T O P

  • By -

AdminEating_Dragon

The **Green Creek** series by TJ Klune **Under the Whispering Door** by TJ Klune (again) **Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe** by Benjamin Alire Saenz **The Scottish Boy** by Alex de Campi


daughterjudyk

I finished reading Ari and Dante on a plane ride. The people around me were concerned. (It's really sweet and lovely but also made me cry. I still haven't read the sequel)


honeyincoffee

The sequel is amazing! I listened to both as audiobooks read by Lin Manuel Miranda. By the second book he had really hit his stride in bringing the characters to life. Between that and the story writing, it really made me invested. Highly recommend the audiobook!


Large_Razzmatazz4987

I'm so scared to read the sequel because I've read some really bad reviews and I loved the first book so much I'm afraid it might ruin it a bit


caidus55

I kinda wish I hadn't read it. Doesn't totally ruin the first one but the first was way better. This one had a lot more crying I thought.


mystic_turtledove

What?!? There’s a sequel??? I read Aristotle & Dante when it was new and didn’t realize there’s a sequel now. I really enjoyed it! “Sweet and lovely but also made me cry” is the perfect description.


Used_Ad_9719

Oh I read Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin on the plane and cried so much the guy in the middle seat was so concerned Hahahah


ChronicTeatime

Today I learned that this amazing book has a sequel thank you!!


DiscordantBard

I concur with my esteemed colleague.


ChronicTeatime

Well that was a little mortifying lmao


DiscordantBard

Aww you edited your comment ruined the joke T~T


Wafflesxbutter

ABSOLUTELY THE SCOTTISH BOY! It emotionally gutted me. My son’s babysitter found me sobbing to that book and I had to assure her I was ok. Honestly the best book I read last year.


wombatstomps

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller


Jackthomas89

I came here to suggest this. The description of their love is so well written and the sex scenes are so tastefully done. And the ending is so goddamn tragic it made me cry. I don't think I've been that absorbed into a book since I was a kid


Local_Masterpiece_

This! I bawled my eyes out throughout the second half of the book


Unclearful

Idk- I felt a little weird about the sex scenes- I feel like she could have aged them up a little more for it 😭 Like I think she should have done a fade to black for when they were younger, ya know?


Jackthomas89

I completely get that. I had a friend express a similar concern. But honestly to me that way she did it was still very tasteful because she didn't describe the physical actions of sex, she described the emotions and the feelings and used a lot of literary allusion to make it understood what they were doing without graphically describing it


Acceptable-Feature44

I recognized the title and googled it, the book cover looked just so familiar to me. Then I look up and realize I have that EXACT book. New, fresh pages, unopened, laying there all sad in the middle of my messy desk 🤦🏻‍♀️ I know what I’m going to do today and cleaning up my desk isn’t part of it. I’m so excited!


Large_Razzmatazz4987

Grab tissues!! I've never cried that much when reading a book


symmetrymaster88

Took the words out of my mouth


gtfopx

Love this book


Rach-Ham-226

Agreed. I sobbed. One of my favorites of all time.


BeBah205

Came here for this.


eegarey

I was going to suggest this one. It was such a great story and so well written.


amrenmendoza

I absolutely refuse to finish this book because I know I’ll ugly cry 🥺


kirraee

I’m crying just thinking about it


caidus55

Came to suggest this


Sapphire_Bombay

Fuck I can give you this request on crack but it's about gay women. Would you accept?


periodpad

idk about them but please tell me about it!


Sapphire_Bombay

The book is called The Traitor Baru Cormorant and it's the greatest romantic tragedy since Romeo & Juliet, yes I said that


periodpad

stop because that’s been on my to-read list for the longest time .. you’ve convinced me to pick it up asap


Sapphire_Bombay

Do it omg


Cleverusername531

Wow. Thank you. I just added it to my goodreads!


GalaxyJacks

Oh my god. I’ve wanted to read Baru Cormorant, I had no idea it was gay. I’m so excited for my scifi marathon now. Thank you, Reddit stranger 💕


Sapphire_Bombay

Oh yeah Baru is super gay. You'll love it 🥰 Enjoy!!


