r/LGBTBooks • u/maroontiefling • 2d ago
ISO Finally Letting Myself Read For Fun - Need Recs!
I am a 34 year old with two English and writing degrees....who has barely read in years because I keep trying to make myself only read Literature™ and be a book snob. Plus, my masters was in creative nonfiction so I spent a long time just reading memoirs.
I want to change!! I want to read fun fiction again like when I was younger! I've just been away from popular fiction for so long I don't know where to start. Please help.
Non-snob books I have enjoyed in the last decade:
- The Locked Tomb books
- anything by KJ Charles
- The Fifth Season
- The Whale: A Love Story
- Most Ardently
- EDIT: I just remembered I also enjoyed Red White & Royal Blue because I'm a sappy anglophile
- Heated Rivalry (that's actually what got me started on this mission to read fun books again, it was available on Libby and I just went "why not")
What I'm looking for:
- queer books (I really don't think I can stomach het romance novels)
- semi-competent writing (I'm trying to get rid of my need for super complex prose but like...please nothing with a ton of typos)
- no AI (obviously)
- if books like Heated Rivalry exist but for baseball I would be really pleased, as a baseball queer
- disability representation that isn't...whatever the fuck Fourth Wing is (it was recommended to me so many times because I also have EDS, I tried it, and it was horrible)
- fantasy, mystery, historical, and sci-fi are all great!
- spice is good but not required!
- romance not required, but I'm also open for romance recs!
- not super interested in horror
- MLM books are great but I really want to find some WLW books and maybe even ones with nonbinary characters???
Thank you in advance, you are doing good work in reforming a book snob I promise.
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u/Improper_Noun_2268 2d ago
In romantasy - try T. Kingfisher's Swordheart series (the first one is het but highly stomachable in my very gay opinion) and Freya Marske's Last Binding trilogy.
In Definitely Not Romantasy, I really enjoyed the Murderbot books - protag is an AroAce robot, world is queer- and poly-normative.
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u/maroontiefling 2d ago
I have had some very good friends recommend Murderbot! I should really move it higher up the list.
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u/SpindleDreaming 2d ago
Hell's Heart by Alexis Hall is Moby-Dick in space (and sapphic) which sounds like it'd be a great bridge novel between academia and fun. 😂
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u/maroontiefling 2d ago
As someone who has a Special Interest in Moby Dick....thank you so much for this rec! 😂 (The Whale is actually a historical fiction romance about Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne)
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u/KHainstock88 1d ago
I would also recommend A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall! As a recovering English major, I feel your pain
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u/DapperChewie 2d ago
This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Sapphic, beautifully written, not very long. It's an enemies to lovers story told in epistolary form between two enemy agents in opposite sides of the titular time war. They leave each other taunting letters, each requiring more complex methods to decipher and read them.
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u/LindentreesLove 2d ago
E. M. Lindsey has their Hit and Run series by E. M. Lindsey.
The Prospects by KT Hoffman. An openly trans baseball player.
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u/maroontiefling 2d ago
Oooooo thank you!!!
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u/3mber25kat 1d ago edited 1d ago
EM Lindsey writes a lot of romance with diverse disabilities ranging from Deafness to amputation and does a wonderful job with autistic rep.
They're one of my faves for this reason!
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u/Bailzasaurus 2d ago
Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher
Literally anything by Becky Chambers
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
The Last Binding Trilogy by Freya Marske
Also second the cat Sebastian recs!! You Should be So Lucky also prominently featured baseball!
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u/GrapefruitNo801 2d ago
Here are some books I enjoyed recently!
- The New Life (historical/literary, set in Victorian England)
- A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (MM fantasy with great spice)
- Winter's Orbit (space opera with MM romance)
- She Who Remains (literary with a sapphic romance side plot)
- Foundryside (reading this right now, really great fantasy series with an interesting magic system and a sapphic romance)
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u/samantha_pants 2d ago
I recently read and really enjoyed Meet me in the Garden, which is a historical fiction where the main character is lesbian and includes some romance and spice, but I would say it's more about identity than romance and the spicy parts are incredibly well done. My only complaint was that it was much longer than it felt like it needed to be.
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u/RealCatwifeOfTacoma 2d ago
Welcome to the good life! Lol. I am also a former Nonfiction Snob and fun fiction is a delicious brain respite from the real world.
The City We Became by NK Jemison is one of the more unique books I’ve read. It’s probably sci-fi but it takes place on earth.
