Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy: A Booklist - Updated 2025 | Northern Onondaga Public Library

The great list of LGBTQ+ Sci-fi and Fantasy returns! Erin Cassidy, the Branch Manager at NOPL Brewerton, presents a reprised list of fantasy and sci-fi books with queer leads from the NOPL collections. The likes of such a list have not been seen since 2023! There are so many awesome Science Fiction and Fantasy titles with queer leads and featured characters coming out this year, so we are encouraging you to catch up on these excellent series (and singles!) in advance of the newest releases. As in the previous list, I have provided a list of one-off novels at the end if commitment or anticipation aren’t your thing.

I have curated this list with a few more rules in mind this time around: only current items and series are included, that means items published in the last 5 years or series with a recent installment in at least the last 5 years. This is your last chance to catch some of these titles on the list before they disappear from future iterations! You may also notice some items that were in the singles category have been moved to their corresponding series list. When a sequel is announced, titles are moved to reflect the updated information. I have also endeavored to include series by authors on the list that I overlooked previously. Happy reading and I hope you find a new book-based alternate world, time, or space sector to enjoy!

Here are some helpful hints: titles that are linked below are in the NOPL collections; titles with a “hold” link after them are in the OCPL collection and can be placed on hold by following the link. A title in a series list without numbers usually indicates that the title is only available in an electronic format. Titles in this list may feature adult themes and situations including violence, trauma, peril, and horror.

Titles with a ★ are Erin’s not-to-be-missed selections.

FANTASY: (the powerful and powered)

Print Series:

Mistress of Lies and Daughter of Izdihar

(NOPL’s print copy is linked from title; if NOPL does not own a print copy but OCPL does, a hold link is provided after the date):

Age of Blood by K M Enright

#1 Mistress of Lies (2024)
#2 Lord of Ruin (Aug. 2025)

Alamaxa Duology by Hadeer Elsbai

#1 The Daughters of Izdihar (2023)
#2 The Weavers of Alamaxa (2024, hold)

Atlas by Olivie Blake

Prequel: Sacred Hospitality (2022)
#1 The Atlas Six (2020)
#2 The Atlas Paradox (2022 eBook, eAudio)
#3 The Atlas Complex (2024 eBook, eAudio)

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

#1 The Chosen and the Beautiful (2021)
#2 Don’t Sleep with the Dead (Apr. 2025)

Crimson Sails by Katee Robert

#1 Hunt on Dark Waters (2023, leads not queer)
#2 Blood on the Tide (2024 eBook, eAudio)
#3 Rebel in the Deep (May 2025)

Dark Lord Davi by Django Wexler

#1 How to Become the Dark Lord (and Die Trying) (2024 eBook, eAudio)
#2 Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Except Me) (May 2025)

Dark Star Trilogy by Marlon James

#1 Black Leopard, Red Wolf (2019 eAudio)
#2 Moon Witch, Spider King (2022)

Dowry of Blood by S T Gibson

#1 A Dowry of Blood (2021 eBook, hold)
#2 An Education in Malice (2024 eBook, eAudio)

The Dragon Heart Legacy by Nora Roberts

#1 The Awakening (2020 eBook, eAudio)
#2 The Becoming (2021 eBook, eAudio)
#3 The Choice (2022 eBook, eAudio)

Dragon Scales by L R Lam

#1 Dragonfall (2023 eBook)
#2 Emberclaw (Mar. 2025)

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

#1 Faebound (2023 eBook, hold)|
#2 Cursebound (Feb. 2025)

Fractured Fables by Alix E Harrow

#1 A Spindle Splintered (2021)
#2 A Mirror Mended (2022)

Last Binding Series by Freya Marske

#1 A Marvelous Light (2021 eBook, eAudio)
#2 A Restless Truth (2022)
#3 A Power Unbound (2023 eBook, eAudio)

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

#1 Legends & Lattes (2022 eBook, eAudio) ★
#2 Bookshops & Bonedust (2023 eBook, eAudio)
#3 Brigands & Breadknives (Nov. 2025)

Magic of the Lost Series by C. L. Clark

#1 The Unbroken (2021 eBook)
#2 The Faithless (2023)
#3 The Sovereign (Sep. 2025)

Mirror Realm Cycle by Ariel Kaplan

#1 The Pomegranate Gate (2023 eBook)
#2 The Republic of Salt (2024 eBook)

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

#1 Mortal Follies (2023 eAudio)
#2 Confounding Oaths (2024, hold)

Nameless Republic by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

#1 Son of the Storm (2021)
#2 Warrior of the Wind (2023, hold)
#3 Season of the Serpent (forthcoming 2025)

