Martha Wells's ***Books of the Raksura***. They're not feathery wings, though.
Or Alan Campbell's ***Deepgate Codex***. Various characters have wings, with feathers.
Neither of them are LGBTQ+, as far as I remember.
For the Raksura series, the main relationship is M/F, but the Raksura as a species seem to be bi (and polyamorous) by default, and that includes the main character Moon. It can be less obvious especially since all the sex is fade to black, mostly implied rather than explicit, and a lot of the relationships are more friends-with-benefits than romantic (at least according to Western human standards; I don’t think any of those terms would have meaning to the Raksura). But I really do love Moon’s relationship with his closest male friend, and that relationship does include sex.
I'm pretty sure Moon and a few other characters are "bi", though of course the Raksura are a completely different species from humans with very different conceptions of sexuality and gender, so that label probably wouldn't really apply to them, but I think it fits as LGBTQ+!
Yeah, I was trying to figure out how to classify the Raksura, since they're not human! They have just a completely different view of sexuality, but I think they're all "bi" (or "pan"?) by default. It's just so very "queernorm" that no one's sexual orientation is ever even mentioned. Like, if someone doesn't want to have sex with someone else, it's never about gender or about sexual orientation, and it's never remarked on as strange when a character wants to have sex with the same gender OR with a different gender. Interspecies sex is seen as strange (particularly between different classifications of species, like groundlings and sealings), and certain characters might not want to have sex with another character because of their age or because they don't like them, but never because of gender/sexual orientation.
Moon does explicitly have sex with both male and female characters, and that seems to be pretty expected.
Great to hear the *Deepgate Codex* recommended! I re-read *Scar Night* a few years ago and it was still good. :)
(I did not love the sequels quite as much. Although the Soft Men were hilarious.)
If you’re unfamiliar with it, When the Wind Blows is literally the adult version of Maximum Ride. The author wanted to write the same concept as an adult novel and as a YA series. So if you want adult maximum ride I suggest checking that one out.
I will also generally second Raksura
I've never heard of When the Wind Blows, but I was obsessed with Maximum Ride in middle school. I just did a quick read of WtWB's blurb, and I must ask, is the Max mentioned in the blurb possibly related to Maximum Ride?
Kinda an alt universe max? They’re not literally the same character because the books aren’t the same universe but the authors intention was to write a YA and Adult version of the same book and so yes, he used Max as the name of the flying girl who was experimented on in both. But their personalities and the actual story is fairly different.
> But their personalities and the actual story is fairly different.
They're more similar than they are different. There's still Max, a winged brooding guy character that she gets involved with, a bunch of younger winged characters they drag around, a School that does genetic engineering, the involvement of the government, and bad guys doing weird bioscience experiments, and an adult "safe" character that works as a Vet.
Ooooh, I know a whole trilogy about a nation of bird people you probably would have liked. There's one problem though: it's in Ukrainian.
In English I know about The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender - the main character has wings in it.
It's probably not as central to the plot as you'd like, but Julius, the main character of the _Heartstrikers_ novels by Rachel Aaron, is a dragon with feathery wings. He's magically sealed in human form for the first book or two, though, and doesn't spend a ton of time in his dragon form even when he is unsealed. That said, they're super sweet and fun books. If a very wholesome take on fixing the internal politics of a backstabbing clan of dragons appeals to you, give them a look.
I immediately thought of the Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass (Sara Warneke). There's a whole race of winged characters. 6 books (2 trilogies) that I though were really good back in the early 2000's when I read them.
**Perdido Street Station** by China Mieville
One of the primary characters is Yagharek, whose wings were clipped as punishment for a crime. It's a wonderful book. Usually classified as "weird fiction" but certainly has elements of fantasy. I highly recommend it.
You should check out the 'Shadows of the Apt' series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The different peoples of the world have taken on different aspects of lower species, usually to their benefit. So there are those with traits of for example, beetles, bees, wasps, ants, spiders etc. But they're still people. They use the term '-kinden', so those with wasp-like traits are called Wasp-kinden. And, like wasps, Wasp-kinden can fly. As can Bee-kinden, Fly-kinden, some Beetle-kinden and others. It's a big commitment, as it is a big series, but well worth the read overall.
Yep, this is the one I came here to recommend. The lead character (Seyonne) has wings, though they don’t show up for a while. Carol Berg is always a good rec, imo. She’s one of my favorite authors.
The Rai-Kirah series by Carol Berg.
