Books like 'A Muse to Live For'
Readers who enjoyed A Muse to Live For by Katherine Wyvern also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical gay romance queer trans-heroine
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A Kingdom by the Sea by Anna Green
The final volume of The Heart Rate of a Mouse trilogy.In November 1978, over a year has passed since music icon Ryan Ross announced his retirement from the public eye. He is far from being forgotten, however, as his musical influence can be heard whenever Brendon Roscoe starts singing on the radio. As the frontman of the upcoming band His Side, Brendon was famously discovered by Ross... -
Ninety One Whiskey by komodobits
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSupernatural Fanfic - Dean/CastielIn the spring of 1944, the 104th Medical Battalion of the United States Army is disbanded, and its men reassigned to various infantry companies in preparation for their invasion of occupied France... -
Eryx: A Spartan Tale by Jaclyn Osborn
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMy father once told me, above all else... Live and die for Sparta. Honor. Loyalty. Duty. These were the things that mattered most. And then Axios came into my life, teaching me other lessons: humility, brotherhood... love. There were moments when the brutal training stripped me of my humanity, where it turned me into a mindless beast of flesh and muscle set to destroy everything in my way... -
Maurice by E.M. Forster
Written in 1914 by the Nobel Prize–nominated author of Howard’s End, this intimate portrait of homosexual desire “seems as relevant as ever” (The Guardian). From early adolescence to his college years at Cambridge and into professional life at his father’s firm, Maurice Hall plays the part of the conventional Englishman... -
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The Death of Friends by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic. Originally published during the darkest years of the AIDS epidemic in the gay community, The Death of Friends received extraordinary praise both as a mystery and an eloquent work of witness... -
Chain Reaction by Nicole Edwards
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Nicole Edwards comes the tenth installment in her Brantley Off the Books series.During the two years since they created the Off the Books Task Force, Brantley Walker and Reese Tavoularis have had their share of difficult cases, but their next one hits close to home. Too close... -
Rough Pages by Lev A.C. Rosen
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPrivate Detective Evander "Andy" Mills has been drawn back to the Lavender House estate for a missing person case. Pat, the family butler, has been volunteering for a book service, one that specializes in mailing queer books to a carefully guarded list of subscribers... -
夜畫帳 第三卷 by Byeonduck
白羅謙一直以為自己是不得已才留在尹府。為了先生的官途,他才重拾春宮畫筆,甚至不惜委身尹勝浩,付出比他想像更多的代價。可被他寄託了所有的先生,卻似乎並不這麼想。比起對他呼來喚去動手動腳的尹少爺,先生那不經意間流露出的輕視,更傷人。他在尹勝浩帶給他的肉體歡愉之中漸漸沉淪,本以為這一切的本質都是傷害,可當隱隱感受到尹勝浩對他流露出的在意與占有慾時,少年越發感到迷惘……本書特色※韓國話題性耽美漫畫第三卷堂堂登場!※韓國Lezhin... -
Rag and Bone by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOne of the most highly acclaimed writers in the mystery genre "explores new emotional depths" in this last Henry Rios novel. The gay Mexican-American attorney, after the loss of his lover, must face his own mortality while recovering from a heart attack-and reach out to a family he didn't know he had... -
The Charioteer by Mary Renault
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsAfter enduring an injury at Dunkirk during World War II, Laurie Odell is sent to a rural veterans’ hospital in England to convalesce. There he befriends the young, bright Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. As they find solace and companionship together in the idyllic surroundings of the hospital, their friendship blooms into a discreet, chaste romance... -
Late Fees by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s Thanksgiving, 1992 and Noah Valentine is late picking his mother up from the airport. When he arrives he discovers that she’s made a friend on the flight whose also waiting for her son. When women’s son doesn’t show up, they eventually take the woman home for breakfast with neighbor’s Marc and Louis... -
Year of the Rat by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLong Beach, California 1996. Despite having little obvious experience, bartender Dom Reilly is hired as an investigator for the Freedom Agenda, a not-for-profit justice project. His first case involves a twelve-year-old homicide, in which a teenage girl was viciously murdered... -
A Mean Season by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDom Reilly is back. In this follow up to Year of the Rat, Dom helps clear three men wrongly convicted of rape while also following a pet project—the twenty-year-old case of a man accused of killing his lover in 1976. Meanwhile, Dom gets wind that someone is looking for him. A private detective from Chicago... -
