#author: t.j. klune

[wehavebooksathome]

Under the Whispering Door

★★★★★

Title: Under the Whispering Door Original title: Under the Whispering Door Author: T.J. Klune ISBN: 978-1250217349 Publishing year: 2021

Sometimes you have a lot to say about a book.

Sometimes you just have an overwhelming feeling of yes, yes, I really loved this. And are having so many emotions that you just know you'll have to reed this again.

[misireads]

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

[ physical book, read in finnish & english ]

the story of a man who starts off as stale as if the colour beige was a human. he's a diligent office worker in a government department that evaluates orphanages for magical children. he's so good at making bland, objective reports that the stuck-up management of the department decides to send him to an orphanage for particularly troublesome monster children, hidden away on a remote island in the middle of nowhere. the man takes a train there, fearing for his life because he's pre-emptively so scared of these children. on the island, he befriends the children and learns that he's been living a stupid, prejudiced, boring life with no colour in it whatsoever all this time. also he falls for the leader of the orphanage and they have a gay little romance.

➕ obvious first things first. this is a gay love story, i'm all for it. a really soft and sort of mundane one about two middle-aged men too, where them being gay isn't a big deal, actually it's probably the smallest deal of them all. lol the romance was incredibly cheesy but you never see THAT in literature

➕ it's a hearty story about prejudice and acceptance. magical beings in this world are so viscerally hated that nobody cares about your sexual orientation or skin colour, but if you're a dragon or some shit then YUCK! EW! STAY AWAY FROM THE CHILDREN YOU HEATHEN! it's kind of amazing. this is also completely void of any mention of religion which i enjoyed. all the bigoted hate and prejudice in the entire universe is truly just packed into there existing magical people in this book. i personally felt it first and foremost symbolised the lack of empathy for people with disabilities (both physical and mental) because there are so many nudges towards that, but it's probably just in general also. angry goodreads reviews are saying it's a very poorly executed nudge towards native americans actually but i'll run with my own interpretation anyway

➕ hands down my favourite thing in the entire book is lucy. he's the reason i originally kept reading at all because i was so enamored by a little 6yo satan. i could have read a whole book just about him really.

➖ well this is a tough one to review. basically what happened was that i took the finnish translation from the library. and i kind of fucking hated it. it's a very literal-feeling translation, a lot of the dialogue is so stiff you barely understand what the characters are sometimes talking about, the language felt very infantile. i don't think the magical creature translations really work. they turned talia into a goblin instead of a gnome, that's a whole fucking different creature? there are just many many things i don't like about it. then i suddenly had to return the book to the library so i put a reservation on the original english one, thinking if i'm gonna finish this, it has to be in english. so i got that one and had no issues with the language or anything else whatsoever. i should definitely have read in english from the beginning. i didn't return it to the library yet so i might go back to the beginning and revisit some of the scenes in english to actually understand what happened

➖ this is like.. well it's not a very small children's book, and not exactly for teenagers either because the contents are so softcore, i feel. it's either for rather childish adults or for pre-teen children, maybe. edit: actually i don't see anyone call this a children's book online, just "YA" which it fucking isn't. much confusion. are you telling me this nonsense is a book for adults. either way, although the message is very good and all, the whole book is hopelessly childish in a way that made me feel like it didn't need to be. it's just a bit too simplistic at times, like helen's character, she does a 360 in a matter of a couple of lines with very little basis. idk how to well put it, maybe that it felt like there's ingredients for more here and that the characters are built in such a way that they could have been so much more if only the book took itself more seriously and went deeper at all instead of staying so surface level and turning everything into a joke. the entire plotline was also very predictable, basically you can tell what happens as soon as linus it sent to the island and that doesn't make a very exciting book to get through.

➖ i hated linus so fucking much in the early chapters lmao i get it that it's all about his growth but man. the premise of his character is that he's excellent at his job, very good at being objective, does his background work super well. then he goes to this island job and is immediately mad prejudiced (although working with magical kids is literally his job, this job he's supposedly so good at, but now he suddenly can't take them anymore), proceeds to not even read the files of the children. he goes to this orphanage that HE KNOWS from THE INFORMATION HE GOT has been as it is for some time, and the first thing he does is hate all the children on sight and decides that lucy will kill everyone in the house any minute now and he's the only force stopping him. although he knows perfectly well from the beginning that lucy has been living with the other kids all this time already without anyone dying. the only difference is that he's there now so why would lucy suddenly blow the place up (other than to kill linus because he's so insufferable, which would have been 100% fair). it was so nonsensical, it felt like the story was just made up on the go without any thought put into if it makes any sense how linus is reacting to things. actually i just hate reactionary characters in general like stop being a fuckign buffoon imbecile and use that brain of yours that's so big. he's literally even complaining about his fucking cat all the time, jesus christ let her be a cat. is it supposed to be funny? then mark down the humour as another minus because it's not

➖ i seem to be the only person on earth who thinks this (edit: goodreads says i am not, in fact) but i wasn't that big a fan of how hard this kept hammering in the EVERYONE!!SHOULD!!BE!!ACCEPTED!!! message, i prefer subtler ways of storytelling tbh not every single scene needs to be about this.

➖ the world building could have had a bit more substance. not much was said about the system of magic existing in this universe so it was all a bit vague.

⭐ score: 4- -- a lot of negative thoughts again but overall i rather liked this, despite my ranting (and being shocked that this isn't for children). i guess something about this touched me deeper than i realised because i was AGAIN crying at the end. what's with me crying at the end of books these days??? what's happened to me. i don't cry at things. i'm probably ill and should call in sick to work

[tired-and-bored-nerd]

hey fellow under the whispering door fans, im considering finishing writing a hallmark movie inspired fic that i was originally going to write around christmas time that i never got around to finishing but i wanna know if anyone would actually read it

[stlgeekgirl]

T.J. Klune: Live and In Person!

T. J. Klune Live and In person #MousesMusings #author #meetandgreet

Wednesday night, my best friend and I attended an evening to see the author T.J. Klune at one of our local centers. The event was hosted by Left Bank Books, a local bookstore in town. Klune is on tour to promote his newest work, In the Lives of Puppets which is out now. I’ve reviewed Klune before, his book The House on the Cerulean Sea which I loved. And I bought Under the Whispering Door which…

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hello hello! I absolutely adore your writing, it just feels so complex and the dialogue is so perfect you don't understand, probably my favorite writer in tumblr ^^

Do you have any favorite books? I'm not really into reading but I want to write my own stories, and English isn't my first language so I always try to read but I don't really continue since most of them aren't really in my taste– but I'm willing to try anything you read or take inspiration from since I'll probably like it since I like your work so much :]

Sorry, hope that made sense, ty <3

So, I'd like to think that while my writing has a consistent *vibe* it also covers quite a few different genres and moods that could be what you are interested in. Let's go.

If you like a book rooted in complex, dysfunctional power dynamics try....Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo, The Last Tale of The Flower Bride by Roshani Chokski, The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E Schwab, Gone Girl or Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, Deathless by Catherynne M Valente, If We Were Villains by M.L Rio, The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakovic, Dark Rise by C.S Pascat, Interview with a vampire by Anne Rice, These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever.

(You can see that complex, dysfunctional power dynamics that are central to the story are basically my favourite thing haha. My absolute jam and butter! The dynamics themselves vary. You may root for some and watch others in delighted horror.)

If you like a great, not a romcom, enemies to lovers romantasy, try...Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust, The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black.

For some fantasy horror vibes, try...Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant (mermaids!), House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher.

If you want something cute and LGBTQ, try...The House on Cerulean Sea or In the Lives of Puppets by T.J Klune, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, Carry on by Rainbow Rowell, anything by F.T Lukens.

For short story collections that make me want to write...Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan, Salt Slow by Julia Armfield, Through The Woods by Emily Carrol or the multi-author anthology Hag.

And, let's be real, absolutely no one is following me for worldbuilding, but...

