Are you still basking in the glow of “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” and searching for that next read that can tug at your heartstrings in the same profound way? You’re in luck! Today, we’re diving into a carefully curated collection of books that echo the themes of deep friendship, self-discovery, and the transformative power of love that made Ari and Dante’s story resonate with so many of us.
Each book on our list promises to take you on a journey through the complexities of identity, the beauty of unexpected connections, and the courage it takes to be true to oneself. Whether you’re looking for tales that mirror the emotional depth, the rich character development, or the poetic storytelling of Ari and Dante’s journey, we’ve got something to stir your soul and ignite your imagination. So, let’s embark on this adventure together, ready to discover new secrets of the universe within the pages of these enchanting books. Let the discovery begin!
7 Books Like Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe (MM/Gay Romance Stories)
“Aristotle and Dante” is a coming-of-age story that explores the complexities of identity, belonging, and growing up. Like “Aristotle and Dante,” similar books feature deeply meaningful relationships between the main characters. Whether it’s a close friendship, a budding romance, or a family dynamic, readers are drawn to the emotional depth and authenticity of the connections portrayed in these books.
We are drawn to similar books that fight the challenges and milestones of adolescence, offering insights into the universal struggles of finding oneself and forging one’s path in the world. LGBTQ+ themes are central to “Aristotle and Dante,” as the main characters grapple with questions of sexual orientation and self-acceptance. Similar books feature LGBTQ+ protagonists who face their identities, relationships, and place in the world with honesty, authenticity, and courage. Let’s talk about them!
| Name | Key Focus | Rating (Goodreads) |
|---|---|---|
| The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles | Some siblings are on a trip, and they bond in dynamic relationships. | 4.2/5 |
| Caught Looking by Adriana Herrera | Two childhood friends recover their feelings again. | 3.7/5 |
| The 5th Gender by G. L. Carriger | With many mysteries, the aliens narrate the relationship with a human detective. | 4.1/5 |
| The Alpha’s Warlock by Eliot Grayson | A magician and a werewolf discover themselves as a fated mate. | 3.8/5 |
| Tell Me It’s Real by TJ Klune | A boy feels insecure and has mental issues, but his boyfriend supports him nicely. | 4.2/5 |
| Over and Over Again by Cole McCade | A boy loves his father’s best friend. | 4.2/5 |
| Exhale by Joel Abernathy | Couples struggle to find their missing daughter. | 4.1/5 |
1. The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting is a standalone Regency gay romance. I was excited when I picked it up because I love Charles’s historical novels. She writes in a lot of different time periods. Also, she’s covered Victorian Edwardian 1920s pulp. But there’s something about her regency that I particularly love because she’s taken the worlds of Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer and cast a gaze over them. That highlights the lives of queer people.
It’s such a beautiful thing to see and read because it reflects the lives of people we don’t hear about in history books. The story has fun scenes because it follows a fascinating concept of fortune hunters. So, people who pursue bachelor’s or bachelorette intend to marry them and trap them for their money. At the novel’s start, we have some sibling fortune hunters, Robin and Marianne. They have joined the London season to find a rich bride or groom for each one to drain them dry.
They quickly recognized that a young, intelligent wallflower named Violet was probably their best bet. But Violet’s overprotective uncle, Hart, is immediately suspicious of the two of them. So, he tries to prove that Robin is only after Violet for her money.
Robin and Hart are going head to head as they try to trip each other up and reveal they’re true agendas. This book has such a fantastic cast of characters. Everyone is so distinct, and the dialogue reflects those clever personalities that inhabit these pages. I love the relationship between our two heroes, Hart and Robin, and between every side character with the main characters like Aristotle and Dante.
So Robin and Marianne have a very complex esque relationship. Violet isn’t a throwaway character in this, despite her being a plot tool. Fundamentally, she is still given her whole story. Her total growth and the friendships she develops with the characters are also excellent to witness.
Despite being set in the London season, it’s a delightful book, a big-class parade of wealth. It does undercut a lot of very classist or capitalist ideas in the characters’ conversations. In this way, they reflect on the world around them. I recommend it after Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe.
