in—some of which may actually be true—from the Nebula and Hugo Award–winning author of Blackout.
When Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate's UFO-themed wedding—complete with a true-believer groom—she can't help but roll her eyes at all the talk of aliens, which patently don't exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she gets abducted by one.
Her abductor is not your typical alien—not gray, or a reptilian, or anything else the popular media might have led her to expect. Instead, the creature is more like an animate tumbleweed—a mass of lightning-fast tentacles and unexpected charm, given that it has no apparent ability to communicate beyond pointing.
Worse, the alien’s second abductee—an endearing con man named Wade—only compounds the problem, for Francie was supposed to spend the weekend talking her roommate out of the wedding, not falling in love herself. How can a guy who sells anti-abduction insurance for a living still manage to be the most sensible, decent man she has ever met?
The more Francie gets to know her abductor, however, the more certain she becomes that the alien is in trouble and needs her help—though she has no idea what the problem is, or how to solve it. Especially as the alien’s abduction spree seems far from over.
But with Wade’s assistance, Francie is determined to get their new friend to its destination—wherever that might be. Because who knows what could be at risk should they fail?
I’ve loved every book of Willis’ that I’ve ever tried, and I’m both bemused and excited by the idea of her writing a sci-fi rom-com! It sounds very weird and very fun, and I’m looking forward to it EXTREMELY!
July
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC, Devi-coded cast and setting
Published on: 11th July 2023
Goodreads
Nestled at the head of a supercontinent, framed by sky and sea, lies Luriat, the city of bright doors. The doors are everywhere in the city, squatting in walls where they don’t belong, painted in vivid warning. They watch over a city of art and avarice, of plagues and pogroms, and silently refuse to open. No one knows what lies beyond them, but everyone has their own theory and their own relationship to the doors. Researchers perform tests and take samples, while supplicants offer fruit and flowers and hold prayer circles. Many fear the doors as the source of hauntings from unspeakable realms. To a rare unchosen few, though, the doors are both a calling and a bane. Fetter is one of those few.
When Fetter was born, his mother tore his shadow from him. She raised him as a weapon to kill his sainted father and destroy the religion rising up in his sacred footsteps. Now Fetter is unchosen, lapsed in his devotion to both his parents. He casts no shadow, is untethered by gravity, and sees devils and antigods everywhere he goes. With no path to follow, Fetter would like to be anything but himself. Does his answer wait on the other side of one of Luriat’s bright doors?
It’s funny, but the first few times I heard about The Saint of Bright Doors, it didn’t really catch my attention. But when we got the full synopsis, and the excerpt posted on Tor.com??? It leapt straight to the top of my must-have list! Check out the excerpt for yourself, and tell me that it’s not thrillingly strange and wonderfully weird!
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Lesbian MC
Published on: 11th July 2023
Goodreads
A diverse, exciting debut space opera about a young tea expert who is taken as a political prisoner and recruited to spy on government officials—a role that may empower her to win back her nation’s independence—perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor.
The dust may have just settled in the failed war of conquest between the Holy Vaalbaran Empire and the Ominirish Republic, but the last Emperor’s surrender means little to a lowly scribe like Enitan. All she wants is to quit her day job and expand her fledgling tea business. But when her lover is assassinated and her sibling is abducted by Imperial soldiers, Enitan abandons her idyllic plans and weaves her tea tray up through the heart of the Vaalbaran capital. There, she will learn just how far she is willing to go to exact vengeance, free her sibling, and perhaps even secure her homeland’s freedom.
I don’t like drinking tea, but I do love stories about tea, and the idea of a tea expert out for vengeance??? I’M IN!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: F/F
Published on: 11th July 2023
Goodreads
A young noblewoman must pair up with a rumoured witch to ward off a curse in this irresistible sapphic romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material.
It is the year 1814 and life for a young lady of good breeding has many difficulties. There are balls to attend, fashions to follow, marriages to consider and, of course, the tiny complication of existing in a world swarming with fairy spirits, interfering deities, and actual straight-up sorcerers.
Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into high society hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at a high-profile ball, a scandal she narrowly manages to escape.
However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, Miss Mitchelmore must seek out aid, even if it means mixing with undesirable company. And there are few less desirable than Lady Georgianna Landrake—a brooding, alluring young woman sardonically nicknamed “the Duke of Annadale”—who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune. If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress. Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.
With the Duke’s help, Miss Mitchelmore delves into a world of angry gods and vindictive magic, keen to unmask the perpetrator of these otherworldly attacks. But Miss Mitchelmore’s reputation is not the only thing at risk in spending time with her new ally. For the rumoured witch has her own secrets that may prove dangerous to Miss Mitchelmore’s heart—not to mention her life.
My favourite Alexis Hall book is actually The Case of the Mysterious Letter, which until now has been (I believe) Hall’s only SFF work. But now he’s written a new fantasy! And it sounds fun and sweet with witches and curses and gods – and an unravelling ballgown?! Absolutely, yes, all the yes, sign me up!
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy
Published on: 23rd July 2023
Goodreads
From New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of The Expanse, comes the second novel in a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year.
“An atmospheric and fascinating tapestry, woven with skill and patience.” – Joe Abercrombie, New York Times bestselling author of A Little Hatred Kithamar is a center of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories endure.
