Excellent Queer Fantasy Romance Books

Reading The Watchmaker of Filigree Street feels like drinking a hot cup of tea on a cold, dreary day. Set in Victorian London, the story begins when our protagonist, Thaniel Steepleton, comes home to find a mysterious pocket watch. Months later, the watch saves his life. Grateful but uncomprehending, Thaniel goes looking for the watchmaker and finds Keita Mori. A Japanese immigrant, Mori spends his time creating whimsical and magical inventions in his shop. Thaniel and Mori soon find companionship and solace in each other, when the arrival of an unexpected guest comes along and threatens to break their fragile happiness. If you want a slow-paced novel that takes its time letting the reader explore a new world and all the relationships in it, while filling you with both wonder and joy, pick this one up.

CW: bomb blasts, violence, murder

Ryan Douglass’s debut YA novel follows Jake Livingston, one of the only Black kids at his high school. If his daily life wasn’t difficult enough, fraught with microaggressions, Jake is also set apart by his ability to see the dead. Most of the time he catches the last moments of the deceased, playing in loops. When he encounters Sawyer, the ghost of a teen who shot and killed six kids at his school before taking his own life, this changes. Soon bodies start turning up in Jake’s neighborhood and his entire world is threatened. A creepy, fast-paced thriller that tackles issues such as homophobia, racism, bullying, and abuse, The Taking of Jake Livingston is a dark fantasy novel that ends too soon, with the added bonus of a slow-burn romance on the side.

CW: abuse, sexual assault, school shooting, homophobia, racism, bullying

Set in a reimagined 1920s New York, Allie Therin’s world is filled with magical artifacts called relics. The story follows artifact collector Arthur Kenzie and scruffy paranormal Rory Flannigan. Rory has the ability to look into a relic’s past, thereby unlocking the secret to activating one. Arthur may not have magic, but he makes up for it in spades with his kindness and charm. When a dangerous relic washes ashore in the city, danger follows on its heels, throwing Rory and Arthur together in their attempts to stop it from falling into the wrong hands. If you want a feel-good romance novel that makes you root for its characters while peppering in a little social commentary, Spellbound will not let you down.

When FBI Agent Morgan Nash gets stuck in Victorian London due to a spell gone unexpectedly right, he is not happy. Snarky, tired, and perhaps lonelier than he realizes, Morgan is a grouch. He grouches in disbelief when he’s pulled back through time, then grouches some more when he realizes that the 19th century isn’t so great with heating, or electricity, or gay men (the last one, to be fair, is atrocious). When Ezra, one of the party who cast the spell – apologetic, kindly, accommodating Ezra – confesses that he can see the dead, Morgan decides he’s a conman and is, on top of being unhappy, highly suspicious. Then Morgan stumbles upon a newspaper article about Jack the Ripper and soon gets caught up trying to catch him. Meanwhile, Ezra’s abilities seem more and more convincing, and Morgan soon finds that he’s not only at risk of losing his sanity by believing him, but also his heart. If you want a historical fantasy romance with a grumpy/sunshine slow-burn romance, a murder mystery, and found family themes, Downtime has you covered.

CW: violence, gruesome murders, sexual abuse, mentions of suicidal ideations

You can’t expect me to write this list without including vampires, although Karla Nicole’s vampires are probably the most cultured and intellectual ones I’ve read about in a while. Lore & Lust follows the story of Haruka Hirano, a vampire recluse, who is drawn out by the demands of British society when he’s asked to witness a bonding ceremony. Along with him, another vampire has been invited – Nino Bianchi. When Bianchi doesn’t respond to the Duke’s invitations, Haruka goes to see him, hoping to convince him to attend. What begins as an easy friendship between Haruka and Nino slowly turns into something more. Nicole promises us a slow-burn romance and Lore & Lust does not disappoint. If you want a thoughtful vampire romance where characters’ cultural backgrounds are as much a part of their story alongside their vampirism, you’re in luck.

Someone on Twitter called the protagonist of this book, Cooper Dayton, a cross between a national treasure and a natural disaster, and they couldn’t have been more apt. In the first book of a series, former FBI agent Cooper gets paired with sexy werewolf Oliver Park as they investigate a series of murders. Charlie Adhara writes a neat mystery thriller alongside a slow-burn romance (can you tell I’m a fan of these?). The Wolf at the Door has banter, two agents discreetly checking each other out, and social commentary on police brutality. The cherry on top of this narrative, however, is Cooper’s character. Cooper is a bumbling mess wrapped around a core of honest decency who will make you cringe even as you root for him.

CW: murder

The Left Hand of Darkness follows Genry Ai, a human who is sent to planet Winter to convince its inhabitants, the Gethen, to join the Ekumen, an alliance between worlds in space. The story begins two years into his stay, when his political status – and life – are endangered because of the shifting powers among the government. His only ally may be Estraven, an advisor to the king. Written as a journal, with shifting perspectives, Genry and Estraven tell a story. A story that tells us if Genry is successful in his mission, a story about the Gethen – their way of life, their government, their philosophies – a story about friendship and a love story between two people, alien to each other in the beginning, who come together as they can. Ursula K. Le Guin’s book is a thoughtful exploration of gender, sexuality, friendship, and love.

CW: war, labor camps, shooting, suicide, incest, violence