This summer has been a summer of diverse reads for me, as I took upon myself the challenge to read only books with confirmed LGBTQIA characters, and I succeeded- at least I did until JK Rowling dropped "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". Now, I find myself in a sticky situation of needing to rave about these books to someone, so without further ado, these are my top five book recommendations that everyone looking for their next all male romance should read.

5. "The Hidden Oracle" by Rick Riordan (Trials of Apollo #1)

Everyone who knows me knows that Rick Riordan could publish his grocery list, and I would still buy it. I've been a fan of his since I was in the 5th grade and I devoured the first three books of his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series in under a week. "The Hidden Oracle" is the first of Riordan's second spin-off series from the Percy Jackson books, and is intended for readers in late Elementary and Middle school, but as an adult reader, that's one of the things that makes this book so special.

Many people know that my upbringing was unorthodox and that I'm a member of several stigmatized minorities, and one of the best things about Rick Riordan is that his books are written specifically for kids who feel alone and left out. The Percy Jackson books were written in many ways to empower Riordan's students and loved ones with ADHD and dyslexia. Following that, he turned his gaze to racial minorities, and in the "House of Hades," the fourth book of the Heroes of Olympus series, Riordan confirmed that fan favorite character Nico di Angelo was gay. Now in "The Hidden Oracle," despite receiving much criticism for his decision to include a gay character in children's books, he has pulled no punches. Not only is Nico shown to be in a happy same-sex relationship in the new book, but it introduced its new protagonist, Apollo, to be flamboyantly bisexual.

4. "The Captive Prince" Trilogy by C.S. Pacat

For fans of "Game of Thrones," Captive Prince is an absolute must. What began as an online original series has been turned into a three novel epic following Damen, the Crown Prince of Akielos. After his father dies and his illegitimate half-brother usurps him, he is sent as a pet slave to the sadistic, manipulative, and beautiful Prince of Vere, Laurent. Soon it is clear that while the two may have their differences, their destinies are entwined as they uncover a plot by Laurent's uncle to take Vere's thrown and kill anyone who stands in his way.

�It should be said that this series will not be everyone's cup of tea. The series includes attempted rape, instances of dubious consent to sexual acts, characters with past child sexual abuse, and one character who is a known pedophile. These instances are not very graphic usually, but there are several graphic and semi-graphic instances of consensual sex throughout the series.

3. "All For The Game" Series by Nora Sakavic

Looking for a cheap read filled with thrills? Look no further than Nora Sakavic's trilogy about a team of broken outcasts learning and their journey to toppling the best of the best in the fictional sport of exy. Follow Neil Josten, the newest recruit to the Palmetto State Foxes, a team known for taking on lost causes. Running is all he knows, but exy is the only thing that makes him feel alive, and this year he'll be tested like never before. Playing alongside Kevin Day, all-star exy player and a figure from Neil's dangerous past, Neil will have to decide what's more important to him: survival without living, or living until a premature death.

I won't go into detail about all the potential triggers you might find in this series, but you can find full lists online. Paperbacks are available on Amazon, but if you have a Kindle, Nook, or either Kindle or Nook's free e-reader apps for your phone or mobile device, you can get the first book for absolutely free and the two other books for .99 US cents a piece. Not bad for week or two of quality reading.

2. "The Raven Cycle" by Maggie Stiefvater

When I first read the summary of "The Raven Boys," the first book of this series, on the inside flap of the Books-a-Million hardcover I picked up, I was very wary of what I would find. The official summary focuses on an apparent heterosexual romance, but make no mistake, this series is about friendship and found family before anything else.

Additionally, I can honestly say that these books were a breath of fresh air. At times, I can find myself a bit tired of heterosexual romances in books because too often they become heavy with misogynistic gender rolls or be underdeveloped because of heteronormative assumptions. Happily, this is not the case for "The Raven Cycle." Instead, Stiefvater presents poignant love stories for both M/F and M/M lovers to enjoy which do their characters justice.

1. "Havemercy" by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett

OK, candidly I have to say that this is my favorite series of all time, so I may be a bit biased, but you know a story is gonna be good when it's written by two members of the LGBTQIA community who are married to each other. If you like fantasy fiction and queer fiction, go to your favorite bookseller's website and order this right now.

In terms of diversity, it's hard for a series to score better. Admittedly, there are only a few major female characters, but throughout the series you have many characters of color, a transwoman as a narrator, gay characters that don't die, mentally ill and physically disabled characters, and those are only the ones confirmed in the source text. Outside of the books, the authors have confirmed an F/F ship, even more gay and bisexual male characters, a grey-asexual character, and more.

There are currently four books, and the authors say they have ideas for more, but the series is currently on hold while they work on a different manuscript that is unrelated from the "Havemercy" books. Oh, and did I mention the dragons? There are dragons.