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Hey guys! I'm interested in books with LGBT characters/romance, especially fantasy books. If there is romance, I would prefer it to be a subplot rather than the main plot (there's lots of stories that's just gay romance/sex ). Any recommendations?

I've heard good things about Malazan. It apparently presents a world with diversity and equality, where race/sexuality/gender don't really matter for people. I don't know if it's really an LGBT focus, more that it's just that it's supposed to be a world where things like homophobia don't really exist and the LGBT characters are not treated any differently from anyone else. Malazan's a somewhat difficult series to get into though from what I've heard, mainly because the author doesn't really try to handhold you while introducing the setting.

Google brings up this ranking on /r/Fantasy too.

I recommend a book called Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford. Obvious trigger warning, but it's a good story and it covers a couple of important topics, namely mental health and the struggles of self-exploration LGBT youth face.

I recommend the book The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's about the travels of the first envoy to the planet Winter, where everyone is androgynous 11/12 months of the year.

Thanks for the suggestions! Both are on Scribd, so I've added them to my list and will give them a read/listen when I have a chance.

I dunno if it counts, but the Dreadnought series by April Daniels is about a trans superhero. I really enjoyed book one, and an working on book two.

Iffin you don't mind books targeted for an adolescent audience, Rick Riordan's Gods of Asgard series has a nice warming subplot transgender romance.

If you want a book that confronts a monster load of issues, try Girl Made of Stars

The Timekeeper series by Tara Sim are pretty solid in this regard. While the gay romance does play a decent enough role in the series it's more there to add to the primary plot development tbh.

Highly recommend The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin. It won the Hugo in 2016 and its sequels in the Broken Earth trilogy won the Hugo in 2017 and 2018, the only trilogy to do so.

It is a science fantasy novel set in a uniquely despairing world/society. LGBTQ representation is there but is largely incidental to the story. The way a trans character was introduced was great. It was done so casually that you don't even really realize it at first unless you pay attention. There is also a gay/bi/poly relationship, which again, was a semi-important but still very small part of the plot.

Perhaps I may write a full review/thoughts in the Books Recommendations thread whenever I actually get around to finishing the trilogy.

Do you need one where the characters act on it? Because Realm of the Elderlings (especially anything from the Farseer Trilogy, Fool's Assassin trilogy and Fitz and Fool trilogy) have an undertone of this, where one of the characters has something strange going on with their gender, as well. Beyond that, it's just a fantastic story.

not a book i've gotten around to yet but i've heard good things aboutcarry on by rainbow rowell

Already recommended this to Moot and he already read it, but recommending 20020 by Jon Bois to anyone who hasn't read it yet. It's a sequel to 17776, so definitely be sure to read that first. Anyway, the protagonists of 20020 are an immortal married gay couple playing a very weird game of eternal transcontinental American football. Their sexuality isn't ever explicitly stated nor is it central to the plot. Great story, you'll definitely find yourself rooting for them.

I second the recommendation. It was refreshing to read a story with gay main characters that wasn't about them being gay. It makes me hope that in the future it'll be so normal that people won't even think anything in particular of it.

Edit: Also, in the sequel, the main character from 17776 identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, so there was a definite effort to make the story inclusive without necessarily making it a LGBTQ+ story.

Already recommended this to Moot and he already read it, but recommending 20020 by Jon Bois to anyone who hasn't read it yet. It's a sequel to 17776, so definitely be sure to read that first. Anyway, the protagonists of 20020 are an immortal married gay couple playing a very weird game of eternal transcontinental American football. Their sexuality isn't ever explicitly stated nor is it central to the plot. Great story, you'll definitely find yourself rooting for them.

So if it's not explicit. How do you confirm that they are infact gay and married?

Also, I would recommend just about anything by Clive Barker. He infuses queer themes into a lot of his writing. It does tend to swerve into body horror territory quite frequently so that's something to know if it's a trigger or issue. I particularly enjoyed Weaveworld and Imajica