It’s Pride month here in the United States. And nothing screams Pride like talking about a bunch of Queer books. Now, I love reading Queer romances featuring all sorts of representation within them. From Achillean to Sapphic to polyamory featuring non-binary characters to Trans love. It all has one goal – celebrate the joy and beauty of Queer love.
This is the first of a multi-part series highlighting books I’ve read and enjoyed and books I want to read highlighting various representation. This is certainly not an end all be all list and I’m always looking for more Queer books to add to my TBR.
Today we’re highlighting Achillean romances. The romances highlighted today are books that feature relationships between at least two characters identifying as male. There are SO many books I could’ve added that are on my TBR, so I tried to keep it to 5-6 that I was excited to read (since this list could easily be 10+ books). What books centering male/male relationships have you read and enjoyed? Let me know in the comments. Happy Reading!
Achillean Books I’ve Enjoyed:
A Curse of Scales and Flame by Max Walker
Series: Marvels and Magic #1
Published by Independently Published on November 10, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / General, Fiction / Romance / Paranormal / General
Goodreads
Damien Blackthorne
Dragons were dying. All over the world, a curse was taking us out one by one, and nobody knew how to stop it.I watched my mother burn, I watched my little brother fall sick. I didn’t want to see anyone else die, I was determined to figure out how to stop the dragon fall.
That’s when Robby practically falls into my lap, with his big brown eyes and charming smile and his penchant for being hunted by vampires. After saving him twice from certain death, we soon come to realize that there’s a reason he’s being hunted.
And that reason may be the answer to all our problems, and the start to a whole new set of them.
Robby Diaz
I liked to float through the world. I bounced off problems and tended to avoid any and all issues with a smile and a wave.
So imagine my surprise when I’m heading to a magic shop in Malibu and I’m suddenly attacked by vampires and then saved by one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen. I thought I could float away from whatever mess I stumbled into, but this problem stuck—following me all the way home.
The vampires were after me, but they didn’t want me dead… they wanted me alive. Why? And what did I have to do with this dragon-killing curse? And why was I falling for the fiery hot dragon who insists on saving me over and over again?
Everything for You by Chloe Liese
Series: Bergman Brothers #5
Published by Penguin on February 6, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Romance / Sports
Pages: 368
Goodreads
Also in this series: Everything for You
Also by this author: Everything for YouThe TikTok sensation, now with new exclusive content!
Enemies become lovers in this sizzling sports romance about taking a chance on love when life’s taught you it’s a losing game.
Oliver Bergman is a beloved rising soccer star, all sunshine smiles and the heart of their team’s spirit. To make matters worse, he’s obscenely attractive. In short: he’s genetically designed to get under misanthropic, miserable Gavin’s aggravated skin.
Ten years older than Oliver and a legendary player at the end of his career, Gavin Hayes is the team’s demanding captain. He’s also a giant–albeit gorgeous–grump who lives to rain on Oliver’s parade. Especially when Oliver and Gavin are named co-captains of the team.
Sick of their hostility, Coach gives them an ultimatum: put an end to their enmity or say goodbye to being captains. Forced to finally to lower their guards, Gavin and Oliver realize that they also have chemistry off the field and it’s fueled by something much more powerful than competition—an explosive attraction.
All Or Nothing by Macy Blake
Series: The Chosen One #1
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on July 24, 2018
Genres: Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Paranormal / Shifters
Pages: 212
Goodreads Have You Been Chosen?
Sawyer Smith is preparing to take on the world, and with his graduate degree only days away, he's hoping to convince his gorgeous best friend and neighbor to come along for the ride. There's only one problem; Draco has a secret, a big scaly secret, and it's about to change Sawyer's life forever.
When three mysterious men move into the new mansion across the street, Sawyer is plunged into a fantastical world he never knew existed. Discovering that Draco is a dragon shifter and a guardian of The Chosen One--a creature sent by the Goddess to restore the realm's broken magic--is only the tip of the paranormal iceberg.
Being drawn into this strange new world is challenging enough, but then Sawyer finds himself attracted to all The Chosen One's guardians: not only Draco, but also quiet and fierce vampire Andvari, sweet mage Henry, and ruthlessly smart griffin Eduard.
And, oh yeah, it turns out not all magical creatures are friendly. Forces aligned against The Chosen One are out to destroy the guardians so the prophecy can never be fulfilled.
The biggest problem of all, though, is that once The Chosen One is found, Sawyer will have to return to his boring human life... alone.
But in the paranormal world, there are no half measures. As danger mounts, Sawyer must choose between walking away from the men he's grown to care for or risking it all for a chance at a future together.
Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter #14
Published by Penguin on October 26, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal, Fiction / Fantasy / Urban, Fiction / Romance / Paranormal / Vampires
Pages: 400
Goodreads Nalini Singh returns to the world of the Guild Hunters for the most highly anticipated novel of the beloved series—a love story so epic it’s been half a millennia in the making…
Illium and Aodhan. Aodhan and Illium. For centuries they’ve been inseparable: the best of friends, closer than brothers, companions of the heart. But that was before—before darkness befell Aodhan and shattered him, body, mind, and soul. Now, at long last, Aodhan is healing, but his new-found strength and independence may come at a devastating cost—his relationship with Illium.As they serve side by side in China, a territory yet marked by the evil of its former archangel, the secret it holds nightmarish beyond imagining, things come to an explosive decision point. Illium and Aodhan must either walk away from the relationship that has defined them—or step forward into a future that promises a bond infinitely precious in the life of an immortal…but that demands a terrifying vulnerability from two badly bruised hearts.
American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera
Series: Dreamers #1
Published by Carina Press on March 22, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 327
Goodreads “A fresh and vital new voice in romance.”—Entertainment Weekly
From award-winning author Adriana Herrera comes a novel hailed as one of Entertainment Weekly’s 10 Best Romance Novels of 2019 and a TODAY Show Hot Summer Read.
No one ever said big dreams come easy
For Nesto Vasquez, moving his Afro-Caribbean food truck from New York City to the wilds of Upstate New York is a huge gamble. If it works? He’ll be a big fish in a little pond. If it doesn’t? He’ll have to give up the hustle and return to the day job he hates. He’s got six months to make it happen—the last thing he needs is a distraction.
Jude Fuller is proud of the life he’s built on the banks of Cayuga Lake. He has a job he loves and good friends. It’s safe. It’s quiet. And it’s damn lonely. Until he tries Ithaca’s most-talked-about new lunch spot and works up the courage to flirt with the handsome owner. Soon he can’t get enough—of Nesto’s food or of Nesto. For the first time in his life, Jude can finally taste the kind of happiness that’s always been just out of reach.
An opportunity too good to pass up could mean a way to stay together and an incredible future for them both...if Nesto can remember happiness isn’t always measured by business success. And if Jude can overcome his past and trust his man will never let him down.
Dreamers
Book 1: American Dreamer
Book 2: American Fairytale
Book 3: American Love Story
Book 4: American Sweethearts
Book 5: American ChristmasDating in Dallas
Book 1: Here to Stay
Book 2: On the HustleSambrano Studios
Book 1: One Week to Claim It All
Book 2: Just for the HolidaysLas Leonas
Book 1: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
Published by Simon and Schuster on September 7, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 368
Goodreads A MOST ANTICIPATED ROM-COM SELECTED BY * BUZZFEED * LGBTQ READS * BUSTLE * THE NERD DAILY * ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT * FROLIC MEDIA * AND MORE!
A BEST BOOK PICK BY * HARPER’S BAZAAR * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“The Charm Offensive will sweep you off your feet.” —PopSugar
In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.
Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off.
As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.
Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender
Published by Grand Central Publishing on October 10, 2023
Genres: Fiction / LGBTQ+ / General, Fiction / Own Voices, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay
Pages: 352
Goodreads The National Book Award-winning author of Felix Ever After delivers a beautifully tender story of two grumpy/sunshine, fake-dating actors navigating their love story both on and offscreen—perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall.
Logan Gray is Hollywood's bad boy—a talented but troubled actor who the public loves to hate. Mattie Cole is an up‑and‑coming golden boy, adored by all but plagued by insecurities.
When Logan and Mattie are cast as leads in a new romantic film, Logan claims that Matt has “zero talent,” sending the film’s publicity into a nosedive. To create positive buzz, the two are persuaded into a fake‑dating scheme—but as the two actors get to know their new characters, real feelings start to develop.
As public scrutiny intensifies and old wounds resurface, the two must fight for their relationship and their love.
A heartfelt, hopeful, and nuanced story about identity, healing, and growth.
Achillean books that are on my TBR:
Teacher of the Year by M. A. Wardell
Series: Teachers in Love #1
Published by M.A. Wardell on May 9, 2023
Genres: Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 316
GoodreadsLove: Not as easy as ABC.
They were supposed to keep things casual. Who'd expect they'd be schooled in love?
Those who can, teach. Marvin Block is one of the best kindergarten teachers out there. And despite his anxiety, Marvin's life is sweet. He knows what he wants. And what he wants is the Teacher of the Year Award. Not just for himself - his school needs him to win.
Returning from break, the New Year finds Marvin welcoming a new pupil to his class. But when Illona walks in with her cute-as-hell single dad beside her, Marvin's focus starts to slide.
Sure, his students always come first, but he deserves to have a life outside the classroom, too, right?
As their friendship starts to deepen, Marvin realizes Olan has the potential to teach him things about love he never thought possible. But with the Teacher of the Year award and his school's future on the line, now's not the time for anything complicated.
When Olan's past and Marvin's present collide, their experiment in love hangs in the balance. Marvin knows what he wants out of life. But now he's forced to consider what he wants out of love.
Will Marvin chalk the relationship up to experience? Or can they revise their story into a textbook romance?
