The Transfeminine Review

This article was made possible by our wonderful Sponsors! If you want to contribute to essential transgender journalism like this, then please feel free to go support our work on Patreon – your contributions help us keep Academic Quality Scholarship 100% free and available to the general public.

So… I wrote a book!

This blog post is going to be half life update, half gossiping about my latest favorite developments on the online fiction site Scribblehub. While I did manage to complete my first novel manuscript since 2022 this week, the last two months have been a total mess behind the scenes, between grad school, some logistical nonsense in my personal life, and mental health stuff. Fortunately, with the novel now done, I’ve checked 90% of the stuff that was dragging me down off the list, so I’m pleased to say that the mess is mostly behind me.

The novel is titled Godsbane, and it’s a 132k epic fantasy novel set in a world that I’ve been building since I was nine. It took me 124 days to write the draft, but I’ve been trying to write the book since 2016, so I had a lot of material to draw from. The one sentence pitch: after the coronations of an immortal Empire and a breakaway rebel kingdom fail within weeks of each other, the exiled heads of state must travel together to unravel the mystery and resolve the succession crisis. It’s a tragedy about exile, grief, and belongingness, a political novel about the price of revolution and social change, and a big fuck-you to the general atmosphere of despair that defined my 2025 – I badly needed to write this book, and I do honestly think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written.

Anyway, I’m looking at a traditional route for the book, so it’ll likely be a while before it sees the light of day. But I’m very happy with the work I did, and it’s out to the first of my alpha readers now.

Regardless, writing fiction and nonfiction tend to draw from the same writing reservoir in my brain, and I can only do so much writing in a day. Since I try to review every published novel I read, and didn’t have much review-writing bandwidth, I didn’t manage to read any published trans fiction over the last two months. I did, however, read a bunch of fiction that I couldn’t review! I read part of both Dune by Frank Herbert and Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky – I enjoyed both books, but I didn’t have time to finish either. I’ve read a whole bunch of interesting material for my grad school classes. But the vast majority of my reading so far this spring has been trans online serials, which have been absolutely sustaining me as I’ve been deep in the writing process.

Since I haven’t managed to do any other reading, I wanted to do a quick reading roundup of my favorite serials. Hopefully there’s something in here that piques your interest!

Also – I’m not gonna include long-running stuff you’ve already probably heard me talk about on this list, like Dorley or RCBG. This is purely for shouting out what’s new and hot.

1. My Favorite Trans Serials of 2026 (So Far)
   1. The Body Pact by September Morgan
   2. Completely Incomplete by boopydoopy
   3. Love Amidst Holly’s Thorns by Elizabeth Astraea
   4. Nothing but the Truth by Helena Stacy
   5. Secrets and Lies by PurpleCatGirl
   6. Pest by CrowsaLuxemburg
   7. Queen Promotion by goosey
   8. Act Natural by blake1
   9. Miss Aligned by geebles37
   10. The Young Master’s Maid Talks Too Much by xisl
   11. Surrender in Stages by Bricktack
   12. Synaptic Eclipse by ViolentR

---

My Favorite Trans Serials of 2026 (So Far)

---

Noel can’t go on living as a boy. He has tried coping for so long, and it has left him alone and desperate for relief.

Chloe has everything. Grades, looks, friends; she’s living the ideal life. Only one thing is missing.

Chloe and Noel used to be friends since the early days of their childhood. Chloe used to be desperately in love with him. She still is, and she would do anything to have him back in her life. So when he reveals to her that he’s trans, and she finds out that there is a way to swap bodies, she agrees to do it.

But will this make her happy? And how will this pact impact their relationship?

I was a huge fan of September Morgan’s last project, In Your Dreams, a young adult romance about a trans girl who can dream walk, so when Morgan started writing The Body Pact, I was immediately on board from the third or fourth chapter. And it hasn’t disappointed! By my token, The Body Pact is the best active serial on the site right now – a slow-paced nuanced character drama that unfurls the psychological impacts of two ex-best friends who make a deal to swap bodies to escape their lives. I’ve always loved elevated takes on classic TG/TF stories, and this is one of the best trans bodyswap concepts I’ve ever read. N and C are both very well-realized characters and excellent foils for each other, and deuteragonist Vivi does a great job at bridging the gaps between them and tying their conflict together into a cohesive and delicious arc.