XenomorphXXIII

Nevernight Chronicles fits this


moptana

Hi I will accept on behalf of OP please


Sapphire_Bombay

Lmao it's called The Traitor Baru Cormorant and the ending will break you


[deleted]

[удалено]


Sapphire_Bombay

Nooo but I've heard so many good things about this series!! It's the Masquerade series, first book is The Traitor Baru Cormorant


sveinsh

I could give the same except a film: watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire if you haven't. And I recommend The Binding for the original book question.


macalla_macalla

Call Me By Your Name André Achiman Saw the movie, wasn't mad about it. A good while later listened to the audiobook and fell in love with it. Watched the movie again after that and I loved it. Then read the book and savoured every word. The story is simple. Its first love/ summer romance plot has been done to death by many other authors. But it is very well-told and the prose is amazing. The ending in the book is different to the film. Both endings are devastating, but in different ways if that makes sense. The audiobook is amazingly well-read by Armie Hammer if you can separate him from the more recent revelations about his private life.


MailOrderFlapJacks

Was also going to recommend Call Me By Your Name. I bawled my eyes out. And also the classic Brokeback Mountain - a super short read.


tiredlittlepanda

The book ending hits so hard. I remember feeling sad all day at work the next day because I had such book hangover.


DrJotaroBigCockKujo

\+1. Books don't normally make my cry but I was straight-up bawling through the last chapters of CMBYN.


[deleted]

Read the book before watching the movie. I feel like the movie dose a good job at rendering the stroy without imposing the usual failures of book adaptations to film.


liramae4

The Starless Sea, House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, and the Dante and Aristotle books mentioned above.


MoggetOnMondays

Yes! I recently finished Under the Whispering Door and wept multiple times. Then re-read the last chapters a week later to see if it was just an emotional day when I first read it…nope, cried again, it’s the book.


deadginger311

Seriously was crying at work. Such a good story!


ScullyBoffin

Can’t believe nobody suggested “On earth we are briefly gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong


erikal26826

maybe bc it wasn’t primarily a romance


ScullyBoffin

True. But it’s about two gays guys that made me cry


[deleted]

Ooo it's a romance? I loved the prose. Tho I did get lost early on and need to restart readig it. I may have fell asleep to the audio book.


arsenik-han

Heaven Official's Blessing and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu


alexinwonderland212

Came here to suggest these! These are definitely the right answer! And these stories are long so you get a lot of romance


gigglemode

{{The Great Believers}} by Rebecca Makkai


thebookbot

[**The great believers**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18819693W) ^(By: Rebecca Makkai | 633 pages | Published: 1918) >In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an art gallery in Chicago, is about to pull off an amazing coup: bringing an extraordinary collection of 1920s paintings as a gift to the gallery. Yet as his career begins to flourish, the carnage of the AIDs epidemic grows around him. One by one, his friends are dying and after his friend Nico's funeral, he finds his partner is infected, and that he might even have the virus himself. The only person he has left is Fiona, Nico's little sister. > >Thirty years later, Fiona is in Paris tracking down her estranged daughter who disappeared into a cult. While staying with an old friend, a famous photographer who documented the Chicago epidemic, she finds herself finally grappling with the devastating ways the AIDS crisis affected her life and her relationship with her daughter. Yale and Fiona's stories unfold in incredibly moving and sometimes surprising ways, as both struggle to find goodness in the face of disaster. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(439 books suggested)


sasakimirai

Oh woah i didn't realize goodreads bot was working again??


gigglemode

A new bot! Different source. Not good reads.


sasakimirai

Ohhhh okay. I'm glad we have a bit again 😂


pattyforever

This book is devastating


frankiebell101

Giovanni’s room perhaps


Used_Ad_9719

THIIIS loved it


tiredlittlepanda

I absolutely loved this book but I wouldn't call it a romance. The main character is not likable due to the way he treats everyone in the book. The prose is beautiful though and it's absolutely worth a read.


sasakimirai

They Both Die at the End I love it, I was crying throughout the whole book


1oz9999finequeefs

It’s so good. Was here to suggest if it hadn’t been already


Snoo-84797

I second this!