For worldbuilding that has stayed with me, try...The Wayward Children series (all stories semi-standalone) by Seanan McGuire, The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

I know I haven't done superheroes. I just...?? I liked Hench by Natalie Zina Walschotts, but honestly most of them just don't interest me. Sorry.

[transporttoanotherplace]

T.J. Klune and V.E. Schwab, two popular and beloved authors with large queer fan bases, both naming their asexual main character Victor give evidence to a secret society for queer authors and I will hear no arguments otherwise. From now on I propose we assume all characters named Victor are asexual unless explicitly told differently.

[toastedcinnamonflakes]

Guide on How to Improve Your Reading Level

So. You want to improve your reading level. You currently read only “easy” stories – for example Colleen Hoover. But you want to challenge yourself. You want to read more.

Well, let me help you. I am compiling a guide for you here to help you get more advanced with your reading. I have sorted literature into different levels, and will give you suggestions for each level. This is not an all-encompassing guide, more like a guideline – obviously I don’t know every single author. I will try to stick to authors that are all also available in English, but if one or two sneak in that are not available in English, or your main language, I apologise. I encourage you to seek suggestions outside of this, too. A good place to get good recommendations and not just the same five #BookTok books over and over again are actually newspapers and magazines with a Feuilleton! You can also message me for some tips, or find other book blogs on tumblr. I am sure most are glad to help.

I am not sorting these books by categories like “Children’s books”, “Young adult” or similar, because I find that within those loose categories, books can vary wildly. Instead, I am focusing on complexity, length, necessary existing knowledge and other factors. Without further ado, let me begin!

Level 1: Books that are short, to the point, without complex vocabulary. There usually are no metaphors there, and if there are, you do not necessarily HAVE to dive into them, the story makes sense nonetheless. You do not need to have any pre-existing knowledge to understand them, either. They are also either stand-alones or can be read as stand-alones, so you do not have to commit to a long series.

Such books are:

Most books by Dyanna Wynne Jones, especially her Fantasy novels

Books by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Most books by Leigh Bardugo (although is STRONGLY discourage you from reading the Shadow and Bone trilogy, those books are messy, unimaginative and kinda sexist. She found her literary footing after that.)

Books by Michael Ende

Most books by Erich Kästner (his few excursions into adult literature are more complex and require some previous knowledge about the Weimar Republic)

Books by Alexander Kielland Krag

Books by Walter Moers

Most books by V.E. Schwab

Books by Axie Oh

Books by Naomi Novik

Books by Casey McQuiston

Books by Kai Meyer

Books by Marissa Meyer

Books by T.J. Klune

Level 2: Now we are coming onto books that, while mostly still short, use a bit more complex vocabulary and/or metaphor. So, you might be required to not take everything literally and do a bit of interpretation. Occasionally, you might need to do a quick Wikipedia read to get context for the book. The characters are becoming a bit more complex, too, but often the text itself explains character’s motivations/thoughts directly.

Books that fit that description are for example:

"Convenience Store Woman" by Sayaka Murata

“Swimming in the Dark” by Tomasz Jędrowski

“Kim Jiyoung, born 1982” by Cho Nam-Joo

Books by Phillip Pullman, in particular his “Golden Compass” Trilogy

“Iron Widow” by Xiran Jay Zhao

“Fire and Hemlock” by Dyanna Wynne Jones

Books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Books by Celeste Ng

“The last Unicorn” by Peter S. Beagle

Level 3: Now we are reaching books that use complex vocabulary, maybe you even need to look up a word or two (but this is how you expand your own vocabulary). The sentences are more complex, the stories are constructed in a more complex way (but still usually follow one narrative string), the characters are most of the time nuanced. You will need to pay attention to the subtext and do some interpreting of your own. Some of these books have the labels “classic” attached to them, but don’t let that scare you – in fact, for most classics, you will be able to look up information/interpretations online if you are struggling. We also have some books now that are either parts of a longer series or parts of a bigger canon (not all of them, some are still stand-alones).

