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A list of 35 this year, and still so many I didn't get around to. We live in a time of wonders.
10 more than last year's, one less than the first year of the pandemic 2020, but well up on the first year I kept track: 2019
Another cool thing - there are four books on this list by New Zealand authors π³πΏ.
First up a subtle entry; Servant Mage by Kate Elliott πͺ is a novella about revolutions and making other choices and the romance in it is only touched on, but it's a great read. Fellian also comes from a culture where polyandry is not uncommon.
Next is Chaos on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer πΈ is an excellent YA sequel with multiple f/f pairings and an AI who still wants to spread goodwill via catpics.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston π August, recently arrived in contemporary NYC, notices Jane who may have been riding the subway since the 70s; this is a sweet romance about found family with a timeslip plot around two mysteries.
Sisters of the Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather π¦ is a direct sequel to Sisters of the Vast Black; centred around the nuns aboard their newly grown liveship dealing with repercussions from the first book, Gemma and Vauca do also have a storyline .
I love a good queer fairytale reimagining; next up not one but two Sleeping Beauty riff:
Malice by Heather Walters πΉ focuses on the Maleficent character, Alice, there's lots of complicated backstory to set up why she's an evil fae casting a sleeping curse on her doomed love, Princess Aurora. Part 1 of a duology.
A Spindle Splintered by Alix Harrow π is a modern take; Zinnia, dying of an uncurable disease, is dropped into a Sleeping Beauty story to help Princess Primrose rescue herself, can she return to her best friend Charm? A really fun novella.
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki π© is a delightful blend of science fiction (aliens hiding out in a donut shop) and fantasy (selling souls to a demon), set in LA. Includes both a trans main character and an older lesbian romance .
The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente ποΈ ποΈ is an allegorical dystopic novella with a bisexual main character who lives on the Pacific Garbage Gyre.
Spear: Nicola Griffith βοΈ writing a King Arthur novella about a genderswapped Perceval is everything my Rosemary Sutcliff conditioned heart could desire, it is of course a fascinating and immersive read
In River Solomon's queer and visceral Sorrowland πΆ πΆ teenaged Vern escapes a cult to give birth to twins in the forest, she hopes to find a friend who fled years earlier, but she has to prevail over what haunts and hunts her.
The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai (2018) π is a dystopic Earth future with parthogenetic clones and people being uploaded to the cloud aboard deorbiting satellites.
Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy πΆ πΆ πΆ πΆ πΆ after her mother disappears Josie sets out to find the other girls born parthogenetically on a commune in Vermont two decades earlier. A thriller with more lesbian relationships than I was expecting.
Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka πͺΆ A reimagining of MΔori myth Hatupatu and the Bird Woman, this gorgeous tΓͺte-bΓͺche printed book follows the eponoymous Kurangaituku to the underworld where she is seduced by HinenuitepΕ. Kurangaituku won the New Zealand Fiction book award this year and there are much better reviews out there of it than mine https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/25-01-2022/transformation-a-takatapui-response-to-whiti-hereakas-novel-kurangaituku https://www.ketebooks.co.nz/all-book-reviews/kurangaituku-r7csy
The Thousand Eyes by AJ Larkwood π In this epic sequel Csorwe and Shuthmili are separated for large parts of the novel, but their relationship drives the story.
A Master of Djinn by P Djeli Clark π§ Set in a steampunk 1912 Egypt with djinns and other magic, Ministry of Alcemy agent Fatma and her girlfriend Siti were first introduced in the novella A Dead Djinn in Cairo, here they take on a murder that uncovers a vast conspiracy.
Na Viro by Gina Cole βοΈ is Pasifkafuturism, set between a floating village in Fiji, a waterlogged Tamakimakaurau, and in space where a giant whirlpool phenomenon has opened, forcing Tia, to leave off mapping the great Moana and go into space to rescue her sister and prevent a great wrong. Tia is dealing with her feelings of abandonment by her mother and her crush on the latest iteration of Turukawa, an artificial entity who coalesces their bodies from walls as needed.