Radiant Emperor Series by Shelley Parker-Chan

#1 She Who Became the Sun (2021 eBook, eAudio)
#2 He Who Drowned the World (2023 eBook, eAudio)

Rages Trilogy by Kritika H Rao

#1 The Surviving Sky (2023)
#2 The Unrelenting Earth (2024)

Rising World by Martha Wells

#1 Witch King (2024 ebook)
#2 Queen Demon (Oct. 2025)

Roots of Chaos Series by Samantha Shannon

#1 The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019 eBook)
Prequel: A Day of Fallen Night (2023 eBook, eAudio)
#2 Among the Buring Flowers (Sep. 2025)

Serpent Gates Series by A. K. Larkwood

#1 The Unspoken Name (2020 eAudio)
#2 The Thousand Eyes (2022, hold)

Shadow of the Leviathan by Robert Jackson Bennett

#1 The Tainted Cup (2024 eBook)
#2 A Drop of Corruption (Apr. 2025)

Tithenai Chronicles by Foz Meadows

#1 A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (2022 eAudio)
#2 All the Hidden Paths (2023 eBook, hold)

Tainted Cup and Strange and Stubborn Endurance book covers side by side

Tomes & Tea Cozy Fantasies by Rebecca Thorne

#1 Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea (2022 eBook)
#2 A Pirate’s Life for Tea (2023)
#3 Tea You at the Altar (Mar. 2025, hold)
#4 Alchemy and a Cup of Tea (Aug. 2025)

Vagrant Gods Series by David Dalglish

#1 The Bladed Faith (2022)
#2 The Sapphire Altar (2023)
#3 The Slain Divine (2024)

Unnatural Magic by C M Waggoner

#1 Unnatural Magic (2019, hold)
#2 The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry (2021, eAudio)

Water Outlaws by S L Huang

The River Judge (2024)
#1 The Water Outlaws (2023)

Wayward Children Series by Seanan McGuire

#1 Every Heart a Doorway (2016 eBook, eAudio)
#2 Down Among the Sticks and Bones (2017 eBook, eAudio)
#3 Beneath the Sugar Sky (2018 eBook, eAudio)
#4 In an Absent Dream (2019 eBook, eAudio)
#5 Come Tumbling Down (2020 eBook, eAudio)
#6 Across the Green Grass Fields (2021 eBook, eAudio)
#7 Where the Drowned Girls Go (2022, hold)
#8 Lost in the Moment and Found (2023 eBook, eAudio, hold)
#9 Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (2024 eBook, eAudio)
#10 Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (2025, hold)

Wind-Up Garden Series by Rory Power

#1 In a Garden Burning Gold (2022)
#2 In an Orchard Grown from Ash (2023)
#1 The Last Hour Between Worlds (2024)
#2 The Last Soul Among Wolves (Aug. 2025)

eContent Series:

(NOPL’s electronic copy is linked from title; if NOPL does not own a print copy but OCPL does, a hold link is provided after the date.)

Birdverse by R B Lemberg

The Four Profound Weaves (2020)
The Unbalancing (2022 eBook)
Geometries of Belonging (2022 eBook)
Yoke of Stars (2024 eBook)

Chorus of Dragons Series by Jenn Lyons

#1 The Ruin of Kings (2019)
#2 The Name of All Things (2019)
#3 The Memory of Souls (2020, hold)
#4 The House of Always (2021, hold)
#5 The Discord of Gods (2022, hold)

Convergence Saga by Cadwell Turnbull

#1 No Gods, No Monsters (2021 eAudio, eBook Libby)
#2 We Are the Crisis (2023 eAudio)

Dark Gods Series by Tara Sim

#1 The City of Dusk (2022)
#2 The Midnight Kingdom (2023)
#3 The Dawn Throne (forthcoming 2025)

Echo Archives by Melissa Caruso

#1 The Last Hour Between Worlds (2024)
#2 The Last Soul Among Wolves (Aug. 2025)

Night and its Moon Series by Piper C.J.

#1 The Night and Its Moon (2022)
#1.5 A Night Without Whispers: Odrin’s Story (2022)
#2 The Sun and Its Shade (2023)
#3 The Gloom Between Stars (2023)
Wing and Arrow (2023)
A Year of Tea and Honey (2023)
Crown and Crumble (2024)
#4 The Dawn and Its Light (2024)

Signing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo

#1 The Empress of Salt and Fortune (2020 eAudio Libby, eAudio Hoopla)
#2 When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (2020 eAudio Libby, eAudio Hoopla)
#3 Into the Riverlands (2022 eAudio Hoopla)
#4 Mammoths at the Gates (2023 eAudio Hoopla)
#5 The Brides of High Hill (2024 eAudio Hoopla)
#6 A Mouthful of Dust (Oct. 2025)

Summoner’s Circle by S T Gibson

Odd Spirits (2018)
#1 Evocation (2024)
#2 Ascension (July 2025)

Wildersongs Trilogy by Maiga Doocy

#1 Sorcery and Small Magics (2024)

Singles:

(NOPL’s print copy is linked from title; if NOPL does not own a print copy but OCPL does, a hold link is provided after the date.)

