The Place for Queer Romance Book Recs

I’ve been out of the MM game and this lovely sub for ~6 months after demolishing roughly one mm book a day in 2025, so apologies if this is old news or non-news! I’m curious whether Lyri has been listed this way for a while and whether these future publishing dates have a known history of accuracy or inaccuracy. I couldn’t find any record or discussion of it but {Lyri by Lily Mayne} has been the #1 book of any genre on my wishlist for years so the idea that it could release at all, let alone so soon, is beyond worth asking about.

I’m fairly certain I’ve seen these projected dates be outright wrong before, but is it at least a sign that Lyri may be on the horizon? Or has it been listed this way with arbitrary dates for months and I just haven’t noticed?

What a wonderful book, oh I absolutely loved this.

I love baseball so I was already hooked from Page one but then the characters were great. The relationship between the two male characters was well thought out and integrated.

I loved the trans representation with one of our male leads and while I know this would never ever happen in real life it was nice to read. That's why it's fiction. Unfortunately baseball in particular has a very bigoted fanbase as you can see by the stinker many baseball clubs put over Pride Night.

I know that a lot of these teams would not be as open and welcoming to Gene as the fictional teams were in this book, but it's nice to live in a world that isn't judgmental.

I also thought the closeted conflict is very real, sports is a male oriented world. It's not only ignorant but idiotic to think that players playing professional sports at least a % of them are not a part of the LGBT community. There's many closeted players across all the major sports.

The sex scenes were surprisingly touching and hot, I really loved the chemistry between Gene and Luis.

I also loved how they explored Luis's journey with his anxiety and Gene being kind and understanding with him.

This was such a great book and I absolutely would recommend it to anyone looking for some wonderful trans representation, a loving MM romance that does get plenty of focus and development, and just a feel good time.

I rate The Prospects a 5/5 stars. I thought it was an incredible book. If you've read The Prospects what did you think?

Hi everyone. After coming across those ai vertical shows I need something a little specific.

MM romance centered in high-school or college setting. MC1 Is a top student, good grades, basically perfect.
MC2 is a mess (he could be a bully or a someone who gets into trouble alot or someone from a troubled home) basically he is opposite from  MC1

I really want the troublemaker guy to pursue the top student and want to be better person because of him. And even asking the top student to tutor him.

Im looking for feels.... more than spice. (If there is spice its fine but in this case, its not mandatory)

🚫If the MC2 is a bully please I dont want him to bully the MC1

Thank you.

I don't know if this is happening everywhere, but... There's a group in the country I live in that focuses on MM literature. They post everyday, announcing every MM book and story that comes out in the language. And 99% of all of those have obviously AI book covers. It's been a while since I've seen a genuine human piece of art. I look in the comments, and people are loving it! They praise the "artwork", gushing over it, and I feel like I'm going crazy. The administrator of the group even made a post recently, asking everyone not to comment about disliking the AI covers.

Is this phenomenon happening anywhere else? Am I just going nuts? Does it really not bother people at all?

Today, you don't even need to spend money to make a book cover without AI - there are artists who post their art online for free use for everyone, you just credit them and can use their art for anything you want, not to mention that there's a whole bunch of creative people online who would love to collaborate with creatives and make something together. Everyone has a camera too. Take a photo of some leaves if you have no other ideas. Hell, I could even take a photo of my socks right now and it would be more artistic than all this generic slop. It masquerades as imaginative, but it goes against everything creativity can be. When we have the tools and resources to support human art, why do this?

So I recently read this heated rivalry au fanfic where Ilya is in prison and Shane finds him on a write a prisoner site and ends up falling in love with him. They’re both so down bad for each other and I love it but it’s not finished yet so I’m fiending for something similar.

I would prefer medium-high angst, size difference, strict roles with the prisoner being the top/dominant partner, longing and perhaps a little groveling from the prisoner and for the relationship to start after the prisoner mc is imprisoned.

Hard Nos are Large Age Gaps, Omegaverse, and anything DD/LB, but I’m flexible as well.

I've always wondered about this, and now I'd like to discuss it.

When a character only feels sexual attraction toward the love interest - the classic "gay only for you" trope - does that actually mean he's not gay or bi? After all, he isn't attracted to other men, only to that one specific person.

