12 Queer Fantasy Books to Add to Your TBR for Pride Month + Beyond

There is a wild man who lives in the woods. A wild man who keeps the woods (and his dryads) safe. Tabias Finch, bound to the forest, invites Silver, a man he had not met before, into his cottage during a thunderstorm, and his life is never the same. 

This lush tale is as much about friendship as it is about the slow burn romance and the lengths a mother will go to rescue her child.

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, the first in a fantasy duology, takes readers through various types of rescuing as this relationship builds, from inviting Silver out of the rain to healing Tabias after he’s shot, and finally, Tabias helping Silver’s mother rescue Silver. 

The first two encourage Tabias and Silver to spend time together and get to know each other. At the same time, the rescue mission solidifies how much Silver means to Tobias. If you like a sweet romance with a rescue mission, definitely give this novella a try.

What would happen to Neverland if Peter left for a decade and returned more grown up? Peter Darling by Austin Chant examines this very question. 

Peter leaves Neverland, bearing the weight that he must return to live his life as Wendy Darling. When he returns to Neverland as Peter (his authentic self), everything has changed. The war games aren’t just a thing of play anymore with real violence, and even Smee has retired.

This queer fantasy book is, of course, enemies to lovers and slow burn as Peter and Hook get to know each other a decade later. But it’s also an important look into what happens when one can live as their authentic self. Definitely pick this book up if you’re looking for trans representation and a gay romance with characters who are both familiar and new.

The Ferryman from Greek mythology exists in “At the End of the River Styx” by Michelle Kulwicki. Charon accepts the sacrifice of Zan, who exchanges his life for his mother’s and will be in service to him for the next 500 years. 

Zan must help him collect the souls of the recently departed and is so close to the end of his indentureship. Then he meets Bash, who's dealing with his own grief after losing his mother and who keeps vanishing from his grasp as a soul to collect.

The pair are not instantly attracted to each other, as Zan needs to collect Bash’s soul, which initially makes them adversaries. Still, they slowly get to know one another through shared memories, deep conversations, and the Nintendo Switch that Zan receives from Bash to help pass the time. Their innocent love might be as doomed as a Greek tragedy, but readers can’t help rooting for a happy ending.

The Jasmine Throne is the first book in the completed Burning Kingdoms trilogy, meaning you can start and finish a series without having to wait! 

A book doesn’t need to win the World Fantasy Award for best novel to earn a spot on your TBR, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Malini has been imprisoned in a decrepit temple by her dictator brother, but with the help of Priya, a magical priestess, she’ll find an escape and start on the path of a revolution. 

This one’s for the hardcore fantasy lovers—the readers who love it when their books double as blunt objects. If you love morally ambiguous lesbians, then you have met your match!

Sophia has never wanted the life expected of young women in her city: to have a happily ever after with a man in marriage like Cinderella. As a sixteen-year-old, she has come out to her parents and told them that she’d rather marry a princess (like her best friend Erin) than a prince, but in her world, that’s not possible. 

When a queer male friend of hers bids on marriage with her and loses, Sophia runs from the ball and finds herself in Cinderella’s Tomb with a descendant of Cinderella’s stepsister. The two of them go on the run together to try and save their home from the patriarchal society that treats females as less than.

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron offers a heroine who is unapologetically herself in a world that tells her to sit down and be quiet. Sophia and Constance develop a romantic relationship as they spend more time together, proving that two girls can change the world for the better.

What happens when a dragon hunter is sent to a kingdom with a Girl King who protects dragons? Yeva has lived as the masked guild knight for so long that she barely remembers her life before the first dragon she slayed. When she's sent to Quanbao, a reclusive kingdom where dragons aren’t feared, Yeva slowly grows closer to the Girl King and finds herself again.

This book will be perfect for anyone who loves dragons and queer fantasy. Yeva finds herself and love, of course, as she fights through every preconceived notion she’s learned over the last decade of her life. Maybe dragons shouldn’t be feared and killed, and love might just conquer all.

Emmy didn’t plan on returning to Thistle Grove after a decade, but she doesn’t have a choice when a magical tournament that she must oversee as the arbiter demands she return. 

Unfortunately, home in Thistle Grove means running into her ex, Gareth, who initially made her run. When she finds out that Gareth played both her best friend and another woman by seeing them at the same time, they devise a way to get back at him. So what if Emmy begins to fall for Talia as they come up with a plan for Gareth to lose the tournament and reclaim their town from his family?

Payback’s a Witch (The Witches of Thistle Grove #1) by Lana Harper takes the beats of a rom-com readers find familiar and makes it her own with a dollop of magic, a pinch of queer romance, and a dash of a tournament. 

Readers will kick their feet and grin as they read this lighthearted fantasy with a witch who may find a home in both a person and her place of birth.

Cassandra Khaw knows how to send chills down your spine and The Salt Grows Heavy is no exception. 

If you like your fantasy to upend fairytale classics with a murderous twist, this novella is what you’re going to want to sink your teeth into. Literally. 

Murderous mermaids, mysterious plague doctors, and cannibalism, oh my! This luscious novella will remind you why fairytales were meant to be feared.

If you’re itching to get hooked on a new series this year, look no further than Saints of Storm and Sorrow! This book is the start of a new duology and is steeped in the author’s Filipino roots.

Maria Lunrurin is a conduit for the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In other words, Lunurin is a storm caller who can control the sea. She tries to hide as a nun to keep the peace, but Anitun Tabu wants nothing to do with peace; she wants vengeance.

A poignant fantasy set in the Philippines during the era of Spanish colonization—be ready for vengeful goddesses and magical hair!

A Pirate’s Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorn takes readers back to the cozy world she first introduced us to in Can’t Spell Treason without Tea. 

Engaged sapphic couple Reyna and Kianthe are on an adventure searching for dragons’ eggs. While on this search, they come across two disaster lesbians who might need help finding their way to each other. Missing dragon’s eggs? They can wait until after this matchmaking succeeds.

The sweet moments (and the moments of laughter and even tension) are sure to leave you smiling. The sapphic romances feel authentic, with both established relationships and childhood friends who might not hate each other as much now as they initially thought.

F.T. Lukens opens So This Is Ever After where books usually end: the defeat of the evil king. Meet Arek, who has just slain the evil king, along with his childhood friend Matthew and the rest of their adventurer and friend group. 

Arek fulfilled the prophecy of killing the king, but what happens next now that he’s been announced as king? Will he ever be able to tell Matthew about his feelings while he’s trying to find someone to marry?

This YA fantasy is full of funny moments, heartfelt words, a cast of queer characters, and an MMC who can’t communicate his feelings to Matthew, the boy he’s loved for a long time. 

Pick up this book immediately for a cute queer romance set in a fantasy world that feels reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons.

How to Not Marry a Prince by Megan Derr introduces us to a fantasy world where queer romances are entirely the norm. Enough so that Prince Amador is promised to another man if he can’t find a different prince to marry him. After all, he’s basically ancient at the age of thirty. 

On his first night, he realizes the prince he came to woo is in love with another man (and he needs to see this love story come to a happy conclusion). But maybe not all is lost when the prince’s elder brother, the king, rescues Amador after he’s pushed into a fountain.

Love slowly blossoms between the King and Amador as Amador helps research and push through a tax reform. What's more, Amador makes friends and finds a place to possibly call home, anything to avoid the odious man to whom he’s been promised…who has somehow found his way to this place, too.