Book picks similar to
All My Crimes by Tal Valante
fantasy
m-m
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short-story
Greenwode
J. Tullos Hennig - 2013
Defying the new.The making of a legend—and a truly innovative re-imagining of Robin Hood.
Rob of Loxley and his older sister Marion have been groomed from birth to take their parents’ places within the Old Religion. Despite this, when Rob finds an injured nobleman’s son in the forest, neither he nor Marion understand what befriending young Gamelyn could mean for the future of their beliefs. Already the ancient spirits are fading beneath the iron of nobleman’s politics and the stones of Church subjugation. More, the druid elders warn that Rob and Gamelyn are cast as sworn adversaries, locked in timeless and symbolic struggle for the greenwood’s Maiden. Instead, in a theological twist only a stroppy dissident could envision, Rob swears he’ll defend the sacred woodland of the Horned God and Lady Huntress to his last breath—if his god will let him be lover, not rival, to the one fated as his enemy.But in the eyes of Gamelyn’s Church, sodomy is unthinkable... and the old pagan magics are an evil that must be vanquished. ------
With a truly original take on the Robin Hood legends, this historical fantasy series sets Robin the outlaw archer as a queer, chaotic-neutral druid; Marion as pagan queen who is sister but not wife, and their consort a Christian--and thusly conflicted--nobleman.
Ghost of a Chance
T.A. Chase - 2009
Most would consider dying in a bar fight ten years ago upsetting, and existing as a ghost wandering the world might be thought a real predicament. They might deem a second chance at life through a chance encounter with a dying man a serious dilemma. But for Padraig, finding himself face to face with the man he'd loved and lost a lifetime ago is the biggest thing on his mind. Gareth Reilly stops at O'Toole's for a drink before he heads home. Tomorrow's going to be another lonely birthday for him until he's approached by a stranger. There's something about Padraig's bright green eyes and Irish accent that reminds Gareth of a man he once knew. Unable to resist, Gareth breaks his cardinal rule and invites Padraig home. On St. Patrick's Day, when Irish magic is strongest, it'll take a belief in the impossible and help from a grateful elf to give Padraig and Gareth another chance at love.
Cethe
Becca Abbott - 2009
The most feared among them were their naragi, sorcerers whose power was all but invincible. Not until the coming of Arami Lothlain, King of Tanyrin and Blessed of Loth, did the rein of the nara come to a bloody end. For four hundred years afterwards, the land was at peace.Stefn Eldering was the youngest son of the Earl of Shia, the last in a long, proud line of demon hunters. He was also a sin-catcher, living proof of God's displeasure, the shame of his existence atonement for the sins of his ancestors. Michael Arranz was the son of a duke and one of the despised h'naran, half-bloods cursed with the blood of the nara running through their veins. Of all the h'nara, his family alone was immune from the persecution of the powerful Church of Loth, protected by an ancient covenant.In ordinary times, the paths of Michael and Stefn would never have crossed. Alas, times were no longer ordinary. The latest of the Lothlain kings was a weakling, unable to curb the ambitions of an increasingly powerful, corrupt clergy. Famine stalked the land. Fear of the h'nara, fanned by the Church, spread tentacles everywhere. Tanyrin teetered on the edge of chaos.A loyal and devoted friend to Tanyrin's crown prince, Michael could refuse Severyn Lothlain nothing, not even when Severyn asked the unspeakable of him. Determined to wrest the throne from his brother, Severyn intended nothing less than the resurrection of the ancient naragi. Michael, whose naran blood was the purest in Tanyrin, was the logical choice. But for Michael to become what mankind feared most, he needed a conduit through which to take the powerful, dangerous magic of the Dark Stream. He needed a man who carried the ancient blood of the cethera.He needed Stefn Eldering.___ This book is published by SL Publishing Group www.slpublishinggroup.com
A Strong and Sudden Thaw
R.W. Day - 2006
In the small town of Moline, Virginia, folks struggle to survive, relying on hybrid seed sent by the faraway Departmet of Reintroduction and Agriculture and their own faith in God and hard work. But when a mated pair of dragons starts hunting the countryside, stealing sheep, and attacking children, the townsfolk quickly learn that they don't have the weapons or the skills to fight off such predators.David Anderson is a farmer's son who has explored the world through books. When he meets the new healer in town, Callan Landers, he doesn't quite know what to make of the strange warmth stealing over him. It's not until he surprises Callan with another man-and both men are promptly arrested for sodomy-that David finally realizes the truth about his own feelings.When David and Callan stumble over a secret in a nearby abandoned town, their personal problems fade before government politics and corruption that threaten lives. It seems the dragons aren't the worst dangers facing Moline.