This is Garreth’s. Garreth Left is heir to one of Kithamar’s most prominent merchant families. The path of his life was paved long before he was born. Learn the family trade, marry to secure wealthy in-laws, and inherit the business when the time is right. But to Garreth, a life chosen for him is no life at all. In one night, a chance meeting with an enigmatic stranger changes everything. He falls in love with a woman whose name he doesn’t even know, and he will do anything to find her again. His search leads him down corridors and alleys that are best left unexplored, where ancient gods hide in the shadows, and every deal made has a dangerous edge.
The path that Garreth chooses will change the course of not only those he loves, but the entire future of Kithamar’s citizens.
In Kithamar, every story matters -- and the fate of the city is woven from them all.
Daniel Abraham is one of my favourite authors, and this is the second book in his Kithamar trilogy. Apparently this series is going to be three standalone books in the same setting, rather than the conventional set-up of a single story spread over three books, so I’m pretty curious to see how that works out in practice. I have no doubt I’m going to enjoy reading it, though!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Latina MCs, F/F
Published on: 25th July 2023
Goodreads
Set in a lush world inspired by the history and folklore of South America, discover this sweeping epic fantasy of colonialism and country, ancient magic, and a young woman's quest for belonging.
When Reina arrives at Aguila Manor, her heart stolen from her chest, she’s on the verge of death—until her estranged grandmother, a dark sorceress in the Don’s employ, intervenes.
Indebted to a woman she never knew, and smitten with the upper-caste daughter of the house, Celeste, Reina will do anything to earn–and keep–the family’s favor. Even the bidding of the ancient god who speaks to her from the Manor’s foundations. To save the woman she loves, Reina will have to defy the gods themselves, and become something she never could have imagined.
I need alllllll the grabby-hands gifs for The Sun and the Void – I’m pining for this book!!! Ever since the pub deal was announced I’ve been keeping an eye out for this one, and I really don’t see how it can possibly disappoint; every new thing I hear about it just makes the heart-eyes grow bigger!
August
Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Representation: Queernorm culture, bisexual love interest
Published on: 1st August 2023
Goodreads
New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Carey returns to the Kushiel universe with a new story featuring fan-favorite character Joscelin.
You think you know all of what happened in Kushiel’s Dart.
But you only have half the tale.
Now see the other half of the heart that lived it…
Cassiel’s Servant is a retelling of the events of cult favorite Kushiel’s Dart from the point of view of Joscelin, sworn Cassaline warrior-priest, protector…and ultimate consort to Phèdre nó Delaunay. From childhood to the events that shape his manhood…and how his journey with Phèdre to avert the conquest of Terre D’Ange shattered body and mind. And brought him a perfect love that he will do anything to keep.
Even if it means breaking all vows and losing his soul.
Listen: Kushiel’s Dart is the book that started my Crescent Classics, aka the Very Best SFF Books Ever As Declared By Sia (feel free to check out the ones I’ve managed to review on the blog here). I have six different editions of it on my shelves, including the Subterranean Press editions of the whole trilogy. It was life-changing for me.
So learning that Jacqueline Carey is going back to it, and retelling it from Joscelin’s PoV??? I don’t even have words. Picture lots of screaming and flailing and happy-crying. And also some extremely rabid bookwyrm hissing, because if anyone comes NEAR me during the week this is released, I will bite anyone who interrupts my reading time AND I WILL NOT BE SORRY.
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Representation: Mesopotamian cast
Published on: 1st August 2023
Goodreads
The fates of a young goddess, a warrior, and a mortal soldier collide in this enthralling and lyrical fantasy re-telling of The Epic of Gilgamesh that will captivate readers of Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint.
Stories are sly things…they can be hard to catch and kill.
Inanna is an impossibility, the first full Anunnaki born on Earth. Crowned the goddess of love by the twelve immortal Anunnaki who are worshipped across Sumer, she is destined for greatness.
But Inanna is born into a time of war. The Anunnaki have split into warring factions, threatening to tear the world apart. Forced into a marriage to negotiate a peace, she soon realises she has been placed in terrible danger.
Gilgamesh, a mortal human son of the Anunnaki, and notorious womaniser, finds himself captured and imprisoned by King Akka who seeks to distance himself and his people from the gods. Arrogant and selfish, Gilgamesh is given one final chance to prove himself.
Ninshubar, a powerful warrior woman, is cast out of her tribe after an act of kindness. Hunted by her own people, she escapes across the country, searching for acceptance and a new place in the world.
As their journeys push them closer together, and their fates intertwine, they come to realise that together, they may have the power to change to face of the world forever.
Inanna is my joint-favourite goddess, and I legit SHRIEKED when I discovered that she was getting the Circe treatment!!! I can’t wait to see what Wilson has done with the Anunnaki, or what her spin on The Epic of Gilgamesh is going to be – AND THIS IS ONLY BOOK ONE OF A SERIES?! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Plus, the Edelweiss page for this book says it’s queer!!! If you know the Epic of Gilgamesh, you, like me, can probably guess where the queerness is going to come in…!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 15th August 2023
Goodreads
There's a princess trapped in a tower. This isn't her story.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
If only.Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold...
From USA Today bestselling author, T. Kingfisher, comes an original, subversive fairytale about a kind-hearted, toad-shaped heroine, a gentle knight, and a mission gone completely sideways.
