I hope these titles do the same while also offering fresh perspectives. One of the things I have always loved about fantasy romance books is that they play with reality, include social commentary, make you squeal over the main couple (is this just me?) and of course, transport you to a different, immersive world. Some of my early ventures of queer fantasy romance included Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On, a subversive take on the Chosen One story, and Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles. Soon I began to read romance fantasy books where the main characters belonged to the LGBTQ+ umbrella in one way or another and found a long list of rewarding titles – all of which, unfortunately, could not make it on this list for brevity’s sake. While the central focus of the series is the pairing between a straight couple, Clary and Jace, it was queer characters like Alec and Magnus (#Malec) who later became more important to me than the main couple. My first brush with queer characters in fantasy began with Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series. ![]() Like a lot of life-changing discoveries, I stumbled upon my first queer fantasy romance story accidentally. It wasn’t until I started reading more widely and more deliberately that I realized that there is so much more out there to discover. They mostly featured cis, white, straight characters – and as long as those were good stories, I rarely complained. ![]() ![]() That I would grow up to be someone who loves fantasy didn’t surprise anyone, but for a long time, my idea of fantasy books was very limited. I’ve always loved stories about otherworldly creatures, from Bengali folk tales about the shakchunni – a witch who hides in trees and traps unsuspecting women if their hair is kept loose after dark – to layered narratives like the Arabian Nights, filled with magical creatures.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |