Books like 'Song for a Viking'
Readers who enjoyed Song for a Viking by K.J. Charles also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical gay romance queer 20th century third-person-pov military mystery angst class difference forbidden love
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Subtle Blood by K.J. Charles
Will Darling is all right. His business is doing well, and so is his illicit relationship with Kim Secretan--disgraced aristocrat, ex-spy, amateur book-dealer. It’s starting to feel like he’s got his life under control.And then a brutal murder in a gentleman’s club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege... -
The Sugared Game by K.J. Charles
It's been two months since Will Darling saw Kim Secretan, and he doesn't expect to see him again. What do a rough and ready soldier-turned-bookseller and a disgraced shady aristocrat have to do with each other anyway?But when Will encounters a face from the past in a disreputable nightclub, Kim turns up, as shifty, unreliable, and irresistible as ever...Categorized as:
20th century mystery military class difference third-person-pov queer super rich hero fighters -
Twist and Shout by Gabriel (AO3), Standbyme
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsDestiel FanficWhat begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance... -
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... -
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Over the Tracks by Anna Green
Rated: 4.69 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsThe first volume of The Heart Rate of a Mouse trilogy.In the summer of 1974, musician Ryan Ross embarks on an exhausting tour in support of his band's breakthrough album. He finds himself struggling to live up to the pressure and expectations of sudden fame in the chaos of endless shows and interviews... -
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
James Baldwin’s groundbreaking novel about love and the fear of love is set among the bohemian bars and nightclubs of 1950s Paris.In the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality...Categorized as:
20th century angst forbidden love working class hero queer african-american historical contemporary -
An Exaltation of Larks by Suanne Laqueur
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsSeptember 11, 1973: Eleven-year-old Alejandro Penda watches from his apartment window as Santiago, Chile falls to a military coup, destroying his family and his childhood. Arriving alone in America, he’s taken in by the Larks: a prominent family in the town of Guelisten...Categorized as:
angst forbidden love queer 20th century contemporary m-m historical friends to lovers -
Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian
Summer 1960:After years of scraping by, Caleb Murphy has graduated from college and is finally getting to start a new life. Except he suddenly has no way to get from Boston to Los Angeles. Then, to add to his misery, there's perfect, privileged Peter Cabot offering to drive him...Categorized as:
20th century super rich hero working class hero class difference queer third-person-pov angst m-m -
Into Deep Waters by Kaje Harper
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFor Jacob and Daniel, two young gay men aboard a Navy ship in WWII, the risks were high. Not just the risks of injury and death from Japanese planes and submarines, but the risk of discovery, of discharge, imprisonment or worse. Only a special kind of love was worth taking that chance. But from the moment Daniel met Jacob's eyes across a battle-scarred deck, he knew he had to try... -
Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles
Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing...until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else... -
Lie With Me by Philippe Besson
The award-winning, internationally bestselling novel about a love affair between two teenage boys in a provincial high school in 1984 France, brilliantly translated by acclaimed writer and actress Molly Ringwald. While passing through the village where he grew up, the narrator, Philippe, chances upon a young man who bears a striking resemblance to his first love, Thomas... -
To Trust Man On His Oath by K.J. Charles
A Will Darling Adventures interlude.Set a week after the ending of The Sugared Game (so containsmild spoilers for that book)...Categorized as:
mystery military queer 20th century third-person-pov angst class difference super rich hero -
The Soldier's Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian
A scoundrel who lives in the shadows Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London's slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide... -
How Goes The World? by K.J. Charles
The Positively Final Appearance: a two-part epilogue with Daniel and Archie at a house party and Kim and Will in a gentleman's club, because those are definitely settings that go well for them... -
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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... -
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... -
The Only Gold by Tamara Allen
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsJonah Woolner's life is as prudently regulated as the bank where he works. It's a satisfying life until he's passed over for promotion in favor of newcomer Reid Hylliard. Brash and enterprising, Reid beguiles everyone except Jonah, who's convinced Reid's progressive ideas will be the bank's ruin... -
Restored by Joanna Chambers
Eighteen years ago, Henry Asquith, Duke of Avesbury had to leave his kept lover, Kit Redford, in order to devote himself to raising his young family. Now, a lifetime later, his children are moving on and for the first time in years, Henry is alone...Categorized as:
class difference queer historical regency m-m second chances open-door length-medium -
A Trail of Fire by Diana Gabaldon
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFour extraordinary stories featuring characters from the bestselling OUTLANDER series. In Lord John and the Plague of Zombies Lord John Grey is posted to Jamaica to assist the Governor as he faces a most unusual kind of uprising among the colony's slave population... -
