#Contemporary m/m romance

[lgbtqreads]

Exclusive Cover Reveal: The Rules of Royalty by Cale Dietrich

I’ve been a fan of this author’s since way back when, so I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Cale Dietrich’s upcoming YA romance,  “a gay YA spin on The Princess Diaries” entitled The Rules of Royalty, releasing December 10, 2024 from Wednesday Books! Here’s the story: Two princes from neighboring countries fall into a whirlwind romance in this sparkling spin on The Princess Diaries by Cale…

[absolutebl]

Hey!

Since you seem to know much about books, I wanted to ask for recs.

I'm relatively new to the romance genre. All the M/M I've read has come from novels and works that have very...seme/uke esque dynamics and seem to enforce heteronormative standards regarding pursuit, romance, character interplay, and even sex (with fixed top and bottom postions).

Then I read For Real by Alexis Hall. Now I felt the character work and particularly the romantic chemistry was lacking, but the sexual dynamics presented opened me up to a whole new world of queerness. I enjoy reading verse/switch couples far more than ones with fixed positions cause for whatever reason, a lot of authors seem to take sexual position to be representative of the character's personality as related to a het romantic dynamic.

So I want to ask you for recs for any M/M verse/switch couples with fun dynamics and solid romantic chemistry. Preferably set in the modern day (Period pieces are meh to me). I have no qualms about subject matter as long as everything is handled decently and the ending is HEA.

Sure thing, lemme look at my Goodreads... I picked a range of authors, generally if they have done it once they will do it again.

Contemporary M/M Romance Featuring Verse/Switch Characters

Beyond the Sea - Andrews

Here Comes Trouble - Via

Team Phison -Verity

Bonfires - Lane

Perfect Day - Malcolm (rewrite of Persuasion)

Sixty Five Hours - Walker

Out of the Blues - Celeste

Family Man - Cullinan

The Boy Next Door - Hauser

The Quarterback - Blair

Time to Do - Dare

Him - Bowen (one of the first m/m's to win a major romance award)

Knave of Broken Hearts - Lain

Second Chance - Barrett

Save of the Game - Gale

Knowing Me, Knowing You - Kaye (an evocative and representative writer based down under, good sense of place)

Switched - Walker

The Isle of… Where? - Brown

Taboo For You - Sunday

R. Cooper (probably my favorite on this list but with a VERY specific writing style). They are VERY queer and very into broad spectrum sexuality rep in their stuff, but... and acquired taste. They specialize in PNR not contemporary, but they have written a few.

For Better or Worse

Jericho Candelario's Gay Debut

Honestly I remember reading one about neighbors falling for each other where being a switch was actually a plot point, but I can't remember anything else about it for love nor money. And I must not have given it a high rating because it's not popping up on my list. Sorry.

[eloreenmoon]

The Beauty of the Beast by Gabbi Grey #LGBT #Spotlight #Review #NewRelease #Excerpt #Romance #Contemporary #MMFairytaleRetelling #MissionCity #EverAfterSeries

Wendy reviews The Beauty of the Beast by Gabbi Grey. Self published May 14, 2024, 312 pages. Dean All my life, I dreamed about making the long trip from Australia to Canada to study forestry amid the old-growth stands of the Pacific Northwest. Now here I am, living the dream. Of course, nothing’s perfect. The only housing I can find is renting a room from a grumpy, reclusive guy who doesn’t seem…

[bookstattoosandtea]

Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway: Stacked by Linden Bell

Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway: Stacked By Linden Bell Mars Fitness, Book 2 Sawyer I’ve been in love with my best friend and roommate since the first day of boarding school over a decade ago. But Preston has always been oblivious, obsessed with his PhD research, and more importantly, straight. When the new, sexy grad student walks into my gym, I have to wonder… is it time for me to move…

[up-in-flames-writing]

In lieu of Stuff Your Kindle day, can we talk about the issue of how the m/m genre of books, romance or not, is almost entirely dominated by women? Can we talk about how the most recognisable gay couples in media are written by women? Can we talk about how queer men can't even write about ourselves, how we are only allowed to exist when it's from the point of view of a straight woman sexualising us?

