Not Like Other Boys


K.A. Merikan - 2014
    Win a boyfriend. ---Ethan. Taxidermist. Goth weirdo. Can’t wait to be done with high school.Ethan is a young artist-entrepreneur with a love for quirky taxidermy. Roadkill is so much better than people. By the end of high school, all he wants is to develop his business, yet all his parents want is for him to go to law school. That is more than enough of a problem for Ethan, so any kind of love life is out of the question. That is until Robert Hunter, the quarterback of the football team, comes crashing into him. Literally.Robert. Quarterback. In the closet. More than meets the eye.Robert is the popular kid, the quarterback on his way to med school. He’s gay, but not exactly coming out since he doesn’t like to stir the pot. One night, spurred on by too much booze, he ends up causing irreversible harm to Ethan, the school’s weirdo.The aftermath.Robert will do anything to avoid charges for what he’s done, but when Ethan makes an indecent demand in return for his silence, Robert might just be in way over his head.For Ethan, it’s a simple act of revenge on a bully, but when Robert turns out to be not-so-straight, their arrangement gets complicated all too fast.POSSIBLE SPOILERS:Themes: First love, fitting in, entrepreneurship, disability, high school, jock/goth, taxidermy, artist, coming out, becoming an adult, enemies to lovers, hurt/comfortGenre: New Adult M/M romanceLength: ~ 90,000 words (Standalone novel, no cliffhanger.)WARNING: Contains steamy, passionate scenes, violent injury, themes of bullying, and a morally ambiguous proposition(This book was formerly published as ‘Diary of a Teenage Taxidermist’)

How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater


Marc Acito - 2004
    Seventeen-year-old Edward Zanni, a feckless Ferris Bueller–type, is Peter Panning his way through a carefree summer of magic and mischief. The fun comes to a halt, however, when Edward’s father remarries and refuses to pay for Edward to study acting at Juilliard.Edward’s truly in a bind. He’s ineligible for scholarships because his father earns too much. He’s unable to contact his mother because she’s somewhere in Peru trying to commune with Incan spirits. And, as a sure sign he’s destined for a life in the arts, Edward’s incapable of holding down a job. So he turns to his loyal (but immoral) misfit friends to help him steal the tuition money from his father, all the while practicing for his high school performance of Grease. Disguising themselves as nuns and priests, they merrily scheme their way through embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft, forgery, and blackmail. But, along the way, Edward also learns the value of friendship, hard work, and how you’re not really a man until you can beat up your father—metaphorically, that is.How I Paid for College is a farcical coming-of-age story that combines the first-person tone of David Sedaris with the byzantine plot twists of Armistead Maupin. It is a novel for anyone who has ever had a dream or a scheme, and it marks the introduction to an original and audacious talent.

Troublemaker


Sean Ashcroft - 2020
    So when Carter asks him to come to a family wedding as his date, Aiden jumps at the chance to spend a week alone with the man of his dreams. A romantic cabin, one bed to share, and an ex-girlfriend to convince that Carter's moved on... ... plus a confession that Carter kissed Aiden's brother when they were eighteen because he was curious about boys. What could possibly go wrong? Troublemaker is the first full-length, standalone novel in the Goode Boys series. It ends on a HEA and does not contain a cliffhanger. It does, however, contain: an intimate piercing, a surprise kiss, huddling for warmth, sexy pastry eating, explicit scenes, kissing in the snow, and true love conquering all.

