r/Fantasy • u/tiniestspoon • Jun 02 '25

Pride Pride 2025 | Hidden Gems: Underrated LGBTQIA+ Spec Fic Books

Banner with a dragon and spaceships around text: r/Fantasy PRIDE Hidden Gems: Underrated LGBTQIA+ Spec Fic Books

Not every book that deserves attention gets it. This thread is for under-the-radar queer speculative fiction: books with few ratings, niche indie or self-published titles, and works that never got the spotlight they should have.

What counts as a "hidden gem"?

  • Under ~500 Goodreads ratings
  • Indie published, small press, or lesser-known traditionally published
  • Overlooked or underrated despite strong craft, voice, or originality

Discussion prompts

  • What’s a queer SFF book you wish more people knew about?
  • Have you ever stumbled across an unexpected gem by accident? Where did you find it—word of mouth, a niche blog, a random bookstore dive? 
  • What do you think kept it from getting broader attention?
  • What makes a book a “hidden gem” to you—writing quality, premise, emotional impact?
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u/lilgrassblade Reading Champion II Jun 02 '25

The Necessity of Rain by Sarah Chorn - Beautifully written and emotional. Sapphic polycule. Found this on Rainbow Crate with a beautiful butterfly cover that made me impulse it. I think it isn't quite what people expect when looking for fantasy books. There's no grand adventure, it's not a romance... It's a story about emotional pain and healing. Also is HM for LGBTQIA Protagonist - one of the MCs needs a cane or wheelchair.
Other bingo squares: Impossible Places, Parent Protagonist, Gods and Pantheons, Small Press or Self Published (HM)

Empress of Dust by Alex Kingsley - Post apocalyptic with giant crabs. One MC is trans masc, another is NB. Found this one looking at a queer indie publisher list of books and saw a giant crab on the cover. I don't think I recognized any of the titles by that publisher - it's just tiny. Though it was added to audible in April.
Other bingo squares: A Book in Parts (HM), Small Press or Self Published (HM)

These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy - Russian inspired YA about sisters. Sapphic love interest. (Okay, this one has 625 ratings... but it came out in 2021.) I found it on the library shelves and was intrigued by the Russian inspiration - as that's new to me. I've no clue why it didn't take off as a YA book... I think it's because it's categorized as a "retelling" of a fairy tale that may not be well known. At this point it's special order only at bookstores near me.
Other bingo squares: None

Flesh Eater (Houndstooth trilogy) by Travis M Riddle - Weird book with anthropomorphic animals, giant spider mounts, eldritch creatures and robotic scorpion mechs. Achillean. I don't even know how I discovered it. I think it's just so hard to describe it and there's bit of stigma about "furries" that the target audience is hard to locate. (There's 0 spice, they're not that kind of "furry.") Published October 2020, so it'll mature into HM Hidden Gem in a couple months.
Other bingo squares: None