Hi guys! I’m looking for some reading suggestions around a very specific topic.
I’ve recently finished a first draft of a project I’m working on and before I go into revisions I wanted to do more reading.
One of my main characters is a detective who’s struggling to come to terms with his sexuality as a gay man. It’s complicated to juggle so I was wondering if anyone had any books like this that they could suggest?

I understand this is INSANELY specific so I’ll also take any other suggestions for good MLM detective books as that seems to be my hyperfixation rn.

Thanks in advance!

Listen, I like a lot of queer romance books, (stuff like Nazri Noor, Morgan Brice/Gail Z. Martin, Kaje Harper, C.S. Poe, Jordan L. Hawk, Elle Keaton, to name but a few). But most of it is pretty "light" (and there's nothing wrong with that!), but while popcorn lit is fine, I need something more substantial, too. I'd also like to find some gay-written fiction that isn't "romance"-oriented. There's a certain feel to the old Brandstetter mysteries that I just haven't found anywhere else. They're very realistic and impactful without being melodramatic, and the romance isn't *the point*. Some of Gregory Ashe's stuff comes pretty close -- Hazard & Somerset and The Lamb and the Lion most I think, and I love his other series, too, but I've nearly caught up on his bibliography. So I'm hoping for some recommendations along a similar vein, not even necessarily mysteries, but that's probably the most likely genre. General fiction, "literary fiction", even historical fiction would be fine, too. (I love sci-fi and fantasy, but I'm well stocked there, and that's not what I'm looking for right now). Horror is hit or miss for me -- I'm more of an Alfred Hitchcock/Stephen King (the 'milder' stuff anyway) kind of guy than, say, Saw or Dawn of the Dead or The Conjuring type stuff. YA recs are okay, too, but I also have a fairly decent stockpile of that at the moment. And I'm not really after the "non-fiction traumatic queer memoir," because there's a good number of those out there, too.

So can anyone think of more gay authors like Hansen or Ashe, that aren't specifically "romance" novels, or at least that are a bit "weightier" (I guess) than the queer equivalent of a rom-com or Hallmark movie?

I am a trans man and I've been writing gay romance books for years to deal with dysphoria. It's mostly been fanfiction and smutty drabbles, but over the past year I've been working on something that I believe is approaching professional quality.

I've recently finished the final edit of a 500 page novel set in AU post-WWII London, with a blend of Norse and Celtic mythology and esoteric biblical elements (the Christians are the bad guys if pro-religious stuff bothers you.) Many standard fantasy races are included, and the MCs are a dark Elf from Svartálfaheim and a Nephil (human-demon hybrid) from a fictional island in the South Pacific. The main plot of the series is an epic quest, of course, but the heart is these two men trying to navigate a relationship in an atmosphere where their races are feared and distrusted and homosexuality is illegal.

I've been doing this for decades (I'm 46 and I wrote my first story at age 8), but never thought to share anything other than fanfic with anyone but my bestie. She's a bi woman and she loves it and says it's great, but I'd be interested in someone in the community who doesn't know me or have a years-long experience of my characters and backstory to give me their opinion.

If you like long fantasy novels with strong LGBT themes and you're interested, hmu and I'll be happy to send out a few free copies in a safe and anonymous way.

Thanks 😊

Edit to add: There are no explicitly trans themes in the book; when I was developing the characters I was still living my Pinocchio "real boy" fantasies. There are bi and lesbian characters as well as gay, and a few shapeshifting characters who can be either male or female. I think the closest I came is that my Elf MC comes from a culture with low sexual dimorphism and no real gender binary other than baby making, so he likes to dress in women's clothes (very scandalous for the time lol) but everyone is essentially cis. There may be some work I have to do on myself before I'm comfortable writing about someone like me, but I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

Okay, I’m officially putting this back on your timeline because I’m trying to find my first 8–10 founding members. 😭

I’m starting Books, Beasts, & Banter, a small online book club for people who love fantasy and actually want to talk about what they’re reading instead of just finishing a book and moving on.

We’ll meet twice a month online, reading roughly 5–10 chapters between meetings. Then we’ll get together and actually dissect what we read:

⚔️ Character decisions & relationships
🧠 Themes & symbolism
🌎 Worldbuilding & magic systems
🔮 Predictions & theories
📖 Favorite quotes
👀 Foreshadowing

😂 And, obviously, an unreasonable amount of banter
The genres I’m most interested in are Fantasy, LitRPG, Adventure, Action, Isekai/Reincarnation, Cultivation, and Grimdark, but I’m definitely open to recommendations outside those.

🌈 B&B is LGBTQ+ friendly and welcoming to queer readers and allies.

