130 comments

• 

  Thank you, Wave! It is so generous of you to include my work in your favorites! I’m honored.

• 

  Thanks for sharing this. I see a shopping spree coming soon. 😉

• 

  Oooo. *makes a list of the ones she’s never read*

• 

  Hi Laura
  Thank you for your comment but your books are more than deserving of being on the list. I have read the three books currently listed as favourites many times and I regard them as “comfort reads” which are books that I go back to time and time again.

  I hope you will add to the list.

• 

  Elyane
  Glad to help you spend your money.:)

• 

  Jules
  I’m sure you have many of these books on your bookshelf or on your computer, but I’m always happy to help.:)

• 

  Great list, Wave! Thanks so much. I see lots of my favorites on there, but also many more I haven’t read. Glad to see David Sedaris on the list– he’s hysterically funny.

  As far as recs, sci-fi and historicals aren’t my faves, so no further suggestions there, but for contemporary, I’d recommend The Kid and The Commitment by Dan Savage, Leave Myself Behind by Bart Yates (The Brothers Bishop by him is good too), and Strings Attached by Nick Nolan.

  BTW, if anyone is considering reading Giovanni’s Room, it’s very well-written, but one of the most depressing books I’ve ever read.

• 

  My additions to the list:

  False Colors by Alex Beecroft (love, love, love this book!)
  Transgressions by Erastes
  Frost Fair by Erastes
  Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen
  The Boy I Love by Marion Husband
  Paper Moon by Marion Husband
  The Erotic Etudes by E.L. vanHine
  *
  all are historical, all are great.

  Leslie

• 

  I forgot about Whistling in the Dark, Leslie. I’d recommend it too.

• 

  Leslie
  Thank you. My head must have been up my you know what because both Transgressions and False Colors were reviewed on the blog and I read both of them and loved them!! As I said, the list is not extensive so I hope that when the final one is prepared there won’t be many glaring omissions. The others on your list are also great additions

  • 

    Thanks, Wave!

    I would also recommend Charlie Cochrane’s Cambridge Fellows series. I think the third one, Lessons in Discovery, is the best of the books that have been released so far (Lessons in Power is due on Sept 22) but they all are good. Lessons in Discovery has the most maturity of the characters and depth to the writing plus the mystery is the most well developed.

    L

• 

  Nichem
  Thanks for your additions and I’ll include as many as I can. I did read Giovanni’s Room and you’re right, it is a depressing book, but so are many historicals.:)

• 

  great list Wave. Thanks! One I have in my top 10 is Willa Okati’s In The Strangest Places.

• 

  Great list Wave

  I would second Transgressions by Erastes and add the following:

  Lord and Master by Jules Jones
  My Fair Captain by JL Langley
  Freeman by Clare London
  Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville
  The Archer’s Heart by Astrid Amara
  The Utopia X series by KZ Snow

  I’ll probably think of one I’ve missed later!

• 

  Woo! I’m so stoked to be on the list! Thank you 😀

  I’m only mentioning stuff that I haven’t seen mentioned before:

  “The Phoenix” by Ruth Sims is fabulous. (I’d add her ‘Counterpoint’ there too, except it isn’t out yet.)

  “Speak Its Name” (anthology) by Charlie Cochrane, Lee Rowan and Erastes.

  “Remastering Jerna” by Ann Somerville.

  Otherwise you seem to have already got all my favourites.

• 

  Hi Jenre
  Thanks for your additions which are great and I’m sure they will all make the cut. My Fair Captain and the next book in the series The Englor Affair are both on the list but none of the others.

  **
  “I’ll probably think of one I’ve missed later!” You’re in good company – I can’t believe I missed Transgressions and False Colors both of which are reviewed on the site..:)

• 

  Alex
  Thanks for commenting especially since you’re so sick and thank you very much for your input – I’ll ensure that most of them make it in the final cut. This list will probably end up in the 300’s.:)

  **

  By the way Alex, I’m updating my review of Captain’s Surrender now that it has been re-released by Samhain with a new cover. The updated review should be posted later today with the new links and cover.

  • 

    Oh, fantastic! An updated review of Captain’s Surrender to go with the updated release sounds like a fantastic thing. Thank you so much!

    *g* My daughter is occupying the couch, so I’m having to sit up by the computer. I am starting to think that the floor is looking good for lying down on, though 🙂

    Thanks again!

• 

  Rough Canvas by Joey Hill
  Tangle (anthology), Blind Eye Books
  *
  (And thank you, Jenre.)

  • 

    To the people who suggested, seconded, and thirded Rough Canvas — I had never heard of this book but I was intrigued by the title and then I read the reviews. It sounded good so I bought it and started this morning…I am just 15% in but oh so good!! Thanks for the suggestion, I can already tell I am going to love this book.
    *
    L

• 

  Thanks mrb. I’ll add Willa’s book to the list.

• 

  Hi KZ
  Thank you for adding Rough Canvas to the list. I have had this book for ages and still haven’t got around to reading it – must do so soon and review it as well. The Tangle anthology is an excellent suggestion as well. BTW the Utopia X series will definitely be on the list. As you know I read the first book and loved it!

• 

  Wow, I salute you for even trying to make a list. Isn’t that like picking your favourite child? LOL I have no idea what I’d add but I’m kind of surprised by how many of those I’ve actually read. Great job.

• 

  Another book I read recently and really enjoyed was Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg. It’s a very sweet and nicely told “coming of age” story about a high school kid who gets outed by a classmate in a newspaper article. The main character, Bobby Framingham, is the star quarterback for the football team and every time I see Wave’s quarterback picture I think of Bobby and the book (and yes, that picture is exactly what Bobby looks like to me!). It’s YA so no sex, but there is one hot kiss and Bobby ends up with a really super boyfriend by the end. Definitely recommended.
  *
  L

• 

  How about Back Where He Started by Jay Quinn. It’s certainly one of my favorites.

• 

  Tam
  It was really hard work to come up with the vintage books but amazon was a great reference source and I checked many reviews on the site (if I was unfamilar with the books) before I included them. One benefit of amazon is that as soon as you enter the name of one book the system comes up with many others, so some research was not too difficult, but it was a time consuming job which took weeks. Hopefully all of this work will be well worth it in terms of having a list of favourite gay books for readers who are always writing me asking for book recs. (Maybe my inbox will get less mail):)

• 

  Thanks again Leslie. Out of the Pocket will definitely be on the list. I want to include as many YA books as possible because, believe it or not, I get emails from teenagers asking for book recs.

• 

  If you’re looking for YA I really enjoyed Without Sin by J. Tomas. I’m still bugging my daughter to read it. LOL She enjoyed Vintage though.

• 

  Awesome list, Wave! Thank you so much for including Untamed Heart! I feel very honored to have one of my books in such esteemed company 😀
  **hugs**

  *

  As far as my own favorites, I think you got them, really. You have Brokeback Mountain on there, right? What a DEPRESSING story, but OMG, I could NOT stop thinking about it. The damn thing HAUNTED me. Still does, many many years after I first read it. To this day, I can’t read — can’t even THINK about — those last few paragraphs without getting all teary. It isn’t even what she says in that story, exactly; it’s all the things she says by NOT saying them, if you get my meaning. Just beautiful.

• 

  Wow, thanks for including me.

  One book I really love, even though the gay relationship isn’t the main one, but it is really beautiful (with a fantastic love scene inside the abandoned grounds of the World Fair) is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.

• 

  Tam
  Thanks for reminding me about Without Sin by J. Tomas (JM Snyder’s alter ego).

• 

  Ally
  You know how much I LOVE Untamed Heart. Anyone reading my review of this book would understand why.

  ***

  Yes to Brokeback Mountain. This book really resonates even years later. I want to review it but I’m not sure I can do it justice. So sad. It’s like The Front Runner which is an exquisite book but so sad.

• 

  Wow. This could go on. For-ever!
  *
  Some suggestions:
  Pandora Project: Runaway Star by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox
  Blue Ruin Series by Katrina Strauss
  Shadow Hunt by LM Prieto and Jayson Taylor
  Like Coffee and Donuts by Elle Parker
  Drawn Together by ZA Maxfield
  Hot Cargo by Bennet and Tachna
  *
  I also second Rough Canvas, heartily.
  *
  Do you feel you could might possibly have every m/m book ever published on this list by the end of the project? We all have such different tastes!
  *
  Would it be asking too much to have a separate YA category?
  *
  Do you need help putting this all together?

• 

  No problem Sean. I really enjoyed Tigers and Devils.

  **

  I had heard about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, but ran out of time to research the reviews on the book and didn’t want to include it without first checking. Based on your rec. I’ll definitely include it.

  • 

    Ohhh…The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay was really good. I read that a long time ago.

    What great lists! 🙂

• 

  Wave, if you’re looking for YA, Common Sons and Uncle Sean by Ronald Donaghe are both good. (Also, 2 of the books I mentioned before, Leave Myself Behind and Strings Attached, are YA).

• 

  Wren
  Thank you for the suggestion about a separate YA list. Are you offering to help? Maybe you could put together the YA book list. I’m serious – this project could go on forever if I’m going to do it by myself.

  **

  Thanks for your recs. I recognize all of them. Damn – this is going to be so difficult.

  • 

    Yeah, I guess I am offering. I’ll email you.

• 

  I suspect this could indeed go on forever. People have such different tastes.
  *
  I would also suggest The Long Way Home by ZA Maxfield, and especially Border Roads by Sarah Black.

  • 

    Thanks for the recs Liade. I appreciate them.

• 

  What a great list, I have MOST of them in my library, and it looks like I will be adding to it soon! I agree that Rough Canvas could be added, it is, personally, one of the best books I have ever read…..I Thanks for taking the time to compile the list and thanks to readers for adding to it, it’s wonderful to have a resource other than my own research…..gives me more time to read great books:)

  • 

    Elaine
    I love it when I help readers spend their money.:)

• 

  I highly recommend The God Eaters, by Jesse Hajicek. It has been on my nightstand for nearly 2 years now, not because I can’t finish it but because I go back to it over and over when I can’t find anything else to read. It’s available from Amazon and is a bit pricey for a trade paperback, but well worth it.
  Kirith Kirin, by Jim Grimsley is another old favorite. Both are “speculative fiction” as it’s apparently called nowadays. Both excellent.

  • 

    Megan
    Thanks for the recs. I will definitely add The God Eaters to the list along with Kirith Kirin by Jim Grimsley. As you can see, I really like Grimsley – there are two other books by this author on the list.