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... -
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... -
Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian
A jaded spy and a shell shocked country doctor team up to solve a murder in postwar England. James Sommers returned from the war with his nerves in tatters. All he wants is to retreat to the quiet village of his childhood and enjoy the boring, predictable life of a country doctor...Categorized as:
20th century mystery military working class hero third-person-pov queer forbidden love m-m -
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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... -
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 class difference historical from hate to love m-m forced proximity secret-relationship -
The Absolutist by John Boyne
September 1919:20 year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver some letters to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian’s brother Will during the Great War but in 1917, Will laid down his guns on the battlefield, declared himself a conscientious objector and was shot as a traitor, an act which has brought shame and dishonour on the Bancroft family... -
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... -
These Old Lies by Larrie Barton
A second chance at love for two men who fought together in the trenches of WWI. Class, ideals and prejudice drove them apart, but now, in the safety of peacetime, an illicit gay relationship has its own joys and risks. 1916, Northern France. Corporal Charlie Villiers breaks the monotony of the trenches by having sex with whoever is willing, including the posh Lieutenant Ned Pinsent... -
Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsGermany, 1945. The Third Reich is on its knees as Allied forces bomb Berlin to break the last resistance. Yet on an airfield near Berlin, the battle is far from over for a young mechanic, Felix, who’s attached to a squadron of fighter pilots. He’s especially attached to fighter ace Baldur Vogt, a man he admires and secretly loves... -
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... -
Howtown: A Henry Rios Novel by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic and Michael Nava has been hailed by the New York Times as "one of our best" crime writers. Upon its original publication, the Los Angeles Times said of Howtown and its author: "Nava's mysteries are faithful to the conventions of the genre, but they are set apart by their insight, compassion, and sense of social justice. -
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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... -
Hidden Treasures by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsIt’s about a dress. A valuable blue sequined dress worn by a famed actress in a film from the 1940s. For some reason everyone thinks video storeowner Noah Valentine has it. Which might not be a big deal except that it’s connected to the murder of a prominent Hollywood costumer.In the second of the Pinx Video Mysteries, Noah attempts to solve the mystery of the dress... -
A Case for Christmas by J.A. Rock, Lisa Henry
He loves no-one and never will.Lord Christmas Gale is a genius and a misanthrope, and, quite to his disgust, adored by all of Society for his capacity to solve mysteries. When a man approaches him seeking help in locating a lost dog, Gale rebuffs him... -
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... -
Home for Charlie by Minerva Howe
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCharlie Putnam loves his job at the Grand Springs hotel, not because he adores front desk work, but because he gets to meet all kinds of people, which he'd be too scared to do otherwise. He's also being allowed to redecorate some of the rooms... -
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... -
Wanted, an Author by K.J. Charles
Wanted, an Author is a 5000-word story set in 1807. It returns to the characters of Wanted, a Gentleman, and also introduces a character from KJ Charles' forthcoming novel, Band Sinister... -
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... -
Eleventh Hour by Elin Gregory
Borrowed 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'...Categorized as:
20th century mystery queer historical m-m open-door forced proximity fake relationship -
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When Skies Have Fallen by Debbie McGowan
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsFor many in war-torn 1944, love blossoms in the dance hall, and airman Arty Clarke is no exception. He’s a thinker and a dreamer; however, it’s not the beautiful, talented dancer in his arms—his best friend Jean—who inspires his dreams. For when his gaze meets that of Technical Sergeant Jim Johnson, Arty dares to imagine a different dance... -
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... -
When Skies Have Fallen (When Skies Have Fallen) by Debbie McGowan
For many in war-torn 1944, love blossoms in the dance hall, and airman Arty Clarke is no exception. He’s a thinker and a dreamer; however, it’s not the beautiful, talented dancer in his arms—his best friend Jean—who inspires his dreams. For when his gaze meets that of Technical Sergeant Jim Johnson, Arty dares to imagine a different dance...Categorized as:
military queer historical m-m secret-relationship length-medium open-door disabilities and marks -
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... -
Midnight Flit by Elin Gregory
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMiles Siward and Briers Allerdale return for another thrilling Jazz Age adventure.“Silk stockings on expenses.” Miles’s aristocratic mother has information of importance to the British Government and he must escort her home from Bucharest immediately, but their plans go violently awry and Miles and Lady Siward find themselves on a train to Belgrade - where Miles’s lover is posted... -
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...
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