Weighing Love


Jason Collins - 2019
     With a busy job, I don’t have much time for working out, and it’s starting to show, but my wealthy boss Max has me sweating. We work at a world-class wellness center, and it’s not a promotion he’s sizing me up for. I want to shed some weight, and he wants to help. Before we know it, we’re doing laps in the pool by day and hip thrusts in bed by night. Burning calories in bed is fun, but real life is a different beast. Max can help me tone up, but I need more than a perfect body to make a relationship work. We’re worlds and tax brackets apart, but I’m getting in shape to meet him halfway. He’s a boss of a trainer, and I’m already aching all over. MAX: This fitness plan is going to be steamy, but I’m not taking us to the sauna. Josh isn’t just a juice barista who’s as sweet as his smoothies—he’s a sensitive soul with a work ethic to match. He looks good to me, but he says he wants to trim down and tone up. I’m putting together a plan to give Josh a workout in and out of the gym. Training is easy, but falling for Josh isn’t. He’s going through this journey under me, and if we have to pull some overtime, I’ll be with him every step of the way. I’ve got deep pockets and want to make life easier for him, but Josh is fiercely independent. If he insists on baring that weight alone, I’ll help him get in shape to carry it. With me behind Josh, our workout sessions are going long after hours. This is the first book in the Weightless series. It can be enjoyed as a standalone with no cliffhanger. Readers can expect a spicy MM romance with several steamy scenes.

Silence of Winter


Avery Blake - 2018
    At least that's what Oliver Cromwell tells himself when he's being bullied for being different. He's a lover of all things paranormal, and when his nose isn't shoved into his sketchpad, drawing haunted houses and monsters, he and his best friend Bailey hang out in abandoned buildings and take long—very non-romantic—walks through graveyards looking for ghosts.Everything changes when they actually find one.Freaked out because he seems to be a sudden ghost magnet, Oliver befriends Mrs. Glass, a psychic who lives in the Victorian manor at the end of his street. With her help, he discovers his special bloodline and uncovers abilities that allow him to begin helping the ghosts move on. As if being sixteen wasn't already complicated.When Oliver meets Victor, the charming and mysterious boy who lives with Mrs. Glass, he finds himself falling and falling hard. Chasing ghosts is a lot less nerve-wracking than falling in love, though, especially when the person you fall for has secrets of their own.The sleepy town of Iris Hollow has plenty of spooky legends and history that entices tourists from all over. And Oliver is about to find himself in the center of it all.This is a young adult paranormal LGBT story with magic, ghosts, and heartwarming romance. Guaranteed to make you smile, laugh, and maybe sleep with the light on.Trigger Warning: this story contains material that may be sensitive to some readers, including bullying and self harm.

Our December


Diane Adams - 2010
    Deeply in love, Jared and Alex are such a couple, but the path to true and lasting love is rarely smooth. At fifteen, being gay isn't the best thing that ever happened to a guy. In fact, Alex Ross thinks it's down right scary. Then he meets twenty year old construction worker Jared Douglas, and Alex starts to think the gay thing might not be so bad after all.The attraction between them is intense, but -- mindful of Alex's age -- Jared is determined to keep the sparks from igniting. The stress of controlling his feelings makes it almost a relief when Alex's father ships him off to prep school. Jared expects Alex to forget him and find a boy friend his own age; he doesn't anticipate how much it will hurt. When Alex comes home for Christmas, just turned 16, with his heart on his sleeve, Jared knows he can't continue to keep everything he feels a secret.

He Called Me Beautiful


Annabeth Chatwin - 2020
    Matthew Shepard was just murdered. I’m a skinny skater boy and low in the high school food chain already— no way am I coming out. But at a masked Halloween party, the cutest guy in school (and the only one who’s out) doesn’t recognize me. We dance together and he kisses me before I bolt. Now he’s desperate to discover who I am. If he does, he and his preppy friends hate me so much he’ll freak.I want to tell him the truth, but I can’t.★Sutton: It’s 1998. Will & Grace is on TV, Ellen’s come out, and I’m the token gay prep everyone loves as long as I wear the right clothes and hate the right people. A mystery boy kisses me at my Halloween party, and I need to find him. My friends worry he might be a loser. I don’t care if he is. When I tell them that, they flip out… and suddenly the cool gay kid isn’t so cool anymore.I have to find this guy, if only so I’m not alone.