• 

  Dammit Wave, more money spent… Actually I can’t wait to read them…

  I third ‘Rough Canvas’… Also
  Zero to the bone by Jane Seville
  Deviations Series by Chris Owen
  On Fire by Drew Zachary
  Details of the Hunt by Laura Baumbach
  Stealing Life by T A Chase
  Love in an Elevator by Sean Michael

  • 

    Suzi
    thanks for the recs. I love the Deviations series, just haven’t had the time to review the 4 books. I guess i should make a concerted effort to take Rough Canvas out of mothballs and review it.:) Your other books struck a chord because I love most of them.

• 

  I am so honored to be on the list Wave! Thanks for including Crossing Borders. It looks like I have some reading to do as well, what a great list, one-stop shopping for great books.

  ZAM

• 

  Wren said: Do you feel you could might possibly have every m/m book ever published on this list by the end of the project? We all have such different tastes!
  *
  and I reply: I don’t think we’ll have *every* book ever published. I have read a few turkeys which I am *not* going to mention (no need to embarass the author and no need to clutter up the list). LOL.
  *
  L

• 

  This is a great list, and such an ambitious project! For your Classic section, I’d recommend Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner.

  For your Current section, I’m glad you’ve got N. L. Gassert’s book The Protector and Tamara Allen’s book Whistling in the Dark, and I’d second that recommendation for Elle Parker’s book, Like Coffee and Doughnuts, and that other rec for Border Roads by Sarah Black.

  Also for Current I’d recommend
  Turnskin by Nicole Kimberling,
  the Hell Cop series by Amara Astrid and Nicole Kimberling and Ginn Hale,
  The Men of Smithfield – Gobsmacked by L. B. Gregg,
  Notturno by Z. A. Maxfield,
  Gym Dandy by Storm Grant,
  Nikolai by Angelia Sparrow
  Glad Hands by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks
  Scarlet and the White Wolf series by Kirby Crow
  Angels of the Deep by Kirby Crow
  Her Majesty’s Men by Marquesate
  Uneven by Anah Crow
  The Bonds of Love by J. M. Snyder
  Sleight of Hand by Katrina Strauss
  and Practical Purposes by Yeva Wiest

• 

  Me again. 😉 I read too much…but….these are not historical, but instead great contemporary stories: L.A. Heat and L.A. Mischief, both by P.A. Brown. I love Chris and David!
  *
  L

• 

  Guys
  I forgot to mention – If you’re recommending any books that should be included under the “Classic” category please be sure to note this. That would be any books published before 1994. Thanks. Also If you’re recommending YA books, please indicate this since I’ll come up with a separate YA category.

• 

  You have my very favourites already, namely The Charioteer, False Colors, As Meat Loves Salt and At Swim Two boys, but here’s a few others.

  Mr Page and Mr Clive by Neil Bartlett
  A Different Sin by Rochelle Hollander Schwab
  While England Sleeps by David Leavitt
  David Blaize by E.F. Benson
  The Lord John books by Diana Gabaldon

  • 

    Hi Erastes
    Thanks so much for those recs. I’ll definitely ensure that they are included – there are not enough “classic” books on the list and your recs. will definitely help.

• 

  Lovers Knots – Katherine Cross (historical)
  Happy Ending – L.B. Gregg (contemporary)
  False Colors – Alex Beecroft (historical)
  The Elegant Corpse – A.M. Riley (BDSM)

  • 

    Anesthezea
    You just reminded me that I bought Lovers Knot and The Elegant Corpse several months ago and haven’t read them as yet.:) Thanks for the other recs. as well.

• 

  Most of my favourite books are already on your list, or have been added by others, but I’d like to recommend a few more, if I may –

  Discreet Young Gentleman – M J Pearson
  The Price of Temptation – M J Pearson
  An Agreement Among Gentlemen – Chris Owen
  Duval’s Gold – Chris Hunt
  The Nightrunner Series – Lynn Flewelling
  Two Gentlemen Sharing – William Corlett
  The Larton Chronicles – James Anson
  Kind Hearts – Evelyn Martin

  All of the above fall into the ‘current’ category, btw.

  Thanks so much for providing such a great resource. My letter to Santa is going to be extra long this year! *g*

  • 

    “The Larton Chronicles – James Anson”

    *jumps up and down* I’m so glad I’m not the only person (on this blog) to love this book. I read/re-read it 3 times within the last 2 months, giggling madly each time, always in different places.
    *
    Interestingly enough, if you check out this book on Amazon.co.uk (where it’s cheapest), you’ll see this remark:
    *
    Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
    “Mexican Heat” and “Death of a Pirate King”.
    *
    A couple of weeks ago those same customers also used to buy “The Art of Dying”.
    *
    Anyway, if you buy this book, you are in the very best of company (companies???).

    • 

      ‘Larton’ does get you like that, liade! I think I must have read it about ten times in the past few years! *g*

      It was also my very first introduction to m/m fiction, slash and fandom in general and so holds a very special place in my heart.

      And if ever I see a house for sale in Larton I’ll be moving there tomorrow… *g*

      • 

        I just read Elisa’s review of The Larton Chronicles (never heard of it before) and I would so love to read that book. It sounds like it is right up my alley. Unfortunately, there is only one used copy for sale at Amazon and it costs $107! Darn!