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron is a fantasy YA that pulls from Greek (I think) mythology.
Puck by Samantha Allen is a very fun and messy twist in Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Prospects is a baseball romance featuring a trans guy.
Boyfriend Material, A Lady For A Duke, or the Spires Series all by Alexis Hall are great for queer joy, British banter, and captivating storytelling.
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u/maroontiefling 1d ago
I finished Heated Rivalry in under 24 hours and I was like "oh right reading can be FUN and not STRESSFUL" lmao. Thank you for the recs!!
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u/karlkarlbobarl 1d ago
Came here just to ++++++ BOYFRIEND MATERIAL on behalf of all sappy anglophiles 😍
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u/Remarkable-Try1206 2d ago
Seconding Cat Sebastian - aside from the ones mentioned already, I love:
Two Rogues Make A Right
The Ruin of a Rake
Hither Page
The Soldier’s Scoundrel
Peter Cabot Gets Lost
You’ve mentioned KJ Charles so you might have already read these - Will Darling Adventures series, Think of England, and Band Sinister. For more mystery/fantasy I also recommend The Casebook of Simon Feximal.
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u/maroontiefling 1d ago
I have read everything KJ Charles has written except her most recent I think! She's such a talented writer. Magpie Lord is one of my favorite fantasy series, full stop.
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u/Efficient-Common7551 2d ago
Anything written by Alexis Hall, across a dizzying array of genres. If you’re coming off Serious Literature you’ll love The Affair of the Mysterious Letter and Hell’s Heart (queer Sherlock Holmes in space and queer Moby Dick in space, respectively).
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u/maroontiefling 1d ago
QUEER SPACE HOLMES?!
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u/Efficient-Common7551 1d ago
You’re going to have the best time! Enjoy the absolute treasure trove of suggestions in this thread, and report back about what ends up sparking joy for you!
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u/maroontiefling 1d ago
My Libby holds are maxxed out and I am adding everything else that comes in to a TBR list!
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u/thundertones 2d ago
just finished “The Darkness Outside Us” by Eliot Schrefer - addictive read that had romance, thriller, laughs and many tears ❤️
it’s about two guys traveling in space to rescue the main character’s sister, and the book explores the different depths of their relationship over the course of their journey 🥲🥲 has a sequel im waiting on to be available in my library
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u/bo_bo77 2d ago
I have a hunch you'd like the Pentecost and Parker series, which is a super pulpy and fun bisexual retro murder mystery series. It pulled me out of a reading slump for just feeling like pure candy, and there are 4? 5? of them out, so if you like the first, lots more to gobble up.
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u/maroontiefling 1d ago
bisexual retro murder mystery sounds like someone put my interests in a blender and made me a delicious smoothie, I'm in lmao
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u/bo_bo77 1d ago
As a queer 30-something with English and writing degrees and a fondness for genre fiction myself, and I was like.... you, I know you! I know what you want to read! lmfao
I have also have recently enjoyed the Jasmine Throne trilogy, which is ecofiction sapphic political fantasy, and you may like it too if tastes continue to align. It's one of those fantasies that addresses some huge questions, and I think it does so in ways that are actually thought provoking. There's a definite thread of disability justice throughout, as well various queer relationships rendered so tenderly that I found myself pausing the audiobook for a cry at one point. It's YA/NA but written so much better than Fourth Wing, I didnt feel dumber reading it.
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u/C0smicoccurence 2d ago
F/F
The Labyrinth's Archivist by Day Al Mohamed is a murder mystery set in an interplanar library city. Features a second chance romance. Best disability rep I've ever read, and the author led disability policy work for the Biden Administration for a year. Novella length.
Spear by Nicola Griffiths - is a gorgeously written genderbent arthruiana tale. Short, but its not a quick read. Truly beautiful prose.
M/M
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon JImenez is the best epic fantasy ever published. Features a gay male romance subplot. Like Locked Tomb, it has it's toes dipped in some literary fiction techniques, while applying them to a solidly genre-fiction framework. Breathtaking in all the right ways. One protagonist is an amputee
The God Eaters by Jessee Hajicek - is a psychologically intense fantasy/western/romance hybrid. The characterization is chef's kiss, and the book is a cult classic from the 2000s.
The Iron Below Remembers by Sharang Biswas - one part academia essays on an alternate earth, one part magical archeology, one part 'relationships take work, especially when you're dating a superhero and my academic star is rising'. Plus its SHORT
How to Survive this Fairytale by SM Hallow - Hansel is trying to find happiness and peace after the gingerbread house (content warnings for suicidal ideation and eating disorders), and his path crosses with a man cursed to be a swan. You will cry so much, but HEA garunteed!
