Last March we updated the most popular post on the site: Readers’ Favourite Gay Books. Well it’s time to do so again at the end of September, which will be 6 months since the last update. Here’s a link to the post
http://www.gayromance.org/?p=7813
The criteria is the same:
The books must be those you absolutely love
The books must be gay fiction or M/M.
Please classify the books according to the system on the post since this will make it easy on whoever will be doing the update. Here’s the classification
LEGEND
C=Contemporary
H=Historical
M=Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
S=Speculative Fiction/Paranormal/Fantasy
W=Cowboy
MEM=Memoir
P=Play
Social History=SH
Wren Boudreau did the honours of putting together the original list and doing the update but I don’t know her current availability since she may be writing a new book, in which case I will have to ask someone to volunteer for the job since there’s only so much I can do. 🙂
Please insert your new favourite gay books in the comments (check whether they are already on the list before you do so) and you have until September 1 to get in your recommendations for the updated Readers’ Favourite Gay Books. If you check out the cover that accompanies this post you’ll see one of my recommendations. 🙂
Thanks Guys.
Well, I’ll be the first to propose Driftwood (c/m)by Harper Fox and Fair Game (m) by Josh Lanyon – I’ve read both these wonderful books in the past 10 days and they are right up there at the top of my list.
I’d also like to propose two older books – Dead Rock Stars by Wes Funk (c) (when is he going to write another book? And the other – Red Tainted Silence by Carolyn Gray (c) – I can’t believe is not already on the list.
Rachel
Hi Rachel
I guess I beat you to Driftwood since I mentioned in the post that it was going to be my rec. However we can share it. 🙂 I haven’t read Fair Game as yet but I intend to very soon since Josh is one of my very favourite authors and I love his mysteries. I’m sure there will be a lot of recommendations for these two books.
Hi Wave,
Here’s a few books from my personal favorites list:
Finding Faith – Andrew Barriger (c)
At Piper’s Point – Ethan Day (c)
Sno Ho – Ethan Day (Part of the Melting the Slopes Anthology) (c)
A Vintage Affair – Josh Lanyon (c/m)
Take My Picture – Giselle Ellis (c)
Life After Joe – Harper Fox (c)
Just writing these titles makes me want to read them again. You beat me to Driftwood, and I would second Fair Game – a vintage Lanyon mystery.
Hi Wave,
I`m tame this time 🙂
I`ve read many good and very good books in the last six months but absolutely loved just one.
The One That Broke Free/T.C.Blue/-C
Hmmm…o.k. – I share Driftwood with you too.
I`m sure I`ll absolutely love it when I read it the second time 🙂
I`m currently reading The Manituw by Lisbeth Jenkins so maybe I`ll come back later with a third rec.
s.
My fave pics are A Vintage Affair by Josh Lanyon (C/M), Everything Under the Sun by Rachel West (C), Dreaming of You by Ethan Day (C), Dark Horse by Kate Sherwood (C), and last but most definitely not least, Life After Joe by Harper Fox (C).
And can I share Driftwood and Fair Game with you guys, too. 😉
Doh! TJ beat me to A Vintage Affair and Life After Joe while I was typing. So… let’s share! 🙂
Here are a few of my favorites:
Truth in the Dark – Amy Lane (s), Finding Zach – Rowen Speedwell (c), The Angel of Thirteenth Street -Eden Winters (c), Everything Under The Sun – Rachel West (c), My Summer of Wes – Missy Welsh (c)
I just purchased Life After Joe and Driftwood so hopefully I can add to all the raves soon. 🙂
You guys are really quick.
Wren has graciously agreed to do the honours again and I can see that she’ll have her work cut out for her.
Keep those recs coming – already there are a few books that I haven’t read so I will probably do what I did last time – go on a spending spree. 🙂
I’m definitely putting in an enthusiastic nod for “Counterpoint-Dylan’s Story” by Ruth Sims and I am reading Lee Rowan’s latest, “Home Is The Sailor” right now. I also enjoyed “Fair Game” by Josh Lanyon. Sure need to check out “Driftwood” and Harper Fox in general by the look of it, as well as many others of course.
I really enjoyed “Aloes” (C/M) by Chris Quinton (there will be a sequel)
“Life After Joe” (C) by Harper Fox
“Fair Game” & “A Vintage Affair” (C/M) from Josh Lanyon
“The Darkling Thrush” (S) by Josh Lanyon
“Sleepwalker” by Jordan C Price
The wine-dark sea (C) A.J. Llewellyn
Life After Joe (C) Harper Fox
Stirring Up Trouble (C) Z.A. Maxfield
Making Promises (C) Amy Lane
Truth in the Dark (C) Amy Lane
and the fantastic The Manituw (C) by Lisbeth Jenkins
Another Renault novel that isn’t already on the list:
The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault (H)
I sure hope that online fiction is permitted on the list, because two of my favorite series aren’t in e-book format yet (though I remain hopeful that they will be eventually):
The Slave Breakers series by Maculategiraffe (S)
Hurrah for Hollywood series by Parhelion (H)
This one has homosexuality only in the subplots, but there’s tons of male romantic friendship in the main plots, so I keep recommending it to gay fiction readers:
Under Jurisdiction series by Susan R. Matthews (S)
And finally, three John Preston books:
I Once Had a Master and Other Tales of Erotic Love by John Preston (C)
My Life as a Pornographer and Other Indecent Acts by John Preston (MEM)
Winter’s Light: Reflections of a Yankee Queer by John Preston (MEM)
They were published in 1984, 1993, and 1995 respectively. The last two books are actually collections of essays on various topics, but they include memoirs.