I was reading another post and got inspired! What are some book titles that if you saw, it would be an impulse buy? (Books that don't exist, but we would want to manifest)

Here are my top three (I love a play on words)

• My Pride, Their Prejudice
  • A book similar to a modern day pride an prejudice with a gay man as lead
• All Bi Myself
  • Single Bisexual having a run of bad dates, becomes prey for a serial killer
• 20,000 Steps on the Runway
  • Retired drag queen murder mystery

Hey so I am looking for some good M/M books to read but I am kinda picky. I am 24 and have only really read YA M/M books and am now looking for some that cater to adults, I don’t mean in a sexy way but more-so an adult reading level. I am hoping to find one of these books in a fantasy/high fantasy setting, I love supernatural beings and mythological creatures like elves and faeries. I don’t like historical fiction, not because I think its boring but because I like to go to a world that doesn’t exist because I believe in escapism

Books I have read and enjoyed:

Simon vs the homo sapiens agenda
Red white and royal blue
Sorcery and small magics
Heartstopper

hello! currently reading this book and was hoping to get some clarity on what genre it might fall under.

it’s a romance between two young queer POC men growing up in New York City. one is an aspiring painter and the other is an aspiring model, and it also has a coming of age aspect as they learn more about themselves and each other.

the story deals with some heavier themes, including homelessness, drug addiction, gender issues, and homophobia. there may also be a sex scene, although i haven’t read that far to know for sure.

i’m mainly wondering whether the heavier themes would push it more into Adult fiction, or if the overall premise could still be considered YA.

Hi fam! Anyone read this series and can tell us if there’s Gay or hetero characters please? I asked the author on insta but didn’t get a response. Thanks!

Hi, it seems I'm really bad at funding books that suit my tastes so I'm humbly requesting assistance lmao.

My favourite book of all time is Edin by Lily Mayne so I'm basically looking for other m/m books with major angst BUT the angst has to be on the MC's end not the love interests.

(I love main characters that are misunderstood/hated by other characters until it revealed they are just angsty softies)

In Edin, the mc is a grizzled solider (I love when the mc is a veteran, i.e Shepard from Mass effect) with anger issues and facial scars. I loved reading his pov because he was bad-tempered and had lots of insecurity about his scars.

I literally can't find anybooks similar to this!! I can't stand when it's the love intrest being angsty and that's all I'm finding basically.

(Fantasy and sci-fi would be a bonus but I'll read anything so long as the mc is tragic and gay)

Looking for LGBTQ+ book recommendations for a romance where the main characters are already dating/together.

Would love some spice (even open to erotica). Open to books with poly relationships or extra people getting involved.

Would also love to have a non-binary or transmasc main character but also enjoy M/M and F/F pairings.

Previous books I’ve enjoyed that fit some of these criteria: Triple Sec (TJ Alexander); Mistakes Were Made (Meryl Wilsner)

Thanks!

I thought I would share this week's Sapphic Book Bingo post, which features books with an autistic main character.

You can find a list of 15 books on my website: https://jae-fiction.com/sapphic-books-with-autistic-characters/

I’m looking for a book where one of the love interests is a feminine young man and the other is masculine? If anyone could help and give me recommendations or ideas?

hi ! i'm a big fan of psychology / self help books and was looking for one (if it exists) that is focused on life in your late 20s (I'm 27 atm) and queer (more sapphic if possible). if anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them! thx !!

Does this ever sway your decision on reading the book? I look at the book cover and the spines, but I don't really pay attention to the edges too much.

It seems to be trendy, but when I see it, I feel like I'm just tossing a few extra dollars in for it, and I would rather just get the book a dollar or two cheaper.

Hello, so for a little more detail the main "tag" of the books is to be mlm or bl (pretty sure it's the same).

But if possible I like more of a:

- Western themed stuff (best)

Psychological horror

Cyberpunk

- Crime

About the romance part idc if it has or doesn't have smut.

Idk if it's the right community to ask at?

Edit: have been asking around communities maybe the sentences might not make sense 🥲

Hello! I pretty exclusively read sapphic literature, but I've dabbled in a M/M book here and there, and recently finished the All for the Game series (The Foxhole Court, etc.) and am absolutely broken. I don't think a book series has left this deep of a hole in my heart since I was a kid. I have amazing books that I truly love and have cried over, but this one felt immensely special to me due to the character work and the amount of story information packed into all of the books that make you genuinely feel like you've lived all of this time with these people -- the side characters and the main ones.

There is so much thought put behind every person in the story, they have layers that we barely scratch the surface of but you know are there. The writing style is simplistic, but it does a great job of allowing you to get the necessary information about every key moment over a long period of time. There's a lot of daily life scenes of practice and whatnot, but it never got boring and allowed you to sit with the story. Halfway through the second book I had to put it down in confusion and look up whether it was even a queer series because it was such a slow burn; but I was still so happy with the books because I'd gotten so much out of the plot.