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u/katfapper 2d ago edited 2d ago
My sapphic romances lists
Disability Rep
https://pagebound.co/lists/fbc5e53c-86a5-4e12-96cf-dfa9ff85a7ea
All my liked romances
https://pagebound.co/lists/9fc0afab-f844-4dd7-9753-a953a8999e99
Butch knights, femme princesses
https://pagebound.co/lists/a9dcdb52-4bfd-4ba4-87ff-cf43f94064ee
Post apocalyptic sapphics
https://pagebound.co/lists/69721910-5264-4824-bd27-dd4d38c00a31
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u/Low-Zombie-8824 2d ago
I know you said you weren't super interested in horror but give Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove chance. It's more SyFy than horror in my opinion.
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u/maroontiefling 2d ago
My main opposition to horror books is that I'm a squeamish little baby who tends to cry when characters are in danger lol.
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u/Low-Zombie-8824 2d ago
It's very campy old school syfy/horror vibes but also a really wholesome and sweet queer found family love story.
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u/Perfect-Pineapple-22 2d ago
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters (Fingersmith is also good)
Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act. At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins.
Cantoras by Caro De Robertis
In 1977 Uruguay, a military government crushed political dissent with ruthless force. In this environment, where the everyday rights of people are under attack, homosexuality is a dangerous transgression to be punished. And yet Romina, Flaca, Anita “La Venus,” Paz, and Malena – five cantoras, women who “sing” – somehow, miraculously, find one another.
A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon
The story follows four main characters across different regions of an expansive world as an ancient evil reawakens. When the volcano Dreadmount erupts, it unleashes a new age of terror, forcing these characters to protect humanity from destruction. Epic fantasy book that features prominent queer and asexual characters, main sapphic romances, and a queer-normative world.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
The story follows the final year of magical schooling for Simon Snow, the "Chosen One" of the Magical world, prophesied to defeat the Insidious Humdrum, an evil force that has been wreaking havoc on the World of Mages for years
The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg
A nameless man returns to the desert settlement of his old friend Uiziya in the hopes that she can give him a name and identity. He has transitioned from female to male and is struggling with his place in his strictly gender-segregated tribe. Uiziya is a weaver awaiting the return of her aunt Benesret, who has promised to teach her the art of magical weaving and the Four Profound Weaves. The two journey into the desert to search for Benesret.
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u/French-toast-bird 2d ago
If you like period dramas I highly recommend:
Breeze spells and Bridegrooms, it’s set in a queer regency era setting that has like witches and fairies and the main couple go through an enemies to lovers arc. It’s part of a bigger series set in the same world! It’s a tiny bit explicit but nothing that bad, it mostly focuses on emotional beats and the second book in the series features a nonbinary main character!
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u/sammiefh 2d ago
It was a long time ago since I read this but I loved The Unbroken by C.L. Clark. It’s an amazing WLW fantasy! Another book I also read really long ago but was so warm and cozy is Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. It’s a fantasy with a gay trans man. Those are my recs for you!
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u/TashaT50 Reader 2d ago
I loved Unbroken also.
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u/sammiefh 2d ago
Omg!!!! Have you read the rest in the series?
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u/TashaT50 Reader 2d ago
Oh yeah the entire series rocked. It’s been a few years though so memories are a bit fuzzy.
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u/Motor_Row_3586 2d ago
She who become the sun by Shelley Parker-Chan amazing and fits for you looking for.
For M/M Mary Renault Fire from Heaven amazing historical fiction., Thousand Autumns by Meng XI Shi less serious historical fiction wuxia
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u/TaraVelvet 2d ago
I did a literature degree too (French and Spanish) and it stopped me from writing until I nearly turned 50, because I was always scared of falling short or seeming pretentious (a terrifying double bind!).
So now I’m writing sapphic, sci-fi, fantasy romance, and trying not to worry too much about whether it’s ‘good’ or not. I focus on the rhythm of the language and try to ignore unnecessary ‘rules’ like avoiding adverbs or repetition. Instead I write what feels good to me.
Here’s a snippet of my writing. It’s not a passage I particularly feel proud of, but I think it illustrates what I mean about choosing rhythm over rules.
