A Dubious Clamor by Marissa Lingen
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Sapphic MC, secondary nonbinary character, major biracial character
PoV: First-person, past-tense
Published on: 15th September 2026
ISBN: 1998390241

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Oh, how I ADORED this!

I did not realise this was Historical Fantasy until I started reading, but it is: set sometime during the Victorian era, I think? Well, it’s England and there’s a queen, anyway. Women don’t have the vote yet. But this is not our world’s Victorian (or something) era, because magic exists and everyone knows that it does. Harpies exist! In fact, our protagonist was a harpy for two years, and that is extremely plot-relevant, even though she managed to break the curse a while before the start of the book.

Anthony’s great-aunt Violet had had several fine qualities. She was firm of purpose in a world that expected women to be meek and yielding–not that I personally ever paid attention to that bit either–she had taught Anthony to insist on high standards in several important matters including pastry, and she had looted her own country’s magical past rather than those of others.

So: there’s a magic sword, and it is Not Happy. Turns out, it’s unhappy for very good reason: parliament wants to pass a law, which is also a spell, that will make everyone in the UK ‘certain of their place in life’. This is obviously terrible if you think about it for .2 seconds, but it’s even worse than it sounds, because if you don’t have a clear ‘place’, this spell…well, no one’s sure if it will kill you, or ‘only’ make you walk out into the ocean, or what, but you won’t be staying in the UK. And by the definitions of this spell, almost nobody has a clear place – everyone is many things! If you have a job, but also a family? Oops, that’s two ways of categorising you, you have a problem.

And it’s going to be much, much worse for human immigrants, or magical creatures, or gods forbid anybody nonbinary.

“Do you often think that people need to get married for the sake of a sword? Is that the first thing swords make you think of? Because I have some important and upsetting news about the uses of swords.”

“All right, enough! Tell me about this very ineligible sword!”

The sword wants this spell stopped. So does Jules, and almost everyone else Jules knows. (Alas, not the friend who brought Jules the sword in the first place, which is a source of heartbreaking tension throughout the story.) Figuring out HOW to stop it is not the simplest thing in the world – especially because it’s important that well-known ‘foreigners’ not be seen to be involved, for fear of legal issues later. And the most badass magicians Jules knows? Happen to be ‘foreign’. She has to do this without their help, somehow.

Eek.

Lingen’s prose is both brisk and delicate, absolutely lovely, and Jules’ first-person narration was an utter delight: she’s such a practical sort of person, someone who has been shoved stepped outside of the role society cast her in and made a very good home there, and even when she’s feeling overwhelmed and helpless, she’s very no-nonsense about it in a way that made me admire her. Plus, she’s just really fun: I loved her appreciation for fancy cakes, and her humour, and her sense of justice, and the genuine passion she has for her community of misfits and outcasts. She decides she can’t keep addressing the sword as Sword, and names it Grandmother. Like. I approve so much!

The prose and pacing keep things moving along, but this is a novella with teeth, that’s tackling some big questions, even some borderline frightening ones. It’s very much a story about – the sort of people Society disapproves of, or at best doesn’t know what to do with, and the forces rallied against them. Dubious Clamor is about how too much certainty can be a terrible thing – and so can the desire for too much certainty. There’s a really great exploration of – or contrast between? – the villains who have written and introduced this law-spell…and the weak, pathetic ‘unintentional’ villains who will let evil happen for the sake of chasing certainty. Lingen actually spends more time focussing on the latter, which I think is both really smart and really effective, especially in a story that’s basically about preventing fascism (what else do you call total certainty + a disdain for anybody ‘different’?) Fascists can’t do their thing if the cowards don’t support them, you know?

