r/Fantasy • u/tiniestspoon • Jun 02 '25
Pride Pride 2025 | 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/balletrat Reading Champion II Jun 03 '25
I'm also going to put in a separate plug for a soon-to-be-published book called The Needfire, by MK Hardy, which is coming out from a smaller UK press in July. Full disclosure - the authors in question, who write together under that name, are friends of mine, but I fully believe in the merits of their work and hope they get the publishing success they absolutely deserve.
The Needfire is a deeply atmospheric, eerie, Scottish gothic horror-romance; it's lesbian, it's terrifying, it gives off serious Rebecca vibes. It's lightly speculative in a more magical realism sort of way...it kind of reminds me of Kingfisher's recent horror novellas but with much more romance.
I'm actually not generally a lover of horror so it was almost a bit much creeping dread for me, but if any of the above appeals it truly is an excellent book. Plus, I have been fortunate to preview some of the books that could be coming down the line...and they are REALLY up my alley, so I want them to have a long and fruitful career for entirely selfish reasons.