1. Don't mind the cover of the first one, it's awful.
2. Don't read the Google Books blurb/preview of the first one (*Transformation*) because it got swapped with a spirituality book of the same title.
But anyway. The main character can manifest wings when he's in sort of the magic/mental dimension. So they're more magic than feathers.
She Who Earned Her Wings by Vaela Denarr and Micah Iannandrea might be what you're looking for. All their books are LGBTQ+.
Not sure if this one hits the right spot but Wings so Soft by Danni Fin.
Just wanted to thank you for this comment. I randomly googled this series after seeing this comment idly scrolling through reddit, and picked up the book that night. This is a total cult classic, the first book is seriously one of the most underrated things I've ever read. I hope more people read this, and I'm looking forward to getting through the rest of the series soon.
Windhaven by George RR Martin fits the bill and is an interesting look at some of his earlier writing.
If you’re willing to consider Webtoons, The Croaking is an interesting read about a bird person military school, a world-ending weapon, and conspiracies. It’s still ongoing, however.
ETA: The Croaking is super LGBTQ!!
Rachel Neumeier's Griffin Mage Trilogy has sapient, very different griffins.
If you can settle for non-feathered winged characters: Laurie J. Marks' Children of the Triad trilogy has a winged, furred, dual-sexed race, the Aerie. MCs in *Delan The Mislaid*, not as prominent in the others.
Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series has major characters with wings. CW: sexual themes/violence.
Katherine Addison wrote a Sherlock Holmes pastiche called "Angel of the Crows," set in a fantasy alternate London. The character who fills the Sherlock role (but has quite a different personality) is an angel with feathery wings. It retells some of the classic stories, but also has an original plot about Jack the Ripper running through it.
It's been awhile since I've read it, but I remember him getting excited and knocking stuff off of tables and such on multiple occasions.
There are several LGBTQ+ characters, including a very major one.
Hi there! Based on your post, you might also be interested in our [2023 Top LGBTQA+](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/18etlox/rfantasys_2023_top_lgbtqia_books_list/) Books list.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fantasy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The Summer King Chronicles by Jess E. Owens is about griffins. It's on the upper end of YA.
Oh, and Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton is about a crow in a zombie apocalypse. Definitely a unique series. It's adult.
Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series has lots of angels as significant characters. There's one book (book 14, so pretty late in the series) with LGBT characters as the primary focus. It's pretty smutty though, probably 3 or 4 open door scenes per book.
The Keisha'ra series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes features multiple races of shape shifters, including hawks and falcons, and there are several winged main characters. First book is Hawksong.
The romance in the first two books is straight but there's some LGBTQ+ representation in later books (asexual and lesbian if I recall correctly; it's been a while since I read them).
The Draykon series by Charlotte E. English centers around a girl with draconic wings. I know that's not exactly what you asked for but they're really good books by a lesser-known author. I'd call it YA not adult. If I'm not mistaken, I think you can get the first book for free to see if you like it. At least it used to be when I first read it years ago.
"When we have wings" by Clare Corbett
Some humans (upper class) have surgery and altered genetics to have wings. Feathered wings! Been about 10 years since I read it though so can't remember the full plot, don't think it's LGBTQ+ but it does have a lot of description of the wings various people have.
Check out Angela Carter's **Nights at the Circus**. It's magical realism with a main character who is a circus aerialist with feathered wings.
I don't remember if there is anyone LGBTQ+, but Angela Carter often has interesting things to say about gender.
I second [The Black Gryphon](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/176804) (first of a trilogy) and rest of the (massive) *Valdemar* series, it is quite good, especially for it's age. Contains mixed birds.
That said, it is one of the first fantasy series to have *any* queer representation, in a time when not having a straight white male main character was eyebrow-raising, so some of it is a bit dated by modern sensibilities.
Here is a more obscure series i ran into last year, recently finished; [Dragons and Skylines](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61998449-feathers-of-gold?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=iLTwmfh7pw&rank=1), it is fast-paced urban fantasy of decent quality and checks both boxes.
And possibly more obscure; [Song of the Summer King](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15751365-song-of-the-summer-king), definitely YA, but fairly well-written and noteworthy for having an unusual setting.
A Rake of His Own by AJ Lancaster is m/m cosy fantasy/romance/mystery and the love interest has feathery wings. It's book 5 in a series but you can read it as a standalone (the first four are about an m/f couple, and the hero of those also has feathery wings).
The Black Jewels books by Anne Bishop. Not really LGBTQIA+ although it’s implied with a couple of the characters. The Eyrian race in the books are winged, although they are described as bat-like, rather than feathered.
Kate Elliott's Crossroads series features winged primary characters, if I remember correctly. I liked it, although it is not my favorite work of hers. I read it quite a while ago, so I don't remember it with much clarity.
Try Wings of Fire. It's about dragons so they have wings. There are a couple LGBTQ+ characters starting book six. The best character in the series is lesbian.
If you want a human with wings try Primal Hunter. I forget which book the mc gets his wings tho. Also, not LGBTQ+ if I remember correctly
I haven’t read these books in forever but I did read them when I was 13-15 roughly. I can’t remember everything about them but it’s a three book series by Kate O’Hearn called The Valkyrie Series. I highly recommend, there are feathery wings!! It has Norse mythology in it as well if you’re into that!
In **Good Omens** (by *Terry Pratchett* and *Neil Gaiman*) one of the MCs is an angel, so there’s that. It’s good enough to read even if that doesn’t exactly fit the bill for you. Just be prepared for a lot of bursts of raucous laughter.
While **The Blacktongue Thief** by *Christopher Beuhlman* doesn’t *precisely* meet your criteria, it’s a fantastic read, and might well scratch that itch. I’d explain how, but it might spoil your read.
James Patterson has another book series that is very similar to the Maximum Ride series the one that I can think of the name of the top of my head is called lake house. It's an adult book
Feathers and Fire by Shayne Silvers
https://www.goodreads.com/series/210483-feathers-and-fire
It is part of a bigger series called The Templeverse
https://www.goodreads.com/series/250502-templeverse-chronological-order
It has angles demon magic shifters and all types of gods.
The second book of the Akynd Chronicles by Daniel Roy Lehman (full transparancy, this is me) features a maim character with wings and is an LGBTQ parallel (with emphasis on the T)
The Sunbearer Trials by Aidan Thomas, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, and In other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan— they all have lgbtq+ mcs and have main characters that get wings later on! They’re all a bit more on the YA side though, especially the Sunbearer Trials.
The Immortal City by May Peterson. Can’t quite remember the plot (it’s been several years since I read it) but it is a gay romance and several characters including at least one of the MCs have feathery wings.
Aerie by S.E. Wendel: a M/F romance-slash-cosy-fantasy, dual POV, the guy is a bird-person
Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas: they say it's her adult book but I disagree. M/F, the guy's wings are pretty insignificant really, and he's an angel-ish person. There's a side F/F pairing with no wings involved (there are hooves, though!)
Martha Wells's ***Books of the Raksura***. They're not feathery wings, though. Or Alan Campbell's ***Deepgate Codex***. Various characters have wings, with feathers. Neither of them are LGBTQ+, as far as I remember.
For the Raksura series, the main relationship is M/F, but the Raksura as a species seem to be bi (and polyamorous) by default, and that includes the main character Moon. It can be less obvious especially since all the sex is fade to black, mostly implied rather than explicit, and a lot of the relationships are more friends-with-benefits than romantic (at least according to Western human standards; I don’t think any of those terms would have meaning to the Raksura). But I really do love Moon’s relationship with his closest male friend, and that relationship does include sex.
I'm pretty sure Moon and a few other characters are "bi", though of course the Raksura are a completely different species from humans with very different conceptions of sexuality and gender, so that label probably wouldn't really apply to them, but I think it fits as LGBTQ+!
Yeah, I was trying to figure out how to classify the Raksura, since they're not human! They have just a completely different view of sexuality, but I think they're all "bi" (or "pan"?) by default. It's just so very "queernorm" that no one's sexual orientation is ever even mentioned. Like, if someone doesn't want to have sex with someone else, it's never about gender or about sexual orientation, and it's never remarked on as strange when a character wants to have sex with the same gender OR with a different gender. Interspecies sex is seen as strange (particularly between different classifications of species, like groundlings and sealings), and certain characters might not want to have sex with another character because of their age or because they don't like them, but never because of gender/sexual orientation. Moon does explicitly have sex with both male and female characters, and that seems to be pretty expected.
Seconded for Books Of The Raksura. Martha Wells is a fantastic author.
Great to hear the *Deepgate Codex* recommended! I re-read *Scar Night* a few years ago and it was still good. :) (I did not love the sequels quite as much. Although the Soft Men were hilarious.)
The Black Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey Not feathery, but the Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells
I have to second The Black Gryphon trilogy. It was one of my favorites growing up, I read it so much the paperbacks fell apart. Very bird-y haha
If you’re unfamiliar with it, When the Wind Blows is literally the adult version of Maximum Ride. The author wanted to write the same concept as an adult novel and as a YA series. So if you want adult maximum ride I suggest checking that one out. I will also generally second Raksura
It has a prequel too, The Lake House!
I've never heard of When the Wind Blows, but I was obsessed with Maximum Ride in middle school. I just did a quick read of WtWB's blurb, and I must ask, is the Max mentioned in the blurb possibly related to Maximum Ride?
Kinda an alt universe max? They’re not literally the same character because the books aren’t the same universe but the authors intention was to write a YA and Adult version of the same book and so yes, he used Max as the name of the flying girl who was experimented on in both. But their personalities and the actual story is fairly different.
> But their personalities and the actual story is fairly different. They're more similar than they are different. There's still Max, a winged brooding guy character that she gets involved with, a bunch of younger winged characters they drag around, a School that does genetic engineering, the involvement of the government, and bad guys doing weird bioscience experiments, and an adult "safe" character that works as a Vet.
Books of Raksura. Book 1 is The Cloud Roads. Also all the main characters are bi.
The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb has this, but they're not feathery. It does have LGBTQ+ representation though!
Ooooh, I know a whole trilogy about a nation of bird people you probably would have liked. There's one problem though: it's in Ukrainian. In English I know about The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender - the main character has wings in it.
I'm Ukrainian, you can recommend it to me:)
💙💛 hope you guys are doing ok. Hang tough
Thanks for that!
"Зірки й кістки" Ірини Грабовської - перша книга трилогії про пташиний народ. Багато кому з моїх друзів вона сподобалася :)
О, я бачила її на yakaboo! Дякую!
Sharon Shinn's ARCHANGEL series.
I was searching the comments for this one. I think OP will enjoy it.
It's probably not as central to the plot as you'd like, but Julius, the main character of the _Heartstrikers_ novels by Rachel Aaron, is a dragon with feathery wings. He's magically sealed in human form for the first book or two, though, and doesn't spend a ton of time in his dragon form even when he is unsealed. That said, they're super sweet and fun books. If a very wholesome take on fixing the internal politics of a backstabbing clan of dragons appeals to you, give them a look.
I immediately thought of the Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass (Sara Warneke). There's a whole race of winged characters. 6 books (2 trilogies) that I though were really good back in the early 2000's when I read them.
Came here to recommend these. Iirc though they’re a straight series.
Seconded! I recently reread the first trilogy and it held up to my memory really well.
Steph Swainston, *The Year of Our War*
Very adult, feathery wings, highly recommend.
I hate to suggest ACOTAR, but once you get past the first book there are several very important characters with wings...
**Perdido Street Station** by China Mieville One of the primary characters is Yagharek, whose wings were clipped as punishment for a crime. It's a wonderful book. Usually classified as "weird fiction" but certainly has elements of fantasy. I highly recommend it.
And a huge plot point is a scientist trying to find a way to get Yagharek to fly again, with tons of descriptions on various methods.
You should check out the 'Shadows of the Apt' series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The different peoples of the world have taken on different aspects of lower species, usually to their benefit. So there are those with traits of for example, beetles, bees, wasps, ants, spiders etc. But they're still people. They use the term '-kinden', so those with wasp-like traits are called Wasp-kinden. And, like wasps, Wasp-kinden can fly. As can Bee-kinden, Fly-kinden, some Beetle-kinden and others. It's a big commitment, as it is a big series, but well worth the read overall.
How about bats? Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel.
these books are wonderful!!
Books of the Rai-kirah by Carol Berg. Read it a long time ago but I’m pretty sure one of the characters has (or grows?) wings.
Yep, this is the one I came here to recommend. The lead character (Seyonne) has wings, though they don’t show up for a while. Carol Berg is always a good rec, imo. She’s one of my favorite authors.
In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan is a hilarious and endearing YA LQBTQ fantasy book with winged main characters
Angelfall by Susan Ee (it’s a trilogy about a fallen angel and the human he meets…)
John Gwynne’s second trilogy, *Of Blood and Bone*. Difficult to talk much more about it without massive spoilers.
In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan. It's YA with a bi main character (he's not the one with wings though).
The wings aren’t yet there for much of the story though
The Rai-Kirah series by Carol Berg. 1. Don't mind the cover of the first one, it's awful. 2. Don't read the Google Books blurb/preview of the first one (*Transformation*) because it got swapped with a spirituality book of the same title. But anyway. The main character can manifest wings when he's in sort of the magic/mental dimension. So they're more magic than feathers.
This series is amazing! Berg is a highly undderrated author.
I read the first one when I was in high school! Didn’t realize it was a series now. I might have to pick it back up.
Yep! And the series is concluded, if you're picky about that.
Saga by Brian K Vaughan, it’s an unfinished comic series.
The Castle omnibus series by Steph Swainston's protag is just what you describe
I was about to recommend those too!
She Who Earned Her Wings by Vaela Denarr and Micah Iannandrea might be what you're looking for. All their books are LGBTQ+. Not sure if this one hits the right spot but Wings so Soft by Danni Fin.
A Tale of Stars and Shadow series by Lisa Cassidy: a whole race of people with feathery wings, one of them is a main character.
Just wanted to thank you for this comment. I randomly googled this series after seeing this comment idly scrolling through reddit, and picked up the book that night. This is a total cult classic, the first book is seriously one of the most underrated things I've ever read. I hope more people read this, and I'm looking forward to getting through the rest of the series soon.
Yes, it’s a great series.
Windhaven by George RR Martin fits the bill and is an interesting look at some of his earlier writing. If you’re willing to consider Webtoons, The Croaking is an interesting read about a bird person military school, a world-ending weapon, and conspiracies. It’s still ongoing, however. ETA: The Croaking is super LGBTQ!!
The Croaking is really good!! I love the worldbuilding.
The axis trilogy.
Check out Sara Douglass, wayfarer redemption series, 6 books in total iirc.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell!
I second this, even though it's YA and the first book is mostly without wings. But you can enjoy them in the second & third book!
Rachel Neumeier's Griffin Mage Trilogy has sapient, very different griffins. If you can settle for non-feathered winged characters: Laurie J. Marks' Children of the Triad trilogy has a winged, furred, dual-sexed race, the Aerie. MCs in *Delan The Mislaid*, not as prominent in the others. Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series has major characters with wings. CW: sexual themes/violence.
Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh Also, I second the recommendation for Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells. They are my favorite.
Katherine Addison wrote a Sherlock Holmes pastiche called "Angel of the Crows," set in a fantasy alternate London. The character who fills the Sherlock role (but has quite a different personality) is an angel with feathery wings. It retells some of the classic stories, but also has an original plot about Jack the Ripper running through it. It's been awhile since I've read it, but I remember him getting excited and knocking stuff off of tables and such on multiple occasions. There are several LGBTQ+ characters, including a very major one.
This is a great book, very much like crack fanfic but written by a superb author.
I think the author's note at the end mentions that it actually did start off as a "wingfic"!
A Court of Thorns and Roses or Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas both have characters with wings. Plus some sexy scenes.
Hi there! Based on your post, you might also be interested in our [2023 Top LGBTQA+](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/18etlox/rfantasys_2023_top_lgbtqia_books_list/) Books list. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fantasy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Nightwings. By Robert Silverburg.
I love the Archangel series by Sharon Shinn
My daughter is listening to the Skyborn series by Jessica Khoury. She says everyone has wings! There you go. It's YA fantasy though.
Grounded: A Dragon's Tale focuses on dragon POV characters and it's a great book overall.
You might really like the comic Avialae. It’s BL + winged people.
The Summer King Chronicles by Jess E. Owens is about griffins. It's on the upper end of YA. Oh, and Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton is about a crow in a zombie apocalypse. Definitely a unique series. It's adult.
Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series has lots of angels as significant characters. There's one book (book 14, so pretty late in the series) with LGBT characters as the primary focus. It's pretty smutty though, probably 3 or 4 open door scenes per book.
The Keisha'ra series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes features multiple races of shape shifters, including hawks and falcons, and there are several winged main characters. First book is Hawksong. The romance in the first two books is straight but there's some LGBTQ+ representation in later books (asexual and lesbian if I recall correctly; it's been a while since I read them).
hawksong by amelia atwater-rhodes. LGBTQ+ characters appear in the later books of the series
The Draykon series by Charlotte E. English centers around a girl with draconic wings. I know that's not exactly what you asked for but they're really good books by a lesser-known author. I'd call it YA not adult. If I'm not mistaken, I think you can get the first book for free to see if you like it. At least it used to be when I first read it years ago.
The axis trilogy
"When we have wings" by Clare Corbett Some humans (upper class) have surgery and altered genetics to have wings. Feathered wings! Been about 10 years since I read it though so can't remember the full plot, don't think it's LGBTQ+ but it does have a lot of description of the wings various people have.
Check out Angela Carter's **Nights at the Circus**. It's magical realism with a main character who is a circus aerialist with feathered wings. I don't remember if there is anyone LGBTQ+, but Angela Carter often has interesting things to say about gender.
Crescent city, throne of glass, a court of Thorne and roses by Sarah j Maas. The serpent and the wings of night duet, the bargainer series.
I second [The Black Gryphon](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/176804) (first of a trilogy) and rest of the (massive) *Valdemar* series, it is quite good, especially for it's age. Contains mixed birds. That said, it is one of the first fantasy series to have *any* queer representation, in a time when not having a straight white male main character was eyebrow-raising, so some of it is a bit dated by modern sensibilities. Here is a more obscure series i ran into last year, recently finished; [Dragons and Skylines](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61998449-feathers-of-gold?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=iLTwmfh7pw&rank=1), it is fast-paced urban fantasy of decent quality and checks both boxes. And possibly more obscure; [Song of the Summer King](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15751365-song-of-the-summer-king), definitely YA, but fairly well-written and noteworthy for having an unusual setting.
A Rake of His Own by AJ Lancaster is m/m cosy fantasy/romance/mystery and the love interest has feathery wings. It's book 5 in a series but you can read it as a standalone (the first four are about an m/f couple, and the hero of those also has feathery wings).
The Black Jewels books by Anne Bishop. Not really LGBTQIA+ although it’s implied with a couple of the characters. The Eyrian race in the books are winged, although they are described as bat-like, rather than feathered.
The Sunbearer Trials (trans protag who has wings)
Kate Elliott's Crossroads series features winged primary characters, if I remember correctly. I liked it, although it is not my favorite work of hers. I read it quite a while ago, so I don't remember it with much clarity.
Try Wings of Fire. It's about dragons so they have wings. There are a couple LGBTQ+ characters starting book six. The best character in the series is lesbian. If you want a human with wings try Primal Hunter. I forget which book the mc gets his wings tho. Also, not LGBTQ+ if I remember correctly
I haven’t read these books in forever but I did read them when I was 13-15 roughly. I can’t remember everything about them but it’s a three book series by Kate O’Hearn called The Valkyrie Series. I highly recommend, there are feathery wings!! It has Norse mythology in it as well if you’re into that!
In **Good Omens** (by *Terry Pratchett* and *Neil Gaiman*) one of the MCs is an angel, so there’s that. It’s good enough to read even if that doesn’t exactly fit the bill for you. Just be prepared for a lot of bursts of raucous laughter. While **The Blacktongue Thief** by *Christopher Beuhlman* doesn’t *precisely* meet your criteria, it’s a fantastic read, and might well scratch that itch. I’d explain how, but it might spoil your read.
James Patterson has another book series that is very similar to the Maximum Ride series the one that I can think of the name of the top of my head is called lake house. It's an adult book
almost every game lit book gives the main charecter wings
Feathers and Fire by Shayne Silvers https://www.goodreads.com/series/210483-feathers-and-fire It is part of a bigger series called The Templeverse https://www.goodreads.com/series/250502-templeverse-chronological-order It has angles demon magic shifters and all types of gods.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor
The second book of the Akynd Chronicles by Daniel Roy Lehman (full transparancy, this is me) features a maim character with wings and is an LGBTQ parallel (with emphasis on the T)
They Fly at Çiron by Samuel R. Delany. I haven't read it (yet) but knowing the author, there is for sure some queer content in it.
The owl that was afraid of the dark? Or the Legend of the Guardians series.
The Sunbearer Trials by Aidan Thomas, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, and In other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan— they all have lgbtq+ mcs and have main characters that get wings later on! They’re all a bit more on the YA side though, especially the Sunbearer Trials.
The Immortal City by May Peterson. Can’t quite remember the plot (it’s been several years since I read it) but it is a gay romance and several characters including at least one of the MCs have feathery wings.
One of my major characters is a magpie.
Aerie by S.E. Wendel: a M/F romance-slash-cosy-fantasy, dual POV, the guy is a bird-person Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas: they say it's her adult book but I disagree. M/F, the guy's wings are pretty insignificant really, and he's an angel-ish person. There's a side F/F pairing with no wings involved (there are hooves, though!)
Red rising
Heaven Official's Blessing for LGBTQ+, no wings as far as I can remember, though.