A bank clerk by day and a denizen of London's queer underworld by night, Selby Bigge talks his way into a millionaire's mansion and straight into a murder—one he has to solve without letting anyone discover what he is. A Queer Case is a whip-smart, fair-play whodunit with the wit of Coward, the bones of Christie, and a gloriously queer heart. It won the Lambda for a reason.

Two boys flee a doomsday cult with nothing but each other and a bus ticket out of Wyoming—and discover cheeseburgers, cable TV, and the radical idea that loving each other was never a sin. Goodbye Paradise braces you for despair and hands you something tenderer: a first-love story about unlearning shame and building the family that finally lets you breathe.

A closeted teen in 1994, a library book hiding a secret, and a romance written one margin note at a time. Boy Like Me is funny, furious, and quietly devastating—a coming-of-age that's also a love letter to the books that find us when no one else will. Set in the shadow of Britain's "Don't Say Gay," it has never felt more urgent.

A.J. Truman's Single Dads Club is four cozy small-town M/M romances built on a premise I can't get enough of, which is grown, tired, imperfect men getting to be the romantic leads. It's funny, it's warm, it's shameless about the horny bits, and the happy ending is never once in doubt. Formulaic by design and proud of it. As comfort reading goes, this set is the real deal.

Hiro sees dead people—and they will not stop heckling him. Pair that with a grumpy homicide detective who doesn't believe in ghosts and you get Medium Trouble: creative, fast, and gleefully unserious paranormal mysteries that know exactly how ridiculous they are. Realism is not the point. Fun is.

Rain Christiansen sees dead people, and it cost him his FBI career and the man he loved. Five books of solid cold-case mysteries, razor-sharp banter, and a second-chance romance that earns every beat. The Spectral Files is paranormal procedural done right.

An American accidental heir, two enemy politicians on the run, and a prince who can't charm his own bodyguard — Jax Calder's Unlikely Dilemmas series is high-concept, fast, and shameless about its own implausibility. It stretches credibility at every turn and I didn't care once. Comfort reads with a pulse, and a B+ from me.

Nicolas DiDomizio's A Murder Most Camp is a tight, funny Adirondack whodunit with a snarky nepo-baby sleuth worth rooting for. A solid summer read.

Some weekends call for one beautiful literary novel. Others call for a 9-book romance series and a cleared calendar. Here are 7 of the best M/M romance series to binge—Lucy Lennox's Forever Wilde, Gregory Ashe's Hazard and Somerset, Sarina Bowen's Vino and Veritas, and more. Bring snacks.

Small town M/M is one of the coziest corners of the genre—and one of the most beloved. From Lucy Lennox's sprawling Forever Wilde universe to May Archer's chaotic Vermont towns to Riley Hart's emotionally weighty Fever Falls, here are 10 of the best to disappear into. Pour something hot, find a soft chair, and settle in.

Garth Greenwell's debut follows an American expat in Sofia who pays a young Bulgarian hustler for sex—and gets drawn into something more corrosive than either of them planned. The prose is extraordinary, the trauma rings true, and the characters feel real in the uncomfortable way real people are real. A book I respect more than I enjoyed, and one I haven't been able to stop thinking about.

P.J. Vernon's Bath Haus is a relentless gay thriller about a recovering addict whose anonymous bathhouse hookup turns into attempted strangulation—and the lies he tells his wealthy older partner to cover it up. Pacing is relentless, the final twist actually lands, and the book takes gay-specific power dynamics seriously. Major content warnings—go in with your eyes open—but if you can handle the darkness, it absolutely earns its A rating

Joe Westmoreland's autofictional road novel follows a young gay man hitchhiking from Kansas City to New Orleans to San Francisco across the 70s and 80s—and walks straight into the AIDS crisis. The characters feel like actual people, not types, and the ending earns every tear it gets. An essential book about a generation we owe more attention than we give.

Edward Cahill's Disorderly Men follows three gay men in early-1960s New York whose lives are upended the night a vice cop walks into a Greenwich Village bar. Smart, propulsive, beautifully researched—and anchored by Danny, a working-class character whose slowly rising rage is one of the rarest, most satisfying things in gay fiction.