In Your Dreams had a self-published edition on itch.io late last year, so I’m rooting for this fic to come out for sale too. Morgan’s work is great, and I’m hoping she gets the recognition she deserves. She also has a Patreon.

---

Jason might have thought everyone felt terrible about being men, but he’s slowly learning that that’s not the case.

The Body Pact may be the most technically proficient of the serials I’m following right now, but Completely Incomplete is by far the most exciting in my view. This story came out of nowhere, from a completely unknown author with no other bylines, but it’s doing really exciting work looking at a later-in-life trans egg who slowly comes out of a conservative middle-aged eggshell at the needling of their children and non-accepting wife. I get asked a lot for stories about later-in-life trans women, and this is a deeply empathetic look at what it means to come out as a fifty-something, with all of the perils at stake in the questioning. I’m really rooting for this story, and it’s always awesome to see new black transfemme authors throwing their hats into the ring. An absolute must-read if you enjoy following literary contemporary fiction in the underground ecosystem.

---

This is the story of Danny Valera as, during the summer between 9th and 10th grade, he learns that he is actually a trans girl at the hands of the evil, genuinely horrible, plans of his enemy turned lover Holly Sail.

After over a year of work, Love Amidst Holly’s Thorns is basically done! I’ve been following this more or less since the beginning, and while I have my overall quibbles with the book, I really appreciate this YA romance piece for being willing to take risks and show a messy transbian high school relationship with nuance and depth. What Astraea does best is capturing how it feels to be a weird queer kid in high school – Holly is a mess, and that’s so incredibly relatable to me as a former trans kid. It’s an unapologetically queer picture of teen gay romance.

Astraea doesn’t seem to have published any of her work yet, but I’m hopeful that this book will get a self-published edition, cause I’d like to see it preserved. You can find her over on Youtube and Instagram.

---

Two college kids; two assignments; for Caden, it’s to bring an ‘undesirable’ girl to an event for an elite frat he needs to join to pay off a debt; for Alicia, it’s to write an article exposing campus corruption, so she can get a journalism scholarship and cut ties with her terrible family. They’re both just using each other. But unfortunately, they also just fell in love at first sight.

I’ve bounced off of a lot of Stacy’s projects, but Nothing but the Truth has really been speaking to me! That falls heavily upon the excellent main couple, frat boy Caden and especially our heroine Alicia, whose struggles with self-image and deeply problematic approach to journalism have both been resonating with me. It’s nice to see flawed characters in serial fiction who are neither caricatures nor stereotypes. Like The Body Pact, Nothing but the Truth will almost certainly have a published edition once it’s complete, so something to look forward to there.

I also was following A Beginner’s Guide to Loving and Leaving, but the on-the-road thriller vibes were a little much for my taste. It’s very well-written, though, and if you’re a fan of a good fugitive thriller with a transhet romance at its heart, it’s a solid piece too.

You can follow Stacy’s work on Patreon, or check out her many published novels on itch.

---

In a world that’s only just coming to terms with the existence of magic, a trans detective finds herself on a case that could forever alter the course of her life.

Notes: This story takes place in our Witches of Welland verse, during the same time-frame as “Scenes From a Changing World”, and is basically a spin-off from certain events in that book.

Having said that, “Secrets and Lies” introduces new characters in a new location and with a new perspective, so readers don’t need to be familiar with the entire Welland saga to enjoy it. New readers will learn and discover the details alongside the story’s protagonist, while those familiar with Welland will likely pick up on certain references when they arise.

Another year, another new crop of PurpleCatGirl stories. While I find the whole Witches of Welland continuity pretty hit-or-miss, I’m really enjoying this latest detective piece, which follows the mystery of a paranormal serial killer that keeps leaving dead genderbent women around a rural town in England. I maintain that there’s a huge under-explored niche for transfeminine genre fiction in the mystery/thriller realm, so any time I see this kind of story, I’m always like, publish it!! This book could easily be a standalone thriller; it’s only loosely connected to the broader PurpleCatGirl verse, and I’ve been reading it without fully following the continuity.

I was also reading Unfamiliar Territory, but I dropped it once the main character agreed to the familiar bond. Way too ‘just-add-water girl’ for my tastes.

You can follow PurpleCatGirl on Patreon.

---

The girls’ hockey team is a player down, and the first game of the season is just a few weeks away! But wait, who’s that skinny kid out on the ice…?

While it’s not my personal favorite of the bunch, I do feel obliged to at least shout out Pest, a very proficiently written young adult novel about a ‘boy’ who gets conscripted to a recreational women’s hockey team in the UK. I found this challenging to read because of the genuine danger faced by the main character from trying to participate in British girl’s sports as a trans girl in 2025 – there’s an especially harrowing scene involving a blood test – but if you can stomach the ugly reality trans kids face in the sports world right now, this is one of the best contemporary examinations on the topic I’ve read yet. A very good serial on a topic I can’t fully enjoy right now.

---

Davit Papaskiri is an eighteen-year-old boy whose entire life revolves around playing chess. His father, an immigrant from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, is a harsh teacher, and he’s obsessed with his son winning a scholarship to play for his university above all else. Trapped under his father’s thumb, Davit has never really been able to envision a future for himself outside of his father’s wishes. But when he’s told that the hot guy he notices at the chess tournament is actually transgender, Davit is forced to reckon with deep questions about who he really is, and what he wants for his own life outside of his father’s rigid expectations.

Queen Promotion is a transgender egg fic and slow-burn, straight T4T romance story. It leans heavily on themes of self-discovery, parental abuse, and bodily autonomy. There’s also some eventual smut, but it’ll take a while to get to that.

Another story that isn’t a personal favorite that I feel obliged to mention for its quality. Queen Promotion is a fantastically written chess romance that breaks a lot of ground I haven’t seen done in transfeminine fiction before. Chess is a fresh topic in a trans romance, and it makes for some really compelling psychological drama. The character work is great, and it’s interesting to see Georgian rep, which is cultural territory I’m not at all familiar with. The structure of the story reminded me a lot of Queen’s Gambit, though I watched that show during COVID so lord knows how well I remember it. goosey is an aspiring romance novelist, so hopefully this one sees a published edition someday! Definitely a story to watch.

---

Two college boys who hate each other are forced to crossdress for a play, and start developing crushes on each other’s female alter ego.

Grover Lee doesn’t take anything seriously, so when his kooky theatre teacher casts him as the female lead in her latest play, he thinks it’s hilarious. That is, until his crush, the stunning and talented Ruby, tells him she only dates serious actors. Suddenly Grover has to make his performance a lot more believable if he wants to be a romantic heroine Ruby can actually fall for. And that means he’s gonna need help…

Thomas Macaday is a little surprised when Grover asks him for acting lessons. After all, this is the same guy who spent the whole semester calling him a pretentious tryhard. But Thomas can’t resist sharing the magic of theatre with a willing student… or taking the opportunity to torment Grover a little. After all, it really should’ve been Thomas who was cast as the female lead, instead of her humble maid with three lines.

Neither of the boys are particularly excited to spend their free time pretending to be girls together, but it turns out that Thomas is a pretty good teacher. And Grover isn’t the worst student. And there’s something strangely alluring about seeing your worst enemy dressed up as a pretty girl…

blake1 had two serials I’ve been following this year – the other one being a coffee shop romance called Treat Me like a Lady – but this is my favorite of the two. I love the theater kid dynamic here of the ‘technically proficient actor with no panache’ and ‘terrible actor who has the spirit’ where both of them are incredibly oblivious eggs. blake1 is really great at capturing the emotions of two people who are really into each other but clueless about that fact, and this latest entry is a great addition to her body of work.

You can check out blake1 on Patreon.

---

What happens when a Chaotic Evil boy becomes a Lawful Good girl?

When cheerleaders Brittany and Tiffany try to join their high school’s D&D club, the DM calls them fake gamers trying to ruin the game with their liberal agenda. Club member Corbin Kelly quits that table to join a new one run by Brittany. After all, why wouldn’t he prefer playing with hot chicks over sweaty dudes? When Brittany has Corbin actually write a backstory for the Chaotic Evil murderhobo rogue he always plays, he’s a little taken aback, but he’s willing to go along with it if it means getting to hang out with cheerleaders every week. Brittany turns out to be a way better DM than the last guy ever was—and when the group hits high level, she even decides to run the legendary Tomb of Horrors module for them. Corbin is psyched to experience gamer history—at least, until Brittany turns his beloved character into a girl! Now he’s starting to wonder if his old DM might’ve been right… and why Tiffany keeps having her paladin flirt with his character now?!

