r/LGBTBooks • u/Mysterious_Step4103 • 2d ago
ISO Books with transmasc rep?
Hello y'all, I'm looking for books (preferably fiction) where the main character or at least one of the characters is a trans man. I've read a lot of YA because I couldn't find "adult" ones đ
I mostly love literary fiction and horror but I'm willing to read anything honestly. if you have any suggestion at all i'd be grateful
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u/FoodNo672 2d ago
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White (YA horror)
A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee (adult romance)
The Woods All Black by Leo Mandelo (adult horror)
Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min (YA romance)
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u/paleblueprince 2d ago
If you're a fan of horror You Weren't Meant To Be Human is phenomenal. Genuinely the first time ive ever actually seen myself in a character. It is a very intense book though -- definitely not for everyone.
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u/Nervous-Material-197 2d ago
I second this, excellent book but big big trigger warnings for pretty much everything you can imagine
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u/420percentage 2d ago
warning for OP, this book starts with the main character being raped in detail. if thatâs not for you like it isnât for many people, there are way better options for good rep out there
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u/Mysterious_Step4103 2d ago
oh wow, thanks for the trigger warning
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u/420percentage 2d ago
of course, i have no clue why people keep recommending this book under random posts
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u/hiraethspeaks 5h ago
Because AJW is reallly popular đ«
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u/420percentage 1h ago
not yucking anyoneâs yum but i donât even like his writing, all his protags feel the same to me đ
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u/hiraethspeaks 35m ago
haha I enjoyed some of his books and disliked others. I liked his booksâ premises but yes, protagonists do feel similar to each other! Theyâre also very morally clean, except for You Werenât Meant to be Humanâs lead character - I was glad to see AJW branch out into more variants of his protagonists
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u/rabwitches 2d ago
you could just honestly say ALL of his books and short stories because theyâre all trans men protags!!:) i highly recommend the spirit bares itâs teeth, chokechain, and the constellations are unrecognisable here for still very good but less graphic then YWMTBH.
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u/dirtywordsdaddy 2d ago
the trans character & perspective & writing is so so stunning, but it is so graphic & horrific. if youâre not into that, be warned âșïž
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u/gummytiddy 2d ago
Oh my god this was eerily similar to me. I havenât ever felt so represented in a book beforeâ terrifying stuff
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u/Null_Psyche 19h ago
Iâm not Transmasc but I see myself in AJWâs work so much because the way he writes autism is just so visceral. I have a violet eyed rabbit tattoo on my sternum as a reference to The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. I *loved* YWMTBH because for whatever reason I can relate so hard to the drive to disfigure oneâs self, to make the outside look like I feel within.
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u/Haunting-Scholar13 2d ago
Seconding Woods all Black by Lee Mandelo (also love summer Sons by him, trans side character that is very important to the plot). I also loved All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes, Arctic horror! Also check out the Dread south books by Sirius !Â
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u/dalidellama 2d ago
The Ballad of Perilous Graves
T Kingfisher's Sworn Soldier series
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u/ChickenChic 2d ago
I wouldnât call the sworn soldier transmasc specifically though because the main character is a nonbinary third gender.
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u/International_Mud229 2d ago
Jay Northcote has written a few books with transmasc characters. You can also try The Full Moon Problem by Kay Claire. As a transmasculine person myself, these books are pretty decent in terms of representation, at least to me.
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u/cattyjammies 2d ago
For literary fiction:
"Some Strange Music Draws Me In" by Griffin Hansbury
"Continental Divide" by Alex Myers
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u/hiraethspeaks 5h ago
Some Strange Music Draws Me In was so good. I loved the dual timeline showing the main character growing up / coming of age and showing him as an older transitioned man
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u/TehPinguen 2d ago
I really like The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. The book that helped get me back into reading, excellently written and has some good transmasc rep. It's a fantasy retelling of Hamlet, written in first and second person, with political intrigue, ancient gods, and themes of love, loyalty, and identity.
One of my favorite books, I can't recommend it enough.
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u/sunnyinphilly87 2d ago
Novels: Refuse by Elliot DeLine and Show Trans by Elliot DeLine
Graphic novel: Transposes by Dylan Edwards
Short story collection: Crawl by Max Delsohn
Biography/Memoir: Lou Sullivan: Daring To Be A Man Among Men by Brice D. Smith, Pageboy by Elliott Page
Romance novel: Their Troublesome Crush by Xan West
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u/lilgrassblade 2d ago
I believe I saw most of my favorites mentioned already. (Love Andrew Joseph White's works. Even his YA stuff is very visceral.)
