I've had good luck with things published by Cleis Press, which is why I binged on them (that, and their covers are classy). I actually love a lot of the stories in the Gay Romance collections even though they're not erotica. I'd forgotten just how different gay romance/erotica and m/m romance was until I started reading Fool For Love the other day.
So far I think the themed collections are a lot stronger than the Best Of ones. I would recommend Surfer Boys, Boys in Heat, Fool for Love, Open For Business, the fairy tale ones, and the Christmas ones. There are a handful I just got today and haven't started yet, but I've read a few stories from most of them so far. I haven't started the lesbian ones yet, though.
I like the collections edited by Alison Tyler the most. Rachel Kramer Bussel and Kristina Wright do a lot of collections every year, and they aren't bad but they're not knock-your-socks-off amazing. Violet Blue also does a LOT of collections, and they're hit or miss for me; sometimes the stories she chooses are awesome and sometimes they're just meh.
I really recommend one the books I bought, Agony/Ecstasy -- it has a wide range of stories (gay, straight, lesbian) and a lot of the stories are SO GOOD. It was edited by Jane of Dear Author, and she doesn't dick around with shitty authors.
As far as publishers go, you should check out Kensington Aphrodisia, Avon Red (and maybe now Avon Impulse?), and Berkley Heat. You can find a lot of them in the Romance section at BN, but some of them make it over to Erotica. I really liked Harlequin Spice and Virgin Black Lace, which are both out of print now, but you can find them in used bookstores and/or by searching AddAll or WorldCat. I have a lot of old Black Lace titles that are great; some of the authors went on to publish with the big six, so you can get some of their books in reprints.
So far I think the themed collections are a lot stronger than the Best Of ones. I would recommend Surfer Boys, Boys in Heat, Fool for Love, Open For Business, the fairy tale ones, and the Christmas ones. There are a handful I just got today and haven't started yet, but I've read a few stories from most of them so far. I haven't started the lesbian ones yet, though.
I like the collections edited by Alison Tyler the most. Rachel Kramer Bussel and Kristina Wright do a lot of collections every year, and they aren't bad but they're not knock-your-socks-off amazing. Violet Blue also does a LOT of collections, and they're hit or miss for me; sometimes the stories she chooses are awesome and sometimes they're just meh.
I really recommend one the books I bought, Agony/Ecstasy -- it has a wide range of stories (gay, straight, lesbian) and a lot of the stories are SO GOOD. It was edited by Jane of Dear Author, and she doesn't dick around with shitty authors.
As far as publishers go, you should check out Kensington Aphrodisia, Avon Red (and maybe now Avon Impulse?), and Berkley Heat. You can find a lot of them in the Romance section at BN, but some of them make it over to Erotica. I really liked Harlequin Spice and Virgin Black Lace, which are both out of print now, but you can find them in used bookstores and/or by searching AddAll or WorldCat. I have a lot of old Black Lace titles that are great; some of the authors went on to publish with the big six, so you can get some of their books in reprints.
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