Such books are for example:

Books by Agatha Christie

Books by Selma Lagerlöf (although I have to say, she very often uses metaphors, dream-sequences and similar narrative devices)

Books by Terry Pratchett

Andrzej Sapkowski’s “Witcher”Saga

“The Shadow land” by Elizabeth Kostova

Books by Joan Lindsay

“A hero of our time” by Michail Lermontow

“Sauhund” by Lion Christ

Most books/short stories by Nikolai Gogol

Some of Stanislaw Lem’s books, like “The Star Diaries”, “Tales of Pirx the Pilot”

Books by Hanne Ørstavik, particularly the books before “Love”

Books by Gerd Brantenberg

“Revolutionary Road” by Richard Yates

“Carmilla” by Sheridan Le Fanu

The “Sherlock Holmes” Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle

Level 4: On this level, the vocabulary is advanced and the sentence structure is complex. The characters are multi-dimensional, complicated and explored on a psychological level.

The books want to say something, and often say it through the use of metaphors. You need to be attentive while reading, maybe even take some notes, if you really want to get to the bottom with your interpretation. Still, the books follow a (mostly) clear plotline and while there are occasionally some “non-realistic” elements in them like Dreams, they are still somewhat grounded in a fictional reality that mostly mirrors our own. Many of these novels are also long.

Jane Austen’s books

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s books

“Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier

“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte

“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte

“Agnes Grey” and “The Tennant of Wildfell Hall” by Anne Bronte

Plays by Friedrich Schiller

Plays by Henrik Ibsen

Most books by the Strugatzki brothers

“War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina” by Lew Tolstoi

“Dracula” by Bram Stoker

“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley

books by Jeannette Winterson

books by Charles Dickens

Short stories by Anton Tschechow

Books by Michail Bulgakow

Level 5: Now we have reached the territory of the truly advanced reader. These books are not simple by any stretch of the word. These novels are not always more complex than the ones on level four vocabularly-wise, but they require you to have pre-existing knowledge of other works of literature (they often make references). You need to pay close attention while reading, perhaps re-read passages multiple times. The structure of these novels is often non-linear and/or experimental. They are mostly not “realistic”, rely heavily on metaphors, symbols and signs within the text. They can be confusing at times. Often, they play with the language and experiment. The meaning of these novels is multi-layered, and interpretations can differ wildly.

Such books are:

“If on a winter’s night a traveler” by Italo Calvino

“The experiment” by the brothers Strugatzki

Almost everything by Karen Blixen (“Out of Africa” is a bit easier, though still very complex and there are many symbols in that novel, too)

Books by Jon Fosse

“The Key” by Junichiro Tanizaki

Books by Osamu Dazai

“Catherine House” by Elisabeth Thomas (okay, I was conflicted where to put this – the vocab is not that difficult, but the structure is very unclear and dream-like and it puts a lot of emphasis on symbols. Maybe it would be good to start your journey to Level 5 novels with this one, if you are not very confident in your reading abilities)

Books by Han Kang

“The futurological congress” by Stanislaw Lem

Books by Günter Grass

“The Man Outside” by Wolfgang Borchert

Books by Slavenka Draculic (specifically her novels, her essays have a different style, obviously)

Books by Sjon

Short stories by Edgar Allan Poe

Books by Vladimir Sorokin

Books by Angela Carter

“Kult” by Ljubko Deresch

Most books by Vladimir Nabokov

Tales by E.T.A. Hoffman

The differing factor between these last two levels often is the STRUCTURE of the novels. I am making this distinction because I have seen that quite a few people struggle with experimentalist/surrealist/non-linear structure.

Others of these stories have a more linear structure, yes, but require you to dig deep beneath the surface to find out the meaning of various symbols in order to interpret the story.

Also, pay attention to the language! Many of these authors, like Nabokov, play around with double-meanings, similar sounding words (homophones) and even more than one language.

I hope this guide helps. Obviously, it is not perfect, but it should give you an idea where to start and where to progress. It is important to have fun while reading, and there is no shame in jumping between the levels. But, you should challenge yourself: You are smart! You can understand difficult things! Yes, it might be hard at first, but precisely because of that you should keep trying. If you never challenge yourself, you will never get better.

I wish you all the best on your reading journey <3

[lgbtqreads]

do you have any adult achillean fantasy books where the characters are very skilled, strong or cunning etc. ? it can be just an adventure/quest book or war based i don't mind the storyline.

Alexandra Rowland is a solid author to check out for this - try A Taste of GOld and Iron or A Choir of Lies. Def also try The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez and Tales from Verania by T.J. Klune (doesn’t start that way, but that’s the journey).

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Green Creek

Author: T.J. Klune

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2016

Genres: fiction, fantasy, paranormal, LGBT+

Blurb: Oxnard Matheson was twelve when his father taught him that Ox wasn't worth anything and people would never understand him...then his father left. Ox was sixteen when the energetic Bennett family moved in next door, harbouring a secret that would change him forever: the Bennetts are shapeshifters. They can transform into wolves at will. Drawn to their magic, loyalty, and enduring friendships, Ox feels a gulf between this extraordinary new world and the quiet life he's known, but he finds an ally in Joe, the youngest Bennett boy. Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his heart. Violence flared, tragedy split the pack, and Joe left town, leaving Ox behind. Three years later, the boy is back...except now, he's a man - charming, handsome, but haunted - and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.

[skz-miroh]

anyone got any book recs??

something plot focussed but romance developing too.

looking for queer fantasy romance books similar to authors like T.J Klune, Seth Haddon etc.

[thoughts-of-bear]

Since I actually already participated in the tag game here (tagging @ur-friendly-nbhd-cardassian btw) but wanted to update my character because i was indecisive the first time (and i didn't know there was a bi-flag background) imma go ahead and post the photo above as part of an introduction post :) sooo here goes

Hello to all people reading this

Have a seat and a biscuit, you lovelies <3

You have found the blog of a person who has had a tumblr account for a few years now without actually using it and now has 4 hours of screentime a day from this app alone :')

I am a 21 year-old woman (she/her but I don't mind they/them either) from Germany who has recently developed an unhealthy obsession for Baldur's Gate 3 and ESPECIALLY Halsin (my beloved oak daddy <3).

So I created this blog mainly so I can simp shamelessly here and not worry about my friends who follow my other blog finding out about it.

My fandoms include the Tolkien universe, Narnia, Good Omens, OfmD, Sherlock, Star Wars, Supernatural (I am only at season 6 tho), Skyrim and a lot more I have temporarily forgotten.

My favourite authors (who I can definetely recommend checking out) are T.J. Klune, Tolkien obviously, Kerstin Gier, Walter Moers, Ursula Poznanski and Neil Gaiman (was tempted to tag him but I'm too shy).

I love sewing (starting my apprenticeship as a taylor this year), ballet, drawing and painting, archery, videogames, reading, listening to music, being with my best friends, movie nights, baking and cooking, my cat, travelling (without plane), nature... damn, I could do this all day, life is fucking great actually

More on the topic of why I love being alive here and here :D

My favourite flowers are lillies and my favourite colours are green and blue.

I love talking about my fandoms with other people, so feel free to send a message or an ask or something <3

That's it for now I think :3 Have a lovely day!

[lunevei]

hi! hello! read me!!

hi, i’m lune! i’m kinda new to misceverse/miscecanis (but i’m an omegaverse veteran), and this is my new side blog! you can also find me in my main @lunedemavei, which is where i follow from and stuff. also, minors dni !!!

ੈ✩‧₊˚ more info about me below! ੈ✩‧₊˚

🌑 ; uuuuhm okay some facts about me — i just turned 20, i’m an omega, i have adhd and anxiety.

☁️ ; i go by she/they pronouns, i’m bisexual and i’m biromantic

🐈‍⬛ ; i love all things spooky, starry, and cozy. i have two cats, tigs and tia, who are my everything!!

🤍 ; i have a very loving partner of 3 years who looks after me so good ♡

🫧 ; my scent is lavender, vanilla, and sandalwood (sometimes with nutmeg!!) — warm, woodsy, calming; the perfume shade by lush (it’s so scrumptious uuuhg)

🫐 ; i have chronic anemia so i’m almost always sleepy. i am a certified sleepy girl and professional dreamer. i’m usually napping with my cats or with my partner (when they’re not working)!!

