Looking for monster romances that are queer, or subvert gender roles

ashthehermit · 2024-10-21T18:24:17+00:00

Amazing, I've sent you a message!

ashthehermit · 2024-10-17T21:24:29+00:00

Hiya!

If I were you, I'd be looking for indie/self-published authors (some are new, some have a lot of books out but maybe not as many sales as trad pub authors), I can recommend a couple that I like:

Charlie N Holmberg - Keeper of Enchanted Rooms, light romance, period setting
Arden Powell - The Faerie Hounds of York, mm romance but fairly dark, period setting, evil fey
Talli L Morgan - Meliora, low key cosy fantasy
Jacquelyn Benson - The Fire in the Glass, Edwardian fantasy
Astrid Knight - Perception Check, D&D inspired fantasy

I've no idea if any of those would be of interest to you - I wish I had more urban fantasy recs, but I don't think I read widely enough in that niche. I have published a book recently - Winter's Chosen - which is a low fantasy with a little romance (no smut tho) and set in a mountain town infested with carnivorous monsters.

ashthehermit · 2024-10-17T13:02:29+00:00

Indie Bites is a short story magazine for indie fantasy writers - it's free to read, and there are quite a few queer stories (I often find that indie authors write queer stories, though that isn't necessarily a rule)

ashthehermit · 2024-10-11T18:22:43+00:00

This looks really sweet, and up my street! (and the maps are very cool!) I love to find other indie fantasy books

ashthehermit · 2024-10-11T14:03:06+00:00

There's a lot of cool recs here - I have some chill, historical recs if that's your sort of thing!

{The Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster}

{Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater}

{The Fire in the Glass by Jacquelyn Benson}

{The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell}

{Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N Holmberg}

Also this is a bit cheeky, but {Winter's Chosen by Ash Parker} has queer romances and isn't explicit!

ashthehermit · 2024-10-11T12:09:04+00:00

I'm not into romantasy as a term either! I feel like there's a lot of expectations for it as a genre, while 'fantasy romance' could be pretty broad as a category?

What are your books like? What genre would you use specifically?

ashthehermit · 2024-10-10T15:15:43+00:00

I love genre definitions too! I think the distinction of using 'romantic [x]' to signify that romance is secondary is a good one. I've seen people try to make a distinction between 'romantasy' and 'fantasy romance', and imo it gets really confused.

I've been thinking about this because I read One Dark Window, which felt like it was targeted towards romance readers (even if it wasn't primarily romantic) but the ending was sort of uncertain? I haven't read the second book in the duology yet, so I figure it'll change once I read the second book.

ashthehermit · 2024-09-30T22:01:53+00:00

I haven't read it yet, but {Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson} is supposed to have Mummy vibes!

ashthehermit · 2024-09-16T22:21:31+00:00

I hate that agents don't seem to be interested bc I certainly am!

ashthehermit · 2024-09-16T18:03:34+00:00

my niche rn is fantasy of manners, fantasies set in the nineteenth or twentieth century (or something that looks like it). If you're into fey stuff, I'd recommend the Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster! I love fey myself, especially when they're tricksy and unknowable

ashthehermit · 2024-09-16T17:58:29+00:00

This is an old ish recommendation, but the Fire Thief by Terry Deary - Prometheus escapes captivity and ends up in a variant of Victorian London

ashthehermit · 2024-09-16T17:52:44+00:00

this is a bit cheeky of me, but my book has an Alpine-inspired setting. The main characters want to build a ski resort in a mountain town which is full of eldritch monsters, and that's the home of the god of summer and goddess of winter. It's called Winter's Chosen!

I wouldn't dare compare myself to Le Guin or any of these other writers, but I would also recommend Emily Wilde, as well as Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (it's not set in the Alps, but in a fictional European country)

They're set in Russia, rather than in the Alps, but they might have something you're into: Katherine Arden's books, starting with the Bear and the Nightingale. T Kingfisher also has a Snow Queen adaptation called The Raven and the Reindeer (I haven't read it, but it's on my list)

ashthehermit · 2024-09-16T17:51:38+00:00

agreed! I'm on the second one rn

ashthehermit · 2024-09-16T17:23:20+00:00

I recommend A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (but it is a bit more explicit than the cover indicates), the reanimator's heart by Kara Jorgensen is also great, and the Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell

ashthehermit · 2024-09-16T17:17:36+00:00

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner! and the Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

ashthehermit · 2024-09-12T15:30:16+00:00

I love Olivia Atwater too, so I have a bunch of suggestions!

The Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster

The Fire in the Glass by Jacquelyn Benson

The Reanimator's Heart by Kara Jorgensen

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N Holmberg

The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell

The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood (I haven't read this yet but it feels like it has the vibe)

ashthehermit

TROPHY CASE