#LGBTQIA+ SFF

[gollancz]

The Stars Too Fondly, which will be published in hardcover in summer 2024, follows Cleo and her group of post-grad friends who break into an abandoned spaceship, only for it to start up and send them into space. The synopsis reads: "The accidental astronauts must use their considerable intellects and the reluctant assistance of the ship’s previous captain Wilhelmina Lucas – an unsettlingly accurate hologram of the woman who disappeared with her crew 20 years ago – to maybe, if they’re lucky, figure out a way to get back home. "What Cleo is prepared for least of all are the confusing feelings she develops for the captain, which show no sign of going anywhere any time soon."

Can't wait for you guys to meet the lastest entry in our frankly phenomenal Lesbians In Space collection! Also falls under our Sexy Spaceships umbrella too.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Locked Tomb series (Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, and others) by Tamsyn Muir

Endorsement from submitter #1: "An extremely fun, humorous romp! A heart-breaking, soul crushing catharsis inducing tragedy! A thoughtful piece on imperial structures and trauma. On queerness, Muir flawlessly and without announcement, cracks gender open like an egg and spills its disproven guts across the page. The Locked Tomb does it all also bones, bitch."

Endorsement from submitter #2: "Lesbian necromancers in space. So many fascinating, sort of fucked up sapphic relationships going on."

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier.

Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.

Fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, humor, series, adult

The Javelin Program by Derin Edala (Time to Orbit: Unknown series)

When Dr Aspen Greaves signed up for the Javelin Program, humanity's first foray into colonising deep space, they expected to wake up to life in a thriving colony on a distant planet. Instead, they find themself five years away from their destination on a broken spaceship full of complex mysteries, dead astronauts, and a very unhelpful AI.

Aspen wasn't trained for any of this. But if they can't keep themselves alive, get the ship in working order, and find out what went wrong by unravelling a chain of mysteries leading all the way back to distant Earth, then neither Aspen nor the five thousand sleeping passengers in their care will ever see a planet again.

Science fiction, mystery, series, adult

[biandlesbianliterature]

A sapphic Sherlock Holmes book, but in space, and with an F/F second chance romance. If you’re looking for a quick but engaging read, The Mimicking of Known Successes is a great choice. Whether you’re a sci-fi fan who thinks you could use a little mystery or a mystery fan who thinks you could possibly branch into sci-fi, I think you could come into this book from either angle and be satisfied.

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older was reviewed at the Lesbrary

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

Sargassa by Sophie Burnham

Release date: 8 October 2024

Genre: adult speculative fiction

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

In a world where Rome never fell, an unlikely group of protagonists are ready to burn down the empire in the first of this new speculative trilogy.

Selah Kleios is twenty-two years old and suddenly one of the most important women in the empires. The role of Imperial Historian is her birthright, something she’s been preparing for since birth--but she was supposed to have more time to learn the role from her father, the previous Historian. In the wake of her father’s sudden and shocking assassination, Selah finds herself custodian of more than just the Imperial Archives. There’s also the question of the two puzzling classified items her father left in her care—an ancient atlas filled with landscapes that don’t exist, and a carved piece of stone that seems to do nothing at all.

Soon, though, it becomes clear that the Iveroa Stone is more than just a slab of rock. With the reappearance of an old lost love who’s been blackmailed into stealing it for an unknown entity, Selah finds herself in a race to uncover the mysteries the Stone holds. But she isn’t the only one with an interest in it—she’ll have to contend with the deputy chief of police, an undercover spy, and her own beloved half brother along the way. What begins as an act of atonement and devotion ultimately pulls her into the crosshairs of deep state conspiracy, the stirrings of an underground independence movement, and questions that threaten to shake the foundational legitimacy of Roma Sargassa’s past, present, and future.

Content warnings

Death, murder, violence

Sexual assault, sexual harassment, mentions of rape

Slavery

Classism

Misogyny, patriarchy

Unintentional misgendering

Enbyphobia, slight homophobia

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

Not gonna lie, the beginning is pretty rough. The first 20% introduces brand new PoV chapters one after the other, with each PoV character being in a different place doing different things, plus time jumps, which made it hard to understand who's who and what's going on. I seriously considered DNFing, but I am so glad I decided to push through.

Once all the main characters have been established, the book kicks into gear. The plot is fast-paced and engaging, the story beats are on point and the build-up leading to the reveal at the end was so well-executed, I couldn't put it down. Speaking of the big reveal, looking back, there are elements that make so much more sense in hindsight, which shows how the author really thought everything through.

One part that was kind of lackluster for me was the characters. There isn't anything wrong with them, and objectively, the character work is great! But I just couldn't connect with any of them. The romance sub-plots are also kind of meh. I didn't dislike them, but I also didn't root for them.

At its heart, though, this book is about classism and injustice. The author does an excellent job of tackling these themes with the portrayal how the caste system works, as well as how the system is built to discriminate against the lower class while protecting the upper class. I find this especially timely, with everything going on in the world right now. This book is brimming with visceral rage, from rage against the system of oppression, to rage against personal injustices.

Besides the rough beginning, this book is fantastic, with a brilliant plot and well-developed world-building and themes. I cannot wait to read the sequel!

[lmsagas]

TWO WEEKS 'TIL RELEASE DAY!!

[knbrindle]

Instead of "Black Friday" how about "Holiday Deals"

Both volumes of my debut duology the Paths of Memory are 99¢ DRM-free ebooks on every platform through December

If you've been wanting an excuse to add these humanist fantasy books about trauma, acceptance, & healing to your TBR pile, here it is!