        L

        • 

          Leslie: check out Amazon.co.uk. They only charge £6.47 for The Larton Chronicles, and even with postage to the US that’s bound to be cheaper than $107!

        • 

          Leslie, if you’d prefer to order direct from the publisher I can give you contact details.

        • 

          Thanks for the Larton Chronicles info. I’ll check out Amazon. What I really would like is to find it as an ebook…sigh…

          L

        • 

          Leslie
          You can order The Larton Chronicles from amazon.ca where it’s listed at under $12. Cdn. It’s currently out of stock but they’re pretty reliable. If you leave your email and put it in your basket they will contact you when it’s in. Here’s the link
          http://www.amazon.ca/Larton-Chronicles-James-Anson/dp/1903531047/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253386446&sr=1-1

• 

  Oh, first of all, thanks for including so many of my books. As to who to add, well, if you do a YA category, you have to check out Josh Aterovis. As to adult – Maurice by E.M. Forster, and definitely Ruth Sims The Phoenix (her next one, Counterpoint, has found a publisher; I read the ms. It’s fabulous!) And I loved Kavalier and Clay, but not everyone did.

  Victor

  • 

    Hi Victor
    I don’t think I included that many of your books.;) Deadly is a series, so I had to list the books in the series.

    **

    Kris is currently reviewing two of Josh’s books. He is a very talented YA author and most definitely his books will be on the YA list.

    **

    Maurice by E.M. Forster is already on the list and thanks for reminding me about The Phoenix by Ruth Sims – I have heard good things about it.

    **

• 

  I will help too (with Wren) & organize the books into areas other than YA if you would like. (I will do my other job too.) If the primary purpose of this list is for new readers, then I think it will need more than just titles & authors. If I look at the top 10+ of anything in an area I am unfamiliar, I want to know why it is on the list.
  *
  100’s of ways to take this data and sort. I would be willing to set up a database so that books could be sorted by genre, have supportive reasoning for why they are on the list, sex levels, No HEA or HFN, themes like BDSM, Gritty/real vs. light read, etc…Info could be taken from comments. We could even set up polls for each genre. Just some ideas to debate & toy with maybe build upon.

  Books I think are missing and why:
  I think Claire Thompson’s Goldon Boy/Man should be on the list. It is a great book that introduces BDSM very well. I SHY away from BDSM unless it’s very light, yet I read and loved these books. I don’t review because I struggle in both being articulate & conscise, but I will make the attempt to explain why. The Dom is a therapist training a new lover who is new to being gay much less a sub. Through these characters ideas are floated on what each gets out of it & why. I came away with a better understanding of those who live BDSM daily & not just as play. It was packaged in a great story that I found easy to read. It was a great intro into the life style by an author with a proven track record.

  Lainey Cairo’s -“Bad Case of Loving You”, for the great gritty sex that includes the mess, the smells, safety, use of piercings, etc… . It gives peeks into the British healthcare system, along with a great example of positive parenting.

  Tory Temple’s – “Heat”, (paperback includes the 2nd story Flashover) for the blistering sex that has two “men’s men” learning to love and sustain a relationship. They are not big into the declarations, defining verbally there relationship, or saying sorry. It is a lack of communication & lashing out that plaque many a relationship. I would take the book for the sex alone but I loved the relationship and their growth too.

  Evangeline Anderson’s – “Slave Boy”, for the hot sex & the it’s so wrong but feels so right mentor/student story. It also falls under the sci/fi fantasy genre.

  Shayla Kersten’s – “Hidden Force”, a slight twist on the Gay For You theme, great sex, interesting cops, & an ending in the case I did not see coming. It was a fast easy read I enjoyed.

  Carol Lynne’s -“Sweet Topping”, for its diversity. One man is black the other in a wheelchair. The disabled protag has adapted equipment to run a busy bakery. Plus many small details are shown from daily life to sex. It has a HEA with the protags but the disablity is not glossed over or miraculously healed. Despite the subject matter it is a light easy read. The relationship feels a little too quick, but its not completely out of character.

  For those unsure of if they like sex or how much I suggest Sean Michael’s – “Windbrothers” followed by “Guardians of the Wind”. Guardians is the sequel, so it continues the story of the protags from Windbros. The 1st has little to no descriptive sex (none between the protags). It is all about magic, mystery, murder, friendship, & 1 being saved from slavery. The 2nd is all sex with story thrown in about their efforts to find the slavetraders & stop them. Polar opp stories from the same author in the same series. Both are great in their own right.

  2 that I would give honorable mentions –
  Jez Morrow’s “Shadow of a Wolf”, great protags with sharp wits & a nice love story.

  Cameron Dane’s “Falling” – story of redemption, overcoming tremendous odds, unique demon world building, plus it shows how sometimes despite where we come from we can “chose” who we call family.

  • 

    About Laney Cairo’s “Bad Case of Loving You”: it’s one of my personal favourites, too.
    *
    Only I thought I was the odd one out in liking this book; it doesn’t seem to appear on many reviewers’ lists.
    *
    And the reason I love it is not because of the gritty sex/smells/safety/piercings etc, but instead because of the particular tenderness shown between the protags.

    • 

      I could not agree with you more, even though that is not what I put an emphasis on. There has been much discussion on this site about how fem sensibilities effect many of the protags.
      *
      I too looked for reviews but this book is from ’06. Not a lot of reviewers for GLBT now, much less in ’06. It is why I think this list is so important.

