Fave Five: New Queer Cozy Fantasy, 2026 Edition

The Divine Gardener’s Handbook by Eli Snow

Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous by Autumn K. England

How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva

Into the Midnight Wood by Alexandra McCollum

Bromantasy by Máire Roche

Bonus: These are all Adult, but for YA, check out The Last Best Quest Ever by F.T. Lukens 

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Freedom to Me by Sidney Quinn

Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Freedom to Me by Sidney Quinn, an m/m “California Noir Romance” releasing from Ninestar Press on June 16, 2026! Here’s the story:

London native Felix Brixton, rich and sheltered, leaves his old life behind on a whim to pursue his dream of running a tall ship tour boat. A mid-life crisis brings him to the small Southern California town of Carino Bay, where he buys a ship, the Freedom. What Felix doesn’t know is he’s also buying a dark secret and complicated history.

Jay Otene, tattooed and leather-clad, lays eyes on the sweet, buttoned-up new guy in town and is intrigued. He can’t resist the temptation. But Jay has personal demons which may cost him everything he holds dear.

Carino Bay, a queer haven full of misfits like him, offers Felix a new start in more ways than one. But he uncovers deep-seated crime and corruption closely tied to the man of his dreams.

No matter how intensely their attraction pulls Jay and Felix to each other, the town’s history and their complicated lives threaten to keep them apart.

And here’s the dangerously beautiful cover by Jaycee DeLorenzo!

A book cover with a pink tropical sunset. The cover is framed by palm trees. The title of the book is Freedom to Me by Sidney Quinn. A revolver lies on a beach with a tall ship at full sail in the background. The tagline says: Mystery, corruption, and a secret that threatens to tear their love apart.

Buy it: Ninestar Press | Amazon

Illustration by Ronnie Vasquez

Sidney loves genre fiction of all kinds and loves combining those genres with queer romance. Expect plots that excite and propel, intriguing mysteries, unconventional romance, and vivid worlds where the setting itself is a character.

Sidney has lived in many places across Canada but now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia with two cuddly cats. One of these days, the cats will be compelled to pay rent or at least stop causing so much destruction of property—though that’s probably wishful thinking.

Fave Five: Contemporary YA Set in NYC Starring QTPoC

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

I’ll Pretend You’re Mine by Tashie Bhuiyan

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Fave Five: New Queer Cozy Fantasy, 2025 Edition

Yes, a 2026 edition will be coming imminently. Just catching up!

The Ink Witch by Steph Cherrywell (MG)

When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa V. Kelley

A Tale of Mirth & Magic by Kristen Vale

The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong

The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic & Murder by Kiri Callaghan

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Common Bonds 3 ed. by Claudie Arseneault, Em Ishii, and RoAnna Sylver

Today on the site, I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Common Bonds 3 ed. by Claudie Arseneault, Em Ishii, and RoAnna Sylver, the third in a series of anthologies starring aromantic main characters! The editors have written up their own intro to present a Kickstarter campaign, so I’ll let them take it away!

Common Bonds strikes a third time with a new volume of speculative short stories and poetry featuring aromantic characters. After a flood of incredible stories in their submission pile, the Common Bonds team decided to build not one, but two glorious anthologies of platonic, aromantic love.

In Common Bonds 3, you will find marine biologists getting trapped in a bubble of magic, a necromancer reviving their toxic ex from the dead, lifebonds with sirens, dreamwitches trapped in a cursed murder town and so much more.

We are very excited to introduce you to the marvellous works within, but in order to do so we need to raise the funds to pay our authors the money they deserve. This is what our BackerKit crowdfunding campaign is for: pay authors, cover artist, and the shipping and printing of initial copies.

And now, our new Common Bonds cover!

Common Bonds 3’s cover is from Hugo-Awards winning Laya Rose. As with previous covers, we have two friends sharing in an activity—but this time we’ve moved into winter and a hot warm drink.

Two friends in winter clothes sharing a hot drink from which steam wafts up. One of them has little horns, and they are painted in pink, sitting under cold blue, barren tree branches. The steam wafts through the title in bright white letters, Common Bonds 3. A subtitle at the bottom says “a speculative aromantic anthology”.

Follow the campaign to help us make this new installment a reality!

Fave Five: LGBTQ Merfolk, Part III

For Part II (with a link to Part I), click here.

The Siren’s Kiss by Leslie Vedder (YA)

When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

Year of the Mer by L.D. Lewis

Endless Blue Beneath by Shannon K English

A Bone in His Teeth by Kellen Graves

New Releases: May 5, 2026

Children’s

Willi Ninja: Vogue Legend by Joy Michael Ellison and Nabi H. Ali

Kicking off a picture book series of LGBTQ+ biographies is this inspiring story of the incomparable dancer Willi Ninja, Grandfather of Vogue and star of the film Paris Is Burning.

When little Willi Leake watched karate movies with his mother in their cozy Queens apartment, he’d slice the air with his arms like swords. He’d swish his hips like the models he saw in magazines and copy ancient pharaohs’ poses from Egyptian hieroglyphs. Bursting with energy, Willi would strut his way down the street, and his mother would tell him not to mind the puzzled looks he’d get. When she took him to the Apollo Theater to watch ballerinas twirling, Willi allowed himself to dream—and the more he dreamed, the more he danced. With an accessible text and dynamic illustrations, Joy Michael Ellison and Nabi H. Ali trace Willi’s path against the odds as he brings his signature moves to the dance style known as vogue and finds his spotlight at the Harlem drag balls where a performer known as Willi Ninja is born. Providing context, community, and comprehension of queer and trans culture for young history buffs, the lively narrative is followed by back matter delving into more details about Willi Ninja and what life was like during his time.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading New Releases: May 5, 2026

Fave Five: New Queer Sci-Fi Novels, 2026 Edition

Love Galaxy by Sierra Branham

The Obake Code by Makana Yamamoto

Earthly Playing Field by Radhika Singh

What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed

Radiant Star by Ann Leckie

Bonus: These are all Adult, but in YA, check out If All the Stars Go Dark by S.G. Prince and The Celestial Seas by T.A. Chan

April 2026 Deal Announcements

Adult

Shayna Douglas‘s SKATING THE LINE, a sapphic hockey rom-com about two rival university hockey stars-turned-teammates who find out they may have more chemistry off the ice than on it, pitched for fans of HEATED RIVALRY, CLEAT CUTE, and Ashley Herring Blake, to Grace Vainisi at Avon Impulse, and to Mikaela Roasa at Harper Canada, in a significant deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in March 2027, by Maddy Belton at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency (NA).

Continue reading April 2026 Deal Announcements

Fave Five: Trans M/M YA SFF

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

To Our Untamed Core by Sonido Reyes

 Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Bonus: These all have trans MCs, but for one with a cis MC and trans LI, check out The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

Queering up your shelf, one rec at a time!