“Is there such a thing as a novel with a great storyline and some juicy gay sex scenes?” a Reddit user asked on the r/AskGayMen forum this month.
Apparently, there is such a thing—because commenters proposed dozens of suggestions, with titles from the last four decades of gay fiction.
Some of these books will be familiar, if only because of their critically acclaimed film adaptations, but we’re guessing you’ll find unfamiliar entries begging to join your reading list. Some are suitable for a beach read, while others are better enjoyed in the privacy of your bedroom.
Here are the recommendations from that Reddit thread’s comments section:
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“There are so many good books out there. I highly recommend Too Like the Lightning by Travis Beaudoin if you’re looking for something written by a gay man. There are also a surprising number of fantastic books written by women. There is a Facebook group called M/M Book Rec that will fill your reading desires until the end of time.”
“Try the Tales From Verania series by T.J. Klune. The first one is called The Lightning-Struck Heart.”
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“Call Me By Your Name [by André Aciman]. It is beautiful and also super hot, though not, like, porny. Guilty caveat: It’s by a straight guy. But you know what, he got it right.” (“Yes, he did,” the original Redditor commented. “I’ve read it and seen the movie!”)
“A Home at the End of the World [by Michael Cunningham].” (“Really lovely book,” another commenter chimed in.)
“I love all the books in the Something Like series by Jay Bell. Great stories and definitely good romance stuff, too.”
“Dancer From the Dance [by Andrew Holleran]. Such Times by Christopher Coe.”
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“I love the Cut & Run series by Abigail Roux. [Nine] novels about two gay, partnered FBI agents. Great stories that include sex without it being just about the sex. The funniest and most heartwarming I’ve read is How to Be a Normal Person by T.J. Klune.”
“The Donald Stratchey mystery series [by Richard Stevenson]. It’s a series of books about a private investigator who happens to be gay. They are entertaining. Good mysteries. The gay aspect isn’t the focal point usually, but it’s not shied away from. And [four] of the books have been made into movies staring Chad Allen.”
Related: Was “Harriet the Spy” a queer hero?
“The Gives Light series by Rose Christo. It made me feel so, so much.”
“I like horror, so I enjoy a lot of the short stories and novels written by Clive Barker. He’s gay and doesn’t shy away from writing gay characters. But it is horror, so yeah, don’t expect happy endings or guys skipping in fields holding hands.”
“I read a lot of gay YA novels. Some of my favorites: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera [and] What If It’s Us/Here’s to Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli.”
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“The Captive Prince trilogy [by C.S. Pacat].”
“Blackbird [by Larry Duplechan]. Certain manga.”
“Blue Is the Warmest Color [by Julie Maroh]. 14-year-old me was lost about her sexuality and fell in love with that story.”
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“The Boys on the Rock by John Fox.”
“Landscape: Memory by Matthew Stadler.”
UlfRaynor
How can you discuss gay fiction without including the fantasy genre?
There are tons to choose from, especially if you’re more into contemporary, as opposed to period pieces.
If gay fantasy is your thing, I would suggest these:
Brad Townsend’s epic six book series “The Order” available for free on the Nifty erotic fiction site, as well as Kindle.
Eliot Grayson’s “Mismatched Mates” series available on Kindle.
Claire Cullen’s “Wild Magic” series also available on Kindle.
CJ Vosse’s “Shifters of the Great Wolf” series available on Kindle.
All the main characters in these books are gay, there’s plenty of romance, sex, magic and intrigue in all these books for those interested in the genre.
CatholicXXX
Is (indirectly) bragging about ones literacy offensive to those that cannot read well?
quantum
Considering that most of these people recommended YA and genre fiction, I would say not in this case.
BaltoSteve
Funny thing about books, @CatholicXXX, you can get them “On Tape” as well. One of my brothers is dyslexic and I have a few folks that stand to sit down and read a book. However they LOVE hearing them.
JeffBaker
I will list any of the fine fantasies by ‘Nathan Burgoine. Start with his collection “Of Echoes Born,’ and go from there. (There is a little sex in at least one story, although he has written YA with no whoopee. The fine Gay mystery writer Greg Herren has written mystery novels set in his native New Orleans. If you want some genuine erotica with a good story he has a collection “Promises in Every Star” as Todd Gregory. I recommend both of these fine authors!
