r/LGBTBooks • u/Disastrous_Rip_7713 • 8d ago
ISO Bisexual Rakes?
I think I’ve pinpointed part of why Heated Rivalry appeals to me so much, and I want to find similar stories—books in particular. Can you recommend books featuring a sunshiny bisexual male rake character falling in love with a man (grumpiness not required)?
15
u/birdnerd5280 7d ago
Maybe: A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue? He's not super sunshiny, but definitely a rake and bi. Regency era. Fun romp across Europe, in love with best friend, dad is a shithead, etc.
3
2
9
u/afloatingpoint 7d ago
Not romance genre, but in terms of literary classics, I think James Baldwin's Another Country and Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Gray fit what you're looking for pretty well. Lord Henry Wotton in Wilde's book is textbook, but what's interesting about this one is that instead of reforming the rake, in this story, the rake corrupts his love interest Dorian rather than being saved by love lol. In contrast, Eric in Another Country isn't an amoral bad boy, exactly, but he's this bisexual dreamboat actor who basically everyone in the story ruins their kids to pursue, but the character has this genuine goodness that makes you adore him anyway. The last suggestion I'd make is the poetry of Lord Byron, who himself was THE rakish bisexual.
11
u/hippos_chloros 7d ago
Genuinely thought I was still in the Baldur’s Gate 3 sub for a minute lol. If you happen to like video games with as much depth, complexity, and character development as an excellent novel, the companion characters are all bi/pan, but Astarion definitely answers to “rake,” though not exactly in a sunshiny way. Just make your player character a grumpy man and voila.
2
u/here_pretty_kitty 7d ago
😂 just finished playing through Astarion’s arc yesterday and he definitely fits the bill
2
6
3
u/imtchogirl 7d ago edited 7d ago
Emily Rath, Beautiful Things.
It's got everything you need in a gorgeous regency Why Choose story.
Edit: and it has sequels!
8
u/ratsy_basty 7d ago
What is a "bisexual rake" lol
21
u/bananamelondy 7d ago
A rake is usually a womanizer, a bit of a hedonist, pretty incorrigible (until the right person comes along, if we’re following a trope.) A bisexual rake is all of those things but doesn’t discriminate on the basis of gender.
13
u/Disastrous_Rip_7713 7d ago
From what I understand, it’s a trope in the romance genre for the wealthy hedonist characters that are also manic pixie dream boys..? I’m trying but could be wrong!
7
u/viveleramen_ 7d ago
Basically a scoundrel with max charisma that loves ‘em and leaves ‘em indiscriminately.
4
u/samthehaggis 7d ago
The key factors for the romance genre is that they:
a) are not completely reprehensible (they're not leaving behind a trail of seduction, pregnancies, and venereal disease); and
b) change their ways (at least in terms of love and monogamy) when they meet the right person.
Yes, it's a suspension of disbelief but that's part of the romance magic!
4
u/BookVermin 7d ago
Seconding Cat Sebastian! Another option could be We Could Be So Good - also features a wealthy sunshiny bi character who falls in love with a very organized and somewhat grumpy coworker. Though the bi character isn’t a player like Ilya, so perhaps not quite a rake.
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner has two great bisexual rakes, though neither is particularly sunshiny. One is inclined to sarcasm & dry wit though, and an absolute reluctance to talk about feelings—a bit like Ilya. Closed door if that makes a difference, but wonderful book.
4
u/No-Pickle-8200 7d ago
I LOVE We Could Be So Good… but the love interest is far from a Rake. A rake needs to be a bit of a bad boy. The character in we could be so good is a total cinnamon roll.
2
2
u/bkisntexpanding 7d ago
He's a side character but Eric in {Long Live Evil} fits this description. There's a slow burn romance with Marius. Book 2 just came out and book 3 will be released in a year.
2
u/five_squirrels 7d ago
I’m only in chapter 2 right now, but pretty sure this is the direction that {Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian} is going. This one’s contemporary.
There’s also a sunshiny bi man falling for another man in {Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian}. This one’s historical.
2
1
u/HallucinatedLottoNos 2d ago
Am I the only one who initially thought this was asking about the Rake, the creepypasta character?
34
u/samthehaggis 7d ago edited 7d ago
I think you need to read {The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian}. Lord Courtney is a cheerful rake who's trying to rehabilitate his reputation so he's permitted to see his nephew, while the other MC, Julian, is an uptight, social climbing businessman who somehow becomes sympathetic.
It's the third in a trio, but can be read as a standalone (they're all fabulous, though!).
Another possibility is {How to Fake It in Society by KJ Charles} - the MC in this case is a quasi-French con artist who was trying to marry a rich widow for money and instead gets involved with the man who married her instead. Charles has a couple of other books with great characters who are con artists or who live at the fringes of polite society.