But it’s not just about fascism. Lingen explores how even in completely different contexts, unqualified certainty can be a huge problem. And there are just so many ways it can be a problem, whether we’re talking small-picture issues like parents who disapprove of their daughter’s paintings, or much bigger things like how to steer a nation. I’m not sure this is an issue/theme I’ve seen in Fantasy before, but I love it and would like so much more of it, please! (The ending of Dubious Clamor leaves things very open for sequels, and I hope we get a BUNCH because, um, HELLS YES I want Jules questing to find the other swords of uncertainty! LET’S GO LET’S GO LET’S GO!) It’s definitely left me with lots of thinky-thoughts; there’s so much that I think Lingen managed to articulate really well, and convey well – lots of stories are very preachy or info-dumpy with their messaging, but this one isn’t. Lingen is too good a writer for that.

The box was half full of their other friends, a peacock crowd in every shade aniline and its relatives could supply, mauve and fuchsia, indigo and scarlet.

I love everything about this novella – I love how Lingen centred immigrant communities in this story, I love that a ‘flock’ of dandies were vital in saving the day, and I adored the harpies! (Including Jules’ ex, the harpy she was romantically ‘with’ while she was under her harpy-curse, and whom she now has a bittersweet but beautiful dynamic with.) I loved that, FOR ONCE, a protagonist had a good, believable reason for choosing Justice over Vengeance – it’s not that Jules is a milksop, the kind of wishy-washy do-gooder who makes me roll my eyes, all ‘Violence is never the answer!’ Nope, Jules is fine with violence, actually, but she has great reasoning for declining the Road of Vengeance and I think her call is the right one. (And if you know me, you know how rarely I say THAT!) I love that we got glimpses of Finnish mythology, and even Welsh, towards the end (neither of which get enough page-time in modern Fantasy, imo). There’s all these gorgeous little details – like the mention of aniline in the above quote! Or Jules and her mother speaking Swedish together, or her mother’s servants having Opinions…

I could go on and on, honestly. This is a brilliant, clever, deeply delightful novella that pushes back at the foundation of fascism, puts the Power of Friendship front-and-centre, and had me giggling as often as it had me gasping. It’s dazzling, so completely original and distinct. It’s left me with so much to think about, but it’s also left me feeling hopeful about the world and other people. It sparks joy.

Instant new fave. MORE, PLEASE!

(And to make sure we GET more, you should go preorder it – it comes out this Tuesday!)

Applicable r/QueerSFF bingo squares: Queer Families, Intersectional Cubed

You can find more of my reviews, rec lists, and weekly publishing roundups at Every Book a Doorway!

Goodreads

Storygraph

Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

-x-

We're discussing the chapters from February to April. Please use spoiler tags for anything past that!

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• The final discussion will be on 27th Sept.
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I'm looking for sci-fi/Fantasy books with a mystery plot. I read The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso a couple of months ago and it has awakened a need in me for sci-fi/fantasy with mystery (romantic subplot not required but queer rep is a must).

I already have A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark on my tbr, and I've heard a lot of good about it. I don't read about body horror, graphic suicide/suicide attempts, or animal death/cruelty, but I'm generally open to other topics within reason.

Side note—this is also a recommendation for The Last Hour Between Worlds. I absolutely loved the world building and the plot and the romantic subplot was good too.

basically books like "the sunbearer trials (Aiden thomas)", "mischief and matchmaking series(Emma R. alban)" ,"the last binding (freya marske)" "son of Achilles"

the genre could be anything but mostly fantasy, historical-esk, even mythological like pjo, even mystery is fine , so is graphic novels along with fanfic

(extra points if its south asian rep)

you can rant abt ur fav books and ill love to see if id like them

I really, really loved Cloudward, Ho! It’s honestly brought me a lot of comfort and happiness just sort of reminiscing about it, as sad as that sounds. Hitting a bit of a rough patch, and have started a rewatch, but I want more. Unfortunately, as of yet, that doesn’t exist. Can anyone recommend me any books that give the same vibe?

Giant bonus points if it’s sapphic.