Hi Dusk
To answer your comment – we don’t include online fiction since this list is for published books but I’m sure that just having them here in the comments will make others want to take a look at some of your recs.
I have a question – Does The Last of the Wine (or any of your other recommendations) have on-page het sex? Please advise, as this list is for gay or M/M books. Thanks
“Does The Last of the Wine (or any of your other recommendations) have on-page het sex?”
“The Last of the Wine” doesn’t even have gay sex. It’s a 1956 novel. 🙂 Both the male protagonists are bisexual (the story is set in Ancient Athens, so bisexuality is the norm), but the main plotline is about their homoerotic relationship.
One of the sections in “My Life as a Pornographer” is about various aspects of the BDSM world and includes journalistic descriptions of heterosexual and lesbian BDSM. The majority of the book is about gay male life. Preston was a gay man who wrote gay male literature.
If you’re leaving out cross-genre literature, then the Under Jurisdiction series is the one to drop; it’s a mixture of friendship, romantic friendship, heterosexual, and gay.
Dusk
The reason I asked is because I read Renault’s Fire from Heaven, Funeral Games and The Persian Boy and I think one (or more) of them had het sex, but it’s been a while since I read this series.
Hardly surprising; her contemporary novels were often bisexual. But no, there’s only one fade-to-black het sex scene that I remember in “Last of the Wine.”
You’ve got me curious now, though – does one het sex scene disqualify an otherwise gay novel from the gay category, in the eyes of most m/m readers? I’m curious because most of my gay characters are actually bisexual. I don’t write onscreen het sex, but I’m wondering where the genre category line lies for most m/m readers.
Oh, I also have some amazing books I’d like to nominate! 😀
* Strawberries for Dessert (C) by Marie Sexton
* Collision Course (C) by K. A. Mitchell
* The Last Herald Mage trilogy (S) (Magic’s Pawn, Magic’s Promise, Magic’s Price) by Mercedes Lackey
* The Nightrunner Series (S) (Luck in the Shadows, Stalking Darkness, Traitor’s Moon) by Lynn Flewelling [yes, I only nominate the three first books, because I didn’t like the fourth at all]
* The Missing Butterfly (C) by Megan Derr
* Prisoner (S) by Megan Derr
These are the books that I can think about at the moment, though there’s plenty more I probably would’ve liked to nominate. 😉
I second the Mercedes Lackey “Last Herald Mage” trilogy: (S) (Magic’s Pawn, Magic’s Promise, Magic’s Price)
Also –
*Archer (m) by Abigail Roux
*Dark Horse (c) and the sequel Out of the Darkness (c) by Kate Sherwood
I’m not sure if this qualifies or not, as only the first 14 (out of 202) chapters are in print. Matthew Haldeman-Time writes a weekly online serial called “In This Land” (s). If you like fantasy and LOTS of sex, you might want to check this out. It is paid subscription only, though he does have some free stories to read.
http://www.matthewhaldemantime.com/inthisland.html
Chris
Hi Fried Eyes
I don’t think the ongoing serial In This Land qualifies. I’m familiar with the story, however it’s not complete but ongoing and is not a published book that can be purchased from a bookseller.
All mine have been mentioned, so I’ll just second/third:
“Counterpoint: Dylan’s Story” (H) by Ruth Sims
“Truth In the Dark” (C) by Amy Lane
“Strawberries For Dessert”(C) by Marie Sexton
“Fair Game” (M) by Josh Lanyon
“Sleepwalker” (M) by JCP
“At Piper’s Point” (C) by Ethan Day
Driftwood (C/M)gets my vote as well.
I think More by Sloan Parker (C) deserves to be on the list as well and End of the trail by Jane Elliot (H)and perhaps Sea of Change (M)by Chris Quinton.
Just thought of a few more
“One More Soldier” (H) by Marie Sexton
“Enlightened Little Boy Lost 1” (C) by JP Barnaby
“The Gentleman and the Rogue” (H) Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon
“All or Nothing” by James Buchanan
“Back Where He Started” (C) by Jay Quinn
“More” (C/M) by Sloan Parker
S: Lord of the White Hell by Ginn Hale Mem: Fun with Dick and Shane and More Fun with Dick and Shane by Gillibran Brown
This is a great start to the revised list! I, too, will be spending some moola soon.
I’d suggest:
St. Nacho’s 3: Jacob’s Ladder (C) ZA Maxfield
Lessons in Trust (Cambridge Fellows book 7) (H,M) Charlie Cochrane
Keeping Promise Rock (C) Amy Lane
Urban Shaman (S) Lyn Gala
Promises (C) Marie Sexton
I have so many recent, absolute favorites so I will list them by genre.