Can we talk about that? Or am I going to get called misogynistic for pointing out the disparity between who gets the writing deals, & who gets their books turned into movies, & whose shit gets popular versus whose doesn't? Can we talk about how m/m fiction is only allowed when it appeals to a cishet gaze, or is that too much for tumblr to take?

Can we also talk about how trans queer men are even more hated by publishing? Can we talk about how we get shit from both sides? Can we talk about how books about the experiences of being a queer man, written by queer men, never get the same recognition as books written by women on this subject (barring academia which has its own problems)?

Can we talk about that? Can we?

[queerromancerecs]

Role Playing

Title Role Playing

Author Cathy Yardley

Summary:

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal–he’ll be more social if she does the same–she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.

Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.

Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.

When they finally meet face to face–after a rocky, shocking start–the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.

Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?

Genre: romance

Ship type: m/f (male character is bi and demisexual)

Why you like it: It’s nice to read a romance featuring older characters.  Finding love in late 40s/early 50s is different than romance for 20 somethings and it is nice to see that reflected.  I also love the demisexual rep.   

Content tags homophobic/biphobic family members, family drama, aging parents needing care, minor injury                                                         

Link to buy 

(image description: a woman and a man casually embracing on a big couch. she is in socks and holding a mug. he’s in flannel. on the table in front of them are bowls of food and DnD miniatures)

[wyn-n-tonic]

Books by Black Authors for Black History Month!

I wanted to share a list of books I love and books that I'm looking forward to reading that are by Black authors in acknowledgement of Black History Month. I feel like a lot of my fellow readers (especially my fellow white readers) always go into a, kind of, reading slump in February and I don't know if that's because the month of January is just ten years long that February feels like a hangover or if it's because they feel the desire to read books by Black authors but then the majority of what is marketed is usually books that are steeped in trauma or nonfiction books. And, like, yeah, nonfiction books are so important but when they're the only kind of book marketed it can make finding the other kinds of books that much harder but I believe that if you read the fun books and the happy books and the fantasy books it will make you want to seek out the nonfiction resources. I'm blabbering so long story short, I thought I would make a little list to do some of the legwork for my fellow readers to find stories that they can check out.

I used GoodReads links (and one StoryGraph) link, you can choose who to purchase from yourself (although I will suggest BookShop.org as your purchase does go towards indie bookstores, I also really like the Libby App which is just your library and it works with your Kindle/Nook/Kobo/iPad). All authors that I have included in this are American or have strong ties to the USA which is why I did not include authors such as Bolu Babalola, Talia Hibbert, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie but I do highly recommend checking them out if you haven't because they do write gorgeously.

Kennedy Ryan has an extensive backlog and beautiful writing, beautiful prose. She had a book called Before I Let Go (Skyland #1) come out in November 2022, it is a second chance romance between a married couple. It has been on my shelf forever, the cover is beautiful and I've heard nothing but truthfully incredible things. I have listened to snippets of the audiobook but keep putting off getting the actual audiobook because Kennedy is the kind of author I want to read the grammar, syntax, wording of everything from. This book actually got optioned to be adapted into a television show and there's a second Skyland book coming out in March called This Could Be Us that has the ARC readers going wild.

Jasmine Guillory is one of my favorite authors. She is a Bay Area native and has a law degree from Stanford. Not only do I think that she writes beautifully but I cannot even describe to you the way that I kick my little feet and twirl my hair. I feel like my favorite of hers changes. Up until a few weeks ago, I would've told you that Olivia Monroe in Party of Two was my favorite Jasmine girly but I listened to Royal Holiday to kick off my reading for January and Vivian Forest is such a beautiful character. She's a 56 year old Black woman who is a veteran social worker who thinks it's too late for her on several fronts and then she gets swept off her feet while on a vacation with her daughter AND THE ROYAL FAMILY. What?! I also think that Jasmine writes, like.... character appropriate sex scenes if that makes sense. Like, Vivian's scenes are more reserved than Olivia's were, Vivian's more closed door than Olivia's were. She also has a Beauty and the Beast inspired book called By The Book and I kept texting my friend the entire way through and then made her buy a copy so she could text me right back with all her thoughts. Amazing. I love her.