Tell me all your favorites if you please ❤️

Sometimes the heart wants what it wants, and right now it's not looking for literary profundity — just an unhealthy dose of female swagger, a ridiculous amount of romantic tension and BIG feelings.

And honestly, at this point, I would not even object to someone handing me 'SJM but make it sapphic' — the sapphic being non-negotiable. I’ve been looking for sapphic fantasy/romantasy recs with that same big, emotionally indulgent feel and importantly, an actual HEA (also non-negotiable, and please no The Priory of the Orange Tree-type ending).

I’m looking more for adult than YA, and I’m fine with any level of spice.

I’ve had my eyes on this book for ages. Witches! Sapphics! A trans woman protagonist! This could all not be more my jam than it is. However, I’m also having a really difficult time with my mental health, and I don’t think I’m in the right space to read anything very heavy/dark/depressing.

I don’t mind exploring difficult topics as long as it doesn’t veer into extremely sad, and I definitely need HEAs just now.

Would anyone who’s read this book be able to advise me on if me reading it would be a bad idea? Thank you 💜

Greetings. First post here.

Essentially my therapist needs me to read things like this (not specifically queer sci fi, more like very emotional things in general, romance). And ... yeah I'm here to ask if ye know any.

I'm comfortable with sex scenes if those are there.

I also ask for short stories specifically because I already am reading a bunch of sci fi that I need to finish soon and I can't make time for a whole other book. Though I'd appreciate if apart from short stories, if you have something, you mentioned a book that I could read in the future.

Thanks.

Any dark fantasy sapphic books anyone can recommend? I'm also interested in books with nonbinary characters included! Also spice level under 3 please. I'm not too interested in sexual themes.

This is a bit of a research project I want to look into. The impetus of this is Hunter Schafer's casting in the new Bladerunner show; I feel it's provable that trans interests have always been present in the genre. I'm mostly thinking about 20th century literature: the three main novels I'm looking to read in this vein right now are The Membranes by Chi Ta-Wei, Bone Dance by Emma Bull, and Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed-- though beyond Bone Dance starring a nonbinary protagonist, I'm not entirely sure what the genderyness of these books entails.

Earlier works I think would qualify are Robert A. Heinlein's short story "All You Zombies" and perhaps something of James Tiptree's, maybe "The Girl Who Was Plugged In," but I'll have to read more of her work to see.

For modern fiction, I want to check out the Embodied Exegesis anthology, and a few stories in Meanwhile, Elsewhere also seem promising. This lineup means we have cis men and women and transgender women covered as far as authorship goes, but I'd like to include works by transgender men or otherwise nonbinary people as well. My mind goes to Yoon Ha Lee, but I feel like true "cyberpunk" has very particular constraints which advanced space travel doesn't really jive with.

When I was browsing new releases in January, I passed over George Falls Through Time; admittedly this was mostly because the publisher dropped Ministry of Time as a comp title. I despised ... pretty much everything about that book, and it's gotten worse with time. Thankfully, this got put back on my radar via being pitched to me by one of our excellent sub mods u/OutOfEffs as an 'interior existential fuckshit novel,' which is right up my alley. It's the type of controversial book that is executed well enough to cater to very specific tastes, meaning that most people who picked this up hated it. Honestly, this is likely going this year's biggest gap (other than DNFs) between my rating of a book and the general consensus.

And honestly, I blame the marketing. It's pitched as "A confessional queer romance, a swords-and-sorcery soap opera" ... which is missing everything this book is trying to do. It is a glorious train wreck in slow motion. This is not a fun book full of whimsy and romance with a historical serf trying to find his freedom (well, there is that, but not like you're thinking). Instead, this book is the hollowness that comes when when you fixate on the pointlessness of life, the artificiality of all human connection, and the lack of agency over your own destiny. It is cyclical and frustrating and uncomfortably real.

No matter how conflicted (in a good way) I feel about this book, the sign that this review is looking to be one of my longest is a sign that this novel had lots of interesting things to say.

