#Melissa Karibian

[qbdatabase]

Ahoy, mates and mutineers!

This month’s list features some of my top picks for women who rule the high seas–and the occasional space ship. Or really fucked up ghost ship. Plus a couple extra disaster male pirates 😘

Book descriptions and rep for lesbian, bisexual, butch, disabled, autistic, and women of color below the cut!

*Barbary Station / R. E. Stearns: Sci-Fi; grad students turn to space-piracy to pay off their debts but find they’re trapped on-station by an evil AI, feat. autistic lesbian x bi girlfriend

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea / Maggie Tokuda-Hall: YA Fantasy; a genderfluid pirate accidentally bonds with their noble Lady passenger, set on a wild escape, and free a captured mermaid

Ship of Smoke and Steel / Django Wexler: YA Fantasy, Action; Asian bisexual crime boss fights a ghost pirate ship (yes, the ship itself) with her lesbian healer girlfriend

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy / Mackenzi Lee: YA Historical; an aro-ace lady schemes to become a doctor, but she’ll settle for being a pirate!

The Fifth Season / N. K. Jemisin: Fantasy, Dystopia; a poly bisexual woman sets out on a vengeance quest to rescue her kidnapped daughter the day the world ends

Compass Rose / Anna Burke: Fantasy / Sci-Fi; a black lesbian goes undercover as a pirate in the 26th century

Windfall / Shawna Barnett: Fantasy; a secret-princess pirate Captain is blackmailed into protecting a runaway real princess in bisexual love square

A Song of Silver and Gold / Melissa Karibian: Fantasy; retelling of The Little Mermaid with enemies-to-lovers, butch lesbian pirate Captain x siren warrior who must cut out her heart

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach: Sci-Fi; bisexual dead cop comes back wrong and works w/pirates to stop a plague

*Captain Raven and the All Girl Pirate Crew: YA graphic novel; Raven needs revenge against her brothers, so she hires a female crew, feat. Deaf, lesbian, and women of color

(extra) The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue: YA Historical; alcoholic bi male x epileptic biracial gay male; the first in the series by Makenzie Lee

*(extra) Kidnapped by the Pirate / Keira Andrews: Romance; a young gay man offers himself as hostage to an older pirate Captain to save his sister

*titles with an asterisk next to them have been featured on QBdatabase.com as a daily book; this lists the book's full jacket summary, detailed notes on representation, and a link to its goodreads page!

[b00kkat]

K's Book-Recap of 2023

Der Herr der Ringe: Die Rückkehr des Königs - J.R.R. Tolkien (Original Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)

I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

Red White & Royal Blue (Collectors Edition) - Casey McQuiston

Anne Frank Gesamtausgabe (English Title: Diary of a Young Girl)

A Song of Silver And Gold - Melissa Karibian

Die sieben Männer der Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (Original Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)

Paradise Lost & Found - Jennifer Knightley

A Little Bit Country - Brian D. Kennedy

Eine Frage der Chemie - Bonnie Garmus (Original Title: Lessons In Chemistry)

Circe - Madeline Miller

Verstand & Gefühl - Jane Austen (Original Title: Sense & Sensibility)

Emma - Jane Austen

From Bad to Cursed - Lana Harper

Back In A Spell - Lana Harper

Galatea - Madeline Miller

Die Abtei vom Nordhanger - Jane Austen (Original Title: Northhanger Abbey)

Die Liebe der Anne Elliot - Jane Austen (Original Title: Persuasion)

Der Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkien (Original Title: The Hobbit)

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

She Gets The Girl - Rachel Lippinscott & Alyson Derrick

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

In Charm's Way - Lana Harper

Der Große Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (Original Title: The Great Gatsby)

Tausend strahlende Sonnen - Khaled Hosseini (Original Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns)

Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad

Verlorene Der Zeit - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (Original Title: This Is How You Lose the Time War)

[betterbooksandthings]

“If you swoon at the sight of queer dragons, werewolves, and robots, you have made it to the right place. The best queer SFF romance books not only have wonderful queer romance, but also the magic, mystery, and mayhem that accompany science fiction and fantasy. Are we here to wrestle with the meaning of humanity and love? Yes, of course we are. In my biased opinion, there is nothing better.

I want a forbidden love that is legitimately forbidden because if they fall in love an ancient magic rains hell upon the earth. Marriages of convenience simply work better when the two diverging kingdoms may destroy each other (with magic or robots) if your wedding doesn’t happen. Give me the introduction scene normal people receive when they learn about all the things that go bump in the night. I need all your secret societies that are actually vampires or werewolves or whatever else you want to throw at me.

