This was a year where I really fell behind on reviews, so I’m not going to call these anything definitive like my 10-top-books. But these were stories I loved and read this year, and can wholeheartedly recommend. I left out non-first series books, books where I didn’t write a review at the time, and frankly a dozen other 5 star reads or more. But here are some good ones, in no particular order (links are AZ US):
These Old Lies by Larrie Barton – This was gorgeous, a saga across several decades for two men who first met in the trenches of WWI. Ned was an upperclass university man, drawn to service as an officer because he felt it was his duty to put his skills to use. Charlie was the workingclass son of a milliner, who joined up at eighteen and found he had a knack for keeping the men around him working together, and a slowly-growing hate for killing. From one moment with hands down each other’s pants in a dark doorway in France, the two men built a relationship in stolen minutes between the demands and horrors of war.
You have to watch the headers, because this book repeatedly jumps back and forth in time, from 1917 to 1923, from 1932 to 1941, and onward. While I generally prefer a linear narrative, this alternation was an effective way to let the reader know more about these men and show the echoes of the past in the present. Both Ned and Charlie came out of their Great War damaged, and society inflicted even more trauma on them, but they both lived to rise above that. As with most books of this era, there is love and pain, hope with progress alongside deep, unfair, unforgivable oppression for loving who you love, and a well-earned HEA.
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian – This is a lovely historical, set in the late 1950s when gay sex was still illegal in America. And yet, when the hope of progress was also peeking up over the horizon with the waning of McCarthyism. Nick has worked his way up from very humble beginnings in a rough part of NYC to find a place as a respected reporter for a newspaper owned by Andy’s father. His current story involves possible corruption within the police department, which exposes him to risk. As a gay man, all the cops have to do to stop him exposing them is catch him engaged in sex. He already has one arrest in his past as a teenager, a sword hanging over his head if they ever put his name and that history together.
So he really has no time or energy to babysit the owner’s son, sent to work for a year in the newsroom and learn the ropes. Worse, Andy catches Nick’s eye in very unwanted ways. A turn of his head, a gesture with elegant hands, even the glint of light off his hair, makes Nick want in all-too-familiar ways. Ways that, even if Andy weren’t straight as he clearly is, would be far too risky to pursue. This slow burn story is gorgeous, with yearning and hesitations very plausibly driven by the era and the situation. There’s as much of an HEA as possible, and it helps to know that these guys didn’t have too much longer to wait for legal safety, if not acceptance.
Unrivaled by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James – I’m a big fan of Winging It in both its versions, and I was delighted to find that I enjoyed this one just as much. Grady and Max, playing for neighboring teams, have a rivalry fueled by one bad past hit (which both know was an accidental arm-breakage, but other people harp on) and by Max’s… not God-given, perhaps devil-given… ability to chirp folks and get under their skin. Grady’s a cool, calm player, a contender for the Lady Byng “most sportsmanlike and gentlemanly” award in the NHL several times. But each time, his chances have been torpedoed by Max’s ability to wind him up past the breaking point. This year, with a punch in the face that Max totally deserved, but which means that Grady is leaving the awards empty-handed. Again.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Grady didn’t also think Max was hot, or if there were more out gay players around, or if Grady wasn’t so bad at dating that his sister made him a profile on Grindr. On which he put his NHL promo portrait. Leading to Max’s anonymous profile accusing him of being a catfisher, and Grady deciding to call out this online guy and prove his honesty, and them meeting… and kissing… and finding out that they make each other as hot as they make each other furious. This was a lot of fun, with an enemies to lovers vibe that felt realistic, not contrived. It ended a moment before I’d have liked – I wanted that last game – but a definite reread.
Now and Then by Lisa Henry – this is a quite short story, barely a novella, over a very short span of time. I’m a big fan of this author, and this story gives us a second chance for two guys – the rockstar and the boy he left behind. There’s a lot of emotion packed in here, as Owen, working in the bar he bought from from his folks, finally gets to say the things that have been festering between him and Zach since Zach rocketed to fame as a teenager ten years before. Their split was abrupt, painful, and they have a lot to unpack to get to their HFN.
I’d have loved a novel with these two, to see what happened next. There is a lot more coming when a famous person dives into a relationship, and I forsee some trials and conflicts that I’d adore to see on the page. But I was very satisfied with what we got. Lisa Henry is near the top of my list for pulling me into a story and making me care about her characters.
Chef’s Table by Lynn Charles – This is a slow burn, slowly developing relationship, and the food, food prep, and the restaurant industry are a whole third character. Evan is a highly skilled chef with a lot of awards running his own kitchen – he should be satisfied. But the owner of the restaurant doesn’t want him to do anything to change a success, not a single new dish or substitution. And not firing a long-time kitchen worker whose attitude has slid into carelessness, and whose lack of dedication to a good product is like nails on a chalkboard to Evan. What had been the epitome of all his goals is becoming a rut, even a prison. Then he eats at a local diner with some of his crew, and encounters Patrick, and Patrick’s food.
The secondary characters are great and add a lot to the moments of humor. There’s no deep angst, but some poignancy here. I wasn’t totally sold on how money problems were fixed – it seemed a bit easy – but as a whole the story was a lush slow read that worked well for me. If you like food, complex characters, and something far from the stereotypical M/M romance, this one might work for you.
Liar City by Allie Therin – I really enjoyed this series starter – this one a contemporary rather than historical AU/paranormal/urban fantasy/mystery story. The ending isn’t a cliffhanger, but it is really tentative on both romance and plot fronts, and the romance is very slow burn. There’s lots of action, plot twists, some banter, strong secondary characters, in a modern alternate-universe world that I was pulled into. There, those with empathy are a minority against whom political forces are rising. When an anti-empath figure is murdered, the tide of public opinion may become threatening.
There’s also a darker internal thread, as Reese, our empath MC, finds out that not all empaths are the compassionate folk he imagined they had to be (due to feeling the emotions of others). And that his own mind might be not as inviolable as he hoped. He meets the empathy-immune Dead Man – Evan Grayson- whose role is to protect humans from corrupted empaths and who seems not to like him. Reese hopes to help solve the murder, but violence and danger are increasing, and he might be in the killer’s sights.
I’m definitely onboard for book 2, not due out till next year.
The Last Single Man in Texas by Jess Whitecroft – This is the story of River, brilliant son of a poor and chaotic single mom, whose life is best symbolized by the raccoons that fell through the ceiling on his head as a child, and the brief prison stint he did for driving his sister’s abuser’s Porsche into the river. It’s also the story of Benjamín Reyes, ex-underwear model and son of a politician, who’s trying, in between sex with the gardener, to pull himself out of the rut of dependence on his family.
This was light and a little farcical, but yet it kept pulling back to a core of genuine emotion and character development. I read it in one sitting (and I had other things I was supposed to be doing.) I didn’t find the absurdities laugh-out-loud funny, but was pulled in to care about these two men and everything they did to stay sane in an insane world.
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske – I really enjoyed this M/M historical urban fantasy story. (Note that book 2 in the series is F/F, book 3 is M/M; note book 1 opens with the brief on-page torture death of a secondary character that sets the plot in motion. These are also from a big pub, with corresponding prices)
This is a slow-burn romance of two men, in a society that severely punishes same-sex relationships, both seeing the possibility of attraction, but slow to do anything about it. Their personalities are a good contrast, and the immersion of Robin into magic gives a chance to show his character. The magic is well done and interesting, with some unique elements to it. I also liked the strong female characters (and was pleased to see one of them star in the next installment.) The casual disdain of many of the men for their female counterparts needed taking down a notch.
The ending is HFN, with the romance pretty solidly established, but the over-arching plot just beginning to come together. The historical elements felt well done, a setting and often a plot driver, but not overwhelming the story. I immediately bought the other two books (which complete the trilogy) and enjoyed those as well.
The Prodigal Prince’s Fake Fiancé by Thursday Euclid and Clancy Nacht – despite cover and title, this is a contemporary, with only a fake small European nation fabricated. I previously enjoyed the trans MC in these authors’ The Phisher King, so I was curious. I had imagined this lighter story would be less deep in character, but I truly adored Prince Morgan, an aggressively toppy trans man who fights for his right to be Prince, not Princess. He also is desperate to continue the US university study he loves learning fashion design, when his future as a ruler seems set in stone (as an only child of a small principality’s rulers.)
The trans rep feels strong and real. There was an instant where it was Lin, the cis MC, rather than Morgan, who moved an important opinion, but that’s probably realistic rather than cis savior. Sometimes people are mired in their opinions and it takes a new voice to open their eyes. The ending is sweet and although I wouldn’t call this story realistic in all ways (eg. I can’t imagine the absence of security for either of these MCs given their families’ wealth) the charm of story made me willing to overlook those details.
Tramps and Vagabonds by Aster Glenn Gray – This is the book about two guys riding the rails that I’d been waiting for, full of the background that I’d always felt needed a novel. (There are a couple of others I’ve read that are good, but this feels real to the era.) In the 1930s, a lot of America was on the move or displaced, desperately poor, and shoved out of their familiar life. James and Timothy had both taken the chance on joining Roosevelt’s CCC – a kind of civilian army/work camp where young men of good character could work hard in exchange for housing, 3 meals a day, and a meager salary to save or send home.
Of course James, having first spent a year riding the rails, had to use the home address of a friend of his late mother’s, and ditch his “tramp” belongings in storage, to appear of good character. Timothy joined up despite having family and a home, in an effort to do something acceptable that wasn’t going to college, which he didn’t feel smart enough to succeed at. Now at the end of a stint of work, with some money in their pockets, well fed and rested, both 19-year-olds have decided that getting up at 5 AM and the regimented life in the CCC had lost some of its shine. If slow-burn, true to life historicals are something you enjoy, and you can empathize with choices made in moments of desperation (which some might call cheating), check this one out.
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I hope you all had a great reading year. If you have a book you think I really shouldn’t miss, I’d love to have you comment with it here.
I’m looking forward to 2024, with books I plan to write, and books I can’t wait to read. Very best New Year wishes to you all.
Very nice!