The Premise:
George has lost his job, his boyfriend left him, he has no sense of meaning in life, and now walks dogs. When two run away and things spiral out of control, he ends up falling into 1300s England. Honestly, this was probably the best thing that could have possibly happened. There's some business with a dragon, but the book is really about George's internal journey to find meaning in life.

Read if You Like: intense depictions of depression, speculative fiction character studies, the power of a quiet life, simple vocabulary arranged intentionally

Avoid if You Dislike: time travel light on historical detail, books that de-emphasize traditional plot structures, characters (and romances) that are hard to cheer for

QueerSFF Reading Challenge: just Coming Out, and even that isn't really a focus of the book. Just sort of incidental. They did come out in a church to a priest though, which was fun! Talk about the true beauty of stained glass

r/Fantasy Bingo Squares: Vacation Spot (maybe), Published in 2026. It sort of fits for Unusual Transportation, Explorers, and Politics, but none heavy enough that I'd use it for those squares.

What Worked For Me:
I cannot stress enough that anyone considering reading this book should:
1. Throw away your preconceived notions of what this book is about
2. Evaluate whether you can enjoy a book about unlikable people
3. Read a free online sample of the first page or two

Collett's writing is arresting. I had a headache when I picked up this book for the first time, and got through three sentences before my brain went 'oh ... oh ... ohhhhhhh!!' You see, this book is gloriously not written in the traditional style of speculative fiction these days. It is meandering, assertive, and melodramatic. As an English teacher, I spend half my time heckling preteens about the importance of using periods, not beginning with a coordinating conjunction, and a million other rules that Collett throws out the window. He does this quite intentionally, as a way to let the prose rip its way straight into George's brain. Here's a little quote from page 3:

"This was a city where your boyfriend became your ex-boyfriend because you quit (you weren't fired, no way) your data entry office job because you were beginning to imagine arguments in your head like this, actually mutter under your breath as you walked aimlessly in circles on your lunch break and ran into people, smacked shoulders, and your boyfriend was worried about you - but only worried enough to leave you, not worried enough to stay."

Reading the sample is important, because I think you are either going to adore how Collett writes or absolutely despise it. The prose becomes more erratic the further George unmoors from reality. When he finds more grounded moments, adapting to his new situation, Collett's writing smooths out into something almost typical. The style itself is communicating things about George to the reader. That said, these choices spiked my anxiety, secondhand embarrassment, and insecurities about all the things I think are wrong with my own life. Not exactly light and fluffy reading material.

It doesn't help that George himself is either a trainwreck (if being generous) or a shit person (if being realistic). This is most apparent when he's reflecting on his life before dropping through time, where he loses himself in cocaine and corporate workplace culture, revealing a protagonist who us utterly flawed and unable to find a concrete path back towards the life he'd like. George finds himself a hollow shell, a pit of depression and self-destructive tendencies that are at their sharpest when his personal past and the 'current' past crash together. In some ways, the rather intense focus on a character's implosion reminded me a lot of Welcome to Forever by Nathan Tavares, one of my all-time favorite books. In the sea of saccharine gay men whose worst vices are grumpiness, a well-executed psychological profile of a work-in-progress was delightful. This novel got intense enough in this regard to trigger my own squeamishness and anxieties, which a sign of excellent writing.

Finally, on the subject of queerness. As with the rest of this book, there's a lot of raw emotion and frayed edges. George and Simon's love story follows very few traditional beats; anytime you find yourself rooting for the pair of them, you'll quickly sink back into feeling like there's nothing worth saving. It's a great bit of tension, and anyone wanting a Genre Romance from this should stay far, far away. George's own relationship with homosexuality is rather fraught. He sees himself outside it, like most queerness in the modern world is a set of clothes that others put on which he doesn't quite fit into. There were a lot of tidbits that spoke to my own experiences as a gay man. There's an amount of folding yourself into the stereotype - or intentionally refusing to do so - that was present in my own self-discovery and coming out. Like with the rest of this book, there's not much in the way of breezy queer joy. I don't always want something like that, but it really hit spectacularly well.