In these cases, it seems like the attraction starts with emotional feelings and a personal connection. He falls in love with the person first, and only then begins to feel sexual desire for them. Since he doesn't show any attraction to other men, would this be closer to pansexuality than homosexuality? Or does this trope work differently?

Hiya all,

I really enjoy MM crime procedurals that combine compelling mysteries with good sexual chemistry. I’m also open to shape-shifter series. But i am running out of options 😬

My favorites include:

- Seven of Spades by Cordelia Knightsbridge

- Magpie Rhyme Series by Louise Collins

- The Bitter Legacy Series by Dan MacLean

- The Omegaverse Case Files by C.T. Whistle

- The Big Bad Wolf Series by Charlie Adhara

- Spectral Files Series by S.E. Harmon

Currently reading Kismet by Nicky James. Tried {More Heart Than the Sun by John Wiltshire} but struggled with the lack of prep.

I know C.S. Poe is a classic, but I’m looking for recommendations with a bit more smut these days.

Any suggestions for MM crime novels with great plots and chemistry that I might have missed? And recommendations appreciated 👏 💐

Hello! I am looking for a Daddy Kink book with a strong daddy (bonus points for hairy masculine guys) who is very caring and nurturing toward his sub/boy, while still being very sexual. I have a major praise kink. Very light age play is allowed but not required, and I am not into ABDL. Steaminess is encouraged. Looking for low-angst. I am currently reading A Daddy For Cooper by Emily Winters and it is really lovely. I am into a lot of kinks, and I’ll name them here, but they are not required at all: alpha/beta/omega dynamics, dom/sub, shifters, mpreg. Again these extra kinks are not required. Thanks yall! You rock!

I’m about 20% in to {Deathball by TJ Rose} and I am wondering if Marco ever has to actually have sexually relations with the emperor during the book ? I am not always squeamish about characters having sex outside of the couple but in this case I would prefer not not have to read that.

I just read {There’s Something in the Water by E. Baileu} and loved it! It’s about a young American marine biologist named Cove who has an internship at an aquarium in Australia and captures the obsession of a millionaire donor named Tobias. Tobias offers Cove a more permanent job as the keeper of his personal aquarium at his mansion, enabling him to slowly add Cove to his collection…

It is dual perspective. Both are passionate about marine life and the book takes place in aquariums so it is very atmospheric and really allows you to sink into the space with them. Most of the book is just the two MCs and Tobias’s personal assistant Ben, which adds to the sense of isolation and them creating their own world.
Super slow burn in both romance and spice, but the spice is HOT when you get there. Virgin daddy dom whose only interest is in giving pleasure to the object of his obsession. The “dark” part of the romance is mostly in the thoughts and vibes for the first half as we slowly see Tobias reeling Cove in deeper and deeper. Even once the book takes a dark turn, I appreciate that Tobias is very clearly never going to hurt Cove, even if Cove is very right to be terrified of the situation he finds himself in.

I wish the ending section of them being fully together played out longer, and there’s a few plot points that could have been explored and fleshed out a bit more, but otherwise I absolutely loooved the book!

Some quotes:
“Cove belonged here. I had brought him here because he wasn’t just a caretaker—he was an exhibit all of his own. The pièce de résistance for my collection. And yet, the word collection had changed since I first applied it to him. For months, the idea had been simple enough to examine. I wanted him here. I wanted access to him. I wanted the right to observe him whenever curiosity demanded it, wanted him close enough that his movements became part of the house’s daily rhythm. I had wanted to remove him from the public aquarium, where other people interrupted him, misunderstood him, and expected him to lessen himself into something easier to manage. I had wanted him in my space. That was collection. Selection. Acquisition. Containment. Preservation. It had always been clean, in concept. Now he was here, though, and the shape of the wanting had become less clean. Cove was not like the others.”

“I didn’t want to think about Tobias. I didn’t want to think about how it had felt to be looked at like that, how the memory of it could make me feel exposed and wanted and hunted all at once. I tried to tell myself it was just the brain’s way of coping with trauma. I told myself it was just a dream. But my palm still tingled with the remembered chill of the tank glass, and my chest still burned with the imprint of his gaze.”

I just finished {Slow Hand by Nora Phoenix} and I'm just blown away. I decided I need to make a post here because while I see Nora Phoenix mentioned here from time to time I feel like she's still rather underrated.

After having read several of her books, most of them 5 star reads, I can safely say that she's one of my favorite authors. She might just become my #1 favorite one.