I am a bit of a queer SFF romance fanatic. In general, if it has a romance with a ghost, reaper, werewolf, witch, robot, or spaceship, I want to read it. I love it all. Theoretically, I can read the same set of tropes and premises over and over, and I am not sure I will ever tire. I haven’t yet, and trust me when I say I could name 20 books about vampires and vampire hunters falling in love right now without breaking a sweat.“

[read-alert]

Happy MerMay! Full titles under the cut!

The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist by SL Huang

Weird Fishes by Rae Mariz

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey

Mermaids Never Drown: Tales to Dive For edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C Parker

Chlorine by Jade Song

The Perfect Waters: Odedsa Book One by LeeSha McCoy

Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Rise of the Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow

The Secret of Haven Point by Lisette Auton

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian

The Siren, the Song, and the Spy by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Out of the Blue by Jason June

Seven Tears at High Tide by CB Lee

The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember

Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner

The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

Sirena: A Mermaid Legend from Guam by Tanya Chargualaf Taimanglo illustrated by Sonny K Chargualaf

Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh

Sukey and the Mermaid by Robert D San Souci illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Mermaid and Pirate by Tracey Baptiste illustrated by Leisl Adams

[fangirlforthewin]

LGTBQ+ Protagonist Book Recommendations

Mostly young adult, but they're still good and highly recommended. These are all mostly fantasy because that's all I read, so I hope you like fairies, and prince/princesses, and pirates!

Please feel to add your favorite recs to the list!

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Captive Prince by C.S Pacat

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adriene Tooley

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Huntress by Malinda Lo

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Colthurst

Breaking Legacies by Zoe Reed

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian

[iamalasagnagirl]

hey :),

I just read your recommendations for wlw books (thanks so much for those xD), but wanted to asked if you knew any sapphic fantasy books as well (preferably high fantasy/books with great worldbuilding). Sorry if this is too specific and thank you <3

Hei, the only book that comes to my mind is The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon -> The premise of this book is a bit hard to describe because it tracks the perspectives of multiple characters from East and West, but essentially: Ead has been a transplant at a foreign court and is meant to protect Queen Sabran, who is the current ruler of the Virtudom and claims descent from the supposed defeater of the Nameless One (a big scary fire-breathing wyrm). She protects the queen using forbidden magic, which comes from her training as a mage in the Priory of the Orange Tree.

The world building is just intensely lush. It is so richly detailed, and while I spent a lot of time in the beginning having to double check where I was, the chapter headings with "East" and "West" simplified a lot for me.

It has sapphic romance in it, but I have to say that that's not what the main plot is about at all

I have other titles but i don't know if they're what you're looking for..

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir -> The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword and 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.

Queens And Monsters by Cleo Evans -> Butch Perseus and her femme Medusa. This book has: two women that have been secretly pining for centuries. Demigods, monsters, and gods. SPICE. Sapphic monster romance and SO much more. Not really my thing but maybe you'll do.

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian -> For the past year, Princess Kaelyn of Avalon has disguised herself as a man, Captain Kae, and led her crew into tumultuous waters to eradicate sirens on a journey fueled by revenge. Aqeara is a siren warrior of Meyrial, an underwater kingdom hidden from humans. When her negligence during the Avalon harbor attack causes the death of Meyrial’s princess, she seeks the help of a sea witch to overturn her banishment. Aqeara is given a human body and has until the next full moon to carve out Captain Kae’s heart in exchange for a spell to bring the dead princess back to life.

I'm sorry but i haven't read many fantasy books in my life 🙈

[sapphicbookclub]

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian

Out in the open sea, it's kill or be killed. No one knows that better than Kaelyn. For the past year, Princess Kaelyn of Avalon has disguised herself as a man, Captain Kae, and led her crew into tumultuous waters to eradicate sirens on a journey fueled by revenge for the death of her brother. When they return home and experience a fatal siren attack on Avalon’s harbor, Kae sets sail again to destroy the sea demons once and for all.

Aqeara is a siren warrior of Meyrial, an underwater kingdom hidden from humans. When her negligence during the Avalon harbor attack causes the death of Meyrial’s princess, she seeks the help of a sea witch to overturn her banishment. Aqeara is given a human body and has until the next full moon to carve out Captain Kae’s heart in exchange for a spell to bring the dead princess back to life.

When Kae’s and Aqeara’s paths cross, they fall into a whirlwind romance, complicating their respective plans. Kae must decide whether her desire for revenge against sirens overrides her feelings for the woman she’s falling for, and Aqeara must choose between resurrecting the dead princess or sparing Kae’s life.

Genres: fantasy, romance

Get the book from Blackwell's with free shipping here!

[lgbtqreads]

queer books set in deep sea/waterbodies? any genre is fine.

