Ruying lives in a world conquered by invaders who destroyed the magic of her people. When an enemy prince discovers her ability to take the life of mortals, he offers her a deal: kill his enemies to secure the safety of her family. But can she trust his promise of a better world for all her people, or will she unwittingly risk betraying her nation to protect her loved ones?
It’s giving morally gray enemies to lovers vibes in a colonized fantasy world.
Malinalli was once the translator for conquistador Cortés, and long considered a traitor of her people. Now, she’s an immortal vampire avenging conquered peoples by reclaiming their stolen artifacts and returning them to the rightful stewards. While searching for a pair of Aztec skulls, she encounters two men - a horror novelist attracted to her condition and another immortal who shares her darkness. Immortality hasn't dulled her basic human needs, and these encounters will send her on a journey of pleasure and love.
Have a dark craving for erotic horror with a sprinkling of anti-colonial revenge? This might just scratch that itch.
This is the second book in the Reaper series. Queer BookTok has been recommending this one to me, and I just picked it up from the library last week. It promises to be a vampire versus bounty hunter fantasy romp. Remy Pendergast is the son of an elite bounty hunter and a woman who’s rumored to be a vampire, making him half-vampire and a pariah. When he befriends a vampire couple, they challenge his long-held beliefs about vampires. In book 2, he’s torn between his parent’s legacies as he navigates his relationship with the vampires.
Can’t say no to a queer gothic fantasy with vampire politics, family drama, and a zest of romance.
We’re getting another novella from P. Djèlí Clark, and I couldn’t be more excited! Eveen the Eviscerator is a deadly assassin in an ancient city, resurrected with no memories and lives by three simple rules. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city to chaos, Eveen is confronted by the past she’s forgotten and a vow given long ago.
I can’t wait for another fast-paced, creative fantasy world with fascinating characters.
This is the second book in the The Ouroboros duology. Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen who’s never been very good at being human. When they find out they’re a reincarnated god, with a sordid past and many enemies among the gods, they’re inner demons and vivid nightmares make more sense. In this conclusion to the duology, Gem and their team have to restore the balance amongst the gods and risk losing what’s left of their humanity.
A perfect pick for a queer, trans, non-binary young adult fantasy with reincarnated gods.
Sheine Lende is a prequel to Elatsoe, centering on Shane, who tracks down missing people with the help of her mother and their ghost dog. When her mother and a local boy go missing, Shane and a ragtag team of questionably loyal friends and family search through worlds and time to recover their loved ones.
For when you're in the mood for a young adult fantasy with resilient characters teaming up to save their family, no matter how complicated their relationship.
A View from the Stars is a collection of fiction and non-fiction essays by renowned science fiction author Cixin Liu. Readers will get a glimpse into Liu as a writer and a lover of science fiction. The selected short stories follow his evolution as a science fiction writer through time.
Jai is a hostage in the royal Sabine Court after his father led a failed rebellion. When chaos disrupts the court, Jai flees with a handmaiden and a stolen dragon hatchling. Jai will have to unlock the secrets of soulbounding with a dragon to secure his safety and seek revenge.
For anyone looking for an immersive, epic fantasy with dragons and magic steeped in revenge.
This is the only science fiction novel this month and when I read it was “written in the vein of Rivers Solomon and Ursula K. Le Guin,” I was pumped. I love Solomon and Le Guin. The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain follows a boy raised among the Chained, people shackled to endless labor in the hold of a spaceship. When he’s plucked from the hold and brought to the ship’s professors, he’s told he’ll receive an education. As he grows close to an ambitious professor, they navigate the realites of their respective worlds and how to harness the chains that subjugate them and can set them free.
Super pumped for a book that delves into institutional power and how it shapes people and communities.