🥚 ; my favourite colour is blue (all shades!! there’s literally not a bad blue), my favourite season is summer (or maybe autumn...), my favourite movie is the secret of moonacre, and my favourite authors are t.j klune and tamsyn muir!!

if you have any questions, pls ask!! i’ll probably keep updating this post with new info as i think of it. borders by the wonderful @cafekitsune and amazing @adornedwithlight!! ☽｡⋆

[eurydicees]

in need of fanfic/book recs from ya <3

ooooooh okay idk what genre of book or fandom/ship fic you want so here are my general recent favorites! i'm not gonna give a summary, just a small note/review with my thoughts, so ur gonna have to google the books and click the ao3 links--my apologies but this post was getting way too long lmfao

real life books!

gideon the ninth / the locked tomb series by tamsyn muir: i'm really working my way through this series and i loooooove it. the characters make me crazy and every turn in the plot has me screaming a little. there's been a lot of deranged texts to irls about this one.

under the whispering door by t.j. klune: this book DID make me cry. it's a really well woven story about love for your family and your friends and death and finding satisfaction and fulfillment in life (and death) and moving forward. HIGHLY recommend his other book (the house on the cerulean sea) as well!! i read that one first and it's a really gorgeous, satsifying read.

the shell collector by anthony doerr: this is a short story collection technically but i loooooove it. each story individually is really beautifully done and i absolutely LOVE his writing style. i think i take a lot of inspiration from him for my own writing!

on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong: top books that, like, make yourself feel seen. another author/poet that i feel i can attribute a lot of inspiration for my style and love of words to in general.

sharks in the rivers by ada limón: poetry collection! but one of my all time favorite poetry collections and i can't let this go unnamed. i absolutely ADORE ada limón (you may know her from "the great blue heron of dunbar road" or "instructions on not giving up", which floats around tumblr pretty regularly). i think i first read this collection for class but it genuinely changed something in me. i actually have a tattoo based on these poems <3

post-colonial love poem by natalie diaz: another poetry collection but this one, like, fucked me up. it's woven together as a collection in an absolutely breathtaking way, but each poem also stands alone really beautifully.

fics - haikyuu!!

a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam by swampdragons (iwaoi, 6911 words): i read this a bit ago and really loved it, though it was also really emotionally difficult for me to personally get through--one of those fics that really drives the emotions home so deeply that it hurts to keep going. part of that might just be my own personal connection to the topic. idk. but either way it's ABSOLUTELY worth it.

The Benefits of Patience by Moami (iwaoi, 3363 words): this one's silly and funny and so much more lighthearted than the prev rec lmfao. it's like. healthy but messy but established but not established but a real relationship but an almost relationship to be iwaoi <3333

The Way He Looks At You by roobtheboob (iwaoi, 3805 words): i think i read too much iwaoi. but this one's really cute i PROMISE. i like the kyoutani POV idea a lot and i think the way kyoutani is written overall is really well done, particularly in the team dynamic and his respect for iwaizumi.

The years shall run like rabbits by ladyoflalaland (ushiten, 7292 words): obsessed w this fic. ushijima's mother is written out to be a REALLY interesting character and her strained relationship with ushijima is fascinating. the passage of time of it all......man.

fics - other fandoms

"Normal" by OnigiriCat4Ever (fruits basket, kyohru, 7140 words): this one's a really cute post-canon character study of sorts and i really love it. i love how the 7yo hajime is written and his relationship with kyo is really sweet.

