Hey all. I’m part of a small book club consisting of myself, a gay man, my bisexual friend, and two straight girls. This month we’re reeding straight romance novel, I agreed to this because they all agreed to read a gay one next. So I’m looking for books I could recommend we read for this group. Out of the books I’ve read, I’m considering:
Red White and Royal Blue
Song of Achilles
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
So out of those, which do you think would be best for this group, or are there others you would strongly recommend? Thanks all!
by SheenTheMachine21
10 Comments
I loved all three of these, but find that song of Achilles would likely be best for your group. If you want something lighter and less war story focused, red white and royal blue is a very happy campy read.
There’s also Call me by your name by Andre Aciman.. if you haven’t read that already… An intense romance between an Italian student and an American scholar.
What is the group into in general? idk much about A&D, but from what i gather, red white and royal blue is a modern day royalty romance. I know that i personally LOVED tSoA, but i would only really recommend it if the group is ok with a sad/bittersweet ending. ideally they would also be cool with fantasy/mythology elements. if theyre more into realistic fiction, it would probably be better to go with a different option.
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
Written in the stars by Alexandria bellafleur was good
My book club read Song of Achilles last year and it was a hit. I haven’t read the others on your list but I can recommend that one.
There’s A Night at the Telegraph Club, which is about a teen Asian girl discovering she’s a lesbian during the communist scare in the US. less by Andrew Sean Greer is about a gay man turning 50 and all his feelings about that, including his thoughts on previous (and current) romances.
Not on your list, but I recommend Isaac’s Song. It wouldn’t be deemed as a real “romance” but has a lot of threaded relationships throughout.
Song Of Achilles
Then a personal recommendation “They Both Die At The End” by Adam Silvera
I never pass up a chance to recommend “The House in the Cerulean Sea” by TJ Klune (although some consider it more of a “found family” than a romance. It’s definitely smut-free).
Both “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “Aristotle and Dante” were DNFs for me. I’ll give RW&RB another chance someday, when I’m more in the mood for a sweet, fluffy NA romance about rich, attractive, intelligent early twenty-something’s. A&D is YA, if you like that kind of thing.