  • 

    Cathleen

    **
    Initially this is just a first cut to get a list of books out to the readers that their fellow readers and authors recommend. I intend to reduce the list to about 200 to start so thatit’s manageable. I understand the need for a more sophisticated database in time, but right now I would like to have this first list completed and set up within 2 weeks, which does not allow for anything more than an aphabetical listing.

    **

    I agree that the YA books should be in a separate category and I will ensure, with the help of all the volunteers, that this is done. In terms of the other recs. as many of them as can be included will be included.

    **

    Right now I’m trying to work out a system to ensure that the most deserving books and as many authors as possible are included. Those recommendations that don’t form part of the initial group will be on the website so that readers can check them out for themselves.

    **

    I welcome your help in compiling the list. I’ve already emailed Wren and suggested a few criteria.

    **

    I love many of the books that you recommended and quite a few of them have been reviewed on the site so there’s a good chance that a lot of them will make the final cut.

    **

    Thanks so much Cathleen. I really appreciate your suggestions on how to make the list more useful for the readers in future but right now we have to take baby steps.:)

• 

  I’m just off to update my To Read list, I may be some time… 😀

  Thanks for putting that list together, I’ll definitely be referring back to it for ideas.

• 

  Some of my ‘currents’ might belong in ‘classics.’ I’m not always certain of the publication dates.

  Classics:
  Orlando by Virginia Woolf
  Kiss Of The Spider Woman by Manuel Puig
  The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin
  The Married Man by Edmund White
  A Queer Kind Of Death by George Baxt
  Social Disease by Paul Rudnick
  The Brandstetter mysteries (series) by Joseph Hansen

  Current:
  Breakfast With Scot by Michael Downing
  The Object Of My Affection by Stephen McCauley
  The Pornographer’s Poem by Michael Turner
  Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
  Nick Hoffman mysteries (series) by Lev Raphael
  Henry Rios mysteries (series) by Michael Nava
  Russell Quant mysteries (series) by Anthony Bidulka
  Detective Lane mysteries (series) by Garry Ryan

  • 

    Hi Batboy
    Thanks for adding your recs.

    **

    I can see that I will have to add quite a few books to my list of books to buy, particularly the mysteries. I’ve heard a lot about the Brandstetter mysteries so I’m really looking forward to reading the books. Quite an extensive list – I really appreciate it BB. You always come through for me (when you want to)*g* Oh and thanks for splitting the books into current and classics, that helps a lot.

• 

  I’m so pleased you like my books well enough to include them on your list. *hug*

  • 

    Madeleine
    I’m one of your biggest fans as I’m sure you have figured out.:) I can’t wait for Cut & Run – the series. Can’t you write faster?

    **

    Did you notice that The One That Got Away is on the list?

• 

  Wow! Thanks for doing this Wave. I was very interested to read the list, and was surprised to have read only 16 of them, and of those, there are seven I wasn’t so keen on. It’s great to see everyone’s different favourites.

  *

  Here are some of mine:

  *

  Classic:
  *
  Joseph Hansen’s David Brandstetter’s series – nice to see Batboy’s reccing this too.

  *
  The Wraeththu series by Storm Constantine
  *
  Vampires Anonymous by Jeffrey N. McMahan
  *

  Current:
  *
  The Vintner’s Luck by Elizabeth Knox (which has just been released as a movie, but is apparently very disappointing) about a French wine-maker who has a relationship with an angel. Set in the 1800’s, so would be classed as historical.
  Link: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/elizabeth-knox/vintners-luck.htm

  *

  Now is the Hour” by Tom Spanbauer
  *
  Brethren: Raised by Wolves series by W.A. Hoffman – historical.
  *
  The God in Flight by Laura Argiri, historical
  *
  What Love Means to You People by NancyKay Shapiro
  *
  The Shadow of the Templar series, by M Chandler. A real favourite.
  *
  The Administration series by Manna Francis
  *
  Nocturne by Mel Keegan, historical
  *

  • 

    oh yes, the Brethren: Raised by Wolves Series can’t be left out! The fourth book of the series is due this year, by the way.

    • 

      Feliz
      I guess I need to get The Brethren Raised by wolves next because everyone seems to be so enthusiastic about this series.*g* Thanks for your recs.

  • 

    Gaycrow
    I’m not sure if I responded to your extensive list of recs but thank you so much. The list was thoughtfully put together and I will try to include as many as I can. Any book that didn’t make it will be found here on the post and readers can refer back to them whenever they wish. You guys rock!

  • 

    The Vitner’s Luck is one of my all time favorites!!! No one I know even has heard of it, but then I am a literary nerd and have read stuff that most people would balk at!

    What about Gordon Merrick’s books? They are amazingly well written and hot to boot!

• 

  Thank you for including “Paul’s Dream” in your list! And thanks for adding so many reads to *my* TBR list. 🙂

  • 

    Hi Rowan
    You’re welcome. I’m sure you know how much I enjoyed Paul’s Dream which is quite an unusual book.

    **

    I’m still waiting for the sequel.

