A sort of belated valentine to you all.

I often enjoy series. The characters, including the minor ones, families and so on, have time to develop slowly. So does the location and/or the world building. There’s rarely that almost unbelievable leap into sexual activity. I’m not saying people don’t leap straight into sex, just that it doesn’t usually go along with a similar leap into a meaningful relationship. Not never, just not as often as some fiction would have us believe. Also, I don’t believe in stopping at the bedroom door, as in the ‘classics’ but I do want the bedroom scenes to have some bearing on character and plot development. For me personally, tab A into slot B is not hot, it’s about as boring as you can get, and I usually skim, even with excellent writers.

Recently a friend expressed disappointment with a novel that had good reviews but in which the sex was immediate, explicit and not part of an unfolding story. I know some readers are more than happy with this but my friend and I aren’t. So I thought I’d share some recommendations for romance series that meet my criteria. I’ve divided the list fairly arbitrarily into mundane and paranormal novels so this is the first of two linked posts. (The list got too long for just one…)

I am sure I’ve missed out some wonderful reads. Bear in mind that these are personal favourites and that they are series. There are some great standalone novels out there that I haven’t mentioned. There are some great series out there too but the following stand out for me. I can’t decide on absolute favourites – it depends on my mood – so I’ve listed them in author alphabetical order and separated the mundane from the paranormal.  

I’ve written a little about each series and what appeals to me. Not really a blurb, just a come-on to whet your appetite. All highly recommended. By the time I’ve finished both posts I’ll probably remember some brilliant series I’ve left out, but that’s life.

Obviously most of these authors have written other novels. Some are great, and some don’t appeal to me at all. Explore at your own risk – your jam might well not be mine! Also, some authors appear under various sub-genres and in collaboration with others. Some appear under different pseudonyms which I know, usually because I know the author in rl or on social media.

So this first post highlights LGBTQ series I love, seek out, and in some cases re-read. I realised when going back over my recommendations that all my favourite romances set in the mundane world are mm. There are various reasons for this, the main one being the interest of the power dynamics and the freshness of the plot arcs. I do read and enjoy a lot of heterosexual romance but it usually comes in the form of standalone novels and I couldn’t find any series I was in love with.

So if you enjoy romance but prefer it to be mixed with drama and other genres such as crime, give some of these a try. You never know; even if you don’t normally read mm romance you might find something to please you!

Mundane i.e. absolutely nothing paranormal happens and none of the  characters is paranormal

Blake Allwood:

Melody series. All the stories feature music in one way or another.

Gregory Ashe:

Hazard and Somerset. A sort of enemies to lovers story set against police work in an American college town.

Lissa Kasey:

Survivors Find Love series. Set on the north west coast of America this series, with various characters appearing throughout, explores problems facing people with mental and physical trauma.

KJ Charles:

The Will Darling Adventures. This is set in the aftermath of WW1 when Will inherits a bookshop and finds himself embroiled in crime mystery, the war office, and Kim.  

Sins of the Cities. These are late Victorian stories each featuring a different pairing but where interesting characters appear and disappear with each new tale.

Charlie Cochrane:

Cambridge Fellows. A pair of Cambridge academics get together both romantically and to solve various interesting crimes. Their families and friends feature in all the books and are almost as much of a delight as the main characters. The series starts before WW1 and continues after the war which of course affected everyone involved.

The Lyndenshaw Mysteries. A teacher and his policeman lover are pitted against criminals in present-day rural England. I haven’t quite forgiven the author for the death of the dog, but at least it was heroic.

Eli Easton and RJ Scott:

The Lake Prophet Mysteries. These are set in America and feature aspects of the work of park rangers.

Alex Henry:

Detective Leon Peterson Mysteries. I’ve only just embarked on this crime series set in present day London, but I loved the first volume and as I know the three authors (yes, it’s a collaborative thing) I know I’m in for a happy experience all the way through.

Nicky James:

Valor and Doyle. A series of excellent crime stories set in Canada with a friends to lovers trope. The final book is disappointing as it doesn’t actually contain a crime story but it does wrap up the romance.

Rail Riders. Nail-biting adventure with a group who illicitly ride rail cars through Canada.

Jackson Marsh’s Clearwater Mysteries (plus ongoing Larkspur Mysteries). High late Victorian Melodrama, lots of different romance interests, crime and adventure. I have read all these and am about to start the Delamere Files which are another linked series.  

Ruby Moone:

MC Securities. Crime series set in and around Manchester, UK. Since I live there, this was always likely to appeal!

CS Poe:

Memento Mori series. Everett Larkin has enhanced memory skills but severe trauma following an attack. He pairs with Ira Doyle to solve crimes in modern New York.

RJ Scott:

Lancaster Falls Series. Murder mysteries than interconnect in the town of Lancaster Falls

Montana Series. A family ranch in Montana with stories about both the major family members and their friends and employees.

Marshall Thornton:

Pinx Video Mysteries. The owner of a video store in LA at the height of the AIDs epidemic is faced with a number of murder mysteries as well as with his own mortality.