Author: KJ Charles
Publisher: KJC Books
Tropes: Regency, MLM, Friends, Family, Historical, Enemies-to-lovers, Arc
Number Of Pages: 288
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
2. Caught Looking
Caught Looking is a sports MM romance. The story follows two childhood best friends, Yariel and Hatuey. Yariel is a major League Baseball player, and Hatuey is his best friend from childhood. They met when Yariel was studying in the Dominican Republic.
The novella opens by throwing you into the action because it starts when Yariel wakes up and realizes that he has spent the night with Hatuey. Hatuey has fled the area, immediately panics, and is convinced that it will ruin their relationship. He has secretly repressed these feelings for his friend for years because he doesn’t want their friendship to change.
Hatuey is not only fine with the direction their relationship is taking, but he is also in favor of it. He wants to be with the ideal and spends the rest of the novella convincing the Major League Baseball player to give a guy a chance. The author is a beloved and well-respected romance novelist. She’s very well known for writing diverse romances across the spectrum.
This book is a great way to dip into her works because it’s easy to read in one setting, but it doesn’t sacrifice any gorgeous romance and excellent angsty character dynamics that her books feature. So, if you are looking for a short, sexy, friends-to-lovers romance story like Dante and Aristotle, read it. You can read in one sitting and smile for about 775 hours afterward.
Author: Adriana Herrera
Tropes: Sports, Friends-to-lovers
Number Of Pages: 112
3. The 5th Gender (Tinkered Stars)
The 5th Gender is a sci-fi alien romance with LGBT characters. We have a lovely, sweet-natured lavender alien named Tristol, who has to work with the fierce human Detective Hastion to uncover the mystery behind the death of one of his species. This book is the epitome of the grumpy and sunshine one trope.
Tristol is a little ray of sunshine, a glorious beam of light. I wanted to squeeze him so tight from page one. The dynamic he develops with Hastion is lovely, and I loved seeing how this very gruff man tries to maintain professionalism. Gail Carriger does a great job of presenting an alien’s point of view. Tristol is both relatable and very clearly comes from a different context.
So, it was fun to read those two different perspectives and see how they bounced off one another. The world-building was also great, and I recommend it who love gay alien romance similar to Aristotle And Dante. Avoid the hardcover because it has negative issues, but the paperback is good enough for font size, color, cover, binding, and paper quality.
Author: G. L. Carriger
Publisher: GAIL CARRIGER LLC (1st edition)
Tropes: Interracial, Mystery, Aliens, Science Fiction, Suspense
Number Of Pages: 223
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
4. The Alpha’s Warlock (Mismatched Mates)
Mismatched Mate is a paranormal male-male romance series. The entire series revolves around what the title says. So it’s based around the fated mate’s trope. But we see every mated pair you wouldn’t expect to work out because they’re from two magical species, perspectives, or agendas.
The first book, The Alpha’s Warlock, follows Nate, a magician who has to meet with alpha werewolf Ian. Ian and his older brother Matthew are suspicious of whether Nate betrayed their pact several years earlier. Nate is my favorite type of protagonist. He’s very sassy and has a very sharp tongue.
On the other hand, Ian is so funny. So, it’s a solid, well-written, well-constructed paranormal series. Although the series focuses on wolves more than vampires, werewolves are way more fun than vampires. I’m so excited to be able to recommend it to you because many of you are massive Twilight fans and want to read like Aristotle And Dante.
Author: Eliot Grayson
Narrator: Chris Chambers
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Tropes: Paranormal, Werewolf, Shifter, Vampires, Arc, Enemies-to-lovers, Humor
Number Of Pages: 202
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
5. Tell Me It’s Real (At First Sight)
Tell Me It’s Real is the first book in one of TJ Klune’s contemporary romance series. The rom-com film genre inspired author TJ. When creating this book, he wanted to find a queer version of those brightly colored, exciting, vibrant romance films he’d grown up with. That represented his romantic experiences and the stories he wanted to see being told.