You want cozy fantasy romance with monsters and happy Black women being loved by their hot monster lovers? Kimberly Lemming has GOT YOU COVERED.

Plugging my new author friend P.J. Leigh and her book Olawu. She actually responded to my request for some indie author recs on Threads and sent me a copy of Olawu that will be here on Friday and I'm so excited. She describes it as: "Set in precolonial East Africa with romance, action, sisterhood, found family, and a feisty but flawed female lead." I cannot wait to dig into this one.

Another author who messaged me is indie author Quiana Glide. Her bio is that she is an unabashed fangirl and her books feature pregnancy trope, cosplay, professional wrestlers and cafe owners solving murders. Her books sound fucking great and they are available on Kindle Unlimited for my KU girlies (gender neutral).

Celestine Martin messaged me as well and she writes paranormal romance with Black witches, emo mermen and fae princes. I tripped over myself running to my Libby app to place a hold on the audiobook.

25 to Love! by Joye Johnson is another one available on Kindle Unlimited for my KU girlies (gender neutral). The synopsis is: "TV's hottest dating show is '25 to Love!'. To nab a guy from her past, Lola signs on as the token girl of color. All's fair in love and ratings--can a week on TV get Lola closer to the one that got away?" You know what I love? Second chance romances, besties, that's right.

Splinter by Jasper Hyde was another I was recommended. Jasper writes paranormal, LGBTQ+ books. Jasper Hyde is a pen name for Georgina Kiersten who also goes by Rian Fox. The pen name denotes the subgenre that they write. Georgina does go by they/them pronouns and writes plus sized rep and neurodivergent rep too.

Kelly Cain. That's it. That's the tweet. THE EVERHEART BROTHERS SERIES????? If you know anything about me, you know that I have a hearing issue and so I've used audiobooks before but I never really clicked with them or got the hype. Turns out I had boring ass narrators (look I did the audio version of a lot of nonfiction books I had to read about old dead white guys in college so of course I had that feeling). THE EVERHEART BROTHERS AUDIOBOOKS ARE WHAT CHANGED ME. Deanna Anthony, the narrator, is so engaging and I didn't feel like I was listening to an audiobook, I felt like I was sitting across the table at brunch having a gossip session with my bestie. If you read it and you didn't like it, that's fine, but I didn't lie to you and enjoyment of art is subjective but also you're wrong and argue with a wall.

I've been seeing a lot of talk lately about Pride & Protest by Nikki Payne. This is a Pride & Prejudice and one of the reviews says, "If you ever wanted P&P to feel more like watching a swoony, steamy episode of Insecure, this is the book for you."

Currently, I am reading You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi. It deals with themes of grief and romance and also bisexual representation. Absolutely beautiful prose. Akwaeke is Nigerian and has been in the USA since college. They are non-binary and go by they/them pronouns.

I also cannot end this list without mentioning Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow. This follows three generations of a southern Black family in the neighborhood of Douglass in Memphis, TN (I was born a couple miles away in Raleigh) . Now, this book does have quite a few trigger warnings that I won't put here but I do encourage you to READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS before you purchase this book as it does deal with some pretty heavy subject matter.

I'm also going to end this by saying to keep an eye out for anything done by my best friend, the person who I have shared so many amazing, beautiful, life changing experiences with ALL OVER THE WORLD for the last fourteen years: Isana Skeete (Isana does not use pronouns). If you look at the GoodReads account for Isana that I linked, you'll see lists made with recommendations of books with queer POC rep and asexuality representation.