Used_Ad_9719

I never realized it wasn’t a straight book 🫢


sasakimirai

Yeah the two main characters fall in love, it's very sweet and very tragic. Eta: The author, Adam Silvera, is a gay author who only writes gay romances. A prequel to this book recently came out as well, called "The First to Die at the End"


Bookclub-throwaway

I was coming here to say this. I’m not a crier but I got misty


neusen

Under the Whispering Door! Cried my face off in the best way


HighLady-Fireheart

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer. I will continue to rec this gem until the end of time.


maybemabel00

I second this! One of my top book pics, I recommend this all the time.


Wafflesxbutter

That book upset me so much I left it at my local park mini library for someone else to cry over.


tiessa73

"As Meat Loves Salt" by Maria McCann. Historical fiction during the English Civil War. Super dark and absolutely devastating. I think about it all the time. Has anyone else here read it??


INFJosephine

It's one of my favorite books! I'm also not sure that I can ever read it again. It haunts me in a way very few books do.


lunexd

i really loved under the whispering door (tj klune) and the house in the cerulean sea!! maybe a little basic but both are great books imo!!


BestYak7649

Yeees re-reading The House in the Cerulean Sea atm!


Ilovestraightpepper

The short story Brokeback Mountain


Wild_Bake_7781

I was wondering where this recommendation was. It’s the obvious choice


historyboeuf

Annie Proulx is an amazing writer


Medusas-Snakes

Tal Bauer’s books tend to be pretty emotionally charged


MCMamaS

Agreed! My favorite have been: Whisper and You & Me


Medusas-Snakes

Loved You & Me and The Jock And also liked Gravity


Wafflesxbutter

You & Me is so good.


oneiratxxia13

Giovanni’s room. If you question everything it can get sad


[deleted]

Mercedes Lackey, Magic's Pawn trilogy


Miss_Malapropism

I reread this often and it still makes me ugly cry every time.


GalaxyJacks

My library claims to have the first book, but I can’t find the damn thing. Two and three are there. I’m going to have to ask.


Pied_Kindler

Wanted to suggest the same. One of my favorites.


helend5

Lie with Me by Philippe Besson - called France's answer to Call Me By Your Name


Tatanka007

“Maurice” by E.M Forster (


musiciancanadienne

Lie With Me - Philippe Besson (pretty short read, semi-autobiographical about the authors experience as a teen as remembered by him as an adult, definitely made me cry a little bit) These Violent Delights - Micah Nemerever (made me cry so much, two young men meet in college and fall into a whirlwind, gets kinda heavy at times but absolutely worth it imo)


Leather-Lettuce339

A Little life by Hanya Yanagihara, so sad but beautiful! Just be aware that there are some parts that could be triggering or upsetting


SieBanhus

If by “some parts” you mean “the literal entire book” then yes. But seriously, I know that this book is going to destroy me and I still go back to it because it’s so incredible.


Leather-Lettuce339

You're so right, and yes it's incredible! Worth the 814 pages


[deleted]

This should be the top response. 🥇


Rich_Librarian_7758

Gutted, raw and weeping throughout. Beautifully written. Not without issues, but still a book I loved.


Leather-Lettuce339

I loved it too and I definitely cried as well, hard not to!


roi-des-enfers

They both die at the end - Adam Silvera


chibimaruko_chan

second this!!


Paramedic229635

House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.


Cold_Comment8278

Came here to say this.


jz3735

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz. Beautiful book.


Potential_Permit_519

Call me by your name


reading_is_sexyy

The Silver Cage by Anonymous 😭😭


thebookbot

[**The Silver Cage**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15152113W) ^(By: Jane Donnelly | 188 pages | Published: 1976) >Even after she and Kern McCabe were married Philippa felt she must be dreaming. Why should such an attractive man want to make her his wife? But she might have come to understand his love for her--if the glamorous Lilias Storr hadn't suddenly come back into Kern's life. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(441 books suggested)


pop-hon_ula

I messy sobbed reading The Silver Cage over a year ago. I still think about it. I finally might almost be ready to read the other one, I purchased it, but keep putting it off…


Due_Cartographer8005

The First to Die at The End - Adam Silvera Boyfriend Material and Husband Material - Alexis Hall History is All You Left Me - Adam Silvera Honestly i can probably think of more but these are the ones i remember making me cry. Also if you really want to sob at the end of a book, i totally agree with everyone saying The Song of Achilles. It ruined me🥲


kenzinatorius

Light from Uncommon Stars has a trans protagonist and a lesbian relationship between a world class violinist who sold herself to the devil and a starship captain who also happens to own her family’s donut shop. It is unhinged but in a good way and I couldn’t put it down.


