Sacha Lamb
[isbn]
Oh, how this book made my heart sing! When the Angels Left the Old Country is so deeply Jewish and queer and full of love; reading it felt like coming home. And if that isn't enough to sell you on this book, how about this: imagine the wit and dynamic of Good Omens mixed with Jewish folktales, a ragtag story of belonging, and a murder mystery all rolled into one. If you let it into your heart, I'm sure it will change yours.
Recommended by Nicole S
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Julia Fine
[isbn]
Sumptuous and lyrical, Maddalena and the Dark absolutely shines with the beauty of Venice, the terror of first loves, and the singular, gothic passion of musicians and artists. So deeply romantic! So alluring! I wanted to get lost in its pages forever.
Recommended by Nicole S
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Alice Winn
[isbn]
More a bayonet wound than a book: In Memoriam disemboweled me, left me glassy eyed and in shock, indelibly marked me when I was done.
I cried five separate times. I highlighted entire pages. I loved —loved — loved it.
Recommended by Nicole S
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Ann Leckie
[isbn]
I think The Raven Tower might have ruined every other fantasy book I'll ever read in the future. Incredible, thought-provoking world-building combined with one of the most memorable narrators I've ever encountered, and a Hamlet-esque plot of deception and revenge...??? I'm still starstruck. How did you do it, Ann Leckie??
Recommended by Nicole S
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Rin Usami and Asa Yoneda
[isbn]
As someone who has participated in fan circles on the internet, reading this book felt like looking at my reflection in a funhouse mirror. Idol Burning is a signal flare of online culture in the modern age, written so clearly and strikingly by an author who must have lived through it, too; must have grown up raised on the internet to experience how it can define your life, blur the lines between real and pretend, isolate a person as much... (read more)
Recommended by Nicole S
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Maria McCann
[isbn]
What a gut punch of a book. God how I loved it. As Meat Loves Salt is grimy and greasy and bloody; where love (lust?) and violence are written with the same amount of passion and dedication. This book is incredibly immersive — I could practically taste and smell 17th-century England while I was reading, and it totally swept me away. If you're looking for a book with a twisty and toxic queer relationship — or a psychological portrait of... (read more)
Recommended by Nicole S
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Elspeth Barker
[isbn]
For years, scientists have asked the question: can a gothic novel where the protagonist dies on the first page still manage to be funny, lively, and affecting? O Caledonia is here to say — the answer is yes.
Recommended by Nicole S
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Conner Habib
[isbn]
Hawk Mountain is a queer horror story as tender as a caress to the cheek before the snapping of a neck. It begins when two classmates, Todd and Jack, victim and bully, meet again after fifteen years. Todd, now a single father, is less than thrilled about this reunion — especially as "can we catch up" turns into "can I stay the week" and Jack begins to worm his way into Todd and his son's life. What happens next is as unexpected as it is... (read more)
Recommended by Nicole S
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E M Forster
[isbn]
Maurice is groundbreaking for its earnest and heartfelt depiction of a gay man who gets a happy ending — something that was essentially forbidden and almost unheard of in its time. Written 100 years ago (but only published after his death in 1971), Forster dedicated this book to a happier year: it's a touching glimpse at how far we've come and how far we still need to go.
Recommended by Nicole S
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Gus Moreno
[isbn]
This Thing Between Us is a horror novel with a bleeding heart. Simultaneously eerie and affecting, it warns how grief can corrupt and let evil into our lives, despite our best intentions. I was struck by how timely and urgent this book was, too: Moreno manages to blend his supernatural scares with the horrors of our contemporary lives. The result becomes something unsettling and deeply honest.
Recommended by Nicole S
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Samanta Schweblin
[isbn]
Disorienting and disquieting, Fever Dream reads exactly like how its title suggests. Amanda is dying in a hospital bed, accompanied only by a small boy who is not her son. Together, they try to figure out what exactly happened to bring them to this moment. Told almost entirely through dialogue, this incredibly well-crafted little novel slowly unravels its mysteries until the moment when you least expect it and the fever breaks, and... (read more)
Recommended by Nicole S
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Caitlin Starling
[isbn]
A haunted house, a doctor trapped by the shame of his past, a determined and headstrong heroine, gothic romance, all sprinkled with blood, gore and fantasy elements — literally what is there not to love? This book had everything I could have possibly wanted — and I can't wait to dive into the rest of Caitlin Starling's books now, too.
Recommended by Nicole S.
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Silvia Moreno Garcia
[isbn]
Mexican Gothic is such a relief: it breathes fresh air into an old genre with a vibrancy and lushness of atmosphere that is so easy to get lost in. I fell in love with the courageous, fiery protagonist Noemí and found myself glued to every page, desperate to see her succeed. Moreno-Garcia does such a fantastic job weaving the Gothic tropes we all know and love into something timely, jarring, and downright chilling.
Recommended by Nicole S.
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Nick Cutter
[isbn]
Nick Cutter has a gift — and that gift is the ability to write a book so brutal and spine-chilling that it left me breathless and weak in the knees. Five boy scouts and their scoutmaster leave for their annual trip to a remote island when an impossibly thin (and impossibly hungry) stranger unexpectedly enters their midst. And that's the least of their problems. What happens from there is the breakdown of absolutely everything as they know it.... (read more)
Recommended by Nicole S
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