queer ya fantasy feature
Riot Recommendation

15 of Your Favorite Queer YA Fantasy Books

Vanessa Diaz

Managing Editor

Book Riot Managing Editor Vanessa Diaz is a writer and former bookseller from San Diego, CA whose Spanish is even faster than her English. When not reading or writing, she enjoys dreaming up travel itineraries and drinking entirely too much tea. She is a regular co-host on the All the Books podcast who especially loves mysteries, gothic lit, mythology/folklore, and all things witchy. Vanessa can be found on Instagram at @BuenosDiazSD or taking pictures of pretty trees in Portland, OR, where she now resides.

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This Riot Recommendation of favorite queer YA fantasy is sponsored by JIMMY Patterson Books.

In this mesmerizing sequel to the New York Times bestselling Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and Wren have escaped their oppressive lives in the Hidden Palace, but soon learn that freedom comes with a terrible cost. Lei is known as the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn’t the end of the plan—it’s just the beginning. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her?

Know how you top the sweet escape of YA fantasy? With fantastic queer representation! That’s why we asked for your favorite queer YA fantasy books. We can’t wait to discover the lush and beautiful worlds, compelling characters, and high-stakes sagas on this list, all while imagining a world where homophobia doesn’t exist. Without further ado, here are 15 of your favorite queer YA fantasy books and series!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses series)

Huntress by Malinda Lo

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (The Folk of the air series)

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

Every Heart is a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (Brooklyn Brujas series)

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

Ash by Malinda Lo

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle)

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst (Of Fire and Stars series)

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan