From awesome librarian Carrie comes this request:
My library is doing a book display of GLBT titles, and I thought it would be fun if they included some romance. Anyone have fantastic GLTB romance to recommend?
Her caveats: she’d need the books to be in print – which is tricky because so much GLBT romance is digital only – and she needs to hopefully order a few titles, so they have to be available. So, what do you recommend?
Have her check out the MLR Press website. It is only GLBT stories and they are available in both print and ebook. I have found several excellent books and authors there.
Got any specific titles to suggest, Jo?
The Ranch Series by J.L. Langley (The Tin Star, The Broken H, etc.) Very good! : )
Samhain Publishing has a large list of gay romance in paperback, all of which are available to order. I’d be happy to provide her with a complete list, or I can give her one that tailors to her specific needs.
Here are 4 titles I really loved:
Mexican Heat by Laura Baumbaugh & Josh Lanyon
Bravo! Brava! – Anthology
Lost Temple of Karttikeya by Laura Baumbaugh
Inland Empire by James Buchanan
But there are many there. = )
Caught Running by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux
Faith and Fidelity by Tere Michaels
Crossing Borders and/or St. Nacho’s by Z.A. Maxfield
Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
Also, the Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon aren’t necessarily romance focused, but they’re fantastic and available in paperback.
Oh, all the others I suggested are also available in paperback (duh!)
If she’s willing to consider some fantasy titles that have strong romantic elements, Lynn Flewelling has more than one series that might work. Although, those might already be included in the book display I suppose, since it sounds like she’s already got a selection started.
Nobody’s mentioned Alex Beecroft yet? She’s worth a look, and I believe all her books are available in print.
Pride/Prejudice and Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander by Anne Herendeen, and Butterfly Tattoo by Deidre Knight. All of which I would not have discovered without the Smart Bitches *grins*
Lynn Flewelling’s Nightrunner series (five books and counting) would also be great for those who like fantasy. The m/m romance doesn’t officially start until the third book, but that allows for actual buildup and sexual tension, which made it all the sweeter when the boys finally admitted their feelings.
@elph—Great minds think alike!
Some of the classics that she ought to have.
1/ Gaywyck by Vincent Virga
2/ Maurice by E.M. Forster
3/ Kiss of the Spider Woman Manuel Puig
4/ An Idol for Others Gordon Merrick (actually anything by Gordon Merrick)
And I have to shill Don Sakers YA “Act Well Your Part”.
For the L part of LGBT here are some romances I have enjoyed. Available from Amazon or direct from the publishers (digitally or paperback) at boldstrokesbooks.com or bellabooks.com
Radclyffe and Karin Kallmaker are two of the most prominent authors and most of their books are good.
Georgia Beers – Too Close to Touch (contemporary)
Erin Dutton – Fully Involved (contemporary)
Shea Godfrey – Nightshade (Fantasy)
Meghan O’Brien – Thirteen Hours (OMG Steamy)
Nell Start & Trinity Tam – everafter (Paranormal)
Gabrielle Goldsby – Wall of Silence (Romantic Suspense)
Tracy Richardson – No Rules of Engagement (Contemporary/Military theme)
K.E. Lane – And Playing the Role of Herself (well disguised fanfic)
Andi Marquette – Land of Entrapment (Romantic Suspense)
I would suggest Heidi Cullinan’s Special Delivery and Double Blind.
Also Lynn Lorenz’s Common Powers series.
Are we equating GLBT romance with m/m romance?
If we are, I’d suggest Jane Seville’s Zero at the Bone and Brooke McKinley’s Shades of Gray, both in paperback from Dreamspinner.
For YA there is Alex Sanchez. Not necessarily romance per say, but very good. For Lesbian, I liked Geri Hill and Karin Kallmaker, one’s mystery/romance and the other seems to be contemporary.
David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy is a really sweet, fun YA romance.
Two gay romances (not M/M):
Steve Kluger’s Almost Like Being in Love
Sean Kennedy’s Tigers & Devils
Neil Plakcy’s Mahu mystery series, which has a romance thread.