Transformation
X. Aratare - 2014
His parents had a storybook romance … until a freak ocean storm robbed them of their lives and left him alone to be raised by his grandmother. With their deaths, Gabriel’s adoration for the sea turned to fear, and his belief in happy-ever-afters turned to dust. Gabriel vowed to never set foot in the ocean again and to never believe in love. Gabriel kept that promise until after his junior year of college, when he and his best friend Corey return to the ocean-side town where he lost his parents in order to help his grandmother. Gabriel’s bitter fear of the water has only grown, along with his belief that it is his destiny to be forever alone. Corey is determined to prove Gabriel wrong. It is his mission that summer for Gabriel to find love on the beach … and maybe do some swimming, too. Gabriel will settle for simply not reliving his parents’ deaths every time he hears the rush and shush of the waves. Both may get their wish as Gabriel discovers the hidden past of the Bravens and the sea sends someone amazing to his aid. BOOK 2 IS AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER! ASIN B00N3D7MA2
Kirith Kirin
Jim Grimsley - 2000
Jim Grimsley has created a fantasy that could have come right from our world where power and greed can tempt, and sometimes conquer, even the most rightist person and where knowing who your friends and enemies are can be very difficult if not impossible. Yet it is not our world. For in Kirith Kirin's world magic is real, immortals walk the land, and people are sometimes the playthings for the dark arts. The Blue Queen, upon resuming the throne while King Kirith Kirin's eternality is renewed in the Arthen forest, has partnered with a magician of the dark arts. No longer does she need to leave the throne to renew her eternal nature. Swayed by promises of the dark magician, she has claimed the throne forever and is extending her influence to the far corners of the world. Malleable grey clouds, sidewinding wind, and intelligent lightning bolts made the trip across the vast Girdle nearly impossible. Out of nowhere, the Blue Queen's Patrols made haste to kill the boy and the warrior before they could safely reach the deep forest of Arthen. Riding upon two magnificent stallions, one a royal Prince out of Queen Mnemarra, Jessex and his uncle Sivisal reached Arthen despite a deadly storm that reeked of magic. Thus begins Jessex's new life as he enters Arthen and moves into the royal court of Kirith Kirin.
White Trash Warlock
David R. Slayton - 2020
When a murderous spirit possesses Bobby’s wife and disrupts the perfect life he’s built away from Oklahoma, he’s forced to ask for his little brother’s help. Adam is happy to escape the trailer park and get the chance to say I told you so, but he arrives in Denver to find the local magicians dead.It isn’t long before Adam is the spirit’s next target. To survive the confrontation, he’ll have to risk bargaining with powers he’d rather avoid, including his first love, the elf who broke his heart.The Binder brothers don’t realize that they’re unwitting pawns in a game played by immortals. Death herself wants the spirit’s head, and she’s willing to destroy their family to reap it.
Mongrel
K.Z. Snow - 2010
A shadow is cast there one day when a tall, cloaked figure approaches the stand of Will Marchman, a young patent-medicine salesman. Fanule Perfidor, commonly known as the Dog King, isn't welcome at the Circus. No resident of Taintwell is; they're all Branded Mongrels, officially shunned. But Will is beguiled by the stunning, mysterious Perfidor. Their mutual wariness soon gives way to desire, and a bond forms.Soon the naive but plucky pitchman becomes embroiled in a dangerous quest. Fanule suspects Alphonse Hunzinger and Purinton's civic leaders are responsible for the disappearance or incarceration of countless Branded Mongrels. But why? As Will's passion and regard for his tormented lover grow, he's determined to help Fanule get answers and prevent any further persecution... or worse. They just have to stay together-and stay alive long enough-to see their plan through.
Liesmith
Alis Franklin - 2014
Working in low-level IT support for a company that’s the toast of the tech world, Sigmund Sussman finds himself content, if not particularly inspired. As compensation for telling people to restart their computer a few times a day, Sigmund earns enough disposable income to gorge on comics and has plenty of free time to devote to his gaming group. Then in walks the new guy with the unpronounceable last name who immediately becomes IT’s most popular team member. Lain Laufeyjarson is charming and good-looking, with a story for any occasion; shy, awkward Sigmund is none of those things, which is why he finds it odd when Lain flirts with him. But Lain seems cool, even if he’s a little different—though Sigmund never suspects just how different he could be. After all, who would expect a Norse god to be doing server reboots? As Sigmund gets to know his mysterious new boyfriend, fate—in the form of an ancient force known as the Wyrd—begins to reveal the threads that weave their lives together. Sigmund doesn’t have the first clue where this adventure will take him, but as Lain says, only fools mess with the Wyrd. Why? Because the Wyrd messes back.