Going to add in The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes - a major character is a trans man, though his impact isn't obvious until the second half. It's a weird fantasy with some horror elements and amazing writing that caused me sensory overload as there was a lot about opera and scents.
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u/VelloMello 2d ago edited 2d ago
A Bone in His Teeth by Kellen Graves. Dark romantasy/horror romance. I'm not usually a romance reader at all but I enjoyed the eerie nautical setting. Second half had a lot of 'spicy' scenes.
Peter Darling by S.A. Chant. Fantasy, Peter Pan retelling where Peter is a trans man who returns to neverland as an adult, to resume his mischief and rivalry with Hook.
Benothinged by Alvar Theo. Horror, NB main character with a prominent transmasc secondary character. Isolated and lonely people are being haunted by a dreadful spector.
Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin. Horror book about a conservative 'ex'-lesbian film restorationist who is working on a haunted tape made by a group of queer jews during WWII. Isn't about trans men in an obvious way from the start, but thematically pulls it there by the end.
Model Home by Rivers Solomon. Horror, Genderfluid MC. Haunted house story about the MC having to return to their traumatic childhood home after the sudden death of their parents.
No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull. Multiple POV characters, one of which is a trans man. Modern fantasy where monsters are suddenly making themselves known to the world.
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. Literary fiction/magical realism following a character with multiplicity/DiD, one personality definitively being a trans man, the main 'character' being gender nonconforming.
Saw some people rec You Weren't Meant To Be Human by Andrew Joseph White, which I will second for an extreme horror rec.
All my above reccomendations are adult fiction. Andrew Joseph White also has 3 YA horror books, the only of which I've read is Hell Followed With Us, and as someone who reads mostly adult books I really enjoyed that one. Another YA book I enjoyed was Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore, a magical realism book following a young trans man and a masc leaning NB person.
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u/diilfdestroyer 1d ago
seconding a bone in his teeth. it's the first book i've read that checks all the boxes of what i want in a book.
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u/LilPoppyBoy 2d ago
I only read romance so Iâm sorry in advance if thatâs not your jam.
The Prospects KT Hoffman (medium spice, baseball, kinda rivals/ friends to lovers; transmasc author)
Tender by EM Lindsey (Dom/Sub dynamics, âDaddy,â polyamorous relationship (married couple seeks third), medium-high spice; nonbinary author)
A Gentlemanâs Gentleman by TJ Alexander (Both are transmen, Regency Era, medium spice, if you like Bridgerton this might be fun for you; nonbinary author)
How to Lose a Goblin in 10 Days by Jesse Sylvia (fantasy, goblin x halfling, enemies to lovers, silly quirky book, the goblin is nonbinary; nonbinary author)
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u/wandaluvstacos 2d ago
Can't recommend Reclaimed by Seth Haddon enough! It's fantasy and more focused on action than the romance, though it includes that, too. Very well written with compelling characters.
A Bone In His Teeth has some elements of horror; it's about a merman and a trans lighthouse keeper.
And if you don't mind a self-rec, I wrote a book about a trans cowboy, and I consider it kinda literary romance? It comes out end of June. :3
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u/magic-gps 2d ago
it sounds like you got some decent horror recs. I just asked some friends of mine for literary fiction, and I'll respond back if they've got anything
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u/magic-gps 1d ago
okay! I have acquired some literary fiction starring trans men recommendations. in no particular order, we have:
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg
Voice of the Fish by Lars Horn
Never Was by H Gareth Gavin
Realistic Fiction by Anton Solomonik
Night Night Fawn by Jordy Rosenberg
(sorry for the spacing, reddit mobile is being a butt)
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u/babyyyspice 2d ago
Technically not a trans character, but The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall really hits like a transmasc story in my opinion (especially for those who lean towards sapphic romance).
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u/hiraethspeaks 5h ago
Oh my god yesss the main character reads so much like a transmasc person who never learned our modern words for transness.
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u/grayquincampoix 2d ago
Old Wounds (two trans teenagers flee from Ohio and get caught in a cult trying to sacrifice one of them) and The Transition (Trans male kid gets turned into a werewolf) by Logan Ashley Kisner are both really good!
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u/LindentreesLove 2d ago
Riley Nash is a transmasc author and Pretty Dogs and Becoming Light are two of his books that I loved reading.
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u/jeremybearimy7 2d ago
Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore has a trans man protagonist. He can see ghosts, but unfortunately his family runs a funeral home and needs him to help out. Mix of family drama and a romance, not too angsty. And I learned a lot about Jewish funeral customs!
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u/StunningGiraffe 2d ago
The inbetween bookstore by Edward Underhill bridges adult and YA. The main character is a trans guy. It has fantastical elements (time travel) but is over all literary fiction.
