Must Read Queer Fantasy Books - The Bookish Mom (2024)

Looking for the best queer fantasy books to add to your reading list? Check out these gay fantasy books with amazing LGTBQ+ representation.

In the world of fantasy, for some reason, it seems like there are mainly straight romantic relationships. That really isn’t the case at the moment though, and fantasy has really started to become a much more diverse genre. There are some fantastic gay fantasy books with excellent LGTBQ+ representation within them. If you are looking for them, then you can find them right here in a nice little list for you.

Now, these are not romance books. Nor are they even really “fantasy romance”. Most of these books I am going to recommend to you have queer romance as a subplot. I personally don’t tend to read books that have romance as the main plot, so make sure you keep that in mind when you are going through this list.

These books are first and foremost, fantasy books (with a little sci-fi thrown in for fun). If you are looking for books that are more romance-heavy, these may not be for you. But if you want books that have beautiful LGBTQ romances as a subplot in a fantasy book, then these will be right up your alley.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Starting out with the lightest of the romances we have Renegades by Marissa Meyer. This YA superhero book series is super cute. not only does it have great friendships and a cute young romance, but it also has a main character with two amazing dads.

One of our main superheroes has two gay fathers, and it is beautifully done. I love how their relationship is written, and I especially love how their parenting is shown.

Something I think YA fantasy is missing, in general, is good parental figures. These fathers are shown as loving their kids and in a healthy and loving relationship with each other.

Even better, the fact that they are gay is not even a big deal in this world. It is what it is and no one even mentions it, which honestly I love.

Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Moving on from a book where the romance is a side character to an LQBT fantasy where the romance is between the two central characters, we have The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. This is a newer YA fantasy that borders much more on adult fantasy.

We follow two women. An imprisoned sister to the emperor who is meant to be executed, and a maidservant who is in hiding due to escaping a genocidal event in her youth. This book is an Indian-inspired fantasy with a queer enemies-to-lovers trope that is so well done.

Not only do we have a slow-burn sapphic romance, but we also have forbidden magic, revolution, and a whole lot of politics! This book can be described as slower-paced, but it does an excellent job of worldbuilding and connecting you with the characters.

Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Next up we have a standalone male/male fantasy romance book. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is a stunningly beautiful gay fantasy book. This isn’t a book for everyone though due to the unique way it is written.

This book is what I would say is very flowery. It is purple prose at its finest, almost poetic in nature. There are stories within stories and honestly, you will be confused for most of your reading experience. If that is okay with you though, it is a beautiful book where you can just enjoy the ride.

We follow Zachary, a college student who finds a story about his own childhood in a strange book in his school library. He decides to find out everything he can about this book, which leads him to a magical and mysterious secret society that will change his life forever.

House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Another one of my favorite male/male fantasy romance books, House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is another beautiful standalone. While many of the books on this list aren’t as focused on romance, I think this one would be the most romance-focused.

We follow Linus, a social worker who works with magical children. Linus is a boring man, nothing special and nothing adventurous. His world is flipped upside down when he is assigned to look into a magical orphanage filled with potentially dangerous children. He must spend a month at the home with the children and their keeper.

This book is sweet and wholesome and just overall adorable.

The Disasters by MK England

So this one isn’t a queer fantasy book. It is a queer sci-fi book. The Disasters by MK England is a gem of a YA sci-fi.

We follow a group of students as they are being sent home from a prestigious space academy… on their first day! They all wash out for one reason or another, but while they are waiting on the shuttle to leave, the school is attacked. Everyone in the school is killed but they are able to get away. Now they are on the run and have to learn to work together to save themselves and possibly the galaxy.

When we think of representation, this book has it all! We have a bi-male main character, a trans female, and a gay man. We also have some awesome anxiety representation in this book as well. Not only is it super-inclusive, but it is also just a fun space romp with a group of misfits.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

This book is a little darker than some of the others mentioned on this list. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan is a darker YA fantasy book with a sapphic relationship between the main characters.

This isn’t a light and fluffy LGBT fantasy book. Before deciding to pick this one up, please look into the trigger warnings. In this world, there are three castes of people. There are regular humans, human-demon hybrids, and demons. Demons rule the world. Every year, the demon king picks human girls from his kingdom to serve as his concubines. This year though, one of the girls decides that enough is enough and she is determined to break the system.

If you want a good romance in a dark world with forbidden love and revolution, pick this series up.

Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler

The first book in an older-leaning YA fantasy series, Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler is a wild ride. This again has a female/female relationship between the two main characters.

In this world, magic users are conscripted by the crown. Our main character evades this for years while living as a gang enforcer and supporting her younger sister. One day she is caught and with her sister’s life being threatened, she is forced to undertake a dangerous mission to steal an unstealable ghost ship that is filled with magic users who are sent there every year as sacrifices.

Again, romance is not the main element, but it is a really lovely side plot within the story.

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

The Crown of Feathers series is much more romance heavy than most of the other queer fantasy books on this list. While what I consider to be the central romance is straight, one of the relationships between a secondary PoV character is a male/male relationship.

This is a world where magic is illegal. Magic users, those who can communicate with animals, are found and either killed or conscripted to work for the crown. We follow Veronyka, a magic user who longs to be a phoenix rider. She ends up disguising herself as a boy and working for a group of hidden phoenix riders.

This book is filled with romance, forbidden magic, secret heirs, and revolution!

She Who Became the Sun by Chelly Parker Chan

While I could put quite a few more books on this list (as you can see from my video up above that talks about a few more queer fantasy books), She Who Became the Sun is the last one we are going to talk about today.

This is another female/female romance in a brutal world. I won’t go into a lot of detail about the book here because I do have a full spoiler-free She Who Became the Sun review that you can check out if you want to know more.

Just know that this is a fictional ancient China where a girl takes on the persona of her dead brother in order to reach for greatness.

While this is by no means a comprehensive list of gay fantasy books, it is quite a few of my personal favorites. If you have any queer fantasy books that you would like to recommend, let me know in the comments so I can add a few more to my reading list for the year.

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