[triviareads]

ARC Review of Give It To Me (Anthology) by Angelina M. Lopez

Rating: 4.5/5 Heat Level: 4.5/5 Publication Date: September 10th

My review:

Super sexy, gorgeously emotional, and centering Latinx love, Give It To Me has fourteen high-heat short stories and something for everyone— slice-of-life moments between long-term partners, first (and last) encounters, and a few cameos from your favorite Filthy Rich and Milagro Street characters.

First, my favorite: "Twelve Drummers" is, on it's face, about jewel thief Anna accidentally getting caught up in a magical Aztec (Mexica) orgy summoned by the beat of a teponaztli drum, joined by Juan Carlos, a museum guard she has a crush on. But it's so much more; Angelina wove in all these beautiful cultural details like the traditional attire and music of the Mexica. There is nothing fetishistic about this orgy; it's a celebration of the solstice, and on an emotional level, it's the first time Anna, a solitary jewel thief and one of the "unseen" all-Latina cleaning staff, is truly seen by someone.

"In the Stacks" also deserves a shoutout; a construction worker catches PhD student Rosalia getting herself off in a corner of the library, and he coaxes her to lean into the situation and let him watch (and more) by way of a very filthy-sweet mouth. It feels like recent contemporary romances are afraid to veer off the beaten path when it comes to dirty talk, so it just felt joyful and freeing to read a man with ZERO filter who just goes for it.

If you're a fan of Angelina's Lush Money and the following books in the Filthy Rich series, there are a few short stories that expand on that universe with romances for side characters AND we get The Vineyard Bang That Was Promised with Roxanne and Mateo, which was every bit as feral as I knew it would be.

If you enjoyed the Milagro Street series, there is a post-After Hours on Milagro Street scene that once again reminded me that Professor Jeremiah Post is a nice guy without being a Nice Guy, that nice guys can secretly be animals in the sack, and sometimes, a gal just wants to be tossed around like a sack of potatoes. And if you've read Full Moon Over Freedom, you'll remember how the summer after her freshman year of college, Gillian asked asked Nicky for sex lessons, but it was only ever alluded to in the books. Well, we finally get that scene here!

Overall:

For the people saying romances aren't political, they haven't read Angelina M. Lopez. The fourteen short stories felt as empowering and timely as they were sexy, which is no mean feat. I'd absolutely recommend this to any contemporary romance reader.

Also, here are the preorder links because look at that cover?? I'm definitely getting a paperback copy for myself.

Thank you to Angelina M. Lopez for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[lgbtqreads]

New Release Spotlight: Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander

If you’re looking for a delightful new holiday read, may I recommend (heh, yes, of course I can, this is my website) Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander (Emily Bestler Books/Atria)? While second chance romance may be a well worn trope, second chance with your (ostensibly straight, male) high school sweetheart from before you transitioned and whom you haven’t seen since was…

[fated-mates]

M. O'Keefe's Everything I Left Unsaid duology is some of the best contemporary romance out there, and if you need proof, here it is: The first book ends on a cliffhanger and it holds a prime spot on Jen's keeper shelf. We're talking about all the ways this book works, the way O'Keefe wields tension and description and narrative voice and point of view like an absolute master and delivers a series that is not only deeply representative of the contemporary romance of the mid 2010s, but also a near perfect example of how contemporary can fire on all cylinders. Clear your calendar, you're going to want to read all four books in this series back to back.

[kinziethings]

REVIEW: The Fisherman by C.P. Harris

At the age of twenty-five, Leland Meadows has his whole life mapped out in front of him, with four rules to live by: No new friends. No dreams or aspirations. No repeat hookups. And definitely no committed relationships. Leland’s looking for safety, not heartbreak and disappointment. Then one day he receives an offer he can’t turn down. Rent is due, and the catering company his best friend’s…

[bookstattoosandtea]

Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway: Stacked by Linden Bell

Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway: Stacked By Linden Bell Mars Fitness, Book 2 Sawyer I’ve been in love with my best friend and roommate since the first day of boarding school over a decade ago. But Preston has always been oblivious, obsessed with his PhD research, and more importantly, straight. When the new, sexy grad student walks into my gym, I have to wonder… is it time for me to move…

