Book picks similar to
Adrian Bradley's Best Mistake by Catherine Cloud
m-m
sports
romance
hockey
Double Up
Vanessa North - 2014
Until a career-ending injury left him broken in ways he still has no hope of fixing. Now he takes his thrills where he can get them, and tries not to let life hurt too much.Then Davis Fox arrives in Ben’s sporting goods store with a plan to get in touch with his estranged brother by competing in the annual wakeboarding double-up contest. The catch? He’s never ridden before. It’s crazy, but Ben’s a sucker for the guy’s sob story—and for his dimples, too—so he agrees to coach Davis.Davis is everything Ben isn’t: successful, confident, and in love with life. And he wants Ben to love life—and him—too. But before Ben can embrace a future with Davis, he needs to remember how to hope.
Sno Ho
Ethan Day - 2010
Along with the half dozen or so novels he's started, only to abandon mid-way through, his love life could be best described as a series of drive-bys. Boone has spent the past week staying at a ski lodge in the tiny mountain town of Summit City. He's been using his time alone to write while waiting for his boyfriend to join him for their anniversary. What happens to Boone when he winds up dumped on the eve of his one-year anniversary and ends up at a bar having one too many cocktails? Wade Walker.previously published in the anthology Melting the Slopes
The Place Between
Kit Oliver - 2020
Charles Henry Abbot, PhD has other ideas. Once Ned’s least favorite professor and now his infuriating colleague, Ned needs Abbot’s help editing his dissertation. With their newly limited work schedules, Abbot suggests the worst idea Ned’s ever heard: pretend to date. Convince their co-workers – and their boss – that they’re in a relationship and nailing this whole personal life thing . . . and each other.It’s an awful idea, but, if it means a graduation cap, would faking a relationship be worth it, so Ned can finish his degree and move home to his daughter?The Place Between is a steamy, m/m romance novel. If you like enemies to lovers, fake dating, and the thin line between bickering and flirting, then you’ll love this fast paced romance.Buy The Place Between to watch Ned and Abbot’s fake relationship unfold as they stumble into the most real thing either of them has ever done.
Social Skills
Sara Alva - 2013
No matter how badly he wishes to fit in, friendly banter and casual conversations have never been his thing. College is yet another social universe he has no clue how to navigate—until he meets Jared, a football player with chestnut eyes and a cocky grin that holds the power to shatter his self-imposed prison. Jared's attention opens Connor up to a new realm of emotional and physical intimacy. But as Connor's self-confidence grows, so does his fear that everything will fall apart. Because in this socially stratified world, how long can a relationship between an introverted violinist and a closeted football player really last?Re-edited edition
Nothing Ventured
Jay Northcote - 2014
Can Aiden and Matt sort out their feelings before race day?When Aiden agrees to run the Mad Mucker--a twelve-mile muddy slog over an obstacle course--he's expecting it to be a bit of a laugh. The training will be tough, but Aiden could use the motivation to regain some fitness.Matt is the sexy cousin of one of Aiden's coworkers and a last-minute addition to the team. When he agrees to train with Aiden, Aiden suddenly finds the prospect of regular workouts a lot more appealing.Soon attraction flares, and they embark on an intense physical relationship. Matt doesn't want to fall in love with a man, and Aiden doesn't want to fall in love at all, but despite their insistence on no strings, they grow closer. As the day of the race approaches, time is running out for them to work out how they feel about each other.This book is a standalone story with a satisfying happy ending.Please note that this is a re-release, and although it has been re-edited with British spellings it has no new content.
Game On
Olley White - 2014
You can imagine how surprised we were when we first met in person. How confused I was about my feeling for him. I was already in love with the person behind the character, but I had never been attracted to a man before.Can you tell the story of how we became that happy couple in the picture?Photo Description: Two men, in their early twenties, lean towards each other for a kiss. Both smiling, they have their eyes shut. One boy has tousled hair, an earring and an upper ear piercing. He’s wearing a bright turquoise T-shirt while the other has neater hair and is wearing a checked shirt. Their hands are held, and a gaming controller nestles between them. A computer screen with a game playing on it is visible in the background.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
Saugatuck Summer
Amelia C. Gormley - 2014
At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. But let’s get real. Walking the fake-it-til-you-make-it road to independence and self-respect isn’t easy. Especially since my mom’s a deadbeat alcoholic, and most of my family expects me to turn out just as worthless. Oh, and I’m close to losing my college swimming scholarship, so let’s add “dropout” to the list.My BFF has invited me to stay at her beach house on the shore of Lake Michigan. That’ll give me one summer to make money and figure out what I want to do with my life. So of course I decide to have an affair with my BFF’s married, closeted dad. Because that always works out.Now I’m homeless, friendless, jobless. Worthless. Just like my family expects, right? Except there’s this great guy, Jace, who sees it differently. He’s got it all together in ways I can only dream of—he’s hot, creative, insightful, understanding. He seems to think I don’t give myself enough credit. And if I don’t watch out, I may start to believe him.
Working It
Christine d'Abo - 2017
The only problem is, he liked his old life just fine . . . until an accident robbed him of his health, his job, his self-confidence, and his ability to go out in public without having anxiety attacks.Zack Anderson has scared away his last four administrative assistants. So when he hires Nolan on a whim, he’s not too worried, since Nolan will be gone within the week anyway. Two weeks later, Nolan has made himself indispensable, completely reforming Zack’s schedule, life . . . and libido.But in a company already torn by internal politics, one wrong step could ruin both their careers. And not only are they working to reopen Ringside Gym, Zack’s retreat when he was a troubled teen, but they also can’t help themselves falling for each other. If only the rest of their lives could go as smoothly as things do when they’re alone together.