There may come a day when T Kingfisher – or Ursula Vernon, for that matter – does not automatically have a spot reserved for her on my Unmissables List…BUT THIS IS NOT THAT DAY!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Representation: Nigerian/West African MC
Published on: 15th August 2023
Goodreads
The debut fantasy novel from an award-winning Nigerian author presents a mythic tale of disgruntled gods, revenge, and a heist across two worlds
Shigidi is a disgruntled and demotivated nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering prayers of his few remaining believers to maintain his existence long enough to find his next drink. When he meets Nneoma, a sort-of succubus with a long and secretive past, everything changes for him.
Together, they attempt to break free of his obligations and the restrictions that have bound him to his godhood and navigate the parameters of their new relationship in the shadow of her past. But the elder gods that run the Orisha spirit company have other plans for Shigidi, and they are not all aligned--or good.
From the boisterous streets of Lagos to the swanky rooftop bars of Singapore and the secret spaces of London, Shigidi and Nneoma will encounter old acquaintances, rival gods, strange creatures, and manipulative magicians as they are drawn into a web of revenge, spirit business, and a spectacular heist across two worlds that will change Shigidi's understanding of himself forever and determine the fate of the Orisha spirit company.
This sounds like a ridiculous amount of fun, and I am so very here for SFF pulled from/inspired by African mythologies! And a brass head? How is THAT going to fit in? I don’t know, but I’m eager to find out!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 29th August 2023
Goodreads
There will be blood.
Ace of Spades meets House of Hollow in this villain origin story.
Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.
The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she's dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.
But Laure quickly learns she's not the only monster around, and her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is--monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn't catch her first.
From debut author Jamison Shea comes an edge-of-your-seat thriller that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.
I love unrepentantly monstrous girls, and it really sounds like that is exactly what Shea will be serving us in I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me! Rivers of blood and primordial monsters and god-killers?! All against the backdrop of Parisian Ballet? YES, YES, ALL THE YES!
September
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans autistic MC
Published on: 5th September 2023
Goodreads
Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.
London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.
After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.
After last year’s Hell Followed With Us, I will be auto-buying Edgmon’s books for the foreseeable future, okay? Okay. Even if they give me nightmares, which I suspect The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is absolutely going to. DON’T CARE, DEFINITELY WORTH IT!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 12th September 2023
Goodreads
Enter the bazaar of the bizarre where fate and fortunes are for sale in this high-stakes magical adventure across a London not quite like our own, perfect for fans of Neverwhere and The Night Circus.
Below Covent Garden lies the Under Market, where anything and everything has a price: a lover’s first blush, a month of honesty, five minutes of strength, a wisp of luck and fortune. As a child, Deri was sold to one of the most powerful merchants of the Under Market as a human apprentice. Now, after seventeen years of servitude and stealing his master’s secrets, Deri spots a chance to buy not only his freedom but his place amongst the Under Market’s elite.
A runaway princess escapes to the market, looking to sell her destiny. Deri knows an opportunity when he sees it and makes the bargain of the century. If Deri can sell it on, he’ll be made for life, but if he’s caught with the goods, it will cost him his freedom forever. Now that Deri has met a charming and distractingly handsome young man, and persuaded him that three dates are a suitable price for his advice and guidance, Deri realises he has more to lose than ever.
News of the princess spreads quickly and with the royal enforcers closing in, Deri finds himself the centre of his master’s unwanted attention. He’ll have to pull out all the stops to outmanoeuvre the Master Merchant, save the man he loves, make a name for himself, and possibly change the destiny of London forever.
I’m not completely sure what to expect of this one, but the synopsis we have is very cool-sounding – and I have a soft spot for magical markets of all kinds, especially ones where you can buy and sell intangible things like a first kiss or memory – or even a destiny! I really want to know all about the magical world (underworld?) Galey’s created, and also to see what the above-ground looks like; is this princess an English princess? If she is, is this set in an England with an old-school powerful monarchy, or just political figureheads? I do not know, but I want to!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Agender MC
Published on: 12th September 2023
Goodreads
The Hugo and Crawford Award-Winning Series!
The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest.
Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass--and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather’s body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor’s chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve.
But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien’s own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate. . .
The novellas of The Singing Hills Cycle are linked by the cleric Chih, but may be read in any order, with each story serving as an entrypoint.
Anything by Nghi Vo is Unmissable by default – I don’t need to know anything about one of her works except that it’s written by her! But this does sound utterly fabulous in its own right!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Achillean MC with bipolar disorder
Published on: 12th September 2023
Goodreads
Adrien Desfourneaux, professor of magic and disgraced ex-physician, has discovered a conspiracy. Someone is inflicting magical comas on the inhabitants of the massive city of Astrum, and no one knows how or why. Caught between a faction of scheming magical academics and an explosive schism in the ranks of the Astrum’s power-hungry military, Adrien is swallowed by the growing chaos. Alongside Gennady, an unruly, damaged young soldier, and Malise, a brilliant healer and Adrien’s best friend, Adrien searches for a way to stop the spreading curse before the city implodes. He must survive his own bipolar disorder, his self-destructive tendencies, and his entanglement with the man who doesn’t love him back.
I will freely admit that it was the cover for this one that first caught my eye, but the premise very much made me sit up and pay attention when I read it! I don’t have bipolar disorder myself, but the two people with the biggest impact on my life did/do, and I’ve never seen it in a fantasy novel before. So consider me massively curious!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 12th September 2023
Goodreads
Uncover a magical past that refuses to be forgotten in a world of mythical creatures and ruthless religion in this brand-new duology from the multi-award winning author of The Ninth Rain, perfect for fans of John Gwynne and Andrea Stewart.