An Affair for Aumont by J.A. Rock, Lisa Henry
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsAll he wants is the love he lost.Four years ago, Louis-Charles Aumont, the Marquis de Montespan, chose duty over the man he loved. And then the man he loved chose death in service to England. Now, after finally cutting ties with his king, Aumont is living in a slum in Seven Dials–and intending to die there too... -
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Until the End of Time by Nicky James
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsBeing a gay man in 1827, was not only frowned upon in England, but punishable by death. Magistrate Simon Stockley would know. He’d convicted men in his courtroom and sentenced them himself. Every time, it left a vile taste in his mouth because Simon was no different than the men whose lives he claimed...Categorized as:
queer historical from hate to love m-m forced proximity secret-relationship class difference -
The Bequest by Joanna Chambers
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDavid Lauriston and Lord Murdo Balfour have been living happily together for three years at the Laverock estate in Perthshire. But when some unexpected news arrives, Murdo must confront old demons he thought he’d put behind him forever. This story will be exclusively available to my newsletter... -
Alec by William di Canzio
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWilliam di Canzio's Alec, inspired by Maurice, E. M. Forster's secret novel of a happy same-sex love affair, tells the story of Alec Scudder, the gamekeeper Maurice Hall falls in love with in Forster's classic, published only after the author's death.Di Canzio follows their story past the end of Maurice to the front lines of battle in World War I and beyond... -
Crimson by Casey Morales
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 11 ratings(Alternate cover edition of ASIN B0CHHBZJ6C.) What if two Ivy League boys were dropped into a James Bond movie? Harvard University, 1941 Will Shaw and his friends are typical American students, still celebrating the end of the Depression and dreaming about a future filled with success. The war in Europe is far away and someone else's concern. Until it isn't... -
A Sanctuary for Soulden by J.A. Rock, Lisa Henry
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHe wasn't meant for a quiet life.Philip Winthrop, Viscount Soulden, is a fop. An idle popinjay with nothing more on his mind than how to best knot his cravat. He definitely doesn’t spy against the French. Or arrange hasty weddings. Or occasionally commandeer the navy. And he certainly doesn’t seek out mortal danger in order to combat his pervasive ennui... -
Just a Little Heartache by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsLondon playwright Niall Cristofori stands on the verge of becoming one of the most celebrated authors of his generation with the highly-anticipated production of his latest work, Love’s Last Lesson. But Love has a few lessons left to teach Niall himself. He has never been able to get over his first love, the man who made his world come alive ten years ago, then left him heartbroken... -
What a Nobleman Needs by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsHis adolescent infatuation is back, but will Mac get Ellis into trouble, or will the rake need rescuing himself?Seven years ago, Ellis Copeland had his eyes opened when he stumbled on his Uncle George with one of his flings. Lord MacKenzie Young, Baron Fulbright, has lived in Ellis’s fantasies ever since... -
After Being Forced to Marry the Evil Star General by 顾三跃
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsZhao Yelan was born as a criminal s*ave and was rescued by the Third Prince. After years of painstaking efforts to put him on the throne, Zhao Yelan became a sycophantic minister whom everyone detested, but he was actually given a marriage by that person to general Yan Mingting, the lone star of Tiansha.The general caused the death of his own father, his mother, his wife, and his dog... -
Unspeakable Acts by Jackson Marsh
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratings"Death will come da capo, suddenly silent, and you will not hear your final applause. Fail us, and you die." Blackmail, a death threat and an opera. The Clearwater Foundation is to be launched with a charity gala at the City Opera House where Archer's old friend, Cadwell Roxton, is to star. But Roxton has a dark secret... -
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Jaxon by Ruby Raynes
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAlex: My life is going fine. Okay, it was going fine until I found myself both homeless—my trusty car Trixie on her last leg—and in need of a fake fiancé. What I don't expect is for Jaxon, my long-time crush and the owner of Ink Me, to come swooping in like a knight in shining armor... -
Now and Then by William Corlett