The act of loving in return by kindokja (bllk, ryusae, 2809 words): this one's both funny and heartwrenching and sweet and painful all at once. beautiful, necessary mix in a fic. i like it a lot.

turn your face (towards the sun) by youareoldfatherwilliam (atla, gen, 5813 words): im normal about fics abt the chit sang and the 41st, in case u were curious!

that's all i got for now? i literally just went through my most recent bookmarks and cherry picked some special highlights lol. feel free to let me know if you want anything more specific!!!!! u already know i loooooove giving recommendations<3

[crazylistlady]

Queer books

Anything 18+ will be in red. content warning will have a *

Lesbian

The do's and donuts of love by Adiba Jaigridar

These Witches don't burn by Isabel Sterling

Reaping the benefits by E.J Noyes

Robber Girl by S.T Gibson

Snow Roses by Taryn Tyler*

The Unlocked Tomb series by Tamsyn Miur*

Not your sidekick by C.B Lee

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

Gay

Cafe con Lychee by Emery Lee

Tales of Verania by T.J Klune

History is all you left me by Adam Silvera*

When Harry met Harry by Sydney Smyth

Simon vs. the Homo sapiens agenda by Becky Albertalli

What if it's us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Consorting with Dragons by Sera Trevor

the Dragori series by Ben Alderson*

A little bit country by Brian D Kennedy

Jays Gay agenda by Jason June

Lord of eternal night by Ben alderson*

Bisexual

The Green Creek series by T.J Klune *

The Captive Prince trilogy by C.S Pacat *

Hani and Ishus guide to fake dating by Adiba Jaigridar

Tale from the High Court series by Megan Durr*

A Dowry of Blood by S.T Gibson*

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

The Alphas Son by Penny Jessup

Iceabreaker by A.L Graziadei*

The Meet cute Diary by Emery Lee

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid*

So this is Ever After by F.T Lukens

Trans

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Witch King by H.E Edgmon

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars : A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng*

Transmogrify! 14 Fantastical Tales Of Trans Magic by various authors

The Deep by Rivers Solomon*

The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R Capetta

Hell followed with us by Andrew Joseph White*

The Spirit bares it's teeth by Andrew Joseph White*

Asexual

Every Heart a doorway by Seanan McGuire

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson*

If it makes you happy by Claire Kann*

Love letters for joy by Mellissa See

The Lady's guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi lee

This is by no means a complete list, if you have any you want to add feel free!

[the-modern-typewriter]

Yo, I've seen your book rec posts on and off for a while, and I was wondering if you could (if you have time ^.^ if not, that's cool too) throw up a list of your favorite lgbt/neurodivergent/unique protagonist books? I don't think I've ever read a book outside of fanfiction where the lead/s weren't just some form of 'normal' or straight or whatever. Also, since you're one of my favorite authors I feel like I'd be more inclined to give one of them a go lol ^.^'

There are an increasing number of diverse books out there!

Here are some of my personal favourites in no particular order, by which I mean I have rated them 4 stars (I really liked it) or 5 stars (it was amazing) and then curated the list some more on top of that. E.g. I might have thought it was amazing at the time, but if I can't tell you anything that happened in the story years after reading it, it's not on the list. That doesn't mean it's not worth reading, just that I have a bad memory so if I remember it definitely did something right!)

You can find more books I've read on my Goodreads. There are books that fit what you've asked for on there, it just doesn't fit my personal curated favourites list!

LGBTQ books

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (m/m)

If We Were Villains by M.L Rio (m/m)

Girls Made of Snow and Glass and Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (f/f + ace)

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (f/f - non fiction)

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield (f/f)

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (m/m)

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (f/f - though be warned, this is a weird one! Rated highly more because I can't get it out of my head than that I liked it)

Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (f/f)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Peter Darling by Austin Chant (m/m, trans)

The Binding by Bridget Collins (m/m)

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune (m/m)

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (f/f)

The Greenhollow duology by Emily Tesh (m/m)

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever (m/m)

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (f/f)

(Obligatory read MY BOOK The God Key (m/m) here!) Obviously, this is my favourite ;)

Unique/Interesting protagonists:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (Her Wayward Children series is also great and has a lot of LGBTQ rep!)

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (MC has Asperger's)

A Spindle Splintered by Alix.E. Harrow (terminally ill MC, also f/f)

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

House of Leaves by Mark.Z. Danielewski

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (Autistic MC)

Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability and Making Space by Amanda Leduc (nonfiction)

[queer-book-society]

Title: The Extraordinaries

Author(s): T.J. Klune

Description: Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right? After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick's best friend (and maybe the love of his life).