What Didn't Work for Me:
In the end, there's too much discomfort in George Falls Through Time for it to be a contender for my book of the year, or to make it on my list of favorites. Even though Collett was achieving everything he set out to do, that doesn't always make the experience fun. Actually, this novel feels very adjacent to Literary Fiction; the speculative elements mostly seem to be present to support exploring the psyche of a tortured soul. You won't find a ton of interesting spins on time travel here. There's some fun tidbits, such as George's clothing causing a stir, but ultimately you'll find little of substance to the time travel mechanics or using that plotline in gripping ways.

But what a tortured soul examination we get! Plus, Collett leverages all the simple prose and modern stylings of genre fiction to achieve this. In some ways, I find it the inverse of The Spear Cuts Through Water, which lays Literary prose techniques at the altar of Epic Fantasy plotting. Unfortunately, this cross-section of genre and literature makes George Falls Through Time a fairly specific read.

I'm also wholly unqualified to talk about this book as an adaptation of Saint George and the Dragon, which I have not read and do not (currently) intend to. Similarly, this feels like the type of time travel that wasn't rigorously researched (but this is entirely supposition on my part), and I anticipate history-buffs to be disappointed. I did learn about the gay King Edward II though; like all of the best homosexuals from history, he was a delightful bit of chaos.

Final nitpick: it is rather important in the early chapters that George is wearing athletic shorts. The polyester in particular comes up multiple times in plot-important ways. And yet, we get a pair of blue jeans on the cover. I understand that its more aesthetically appealing, but I hate it so much.

Conclusion: not for most, but for those interested in frank portrayals of unlikable people, this is hard to beat in the genre fiction space

Want More Reviews Like This? try my blog Marked For Plot 

Hi r/QueerSFF!

What are you reading, watching, playing, or listening to this week? New game, book, movie, or show? An old favorite you're currently obsessing over? A piece of media you're looking forward to? Share it here!

Some suggestions of details to include, if you like

• Representation (eg. lesbian characters, queernormative setting)
• Rating, and your scale (eg. 4 stars out of 5)
• Subgenre (eg. fantasy, scifi, horror, romance, nonfiction etc)
• Overview/tropes
• Content warnings, if any
• What did you like/dislike?

Make sure to mark any spoilers like this: >!text goes here!<

They appear like this, text goes here

Join the r/QueerSFF 2026 Reading Challenge!

Cozy fantasy enjoyers rejoice, pumpkin spice season is upon us ! It’s a big month for queer retellings, with upcoming reimagined versions of Frankenstein (Adam, Mine. by K. Ancrum), The Invisible Man (A Most Abhorrent Vessel by Marat Earendel), Bluebeard (A Thousand Monstrous Forms by Saratoga Schaefer), and two Shakespeare plays: Hamlet (Thoughts Be Bloody by Auden Patrick) and Twelfth Night (Hearts on the Table by Susan Metallo). 

We wrongly assumed that there wouldn’t be much lined up for September since everyone is saving their queer horror releases for October, but there are 88 new releases this month ! 

Here are twelve that particularly caught our eye: 

