It’s that time of year again people. The time where we, the voracious and obsessive readers of LGBT romance, look back and reflect on what an amazing year of books it’s been. If you’re anything like us then you’re already compiling your 2017 “To Read” list, but first, let’s share some of our favourite books from the year just gone.
Over the two weeks we’ll be posting our top reads of the year. Please feel free to tell us your own favourites, or simply comment on our choices.
There is a wonderful giveaway attached to these Best Of posts!
One winner will win a $25 DSP credit.
One winner will win a $10 Amazon giftcard
One winner wins a month of free advertising on Love Bytes (this prize is allowed to be gifted)
DAN
“Monsters aren’t born… they’re engineered.” Holy wow, did I love this book. It was one of my first reads of 2016 and instantly went on my Best of 2016 list. An all too real premise, with lots of current political and social discourse. I loved it. All 686 pages of it.
I had always been a huge fan of the Captive Prince books from this author. When this third and final book of the trilogy came out, I had already had it on pre-buy for months, and when it popped up on my Kindle, I abandoned whatever lesser work I was currently reading and devoured this one in one sitting. Great wrap-up to the trilogy.
“Two men who meet in a psychiatric institution couldn’t possibly find happiness together—could they?” As soon as I read that part of the blurb on this one, I knew I had to read it. This one was so well written and the characters seemed very real to me. The author took me inside their heads, and gave me alternating viewpoints so expertly that I felt I knew both the main characters equally well. There were also very well written and developed background characters, and the world building of the facility and the small town were perfectly meshed. Excellent job.
I’ll remember this one most as a book that made me cry in several spots. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m not the weepy type, but wow, the characters and the storylines wrapped into this book were so well written, that I came to feel for the characters like they were friends. There was violence…some of it extreme, there was a character with terminal cancer, and there was hope and redemption. It was hard to read in spots, but damn, it was a fantastic book.
This one hit my list instantly, and primarily because of the first chapter of the book. The author did a fantastic job of drawing me in with his colorful descriptions of an author who had been writing for 3 days non-stop…and the story just got better from there. Here is a snippet. “Swearing under my breath through gritted teeth, I slammed down the phone with a bang, startling my cat, Clutch, who sailed off my lap with a screech of terror, leaving claw marks in my crotch and making me wail even louder than he did.” And then there was the line about the pond scum on the top of his coffee and on his unwashed body parts. Classic. I think of it whenever I’m writing myself.
This book kept me enthralled. I literally couldn’t put it down. Right from the beginning with the flashback to twenty years ago, with an abandoned, haunted, and creepy old southern Plantation. The author noted that 62 agents either rejected this manuscript or never responded to his query. I’m not sure what the heck those people were thinking. I loved this one. It is definitely on my to be re-read pile from 2016.
This one had it all for me. It made me smile, it made me teary eyed, it caused me anxiety, it caused me anger (for a little while but not long) and it left me feeling like I had just shared a young man’s painful journey. In addition, it is set in the area where I was born and raised, so it also made me homesick. It took me along on a young man’s journey from the depth of despair and wanting to die, to hope and redemption. I fell into the story, and didn’t want to come out. Great job.
Thanks for the list, Dan. I only knew two titles out of that so it’s a good chance to get newly found titles to my to-read shelf.
My favorite for this year are Jordan L. Hawk’s Hexmaker & Fallow, and Josh Lanyon’s So This Is Christmas. There are others of non MM read too, though.
I think King’s Rising was one of the most expected books ever… That’s a great list, Dan, Thank you for sharing it with us!
To say that I’d LOVED Strong Medicine by J.K. Hogan is.an.understatement.The book was so good. That “time of the year” where he experiences these sort of things. Oh! So real.
I’ve heard a lot of good things ’bout C.S. Pacat’s Captive Prince trilogy & Falling Down by Eli Easton. I think I should do some read-a-thon, eh? 😀
Thank you for the great list. I missed some of these and have added them to my TBR/wishlist. My Busbiy and Falling Down, as well as Strong Medicine need to be read at a minimum.
Hi Dan I haven’t read all the books on your so now writing my wish list!
Thanks for the list, Dan! I loved King’s Rising, too. I wasn’t aware of the Dan Skinner book. Going to go check it out.
Great list, Dan! I’m a huge fan of J.K. Hogan C.S. Pacat. I think I waited forever for Captive Prince 3, this release was one of the best things that happened in 2016.
Wow! Thank you!
I haven’t read any of these but Falling Down by Eli Easton looks good.
Great best of list, several authors are new to me and will add them to my TBR. I enjoyed Falling Down, Captive Prince Trilogy
Interesting list – not actually read any of these though I’ve had the C.S. Pacat series on my kindle for awhile. Think I need to bring it forward. And add some of these others to my TBR.
Thanks for the list, Dan. Your taste definitely NOT similar to mine since I didn’t read any of those *lol*
I haven’t read any of these although I have a couple on my kindle
I’ve only read one on your list and that was one book I really enjoyed. The other are on my wishlist already, I just have to move them up on the list.
Great list. And another set of some i havent yet read – which is always good. On this list The Captive Prince Trilogy is the one in particular ive wanted to read for a while. Its just a little out of my price range for ebooks at the moment (i have to be strict with myself or i go berserk buying books. Lol) but theyre really high up in my want to read. Ive loved what ive read about them and the reviews are fantastic – i think im going to cave and buy them in the near future. Theres just no stopping it ;’)
Great list, i loved Falling Down by Eli Easton, so emotional and i also really liked My Busboy by John Inman, love snarky LOL. I have Strong Medicine by JK Hogan on my reader and look forward in reading it.
One of the best books i read in 2016 is September by Robert Winter.
Thanks for sharing the list. I haven’t read any books. I will check them out for sure.
Thanks for sharing this list! I’ll have to check these out.
Thanks for sharing. I only know “Falling Down”. Have to admit except for “XPeriment” the other books might not be my cup of tea.
Thanks for the list. Some really good ones I have to get to, including King’s Rising – like you, loved the first two in this series.
I definitely want to check out Resurrection, My Busboy, and Blood Divine.
These sound intense, but cool (especially Eli Easton’s)!