Cat Sebastian's first contemporary romance is exactly what longtime fans want—two flawed adults with mental health stuff, ego stuff, and seven years of workplace beef finally seeing each other. The dialogue is exquisite, the character work is patient, and Sebastian treats queerness as read instead of as plot. Slow burn done right. B+.

A raw, atmospheric YA novel about two boys folding into each other so completely there's no oxygen left. K. Ancrum nails the codependency descent—two queer kids drowning together while nobody notices—but the ending lands a little too tidy for what the book has been doing. Read it in print; the audiobook misses the format. B.

A tender, lyrical YA queer romance about a touch-starved art thief and the boy he can't stay away from. The prose is beautiful, but the Greek myth never quite catches fire. One note: skip the audiobook—the very short chapters don't translate well to listening. B+.

L.A. Witt's Leave takes a stack of well-worn M/M tropes—fake dating, friends with benefits, stoic military man with a past—and does them with real care. What elevates it is one of the most honest portrayals of male sexual assault survivorship I've read in the genre. Heavy, well-researched, and earned. A solid B+.

Bryan Washington's Family Meal is a stark, devastating novel about a gay man falling apart after the death of his boyfriend—and the childhood best friend who keeps showing up with food. Fragmented, queer, alive, and full of kitchens that hum with love when no one can find the right words. Washington at full power. A solid A.

A queer reimagining of Great Expectations that earns every tear it pulls out of you. Scarlett Drake's Oleander is gorgeous, devastating, and yes, occasionally predictable—but the prose is good enough and the emotional architecture true enough that none of that matters. A love story for anyone who ever lost years to a beautiful, impossible boy.

Charlie Winshaw is anxious, awkward, and genuinely likeable. Too bad he fell for Dev. Booker reviews The Charm Offensive — a bloated but occasionally charming M/M romcom that needed a better editor and a better hero.

The fake boyfriend trope is Article One of the M/M romance constitution — and for good reason. We ranked and reviewed eleven of the best (and a few with small asterisks), from cozy small-town grumps to blue-collar pressure cookers to one very confused straight man who keeps kissing his fake boyfriend like he means it.

Owen Bosley is the guy you call in a crisis — steady, warm, and completely unprepared for who just moved into his cottage. One Last Try is a slow burn MM rugby romance done exactly right: charming, funny, and set in a British village so cozy you'll want to move in yourself. Jemma Croft delivers.

Falling for Raine by Lane Hayes is comfort food M/M romance — predictable, a little indulgent, and exactly what you need sometimes. Grumpy British billionaire meets chaotic sunshine American in London, and yes, you already know how it ends. But Raine is so irresistible he makes every familiar beat worth it. Our full review is up.

Jackson Harper is adorable, Head Rock Harbor is delightfully sleepy, and the murder is almost beside the point — which is either a feature or a bug depending on what you're looking for. Head for Murder is the coziest of cozy mysteries: low stakes, low drama, and genuinely charming. If that's what you need right now, you've found your book.

Two broken men, a lighthouse, and the slow, aching work of learning to trust again. Galaxies and Oceans is a tender, beautifully written romance about grief, survival, and finding home in another person. Nearly perfect.

Big, burly, and terrified of being left—Patrick runs a Greenwich Village bookstore and keeps his heart carefully guarded. Then a mysterious drifter and a grieving friend show up, and everything changes. After Hours at Dooryard Books is a tender, beautifully observed story about finding people whose baggage fits with yours. Highly recommended.

Toby robs the wrong man and ends up working for him—what could go wrong? A Thief in the Night is a charming, tightly written novella that nails the romance but leaves the heist wanting more.

Cozy, low-stakes, and sweet—Shots on Net delivers solid demisexual rep and maximum comfort vibes. But the characters never quite feel like people, and the hockey doesn't matter. A pleasant read that doesn't quite stick the landing.

Looking for a cozy MM romance where the dancer and the quarterback get their happily-ever-after? XOXO is sweet, predictable, and unapologetically idealized—and sometimes that's exactly what you need.

Absurd, funny, and fully committed to its own ridiculousness—but the humor that starts witty ends up a little exhausting. A fun ride if you're in the mood for pure escapism, though I wish Leland had dialed it back a notch.