Historical:
The Gentleman and the Rogue- Bonnie Dee
Casa Rodrigo- Johnny Miles
Every Good Thing- M. Jules Aedin
A Heart Divided- J.M. Snyder
Bound to Him- Ava March
Contemporary:
Phoenix Rising- Kimberly Gardner
A Fostered Love- Cameron Dane
His Dirty Little Secret- Stormy Glenn
Rust Belt- Jessica Freely
(S):
A King’s Ransom- Aislinn Kerry
Till Kingdom Come- Evangeline Anderson
Bound in Blood (My Vampire and I series)- J.P. Bowie
I second the nomination of Take My Picture by Giselle Ellis (c). I loved, loved, LOVED that story!
Enlightened: Little Boy Lost by J.P. Barnaby (c, YA)
Probation by Tom Mendicino (c)
also, Marie Sexton’s four books: Promises, A to Z, The Letter Z, and Strawberries for Dessert. All (c)
L
I’m with everyone else who has mentioned Josh Lanyon’s books:
A Vintage Affair (M/C)
Fair Game (M/C)
And I LOVED both of Harper Fox’s books:
Life After Joe (C)
Driftwood (C)
Clearly, I’m going to need to budget for more books! Now, I need to find the time to read them…. 🙂
I wanted to add these to the list that are on my keeper shelf.
Mortal Enemies by JL Farnsworth (C)
LA Bytes by PA Brown (M)
Sticks & Stone by Urban/Roux(C)
Forest of Corpses by PA Brown (M)
Hi Dusk
WordPress wouldn’t let me reply to you directly 🙁
To answer your question, authors can write what they want and there’s no line in the sand that I know of. Readers have different preferences, but most M/M readers prefer that their M/M books should be “pure,” meaning that there should be no on- page sex with women. Here’s a post I did sometime ago on this subject about this site’s M/M policy:
http://www.gayromance.org/?p=10011
Het romances have no on-page M/M sex and I think that M/M romances should have no het sex.
There are a few M/M readers who like books with bisexual characters but this site doesn’t review them if there’s on page sex with women. There are some books with bi characters that have been reviewed here e.g. Cut & Run and Sticks and Stones by Urban and Roux, but there was no on-page sex with females in the books.
There are many sites such as Rainbow-Reviews and Three Dollar Bill that review the full range of GBLTQ books.
I hope this answers your question.
Thanks for putting this list together!
Some of my favorites not yet mentioned or listed:
The Angel of 13th Street (C) by Eden Winters
The Elegant Corpse (P) by A.M. Riley
Remastering Jerna (S) by Ann Somerville
Special Delivery (C) by Heidi Cullinan
Persistence of Memory (S) by J.M. Snyder
Conquest (C) by S.J. Frost
The Slayer’s Apprentise (M) by Zathyn Priest
Power Play (C) J.M. Snyder
Big Diehl: The Road Home (C) by George Seaton
A Forest of Corpses by P.A. Brown (C/M) (really all the L.A. books)
End of the Trail (H/W) by Jane Elliot
Shades of Gray by (C) by Brooke McKinley
Zero at the Bone (C/M) by Jane Seville
A Matter of Time (C/M) by Mary Calmes
Sea Change (C/M) by Chris Quinton
Primal Red & Baby It’s Cold Outside (C/M) by Nicole Kimberling
Psycop (whole series) (C/M) & Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary (whole series) (C/M) by J.C. Price
Stirring up Trouble (C) by ZA Maxfield
“Catch me if you Can” & “In & Out” (C) by LB Gregg
“Somebody killed his Editor” (C/M) by Josh Lanyon
Hi Stacy
Before you add titles please check that the books are not already on the list (I linked the master list to make it easy to check). As I mentioned, Wren Boudreau is going to have the arduous task of adding your new recs and it would make it a lot easier on her if you only add new titles. Thanks.
Will do! Thanks for the link!
REMINDER
I have linked the post containing the master list to make it easy for you to search whether or not your recs. are already on the list. I would really appreciate it if you only add new books so that Wren does not have to wade through and delete a lot of books that are already included. Thanks guys. I appreciate your cooperation.
Me too! 🙂
In addition to the titles I mentioned earlier, please add The Good Thief- James Buchanan (c/m) and DUCK! – Kim Dare (s)
Please may I second Nichem’s nomination of Back Where He Started by Jay Quinn.
I have followed up books mentioned here that I hadn’t already read or considered for reading, and bought one or two of them. BWSH has just shot up to the top of my all time list. I haven’t read a book – het or mm – which is so evocative of the joys and pains of family life. A story with a perspective which makes one think through family relationships once again.
I do most certainly appreciate everyone checking the original list to avoid repeats, and I just want to point out that I myself couldn’t seem to follow this advice. So if anyone is sitting there thinking “that Wren’s an idiot,” well, I’m blaming it on hormones.
With the suggestion of James Buchanan’s All or Nothing, I saw that Cheating Chance and Inland Empire were not on our original list (unless I missed them) so I’m suggesting those!