y so srs?

[silverthunder]

Yesterday and today I spent some time looking for some good fantasy novels with m/m romance. Actually, I'd also be happy with good fantasy novels with m/f romance, but lately I've been in a BL mood, so that's what I've been looking for.

You have no idea how happy it would make me to find at least ONE m/m fantasy novel that is not taking itself so seriously! If it's not coated with a thick layer of angst (either plot or romance related, take your pick), it's smut with a fantasy backdrop.

And don't get me wrong, some of those books are awesome! But when I'm craving some lighthearted fantasy/romance with decent humor and just a bit of drama to make it interesting (wouldn't say no to the smut, either, as long as it wasn't the whole plot), man, this just doesn't cut it!

The angst, it is wide. Wide like the ocean. There is no crossing.

Comments

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

What did you find while looking? I know of a few titles, but if you've already looked at them, there's no reason to bring them up.

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

The 'Heroes' series by Moira J Moore is awesome. It's funny, witty, romantic, and also serious - but not horribly so.

[silverthunder]

I went looking through a long list of m/m fantasy (and downloaded sample chapters from Amazon for the ones that looked interesting and were available for the Kindle). I can't remember all of the ones I looked at, but here are some I've read and enjoyed:

Nighrunner series (Lynn Flewelling)
Strange Fortune (Josh Lanyon)
Last Herald-Mage series (Mercedes Lackey)
maderr's books

And here are some I downloaded samples for (no idea yet if they're any good):

Swordspoint (Ellen Kushnar)
The Lion of Kent (Aleksander Vionov)
Miles and the Magic Flute (Heidi Cullinan)
Orphan's Quest (Pat Nelson Childs)
Magic and the Pagan (Mychael Black)
Mongrel (K.Z. Snow)
Many Roads Home (Ann Somerville)

Hopefully at least some will turn out to be really good! If you have any other suggestions, they would definitely be appreciated!

[maderr.livejournal.com]

I have no idea if you read my stuff anymore, but that's pretty much exactly the kind of fantasy I write. And I don't mind giving you a couple to try out.

[silverthunder]

This is on my list to try! I think I downloaded the sample after reading a review that you wrote for it, actually. It looks really fun!

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Should have read comments first. Will look through my ebooks when I get home, cause I'm sure there's a few you'd like :3

[silverthunder]

YES I DO. Your stuff is awesome! XD XD XD

[maderr.livejournal.com]

#^_^# Thank you!

These are the m/m fantasy books I really like:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6084481-shadow-hunt

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2890682-the-devil-s-fire

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9192290-virgo

And I'm sure there's more, but those are the ones I had marked as favs on goodreads ;3

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

I like Swordspoint a lot, though it sometimes is a little dark. If you decide to buy it, I also recommend Privilege of the Sword, which has implied threesome. :D

Tanya Huff has one in her fantasy series that has a male couple, I think it's the Quartered Sea, but I'm not sure I can recommend that one since it's kind of "Insta-romance! Just add water!" Literally in this case. Which is a shame because the other Quarter books (Sing the Four Quarters, Fifth Quarter, and No Quarter) are fantastic (and have some romance in them).

[silverthunder]

I was actually looking at a few Tanya Huff books, but I couldn't get sample chapters since her books don't come in ebook format (at least, not on Amazon). I'll probably try out some of the others first.

Privilege of the Sword is the sequel, right? I'll see how I do with Swordspoint first. ;)

Thanks!

[silverthunder]

Sweet, thank you! I will check them out.

I was actually looking at The Devil's Fire earlier, but it doesn't seem to be available anywhere online... Is it worth hunting for? I remember reading 'The Magic in Your Touch' by this author and really not being impressed, but if she's gotten better since then, I wouldn't mind giving her another try.

[maderr.livejournal.com]

It's here:

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=776

(unless you meant available as in a pirate, I totally do not know where to pirate ebooks, since doing that would make me a massive hypocrite ^^;;)

I mostly liked it because the arranged marriage thing was done well, and I like that it's not smut every other page. I don't fangirl it as hard as Shadow Hunt and I haven't read it in years, but I remember really liking it when I did read it.

[silverthunder]

No, I would much rather buy the book and give my money to the author. I have downloaded pirated copies, but only if three things about the book are true: I already own a paper copy, there is no ebook copy available, and I plan to re-read it.

Lately I've been not even bothering with books that I can't put on my kindle, unless I am really desperate to read them. I might be getting a touch obsessed with carrying around lots and lots of books in one small bundle. Lugging around paper copies is just not convenient any more.

I like arranged marriage stories, because there's a lot of potential for misunderstandings and awkwardness, and I'm into that. So I was interested in this one, but got a little wary when I saw who the author was. I checked, though, and there's a three-year gap between the two books. And if you liked it, she's probably improved a lot on characterization and set-up. So I'll give the sample a try and see how it goes!

Also, I downloaded the sample chapter of Virgo. Shadow Hunt wasn't on Amazon, but I found it on another site, so I'll be giving that excerpt a read as well. Thanks again for the suggestions!

[silverthunder]

Correction: found Shadow Hunt on Amazon! :) Much more convenient! Sample chapter is downloaded.