Leven has no memory of her life before she was a soldier. The process of turning her into a Herald – a magical killing machine – was traumatic enough that it wiped her mind clean. Now, with the war won and the Imperium satisfied, she finds herself unemployed and facing a bleak future. Her fellow Heralds are disappearing, and her own mind seems to be coming apart at the seams. Strange visions, memories she shouldn’t have, are resurfacing, and none of them make any sense. They show her Brittletain, the ancient and mysterious island that the Imperium was never able to tame. Leven resolves to go to this place of magic and warring queens, with the hope of finding who she really is.
Envoy Kaeto has done a number of important little jobs for the Imperium, most of them nasty, all of them in the shadows. His newest assignment is to escort the bone-crafter Gynid Tyleigh as she travels across the Imperium – as the woman responsible for creating the Heralds, his employers owe her a great deal. But Tyleigh’s ambition alarms even Kaeto, and her conviction that she has found a new source of Titan bones, buried deep in the earth, could lead to another, even bloodier war.
Ynis was raised by the griffins, and has never seen another human face. She lives wild, as they do, eating her meat raw and flying with her talon-sister, T’rook. The griffins fiercely protect their isolation – the piles of skulls that litter the mountains of Brittletain are testament to that – but the magic they guard will always make them a target for the greed of men. By choosing not to kill Ynis when she was just a baby, the griffins may have doomed themselves – because the girl’s past is coming for her, and it carries a lethal blade.
I’ve massively enjoyed Williams’ previous books, and this sounds ridiculously awesome! A girl raised by griffins?! SO MUCH YES!
And you can now read an excerpt and some of the author’s thoughts over on Fantasy Hive!
Genres: Fantasy, Sci Fi, Science Fantasy
Published on: 19th September 2023
Goodreads
A genre-bending mashup of The Wizard of Oz and Dune
All Caralee Vinnet has ever know is dust. Her whole world is made up of the stuff; water is the most precious thing in the cosmos. Those who can control the few elements left rule the world. But the world was not always a dust bowl and the green is not all lost.
And Caralee has a secret—she can draw up power from the sand even though she isn’t supposed to. But she does… and winds up summoning a monster. Who happens to be the former god-king who broke the world 800 years ago and is bent on finishing the task.
Or maybe saving the world. He hasn’t decided if it’s worth the trouble, though.
Sandymancer is a funhouse fantastical Dorothy in Oz story with failed gods, dust magic, and murderous gigantic steel ravens. You think you are in a fantasy tale… and then you come to realize that what you are really in is one amazing science fiction story.
Edison won me as a fan FOREVER with his mindblowingly weird and epic The Waking Engine, and I have been patiently waiting for more of his books. Sandymancer sounds like everything I could have hoped for!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer cast, MC with fibromyalgia
Published on: 26th September 2023
Goodreads
Be gay, solve crime, take naps—A witty and quirky fantasy murder mystery if a folkloric world of witches, faeires, vampires, trolls and ghosts, for fans of Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey and T. J. Klune's Under the Whispering Door.
A magical serial killer is stalking the Occult town of Wrackton. Hypnotic whistling causes victims to chew their own tongues off, leading to the killer being dubbed the Whistler (original, right?). But outside the lack of taste buds and the strange magical carvings on the victims’ torsos, the murderer leaves no evidence. No obvious clues. No reason – or so it seems.
Enter the Undetectables, a detective agency run by three witches and a ghost in a cat costume (don’t ask). They are hired to investigate the murders, but with their only case so far left unsolved, will they be up to the task? Mallory, the forensic science expert, is struggling with pain and fatigue from her recently diagnosed fibromyalgia. Cornelia, the team member most likely to go rogue and punch a police officer, is suddenly stirring all sorts of feelings in Mallory. Diana, the social butterfly of the group, is hitting up all of her ex-girlfriends for information. And not forgetting ghostly Theodore – deceased, dramatic, and also the agency’s first dead body and unsolved murder case.
With bodies stacking up and the case leading them to mysteries at the very heart of magical society, can the Undetectables find the Whistler before they become the killer’s next victims?
I mean… ‘Be Gay. Solve Crimes. Take naps.’ is really all I need to hear. It definitely doesn’t hurt that it’s featuring a character with fibro, though! I’m not sure if I want more fibro rep, exactly, but I definitely don’t turn it down when it’s on offer!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 26th September 2023
Goodreads
The first book in a wildly inventive and mesmerizing new fantasy series from acclaimed author Josiah Bancroft where magical mysteries abound and only one team can solve them: The Hexologists. “Bancroft is a magician.” — Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Circe
The Hexologists, Iz and Warren Wilby, are quite accustomed to helping desperate clients with the bugbears of city life. Aided by hexes and a bag of charmed relics, the Wilbies have recovered children abducted by chimney-wraiths, removed infestations of barb-nosed incubi, and ventured into the Gray Plains of the Unmade to soothe a troubled ghost. Well-acquainted with the weird, they never shy away from a challenging case. But when they are approached by the royal secretary and told the king pleads to be baked into a cake—going so far as to wedge himself inside a lit oven—the Wilbies soon find themselves embroiled in a mystery that could very well see the nation turned on its head. Their effort to expose a royal secret buried under forty years of lies brings them nose to nose with a violent anti-royalist gang, avaricious ghouls, alchemists who draw their power from a hell-like dimension, and a bookish dragon who only occasionally eats people.