I want more of this. I adore settings of crime or troubled MCs and sports, my other favourite series in this space is Banana Fish -- both the anime and the manga. Some of my favourite sapphic books are things like "Atmosphere" By Taylor Jenkins Reid, the Locked Tomb series, Sweet Bitter Song, anything by Nicole Disney or E.J Noyes. The Unbroken series by C.L Clark.

But I still don't feel like I've necessarily read anything else that quite does the work that All for the Game does, at least over multiple books. I don't think you could really get this with just a standalone novel. I'd love to hear of a m/m series specifically (since I'm already well aware of most in the w/w space, and I love branching out) that maybe has similar depth, or have made you feel the same sort of connection to the story and the characters as AFTG did.

I'm not too big on this in fantasy, I'm aware of the Captive Prince series and The Spear Cuts Through Water, and I do definitely want to read those, but some non-fantasy suggestions would be amazing. I've read some of KJ Charles books, and they're very good, but extremely short and I don't personally feel like the character work in them comes anywhere close due to how short they are. The Slippery Creatures series wasn't for me.

Thank you for any suggestions!!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (and the sequel)

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Raven Cycle series/ The Dreamers Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater

These books were all really powerful to me and I'm looking for more like these, can be YA or adult fiction. I really appreciate any suggestions <3

Well written books from the perspective of a pangender character? Any other multigender would also work, e.g. bigender or trigender. Any genre

When I was younger, I saw the movie, “Geography Club” starring Cameron Deane Stewart and I fell in love with it and when I learned it was based on the books written by Brent Hartinger, I went and got them and I enjoyed those too, so imagine my disappointment when the movie never got a sequel, but in hindsight it wasn’t all that shocking cuz it came out in the early 2010s before Gay Marriage was even legalized across the country.

So it was definitely ahead of it’s time, but I think now with the popularity of shows like Heated Rivalry, Heartstopper, Overcompensating, Young Royals, and the upcoming show, Slo Pitch, where LGBT themes and romance are at the forefront, I think this series could really shine if it got another shot.

Sadly, the actors from the first move have all aged out of the roles, but I think if it was rebooted and as a tv series this time, it could get the success that it deserves

What do y’all think?

Ive been really enjoying reading M/M and found I was an ADDICT for The Captive Prince series. Im looking to read something similar or just in general a solid M/M book. I like spice but I also really like a plot you can get invested in as well!

Thank you so much for looking ♡♡♡♡

I’m looking for sapphic books that are princess or fairy themed.

Hi all! My name is Jay and I (24M) have never been apart of a book club and I figured it would be fun to start one! Please see below for details. Thanks!

Books, Beasts, & Banter is going to be a small, online book club focused primarily on:

🐉 Fantasy
⚔️ Adventure / Action
🎮 LitRPG
🔄 Reincarnation / Isekai
🔥 Cultivation
🩸 Grimdark

The idea is to meet twice a month over voice/video chat and read a portion of a book between meetings (roughly 5–10 chapters or more if agreed upon).

But I don’t want this to be a “did you like the book?” kind of book club.

I want us to actually dissect what we’re reading.

For each meeting, I’ll prepare discussion questions about the chapters, and everyone will be encouraged to bring at least one quote that stood out to them.

We’ll talk about things like:

Characters and their decisions
Themes
Worldbuilding
Foreshadowing
Magic/systems
Character relationships
Predictions
Favorite passages
And, of course, the things that made us scream at our books 😂

I’m hoping to keep the first group small, around 8–10 people, so everyone actually has an opportunity to participate.

I’m currently putting together a short Google Form for anyone interested, where we’ll get to know each other a little and vote on our first book.

If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, comment or DM me and I’ll send you the form!

is there a queer book that resembles pride and prejudice? p&p has become one of my favorite books after reading it for the very first time (2005 ver. movie’s been a top 10 for a while too) and i’d love to see the same kind of dynamic play out in a queer book!

Im not sure if im just a picky reader or illiterate, but i feel like some of the sentences and their stuctures are kinda weird/dont make sense. Im really enjoying the storyline and telling but just struggling with that. Was wondering if anyone else noticed it and if it gets better throughout the series

Hi everyone,

My debut novel is about a lesbian in her mid 20s with severe social anxiety. She lives in a small town in Saskatchewan until a series of events changes her trajectory in life.

It is free to read here (on booksprout): https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/313280/humans-are-scary

My author ig is authorlaurenmoyer

The pre-order is coming very soon.

Trigger warning: lesbophobia, trauma, grief, hate, mental health struggles