Mages & Mechanisms
Devin Harnois - 2018
Enchanted mechanical animals are all the rage among the upper classes, and selling them will save his struggling family business. Enter Jak, whose enchanting ability is second only to his talent for flirting. It’s dangerous to keep such a tempting man close, but Leander can’t resist—in more ways than one.Jak needs money to continue his aimless life of running. A partnership with Leander provides both income and a lovely diversion. Their masterful creations catch the attention of an eccentric baroness who offers them an enormous sum for an ambitious project—a full-scale mechanical dragon.Swept into a life rubbing elbows with nobility, Leander is pleased but overwhelmed. Spending both workdays and evenings with Jak, he finds himself drawing closer to the charming mage. But Jak is hiding a dangerous secret, and the truth could tear them apart.
Lacuna
N.R. Walker - 2020
A girlchild enveloped in red, marked with the three lines of the desert winds. A boy bundled in white, the koi mark on his wrist as defined as his shock of red hair. And a boychild wrapped in black, a raven his mark to serve his fate.~ ~ ~Twenty-five years ago, the hand of fate marked four newborns and sent them to the four corners of the Great Kingdoms. They were schooled and trained as rulers of their lands in preparation for the Golden Eclipse ceremony: a festival to celebrate a thousand years of peace and prosperity since the Great War.Crow, ruler of Northlands, a skilled swordsman and expert tactician, is as reclusive and stoic as the mountains that surround him.Tancho has spent his life in strict discipline, governing the Westlands with a fair mind and gentle hand. Quiet and unassuming, yet lethal in combat, he is the embodiment of the waters he lives by.Yet the same hand of fate unknowingly linked Tancho to Crow in ways they cannot comprehend. Ruled by the stars, the brother sun and the two sister moons above them, and marked by an alchemical sorcery as old as time, their destinies were never their own.As the eclipse draws near and the festival begins, word comes of another threat. Invaders from unknown lands bring a war no one was prepared for, and Crow and Tancho must decide on which side of the battle line they stand.In life or death, their destinies will see them joined either way.
Urban Shaman
Lyn Gala - 2010
He's got a spotty record from the Army, a one-night stand who won't go away, and a flock of reporters trying to crucify him for shooting a civilian waving a toy pistol. Now kids are turning up missing in the Bronx, and he's partnered with by-the-book Detective Rob Jackson, a man with problems of his own. Their first suspect is a local shaman, Nikolai Adelman, who is either the strangest holy man ever or a con working his own angle. Miguel's trying to navigate a baffling case that has more questions than answers, caught between a surprising physical desire for Nikolai and his new partner's suspicions about a shaman who claims supernatural forces are at work. Miguel has always tried to avoid relationships out of guilt and fear, but Nikolai sees the darkness in Miguel's heart—and the fortitude Miguel has hidden deep inside, a strength that will help him solve the case and reclaim his life.
All of Us Villains
Amanda Foody - 2021
The Blood Veil falls. The Tournament begins.Every generation, at the coming of the Blood Moon, seven families in the remote city of Ilvernath each name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death.The prize? Exclusive control over a secret wellspring of high magick, the most powerful resource in the world--one thought long depleted.This year, thanks to a salacious tell-all book, the seven champions are thrust into worldwide spotlight, granting each of them new information, new means to win, and most importantly: a choice - accept their fate or rewrite their story.But this is a story that must be penned in blood.
Miles and the Magic Flute
Heidi Cullinan - 2010
He's bankrupt, single, and living in a trailer in his backwoods hometown after being laid off from his big city job: he could use a little downtime in a homoerotic dreamland. But Miles soon learns that in the faerie world, nothing is quite as simple as it seems. The beautiful faerie man who has captured Miles's heart might also be after Miles's soul. The frightening beast who chases him through the forest is actually a noble-hearted human under a terrible curse. And at the center of it all is the deathly beautiful Lord of Dreams, a faerie so powerful that if Miles so much as looks at his face, he will be lost in dreamland forever. The only hope for Miles's escape is a magic flute, an enchanted instrument that holds the answer to the faerie lord's defeat. But even if Miles is smart and strong enough to wield it, will he dare? When the cold light of truth dawns, if there is no reality beneath the love he's found in the faerie realm, Miles will have to return to his own world—alone.