A Dark and Drowning Tide (2024 eBook, eAudio)
by Allison Saft (mystery school rivalry)

The Honey Witch (2024 eBook, eAudio)
by Sydney Shields (cottage core)

Kaikeyi (2022 eBook)
by Vaishnavi Patel (mythic fantasy)

Light from Uncommon Stars (2021 eBook)
by Ryka Aoki (faustian fantasy)

The Phoenix Keeper (2024 eBook)
by S A Maclean (cozy magical beasts)

The Saint of Bright Doors (2023 eBook)
by Vajra Chandrasekera (urban fantasy)

Someone You Can Build a Nest In (2024 eBook)
by John Wiswell

Spear (2022)
by Nicola Griffith (fantasy)

A Sweet Sting of Salt (2024 eBook, eAudio)
by Rose Sutherland (mythological fiction)

Swordcrossed (2024 eBook)
by Freya Marske (swindling swordsmens)

Welcome to Forever (2024)
by Nathan Tavares (reality twister)

Wrath Goddess Sing (2022)
by Maya Deane (mythic fantasy)

Voyage of the Damned (2024 eBook, eAudio)
by Frances White

eContent Singles:

(NOPL’s electronic copy is linked from title; if NOPL does not own a print copy but OCPL does, a hold link is provided after the date)

A Botanical Daughter (2024)
by Noah Medlock (Victorian horror)

Bruising of Qilwa (2022)
by Naseem Jamina (political fantasy)

The Dead Take the A Train (2023, hold)
by Cassandra Khaw (urban fantasy)

Feed Them Silence (2023)
by Lee Mandelo (fantasy with wolves)

Godkiller (2023 eAudio)
by Hannah Kaner (fantasy)

Metal from Heaven (2024 eBook Libby)
by August Clarke (political revenge fantasy)

Running Close to the Wind (2024)
by Alexandra Rowland

Servant Mage (2022)
by Kate Elliott (fantasy)

The Sun and the Void (2023)
by Gabriela Romero Lacruz

Winter Knight (2023)
by Jes Battis (Arthurian urban fantasy)

SCIENCE FICTION: (space, stars, and strategery)

Series:

(NOPL’s print copy is linked from title; if NOPL does not own a print copy but OCPL does, a hold link is provided after the date.)

Ambit’s Ruin by L M Sagas

#1 Cascade Failure (2024)
#2 Gravity Lost (2024)

Empire Without End by Emery Robin

#1The Stars Undying (2022)
#2 The Sea Eternal (Mar. 2025)

The Graven Series by Essa Hansen

#1 Nophek Gloss (2020)
#2 Azura Ghost (2022, hold)
#3 Ethera Grave (2023)
Casthen Gain (July 2025)

The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti by Malka Older

#1 The Mimicking of Known Successes (2023 eBook) ★
#2 The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (2024)
#3 The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses (June 2025)

Kingdom Trilogy by Bethany Jacobs

#1 These Burning Stars (2023)
#2 On Vicious Worlds (2024)
#3 This Brutal Moon (forthcoming 2025)

The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir

#1 Gideon the Ninth (2019 eBook, eAudio)
#2 Harrow the Ninth (2020 eBook, eAudio)
#3 Nona the Ninth (2022 eAudio)

Monk & Robot Series by Becky Chambers

#1 A Psalm for the Wild-Built (2021 eBook, eAudio)
#2 A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (2022 eAudio)

Sun Chronicles by Kate Elliott

#1 Unconquerable Sun (2020, hold)
#2 Furious Heaven (2022, hold)
#3 Lady Chaos (2026)

Tiexcalaan Series by Arkady Martine

#1 A Memory Called Empire (2019 eBook, eAudio)
#2 A Desolation Called Peace (2021 eAudio, hold)

Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers

#1 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (2014 eBook, eAudio)
#2 A Closed and Common Orbit (2016 eBook, eAudio)
#3 Record of a Spaceborn Few (2018 eAudio)
#4 The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (2021 eBook, eAudio)

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

#1 Winter’s Orbit (2021)
#2 Ocean’s Echo (2022 eAudio, hold)