• 

  Hm, a good opportunity to peek out of lurkdom. 😉

  I’d like to add the Raised by Wolves series by W. A. Hoffman, an epic historical in 4 parts (Brethren, Matelots, Treasure; Wolves to be released this year). It’s freaking fantastic and really huge, every book has about at least 500 pages. A bit pricy but it’s worth it. Placed in the 1660s in the West Indies amongst the buccaneers. Love (maybe a little bit “gay for you” but absolutely believable and very moving), angst and adventure, vividly narrated in first person POV. Quite a bit philosophical and edgy. Love Willl and Gaston.

  Thanks Wave for the effort to provide this great list and thanks to everybody else for mentioning all these books. Although I found most of my favourites I still got more new reading material than I can handle… *sighs*

  Oh, and The Persian Boy. I’m o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d. with it. What a wonderful, deeply moving story.

  Here you go. Once out of lurkdom I can’t stop gushing. *lol* That’s just because all those books on a single page got me all excited…

  ETA: did I really took this long to write this down that gaycrow could post an even longer comment including the Raised series in the meantime? That’s depressing. *lol* Thanks gaycrow! 🙂

  • 

    Hi Lilli!

    *
    My comment only looks longer because I stuck all those asterisks in there! Your’s has much more substance.
    *
    The Raised by Wolves books are great, aren’t they? I think W.A. Hoffman changed her direction a little with the last one, though, and her teaser chapters for the next book in the series didn’t appeal to me much. Did you read them on her web-site? I’m quite nervous about this final book. :/

    • 

      Hi gaycrow!
      The books are definitely great! After reading the first I wanted to quit work, find me a matelot and go roving. *ggg* And the second book was even better.
      But as I haven’t yet read the third book (I’m a slow reader and I always need some free days in a row to read such a huge book. Otherwise I’d be a complete mess at work being completely occupied with other things… ;)) I avoid reading the teasers for “Wolves”. Don’t want to pick up spoilers or anything…
      I can’t wait for it to be published and looking forward to the ratings. But you made me nervous, too! I so hope your first impressions are wrong. 😉

      • 

        Lilli, well, unless Hoffman changes things dramatically, I might be reading the final book with my eyes closed. 😀

    • 

      Hi gaycrow, nice to meet you here.
      I definitely second the Shadow of the Templar Series.
      The Wolves Book teasers struck me as “poor Will, poor poor Will”, which is nothing new, but this time Will meets real hardship, I think.

      • 

        Hi Feliz! It’s great to find another Simon/Jeremy fan here. The Shadow of the Templar books are compulsive reading, aren’t they?

        *

        Regarding the final Raised by Wolves book – yes, without giving too much away, I’m not really looking forward to seeing what Will goes through. 🙁

  • 

    Lilli
    I’m so glad I found something to get you out of lurkdom and I hope you will continue to contribute. Thanks for the recs. and I look forward to seeing you here more than occasionally.:)

• 

  Hey Wave,
  *
  Thanks for including Stealing Life and High Line on your list.
  *
  Wow…there are a whole bunch of books that I need to add to my list and pick up. They all look great. I can’t wait until the YA list is compiled because I’d love to pick up some of them.
  *
  Thanks again.

  • 

    You’re welcome TA. Just get your credit card handy when the final list is ready next week.:)

• 

  Great Idea on the Book lists! I love getting recommendations, and sharing (tell me to shut up it i list too much. I am a book addict I’ll admit it).
  m/m paperback
  Before i discovered ebooks and it was a rare treat to discover actual m/m books anywhere even on line. it used to be such a limited selection available, or at least that i could find. Here are some of those i remember enjoying.

  Mel Keegan
  Dangerous Moonlight (historical)

  Neil S. Plakey (gay detective)
  Mahu Series

  Cochrane Lambert
  Three Fortunes in one cookie

  Scott Sherman (mystery )
  First you Fall

  N. L. Gassert
  The Protector

  Bart Yates
  Leave myself Behind

  Chris Owens
  Adagio

  Greg Lilly (mystery but also family issues)
  Fingering the family jewels

  chuck zito ( mystery play director)
  Habit for Death
  ice in his veins
  (have a weird fascination with people who work behind the scenes of theater/tv/movies)

  C. S. Laurel
  B. Quick

  William Jack Sibley
  Any kind of Luck

  M. J. pearson ( reminds me of old fashioned historical romance novels)
  Discreet young gentleman
  the price of temptation

  Robin Reardon
  a secret edge

  Larry Coles
  Freshman Pledge: The magic of Love

  Jim Grimsley
  Dream Boy

  Jay Quinn
  Back Where He Started

  Lynn Flewelling Night runner series
  (fantasy)

  Tanya Huff
  (The Fire’s Stone)

  Turnskin by Nicole Kimberling ( very original shifter )

  Desert Sons by Mark Kendrick

  W.A. Hoffman
  Raised By Wolves (favorite)

  • 

    Hi Tara,
    I also enjoyed “Three Fortunes in One Cookie” by Cochrane Lambert. Did you know it’s a writing partnership? Becky Cochrane and Timothy J Lambert both have Live Journals, and post some of the best entries I’ve read. I often laugh out loud about Tim’s latest adventures, and Becky’s a wonderful dressmaker to the “stars”.

  • 

    Wonderful list as well. I’m surprised at the wealth of authors we have. I’m glad you mentioned Lynn Flewelling. The Nightrunner books are both my favorite fantasy, and m/m novels. Did you know the series is being considered for movie/miniseries adaptation. http://otterdance.livejournal.com/314932.html

    Maybe we could also have a list of m/m books that have been adapted into other media?