Striking Distance


Sarah Rees Brennan - 2020
    Pacat and Johanna The Mad.Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion who dreams of getting the proper training he could never afford. After earning a place on the elite Kings Row fencing team, Nicholas must prove himself to his rival, Seiji Katayma, and navigate the clashes, friendships, and relationships between his teammates on the road to state championships—where Nicholas might finally have the chance to spar with his golden-boy half-brother.Coach Williams decides to take advantage of the boys' morale after a recent victory and assigns them a course of team building exercises to further deepen their bonds. It takes a shoplifting scandal, a couple of moonlit forest strolls, several hilariously bad dates, and a whole lot of introspection for the team to realize they are stronger together than they could ever be apart.The first installment of this enticing original YA novel series by Sarah Rees Brennan, rich with casual diversity and queer self-discovery, explores never-before-seen drama inspired by C.S. Pacat's critically acclaimed Fence comic series and boasts original cover and interior art by Johanna The Mad.Text and Illustration copyright: © 2020 BOOM! StudiosFence(TM) and © 2020 C.S. Pacat

Being Wrong


R.A. Armstrong - 2021
    Charlie's broken. He's not sure he ever wasn't broken. When things get unbearable, the only thing that helps Charlie feel grounded is music. What can he do when he runs out of batteries for his old Walkman?At school crowds of people gather to watch Travis perform, but when he goes home his only company is his cat. He escaped his abusive parents, but now he lives with his older brother who is usually away working. Will the strange, quiet boy he finds sitting on his porch trying to listen in on his music put an end to his loneliness?

Absolutely Positively Not


David LaRochelle - 2005
    The problem is, Steven's not thinking girls when he's thinking sex. Could he be -- don't say it -- gay? Steven sets out to get in touch with his inner he-man with Healthy Heterosexual Strategies such as "Start Hanging Out with the Guys," and "Begin Intensive Dating." But are Steven's tactics going to straighten him out, or leave him all twisted up?Absolutely hilarious. Positively sidesplitting. But absolutely, positively NOT GAY!

Conventionally Yours


Annabeth Albert - 2020
    Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way—even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.

Flourish


Avery Ford - 2017
    He got into the education system in order to help other children, after all, and if one single child can be spared the torment he went through growing up, well, then he’s fulfilled his life’s work. So when he notices several red flags regarding one of the students at his school, he’s determined to help the boy any way he can - by reporting those red flags to the authorities. Hudson White is the epitome of a gentleman farmer, and though he’s never found a good man to settle down with, he’s always grown up with the absolute love and acceptance from his family. Which is why he wants to share that love by becoming a foster parent. When he accepts a young boy, Brand, int his care, he doesn’t realize how much his life is going to change. Sparks fly from the moment Lee and Hudson meet while discussing Brand’s educational needs, but both of them know that it’s not a good time to act on any new feelings they have. But as Brand continues to bring them together, neither man can deny that they are willing to change everything to make their own little family a reality.

Play On


Avery Cockburn - 2015
    Scandal has shredded his LGBT soccer team’s history-making season, and now the once-unflappable striker is lashing out. Only one person can tame Duncan’s rage and make him feel like himself again…Bullied by schoolmates in his wee village, Brodie Campbell lurked deep in the closet before coming to the city of Glasgow. Here at university he’s out and proud, but the years of abuse have left him emotionally paralyzed. Can flatmate Duncan help Brodie escape his past and heal his wounded heart?As the two lads grow closer, Brodie can’t forget how athletes like Duncan once tortured him. When Duncan attacks an opponent who threatens Brodie, the situation escalates. Soon Brodie doesn’t feel safe anywhere—especially in Duncan’s arms.To defeat the bullies who’ve wrecked his life, his mind, and his ability to love, Brodie must find the strength to fight his own battles. And Duncan must find the strength to let him.

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story


Kacen Callender - 2018
    the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Boy Meets Boy about Nathan Bird, who has sworn off happy endings but is sorely tested when his former best friend, Ollie, moves back to town.Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings.Although he’s the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate’s seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist in real life.Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel—but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernández, his childhood best friend.After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after?

Camp


Lev A.C. Rosen - 2020
    It's where he met his best friends. It's where he takes to the stage in the big musical. And it's where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lim - who's only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists.This year, though, it's going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as 'Del' - buff, masculine, and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish, and his unicorn bedsheets, he's determined to get Hudson to fall for him.But as he and Hudson grow closer, Randy has to ask himself how much is he willing to change for love. And is it really love anyway, if Hudson doesn't know who he truly is?