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield π¦ Mara's wife Lissa departs on a short submarine trip and doesn't return for 6 months. More weird and horror adjacent than scifi or fantasy.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo π§ is Golden Age Hollywood running on sacrifice and ancient magic; Luli Wei bargains her way into a chance at stardom, but the monstrous roles she is assigned may eat her alive.
A Mirror Mended by Alix Harrow π In this A Spindle Splintered sequel Zinnia's surfing through Sleeping Beauty stories problemsolving when she encounters an unnamed Evil Queen in a mirror and her understanding of fairy tales starts to change
Lifelode by Jo Walton π° This domestic fantasy from 2009 is set in an everyone is polyamorous world, the f/f relationship in it is secondary, but the world changing stakes are very relevant. Read it!
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean π Meeting Hester might ensure Devon's escape from her controlling Book Eating family, but Devon will do anything, no matter how terrible, to save her son. Almost more horror than wainscot fantasy, very readable
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne π§πΏ Mayan past, present and a transhuman future of humanity in Cayo, Belize, set 1000 years apart as humanity look to the past to choose their future. Includes future approaches to gender and orientation.
Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield π΄ Glorious time travel novella about an English highwaywoman and her inventor companion.
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir π Do we, the rabid fans, now know more? While Nona knows even less? With Xena levels of "Did your faves actually kiss?" And bonus gender fun thanks to the ongoing game of musical bodies. Read Gideon first.
Deep Wheel Orcadia by Harry Josephine Giles βΈοΈ Astrid returns to the space station she was born on, Darling escapes to it. And then there are space ghosts. Haunting poetry written in a Scottish dialect from the Orkneys.
High Times in the Low Parliament by Kelly Robson π§ This cheerful romp is set in an all female England controlled by fairies, Lana is a womanizing scribe bent on living the high life who gets shanghaied into working at an imperiled Parliament.
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik π I'm delighted to get to add this because El doesn't just spend the whole book pining for Orion. This is the "why would you send your kids to a magic school where they are at risk of dying" series, start at book 1.
The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by CM Waggoner βοΈ Petty con-artist and firewitch Delly takes on a protection job and meets troll-born gentlelady Winn as they start a complicated con to capture a murdering drug supplier.
The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones πΉ This really is a Beauty and The Beast reimagining, exploring the stories that gets told versus what actually happened. With ace rep and a lesbian couple.
Even Though I Knew the End by CL Polk π΅οΈββοΈ This is noir fantasy with a heart: as 1940s Chicago detective Helen takes on one last infernal case her girlfriend Edith hopes they can move to San Francisco and start a new life.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth π Several girls died during the Happenings at Brookhants Academy in 1902, now Harper Harper, Audrey and Merritt are part of filming it. So many lesbians and bisexuals in this that it can get away with certain tropes. Historical fiction, contemporary fiction, mystery, horror, fantasy, gothic, school story, lesbian fiction, and metafiction, there's a whole lot of genre bending going on in this, bonus, that's the best celesbian name ever.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow π¦ 3 sisters - maiden, mother and crone - try to bring forgotten witchery back to the mill town of New Salem; Bella was banished from home for dallying with the preacher's daughter, Agnes for having an abortion, but the youngest sister was the most dangerous of the three. Women's magic in this clever novel isn't gender bound, except by convention and need.
The Scratch Daughters by HA Clarke ποΈ The second half of the story of Sideways - outcast witch admitted to the cool girl clique and hunted by evangelical witchfinders - is just as prickly and riotous and clever, and even more queer.
Alice Payne Rides by Kate Heartfield β Another enjoyable sequel, Alice, highway woman turned time traveller, rides again, with her inventive companion Jane. Novella.
The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by AJ Fitzwater π΄ββ οΈ A collection of whimsical tales about the adventures of a lesbian capybara pirate.
This list was originally posted in this tweet thread, now mirrored on Mastodon.
And here's all the books I read in 2022, not just the queer sff. Thank you LibraryThing for the easily arranged coverimages.
And done, Happy New Year π from Aotearoa!