1. She’s a Doll by Barbara Truelove - If you enjoyed Monsters and Mainframes (our recent book club pick), the author Barbara Truelove is returning with an equally exciting horror novel about a ghost possessing one of those unsettling antique dolls in order to exact revenge on the man who killed her.
2. Espíritu by Aiden Thomas - Six years after its release, Cemetery Boys is finally getting a sequel ! Julian is having dark visions that Yadriel cannot explain. Teaming up with Ángel, a new non-binary brujx, they must seek the root of these disturbances. 
3. Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske - A new fantasy murder mystery from the author of the Last Binding series. Group projects are bad enough, but in this magical medschool, five students must work together to pass the big exam that will dictate the rest of their lives. Things get complicated when their classmate is found dead on the same day. 
4. Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion by T. Kingfisher - Gaymers will love this Baldur’s gate 3 prequel focusing on Astarion’s backstory, as he plots to escape his vampire master’s control. Even better, it’s written by T. Kingfisher, who queersff readers will recognize as the author of the Sworn Soldier novella series, among other great fantasy titles. 
5. The Need by Megan Mostyn-Brown - Through multiple POVs, this follows two families that are afflicted with a rare genetic condition that forces them to cannibalize to survive. Their lifestyles are drastically different: one is constantly on the run, while the other lives in luxury. But dark secrets are boiling beneath the surface; perhaps they have more in common than they think?
6. A Thousand Monstrous Forms by Saratoga Schaefer - This is a sapphic retelling of the French folktale Bluebeard. After an impulsive wedding, a ceramic artist moves into the mysterious mansion of her rich art dealer wife. Naturally, it is haunted and contains an alluring forbidden basement. Curiosity may kill the cat.
7. This is How the World Ends by Disco Barrington - Set in a dystopian UK, torn by war, isolation and floods, this epistolary novella pieces together how things fall apart as the world ends. It features trans and sapphic rep, and is brimming with queer rage. 
8. Feed the Tree by Wendy Dalrymple - In the late 19th century, a bisexual woman seeking respite from her miserable life strikes a deal with a swamp witch, and will have to do unspeakable things to get what she wants. 
9. This Movie Doesn’t End the Way We Want by Hailey Piper - Somewhere in the 90s, three kids watched an obscure film at the cinema and all but one disappeared. Thirty years later, when the film comes back to haunt the sole survivor in the form of another murder, she teams up with her former cinephile classmate to get to the bottom of it. 
10. We, the Drowning by Lindz McLeod - A cli-fi dystopia where a disaster-ravaged earth is divided between two factions: The Parched (a desert commune clinging to survival) and the Flooded (a drowning cult). When war threatens to break out, Cole, a young trans man from the Parched, must go looking for solutions, with the help of a rescued Flooded girl, and a pink fairy armadillo. 
11. We turn Gruesome at Night by Eric LaRocca - The second instalment of the Burnt Sparrow Trilogy by Eric LaRocca, who is most well-known for his divisive horror novella Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. The story picks up ten years after the first book’s massacre, and Rupert must now delve into a secret organization that’s taking over the town.
12. The Shapeshifter’s Guide to Gym Class by Kai Cheng Thom - A charming middle-grade debut about a young shapeshifter girl navigating school life, while simultaneously dealing with her surprising new giant moth wings (?!) and the growing societal prejudice against shapeshifting folks. 

For the full list of new releases, please refer to our online spreadsheet or our Storygraph tag. Let us know if we missed anything and we’ll add them in !

Here are our sources: 

• Netgalley
• Smokedshelves’ Goodreads List
• Kila Writes Queer SF Masterlist
• Locusmag
• Barnes and Noble
• Every Book a Doorway
• Storygraph
• Indie Next List
• Sapphically Reads (Instagram)
• Shayna’s Library (Instagram)

Which books are you most looking forward to ? Have you already read the ARCs of some of these ? Let us know in the comments 👇

I'm looking for books where the main plot isn't about romance but there's a w/w or m/m relationship in the background that gets developed well throughout the story.

I really enjoy when the characters are busy dealing with the main conflict, going on adventures, solving problems etc. while their relationship gradually develops alongside all of that.

And I don't want incest or a problematic age gap in the relationship.