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
Published by Random House Publishing Group on April 9, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Transgender, Fiction / Romance / Sports
Pages: 384
Goodreads“A queer sports romance and a triumphant debut . . . a heartstring-pulling tale of two minor-league baseball rivals who realize they play much better together.”—Elle, The Best (and Most Anticipated) Romance Books of 2024, So Far
“I completely adored it.”—Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White & Royal BlueMinor leagues. Major chemistry.
Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.
Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis inspires.
This triumphant debut romance reveals what’s possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences.
Nothing Ventured by Macy Blake
Series: The Chosen One #2
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on August 19, 2018
Genres: Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay
Pages: 224
GoodreadsSawyer Smith is woefully unprepared for the dangers that come with being part of the supernatural world. As a magical null, he is human and vulnerable, even with the powerful, sexy guardians who have claimed him as their own. When a simple visit turns deadly, Sawyer's mates take action and whisk him away to the clan of rich and powerful griffins. As a griffin, Eduard Eastaughffe is considered supernatural royalty, but even with all his wealth and power, his duty as a guardian must come before all else. If he can convince his clan to support his newfound mates and not judge the fact they include a dragon, a vampire, a mage, and--Goddess forbid--a human, the rest of the clans may fall in line without much of a fight. Danger lurks in close quarters and a new guardian is revealed. If Sawyer hopes to discover the ancient enemy hunting the Chosen One, he must survive the newest tests facing him. Because at the end of the day, when you're a human among magical creatures, it's nothing ventured... nothing gained.
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
Series: Midcentury NYC #2
Published by HarperCollins on May 7, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / 20th Century, Fiction / Romance / Historical / American, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Sports, Fiction / Sports
Pages: 400
GoodreadsAn emotional, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine, queer mid-century romance for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over, about grief and found family, between the new star shortstop stuck in a batting slump and the reporter assigned to (reluctantly) cover his first season—set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good.
The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree.
Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers.
Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.
Prince of Endless Tides by Ben Alderson
Published by Independently Published on January 26, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Paranormal
GoodreadsA new MM Fantasy Romance Stand Alone, inspired by The Little Mermaid & Atlantis... what if the Prince and the Sea Witch fell in love in a world ruled by evil mermaids and vengeful gods? For fans of Kellen Graves, Elise Kova, and Carissa Broadbent.
'Do I please you, my Prince?'
Prince Ernest Ire will do anything to please his controlling father. Even if that means using his god-given magic to sway the minds of everyone he has ever met. Wealth, royalty, and control over the land and everything on it, but still, it is not enough. With the power to achieve anything, all he wants is to give it up. But everything changes when he is infected with the deadly poison of a Mer bite, and his magic is stolen.
Killian Metropoli made a deal with the god of the ocean, Karakos, on the fateful night when his mother took a blade to his throat and killed him. Gifted with immortality and the power over sea and storm, Killian was offered a second chance at life, for the sole purpose of ridding the oceans of the evil soulless creatures - the Mer, terrifying monsters made from a union between two warring gods.
Killian is faced with duty or escape; he must choose to go against a powerful god for a bad-mouthed prince, who could give him the one thing he desires most...freedom. Time is of the essence, otherwise, Killian will be forced against his will to kill Ernest if he becomes the very monster his life is dedicated to destroying.
Fate is fickle, the threads knotted, and time is running out. Ernest must save his people before he becomes the very monster he has always feared. Killian will do anything to rid himself of his shackles. But an evil darkness is rising, and they must become allies to stop it before the world they know becomes a battlefield for benevolent gods.
Prince of Endless Tides is a stand-alone in the Darkmourn Universe and can be read in or out of order. It's for readers looking for a fantasy romance with enemies to lovers, gods, monsters and heroes, sacrifice, forbidden and slow-burn romance with on-page spice that will leave your mouth burning! POET has a twisted but Happily Ever After.
A Ruin of Shattered Secrets by Max Walker
Series: Marvels and Magic #2
Published by Independently Published on March 19, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Gay, Fiction / Romance / Paranormal, Fiction / Romance / Paranormal / Shifters
GoodreadsMaddox Blackthorne
I was determined to fulfill my best friend’s dying wish: see the lost Moriarty paintings in person.With two Moriartys in hand, I tracked down the final painting – and walked straight into a deadly trap.
Caleb Forrester, a Marvel detective working a case, was also caught.
He was broody, quiet, and the exact distraction I couldn't afford.
Caleb’s arrival unveiled a centuries-old mystery promising to destroy the world. Cults, stolen paintings, secrets, and a thirst for him I can't deny... the mission might be the least dangerous part of all this.
Caleb Forrester
Whispers of the apocalypse weren't my thing.Neither was working a job that put me in the path of a dangerous cult.
Again.
But then Maddox, the devastatingly handsome dragon shifter, flew into my life. Despite our icy start, an undeniable connection sparked, pushing us together in a desperate hunt for the missing paintings.
The Crimson Ring clearly wanted them just as bad. I’m suddenly faced with a choice: master the power I despise using or watch the cult bring about the end of the world.
The stakes are terrifying, yet with every brush of his skin against mine, I start to crave Maddox so deeply it threatens to eclipse even my fear of the apocalypse.