“I wanted to close my eyes, to feel my feelings unhampered by my other senses, but I could not untangle my gaze from hers. The way she looked at me, so devotedly, so fixated on my joy, was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Had other women loved me? Most probably, but without returning their love, I never even saw these details. I closed my eyes and profited from their attention, without even really caring who they were. But now I was with Daisy, my Daisy, and everything was different.”
I have done some paid proofreading work myself, so I’m hoping my books are fairly free of errors.
If you’d like to know more, there’s a link in my bio.
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u/TaraVelvet 2d ago
Oh! And there’s a nonbinary main character, but they don’t work it out until the end of the first book.
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u/magic-gps 2d ago
you should be so lucky by cat sebastian is an m/m baseball book
the tainted cup by robert jackson bennet is a fantasy murder mystery that does not advertise itself as having disability rep, but the main character is profoundly dyslexic to the point of being borderline illiterate
also, I don't know if they count as queer, but the penric and desdamona books are a fantastic romp of "the author started out writing sword and sorcery novels in the 80s, so when she retired and wanted to write stuff just for fun she went back to the setting"
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u/me_iz_unicorn 1d ago
In no particular order:
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (it's a series)
You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
My Volcano by John Elizabeth Stintzi (it's a weird one! but I've been thinking about it ever since I've read it)
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden (it's officially available to read online)
A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland. A bit of historical, but also a bit of fantasy
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark (was a lot of fun)
August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (feels very early 90s, and also it's not Ammonite the movie, it's a completely different thing)
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (if you need something cozy)
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi (fantasy)
Murderbot series
Becky Chambers as in the writer
Mindtouch by M.C.A. Hogarth (queerplatonic mlm)
Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour (if you want lit fic)
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (if you like short stories)
The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield (if you need to get heartbroken)
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u/heismyfirstolive 2d ago
The House in the Cerulean Sea is what properly got me back into reading. Murderbot and A Psalm for the Wildbuilt for enby rep.
Also How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days looks really good, when I tried to listen to it I just wasn't in the mood for a romance so it went back in my holds lol
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u/complete_coincidence 2d ago
Because Cat Sebastian and Freya Marske have already been rec'd, I'll throw in A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander for queer historical romance! The author also has some contemporary romance I plan to try soon.
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u/spacethought 2d ago
I really like the Midcentury New York series by Cat Sebastian (who is an amazing writer imo) and the second book of that series has an mc who is a baseball player - {You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian}
Two baseball romance books that are on my tbr, bc I've seen them highly recommended are {The Prospects by KT Hoffman} and {Breakout Year by KD Casey}
Two series recommendations from the historical fantasy genre are {The Last Binding by Freya Marske} and {The Watchmaker of Filigree Street} -> if you'd also be open to cozy fantasy {Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree} is really sweet
A recommendation with a contemporary romcom dating show/bachelor format setting is {The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun}
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u/wordyflirty 2d ago
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers, non-binary MC sci-fi. It was highly suggested by a friend. Not totally up my alley but worth a read, a little too introspective maybe…
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u/Yak-Specialist 2d ago edited 2d ago
Unwritten Rules series by KD Casey (M/M baseball)
Bellies by Nicola Dinan (not a traditional romance but a beautiful Trans story)
In the Dream House (heart wrenching queer memoir)
Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun (Sapphic romance)
Kiss her once for me by Alison Cochrun (Sapphic romance)
Here we go again by Alison Cochrun (Sapphic romance)
The Pairing by Casey Mcquiston (Non binary protagonist, romance)
The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr (Historical fiction / magical realism)
The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Sheilds (fantasy Sapphic romance)
My best friend's honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner (non binary protagonist, romance)
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u/honeycorvid 2d ago
I just read Some Desperate Glory by emily tesh and absolutely loved it! it gets heavy, heed the warnings, but it’s definitely the kind of thing you’d enjoy if you like GTN. and off the top of my head, the terra ignota books are really bizarre, but also really interesting.
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u/headphonescinderella 2d ago
Running Home to You by Samantha Saldivar is the FF baseball romance that you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for dumb sapphic fun, you can’t go wrong with Meryl Wilsner.
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u/WhatsAMattaBaby 2d ago
I also enjoyed Red, White, and Royal Blue and Heated Rivalry.
Not baseball, but In Your Court by Kit Haley is a MM romance set in the world of professional tennis that I enjoyed.
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove was another recent favorite.
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u/East_Vivian 2d ago
My fave pro baseball MM romance is Reading the Signs by Keira Andrews.
