7 Books Like The Alpha of Bleake Isle

Let me start by saying - I don't like sports and I'm not thrilled with first person books. Having said that, I enjoyed this book. Mazurke did a good job of staying true to the first person POV. Liam and Gracie's story is funny, engaging, and worth the read. Muzurke takes over six hundred pages to develop her characters who are flawed and interesting. Gracie is a ball buster hiding her hurt and vulnerability. Liam is a jock with a heart who's been traumatized. The book starts erratic jumping through time in these two people's lives but quickly settles into a solid story where the couple come together with both hiding their feelings. It evolves into a complex love story which I could not put down.

Dante is a grey character... sort of. He protects his own. He's willing to take on the seedier side of New Orleans including drug dealers and organized crime. He had a rough childhood and now he keeps everyone but his four brothers at arm's length. Until Mila walks in looking for a job. Mila is hiding. She keeps everyone at a distance and keeps to herself but Dante noticed her and wants her. She's his employee so she's off limits. At least until people start trying to kill her. Then Dante's all over making sure she's safe.

Hackett has created some shady brothers. They can get their hands dirty but fall on the right side of the line of right and wrong. This story is well paced and written. The characters are well developed and the story is believable. There's more romance, a bit of alpha dominance, and a lot… show more.

I loved that this book’s inciting incident is the toppling of a many-tiered wedding cake of a British royal couple. The cause? The immature tussling of a prince and the U.S. president’s son? (Adults, mind you. They’re adults) And because of that, they have to pretend to be friends, pals, buddies.

And as with most fake-relationship-themed books, the fake friendship soon turns into real love. Even though both Alex and Henry are outrageously advantaged individuals, I saw them as people—people in love—and not as a representation of their class.

Perhaps the thing I love most about McQuiston’s writing is the idealism and hopefulness she brings to the story. The obstacles Alex and Henry must overcome are literally international and yet, she can boil their love down to the simplest of gestures—and make it seem realistic.

Two words. Bisexual representation. The queer community may tend to forget about us bisexuals out here, but Katee Robert certainly did not.

It’s not very often that you see books that focus on an MMF relationship in which the woman is the most recent addition. The loving relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is incredible to begin with. However, when you add the extra dimension of Helen of Troy, the relationship grows and changes into something much more.

Dealing with serious relationship dynamic conflicts, like jealousy, Wicked Beauty shows us that sometimes working through our learned emotional reactions can create something truly beautiful.

This book is fast-paced: within the first chapter, the titular captive prince, Damon, is enslaved, stripped of his royal identity, and gifted to Laurent, the young prince of a decadent foreign court. Damon, yet another straightforward soldier type (they pair so well with the slippery types), is immediately caught up in the byzantine machinations of Laurent and his uncle and is hilariously out of his depth without ever seeming to realize it.

I appreciate Damon, but I adore Laurent. He is so snarky and cool-headed, running absolute rings around Damon and playing the game like a champion despite the very poor hand his uncle has dealt him. It’s a slow-burn romance, and I loved watching their relationship evolve slowly.

Don’t be fooled by the initial MF pairing of this book, A Lady of Rooksgrove Manor is very queer and very spicy.

Kathryn Moon does a fantastic job creating a realistic example of a polyamorous relationship in a genre where most authors tend to just like creating conflict. Each partner to the main character has unique, well-negotiated relationships not only with the main character but also with each other.

These relationships range from sexual to queer, platonic, and scratches the itch that every queer person has to build a commune out in the wilderness with all their closest friends that they may or may not make out with sometimes.

Unlike the other recommendations I’ve given so far, this one is an ongoing series… and a manga.

Now, before you pull back. What if I told you that in addition to the beautiful art, this series had some of the most incredible and complex characters that I’ve seen in queer romance? What if I told you that it touched upon important topics like grief, internalized homophobia, familial expectations, depression, and what it’s like growing up gay in Japan?

Not to mention the sweet, spicy scenes between the two main characters as they grow together in their relationship. It’s one of my all time favorites and even if you aren’t a big manga reader or into anime, it truly is worth it.