100 books like Our Monsters

By Jemma Topaz,

Here are 100 books that Our Monsters fans have personally recommended if you like Our Monsters. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of On the Water

Lila Gwynn Author Of The Orc and Her Bride

From my list on sapphically inclined monster ladies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a big-time fantasy reader, and I’ve always loved non-human characters in fiction, whether it was The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. It never sat right with me that the Beast becomes human when I got to understand his vulnerability in monster form; I hated that Ariel wanted boring human legs. I was a romance novel hater for a long time, too, because I thought they were repetitive (and mostly straight). Finding queer indie romance that embraced these monsters and explored what makes them monstrous caused a huge shift in the way I interpret all relationships in literature, and it definitely influenced my choice to write monster romance.

Lila's book list on sapphically inclined monster ladies

Lila Gwynn Why did Lila love this book?

I absolutely loved this quiet, lyrical novella with a sapphic sea monster romance and an underlying paranormal mystery that needs to be solved. The characters were flawed and real to me, and, like the rest of this novella, they were fully fleshed out despite the relatively few pages they have together.

The language is stunning, the pacing is perfect, and the sea monster lady is scaly and incredibly cool. I will be thinking about the impact this book left on me—and the way it proved to me that indie books can be very high quality—for years.

By Jerica Taylor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked On the Water as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Del needs all the cash she can get, so when someone who claims to be from someplace called The Uncanny Society hires her to look into local disappearances, she takes the job. It brings her to On the Water, a club by the river, where she notices a beautiful woman trying too hard to be overlooked, and who goes out of her way to keep Del from the riverbank.

Saira entered the human world to retrieve the missing Guard of the Northern Gate at the behest of her Eminence, and return to her underwater home as quickly as possible. But…


Book cover of In the Vanishers' Palace

Lila Gwynn Author Of The Orc and Her Bride

From my list on sapphically inclined monster ladies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a big-time fantasy reader, and I’ve always loved non-human characters in fiction, whether it was The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. It never sat right with me that the Beast becomes human when I got to understand his vulnerability in monster form; I hated that Ariel wanted boring human legs. I was a romance novel hater for a long time, too, because I thought they were repetitive (and mostly straight). Finding queer indie romance that embraced these monsters and explored what makes them monstrous caused a huge shift in the way I interpret all relationships in literature, and it definitely influenced my choice to write monster romance.

Lila's book list on sapphically inclined monster ladies

Lila Gwynn Why did Lila love this book?

I couldn’t leave out one of my favorite monsters of all time: dragons. Also, I just love secondary-world fantasy, especially the kind that has important themes like the effects of imperialism and that are set in a shifting palace full of magical rooms.

This book beautifully executes one of my favorite relationship dynamics in fiction: the dragon love interest starts out ice cold and very gradually warms up to the main character as they get closer, and they both overcome their past traumas as their romance grows deeper. That’s the good stuff!

By Aliette de Bodard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In the Vanishers' Palace as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the award-winning author of the Dominion of the Fallen series comes a dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

In a ruined, devastated world, where the earth is poisoned and beings of nightmares roam the land...

A woman, betrayed, terrified, sold into indenture to pay her village's debts and struggling to survive in a spirit world.

A dragon, among the last of her kind, cold and aloof but desperately trying to make a difference.

When failed scholar Yên is sold to Vu Côn, one of the last dragons walking the earth, she expects to be tortured or killed for…


Book cover of The Fae Queen's Captive

Lila Gwynn Author Of The Orc and Her Bride

From my list on sapphically inclined monster ladies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a big-time fantasy reader, and I’ve always loved non-human characters in fiction, whether it was The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. It never sat right with me that the Beast becomes human when I got to understand his vulnerability in monster form; I hated that Ariel wanted boring human legs. I was a romance novel hater for a long time, too, because I thought they were repetitive (and mostly straight). Finding queer indie romance that embraced these monsters and explored what makes them monstrous caused a huge shift in the way I interpret all relationships in literature, and it definitely influenced my choice to write monster romance.

Lila's book list on sapphically inclined monster ladies

Lila Gwynn Why did Lila love this book?

I love, love, love fairy lore, but a lot of books with fairies cut out some of the darker aspects—and this one decidedly leans right into the morbid, deceitful side of fairies.

I adored the setting of the fairy court, and while I don’t always consider fairies to be monstrous, the Fae Queen has unique, see-through, glass anatomy and a decidedly inhuman demeanor that made it all the more satisfying when she started to fall for the human main character. I found the thrill-seeking personality of the main character to be refreshing, and her encounters with the icy queen had strong chemistry (in addition to being super steamy).

By Sierra Simone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Fae Queen's Captive as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Save some of your screams for the queen, there's a good girl...


Janneth Carter has given up on magic these days. She's done being curious, insatiable, dreamy; she just wants to finish her graduate degree and spend the rest of her life as a sensible archeologist. So the last thing she expects when she goes to her dig site on Halloween night is three mysterious strangers standing outside an ancient Scottish grave.


Okay, well the actual last thing she expects is for those strangers to kidnap her and drag her into fairyland.


Once in the vivid, carnal world of Faerie,…


Book cover of Traitor Princess, Assassin Saint

Lila Gwynn Author Of The Orc and Her Bride

From my list on sapphically inclined monster ladies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a big-time fantasy reader, and I’ve always loved non-human characters in fiction, whether it was The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. It never sat right with me that the Beast becomes human when I got to understand his vulnerability in monster form; I hated that Ariel wanted boring human legs. I was a romance novel hater for a long time, too, because I thought they were repetitive (and mostly straight). Finding queer indie romance that embraced these monsters and explored what makes them monstrous caused a huge shift in the way I interpret all relationships in literature, and it definitely influenced my choice to write monster romance.

Lila's book list on sapphically inclined monster ladies

Lila Gwynn Why did Lila love this book?

Count me in any time a book addresses the theme of “What makes a monster a monster?” One of the protagonists is Lord Wraith, a fun concept in itself as she’s an assassin cursed to take a wraith’s form once a month—but it’s really the other, manipulative human character who has a “monstrous” personality.

I already love that dynamic and the questions it poses, and throwing in an enemies-to-lovers angle and an unreliable narrator-induced plot twist over it really seals the deal on my love for this book.

I’ve read this one more than once, and I definitely plan to read it again.

By T. R. Sherwood,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Traitor Princess, Assassin Saint as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One criminal mastermind. One monstrous assassin.

Princess Annara has been plotting revenge on her father for eight years, ever since he exiled her from the Royal Palace of Archon. Now, conveniently, he wants her back in the palace. He hasn’t had a change of heart; instead, he promised her to a powerful foreign assassin in order to pay his debts. To anyone else, the situation might look bleak. To Annara, it’s an opportunity.

If she gets close to Senne, Annara will learn the secrets of the world’s most powerful assassin. But as she gets to know Senne better, her own…


Book cover of Mongrels

Claire Fitzpatrick Author Of Metamorphosis: Short Stories

From my list on horror gems for a perfect late-night read.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love books that whisk me away and keep me reading long into the night. There’s something so exciting about realizing you’ve been reading for so long that you have no idea what the time is or if it’s even the same day. I’m also incredibly passionate about horror and what it can teach us about ourselves and our society. Being diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 12 made me feel isolated and alone, but horror granted me a form of escapism and taught me to embrace what made me feel different, something each of these books does. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did!

Claire's book list on horror gems for a perfect late-night read

Claire Fitzpatrick Why did Claire love this book?

This was one of the best books about werewolves—that isn’t really about werewolves—I have ever read. The story is told from the perspective of an unnamed boy who lives with his aunt and uncle—who happen to be werewolves—and the struggles he and his family face while living on the edge of society to avoid discovery.

What fascinated me the most was that Jones created entirely new werewolf lore with its own culture, rituals, and traditions, and it all felt real. I loved the non-linear timeline following the boy from 8 to 16, yearning to change like his aunt and uncle. Jones encapsulated the real difficulties of living on the fringes of society for whatever reason. It’s a dark book, raw and visceral, but also really funny. 

By Stephen Graham Jones,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Mongrels as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A spellbinding and darkly humorous coming-of-age story about an unusual boy, whose family lives on the fringe of society and struggles to survive in a hostile world that shuns and fears them. He was born an outsider, like the rest of his family. Poor yet resilient, he lives in the shadows with his aunt Libby and uncle Darren, folk who stubbornly make their way in a society that does not understand or want them. They are mongrels, mixed blood, neither this nor that. The boy at the center of Mongrels must decide if he belongs on the road with his…


Book cover of Chlorine

Ephiny Gale Author Of Pick Your Potion

From my list on speculative books with sapphic main characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been eager to read weird, speculative, sapphic stories, but they were difficult to find throughout my early life. As a teenager, I started to write them, creating what I hoped to see in the world, and I haven’t stopped since. I’m thrilled to see that this niche is becoming more common and celebrated, particularly in the more experimental short fiction space. As an adult, I’ve had many weird, speculative, sapphic short stories and novelettes published, including one that won the Best of the Net award and two that were shortlisted for Brave New Weird: The Best New Weird Horror.

Ephiny's book list on speculative books with sapphic main characters

Ephiny Gale Why did Ephiny love this book?

I found myself surprisingly captivated by this present-day body horror mermaid transformation tale focused on a high school swim team.

This novel follows a gradual decline from an everyday reality towards an increasingly unhinged climax, and I appreciated how slowly this sneaks up on you. Even though the book makes no secret of where it’s ultimately going, I was still pleasantly surprised about how we got there and the weirdness of the ending.

The sapphic relationship between the protagonist and her best friend is a key throughline, with an interesting dichotomy between the best friend’s long-term adoration and the protagonist’s relative detachment and bitterness.

By Jade Song,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Chlorine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the vein of The Pisces and The Vegetarian, Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, told from an adult perspective on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a society that puts pressure on young women and their bodies… a powerful, relevant novel of immigration, sapphic longing, and fierce, defiant becoming.


Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach is her guiding light. If she swims well enough, she will be…


Book cover of Goodbye, Mr. Chips

J. Shep Author Of The December Issue

From my list on strong inter-generational relationships.

Why am I passionate about this?

From books to television, one of my favorite qualities of good writing is a rich, inter-generational cast of characters, especially ones that feature significant roles for characters young and old. These stories do not span multiple generations; instead, they showcase characters of all ages interacting at one time, which makes for dynamic plots and relationships.

J.'s book list on strong inter-generational relationships

J. Shep Why did J. love this book?

What’s so neat about this book is that it doesn’t just capture a light-hearted and moving glimpse into English academia; it provides glimpses into a man’s—an institution in himself—relationships with his wife, coworkers, and students.

I enjoyed the progression of time. Several generations of students interact with the aging, albeit the same, “Mr. Chips.”  There’s something neat about that.

By James Hilton,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Goodbye, Mr. Chips as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Mr. Hilton's classic story of an English schoolmaster.


Book cover of Chemistry

Lisa Aldin Author Of One of the Guys

From my list on to read if you need a dose of serotonin.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have anxiety and depression. While obviously not a replacement for therapy and/or medication, reading books that somehow make me feel good is an important part of my self-care. They can be silly or witty or charming or whatever, but a book that makes me smile or giggle or just swoon is one I’ll reach for when I’m feeling down.

Lisa's book list on to read if you need a dose of serotonin

Lisa Aldin Why did Lisa love this book?

I devoured this book. It’s charming and funny, but this is one of those books where I loved it because of the main character. I’ve struggled with indecisiveness in my life and found that part very relatable. We really get inside her head. The voice is unique and the sentence structure is short and choppy. A quick wonderful read. 

By Weike Wang,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Chemistry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award 

A Washington Post Notable Book

One of the Best Books of the Year: NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Ann Patchett on PBS NewsHour, Minnesota Public Radio, PopSugar, Maris Kreizman, The Morning News

Winner of Ploughshares’ John C. Zacharis Award

Winner of a Whiting Award

A Belletrist Amuse Book

At first glance, the quirky, overworked narrator of Weike Wang’s debut novel seems to be on the cusp of a perfect life: she is studying for a prestigious PhD in chemistry that will make her Chinese parents proud (or at least satisfied), and her successful, supportive boyfriend has just…


Book cover of Good Me Bad Me

Steena Holmes Author Of The Patient

From my list on that keep you up past your bedtime.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a teenager, I loved reading past my bedtime, getting lost within a story, then having it fill my dreams and leaving me on the hunt for another book just as good. The best books to read are those that draw me in with their voice and storytelling and leave me needing to turn page after page. Getting in trouble as a kid for reading too late was the best type of trouble to get into and even now, when I need to make a second pot of coffee after a night of reading, I walk away with no regrets. 

Steena's book list on that keep you up past your bedtime

Steena Holmes Why did Steena love this book?

I first listened to this book in audio and immediately bought the print copy. Good Me Bad Me has such a compelling voice that this is a book you will end up reading way past your bedtime. 

The story is told by a fifteen-year-old girl who has gone through so much trauma, your heart breaks…but then it twists, leaving you gasping for air because you can’t believe what just happened. I have read this story over and over again and it still haunts me to this day!

By Ali Land,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Good Me Bad Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How far does the apple really fall from the tree when the daughter of a serial killer is placed with a new, normal foster family? Room meets Dexter in Ali Land's Good Me Bad Me, a dark, voice-driven psychological suspense.

Fifteen year old Milly was raised by a serial killer: her mother. When she finally breaks away and tells the police everything about her mother’s crimes and years of abuse, she is given a new identity and placed in an affluent foster family and an exclusive private school. She wrestles with being the daughter of a murderer and the love…


Book cover of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Jerry Mikorenda Author Of The Whaler's Daughter

From my list on young people dealing with social and emotional trauma.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I think of great novels, I don’t recall plot twists, beautiful language, or exotic settings. I remember the characters. How they met or didn’t meet, the challenges put before them. Great, unforgettable characters create great stories. They take risks, become friends with people society tells them not to, and don’t hide their motivations or fears. They show their humanity. A great character can make walking down a supermarket aisle an exciting adventure. Boring, one-dimensional ones can make a rocket launch seem like you’re reading about paint drying. All the books I discuss hit the character checklist tenfold. 

Jerry's book list on young people dealing with social and emotional trauma

Jerry Mikorenda Why did Jerry love this book?

Whether it’s moving onto a new home, job, school, or cellphone, we can all relate to upheaval. Having done much of the latter, I get why young Turner Buckminster doesn’t like Maine much. He sees his life on one trajectory, and now he’s cut adrift on another.

I’m in awe of the way Gary D. Schmidt uses this simple setup to tell a wider story of a friendship that develops between Turner and local black girl Lizzie Bright Griffin that transcends the harsh racism of the times.

The gut punch came when I learned the basis of this book is the true history of Malaga Island, Maine, where an entire village of nearly fifty people was uprooted. Some, like Lizzie, were condemned to life in a mental institution.

By Gary D. Schmidt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

A 2005 Newbery Honor Book

It only takes a few hours for Turner Buckminster to start hating Phippsburg, Maine. No one in town will let him forget that he's a minister's son, even if he doesn't act like one. But then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves. Despite his father's-and the town's-disapproval of their friendship, Turner spends time with Lizzie, and it opens up a whole new world to him, filled with the mystery and wonder of Maine's rocky coast. The two soon discover that the…


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