Quarterback Sneak
Baylin Crow - 2019
RUSH: I’m in love with my best friend. There wasn’t an exact moment when I fell for him. It was something that grew and evolved over time. He loves me back, but it’ll never be more than platonic. It can’t be because he’s straight. Then one night he kissed me and left me with more questions than answers. The very next morning my trust was shattered by a family secret. I’d been lied to my whole life. He was by my side through it all, offering support when I needed it most. How can I risk losing a friendship that held me together when I was falling apart? TORIN: He friend-zoned me. Four years ago, I gathered enough courage to kiss my best friend. What I’d hoped would be a pivotal moment that would start a new kind of relationship between us was over before it began. His world was upended, so I put my feelings aside and stepped back into my role as a friend he could count on. He wasn’t ready then, but now it’s time to find out if he’s willing to take a chance on us being something more. We’ve been friends, roommates and teammates, but I want him, body and heart. Quarterback Sneak is a low angst, high steam novella about childhood friends, trust and football.
There's This Guy
Rhys Ford - 2017
Every penny he makes as a welder goes to care for his dying father, an abusive, controlling man who’s the only family Jake has left. Because of a promise to his dead mother, Jake resists his desire for other men, but it leaves him consumed by darkness. It takes all of Dallas Yates’s imagination to see the possibilities in the fatigued Art Deco building on the WeHo’s outskirts, but what seals the deal is a shy smile from the handsome metal worker across the street. Their friendship deepens while Dallas peels back the hardened layers strangling Jake’s soul. It’s easy to love the artistic, sweet man hidden behind Jake’s shattered exterior, but Dallas knows Jake needs to first learn to love himself.When Jake’s world crumbles, he reaches for Dallas, the man he’s learned to lean on. It’s only a matter of time before he’s left to drift in a life he never wanted to lead and while he wants more, Jake’s past haunts him, making him doubt he’s worth the love Dallas is so desperate to give him.
All the Way Out
Ingrid Sterling - 2021
So, he’d started dating Rebecca, his devoutly Catholic girlfriend who wants to wait to have sex until she’s married, during his junior year of high school and never looked back.But on the last night of a team trip to Rome, on the cusp of his senior season at Northwestern University, a Heisman, a number 1 draft pick and a National Championship, Zach seeks out one last anonymous encounter. He opens Grindr and slips out into the Italian summer night to meet Liam - Liam who has a face that looks like it was carved from Carrara marble by one of the ancient greats and whose brazen facade becomes sheepish when he’s asked about his past in Paris. The night is intense, better than Zach could have imagined. But like all one-night stands, it comes to an end by morning’s light.But what happens to Zach’s carefully manicured plans for a professional football career and a life in the closet when Liam shows up, not only on the Northwestern campus the first day of the fall semester, but in Zach’s upper-level Plato seminar, too?
The Sea Ain't Mine Alone
C.L. Beaumont - 2019
It's his chance to finally reclaim his life, move on from the war, and make a living doing the only thing that keeps him from walking away from it all. But his best laid plans are upended completely when two-time Billabong Pipeline Masters Champion Danny Moore steps up next to James on the starting line. Danny is a young, mysterious, unbeatable big wave surfer. He's man that nobody on the surf circuit can stop whispering about. For the first time since being shipped back home from Vietnam, James is captivated. That first fleeting moment turns the tide for both men, setting them on a path that crosses oceans and defies all odds. This epically romantic m/m historical romance is a slow burn that is full of drama, thrilling surfing, deep emotional connections between the characters, and guarantees the reader a hugely satisfying Happily Ever After!
Freshman Feint
Elaine Ashford - 2015
My freshman year at college is giving me a tough time. It’s not just the classes … it’s knowing I’m in love with my straight best friend, Nathan.I can’t leave him…We’ve been friends forever, and that means I have to help him get ready for his date with Charlotte, the girl we know from high school. It kills me to think he’ll never feel the same way about me that I do about him.Unless something changes…Owen, the guy from my hockey team, is into me … and maybe it’s just my imagination, but that seems to bother Nathan. Is there really a chance for us, or am I just kidding myself?
Blank Spaces
Cass Lennox - 2016
That’s all he really needs, especially since sex isn’t his forte anyway and no one else seems interested in a purely romantic connection. But when a piece is stolen from his art gallery and insurance investigator Jonah Sondern shows up, Vaughn finds himself struggling with that decision.Jonah wants his men like his coffee: hot, intense, and daily. But Vaughn seems to be the one gay guy in Toronto who doesn’t do hookups, which is all Jonah can offer. No way can Jonah give Vaughn what he really wants, not when Jonah barely understands what love is.When another painting goes missing, tension ramps up both on and off the clock. Vaughn and Jonah find themselves grappling not just with stolen art, but with their own differences. Because a guy who wants nothing but romance and a guy who wants nothing but sex will never work—right? Not unless they find a way to fill in the spaces between them.Word Count: 88,700
In the Middle of Somewhere
Roan Parrish - 2015
Daniel has never fit in—not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down on him. Now, Daniel’s relieved to have a job at a small college in Holiday, Northern Michigan, but he’s a city boy through and through, and it’s clear that this small town is one more place he won’t fit in. Rex Vale clings to routine to keep loneliness at bay: honing his muscular body, perfecting his recipes, and making custom furniture. Rex has lived in Holiday for years, but his shyness and imposing size have kept him from connecting with people. When the two men meet, their chemistry is explosive, but Rex fears Daniel will be another in a long line of people to leave him, and Daniel has learned that letting anyone in can be a fatal weakness. Just as they begin to break down the walls keeping them apart, Daniel is called home to Philadelphia, where he discovers a secret that changes the way he understands everything.