If firemen are your thing, check out Tory Temple’s Fireline and Tinder at Torquere Books. Hot, if you pardon the pun.
Anything published by Blind Eye Books: http://blindeyebooks.com/
The Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey is one of the best fantasy books out there. My friend said it wasn’t until he read this book that he felt “okay” enough to come out.
The books are—in order
Magic’s Pawn
Magic’s Pride
Magic’s Price.
I would recommend anything in the PD Publishing line up: http://www.pdpublishing.com Several books have won either/or GLBT and Regional Fiction awards, like Anne Azel’s Gold Mountain, Lois Cloarec Hart’s Kicker’s Journey and very recently Geonn Cannon’s Gemini.
My own Turning Point and the sequel Turn for Home are contemporary romances.
Mickey Minner (“Sweetwater”) writes historical romances.
Moondancer Drake writes paranormal romances (“Ancestral Magic” “Natural Order”) with Native American themes and non-traditional characters.
Nene Adams writes very eclectic romances featuring a female pirate, a “female Sherlock Holmes”, and shapeshifters.
I second the recommendation of Jane Seville’s Zero at the Bone (I’m still thrilled it did so well in DA BWAHA) and would add A Red-Tainted Silence by Carolyn Grey at Loose Id.
jmc, just curious, how do you define “M/M” and how do you see it as different than “gay romance?” Almost Like Being In Love and Tigers and Devils, both fantastic books and excellent recommendations, don’t have descriptive sex; is that the difference for you?
Whatever label you put on them, those two books are excellent and I tend to count Sean Kennedy’s Tigers and Devils as my favorite MM romance/gay romance book of all time. I’d certainly encourage any librarian developing a GLBT display to include them specifically for readers who are curious about non-hetero fiction but aren’t sure they’d be comfortable reading explicit sex scenes between two men. Good call, jmc. 🙂
now45: Now, if only 45 of my favorite gay romances/MM romances were in print…
I would absolutely recommend the amazing Adrien English mystery series by Josh Lanyon. The writing is sparkling, the mysteries are great, and there is a fabulous M/M romance arc at the core of this series. To me, it’s really a kind of a fun MM romantic suspense series.
There are 5 (I think) in the series. The Hell You Say won the 2006 USABookNews awards for GLBT Fiction; Josh is also an Eppie Award winner and a three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist. MLR press.
Also, definitely LB Gregg’s Men of Smithfield series. Only two of them are in print (Gobsmacked and Happy Ending, in the Smart Ass series put out by MLR press). LB Gregg writes witty, fun contemporary romances – they’re very like romantic comedy, really – about men in a New England town. The characters are vulnerable and wonderful. The writing is great.
LGBT YA, with some romantic elements:
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle
The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
Our Boundless line has a number of LGBT romances, several of which are suitable for younger readers.
Calico by Dorien Grey is a Western historical romance suitable for YA and up.
She’s the Girl by Susan Brooks is also suitable for YA and up.
Alan Chin’s two novels both address relationships, although Island Song is the true romance. The Lonely War is both a study of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and a love story, set in World War II. These are more suitable for readers 18 and older.
*cracks knuckles*
Prepare to be title-smacked.
Adult romances I have less of a grip on, but one of my favorites is:
Collision Course by K.A.Mitchell. Published by Samhain.
Samhain and Dreamspinner Press both have print options for many of their books, so I’d look into them if you want to display some pure romance/erotic stuff.
An author I am just about to read adult-wise has made some pretty big mentions as well. Tom Dolby. His books Trouble Boy and The Sixth Form are supposed to be marvelous. Both in print, too.
And, because I’m a teenager, hormonal, and advocate for LGBTQ fiction for teens…
The Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez (libraries should always carry this series! His books Bait and The God Box are also recommended. They usually have some level of romance.)
Boy Meets Boy and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan (Again, staples.)
