Haebin

This is a trilogy of historical m/m romances by KJ Charles, the queen of the genre. Now, anything penned by KJ Charles is a cut above anyone else's, imho,  so if you haven't read anything of hers, you totally should. Characterisation, plot, intrigue, smut, excellent writing, her books have it all. The Will Darling Adventures are set in London in the 1920s. It's a spy/action series with an amazing love story at its heart, where the conflict is absolutely real and the characters have an emotional growth arc across the three books. It's the most satisfying kind of romance. You will fall in love with the two MCs, it's impossible not to. Once you've finished the books you'll be left wanting more, so here's some fic to tide you over. These are all Kim/Will, with a touch of DS/Archie, and won't make much sense unless you've read the books, I'm afraid. Btw, the audiobook version of the books, narrated by Cornell Collins, is just sublime. 

the world is but a word. 1.6K words. Will was speaking with a customer when Sir Archibald Curtis walked into his bookshop. A lovely little vignette. Podfic availbale, though I haven't listened to it yet. 

scrape out what's left (at the end of the year). 2.2K words. The drive to Holmclere was uneventful, leisurely, and most importantly: not completely overshadowed by one or both of them being framed for murder. At least it had that going for it. Lovely epilogue for the whole seriesscrape out what's left (at the end of the year). 

one shade the more. 3.9K words.Perfect Will and Kim voice, their banter kills me. 

The Pitt

detect my sudden existence on your sonar by Lirazel . 25K words Mel/Frank. Mel thought everything would get easier when he came back. Instead, it's a new kind of torture. This fic is, to me, the definitive take on Mel's POV. I'm not on the spectrum, I've little experience with people who are, so I may as well be talking out of my arse, but reading this story is just such an immersive experience, ti does such an excellent job of sucking you in and making you feel like you're living it all as Mel would. And the pining is exquisite. So good it's almost unbearable. Gah. 

Do I really need to sum up a show about Sherlock Holmes? I'm pretty sure anyone would be familiar with the premises, this particular iteration from the early 2010s aired on the BBC, had Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as the two leads and was set in contemporary London. 

While I re-watched the pilot countless times (fun fact, there was a time when I taught English as a Foreign Language to highly motivated adults, and one of my teaching modules was built entirely around the Sherlock pilot and it always went down a treat) the whole series is definitely flawed. The fandom predictably went nuts for the inevitable m/m pairing but I've read all sorts of fic, and even the gen ones or the casefiles (and the crossover/fusions) were a lot of fun. 

1. It's Not the Violin by copperbadge. Gen but platonic love? 3.8K words. <7i>Somewhere between Alejandro and the fistfight, John Watson became someone Sherlock Holmes would kill for. I liked this one so much it was part of that Sherlock-inspired teaching module, using FayJay's excellent podfic. 

2. Green Grow the Rushes, O! by@AJHall.ao3. This is technically a casefile but the character bits are more important than the case. And it's so perfectly British and witty. The humour. Btw, you should read anything AJHall has ever written, she was so talented.

3. The Case of the Unwelcome Owl by FayJay. 7.1 K words. Gen. Crossover with Harry Potter. This is so much fun. Perfect blending of the two worlds.  "So," said John, feeling out of his depth once again. "An owl." It was the same mild, politely curious tone of voice with which he had previously found himself uttering such things as: "So – three bags of frozen AB negative," and "So – a selection of human ears." "Goodness, John, with deductive prowess like that you'll soon be putting me in the shade," Sherlock said tartly. "Can't sneak anything past you, can we?" FayJay also podficced her own story, and thank God she did. How can one single person be so talented?!?

4. If you need to read only one fic, this should be it: The Least of All Possible Mistakes by@rageprufrock.ao3 If ever a people deserved tasering, it’s Holmeses. It's a freaking novel (almost 120K words), and it's the whole series written from the point of view of a genderswapped Instpector Lestrade, George. I inevitably picture her as an older, British version of George from Dead Like Me and it works. Technically it's Lestrade/Mycroft but there's John/Sherlock too. But it's not a shippy fic. It's a love letter to London written by someone who doesn't live there but clearly loves it. It's also the story of a woman in the police force. It's amazing. It can be read if  you don't know the canon. GO READ IT! or better yet, listen to Lazulus's amazing podfic, another all time favourite of mine. 

The Pitt

you need it shouted by oonabashed Mel/Langfdon, explicit, 5.8K words. Mel King isn't used to being the impatient one in her relationships. This was one of the first explicit, smutty fics I've read for this pairing and I still think it's one of the hottest and with the best Mel characterisation. Many authors write Mel as sexually inexperienced or even a virgin, and foten do a fantastic job of it, it's a dynamic that plays beautifully with fanon Frank, but to me the depiction in this fic sounds more plausible. Also, I think this fic is a bit of a hidden gem among the many, many, great stories for this pairing and it's criminally underrated. It needs more hits and kudso, people! 

Merlin

This BBC show for children is a prime example of one of those fandoms where, for me, fanon clearly surpassed and trascended canon. I don't think I ever finished watching the show back when it was airing, but man, the Merlin/Arthur fic I have saved I have gone back to hundreds of times in the intervening years, especially as podfic. I don't know why precisely the idea of a relationship between a stuckup but brave prince and its bumbling but loyal manservant was right up my alley but it just was.

The Student Prince by fayjay. This is a modern day AU where Arthur is the heir to the British throne and he meets Merlin at university in Saint Andrews, in circa 2010. This is basically the one of the best YA romances I've ever read, better than most traditionally published stuff and it can totally be read with little to no knowledge of the tv show. I re-listen to the podfic version (read by the author herself, who is actually better than most pro audiobook readers) at least once a year.

fayjay has podficced many of my favourite canon era stories, like In Time of Trial by shinetheway; The Beltane Cycle by astolat/ Naomi Novik (here is the podfic); The Crown of the Summer Court by astolat/ Naomi Novik (here is the podfic).

The Pitt

I've fallen down the rabbit hole of Mel/Frank shipping and I regret nothing, the quality of the writing for this pairing is stellar. I have 80+ bookmarks for it on the Ao3. However, I do have a soft spot for another pairing, and that is Robby/Abbot. The two ER cowboys, chief attending of the day and night shift respectively. Old man yaoi at its finest. My interest in the pairing is completely alethia's fault. I've been a fan of her work since Generation Kill and she is just such a talented author I literally cannot choose which one of the 30+ Robby/Abbot fic she's written so far is my favourite. I love them all. Go on, pick one at random and read it, you will be blown away. alethia gets these two characters in a way the writers of The Pitt can only dream of. If you're a podfic nut like me, you could start by listening to Safe Haven by andrasteemraldpetal .