Yep, these all have pirates:

A Clash of Steel by C.B. Lee (f/f)

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens (m/m)

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara (f/f)

*The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa (transmasc)

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (f/nb)

Adult

Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn – AG

Compass Rose by Anna Burke (f/f)

Peter Darling by Austin Chant (m/m)

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian (f/f)

And these have Selkies:

Seven Tears at High Tide by CB Lee (m/m)

The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag (f/f)

And at least some of All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes is set in the sea on an exploration to Antarctica, while A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar is set aboard the Titanic.

[loveisbraveandwild]

fantasy :)

a song of silver and gold by melissa karibian!!!

send me your favorite book genre or one of your favorite books and i’ll recommend a book to you!!!!

[booksforthegays]

Upcoming Queer books that should be on your radar

“The Genesis of Misery” by Neon Yang When a young individual is granted saint-like abilities they must do whatever necessary to not fall to the void-madness that is supposed to follow. But when a very life like delusion convinces her theres another way they have little choice but to trust its siren song. A Joan of arc space opera retelling, with robots, a non-binary lead, and of course plenty of catholic imagery.  Release Date: September 27th, 2022

“Reforged” by Seth Haddon In this debut novel a paladin abandons life and love in order to rise to the top of his order but after a ruthless barrage of royal assassinations he is charged with protecting the remaining royalty. The only problem is that the very king he is now meant to protect is the same ex-lover that he abandoned all those years ago. The “Oh and they were ex-boyfriends” fantasy novel that ive been waiting all my life for! Release Date: October 4th, 2022

“The Loophole” by Naz Kutub Sy is a 17 year old Indian-muslim boy on a journey to reconnect with his lost love. When his boyfriend Farouk said he was leaving to save the world Sy was too scared to join him. Now he regrets his decision but due to a chance encounter with a potentially magic (or just very rich) girl who offers him three wishes he finally gets the chance hes been waiting for. Release Date: June 21st, 2022

“Wrath Goddess Sing” by Maya Deane An Achilles retelling staring a trans female Achilles and villain Helen of troy. Achilles doesn't want to go to war but when offered everything shes ever wanted from Athena she’s compelled to join the efforts. But Helen wants to destroy everything that Achilles has ever loved and wont stop till her nemesis is dead. Release Date: June 7th, 2022

“When Women Were Dragons” by Kelly Barnhill In the 1950′s an event known as ‘The Mass Dragoning’ occurs where a large group of housewives and mothers sprout dragon wings and talons and escape to the skies. Alex, a young girl being raised during this time, must deal with the fallout of this event all while coming to terms with her newfound crush on another girl. Release Date: May 3rd, 2022

“A Song of Silver and Gold” by Melissa Karibian In order to get revenge for the death of her brother Princess Kaelyn disguises herself as a man in order to purge the waters of the sirens that took his life. When the sirens princess is killed warrior Aqeara is given the task of disguising herslef as a human in order to kill the one that took her life: The dreaded Captain Kae. But when a romance starts to develop between the two they both have to rethink their quests for revenge. Release Date:  June 15th, 2022

“A Taste of Gold and Iron” by Alexandra Rowland When Kadou, brother to the queen, finds himself in a humiliating altercation he must prove himself to his sister by assisting in a criminal investigation. Along with his cold new bodyguard Kadou uses his ability to taste precious metals to help solve the crime but ends up falling into a larger conspiracy that may shake the very foundation of the kingdom. Release Date: August 30th, 2022

“A Million to One” by Adiba Jaigirdar Titanic meets Oceans 8 in this queer high seas heist story. On board the titanic an unlikely group of woman plot to steal a gem encrusted tomb that may be the key to solving all their problems. But when problems begin to popup and a new romance begins to flourish the team will find that this heist may be more difficult than they bargained for. Release Date: December 13th, 2022

“Out of the Blue” by Jason June Fake dating with a splash of mermaids! Every teen mermaid must undergo a solo journey to the upper world where they are bound to help a human or be stuck on land forever. Crest hates humans and is eager to finish their journey so when they meet Sean, a recently dumped young man, they quickly agree to enter into a fake relationship with him to make his ex-boyfriend jealous.  Release Date: May 31st, 2022

“A Lady for a Duke” by Alexis Hall After being declared dead at Waterloo Viola sees an opportunity to finally live as the young woman she truly is even if it means giving up her old life and old acquaintances. Only when she at lasts meets her old friend the duke again hes a shadow of the man he was and Viola decides to enter his life again. Release Date: May 24th, 2022 Edit: (07/03/2022) Important to note that “Wrath Goddess Sing” by Maya Deane has come under scrutiny, both for racist and anti-trans masc themes. I personally no longer feel comfortable pushing it on my blog, please conduct your own research before purchasing. 

[fairrryprose]

a song of silver and gold // melissa karibian

this beautiful, sapphic fantasy romance siren x siren hunter book is out TOMORROW !!!!! i'm so stoked that i received an arc copy of this 💙

[betterbooksandthings]

"Ahoy! Welcome aboard. On this ship, all pirate romance books end with a pirate sailing into the proverbial sunset with their love. Taught sails, sturdy planks, and an oh-so-dangerous ocean await. Get ready because you are in for a nautical treat.