Armed with a love toughened by adversity and a stick of chalk that can conjure light from the darkness, hope from the hopeless, Iz and Warren Wilby are ready for whatever springs from the alleys, graves, and shadows next.
I just love the idea of a couple solving magical crimes together. And I’m a fan of established relationships in fiction – I’m kind of over reading about people falling in love; I want to see people being in love, you know? Plus, everything else about this sounds wonderful as well!
October
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Nonbinary MCs
Published on: 1st October 2023
Goodreads
"Wait—rewind. I was still a girl back then, before the universes converged."
Guided by premonitions and a fateful car ride, a burned-out retail worker stumbles into the grand exit from womanhood. Meanwhile, in a galaxy not so far away, an alien prince goes rogue with his sentient spaceship, seeking purpose in the great glimmering void. As the two of them come together in a fusion of mind and body, they must reckon with the identities that have been assigned to them.
Tender and daring, Pluralities is a slipstream-meets-space-adventure story honouring the long and turbulent journey into gender euphoria.
HI YES I WANT EVERYTHING AVI SILVER EVER WRITES PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC
Published on: 3rd October 2023
Goodreads
In the much anticipated sequel to Hild, Nicola Griffith’s Menewood transports readers back to seventh-century Britain, a land of rival kings and religions poised for epochal change. Hild is no longer the bright child who made a place in Edwin Overking's court with her seemingly supernatural insight. She is eighteen, honed and tested, the formidable Lady of Elmet, now building her personal stronghold in the valley of Menewood.
But Edwin needs his most trusted advisor. Old alliances are fraying. Younger rivals are snapping at his heels. War is brewing—bitter war, winter war. Not knowing who to trust he becomes volatile and unpredictable. Hild begins to understand the true extent of the chaos ahead, and now she must navigate the turbulence and fight to protect both the kingdom and her own people. She will face the losses and devastation of total war, and then she must find a new strength, the implacable determination to forge a radically different path for herself and her people. In the valley, her last redoubt, her community slowly takes root. She trains herself and her unexpected allies in new ways of thinking as she prepares for one last wager: risking all on a single throw for a better future…
In the last decade, Hild has become a beloved classic of epic storytelling. Menewood picks up where that journey left off, and exceeds it in every way.
IT’S TIME TO REREAD HILD, MY FRIENDS, BECAUSE MENEWOOD IS LESS THAN A YEAR AWAY!!! Hild is one of the most gorgeous books I’ve ever read, and I think I speak for everyone who’s read it when I say OMFG WE ARE SO VERY BLESSED! I have no idea what’s going to happen in Menewood, but I have no doubt whatsoever that I’m going to love every moment of it!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Gay trans MC, trans love interest
Published on: 3rd October 2023
Goodreads
Boldly weird, cool, and confident, this YA novel of LGBTQ+ teen artists, activists, and telepathic visionaries offers hope against climate and community destruction. From the National Book Award–longlisted author of Out of Salem.
James Goldman, self-described neurotic goth gay transsexual stoner, is a senior in high school, and fully over it. He mostly ignores his classes at Cow Pie High, instead focusing on fundraising for the near-bankrupt local LGBTQ+ youth support group, Compton House, and attending punk shows with his friend-crush Ian and best friend Opal. But when James falls in love with Orsino, a homeschooled trans boy with telepathic powers and visions of the future, he wonders if the scope of what he believes possible is too small. Orsino, meanwhile, hopes that in James he has finally found someone who will be able to share the apocalyptic visions he has had to keep to himself, and better understand the powers they hold.
How to Get Over the End of the World confirms Hal Schrieve as a unique and to-be-celebrated voice in LGBTQ+ YA fiction with this multi-voiced story about flawed people trying their hardest to make a better world, about the beauty and craziness of hope, about too-big dreams and reality checks, and about the ways in which human messiness—egos, jealousy, insecurity—and good faith can coexist. It also about preserving the ties within a chosen family—and maybe saving the world—through love, art, and acts of resistance.
Schrieve wrote the amazing, and criminally under-known Out of Salem, which I loved so much it went on my Best of the Decade list. So it goes without saying that I WHOOPED when I learned we were getting a knew book from hir! How to Get Over the End of the World sounds fabulous, and I can’t wait to read it!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Published on: 3rd October 2023
Goodreads
Bestselling authors Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey have teamed up to deliver a dark new story with magic, monsters, and mayhem, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill.
Julie Crews is a coked-up, burnt-out thirty-something who packs a lot of magic into her small body. She’s been trying to establish herself in the NYC magic scene, and she’ll work the most gruesome gigs to claw her way to the top.
Julie is desperate for a quick career boost to break the dead-end grind, but her pleas draw the attention of an eldritch god who is hungry for revenge. Her power grab sets off a deadly chain of events that puts her closest friends – and the entire world – directly in the path of annihilation.
The first explosive adventure in the Carrion City Duology, The Dead Take the A Train fuses Khaw’s cosmic horror and Kadrey’s gritty fantasy into a full-throttle thrill ride straight into New York’s magical underbelly.
