I made a post the other day asking for some book recommendations that have some gay characters, etc. and you all came through beautifully! Thank you kindly for the wealth of recommendations and I have already purchased some.

So here are a few titles that I have read over the years I enjoyed that you may be interested in(I’m a closet nerd and book worm). I tend to skew towards the fantasy genre but I do read almost any genre. Btw, these are a couple of the less smutty gay novels.

And if you have read any of these please share your thoughts. It’s rare I ever get to speak with any other readers in the gay community and I always enjoy it.

1. A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice- This holds a special place for me. When I was a closeted teenager struggling with my own internal acceptance and working as a stock boy after school I found this book in our stockroom. I began reading it on lunch break and couldn’t put it down. It was the first time I had read about gay feelings, experiences, and emotions all encompassed in a dramatic story that wasn’t focused on being gay. It made me feel ok. It gave me a secret little outlet into the gay world I could carry around with me without anyone knowing and it started to mean being ok with who I am. Thank you to Christopher Rice for writing this as his debut novel as a young gay man.

2. Some other Christopher Rice novels that share the same feeling- Light Before Day, The Snow Garden, Blind Fall. These books are along similar lines- if you want a good dramatic story but you’d like the protagonist to be gay while you’re along for the ride I recommend them.

3. The Last Herald Mage series by Mercedes Lackey- One of the earliest fantasy series with a gay protagonist. They are wonderfully written. Impressive to have a female write a gay man so well. The first follows the protagonist Vanyel in his youth(as we all know many lgbt books start with the coming of age) and coming into his magic and who he is along with a budding relationship and lover. The remainder of the series follows him as he’s significantly older, more experienced, and a bit more bitter. Like some of us I’m sure I can say.

4. The Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling- Another fantasy series that begins with a young man being taken in by an older more experienced man. It’s a series of saving the kingdom, heroics, and takes place in a world where different sexualities are normal and accepted.

5. The Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat- a young Prince’s father is dead and he’s captured by his brother and pushed into slavery in another nation to keep him from the throne. Takes place in a world where basically men fuck men when they are horny and sleep with women/wives when they want to have offspring. Apart from the men who do stay with each other. The trilogy is him trying to escape slavery, get back to his homeland, show he is alive, and take his nation back. Good reads.

6. Kirith Kirin by Jim Grimsley- An interesting novel. In a world where an evil queen has removed the rightful and beloved king from his throne a young farm kid destined to be a powerful wizard is taken to learn magic. It’s his story of how he grows up in the world knowing what he needs to become. His sexuality along the way and with who is not necessarily integral but a good and intriguing piece. His love interest is quite a bit older than him, he’s young, and it’s an odd storyline to play out.I had to purchase this from a library as there didn’t used to be an ebook version although it appears that there is now.