It’s one of the few books that genuinely had me laughing out loud throughout it. If you go and Google the reviews, you will see that so many people also have that reaction. It’s impossible not to crack up at the awkward and outlandish situations the author creates on the page. The characters have such heart and authenticity to them.
Paul Auster is very quick to tell you as he tries to understand why Vince is a beautiful man. Paul suffers from many body image issues and hasn’t been lucky in love before. So he’s utterly bewildered as to why this super attractive, very much sought-after man is suddenly paying attention to him. Despite that being the dynamic at its core, it’s also not one that Vince or the author ever exploits.
Paul’s insecurity isn’t overplayed for laughs or tears. It’s that I’m watching him work through that as he forms the relationship with Vince is so beautiful. Their love reminds me of Aristotle And Dante. Vince is also one of the most charming heroes who has ever been committed to paper. I highly recommend the book if you want to laugh all day long.
Author: TJ Klune
Narrator: Michael Lesley
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC
Tropes: Friendship, Fun, Insta-love
Number Of Pages: 350
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
6. Over and Over Again
Over and Over Again is a gently romantic contemporary. It has steam, but it’s a very slow-moving book. This book follows a young man called Luca Ward, who is sent to live on a farm with his father’s best friend, Imre. Luca had a real hero-worship infatuation with Imre when he was a child, but it was a child’s crush on a much older figure. So he’s surprised when he shows up at the farm, and he still feels all of the affection and desire for Imre all of those years later.
As time goes on, the two men get to know each other as men and as individuals with their own complex lives and backstories. Their relationship begins to develop in ways that it never had previously. The book is so sweet, gentle, and delicate with its characters. Luca and Imre have gone through pain, loss, challenge, and comic aid, giving them a space within the narrative to overcome their trauma and help others through theirs.
From the start, Imre does what no other person in Luca’s life does, and he recognizes him as his valid person in control of his own life in his future. So we still got all that excellent conflict from an age gap, three months without any uncomfortable power dynamics. The romance and mental theme are similar to Aristotle And Dante’s Discover The Secrets Of The Universe. The plot, storyline, writing style, narration, and dialogue are excellent. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to you.
Author: Cole McCade
Narrator: Philip Alces
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Tropes: Age-gap, Slow-burn, Queer
Number Of Pages: 596
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
7. Exhale (Flesh and Bone)
Exhale is another dark paranormal romance. The story follows Jack, a former miner trying to take care of his teenage daughter after the death of his wife. Jack and his wife had a very fraught and difficult relationship. She was unfaithful to him multiple times. He once found a letter from a former lover named Nicolae, which she kept on her even 16 years after the birth of their daughter.
One day, Jack’s daughter is taken, and he is shocked when the man who wrote his wife the letter. Nicolae shows up on his doorstep, claiming to be a werewolf and also claiming to know who has taken his daughter and where they have taken her, too.
This book was so gripping from the start. Also, it’s twisted, sexy, and unpredictable. We see lovely enemies-to-love as the romance that develops into a genuine bond running through it. I liked how gradually the feelings Nicolae and Jack developed for one another were explored. It still takes a long time for them to trust one another. If you’re looking for a slightly darker paranormal than your usual fare, I recommend Exhale.
Author: Joel Abernathy
Narrator: Kirt Graves
Publisher: Joel Abernathy
Tropes: Paranormal, Dark, Shapeshifters, Protective-hero, Arc
Number Of Pages: 254
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
Through these stories, we’ve wandered through the lives of characters as complex and endearing as Ari and Dante, each narrative a tapestry woven with the threads of identity, love, and growth. These books remind us that the journey to understanding oneself and connecting with others is both universal and uniquely personal. As you close the cover on this chapter of your reading adventure, carry with you the lessons learned, the tears shed, and the laughter shared.
May your heart remain open to the endless possibilities that lie in the connection between two souls, and may the roads you travel in literature and life always lead you to deeper understanding and love. Until we meet again in the pages of another story, keep seeking, keep loving, and keep discovering the secrets of the universe that bind us all. Happy reading!
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