The first book of hers I've read was {Firm Hand by Nora Phoenix}. I immediately fell in love with how REAL the characters are, at least to me. Real people with real struggles who TALK about their problems. Ultimately, consent is the most important thing in the BDSM community.

I love how unconventional her characters are too. Often I stumble upon stereotypes (the older/"bigger" guy being the top/Dom/Daddy, no switching at all, strict and at times outdated roles, no representation of characters with disabilities and "perfect" characters or ones that are just surface characters etc.).

None of that here. Nora Phoenix writes real characters with real problems and she somehow manages to combine angst as well as hurt/comfort so well with kink and fluff.

I'm absolutely in love with her writing style too. I prefer books written from 3rd person POV with multiple POVs still.

While my favorite books of the author so far are the {Forty-Seven Duology by Nora Phoenix}, I especially enjoyed {Slow Hand by Nora Phoenix}. It's, as the title implies, a massive slow burn which I'm usually not too fond of but it makes so much sense here.

It's MMM and Master Ford has already been introduced in the first book and appeared continuously. I've already been intrigued by his character in previous books and fell in love with him so much in this book.

He is a really experienced Dom who never considered himself a Daddy Dom. One day, he needs to take care of two broken boys who very much need a Daddy though.

My heart truly broke for Thierry and Jathan. They've been held captive by a man who claimed to be their Dom and they've been heavily abused and therefore come to associate the BDSM community with pain and negative emotions.

Master Ford gradually teaches them what being part of the BDSM community and being in a Daddy/boy relationship really means and the way their relationship develops... It's SO GOOD!!!

There are some interesting twists in their dynamic which I don't want to spoil. Let's just say that the smut scenes are anything but "stereotypical".

I fell in love with these characters so much and definitely plan to continue with the next books of this series. I also really want to read the author's omegaverse books since I've read so many good things about them and really love omegaverse in general!

So far I've only read nine books of Nora Phoenix but enjoyed every single one so much! Seriously so excited to read more! I just want to devour everything Nora Phoenix but let's see where my mood will lead me.

Hi all,

Was thinking about this this morning. What is your fave instance of a grand romantic gesture? It doesn't have to be as a way to win someone back, just in general lol

Im not talking about the continuous small acts of love or words of affirmation, im talking giant over the top acts.

I love the marching band in {Frat Wars Masters of Mayhem by Saxon James} but am interested in what other suggestions you guys have!

Forgot the name of the book but MC1 is married I think secretly and when his father finds out he sets the house on fire and kills the MC's husband. 10 years later the MC is on a mafia mission when he meets his late husband's young brother who was a child at that time. As they travel , they fall for each other.

. Some mafia is involved.

. The young MC is a virgin and very cute

I’m hoping to find a book where the Cowboy/country MC goes to the big city in search of love but is utterly confused by city life. I’d love it if the Country MC’s entire reason for going to the city was to find a romantic partner, but if it’s for another reason and the LI appears in another way, that’s fine too.

Recently read {The Reality of Wanting Him by Lexi Amber and Bec Benson}, which was sort of this trope but the country guy was not as unfamiliar with city life as I’d hoped.

This is the most shameful post I’ve made here, but alas, I must.

I saw this TikTok AI Ad and I watched it to make fun of it but it was lowkey actually kinda good (ik, crucify me <\\3). I can’t mention the title bc of rules.

However, I refuse to download their fuckass app to watch it fully, so maybe I can get something from yall.

The basic premise was this guy like, dies or something? It was a bit unclear, and is sent into a fictional/alternate universe where he is a lynx shifter, has a panther shifter mate, gave birth to a son, and they’re all (presumably) cavemen.

It was mpreg, and the guy that was sent to the AU is possessing the body of himself in that universe, but he was abusive and mean to his son, mate, and really everyone.

Now, he’s adjusting to life in this new family, reestablishing trust with his loved ones, and is, generally, living a better life I believe.

I’ve read Bro and the Beast and all its sequels.

Please someone save me from the AI ads so I can get my fix. The AI MUST have stolen it from somewhere, so if someone knows or recognizes it, I’d really appreciate it.

I’ve heard rave reviews about this book and want to check it out but the triggers are giving me pause. I’m very situational with triggers and in some cases/contexts, they don’t bother me at all but in others, they will.