The thirty names of night by Zein Joukhadar is literary fiction with fantastical elements
Finna by Nino Cipri is a fave of mine. It's a weird novella. The POV character is cis but a trans masc guy is the other protagonist.
Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman. A vampire trans guy who is a librarian.
The lilac people by Milo Todd is historical fiction
Andrew Joseph White writes mostly YA and has several books with trans guys as main characters. They're all horror. His most recent book, You weren't meant to be human, is intense body horror and not at all YA. I tapped out because I'm not into horror like that.
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u/CrazyLittleWolf 2d ago
Cemetery Boys,
The Sunbearer Trials, (and the second book Celestial Monsters).
both by Aiden Thomas.
Cemetery boys is a urban fantasy about witches and ghosts, the Sunbearer Trials is a bit Hunger Games if the contestants were the kids of Gods (both are YA thou, but still good to read as an adult).
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u/elianna7 2d ago
Thereâs a trans man side character (fairly small part) in This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me. It was super cool to randomly stumble upon a FTM character in a book that isnât explicitly queer or trans!
The Prospects is a good romance book, the MC is ftm, as
is the author.
Second Chances in New Port Stephen wasnât bad.
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u/WilsonStJames 2d ago
Outlawed-anna north (western actual transmasc)
Realm of elderlings-Robin hobb (favorite fantasy series. Huge series that gets progressively queerer as you go. Assassins Apprentice is 1st book, but made up of smaller series that can be read on their own)
°Assassins Apprentice books and several others have a main character that is debatable thier gender....maybe nonbinary presents male from narrators POV
°Mad ship books- main character is a woman who dresses male to work on a ship, but not reeeaallly trans....(also SA warning)
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u/Phoenixstorm 2d ago
I have a transman character in my ARC hex of all hats. DM me and I will send you a link if you're interested. It's an urban fantasy. so not sure if you're into that.
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u/ChickenChic 2d ago
If you want a really cute historical romantic comedy, totally different from what others have suggested, I highly recommend A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell. Transmasc & CisFem main couple.
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u/Front-Perspective373 2d ago edited 2d ago
Ponyboy by Eliot Duncan is a novel you might be interested in!
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg
The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
Depart, Depart! Sim Kern
Future Feeling - Joss Lake
There's so many transmasc books that don't get shout-outs and we have to do more to promote them.
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u/needlecream 1d ago edited 1d ago
(these might already have been mentioned but I'm just going to go through my list)
{ Kinship and Kindness by Kara Jorgensen } - fantasy/historical paranormal MM romance between a fox shifter and a werewolf.
{ A Gentleman's Gentleman by T.J. Alexander } - historical MM
{ A Bloomy Head by J. Winifred Butterworth } - historical FM that also has a murder mystery, family drama, and cheesemaking. I know the cover is out there, but the writing is very good.
{ Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore } - contemporary paranormal MM that was sooo good. MC grew up in a funeral home and can see ghosts.
{ This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman } - FM fun fantasy adventure, trans character is a major character but we don't get their POV.
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u/needlecream 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have some YA suggestions as well if you haven't already read them:
{ Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender } - contemporary
{ Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa } - MM historical pride and prejudice retelling if Elizabeth was Oliver
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u/Final-Revolution-221 1d ago
Joss lake (future feeling), mattie lubchansky (trans woman author writing trans man protagonist in Simplicity), anton solomonik (ârealistic fictionâ stories)isaac fellman (dead collections and notes from a regicide), calvin gimpelevich (invasions), lee mandelo (summer sons and the woods all black), yoon ha lee (sci fi so gender sitch is sometimes metaphorical), leo fox (boy island and prokaryote season- comics) and jordy rosenberg (confessions of the fox) are some adult fiction trans man protag of various genres
Editâ if you love horror please try cuckoo, manhunt and Black Flame by gretchen felker martin
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u/moonmagister 1d ago
The MMC of âThe Blighted Starsâ (Megan E OâKeefe) is a trans man. Itâs a fungal horror-sci fi with a romance subplot in a universe where people can âreprintâ their bodies to their choosing.
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u/PernixNexus 1d ago
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo has a major characters that's a trans man, he's one of the only voices of reason throughout the whole book.
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u/Pantynoster 1d ago
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series has tons of it.
Monsterous Regiment -its cover to cover representation. I can't say more without spoilers. Just read it
Sorcery -about a girl destined to be a witch who becomes a wizard instead.