Buy the entire duology for less than $2

[contracat25]

Ok we are solidly into April, but so many interesting books came out last month so I thought I would post this list anyways. As always there are way more books then I can fit in here so I have def missed some. What were your favorite or the books you are most excited about that were released in March? Also these don't include sequels becase I have a whole set of lists for those. So with that said, here are some books from March that caught my atention:

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older

Feed Them Silence by Lee Mandelo

Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Chlorine: a Novel by Jade Song

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

Solomon's Crown by Natasha Siegel

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles

Rose/House by Arkady Martine

[cappuccinoandglitter]

A reminder that I write books. Some of them are even out there for you to read. Currently on Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com: Pike Martell: books, biography, latest update

[jessread-s]

✩🪐✨Book Box:

I know I am so late posting this, but I got my first ever Illumicrate book only box in April and I just HAD to share this photograph of their special edition of “Some Desperate Glory” with you! 

I am obsessed with the hidden quote underneath the dust jacket and the foil embossing on the hardback. Not pictured is the endpaper artwork done by @carlydraws.illustration, but you’ll have to trust me when I say that it is out of this world! I love that there is a different design on the front and the back! I am so excited to read this one at @booksdogsandcoffee91’s recommendation!

The book at a glance:

✨ Standalone science fiction novel debut

✨ Diverse, complex, queer identities

Please check the content warnings before reading! 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

@illumicrate

[tvansantana]

"Return of the Knife" or "Nothing Ever Goes Away" by me, T. Van Santana

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Murderbot Diaries series (All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect, Fugitive Telemetry, System Collapse, and other stories) by Martha Wells

Endorsement from submitter: "Asexual and agender main character. In later books side characters are revealed to be in poly relationship."

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.

Science fiction, novella, series, adult

Hunger Pangs series (True Love Bites) by Joy Demorra

In a world of dwindling hope, love has never mattered more...

Captain Nathan J. Northland had no idea what to expect when he returned home to Lorehaven injured from war, but it certainly wasn't to find himself posted on an island full of vampires. An island whose local vampire dandy lord causes Nathan to feel strange things he'd never felt before. Particularly about fangs.

When Vlad Blutstein agreed to hire Nathan as Captain of the Eyrie Guard, he hadn't been sure what to expect either, but it certainly hadn't been to fall in love with a disabled werewolf. However Vlad has fallen and fallen hard, and that's the problem.

Torn by their allegiances--to family, to duty, and the age-old enmity between vampires and werewolves--the pair find themselves in a difficult situation: to love where the heart wants or to follow where expectation demands.

The situation is complicated further when a mysterious and beguiling figure known only as Lady Ursula crashes into their lives, bringing with her dark omens of death, doom, and destruction in her wake.

And a desperate plea for help neither of them can ignore.

Thrown together in uncertain times and struggling to find their place amidst the rising human empire, the unlikely trio must decide how to face the coming darkness: united as one or divided and alone. One thing is for certain, none of them will ever be the same.

Fantasy, romance, paranormal, series, adult

[anodetofiction]

Review : Weak Heart by Ban Gilmartin

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Weak Heart by Ban Gilmartin Published Independently Adult Fantasy Goodreads | Amazon | Tumblr Release Date : April 25th 2020 SYNOPSIS Something has gone very wrong on the sleepy Scottish Isle of Mab. The tides are angry. Reality has shifted. Selkies are coming up from the ocean, boys are missing, magic is going haywire, and memories are being pulled from people’s…

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn

Release date: 12 November 2024

Genre: adult science fiction fantasy

Synopsis

Orpheus can't believe it's come to this. After helping his childhood friend conquer the realm by raising an army of hell-beasts, the befuddled dark sorcerer finds himself banished when the price of his magic endangers the palace. Isolated and betrayed, the feared spellcaster isn't exactly thrilled when his irritating and handsome rival keeps stepping between him and certain doom.

Ill at ease in the barren wasteland his powers created, Orpheus slowly warms to the charismatic ex-general's relentless overtures. But as his feelings grow more intense, the former villain struggles with an inconvenient calling towards heroism.

Will dabbling in good deeds get him killed or open the doors to happily ever after?

Review

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

I went into this expecting more villainy, or a more villainous main character, but that's not really what this book is about.

Orpheus, initially appears to be the typical archetype of a villain: sneering, lurking in the shadows etc. But he quickly turns out to be not as villainous as he appears. Through his interactions with Fenrir (love interest) and flashbacks to his childhood, we get to see who he is under his pretense of evilness and how he got to be where he is.

This book is very much about Orpheus going through the process of healing and redemption. The general vibe is pretty angsty, with Orpheus feeling remorse about his actions + struggling with his insecurity. Not to be uncharitable, but I did not resonate with his journey. Maybe it was just my mood when I read this (it was a weird few days for me), because otherwise this is exactly the kind of book I would have loved.

I kind of wish Orpheus did/had done more evil stuff. He never actually did anything truly evil (IMO), so I don't feel like he necessarily had to do much/any redemption. Perhaps this is just me and I feel this way because I'm lacking in morals.

I noticed other reviews saying that Fenrir isn't as well-developed as Orpheus, and I definitely agree. However, I don't think it's necessary for Fenrir to be as fleshed out; Orpheus' story takes precedence here, and as he is, he serves his purpose in the narrative just fine.

One character that I wished get more development is Lore (antagonist). While we do get to see parts of her from Orpheus' childhood, we don't get to see the reasoning for her motivations. And yes, she does explain that she does the things she does because she "wants to", but I would have appreciated more depth from her. I am sort of conflicted, because, yes, not every villain needs a tragic backstory, or a noble reason for their actions, but she just feels very one dimensional.

Overall, a pretty good debut novel. This didn't resonate with me, but I think it will for lots of other readers.