For my last post of the year, I thought I’d share ten of my favourite romance reads of 2015. They’re not all queer romance, and they’re not all strictly romance as such, and it’s not precisely ten either, come to that, but they’re all books I loved and it’s December so give me a break. /slumps on sofa/

The Trojan Project. I really, really want you to read this collection of m/m stories. Seriously. It’s *fantastic*. Yes, I know the cover…how can I put this…is a sausage. Ignore that. This is a truly excellent collection, from the most adorable contemporary romance to some ultra creepy horror and a spectacularly good bit of scary ghosty erotica. I loved it; you need to go get it. Have I ever let you down?

For Real. There’s a reason this m/m made Publishers Weekly’s ‘best romance’ list. It’s so good. I don’t care if BDSM or May-December aren’t your cup of tea; they aren’t usually mine either, but they don’t need to be to love this. A storming performance by an author at the top of his game.

The Second Mango. A hugely sweet and fun YA f/f fantasy, with a young queen in search of a girlfriend, plus quests, dragons, and IBS. No, really. Fresh, funny, and first of an ongoing series.

Treasure. NA f/f, a lovely opposite-sides-of-the-tracks contemporary story. Funny, sexy, very hot while very sweet, and immensely likeable.

True Pretenses. I have been raving about the m/f Lively St Lemiston series since it started and I’m not planning to stop. Realistic political small town Regency. The hero is a Jewish con artist trying to inveigle the strong-willed, managing heroine into marrying his brother. How can you resist? And the next book stars a valet!

Mocker of Ravens and Maelstrom. Jordan L Hawk effortlessly demonstrating how to write ongoing series to the bitter envy of those of us who, frankly, can’t. Both wonderful continuations of her m/m series, and if you haven’t read Whyborne and Griffin or SPECTR yet, get on that.­

The Brightest Day. This Juneteenth m/f anthology blew me away. Stories from the US civil rights struggle, set between 1860s and 1960s. The Alyssa Cole story in particular is absolutely tremendous but all four are strong, powerful historical romance.

Rite of Summer. I am a big fan of realism in my historicals, and this book knows its stuff. It’s erotic romance, heavy on the shagging (m/m > m/m/m > m/m) but the historical grounding is excellent, there’s a strong sense of place and time, and a couple of real events are used very well to give emotional power and depth. Also, here’s to more series, like this and Lively St Lemiston, that don’t focus on the aristocracy alone. There’s a linked m/f/f story coming out next week, which I am hotly anticipating.

A Boy Called Cin. A very sweet, feelgood, well written May-December / Cinderella / billionaire romance. Tropey pleasure with, as it happens, heroes who are respectively bi genderqueer and bi trans.

Sea, Swallow Me. Not romance as such (all right, it’s speculative fiction if you’re going to be fussy), but a few of the stories are totally romantic and lovely and hey, this is my post. Amazing collection of fantastical queer short stories (this was my year of the anthology, it seems), superbly written and compelling. Excellent stuff.

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Feel free to post your own best-of recommendations in the comments!

KJ Charles’s latest release is A Seditious Affair.