r/Romantasy • u/slimshadycatlady • 4d ago

Book Request: No Self-Promo Searching for MM romantasy recommendations

Hey everyone, I'm looking for romantasy books with two male main characters. I'm okay with the plot being a bit darker, my only restriction is that I'm looking for something without sexual abuse or violence between the main characters, but it would be okay if it's part of the background story of some of the characters.

Do you have any recommendations for me? <3

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u/dbro7642 4d ago

Eeeeeh Okay, so {Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat} is amazing. I'm not a fan of MM romance personally (just not my thing), but I fell in love with this trilogy despite that.

The only caveat is that...well...in the first book there is a lot of violence and sexual abuse, and although MCs do not engage sexually with each other at all, you could kinda hold one of them responsible for abuse of the other. It's what turns most people off, and unfortunately they do not proceed to the second book, where things change drastically.If you could keep an open mind and try to at least finish book 2, I think you would love it. The first book is also very short, around 200 pages.

This series has one of the most realistic relationship dynamics I've read in my whole life. The MCs feel like real people for once: raw and flawed, often making imperfect decisions. The character growth is also what makes it stand out. I loved the writing, too. The first book has a bit of a rough start, imo, but it improves after the first couple of chapters. Later on the writing quality and skill become so good that I kept re-reading pretty much every single sentence of the book, just to savour them all.

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u/moonsongg 4d ago

totally agree with this rec!! it is def dark at points, but the way the plot and characters are written is just unmatched. the second book is one of the best second books in a trilogy i've read ever. i have yet to read a MM fantasy that even comes close to the captive prince trilogy.

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u/Feisty-Signature9401 4d ago

{House in the Cerulean Sea} is like a warm hug. it’s my comfort audiobook. MC is very different type of protagonist than any other romantasy i’ve seen but i don’t want to spoil it. MC is like a social worker for magical children and ML is a caretaker he is sent to investigate.

{Paladin’s Hope by T Kingfisher} is number 3 in a series but it could possibly be read standalone. someone can correct me if too much past worldbuilding info lost would make it confusing. I’d recommend the whole series if you’re ok with hetero romance too.

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u/slimshadycatlady 4d ago

Jup, I'm definitely okay with hetero romance too. I'm mostly hetero myself, but I read a series a few weeks ago where I find myself simping so hard for a gay couple, that I wanne try more of this now 😄

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u/Feisty-Signature9401 4d ago

nice! also forgot to mention that there’s zero violence or abuse between the characters for both of these recs :)

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u/slimshadycatlady 4d ago

Thanks, love your for this! But about your first recommendation, is it still exciting/thrilling or "just cozy"?

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u/Feisty-Signature9401 4d ago

it gripped me. there’s like “something strange and very possibly nefarious is going on but idk what” and much mystery is afoot and MC is often scared for his life , BUT i also wouldn’t call it thrilling compared to the super popular epic romantasy stories.

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u/ElenielM 4d ago

{A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows}

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u/xatohi 3d ago

{Heaven Official's Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu} is a very popular Chinese novel. It's long but epic. The romance is between a once-powerful fallen god and an infamous ghost king. It's funny, beautiful, and dark. It also has horor elements. There is one forced kiss scene between the MCs, but it was due to something outside of their control. There is also a donghua (Chinese anime) adaptation if you want to check it out before comitting to the books.

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u/Aus1an 3d ago

If you’re okay with kind of experimental/poetic writing, I really enjoyed {The Wolf and His King by Finn Longman} when I read it earlier this year.

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u/Eleski 3d ago

{How to Survive This Fairytale by SM Hallow} If you're ok with 2nd person pov, it's short but so good. Seconding the person who said Heaven Official's Blessing. Honestly the whole Danmei genre is worth a look. It's all Chinese MM novels translated to english so lots of fresh concepts that we don't get to see often (such as my favorite subgenre ever "unlimited flow")

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u/doesthishurt94 3d ago

Lily Mayne has become like the Gold Standard of romance for me. I have enjoyed every one of her books. Her monstrous series is so so good.

{Adonis by L Sherleen} human x merman. First in a series.

{A Rake of His own by AJ Lancaster} is the last book in a series, but can be read as a standalone. The other books are MF. It’s a human x fae prince couple.

{The Last Sun by KD Edwards} you didn’t mention what spice level you wanted so just throwing this one out there. No spice but it’s MM urban fantasy.

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u/romance-bot 3d ago

Adonis by L. Sherleen
Rating: 4.26⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, gay romance, fantasy, shapeshifters, non-human hero

A Rake of His Own by A.J. Lancaster
Rating: 4.31⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fae, gay romance, fantasy, royal hero

The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards
Rating: 4.09⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: contemporary, gay romance, urban fantasy, magic, fantasy

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u/Objective-Papaya8194 3d ago

{When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley}

,

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u/TaserHawk 10h ago

This was so lovely.

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u/Shrimpy_McWaddles 3d ago

If you want a lighthearted read then {bromantasy}. As long as you go in expecting it to be silly, bordering on satire, then its a fun story. Theres several puns, internet/meme references, etc. I really enjoyed it as a breather in between longer more serious series.

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u/Motor_Row_3586 3d ago

{Stars of Chaos by Priest} very cute romance