Showing that truth is stranger than fiction, Sylvain Neuvel weaves a scfi thriller reminiscent of Blake Crouch and Andy Weir, blending a fast moving, darkly satirical look at 1940s rocketry with an exploration of the amorality of progress and the nature of violence in A History of What Comes Next.
Always run, never fight.
Preserve the knowledge.
Survive at all costs.
Take them to the stars.
Over 99 identical generations, Mia’s family has shaped human history to push them to the stars, making brutal, wrenching choices and sacrificing countless lives. Her turn comes at the dawn of the age of rocketry. Her mission: to lure Wernher Von Braun away from the Nazi party and into the American rocket program, and secure the future of the space race.
But Mia’s family is not the only group pushing the levers of history: an even more ruthless enemy lurks behind the scenes.
A darkly satirical first contact thriller, as seen through the eyes of the women who make progress possible and the men who are determined to stop them…
Representation Includes
- WLW main character (Mia)
Content Warnings
racism & racial slurs, antisemitism, homophobia, suicide, miscarriage, blood & gore depiction, body horror, forced institutionalisation, description of conversion therapy, grief & loss depiction, sexual harassment (allusions of rape and coercion), death of a child, death of a parent, genocide, gun violence, torture, car accident, animal deathReviews
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A magical detective dives into the affairs of Chicago’s divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life. This sapphic period piece will dazzle anyone looking for mystery, intrigue, romance, magic, or all of the above.
An exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother’s life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can’t resist―the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves.
To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago’s most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.
Representation Includes
- Lesbian woman (Helen)
- WLW woman (Edith)
Content Warnings
blood, homophobia, misogyny, gore, violence, murder, human sacrifice, guns, religious trauma, mentions of conversion therapy, mentions of electroshock therapy, general discussions and depictions of period typical asylums, smoking, possession, biblical concepts (angels/demons)Reviews
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By night, the Ankou is a legendary, permanently young mercenary. By day, a witch’s curse leaves him no more than bones. Caught in an unending cycle of death and resurrection, the Ankou wants only to find the death that has been prophesied for him, especially once he begins to rot while he’s still alive….
After the kingdom of Kaer-Ise is sacked, Flora, loyal handmaiden to the princess, is assaulted and left for dead. As the sole survivor of the massacre, Flora wants desperately to find the princess she served. When the Ankou agrees to help her find the princess, and to train her in exchange for her help in breaking his curse, she accepts. But how can she kill an immortal? Especially one whom she is slowly growing to understand—and maybe even to love?
Together, they will solve mysteries, battle monsters, break curses, and race not only against time, but against fate itself.
Representation Includes
- Bisexual main character with PTSD (Flora)
Content Warnings
sexual assault (off-page), attempted sexual assault (on-page) gore, blood, graphic violence, PTSD, genocide, body horrorReviews
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Live fast, die young.
Tam Hashford is tired of working at her local pub, slinging drinks for world-famous mercenaries and listening to the bards sing of adventure and glory in the world beyond her sleepy hometown.
When the biggest mercenary band of all rolls into town, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, Tam jumps at the chance to sign on as their bard. It’s adventure she wants – and adventure she gets as the crew embark on a quest that will end in one of two ways: glory or death.
It’s time to take a walk on the wyld side.
Representation Includes
- Lesbian protagonist (Tam)
Content Warnings
Violence, murder, death of a family member, drug addiction, self-harm (discussions and depiction), discussion of previous sexual abuse, emotionally abusive parentsAwards
-
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (2018)
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Reddit r/fantasy Stabby Award for Best Novel (2018)
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BookNest Award for Best Traditionally Published Novel (2018)
Reviews
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Ancillary Justice meets Red, White & Royal Blue in Everina Maxwell’s exciting debut.
While the Iskat Empire has long dominated the system through treaties and political alliances, several planets, including Thea, have begun to chafe under Iskat’s rule. When tragedy befalls Imperial Prince Taam, his Thean widower, Jainan, is rushed into an arranged marriage with Taam’s cousin, the disreputable Kiem, in a bid to keep the rising hostilities between the two worlds under control.
But when it comes to light that Prince Taam’s death may not have been an accident, and that Jainan himself may be a suspect, the unlikely pair must overcome their misgivings and learn to trust one another as they navigate the perils of the Iskat court, try to solve a murder, and prevent an interplanetary war… all while dealing with their growing feelings for each other.