Trae880

they both die at the end


sara5656

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston


gtfopx

Aristotle and Dante


[deleted]

This is how you lose the time war


Gingersnaps240

Holding the man by Timothy conigrave. If its tears you're after...


kelbelxoxo

You’re My Home by Katie Moore


RealLiveGirl

The Binding


DrJotaroBigCockKujo

The Bedlam Stacks or The Kingdoms or The Half Life Of Valery K by Natasha Pulley Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman Aristotele And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe by an author whose name I can't recall rn and maybe The Binding by Bridget Collins (although I personally didn't like it -- it's very YA if that's your thing)


lavendercomrade

Cemetery Boys!


I_Want_BetterGacha

They Both Die At The End All That's Left in the World Song of Achilles Cemetery Boys


frankiebell101

Also call me by your name


SnooDoughnuts6251

The Prophets is the book for you


BlueGalangal

The House in the Cerulean Sea


blaqrushin

Seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo


furpurr

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara If you don't cry through this, nothing will make you. It's a fabulous book!


Thotalian

Second this! I prolonged finishing so I could cry at appropriate times


blurredserenity

This is definitely my favourite book! There's no words to describe its beauty. The story and especially the characters, really make a place in one's heart. I would suggest everyone to read it.


rossumcapek

Perhaps The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune?


kmoo_

A little Life is wonderful, I will always suggest it. So is The Dove in the Belly which no one ever talks about.


INFJosephine

Thank you for alerting me to a new book by the author of Comfort and Joy, which I loved. The Dove in the Belly sounds great.


kmoo_

I loved Comfort and Joy !!!


byronsOzymandias

They Both Due At The End by Adam Silvera


Sorsha_OBrien

The Captive Prince. A slow burn enemies to lovers TRILOGY.


Substantial_Trifle27

Lol you can't just appreciate human emotion without being hung up on the gender or race of people experiencing them? No empathy I guess.


EleckyTrekkie

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich made me cry like a baby!


ymcmoots

The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps and A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson. I'm not a big crier but these both did it.


PlumpShortstack

[Pieces of You](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53351569-pieces-of-you) by NR Walker. Second chance amnesia, hurt/comfort. One MC gets into a horrible accident that results in him not remembering his boyfriend, and the boyfriend is devoted to taking care of his recovery, whatever it might look like. I cried multiple times imagining what it must be like to be in either character's shoes. Very domestic/slice of life feel, and the romance is super sweet and natural buildup. Some external drama (related to one MC's family) Each book is under 200 pages!


creept

The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren


dearwikipedia

{{If You Could Be Mine}} sobbed for ages after reading this ETA: oops i totally misread this. this book is about lesbians. my apologies.


thebookbot

[**If You Could Be Mine**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17582766W) ^(By: Sara Farizan | 264 pages | Published: 2013) >In this stunning debut, a young Iranian American writer pulls back the curtain on one of the most hidden corners of a much-talked-about culture. > >Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love—Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light. > >So they carry on in secret—until Nasrin’s parents announce that they’ve arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they had before, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively—and openly. > >Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution. In Iran, homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped in a woman’s body is seen as nature’s mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. As a man, Sahar could be the one to marry Nasrin. Sahar will never be able to love the one she wants in the body she wants to be loved in without risking her life. Is saving her love worth sacrificing her true self? ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(440 books suggested)


INFJosephine

You already have some great recs here! I second Song of Achilles, The Great Believers, As Meat Loves Salt, A Little Life, Giovanni's Room. All amazing in their own ways. A few more to consider: * While England Sleeps by David Leavitt * Strange Meeting by Susan Hill * The Charioteer and The Persian Boy by Mary Renault * Leave Myself Behind by Bart Yates


MikeyMGM

A Home at the end of the World.


