Book Releases: Ownvoices M/M books of January-June 2021

Well, actually… the term ownvoices here is used very liberally. By that I mean you will find below books with gay main characters written by gay authors but sometimes it will be for example books with gay characters written by bi authors.

Generally, though, novels with mlm characters by mlm authors. Achillean books by achillean authors, if you will. So while the label might not always 100% match between the author and the character, those are still books written by people who understand the experience.

This is also why I opted out of using the rainbow emoji – everyone would get one anyways.

See also: ownvoices m/m books of July-December 2021, of January-June 2020 & of July-December 2020.

JANUARY

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala (gay mc, bi li, m/m relationship)
The Wasteland by Harper Jameson & W. A. W. Parker (gay mc)
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. ( Black mcs, m/m relationship) tw rape
A (Complicated) Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson (m/m relationship) tw sexual assault
The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate, trans. by David Bowles (gay mc)
The Beautiful Things Shoppe by Philip William Stover (m/m relationship)

FEBRUARY

Point Roberts by Alexander Rigby (gay mc)
Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson (Black gay mc, gay lis) tw discussions of cancer
Lone Stars by Justin Deabler (gay mc)
The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. by David Levithan (gay mc, trans character)
100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell (mlm mcs) tw sexual assault, HIV and AIDS, homophobia, racism, infidelity, hild abuse, absent parent, drug use

The Boy From the Mish by Gary Lonesborough (gay mc & li, Indigenous Australian cast)
Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean (gay father, lesbian characters, gay characters)
As Far As You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper (gay mc, m/m relationship) tw outing, homophobia, F-word slur, disordered eating
SnowMaker by Aaron S. Bentzel (m/m relationship)
Death’s Prelude by David S. Pederson (bi mc, gay li, m/m relationship)

Let’s Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih (gay mc, m/m relationship)
Nighthawking by Russ Thomas (gay mc, lesbian character) tw gore, murder
Project Pay Day by Brent Hartinger (gay mc)

MARCH

Altered Tides by Harry F. Rey (m/m relationship)
Infinity Reaper by Adam Silvera (Puerto Rican gay mc, Dominican-American mlm mc, sapphic characters)
Coming to Life on South High by Lee Patton (m/m relationship)
Blackout by Marco Carocari (gay mc) tw murder, body horror, past trauma
Village Fool by ‘Nathan Burgoine (m/m relationship)

We Cry the Sea by Glenn Quigley (m/m relationship)
Why Can’t Relationships be Like Pizza? by Andy V. Roamer (m/m relationship)

APRIL

The Outrage by William Hussey (m/m relationship)
Easily Fooled by H. Nigel Thomas (gay mc)
Adventures with My Daddies by Gareth Peter & Garry Parsons (gay dads)
The Gilded Madonna by Garrick Jones (m/m relationship)
First, Become Ashes by K. M. Szpara (gay mc) tw rape, dubious consent, non-consensual bdsm; bdsm cult; graphic depictions of rape involving a main character and an authority figure (multiple occurrences), graphic depictions non-consensual BDSM involving two main characters (multiple occurrences), graphic depiction of self-harm involving a main character, graphic depiction of sadomasochistic violence and injuries, general unsafe BDSM practices, manipulation in a cult environment, doubt of reality by main characters (what’s real and what’s not, unreliable narrator, descriptions that are purposefully misleading/vague, etc.)

The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch (gay mc, mlm li, trans character, gay characters) tw homophobia, racism, f-slur, past car accident, past death of a parent, vomiting
Is There Still Room In Your Life For Me? by Will Manwill (m/m relationship)
The Kingdom’s Sandcastle by Luai Qubain (gay mc)
Parker by Jack Harbon (bi mc, m/m relationship) tw intimate partner violence, self harm, sexual assault, drug/alcohol abuse, anxiety/panic attacks, homophobia, graphic violence
Prince & Knight: Tale of the Shadow King by Daniel Haack & Stevie Lewis (m/m relationship)

Lies With Man by Michael Nava (gay mc)
A Friend in the Fire by Gregory Ashe & C. S. Poe (m/m relationship)
Summoned by J. P. Jackson (m/m relationship)
The Called by M. D. Neu (gay mc)

MAY

When You Get the Chance by Tom Ryan & Robin Stevenson (gay mc, sapphic mc, pan nonbinary li, wlw & mlm characters)
All Kinds of Other by James Sie (trans gay mc, gay mc)
Indivisible by Daniel Aleman (Mexican-American gay mc, gay character)
May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor (trans gay mc, mlm austistic mc, nonbinary character) tw homophobia, transphobia, sexual harassment, bullying, death of a family member
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee (triracial (white, Japanese, Afro-Caribbean) bi trans mc, mlm side character, lesbian character, gay genderqueer character) tw panic attacks, misgendering

Burn It All Down by Nicolas DiDomizio (gay mc)
Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick (m/m relationship)
The Guncle by Steven Rowley (gay mc)
After Francesco by Brian Malloy (gay mc)
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain (gay mc)

The Lost Mage by Ben Alderson (m/m relationship)
Insatiable by Rhys Everly (m/m relationship)

JUNE

The Witch King by H. E. Edgmon (trans gay mc, Black achillean li, Native American bi ace side character, nonbinary lesbian side character, sapphic side character, side polyam relationship, side sapphic relationship) tw transphobia, abuse (verbal and physical), blood, gore (chapter 14 & 15), panic attacks, fire, burning, mention of past sexual assault
Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June (gay mc, Chinese American gay li, gay genderqueer character, gay character) tw vomiting
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons (biracial Black mlm trans mc, gay li, bi character, nonbinary character)
The (Un)popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez (transmasc pan bipolar mc, gay Jewish li) tw transphobia, deadnaming, misgendering
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (gay mc & li)

Nen and the Lonely Fisherman by Ian Eagleton & James Mayhew (m/m relationship)
Confessions of a Teenage Closet Case by Alex Blades (m/m relationship)
Ballad of a Happy Immigrant by Leonardo Boix (mlm mc)
You’re The One That I Want by Simon James Green (m/m relationship)
Fifteen Hundred Miles From The Sun by Jonny Garza Villa (Latinx/Mexican-American/Chicano gay mc, Vietnamese-American gay li, bi, gay, lesbian & pan characters) tw past & present parental abuse, physical abuse (chapter 14 & 28), homophobia, outing, mc gets kicked out

Doubting Thomas by Michael Clark Davison (gay mc) tw paedophilia accusations
Bath Haus by P. J. Vernon (gay mc)
Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage (gay mc)
Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor (gay mcs)
A Shock by Keith Ridgway (gay mc)

The Way it Breaks by Polis Loizou (bi mc, bi character, gay character)
Storm Bound by Rhys Everly (m/m relationship)

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