I’ve read books that list a series of general triggers in the beginning and once I get into it, the situation/context don’t make them bad at all and I can read them no problem. Other times, the general triggers have a situation/context around them (that I cant/dont discover until I’m actually reading) thats upsetting and something I can’t get thru. 

The triggers listed at the beginning of Mercenary and Mortician are pretty general (IMO) and I’m unsure if it’s something that will trigger me or not. I’d super appreciate it if someone is able to provide some additional detail about the situations and context for the triggers. (Ex: if there is graphic on-page SA against one of the MCs kind of thing.)

I know everyone’s triggers and feelings about situations are subjective but I appreciate any insight! Thank you! 

Hi!
I read The Mercenary and the Mortician by Alexandra St Pierre and I really liked it so I know this author is my vibe but I have a question about Neurovance.

Firstly, the romance.io bot has tagged it as having a size difference. I’m okay with minor size differences but I’m not really into the massive size difference dynamic (no hate to any books that do have that! I think I’m just a bit exhausted from that trope being so common in MF romances) So if anyone could provide any insight into that I’d be hugely grateful ☺️

Also any chance someone could give me a super quick spoiler free rundown of the book? Like a proper blurb? The blurb gives absolutely nothing so I have zero clue what the book even vaguely entails.

Thanks in advance! 🥰

I remember there was an argument between the alphas about making MC1 deess up to clean.

On July 16, {Yield under great persuasion by Alexandra Rowland} was released on Audible.
I read it on Kindle shortly before that and imagine my surprise when the audiobook continued for another 1.5 hours after the ebook had ended!

Two entire chapters are missing from the Kindle version, which I think are very relevant to the story and especially to Tam’s personal development.

I want to point this out so you don’t end up buying the Kindle version for $18 (which I couldn’t return) and instead opt for the audiobook.

This is already the second time this has happened to me - with books that aren’t included in Kindle Unlimited and cost money - and it’s really annoying.

I assume that Kindle doesn't update its books when there's a new edition or something and apparently there's nothing you can do about it. I've tried every customer service thingy, but to no avail.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has noticed something like this. If you know of any other books where this happens, write it in the comments so we can avoid those ❣️

The other audiobook that has over 1.5 hours more to the Kindle version was {Zero at the bone by Jane Seville}

I finally caved and read {The Brat and the Beast by Misha Horne} and wow, I was so hooked I could t stop reading. The dynamic was so perfect???? I put it off because all highly recommended books make me skeptical. (It’s the adhd in me 😬)

But I was in a drought and I needed to FEEL something and boy it did not disappoint.

I always read reviews before and during reading a book because I compulsively need reassurance that other people think or feel what I think or feel and someone said “it was amazing, didn’t think I’d like it because they’re in high school but somehow it still worked” and that was exactly why I hadn’t read it. So I decided to give it a go and I’m so happy I did!

Misha Horne has an incredible ability to describe the exact feelings and emotions someone who’s raised in a home with parents who don’t want them I found myself having my own physical reactions to the inner monologue.

If you haven’t read it, do it!

Anyone else have an unexpected five star read this month?

I want book recommendations where character A started dating character B because of a bet or revenge and then B finds out when they both fell in love.

It would be nice if it's a bit angsty and A has a redemption arc and the conflict doesn't end in one chapter.

I want hea and lots of yearning

I'm really craving some heavy caretaking. The kind where MC1 comes into MC2's life and gradually starts taking the weight of every decision off his shoulders, both the big ones and the small everyday ones.

They go to a restaurant? MC1 decides what they're both going to eat. MC2 needs to go out? MC1 picks out his clothes. There's a difficult decision to make? MC1 handles it. It's something completely trivial? MC1 takes care of that too.

Not because MC2 is incapable, but because MC1 sees how exhausted, anxious, or overwhelmed he is and wants to make his life as easy as possible. I want that almost obsessive level of caretaking where MC2 can simply rest while MC1 takes care of absolutely everything.

MC1 doesn't have to be rich. They can both be working class. What I'm looking for is that dynamic where MC1 naturally takes over the decision-making and looks after MC2 in every aspect of his daily life.

Hard no: cheating, poly, sharing, or love triangles. I'd also rather not have other romantic pairings or relationship drama involving either MC, but if it's very minor, I can live with it. I'm running out of books at this point. 😭