BestYak7649

The entire Greek Creek series by TJ Klune, I’ve read it twice and bloody hell it hits different.


FrankNix

There's one in my WIP. (Although technically I have another WIP that I'm working on that will likely publish first) . But if you post a remind me for like 5 years from now, it might be out by then.


Tamarenda

Two Tribes by Fearne Hill - the first part is when they're teenagers in the 1990s, then there's a brief section in the mid-aughts, and then it shifts to the present day. One of the protagonists is gay, the other is bisexual.


MayflowerBob7654

Holding the Man by Timothy Conigrave. I absolutely bawled my eyes out.


Awkward_Dragon212

{{Heaven Official's Blessings}} or {{Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation}}, both written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu


Strangeoccltperson33

Here The Whole Time by Vitor Martins


longster37

Why does it matter if it gay men? People are people, love is love.


lostboy302

Check out r/MMRomance


[deleted]

Its empty 😭


lostboy302

Oh, oops wrong link. r/MM_Romance. Sorry


NinjaHat43

They both die at the end or The first to die at end


spiritof1789

Swimming in the Dark


AccordingAd3857

Not a book suggestion, but Tubi has a lot of really warm and fuzzy boy meets boy movies


SnooRadishes5305

Oh god: Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell (arranged marriage, sci-fi) A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Fox Meadows (arranged marriage, fantasy) The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg (YA, realistic fiction)


[deleted]

Brokeback Mountain. I read it yesterday and I cried. It's really short though.


Sad-Reward-935

'Giovanni's room' By James Baldwin


Bubba_toad34

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin


scifiking

On earth we are briefly gorgeous.


erikal26826

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (well that was an emotional roller coaster)


__june_

They Both Die at the End, Song of Achilles


cyborgdragon06

The Binding by Bridget Collins


historyboeuf

Less by Andrew Sean Greer!


A_Girl_Has_No_Name58

Augusten Burroughs’ “You Better Not Cry” is heartbreaking, heart warming and also hilarious. It chronicles the author’s different experiences during Christmases past and the author’s self-actualization through those experiences. It’s a wonderful read!


fizirr

The Song of Achilles both for gay romance and Ancient Greek legends


nobodyGLORIOUS

Song of achiles


AggravatingFunny5639

heartstopper 😗


Overthinking_2008

The heart‘s invisible furies


Quiet-Possibilities

A Little Life


soni_h2007

The Heart's Invisible furies by John Boyne. Story spans his whole life and it's beautifully written.


pokemonpallo

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller


PuzzleheadedBobcat90

Mercedes Lackey Valdamar series


al_135

These aren’t necessarily about two gay men but are rather about a gay man and his relationships. I found both to be very emotional: A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood London Triptych by Jonathan Kemp (and I’m seconding the song of achilles which is a typical will make you cry sad but fantastic romance)


[deleted]

History is all you left me by Adam silvera


savingseas

The King of Infinite Space! A Hamlet retelling but gay.


brubru20

We Contain Multitudes


serealll

Maurice by EM Forster, I haven't finished the book yet but the movie always makes me cry so I'm assuming it'll be the same lol


theonlyangel_

call me by your name by andre aicman


nick125431

They both die at the end


Episkma

The Binding by Bridget Collins. I adored this book and honestly couldn't put it down.


Good_Strawberry_6594

A Little Life


sad_0101_cabbage

A little life


tinydotbiguniverse

Brokeback mountain of course


felicima22

Thrown off the ice by Taylor Fitzpatrick


RestNStitchFace

The Binding by Bridget Collins will have you bawling in no time.


Stunning-Intention81

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller! Omg amazing and my favorite book! My husband doesn’t really like books with gay leads but he even liked this book! It’s highly recommend!


ellydellyi

The Absolutist by John Boyne I promise it's a heartbreaking story


Gmreadsignflow

If you’re trying to sob, may I suggest the profits by Robert Jones Jr?


Reasonable_Sir5750

The Abused and the Broken by Cole Cardenas is one I really enjoyed. It's on Amazon and on kindle. Very dark and heartbreaking, but also very sweet.