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsNow. Christopher Metcalfe returns to his family home in Kent after the death of his father. Sorting through a box of memorabilia from his days at public school, Chris is suddenly confronted by the face that has haunted him for thirty years... -
Separate Rooms by Pier Vittorio Tondelli
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsSoon to be a major film adaptation by Luca Guadagnino, Separate Rooms is a masterpiece of Italian literature, and a heartbreaking portrait of love, grief, and the daily realities of being a gay man in 1980s Europe.Thomas, a young German musician, is dying. His older boyfriend, a renowned Italian writer named Leo, finds it impossible to watch the slow and inevitable demise of his lover... -
The Road to Silver Plume by Tamara Allen
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsSecret Service operative Emlyn Strickland may be new to field work, but his talent for identifying counterfeit bank notes, honed over ten years at the Treasury, has given Sing Sing’s population a respectable boost... -
Rewind by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsValentine’s Day, 1993. After years of being single, Noah is finally ready to date again. Unfortunately, things don’t end too well. After spending their first night together, he wakes up covered in blood—next to his very dead date. Already convinced Noah has an abnormal attraction to murder, Detective Wellesley believes it has tipped over to actually killing someone... -
Blink by Rick R. Reed
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLife can change in the blink of an eye. That's a truth Andy Slater learns as a young man in 1982, taking the Chicago 'L' to work every morning. Andy's life is laid out before him: a good job, marriage to his female college sweetheart, and the white picket fence existence he believes in. But when he sees Carlos Castillo for the first time, Carlos’s dark eyes and Latin appeal mesmerize him... -
Uriel: Yule Lads Book Two by Macy Blake
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHis holiday is about to go off-book…Uriel Lad is single all the way. He enjoys his quiet life in the small town of Mistletoe Falls, running Ornamentary Books and More. This holiday, though, Uriel’s Yule Lad magic is back, which means making mischief throughout the season. It should be a perfect Christmas, until his new friend Joe begs for help with a problem... -
Till Death Do Us Part by Tangstory
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSet in early-20th century China, this story takes off in the port city of Tientsin (Tianjin) that is divided into lands called concessions and owned by several foreign powers. Shen Liangsheng is a charismatic and cunning playboy, a son of a rich businessman, who has profits as his top priority... -
Help Wanted by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsIn the sixth Pinx Video Mystery, Noah is thrilled that it's been months and months since he's been involved in a murder... but then, the boys learn that Javier O'Shea (tall, dark and LAPD) has been arrested for theft of evidence. As the bodies pile up, they learn that Javier may, or may not, have run afoul of rogue cops at the notoriously corrupt Rampart Station... -
Hammer & Powder by Megan Derr
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Kingdom of Rinaha is all that stands between the violent, greedy Boorna and the rest of the continent, and they do so by way of their immense and heavily guarded Wall of Gamala, an enormous undertaking that runs the length of the southern end of the continent, standing strong for more than two hundred years... -
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Just a Little Danger by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsEverett Jewel is the hottest star the London stage has seen in a generation. He is brash, sensual, and sure of himself. Men and women throw themselves at his feet, and he laps up the attention. But all of Everett’s glittering star power hides his wounded heart. He has adoration, but he longs for a love that he doesn’t think he’s worthy of, due to his dark past... -
A Dangerous Game by Victoria Vale
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsWelcome to The Perdition Club, where games are played for the highest of stakes …Jonas Thacker wouldn’t be caught dead in The Perdition Club, a godforsaken den of iniquity where sinners go to play. However, notorious rakehell and Jonas’ former schoolmate, Derek Dryden, has begun courting his sister... -
Sweet Honesty by Joan Vassar
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsAtlanta, Georgia, 1950–Michael can’t believe his eyes as he watches the man he loves marry a woman from the back row of Mount Zion Baptist Church. When the beautiful couple is pronounced man and wife, he leaves his home in Georgia for the chance of a better life in New York City.Alexander is just trying to exist in Queens, New York... -
The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua [成化十四年] by Meng Xi Shi, 梦溪石