Khaw’s prose and imagination mean I’m nabbing every book they write, or co-write! Is this another book that may give me nightmares??? Probably – the excerpt from chapter one that was posted on Tor.com was enough to make me queasy! But I’m very sure it’ll be worth it!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Published on: 3rd October 2023
Goodreads
A story full of elemental magic
It tells a tale about how an emissary from the Spirit of Nature arrives in the early days of industrialization, in the form of a young troll, to judge humanity's fitness for survival, or to doom us to extinction. The evil intrigues of men bent on eradicating the last of the trolls are offset by profound epiphanies as Ogden grows and matures from a callow babe in the woods into a burly troll who communes with the spirits of Nature. Through many adventures he learns the similarities and differences between the black magic of men conjured through deceit and clever technology and the life-affirming magic of Nature expressed in ways mysterious and infinite. Ogden is a unique fantasy novel set in the 18th century, full of magical creatures, learning, and love.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across this – I first saw it mentioned on r/Fantasy a few months ago as ‘one of the most unique fantasies ever’…and then it’s being reissued this year! Very convenient. And between the official blurb and what the original poster said about it on reddit (which I would link to if I could find it!) I’m very curious to see what Ogden is like!
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Representation: Bisexual MC
Published on: 24th October 2023
Goodreads
The second in Ed McDonald’s Chronicles of Redwinter, full of shady politics, militant monks, ancient powers... and a young woman navigating a world in which no one is quite what they seem.
The power of the Sixth Gate grows stronger within Raine each day—to control it, she needs lessons no living Draoihn can teach her. Her fledgling friendships are tested to breaking point as she tries to face what she has become, and her master Ulovar is struck by a mysterious sickness that slowly saps the vitality from his body, leaving Raine to face her growing darkness alone. There’s only one chance to turn the tide of power surging within her—to learn the secrets the Draoihn themselves purged from the world
The book can teach her. She doesn’t know where she found it, or when exactly, but its ever changing pages whisper power that has lain untouched for centuries.
As the king’s health fails and the north suffers in the grip of famine, rebellious lords hunger for the power of the Crown, backed by powers that would see the Crowns undone. Amidst this growing threat, Raine’s former friend Ovitus brings a powerful new alliance, raising his status and power of his own. He professes support for the heir to the throne even as others would see him take it for himself, and desperately craves Raine’s forgiveness—or her submission.
But the grandmaster has her own plans for Raine, and the deadly training she has been given has not been conducted carelessly. In Raine she seeks to craft a weapon to launch right into her enemy’s heart, as Redwinter seeks to hold onto power.
Amidst threats old and new, Raine must learn the secrets promised by the book, magic promised by a queen with a crown of feathers. A queen to whom Raine has promised more than she can afford to give…
The first book in this series, Daughter of Redwinter, was one of my favourites of 2022, so of course I’m dying to get my hands on the sequel! There are so many questions that need answering, not LEAST of which what on earth Raine is going to do next! I NEED THOSE ANSWERS SIR!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F
Published on: 24th October 2023
Goodreads
A warrior of the beleaguered Eceni tribe, Herla fights alongside her lover, Boudica, to free her people from the yoke of Rome. In exchange for the power to drive the empire from Britain, she makes a desperate pact with Gwyn ap Nudd, king of the Otherworld. But time passes differently there. When Herla and her warband return to the world, they find Boudica long dead and the Eceni people scattered.
Cursed to carry Gwyn’s black blade, Herla becomes Lord of the Hunt. For centuries, she sleeps beneath Glastonbury Tor, waking when the moon is old to ride and reap the souls of any who cross her path. Until the night she meets a woman on a bloody battlefield, a Saxon queen with ice-blue eyes, and a heart as fierce as Boudica’s.
An experienced commander, Æthelburg of Wessex fights to gain the respect of the men around her. When a battle she leads goes disastrously wrong, political forces begin to move against her, driving a wedge between Æthel and her husband, King Ine.
Yet Ine needs Æthel’s support more than ever. The dead kings of Wessex are waking, and his own brother seeks to usurp him. As Britons in his kingdom start dying, Ine realises his only hope is to master the power that has lain dormant in his bloodline since the days of Constantine, the legendary king of Dumnonia. But the Christian Church has grown powerful, and magic in Wessex is heresy.
When their paths cross, Herla knows it is not coincidence. At the heart of it all is Gwyn ap Nudd, the shadowy figure from her past. As Samhain approaches – weakening the walls between worlds – and she and Æthel grow closer, Herla must find the courage to remember the person she once was, and a way to break Gwyn’s curse before it is too late.
An F/F tale built around the Wild Hunt? Are you kidding me? Of course I need to read this!
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 31st October 2023
Goodreads
The first epic fantasy from David R. Slayton, author of the Adam Binder series, Dark Moon, Shallow Sea is a powerful story of divine betrayal, ghosts, and mystery, perfect for fans of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.
Raef seeks revenge on the knights of the sun god for murdering his goddess, the moon. Her death stopped the tides, darkened the night sky, and left the shades of the dead without a path to the underworld. Now they rise each night in a blood-hungry mist that threatens to overwhelm the living.
So Raef sneaks into the crypt of the sun god's temple, expecting to steal some bones or jewels, but instead encounters a coffin containing a living man, Kinos, who is fast asleep. Unable to discern his importance, but obsessed with the mystery of it, Raef steals Kinos.
As they run from the knights--and grow closer--Raef starts to believe he's finally found a friend, lover, and perhaps a secret that will lead to his goddess's return. But if they can't solve the mystery of Kinos's imprisonment soon, the moon will never rise and the world will drown in ghosts.