    • 

      Kim
      Thanks for the recs. I had never heard about the Nightrunner books so now I’ll be off to amazon to place them in my cart.:)
      **
      “Maybe we could also have a list of m/m books that have been adapted into other media?”
      I think I need to finish this project first.:)

• 

  Oh, a really good YA I read recently was “A Really Nice Prom Mess” by Brian Sloane. Like a John Hughes movie with a gay lead, all about the hellish (and hilarious) situations he gets into on prom night.

• 

  Thought of a few more:
  Edward Unconditionally by Lynn Lorenz
  Regularly Scheduled Life by K.A. Mitchell
  Henry and Jim by J.M. Snyder
  Windows in Time by M. Jules Aedin

• 

  Re: Sticks & Stones

  We’re trying! We’re trying! We have to sleep!

• 

  The majority of mine have been either included on the original list or have been mentioned in comments. I would add:
   
  Snowball in Hell/Josh Lanyon
  St. Nachos/ZAM
   
  I’ll also help when it comes time.

• 

  Madeleine:

  Re: Sticks & Stones
  We’re trying! We’re trying! We have to sleep!

  No sleep for you two until it’s done, dammit! 🙂
   
  Oh, and look for a review of Warrior’s Cross on Monday!

• 

  Wow, how exciting to make the list *twice*.

  .
  Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee is my favorite classic series. I may need to go re-read it!

  • 

    Jordan
    I think you made the list 3 times, not twice, you lucky woman.:)

    I’ll add Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee to the list. Thanks for the rec.

• 

  Wave asked me to make a few suggestions for some other great gay YA authors, so these are the ones that came to mind: Brent Hartinger, Alex Sanchez, Davis Levithan, Peter Cameron, Martin Wilson, and Perry Moore. I’m sure I’m missing some obvious ones, so if I think of any more, I’ll be back!

• 

  Thanks for your recs. Josh. I’ll add these authors to the YA list. Much appreciated.

• 

  Wave, you do know you’re asking for trouble by asking for additional recs, right?? From the number of comments, I bet you’re already drowning in them. Lol.

  Thanks for doing this list. I’ve read only one of the “classics” (the one I recommended you *g*), but I see a lot of my own favs in the “current” section – which is not very surprising given that I read a lot of them on YOUR recommendation :-D. I have a feeling I might be ordering several more books-that-I-won’t have-the-time-to-read-before-a-while using his list :).

  As for additional recs, I don’t have many that come to mind…you have The Assignment, you have 9-1-1, you have Caught Running and Cut & Run, you have Ransom and you have the Adrien English books, so the essentials are there already *g* One I would add is S.A. Payne,s HEROES AND GHOSTS, one of the only yaois I’ve ever read and a book I re-read every few months, a sure sign. It’s futuristic, original and the love story is very sweet. And I also loved Lee Rowan’s Winds of Change, which has a less complex plot than Ransom but more hot sex with the same lovely characters 🙂

  • 

    Mary
    I do understand that I’m looking for trouble but since this list is for the readers I think they should have a major input on the recommended books. I’ll add Heroes and Ghosts to the list. Now go out and spend some money on print books.:)

  • 

    Eye of the Storm by Lee Rowan was just re-published with a lovely new cover and some edits to make it a better book (it has gone from very good to great, imho). It also features Will Marshall and David Archer and some very nice lovemaking, plus a bit of an adventure. It’s for sale at All Romance.
    *
    L

• 

  **admires little Canadian flag next to her name and wonders where the hell the pretty floating blue “home” button has gone**

  Oh, and I second the Nightrunner rec. This series is great fantasy fiction, and this M/M is just the salt on the fires 😀

  • 

    Mary
    So glad you like the Canadian flag. The HOME button is still there – maybe your monitor is so small that you can’t see it on the far right of the sidebar. They do say bigger is better.:?)

• 

  If you are not totally overwhelmed yet, I thought of another great book: The Rest of Our Lives by Dan Stone. Very sweet, very sexy…
  *
  L

• 

  Thanks for including a separate category for YA, Wave. For the other books, I know most are romances, but I recognize a few that aren’t– like David Sedaris who technically is non-fiction, I guess (and Dan Savage if you decide to include him)? Could there be a separate category for non-romance books or non-typical romance books (that is, no HEA)? I know that’s a lot of work– I can help if you need it.

• 

  What fun! I have four favorites that weren’t mentioned –

  Long Way Home by ZAM
  Gift of the Raven by Angela Fiddler
  I Dare You and Incredible by Matthew Haldeman-Time

  It’s almost embarrassing how often I’ve read them…

• 

  As to YA – I’d highly recommend Hayden Thorne’s GLBT YA books. The Masks series which is superhero, and her historicals, Banshee and Icarus in Flight.

  Nichem: The list already includes non-hea, it’s not a list of Romance, it’s gay books in general.

  • 

    Right, I realize it’s a list of gay books in general. Was just wondering if the list could be further subdivided like Wave was doing with YA, so people would know which were typical romance and which weren’t. I like reading both, but it’d be nice to know ahead of time which was which, especially if it’s a particularly depressing book like some of the classics are. But I know that’s a lot of trouble, so not a big deal if it isn’t done.

• 

  Hi Nichem

  Thanks for your suggestions and here are my answers.