This is one of the newest serials on the list, so not a lot to say about it yet, but man this concept is so gloriously dumb. There are a lot of entries into the “dense eggfic” category on here, but ‘transes your D&D character’ is up there. If you want a dose of silly comfort food, Corbin’s unthinking and oblivious transbian energy is pretty great, and Tiff’s relentless flirting and motocross energy is just absurd. Excited to see where this goes.

---

The world isn’t fair. Life sucks.

For Eres, these were the universal truths she learned after reincarnating as a penniless orphan, and a girl no less. Through a stroke of luck, Eres managed to land the ultimate gig—some dumb rich guy’s maid.

Hopelessly pathetic, unsociable, and an overall nuisance, Eres’s new boss spares no effort in driving her insane.

Wait, this guy reincarnated too? Why is this shut-in suddenly pursuing her?!

Hey, Leo, who are you calling your wife!

Yeah, I got absolutely nothing for this one. This is just pure trash panda guilty pleasure nonsense hours. Who doesn’t love a ridiculous trope-y light novel that’s just pure gender bender dopamine?

You can support xisl on Patreon.

---

Peter’s quiet life with his wife Angela is thrown into disarray when he wakes up in the apartment of their close friends Erik and Kelly—in Kelly’s body. He navigates the shifting dynamics of their friendships and relationships while finding solace in surrendering control. Light humiliation/submissive play, always consensual.

Briefly jumping off of Scribblehub, but TGStorytime was the proto-Scribblehub, and yes, I still do pay active attention to it. Surrender in Stages is an incredibly refreshing standout on the site, which lately has been inundated by reams of what I’m pretty sure is AI slop (seriously, I do not buy that DeviantNabu and RabahSarni can pump out that much garbage that quickly). The story follows two couples after a man and a woman are gender and bodyswapped between them, focusing in on the newfound Kelly’s relationship with her new body’s husband as it becomes apparent there will be no returning to her old life. While Surrender in Stages is much more classic TG/TF than the rest of this list, I appreciate a ton its nuanced characters and the gradual pacing of its transhet plotline. A mature and refined take on a classic TG/TF plotline.

---

Wayward Scout 2-17 is a criminal. Their infraction had no victim, and did no harm except to themself. After decades of rehabilitation, they were given an offer they could never refuse; crew the scout mission to earth, and they could be let go on good behavior afterward. It’s just a couple hundred years for the immortal parasite, and they get to be the first corda to set foot on earth. Everything goes well until they’re discovered by a human, and ordered to form a link.

When Layla discovers an alien scout on her apartment’s roof, her life is uprooted in minutes. Now, symbiotically linked to a strangely affectionate extraterrestrial, she has to contend with the desires of an intergalactic mission to connect with the people of earth. The alien operatives have a seemingly impossible goal: to push humanity into an egalitarian future. The visitors are more than willing to use any means necessary to unite species across two galaxies, and Layla finds herself in an improbable position of importance in a growing conflict.

Okay, is this properly a “2026 serial?” No. But I gotta show love for my favorite brain squid book, I love these symbiotic tentacle things so much. If you’re an enjoyer of plural-coded fiction and like symbiotes or science fiction, Synaptic Eclipse is the absolute shit. It’s also fantastic power fantasy for anyone who likes the idea of a bunch of aliens coming to fight back against the disastrous state of our modern world. Easily my favorite sci-fi serial that’s putting out chapters right now.

You can support ViolentR on Patreon.

---

And that’s my list! Anyone who spends a lot of time on Scribblehub will notice that my preference in serials skews pretty heavily toward literary-contemporary, romance, young adult, TG/TF, and eggfic, though I do my best to read outside of those genres whenever something sounds compelling. There’s hundreds of serials out there, and my taste won’t appeal to everyone – for anyone curious about how I find these stories, I tend to use the Scribblehub Series Finder to browse the Transgender tag, sorted by Latest Update. Here’s a link to my usual search.

My Best of 2025 article has been sitting 80% done in my editor for two months at this point – I will do my absolute best to get it out this Sunday, but no promises. I’ve been struggling to find the words for Black Flame. 2025 sucked.

Thank you so much to everyone who bore with me over the last two months. I’m okay, feeling refreshed and ready to get back to work ❤

Cheers, Beth

LAST WEDNESDAY: #17 – The 14 Types of Voters at a Literary Awards

SUPPORT OUR WORK ON PATREON | OUR SPONSORS