I’m very excited to see Slayton’s take on Epic Fantasy – it certainly sounds like he knows what he’s doing here. Murdered goddesses and vengeful knights? STEALING A LIVING DUDE OUT OF A GOD’S CRYPT? Making me wait until October for this is just RUDE!
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 31st October 2023
Goodreads
In 17th-century London, unnatural babies are being born: some with eyes made for the dark, others with webbed fingers and toes better suited to the sea.
Sarah Davis is intimately familiar with such strangeness—she herself was born marked by uncanniness. Having hidden her nature all her life and fled to London under suspicious circumstances, Sarah starts over as a midwife’s apprentice, hoping to carve out for herself an independent life. As a member of the illegal Worshipful Company of Midwives, Sarah learns to reach across the thinning boundary between her world and another, drawing on its power to heal and protect the women she serves.
When the wealthy Lady Wren hires her to see her through her pregnancy, Sarah quickly becomes a favorite of her husband, the famous architect Lord Christopher Wren, whose interest in the uncanny borders on obsession. Sarah soon finds herself caught in a web of magic and intrigue created by those who would use the magic of the Other World to gain power for themselves, and whose pursuits threaten to unmake the earth itself.
I continue to experiment with horror, and it certainly does not hurt when you proffer me up a queer MC. Everything about this sounds creepy-amazing! Illegal midwives, Other Worlds, and sea-monster babies??? I’m immediately hooked!
November
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Black queer MCs
Published on: 7th November 2023
In We Are the Crisis--the second book in the Convergence Saga from award-winning author Cadwell Turnbull--humans and monsters come into conflict in a magical and dangerous world as civil rights collide with preternatural forces.
In this highly anticipated sequel, set a few years after No Gods, No Monsters, humanity continues to grapple with the revelation that supernatural beings exist. A werewolf pack investigates the strange disappearances of former members and ends up unraveling a greater conspiracy, while back on St. Thomas, a hurricane approaches and a political debate over monster's rights ignites tensions in the local community.
Meanwhile, New Era--a pro-monster activist group--works to build a network between monsters and humans, but their mission is threatened by hate crimes perpetrated by a human-supremacist group known as the Black Hand. And beneath it all two ancient orders escalate their conflict, revealing dangerous secrets about the gods and the very origins of magic in the universe.
Told backward and forward in time as events escalate and unravel, We Are the Crisis is a brilliant contemporary fantasy that takes readers on an immersive and thrilling journey.
No Gods, No Monsters absolutely rocked, so I am more than slightly excited to be getting the sequel! I wonder if we’ll start getting answers in this one?
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Mexican cast
Published on: 7th November 2023
Goodreads
Mexican history and Mesoamerican mythology meet in this thrilling historical fantasy with magic, intrigue, treachery, romance, and adventure.
The empire of Montezuma II has long fallen, a city raised on the bones of Tenochtitlan. None dare whisper the names of their gods- or speak of the magic that once graced the land, of the witches who hunted as jaguars, the warriors who soared as eagles.
Until a new name emerges- a curse on the lips of the Spanish, a hero in the hearts of the people. A masked vigilante, a sorceress with a blade.
Pantera
But that is not her only name. To all who know her, Leonora de Las Casas Tlazohtzin is a glittering jewel of court, promised to the heir of the Spanish throne. The respectable Lady Leonora faints at the sight of blood and would sooner be caught dead than wield a sword…even against a dauntless thief with a cutting smile.
No one suspects that Leonora and Pantera are one and the same. Leonora has fooled them all, and, with magic of her ancestors running through her veins, she is nearly invincible- until an ancient prophecy of destruction threatens, and she is forced to decide: surrender the mask or her life. But the legendary Pantera is destined for more than an early grave, and once she discovers the truth of her origins, not even death will stop her.
A Zoro re-imagining where Zoro is a sorceress as well as a swordmaster? That – yeah, I don’t need any more details. I’m sold. I’m sold SO HARD.
Genres: Sci Fi
Published on: 14th November 2023
Goodreads
It’s thirty years from now. We’re making progress, mitigating climate change, slowly but surely. But what about all the angry old people who can’t let go?
For young Americans a generation from now, climate change isn't controversial. It's just an overwhelming fact of life. And so are the great efforts to contain and mitigate it. Entire cities are being moved inland from the rising seas. Vast clean-energy projects are springing up everywhere. Disaster relief, the mitigation of floods and superstorms, has become a skill for which tens of millions of people are trained every year. The effort is global. It employs everyone who wants to work. Even when national politics oscillates back to right-wing leaders, the momentum is too great; these vast programs cannot be stopped in their tracks.
But there are still those Americans, mostly elderly, who cling to their red baseball caps, their grievances, their huge vehicles, their anger. To their "alternative" news sources that reassure them that their resentment is right and pure and that "climate change" is just a giant scam.
And they're your grandfather, your uncle, your great-aunt. And they're not going anywhere. And they’re armed to the teeth.
The Lost Cause asks: What do we do about people who cling to the belief that their own children are the enemy? When, in fact, they're often the elders that we love?
Doctorow is an incredible guy with an incredible mind, and I’ve loved his non-fic as much as his novels. Lost Cause sounds…amazing and terrifying in equal measure? Relevant as hell? A little too pointed? I don’t know whether to hope he’s written this as a straight-up thriller kind of thing, or if it’s an exploration of possible solutions, like a lot of his sci-fi is. But I know I’m definitely going to be reading it!