Hero by Perry Moore (LGBT + Superhero = WIN)
Ash by Malinda Lo (Romantic Cinderella retelling with lesbians)
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd (One of the best books I have read period.)
A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner (New YA – Lesbian again, very sweet)
Also look into authors like P.E.Ryan (In Mike We Trust and Saints of Augustine), Hayden Thorne (numerous books for small press publisher for teens, Prizm)
Look on http://www.dearauthor.com/wordpress at the archives for Joan/Sarah F.‘s reviews. Many of those books are available in print as well. She would recommend authors such as Alex Beecroft and Erastes. Running Press also published a line of m/m historical romances that are all in print as well.
Hope that helps!
interest 37? I do show interest in this. But I’m not 37. I knew Carnies were the masterminds behind this website…they stink at guessing ages! 😡
All through the Night Suzanne Brockmann’s novella that was published to celebrate “MassEquality”.
spamword Heavy69= Why would 69 ever be heavy?
Some of my books are available in print too, most of them are historical gay romance, Cane and its sequel Conflict from Phaze Books. Beyond the Veil, also from Phaze Books. I have a story in the ghost print anthology from MLR Press, Past Shadows. I also have a contemporary series from MLR Press, The Tomcat Line, that is out so far in ebook but will shortly be released in print.
Hope that is of interest!
OH and Santa Olivia by Jacquelin Carey is a UF that has a strong YA Lesbian coming of age sub-plot. (The heroine is gay.)
I Kiss Girls is a young adult lesbian romance that’s available in print.
Maybe she could check out the winners of the LAMBDA awards for the past few years? Here’s the list for 2010:
http://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/awards-finalists/
I would second the votes for Lynn Flewelling’s Nightrunner books, and Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English series. Lynn’s books are really good Fantasy Adventure with a really nice coming of age/romance built in, believable characters and a nice healthy well rounded relationship. Josh’s Adrien English is a murder mystery series based around a m/m relationship that isn’t quite the same one you find in most m/m romance novels.
Just off the top of my head:
Ginn Hale – Wicked Gentlemen
Perry Moore – Hero
Alex Beecroft – False Colours
Abigail Roux & Madeleine Urban – Caught Running, Cut and Run, and Sticks and Stones
Anything by Lee Rowan (although, the ‘Royal Navy Series’ books are the best, imho)
Jenna Black’s Morgan Kingsley ‘Devil’s’ series has a strong delicious m/m thread, although Adam and Domonic are very very good secondary characters, rather than the focus of the series…a good ‘gateway’ read, poss?
Also! I believe R.W. Day’s A Strong and Sudden Thaw is back in print, with a new publisher, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone. One of my favourite books.
Cleis Press has several GLBT books out in print and so does Alyson Books.
I speed-read the suggestions. Hope I’m not repeating.
These are classics:
The Price of Salt. Patricia Highsmith (f/f)
Maurice. E.M. Forster (m/m)
I love library displays!
Pam Regis
Second vote for Santa Olivia, by Jacqueline Carey. Finished it a few days ago, and I love-love-loved it. The main character, Loup Garron, is wonderful, and the way the book treats the main “vigilante with superpowers” story line is very mature – her actions don’t come out of nowhere, and it’s made clear that even with her unusual abilities, Loup (pronounced “Lou”) has to work hard and long, with the assistance of her friends, to have any chance of winning her battle at the climax of the book.
Jacqueline Carey had a lesbian heroine in Santa Olivia and the love story is F/F in Naamah’s Kiss, both of which are in paper. I’ve got Naamah’s Curse on my TBR shelf, but the blurb makes it sound like the F/F love story continues.
Not solely in the romance genre, but it works for me: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. (Lesbian.)
@CourtneyLee: For me, the main distinction between M/M romance and gay romance is what you’ve pointed out, the inclusion of descriptive sex in the books. I think other readers might also point to the publisher (traditional gay publishers vs. epublishers specializing in erotic romance) and intended/target audience.