T7
How is John Boyne’s The Absolutist not on this list? Or The City and the Pillar by Gore Vidal? Matter of fact, might be time to give them another read.
THAT Steve
TJ Klune has a new book in that series I’m reading right now. Timothy James Beck and E Lynn Harris did some amazing work too.
My problem is I like gay books that aren’t heavy on teh graphic sex. Too many are basically porn with a plot and if I want porn, I’ll go for that. If anyone knows of gay cozy mysteries or gay supernatural cozies, please respond!
linedrive
Secrets and Scrabble series from Josh Lanyon. Cute mysteries, slow burn romance, adorable puppy. No sex, basically no swearing.
linedrive
I should have said no on-page sex… The characters aren’t celibate 😉
Glynn
Michael Nava and Christopher Rice are worth a read
THAT Steve
Thank you! EJ Russel does cozy paranormal mysteries starring gay characters and they are fun. She doesn’t get graphic with sex wither.
MacAdvisor
May I call upon the collective memory of Queeters? In the mid 1980s, I read a trash romance novel about a young man who loses his job, becomes a sort whore to support himself, but an upper class one that gets gifts, has a sassy black housekeeper (really rather dated even then), eventually owns a disco, where he swings from the chandelier (the cover features this scene), gets in trouble with the mob, and gets out of it all with a devious plot that I can’t remember. For the life of me, I can’t remember the title? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
quantum
Doesn’t ring a specific bell, but it sounds like something the writer Joe Keenan would write.
bachy
Please alert us when you find it. Sounds like a shittonne of fun!
Joshooeerr
If you’re looking for a “juicy” gay romance read then I’d definitely avoid the so-called M/M novels. Most are written by women. Quite a few by gay men. But they are largely aimed at the female consumers of romance novels. It seems the ladies just can’t get enough of male same-sex romances. But in order to appeal to them the sex is either entirely eliminated or is so vanilla and twee as to be laughable. Typically, the male protagonists have values and attitudes to sex and relationships that directly align with female romance novel readers – in other words, not even remotely typical of the vast majority of gay men. For example, there’s often a great deal of angst around the protagonist or antagonist sleeping with (or even just lusting after) someone else in circumstances that don’t even qualify as infidelity (e.g. a past relationship or some such). I recently had to read a few such stories for a research project, and, frankly, they left my feeling a bit icky a about the way in which they simultaneously misrepresent and exploit gay relationships.
bachy
Fascinating analysis.
linedrive
Wow I’ve read many of these novels written by women where sex was front and center and mostly the whole point…which isn’t great either. But I’ve read some from women writers that were amazing. The quality certainly varies.
city2city
I recently read Days without end by Sebastian Barry which is unique historical fiction telling the story of an Irish immigrant during the American Civil war. A very different but enjoyable read. I believe that it is part of a series but it can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Jim
I was hoping to get a good reading list, but it turns out I’ve read quite a few of these.
This is actually a compliment for Dan went beyond the current tres chic to find some gems.
Paul2
Try Richard Stevenson. I’ve read several of his books and found them fun mystery reads. Great for those weekends at home.
jaybird
In the scifi m/m category i really liked The Psionic Frequencies series by Talya Andor – lots of juicy bits in that one, plus aliens.
In the fantasy category I’m currently reading The Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling. Not that juicy but still a good fantasy story with 2 gay guys as the main characters..with elves and stuff.
I’ve like all of Ginn Hale’s books so far, especially The Caledelonian Series and Lord of the White Hell.
The one I really can’t believe isn’t here though is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. One of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read. Strongly recommend the audio book for this one. The narrator’s voice is so smooth and sexy. Honestly he could have been reading the phone book and it still would have been hot.
Besides that there are lots of gay book lists on goodreads which is where i got most of these.
bachy
Thank you for your recommendation of ‘The Song of Achilles’ by Madeline Miller. Will definitely be adding it to my reading list!