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsIt is the fourteenth year of Chenghua.As the harem has Imperial Consort Wan, the Western Depot has a Commander named Wang Zhi. Crown Prince Zhu Youcheng is merely eight years old—and no one knows if he will be able to reach adulthood without issue... -
Full Circle by Michael Thomas Ford
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsHistory professor Ned Brummel is living happily with his partner of twelve years in small-town Maine when he receives a phone call from his estranged friend--Jack--telling him that another friend--Andy--is very ill and possibly near death... -
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The Magician's Angel by Jordan L. Hawk
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsVaudeville stage magician Christopher Fiend lives for the spotlight. His chance at big time stardom awaits him in Chicago, the next stop on the circuit after the little town of Twelfth Junction. Edward Smith wants nothing to do with his family's theater. Until Christopher catches his eye on opening night, then treats him to a very special performance during intermission... -
Forever Hold His Peace by Rebecca Cohen
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsSebastian and Anthony face an uncertain future together when accusations of witchcraft and a traitor in their midst threaten everything they’ve fought for.Playing the role of his twin sister Bronwyn, the wife of Anthony Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, is not an easy task, but Sebastian does it willing for them to be together... -
Eleventh Hour by Elin Gregory
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBorrowed from the Secret Intelligence Service cipher department to assist Briers Allerdale - a field agent returning to 1920s London with news of a dangerous anarchist plot - Miles Siward moves into a 'couples only' boarding house, posing as Allerdale’s 'wife'... -
Counterpoint: Dylan's Story by Ruth Sims
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAt eighteen Dylan Rutledge has one music. He believes his destiny is to be the greatest composer of the rapidly approaching twentieth century. Only Laurence Northcliff, a young history master at The Venerable Bede School for Young Gentlemen, believes in Dylan’s talent and encourages his dream, not realizing Dylan is in love with him... -
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The Flight of the Heron by Historical Novel
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDiving into the historical turmoil of the Jacobite Uprising, 'The Flight of the Heron' by Historical Novel is a captivating historical novel that skillfully weaves together the intricacies of politics, loyalty, and love during this tumultuous period... -
Man's World by Rupert Smith
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsContrasting today’s blogs with diaries of the past, this novel follows two parallel narratives that are 50 years apart and vastly different, at least at first appearance. In modern-day London, Robert searches for fulfillment in a world of sex, drugs, designer clothes, and hip gay clubs, during which he records his experience on his blog... -
The Thief of Peace by Jess Whitecroft
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsShort on cash and in desperate need of patronage, Florentine artist Niccolò di Volpaia is thrilled when the head of the wealthy Albani family approaches him with an offer. He is less thrilled when he discovers that the offer has nothing to do with his artistic ability and everything to do with his reputation as a hard-drinking wastrel. Albani’s three legitimate sons are dead... -
The Oak and the Ash by Annick Trent
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsA standalone M/M historical romanceRadical surgeon George Evans is called to the scene of a midnight duel between an earl and his cousin. Despite the strained atmosphere in the house, George finds he must stay and tend to the injured duellists. Fortunately, his sojourn is made more than bearable by the earl's quietly competent and oddly attractive valet, Noah Moorecott... -
Thrown by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsThe art of love is falling for your enemy without ruining everything… Ceramic artist Robbie Hawthorne is dedicated not only to his art, but to keeping the arts center and school housed at his family’s ancestral estate vibrant and flourishing... -
Duty to the Crown by Rebecca Cohen
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSebastian and Anthony will do their duty, but they will do everything not to sacrifice their love.Sebastian Hewel endures many things to maintain his role of Bronwyn, the wife of Anthony Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, so he and Anthony can be together. But when Queen Elizabeth demands a favour of Anthony, Sebastian’s world is in danger of being fractured beyond repair...
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