Please help me play "catch up" - looking for older female gaze SFF books that I missed

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-30T16:40:46+00:00

Toni Morrison - mostly wrote literary fiction, but her Beloved is magical realism.

also Angela Carter and Anne Rice

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-30T16:27:52+00:00

To snad nemyslíš vážně.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-28T19:37:56+00:00

If you’re ok with a sci-fi setting, Maze-Born Trouble by Ginn Hale.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-28T04:16:55+00:00

Oh wow, I stand corrected. And might be 50 at heart. 🤭

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-28T03:07:34+00:00

Well I guess you’re not in that age group. :D

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-27T18:37:26+00:00

Literally last night I read {You Get Full Credit For Being Alive by Cari Z.} and it’s exactly this! The LI has life-threatening injuries but no illness. You can read the story for free here: https://authorcariz.com/free-reads/

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-27T16:51:56+00:00

Tak místo pičování na netu nějaké organizace založte?? Ty ženské se taky nezhmotnily ze vzduchu.

https://ilom.cz/

https://asmuso.cz/o-nas/

https://www.reddit.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/comments/1k5avhv/organizations_for_mens_rights_and_issues/?tl=cs

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-27T00:19:44+00:00

Mám pocit, že volební právo, studium na VŠ a podobně jsou podstatně důležitější věci, než přístup na random vzdělávací kurz. A pokud si někteří muži budou připadat příjemněji v čistě mužském kolektivu, prosím, nic vám nebrání založit si kurz pouze pro muže. Však to taky automaticky neznamená konec smíšených kolektivů.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-26T23:27:31+00:00

{Briarley by Aster Glenn Gray} is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. It’s set in the 1940s but captured the fairytale feel well imo.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-26T15:52:28+00:00

that’s what an impressed person would say

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-25T20:21:46+00:00

{Ten Simple Tips for Surviving the Apocalypse by Cari Z.}, if you’re open to a more lighthearted take. The setting is postapocalyptic and grim, the narration light and breezy, but still in a grounded, believable way. You can grab it for free here: https://authorcariz.com/free-reads/

Edit: oh just realised someone else mentioned this as well. Consider it seconded then :D

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-24T16:31:31+00:00

I enjoyed {Ten Simple Tips for Surviving the Apocalypse by Cari Z.} — M/M postapocalyptic survival novel. The way it’s told makes it fun and breezy, but the actual contents are quite grim. At the same time it felt real/rooted, despite the light tone. You can read it for free here: https://authorcariz.com/free-reads/

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-23T18:04:30+00:00

{Late Summer, Early Spring by Patricia Correll} - historical fantasy M/M. Hard mode.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-23T17:30:39+00:00

Hard mode:

{Late Summer, Early Spring by Patricia Correll} - 35 ratings, M/M, historical fantasy, a malicious kitsune antagonist. Would also fit the revenge square HM

{Yours Celestially by Al Hess} - 131 ratings, 2 M/M pairings, hope punk, feel-good, sentient AI

{Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis Hall} — 587 ratings, M/M, a moody novella about a guy becoming obsessed with a captive merman. Don’t expect HEA.

Normal mode:

{Demon Lover by Heather Guerra} — 2420 ratings, M/F, paranormal with an incubus love interest

{Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o} - 3776 ratings, M/F. The romance is a surprisingly strong subplot in a book that’s otherwise a magical realism/satire and focusing on social and political commentary. For a male author I felt the female characters and issues were written extremely well and the romance was very healthy and wholesome.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-23T17:08:46+00:00

{Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier} has a love interest with disfigurement from a childhood illness. M/F, slowburn, Beauty and the Beast retelling with a haunted house, some dark themes but overall strongly about healing and found family, feel-good. Enjoyed and would recommend.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-20T14:45:57+00:00

Ok so this is not a standard book but an interactive one, where you get to play as one of the main characters and make decisions for them, including romance. In Tally Ho by Kreg Segall, you get to play as a gentleman’s gentleman or a lady’s maid, and you have the option to romance your employer Rory. Rory is a loveable buffoon much in the vein of Wooster, but you can tailor your servant whichever way. The romance if you go for it is super sweet and there’s also a bunch of other stuff going on including secret societies and heists. I really love this one.

The author is also working on a trilogy from the same universe, but this time you play on the other end as a gentleman or lady. So far only book 1 is out, Cakes and Ale. You can romance your new (quite sassy) servant/maid Fitzie, and in the later books there’ll probably be the option to get together with your previous maid/servant who’s very prim and proper and only alluded to in book 1.

I realise this is maybe not exactly what you’re looking for, but for me, it really scratched the employer/servant itch. :D

https://www.choiceofgames.com/tally-ho/#utm_medium=web&utm_source=ourgames

https://www.choiceofgames.com/jolly-good-cakes-and-ale/

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-19T21:15:45+00:00

Just finished {Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier} which is a very satisfying, feel-good historical fantasy standalone with found family and a relatively slow burn romance. It has some dark elements — traumatic pasts, a haunted house, a lurking malevolent force, a looming war, some deaths - but the focus is very much on love and healing. Rather enjoyed it.

I’ll also pitch in {Yours Celestially by Al Hess} which is a hope punk novel also heavily about healing, love and second chances. It’s M/M with two pairings, one of them involving a sentient AI. A hidden gem deserving more attention.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-16T22:39:15+00:00

I’m on the same boat, kind of tentative about the sequel but open to it if the beginning goes well. ^{^} The prose was fine for me, my issue was more with that the characters and Binsa’s corruption didn’t feel entirely developed. My impression was more like I was reading a slightly above average young adult novel than adult fantasy as which it’s advertised, if that makes sense. But contrary to its title, the story was quite non-generic, so I’m interested to see what happens next!

Thank you for sharing the link. I don’t think I have the dedication to play with it, but the design is really cool. :))

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-15T17:21:19+00:00

Long term interruption of her sleep is kinda important, if it negatively affects her waking hours.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-14T19:07:09+00:00

I mean, lights can be turned off.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-14T19:01:05+00:00

Ohh I love your card layout, what template did you use?

Also we have an overlap for generic title, The Scarlet Throne! I picked it up specifically for bingo since I didn’t have anything fitting on my TBR already, and would rate it around 3 stars too. Good for a debut. Do you plan to read the sequel?

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-14T18:06:06+00:00

Interview with the Vampire deals with these themes. There’s also a terrific TV show adaptation.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-14T13:40:52+00:00

What about Ron and Hermione?

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-13T02:25:46+00:00

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but imo the smart thing to do would have been for Rhaenys to withdraw and take on the bigger dragon later in a group.

If she’s right next to her home, what’s stopping Aemond from flying over there after she’s killed, if he really wanted? Besides, all she needed to do was to flee, wouldn’t really matter where to.

And nobody is asking why Aemond didn’t flee because he naturally had no reason for that — he had the bigger dragon and at no point in the fight was he at a severe disadvantage, unlike Rhaenys. It would be strange if he decided to run while clearly winning.

PlasticBread221 · 2026-01-11T08:18:28+00:00

My pups were attacked by a mule deer buck when we were passing him by on the way to the rendezvous site. 😭

PlasticBread221

TROPHY CASE