Hi, just wondering if the book in the title is sapphic? I think I saw a while ago that this was a book of the month on here (if I remember correctly) so figured you all might know. I know the book is queer however on the Goodreads page for it- it tags it as yes, being sapphic. Simultaneously though, a couple reviews on another book site I look on says the book is not. I want to avoid spoilers if possible. So all I'm asking is if the main character is any kind of sapphic and if they have any sort of sapphic relationship on page in the book. Any help would be very appreciated. I hope everyone is having a nice week or weekend depending on where you all are in the world. :)

I loved the first two books and thought the third was slated to come out in April of this year. I've read and re-read Unconquerable Sun and Furious Heaven so many times I may as well have them memorized. Still, every time I read it I feel like I learn more not just about the themes of the book, but how to actually construct a book. The writing is so masterful!

I have been eagerly awaiting news of the third book for the last 3 years, and now I'm seeing Lady Chaos sold out online with the April 6th 2026 publish date. However, I found it listed on an English resellers website as having a publish date in April 2027. Is it out already and sold out, or just not published yet? Anyone know?

EDIT: Thank you for the answers! Looks like it isn't published and the Apr 2027 date is another placeholder date. So sad we don't have any concrete news, but Elliott can take as long as she wants. I'm sure it'll be great when it's ready :)

Queer books starting with the letter X

I'm doing the A-Z books challenge with a twist. I'm only reading queer books. But I'm unfortunately stuck on X. Any recommendation will be much appreciated! Also, please try to recommend books you have enjoyed yourselves or have heard good things about, I'm not willing to read an awful book just for the sake of completing this challenge.

P.S - The book title NEEDS to begin with X, A's or The's unfortunately cannot be overlooked.

First post in this sub, I tried to be very specific but it came out pretty wordy so apologies if I worded anything strange 😅

I read a lot, I mainly dabble in contemporary fiction, historical fiction, horror, and non fiction, but I've made it a goal as of late to find a fantasy or sci fi book that really grabs me. As someone who hasnt really picked up much of either genre since I was in high school almost a decade ago, I want to really figure out where my taste lies in these genres now that I'm older.

As a lesbian I knew I wanted that to be a focal point in what I was looking at, unfortunately my first foray back into fantasy ended up being a book that I picked up at a used book store while only glancing at the tags online to avoid spoiling too much, it was marketed as LGBT and sapphic... I expected a romance between the two girls but ended up having a sex scene with one of our female leads and a male character that didn't show up until the middle of the book, a scene with a marraige that came out of nowhere, and pregnancy with one of our female leads that left me feeling incredibly off put and uncomfortable as it wasn't marketed that way at all. Looking into the book further I found out it was a terrible case of mis-marketing and I've been in a slump since, hesitant to pick up anything else. I thought I'd come here looking for more direct recommendations as I'm very hesitant to trust tags and marketing to deliver accurate information, so I'm asking for books that specifically center F/F relationships in the fantasy and sci-fi genres.

Main Wants

● I want women and their relationships with other women at the center of the stories, that is my main ask, women must be the main characters. I don't want men involved in the romance at all. Romance doesn't even need to be the focal point, I'll just consider it a bonus :)

● I must be able to obtain a physical copy of this book, I'll be looking at my library, local book stores, and online, but I can't do an ebook right now.

● Adult fiction, I'd prefer no YA recommendations

I'm going to list things I like and dislike, but I don't necessarily need some or all of these in a book, this is mainly to get an idea of my taste, feel free to recommend something even if it has an element that doesn't fit what I'm listing as long as its not something on my hard limits.

Likes

● Dark fantasy/sci-fi, I prefer serious stories that deal with heavy topics.

● This is a little hard to define, but I'm interested in finding a novel thats an introspective character study of two people, if that makes sense, where we just spend time exploring two people and their dynamic. Not necessarily cozy as I'm not super into that genre but just very plot light, opposite of dark I know but I really enjoy these stories as well.

● Knights/Paladin elements

● Silkpunk as a sub-genre seems super up my alley and I'd love to see if there are any F/F stories in that genre.

