Like a lot of life-changing discoveries, I stumbled upon my first queer fantasy romance story accidentally. My first brush with queer characters in fantasy began with Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series. While the central focus of the series is the pairing between a straight couple, Clary and Jace, it was queer characters like Alec and Magnus (#Malec) who later became more important to me than the main couple. Soon I began to read romance fantasy books where the main characters belonged to the LGBTQ+ umbrella in one way or another and found a long list of rewarding titles – all of which, unfortunately, could not make it on this list for brevity’s sake. Some of my early ventures of queer fantasy romance included Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On, a subversive take on the Chosen One story, and Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles. One of the things I have always loved about fantasy romance books is that they play with reality, include social commentary, make you squeal over the main couple (is this just me?) and of course, transport you to a different, immersive world. I hope these titles do the same while also offering fresh perspectives. Note: Some of the following books deal with content that may be triggering for readers. I’ve tried to include content warnings where I could, but please do your research before picking one of these up. Ever since the pandemic began, I’ve taken shelter by diving into comforting reads. Some of these books challenged me to think about our world and all the different people in it, while other titles felt like a sweet escape away from our increasingly troubling reality. Whether you’re on the hunt for something mentally stimulating, or looking for something to make you swoon, I hope you find something on this list to do one, the other, or both for you. CW: war themes, murder, death, violence, child murder (off-page), starvation, gender dysphoria, misgendering, internalized homophobia, ableism, amputation, misogyny CW: domestic abuse CW: misogyny, murder, violence, homophobia (including internalized), suicidal ideation, immolation, self-mutilation, familial abuse, body horror, drug use, fire CW: bomb blasts, violence, murder CW: abuse, sexual assault, school shooting, homophobia, racism, bullying CW: violence, gruesome murders, sexual abuse, mentions of suicidal ideations CW: murder CW: war, labor camps, shooting, suicide, incest, violence