Pirate romance books have long brought solace to readers who want to find love at sea with dangerous, daring, and heroic rogues. Pirates are the bandits of the sea. Even a privateer sanctioned by the government to be a pirate gets a pass in romance. After all, they have all the appeal of a pirate and the ability to operate in society if they want to."

[thekatemarlowe]

Thoughts: MELISSA KARIBIAN’s A Song of Silver and Gold

Releasing on June 15, 2022

Princess Kaelyn of Avalon would rather do anything than attend a ball, watched over by her miserable parents and tied up in an uncomfortable dress. She dreams of living her life as Captain Kae, a pirate on the hunt for revenge against any bloodthirsty sirens her and her crew may come across. One day a terrible scene unfolds at the docks where sirens have taken the life of a small boy and sparked a battle. Remembering the family she has lost to these murderous mermaids, Kae sets sail vowing to take down every last one in order to avenge her people and ensure this never happens again. Meanwhile, Aqeara is part of the race of merpeople hidden from human eyes far below the ocean’s surface. Her and her sister sirens have fed on the lives of human men for centuries to keep their oceans safe. Unfortunately, Aqeara is a part of the massacre that takes place and under the surface we see a different side of the story. Aqeara has lost two of her most beloved friends and because of her mistakes has been banished from her people. Through a series of events, she finds herself in human form, on Kae’s ship, helping this crew hunt down the sirens she has sworn to protect! Both Kae and Aqeara have hard choices to make as they start to form a bond the likes of which one of them may never come back from.

Our author fresh off the Pirate Ship, Melissa Karibian, is a student of psychology and resides in NY where she is obtaining further education while she releases her debut novel A Song of Silver and Gold. Melissa’s love for fantasy stories with Queer representation led her to write her own story involving a sapphic romance based off some of her favorite stories like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Little Mermaid. She hopes to add to the growing collection of LGBTQIA+ books so that others can continue to see themselves in these fantastical worlds too.

This Young Adult Fantasy has all the best elements: mythical creatures, magic spells, enemies-to-lovers romance, and great examples of representation for all races, genders and sexual preferences. Think our little mermaid Ariel but with terrifyingly sharp teeth and the power to rip out a man’s throat falling for Elizabeth Swan who is currently in pirate mode. Yes, Thank you More Please. I felt connected to the main character, Kae, as she battled with how she wanted to be perceived and then discovering that she wasn’t alone in her desires. Melissa does a great job writing sexual tension and we get no shortage of that with Kae and Aqeara discovering new emotions within themselves as they start to get closer over the course of their adventures. The slow burn has you devouring page after page and before you know it, you’ve read the entire book in a sitting! I can’t tell you how it ends, but I can tell you I was left wanting SOOOO much more and can’t wait to see what Melissa has for us in the future! 10/10 would recommend pre-ordering ASAP!

[bookish-brews]

❗Exclusive Cover Reveal & Excerpt ❗

A SONG OF SILVER AND GOLD by Melissa Karibian is full of:

🏴‍☠️ Found Family Pirates

🧜‍♀️ Man-Eating Sirens

⚔ Enemies to Lovers

💘 Sapphic Yearning

https://bookishbrews.com/2021/12/15/cover-reveal-song-silver-gold-melissa-karibian/

Come be the first to see this stunning cover 🎉

[loardymacbee]

"When Kae's and Aqeara's paths cross, they fall into a whirlwind romance, complicating their respective plans. Kae must decide whether her desire for revenge against sircns overrides her feelings for the woman she's falling for, and Aqeara must choose between resurrecting the dead princess or sparing Kae's life."

-excerpt from the summary of A Song Of Silver And Gold by Melissa Karibian

Pirates, sirens, gender-fuckery, and sapphic love stories in books from indie publishers? Hell, yeah!

+ bonus look at the accessories

(Also, yes, I know my look includes 10,000 or so more colors than the book cover, but the base is the sameeeeeee)

[betterbooksandthings]

"Dragons. Magic. Romance. The most popular romantasy books on TikTok truly have everything a reader could want. After all, it’s undeniable — romantasy has recently taken BookTok by storm.

Romantasy is a subgenre that combines the romance and fantasy genres. By now, other Book Rioters have discussed the budding Romantasy genre and offered their own recommendations. As a lover of fantasy, romance, and any combination of the two, I am fully prepared for the recent rise in popularity of the books. In the past, some romantasy books contained too much romance for the fantasy section and too much fantasy for the romance section. However, because the most popular romantasy books on TikTok sold so well, traditional publishing took notice. Now these books are coming out in droves, and BookTok is paying attention."