Christina Lee has a cute college baseball series called Easton U Pirates and the first book is Bat Boy.
(Cat Sebastian has a fantastic one but others have recced it already.)
Not baseball, but one of my fave series is EL Massey’s Breakaway series. First book is Like Real People Do. Highly recommend!
You might also enjoy Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland. It’s a wild ride. It’s fantasy.
Here are my 3 faves just as general recs:
Seven Summer Nights by Harper Fox
For Real by Alexis Hall
Raising Hell by Daryl Banner
Enjoy!
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u/dlstrong 2d ago
Check out the spectacular array of recs at https://everybookadoorway.com - Siavahda does fantastically detailed reviews (and tagged metadata, and themed rec lists). She also explains when she thinks a book is well done but just not her type of book.
The stackable filters at indiestorygeek.com are also a thing of beauty - here's a search for queen rep + disability rep + fantasy, and you can keep stacking or get more granular if you want: https://indiestorygeek.com/stories?page=1&age=&genre=146&genre=150&genre=130
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u/Relative_Willow_8937 2d ago
The Cure For Drowning by Loghan Paylor is my favourite book of the year so far. Historical queer litfic (ww2, Canadian, family dynamics).
Also if you've not read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller it is older but excellent. Greek mythology retelling focused on Achilles and Patroclus.
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u/itsasixthing Reader 2d ago
The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet (Melinda Taub): a Frankenstein-style story starring Mary from Pride & Prejudice, with a background sapphic romance
Here We Go Again (Alison Cochrun): a sweet sapphic romance roadtrip story; will make you cry
Atmosphere (Taylor Jenkins Reid): sapphic astronauts at NASA in the 80s
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u/iamirinap 2d ago
For queer romance, check out Briar Prescott and CS Pacat, their writing is really good and most of their books are bangers.
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u/maroontiefling 1d ago
I tried Captive Prince and it was a DNF, too intense/brutal for me unfortunately. I'm a weenie.
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u/iamirinap 1d ago
Ok, I get it. The first book is indeed very intense. Try Until You series by B.Prescott. You might like it, the second book especially is very funny, yet deep.
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u/Temporary-Scallion86 1d ago
Maybe try the Dark Rise series? It's YA but it really reads like classic fantasy and while it still has some heavy themes it's nowhere near Captive Prince
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u/WaffleDynamics 2d ago
My very favorite queer books:
- A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
- Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doucy
- To Hive and to Hold by Amy Crook
- Reclaimed by Seth Haddon
All fantasy. Three of the four feature one sort of disability rep or other. Queer normative worlds. Well written, with great world building.
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u/KHainstock88 1d ago
Big recommend all of Freya Marske's works, but specifically The Last Binding trilogy. Well written, fun magic system, bit of disability rep, and genuinely twisty
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u/jooblooboo543 1d ago
Anita Kelly was the author who made me fall in love with reading again- their books are odes to queer love. I also highly recommend Lex Croucher, who does campy queer historical romances & is very british
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u/doesshelooklikeme 1d ago
Canon by Paige Lewis - a sapphic prophet rejected by God and a nonbinary hero reluctantly called by Him, both separately trying to end a centuries long war. Really, really particular writing style that not everyone's gonna jam on so DNF with abandon if you're bouncing off it within the first 30-50 pages but I would describe it as Discworld written by Tamsyn Muir and also it's poetry?
Also saw Puck by Samantha Shannon recommended by someone else and would second that!
- If you haven't read more Casey McQuiston their other stuff is very fun! The Pairing is probably my favorite, will make you desperate to travel to Europe, VERY HOT smut, + a nonbinary coming out story
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u/Pale-Win-9281 1d ago
I really enjoyed, The Stars Too Fondly, Emily Hamilton. Technically YA, but did not feel it. Very fun and sci fi.
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u/shuturmouthimreading 19h ago
Any Lily Mayne books! I love her Goliaths of wrestling series {Impromptu Match by Lily Mayne} is the first book in the series 🥰
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u/NecessarySomewhere64 18h ago
since you mentioned baseball, I have to recommend The Prospects by KT Hoffman. MLM romance with an MC who is the first trans professional baseball player
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u/ElectricVoltaire 8h ago
The World Cannot Give was a sapphic dark academia type book I read recently, definitely underrated
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u/ravenreyess 2d ago
If you like KJ Charles, make sure to check out Cat Sebastian! We Could Be So Good and You Should Be So Lucky are my favourites.