  **

  1. I can’t tell you which books are depressing or not.:) and I can’t say which are not HEAs because that would be giving out spoilers which, as a reviewer, I don’t do. However, I’m sure for classics such as Brokeback and The Front Runner, everyone knows how they end.

  **

  2. Historical books in most if not all cases don’t have a HEA, more likely they have a HFN ending because of the times. I would suggest that for anyone who would like to know more about some of these books that they read reviews in places like amazon where spoilers abound.

  3. I would love to subdivide the books even further but that would be a huge task so here’s what I had planned to do: I’m going to put a legend on the post and on the books so that readers know if they are historical, paranormal, etc. I hope that works for you.:)

• 

  Late to the party per as usual.
  *
  This is a really difficult thing you’re trying to do, Wave — the combination of genre fiction with literary fiction. Sometimes there are crossovers, of course, but kudos to you for this!
  *
  These will repeats for the most part:
  *
  My all time single favorite work of literary fiction is The Charioteer.
  *
  SF or Fantasy, Mel Keegan’s Death Head series (Mel Keegan’s significance and importance in GLBT genre fiction — those initial titles from GMP? — has yet to be fully recognized, I believe), Swordspoint, Wicked Gentlemen, the Teot books by Heather Gladney, Chrome by George Nadar (Nader?), Kirith Kirin by Jim Grimsley, Dancers of Arun by Elizabeth A. Lynn…
  *
  Joseph Hansen’s contribution to gay romance in the form of the books he wrote as James Colton — in particular On Twilight Road.
  *
  Mystery – Joseph Hansen (my single favorite title a standalone novel called Back Track) in particular the Dave Brandstetter series, Richard Stevenson, My Dearest Holmes by Rohase Piercy, Michael Nava’s Golden Boy (Nava is a terrific writer — he’s too effective in fact), Cowboy Blues by Steven Lewis, The Night GAA Died by Jack Ricardo…
  *
  Historical…you can’t overlook the importance of Gaywyck (terrible book, though it is) or the God in Flight (heavily influenced by Gaywyck, I suspect). Anything by Mary Renault. Alex Beecroft does a good job with Age of Sail. My problem is I read very little in historical anymore, so I’ll leave this alone as I’m blanking and will embarrass myself by leaving people out.
  *
  Oh, as an aside, I want to read Sean Kennedy’s pulp fiction adventure novel and I think JS Cook could well turn out to be worth watching.
  *
  Contemporary writers who I’m enjoying…Vincent Diamond writes very well. KA Mitchell, LB Gregg (yes, a personal friend, but I think she’s going to be a major voice in contemporary comic m/m romance)…actually, I don’t want to answer this section because I’m going to forget friends whose work I love and then it will seem deliberate. I seem to mention the Blind Eye Books stable of talent a good deal, so suffice it to say you can’t go wrong with the writing triumverate of Kimberling, Hale, Amara. And there are lots of great writers out there that I am looking forward to sampling but just haven’t had a chance yet.
  *
  YA I am totally blanking on.

  • 

    Oh my God. I almost forgot Jordan for the spec fic section. I LOVE the Psy Cop books.

• 

  “Michael Nava’s Golden Boy (Nava is a terrific writer — *he’s too effective in fact*)!”

  Explain, please

• 

  Hello Everyone
  It’s Sunday at 7.30 P.M.and I’m going to close off the recommendations for now because we’re about to put together the final list, which should make its appearance late this week or very early next week. Thanks to all of you for your hard work in suggesting how to make the list more user friendly, and also for all the great recommendations.

  **

  See you on the other side in about a week when the comments will be reopened, but not for new recs.:)

• 

  I’ll Be Your Drill, Soldier by Crystal Rose; Dark Roast Press; MM military

  Zero to the Bone by Jane Seville; Dreamspinner Press; MM thriller

• 

  Hi Elaine

  I’ll be Your Drill Soldier is on my TBR list and I hope to include it in the next update of the list. Zero to the Bone is already on the list.

• 

  Collateral by Vashtan & Gileonen? It’s a fanfic, though, and available here:
  http://community.livejournal.com/marvel_slash/tag/vashtan

• 

  The Vintner’s Luck!!!! Yes! One of the great gay romances of all time!
  The movie sucks! (Isn’t gay at all!) Read the book!

• 

  Elaine and Sammy
  Thanks very much for your recs. I’ll be sure to include them on the update to the list. However, they must be M/M and still available. I’ll check them out.

• 

  My favourite is The Hellespont! A true story, comic, tagic and full of info,

• 

  I also loved the Hellespont!

• 

  So did I as my photo is on the cover of the Hellespont although the photo was taken in Caños de Mecca, the nude beach in Andamusia!

• 

  Jean Genet is the best gay author! Jim

• 

  In addition to favourites already listed, must reads authors are Greg Herren (2 mystery series set in New Orleans, also collections of M/M erotica); and Michael Thomas Ford (novels with M/M romance, collections of M/M erotica, collections of humourous essays, nonfiction coming out stories). Apparently M T Ford has also written lesbian erotica under another name … a versatile writer 😉

• 

  Must read for those really interested in gay literature is the beautifully written Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst. He also wrote The Swimmingpool Library and the recent The Stranger’s Child. For those who truly appreciate great literature, these books are or will be Classics. Don’t miss.

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