Zone Entry is a cozy, trope-filled hockey romance that knows exactly what it is—and delivers. Low angst, predictable beats, and a guaranteed happy ending make this a solid comfort read, even if it doesn't dig deep.

Sweet, low-angst bear romance set in an impossibly supportive small town. One Reason to Stay won't change your life, but it's the perfect cozy escape when you need everyone to be kind and the ending guaranteed.

Addison Harper is witty, charming, and trying to clear his name in a small New Zealand town. Murder on Milverton Square delivers cozy vibes and a great protagonist, even if the mystery asks you not to overthink things. A solid debut that sets up a promising series.

Luc is a mess, Oliver is impossibly proper, and their fake relationship is heading exactly where you think it is. Boyfriend Material is comfort reading that knows what it is—banter-filled, sweet, and just the right amount of heartfelt. Perfect for when you need something warm and funny.

A warm, funny, deeply ridiculous book that works better than it should. The romance is thin and the premise is nonsense, but Sam and his lovable band of misfits make it worth the read. Just don't overthink it.

A charming, witty, beautifully rendered romance with two leads I'd follow anywhere. The mystery doesn't quite reach the heights of the character work, but I didn't mind. I was too busy being completely charmed.

A charming 1960s road trip romance with golden retriever Peter and prickly Caleb finding each other on the way to California. Strong character work and excellent vibes, but leans heavily on mood over momentum. A solid B.

Cat Sebastian's Page & Sommers series is cozy without being cloying—a smart blend of Christie-style mystery and heartfelt romance. Tightly written, emotionally satisfying, and anchored by two men with shared trauma learning to trust again.

Eddie's in a slump, Mark's drowning in grief, and neither of them is looking for love. But You Should Be So Lucky is a slow-burn romance that understands how life can surprise you when you've convinced yourself that part of your life is over. Warm, authentic, and worth the wait.

If you're looking for fun, magical, romantic historical fantasy with characters you'll want to spend time with and dialogue that'll make you smile, pick up The Magpie Lord. You'll be glad you did.

I'm a KJ Charles fan, so it pains me to say Unfit to Print feels underdeveloped. The romance lacks spark, the mystery fizzles, and the whole thing needed more time to breathe. A rare misfire from a usually reliable author.

Cat Sebastian's We Could Be So Good is a tender 1950s slow burn about two newspapermen falling in love. Not a page-turner—but the yearning is exquisite.

A popcorn thriller with a body count and a Vegas meet-cute. The Murder Between Us won't surprise you, but it doesn't need to—it's fun, soapy, and exactly what it promises to be.

A gay Secret Service agent. The President of the United States. Yes, it's absurd—but Enemies of the State is the kind of unputdownable popcorn read that knows exactly what it is. Check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride.

'The Road' made me want to lie down and never get up. Erik J. Brown's duology offers something different: a post-apocalyptic romance with sharp banter, real heart, and the radical idea that hope might survive the end of the world. A great YA entry point for fans of survival stories—and a book I wish I'd had as a teenager.

Rav Trivedi is the kind of protagonist I didn't know I needed: sharp-dressed, sharp-tongued, and falling for his prime suspect. He's to Die For works better as a romantic thriller than a whodunit, but with dialogue this witty and a voice this fun, I'm not complaining. A step up from typical gay fiction—and I'm already hoping for a sequel.

The less you know going in, the better—just trust me. Two astronauts, one rescue mission, and a mystery that kept me turning pages late into the night. This is the most fun I've had with sci-fi in years.

Liam is a homicide detective with a secret side hustle: killing the murderers who got away. When his partner Gabriel catches him red-handed, it should be the end—but instead, it's the beginning of a bloody, banter-filled romance. Alice Winters' Deadly Mistakes series is fun, fast, and doesn't ask too much of you. Just don't expect to remember it next week.

Gore Vidal's 1948 novel is a landmark of gay literature—and a book that's easier to admire than enjoy. Jim Willard is a groundbreaking protagonist, but his obsessive fixation left me more disturbed than moved. Essential history, impeccable prose, and an ending that still haunts me (not in a good way).