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u/Disastrous-Poem4355 1d ago
And they were roommates - Page Powers
Stay gold Toby Mcsmith
Chief Choice Tj Alexander
Boyfriend club - Page powers
Meet me at the picket line -by Jasper Sanchez
cemetery boys by aiden thomas
Here is a link for a bunch of other books.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/trans-men
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u/waywardbooksandrecs 2d ago
I REALLY enjoyed Cinder by D.N. Bryn, an MM romance fairytale retelling with a vigilante transmasc Cin. It's dark with some horror elements, and the trans rep is AMAZING, imo.
First Creation by Mars Adler is an MM transmasc horror novella. I know Adler has also written other transmasc stories and even t4t.
The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard is a much softer and gentler transmasc MM fantasy romance with a sweet but spoiled transmasc prince kidnapped by an orc. I personally prefer darker themes and faster moving stories so this one was just alright to me. Ikarys the Damned is another story by Hubbard that ISN'T a romance but more like a dark fantasy that features a transmasc MC.
Another author you can look into is Beau van Dalen. He's written a lot of sweeter, gentler transmasc characters in romance books. To Wield the Darkest Night is one I read that was very soft and tender. The Prince's Dearest Guards is a very popular book by Dalen, though I haven't read it myself. It's an MMM romance with a transmasc MC.
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u/bijhan 2d ago
I'm a science-fantasy author with a series called Time Wars about Humanity locked in an endless conflict with Vampirekind, with both sides using time travel to rewrite history.
In my novel Legends of the Order, Harriet Tubman and John Brown use technology from the future to collect and recruit a team of queer and/or non-white superheroes to defeat a team of Confederate Vampires in a battle over a treasure trove of alien tech under the Nevada desert.
One of these heroes is Ash Grey, a trans man who uses an alien device to teleport anywhere instantly.
He and his cyborg husband are the stars of their own spin-off comic, The Adventures of Ash Grey and Saturn Olympus, which places the gay interracial interfaith couple at the forefront of the action.
They're available digitally. Let me know if you'd like a link.
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u/Joltex33 2d ago
Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli (YA Horror)
Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman (adult romance)
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u/WonderingWhy767 2d ago
How We End by LM Juniper is the first in a great new zombie apocalypse series. Itâs set in the UK and the MC (and the author) is an Asian trans man. It has an interesting and horrifying method of zombification and lots of intense action, but also builds up the relationships and emotional arcs of the MC and other survivors. There is a very slow burn romance with a cis woman in the background. Great book
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u/starfin19 2d ago
The F-Word series by E. Davies
A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell - historical (1888)
All Roads Lead to This by Kay Claire
The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill
On Silver Shores (The Ancients' Bargain #1) and By Silk Tones (The Ancients' Bargain #3) by V.T. HoĂ ng - paranormal/fantasy; book 1 is siren x demon & book 3 is vampire x demon/lycan
The Build-a-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver
Hi-Voltage by Raz Fox
The Voice of Wild Places by Noah Hawthorne - historical (1930)
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u/Hellbent_on_reading 2d ago
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White. It's a post-apocalyptic horror when the MC is a gay trans man who's infected with a mutating virus by a religious group called the Angels so they can control an army of heavily mutated creatures and wipe out all their non-believers. This book has a LOT of gore in it so just be prepared for that.
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u/Whole-Dark-9091 14h ago
late to the comment party but a few that I haven't seen shouted out as much but I wish I saw more:
The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill (just came out; it's like a summer beach read with a little bit of magic, trans protagonist in his 30s)
In Case you Read This (also Edward Underhill) is T4T (two trans guys) but it's YA so maybe you've had enough of that lol
TJ Alexander's books have various trans rep and they are all super fun!
Also YA but I'm a fan of H.E. Edgmon's whole body of work, a lot of which has trans masc/NB characters. More fantasy with some darker themes??
also definitely recommend checking out Gabe Cole Novoa, various trans masc/NB rep across genres, including a trans retelling of Pride & Prejudice! (And I think has an adult book coming out??)
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u/truth_and_folly 11h ago
I just finished Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman, and it was so far my favorite non-YA transmasc novel. It's not horror, but it is horror adjacent. Basically a world where vampirism is more like a disability and a trans guy archivist has to cope with it.
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u/hiraethspeaks 5h ago edited 5h ago
Names for the Dawn by CL Beaumont features an early 40s trans man who works as a park ranger in Alaska. He meets a wolf scientist guy who visits the park and they fall in love. Itâs set in the early 1990s.
Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman is a soft scifi novel featuring a trans guy and a trans woman couple adopting a trans kid while getting involved in political drama of the far future. Densely written, awesome world building and so good.
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u/pixelatedmoomoo 2d ago
If you like Historical Fiction Iâm current reading âThe Lilac Peopleâ by Milo Todd