[eloreenmoon]

'Melting the Ice (Portland Evergreens Book 1)' by Beth Bolden #Audiobook #LGBTQ+ #Review #MMRomance

Erryn reviews ‘Melting the Ice (Portland Evergreens Book 1)’ by Beth Bolden.  The book was on October 10, 2024 and is 391 pages.  The audiobook was released October 21, 2024. It is 11 hrs and 12 mins and is narrated by Darcy Stark. A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review. Why Erryn read: Hockey? New series?  Yes please! Brody’s got enough on his plate. Recovering from a knee injury…

[queerromancerecs]

here there be dragons

Title: here there be dragons

Author: theundiagnosable on AO3

Summary: An abrasive, defensive, anxiety-ridden young professional hockey player is traded to a team he does not like (last place losers) in a place he hates (Canada in the winter after living in Texas) where he has no friends... not that he had any friends in Texas either. But then TTRPG games happen because the only person who talks to him and doesn't seem to hate him is the DM (the goalie. "It's always the fucking goalies.")

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance - Sports - Hockey

Ship type: m/m

Why you like it:  (All I know (or care to know) of hockey is from Check Pleasure or watching Goon one time. So just know that intensive hockey knowledge is not required here.) Platt (yes his name is Platt) is 21, alone, and hated by all of the hockey world for a) not being his famous player dad b) not being as good as his famous player dad, and it's given him some issues. (He's an asshole. I teared up several times anyway.) The goalie is a bundle of issues in entirely different way. (Sensitive soft nerd boy needs so many hugs.) There is found family and all that and I ate it up num num num.

Content tags: anxiety, panic attacks, someone reading hate about themselves online as a form of self-harm. Some homophobia from the outside world but none within the environment of the team. Shitty, absent parenting.                                                                        

Link to A03

[tinycupcakesstuff]

10 Reasons I am obsessed with Breakfast with Scot

Grab yourself a T shaped pancake and enjoy!

I find the theme's of the novel by Michael Downing and the screen adaptation to be very compelling. Exploration of found families, stable queer couple navigating parenthood, potentially queer/gender nonconforming kids, coming out, self-acceptance.

I am a big fan of contemporary fiction, real-life situations meets romance/rom-com. I am not really into YA or fantasy, fandom can be heavily skewed in that direction. I also like more mature protagonists beyond the early 20s into adulthood.

Love a totally stable and in love m/m couple with careers and a house in the suburbs. No romantic drama. Just a wholesome queer marriage.

LOVE that the NHL and Toronto Maple Leafs gave permission to use the logos and branding in a queer-themed film.

I love both stories, novel and film. I think that the characters stand up really well in both. Particularly, I think Eric is entirely justified in remaining in the closet professionally and as a public figure. It was 2007! Ellen was recently out. Very few celebrities and next to no sports figures were out in that time period.

Tom Cavanagh and Ben Shenkman are just so fine, this should be self-evident.

I just love the wholesome, feel-good comfort of the film. I know it isn't perfect but for its time, I think it did well and was pretty ground breaking. Queer-themed films were usually tragedies back then.

LOVE that they incorporated hockey!!!

Love the supporting characters and feeling of a sitcom. That found family and found community comes through very strongly.

And most of all, I love that there is so much story to tell. How did Eric end up getting together with Sam if he can't even say the word gay out loud yet is ok talking about their bedsheets on the street for anyone to hear? How do they deal with Scot's trauma about losing his mom? How is Sam a sports attorney yet knows nothing about hockey? Did Scot finish the hockey season? I want to know all about Nula and George Jr's wedding! I want Eric/Sam commitment ceremony. Hell, I'd even enjoy Billy and Mia's wedding lol. I want to see Scot graduate from high school and Ryan Burlington get drafted.

[failfemme]

i make a lot of fun of the romance novels at work but tbh if any of these harlequin romances were about lesbians, you KNOW i’d be all over them