BaltoSteve
I loved The Nightrunner Series! I also enjoyed “The Last Herald-Mage” series by Mercedes Lackey.
bachy
Although I originally read it many years ago, I recently began re-reading ‘The Persian Boy’ by Mary Renault. It’s a kind of ‘Call Me By Your Name’ set in 330BC, illuminating the brutal struggle for life – and same-sex love – endured by a youth during Alexander the Great’s conquest of the world. Highly recommended.
x.plorer
Agree regarding The Persian Boy — a very good read. But my favorite of the Mary Renault novels is The Charioteer, a beautiful gay love story set in England during World War II.
Essie
Totally agree about Persian Boy. It’s a lovely read.
Kangol2
Autocorrect…up-to-date.
Kangol2
If you want really up-to-date LGBTQ writing, including fiction, you can always scroll down the list of each year’s Lambda Literary nominations. It’s a great resource for learning about new LGBTQ books–and they break things down by gender category, genre, etc.–so if you really want to read gay male fiction or poetry, or trans nonfiction, or recent interesting scholarly books, or biography, etc., you can find titles the judges have singled out as finalists.
Just.my.opinion
A love story novella called HE DID IT AGAIN by David Olin Tullis.
REDBEARD
You missed the Dave Brandstetter Mystery series by Joseph Hansen. They’ve been out of print for years and have just been reissued by Syndicate Books. Michael Nava, another name missing from this list, wrote the introduction to the first reissue in the series.
Ben Will
I always enjoyed a series recommend to me called ‘Straight’ Student Sucks.
Pretty basic but really hot!
Written by Kendrick Onne and on kindle unlimited
KyleMichelSullivan
“The Front Runner” by Patricia Nell Warren isn’t even mentioned. This was my first real MM romance to read, and it’s still got a hold on me. All the times it’s almost been made into a movie…
dannysax
Yes, Paul Newman and Jan Michael Vincent were set to do that movie, and something put the brakes on it. I still wish someone would, loved that story. Her other good book beasies the Charioteer is Fancy Dancer. about a priest who falls in love with a beautiful but sketchy ex-con.
x.plorer
Jamie O’Neill’s “At Swim, Two Boys” is at the top of my list. It’s a spectacular story set in 1915-16 Ireland, and O’Neill’s writing is stunningly beautiful.
fanelliboy
If you want to take into account the gay fiction history aspect, I worked at a bookstore in the 80’s and I remember several paperbacks by Gordon Merrick and a few by Vincent Virga (Gaywyck was one).
THAT Steve
I can’t believe I forgot Gordon Merrick and he was my first gay author! I bought some of his works for Kindle some time ago, not necessarily to read but to see there and recall fond memories.
dannysax
Yes, I remember the Gordon Merrick trilogy, starting off with “If It’s Love, the Lord Won’t Mind.” It is pretty erotic. I also read at least one by Yukio Mishima- Confessions of a Mask, which is semi-autobiographical. Let’s not forget one classic early gay novel- John Rechy’s City of Night. This is a must-read for anyone seeking out early gay fiction.
mjgresham
I would highly recommend Look Away Silence by Edward C. Patterson and Memorizing You by Dan Skinner. Both are excellent novels but they are not HEA books. The first one is about the AIDS epidemic and the beginning of the NAMES Quilt and the other is about a love story set at the end of the sixties as two teenage boys discover their differences and learn to accept themselves. But tragedy hits, in the form of a homophobic attack. This is a YA book but it’s so much more. Both of these books were written a few years ago, but they are timeless. A third book I’d recommend is a fantasy/paranormal book that I read recently by a new author. It is somewhat lighter than the other two but not by much, although it does have a happy ending, Heart On Fire by Shannon Boote, it started with letters and ended with a relationship.
Karlis
I’m surprised no one mentioned Armistead Maupin’s groundbreaking series “Tales from the City.” Patricia Nell Warren’s “The Front Runner.” Someone mentioned Rechy’s “City of Night,” but he also wrote grittier books, particularly “Numbers.” Great reading!
Thad
TJ Klune is mentioned here, but not their wonderful “The House in the Cerulean Sea.” It’s so sweet and has wonderful characters that I find myself thinking of often. Viva Linus!