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Achillean MC, queernorm world
Published on: 14th November 2023
Goodreads
Strap in for a thrilling adventure in the sequel to Davinia Evans's wickedly entertaining debut fantasy that follows our favorite irreverent alchemists, high society ladies, and swashbuckling street gangs as they wrestle with the nature of reality itself.
Siyon Velo might be acknowledged as the Alchemist. He may have even stabilized the planes and stopped Bezim from ever shaking into the sea again. But that doesn’t mean he has any idea what’s he doing—and it won’t be long before everyone knows it.
Then, a djinn makes a surprise appearance at a garden party and mythical creatures once confined to stories and plays are spotted around the city. Magic is waking up in the Mundane. It’s up to Siyon to figure out a way to stop it, or everything he’s worked hard to save will come crashing down.
Praise for Notorious Sorcerer:
"I loved getting lost in this dazzling debut." ―Shannon Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass“A firework of a fantasy novel: vibrant, explosive, deliciously dangerous, and impossibly fun.” ―Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne
"Sheer, glorious fun!" ―Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light
IT’S THE SEQUEL TO NOTORIOUS SORCERER!!! I loved that book, and I’m so delighted we’re getting the sequel already this year! I feel so spoiled.
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Brown nonbinary pansexual MC
Published on: 21st November 2023
Goodreads
These are the voyages of the Starship Glam. The further adventures of Dess and Mira and Oort, and introducing Marvin the half-human, half-Esca ingenue on drums. Earth is safe, for the moment, and taking its first steps into the greater galactic community—you know that won’t go well. Another Grand Prix is always right around the corner. And of course, other possibly-sentient species can emerge at any time…
PRETTY SURE THEY CAN HEAR ME SCREECHING FOR JOY FROM MARS! I stumbled across the entry for this on Edelweiss and COULD NOT BE HAPPIER! I will of course read and adore everything and anything Valente writes, now and forever, but the sequel to Space Opera?! AHHHHH LIFE IS GOOD!!!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Nonbinary Seminole MC, trans secondary character
Published on: 28th November 2023
Goodreads
Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Known for being their peers’ queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who’s a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn.
But even Enzo doesn’t know about Gem’s dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence that have always felt too real. So how the hell does Willa Mae Hardy? The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions, and seems to know things about them they’ve never told anyone else.
When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life and finally offers some answers. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who’ve known and loved each other across lifetimes. But Gem – or at least who Gem used to be - hasn’t always been the most benevolent deity. They’ve made a lot of enemies in the pantheon—enemies who, like the Goddess of Death, will keep coming.
It’s a good thing they’ve still got Enzo. But as worlds collide and the past catches up with the present, Gem will discover that everyone has something to hide.
Reincarnated gods are my jam, and I’m really excited to see which pantheon or pantheons Edgmon’s going to use for this series (perhaps an entirely new, made-for-this-series pantheon??? I can only hope!) Really, absolutely everything about this premise sounds amazing to me!
December
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Brown cast, gay MCs, M/M
Published on: 5th December 2023
Goodreads
The follow-up to Foz Meadows's A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, a sultry political & romantic fantasy exploring gender, sexuality, identity, and self-worth.
With the plot against them foiled and the city of Qi-Katai in safe hands, Velasin and Caethari have begun to test the waters of their relationship. But the wider political ramifications of their marriage are still playing out across two nations, and all too soon, they’re summoned north to Tithena’s capital city, Qi-Xihan, to present themselves to its monarch.
With Caethari newly invested as his grandmother’s heir and Velasin’s old ghosts gnawing at his heels, what little peace they’ve managed to find is swiftly put to the test. Cae’s recent losses have left him racked with grief and guilt, while Vel struggles with the disconnect between instincts that have kept him safe in secrecy and what an open life requires of him now.
Pursued by unknown assailants and with Qi-Xihan’s court factions jockeying for power, Vel and Cae must use all the skills at their disposal to not only survive, but thrive – because there’s more than one way to end an alliance, and more than one person who wants to see them fail.
I had a tiny kernel of hope that we were going to get more books in this verse when I saw that A Strange and Stubborn Endurance was listed as ‘book one in the Tithenai Chronicles’ on Am@zon a while back – and TA DAAAAAAAA, WE’RE GETTING A SEQUEL!!! I’m so glad, because I loved these characters and this world, and can’t wait to see more of both!
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Nonbinary/genderqueer Arabic MC
Published on: 5th December 2023
Goodreads
“Women, of course, can not be sons of God,”
In the village of Nazareth, virgin Maryam and the wife of Yosef barLevi gives birth to a miracle: a little girl. She is named Avigayil, after her grandmother.
But as Avigayil grows, it’s clear she believes that she is destined to be someone greater than just the daughter of Maryam. From leading a gang of village boys to challenging the priests in the temple, Avigayil is determined to find her way as Yeshu, a man.
Yeshu can work miracles. He can see futures. He can speak for God.
A gripping, thoughtful sci-fi novel, tackling family, the multiverse and the survival of love through immense change and crisis.
I haven’t come across Ryman before, but HIM sounds incredibly interesting – nonbinary/genderqueer Jesus??? HI YES I NEED VERY MUCH THANK YOU!!!
I am sure there will be many, many more incredible books in 2023 than the ones I’ve gathered here, but even with just these, I think we can say it will be another most excellent book year!