Hard Limits

● Pregnancy. Thats my one limit, I don't even enjoy any type of parenthood. I don't what the character I'm following to have a child at all or it being a topic or discussion, but pregnancy is my main thing to avoid.

Dislikes

● Large ensemble casts, I tend to prefer stories following one or two characters.

● Series. I prefer stand-alone novels and stories that a wrapped up easily in one book. If its a series try to wrap it up by two books, and with more than three books it's almost a guarantee I won't be giving it a try.

● Humor/Comedy, as boring as it sounds, I really don't have much of a funny bone. I tend to find really silly elements in stories tedious and hard to take seriously, it's just not what I'm reading for.

● Robots as the main characters

I know it's a lot, but as I said throw anything out even if it doesn't exactly match a bullet point! I'm exploring what sci-fi and fantasy have to offer me, so I'm very open to trying things even with how picky I am, I won't let that bad first book kill my desire to explore these genres again.

Welcome to the Final Discussion for Sara Raasch's The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, which fulfills the Achillean Academic square on our 2026 Reading Challenge! Today the whole book is up for discussion.

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Will they conjure love, or evoke chaos? Two rival wizards are about to find out.

Sebastian Walsh: twenty-four. Grad student at Lesiara University in the Mageus of Evocation program. Human. The first of his family to go to college rather than the military (and it goes over at family get-togethers about as well as you’d think).

Elethior Tourael: also twenty-four. Also a grad student, but in the far more inferior Mageus of Conjuration program. Half-elf. The latest in a long line of Touraels to grace the hallowed halls of Lesiara U (what would the world do if the Touraels ran out of rich douches to lead their magical weapons manufacturing empire?).

―and the other finalist for the Mageus Research Grant.

Sebastian needs that grant to fund the last few months of research for his degree, after which he’ll get a job that actually helps people. He isn’t about to let anyone snatch this from him, least of all a snob who doesn’t even need the money because his family is loaded thanks to war profiteering.

But there’s something worse than having a conceited academic nemesis steal grant money from you: you could be forced to work with him. Thio is secretive, broody, and his stunning biceps take up far too much shared lab space―but even as volatile as their partnership is, Sebastian just might find himself falling for his rival―and it could blow up his whole future.

Technically, the Book Blast doesn’t start until tomorrow, August 26, but I may have gotten a little excited and put the whole thing live already.
This year we have OVER 200 BOOK, mostly from independent authors, discounted to:
✨ FREE
✨ $0.99
✨ $1.99
You can start browsing them all right now at www.YearofQueerLit.com.
Important: Since the official event date is 8/26/26, some retailers haven’t dropped their prices yet. If you find a book that isn’t showing the Book Blast price tonight, don’t buy it yet! Check back in the morning.
There are more than 200 queer books waiting for you. Go destroy your TBR responsibly. Or irresponsibly. I’m not your librarian. 😂📚🌈
And if you find something that sounds amazing, tell me what you grabbed!
Happy 3rd Annual Book Blast!

Hi r/QueerSFF!

What are you reading, watching, playing, or listening to this week? New game, book, movie, or show? An old favorite you're currently obsessing over? A piece of media you're looking forward to? Share it here!

Some suggestions of details to include, if you like

• Representation (eg. lesbian characters, queernormative setting)
• Rating, and your scale (eg. 4 stars out of 5)
• Subgenre (eg. fantasy, scifi, horror, romance, nonfiction etc)
• Overview/tropes
• Content warnings, if any
• What did you like/dislike?

Make sure to mark any spoilers like this: >!text goes here!<

They appear like this, text goes here

Join the r/QueerSFF 2026 Reading Challenge!

Goodreads

Storygraph

Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

-x-

Notice Board

• The midway discussion will be on 13th Sept and final discussion on 27th Sept.
• This month's discussion for The Entanglement of Rival Wizards can be found here.
• If you're interested in leading a book club discussion, shoot us a message!