Representation Includes
- Gay man porotagonist
- Bisexual man protagonist
Content Warnings
Domestic abuse (past)Reviews
Where to Find
Details
- Published February 2nd 2021 by Tor Books
- ISBN13: 9781250758835
- Original title: The Course of Honor
Raised on the high seas as an avaricious corsair, Aela Crane has turned her back on her roots, but she can’t seem to stem the ancient magic that courses through her. Del is a soft-spoken soldier who seems to know more about Aela’s inherited powers that she does. Brynne’s the crofter’s daughter who’s reluctantly learning to become a princess, if she could just get a certain swashbuckling someone off her mind.
Originally hired on (okay, blackmailed) by the King of the island nation of Thandepar, Aela’s light monster extermination gig takes a fast turn into kidnapping-for-profit. Del tries to ignore family issues by searching for a long lost friend, and ends up getting both for the price of one. Brynne’s prepared to give up her heart for her country until her own personal heartbreaker shows up with the most terrible timing.
As the three of them become more entwined in their own political predicaments, and each other’s lives, they may discover that the legacies their parents have left them aren’t as solid as they seemed. In fact, they may just slip through their fingers, leaving all three fumbling to forge their own future, before the kingdom comes crashing down around them.
Representation Includes
- Bisexual/pansexual female protagonists
Content Warnings
Content warnings provided by author: parental death, parental abuse, brief mention of suicide, abductionReviews
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Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars.
Ren is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadežra with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house, securing her fortune and her sister’s future.
But as she’s drawn into the elite world of House Traementis, she realizes her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. And as nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the City of Dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled…with Ren at their heart.
The Mask of Mirrors is the unmissable start to the Rook & Rose trilogy, a dazzling and darkly magical fantasy adventure by Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms, writing together as M. A. Carrick.
Representation Includes
- Bisexual aromantic main protagonist (Vargo)
- Bisexual minor protagonist (Giuna)
- Lesbian side character; trans side character
Notes on relationship status' at end of book
Vargo has a sexual but not romantic relationship with Iascat that is not officially over at the end of the book1 romantic relationship (cis female/trans-male) break up at the end: Tess/Pavlin
1 romantic relationship (cis female/cis female) remain together at end: Giuna/Sibiliat
Content Warnings
death, physical and psychological child abuse, drug use (including forced drug use), kidnapping, mental illness (caused by severe insomnia), fear of sexual violence (no incidents), police violenceReviews
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Set in a near-future world where the British Empire was preserved, not by the cost of blood and theft but by effort of repatriation and promises kept, That Inevitable Victorian Thing is a novel of love, duty, and the small moments that can change people and the world.
Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendant of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history two centuries earlier. The imperial practice of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage like her mother before her, but before she does her duty, she’ll have one summer incognito in a far corner of empire. In Toronto, she meets Helena Marcus, daughter of one of the empire’s greatest placement geneticists, and August Callaghan, the heir apparent to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties, and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena, and August discover they share an unusual bond and maybe a one in a million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process —just like the first Queen Victoria.
Representation Includes
- WLW, mixed-race main character
- Bisexual, intersex main character
- Chinese-Canadian main character
Content Warnings
Clumsy handling of race and eugenics; major character who is initially shocked at learning she’s intersex; cheating in romantic relationshipEnding notes
Ending with f/f/m polyamoryReviews
- Lambda Literary’s review
- Acqua’s review
- Utopia State of Mind’s review
- Danika at the Lesbrary’s review
- Gretchen’s review
- Delucienne Maekerr’s review
- Elise’s review
- Kend’s review
- クリ’s review
- Reviews from intersex and First Nations reviewers needed
Where to Find
Details
- Published October 3rd 2017 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
- ISBN13: 9781101994979
A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.
Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.
Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.
That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…
Representation Includes
- Pan main character (Tal)
- MLM love interest (Athlen)
Content Warnings
kidnapping, murder, violence, arranged marriagesReviews
- Alex Brown’s review
- Anna’s review
- Noah’s review
- Reads Rainbow’s reviews
- Tomás’ review
- Anniek’s review
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The first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.
A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.
Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.
Representation Includes
- Fantasy world inspired by Native American cultures (largely Pueblo, Mesoamerican, and South American, also with elements from Cahokia and Pacific Islands)
- Bisexual protagonist (Xiala)
- Trans and non-binary side characters
Content Warnings
Violence; child abuse and harm to children; murder of a non-binary character; scarification; drug useAwards
- Nebula Award nominee
- Hugo Award nominee
Reviews
Where to Find
Details
- Published October 13th 2020 by Saga Press
- ISBN13: 9781781089477