Book picks similar to
Steam Heat and Other Stories by Ari McKay


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A Gentleman of Substance


Julia Talbot - 2004
    James is something of a cad, and now he's paying for it, banished to a backwater, post-colonial Virginia town for his sins. Happily, he finds something to occupy his time in the form of Daniel Calhoun, a stiff-necked local squire who simply begs to be taken down a notch for his arrogance. The two begin a torrid affair, and Michael pushes them to the very edge of social extinction with his wild ways, drawing Daniel into mischief at every turn. Eventually Michael realizes that he teeters on the very brink of ruining Daniel's life as thoroughly as he has his own, and decides to do the honorable thing. Will it be too late for him to convince Daniel he can do the right thing? Or will Daniel Calhoun decide perhaps he doesn't want a gentleman after all?

Room to Grow


Kate Sherwood - 2012
     Cole Wheaton is out in every sense of the word—out of the closet, and recently out of a bad relationship. He hopes the new contract to design a garden for the McLeans will be the distraction he needs to get his life back on track, but there’s something about David McLean that intrigues him…and sets off warning bells. Somewhere in the middle of a bonding chat with the passionate landscape designer, David realizes he’s attracted to Cole. It’s nothing new—he’s secretly been acting on these impulses for a while. But there’s something different, something stronger with Cole that tells him acting out with Cole will be a life-changer. Determined not to saddle himself with another closet-case, Cole does his best to resist the temptation David presents. But David, watching Cole’s easy acceptance of his own sexuality, realizes it’s time to stop living a lie. An open marriage and cheap one-night stands aren’t enough, not anymore. Cautious friendship grows into affection…then passion. But until they’re both ready to cut ties to their pasts, the obstacles still walling them apart could be too high for love to breach. Warning: Contains drunken licking between friends. May cause a sudden interest in garden design.

Swallowed in the Sea


K. Sterling - 2018
    The time of the ton came to an end and rakes gave way to new, more modern heroes. What if there were still some rakes left in the world? What if they were every bit as devastating and irresistible as the rakes we’ve loved and longed for but modern? K. Sterling believes there are still some rakes out there and their time has come. The rakes have returned. Gideon Drake is not a rake. He’s a journalist. He’s covered every modern battlefield over the last decade because war scares him less than the pain of his past. An impossible lead, a myth and an assassination attempt introduces Gideon to an Israeli Butcher who isn’t Israeli or a butcher. Rami Ali is a rake. His story is very different. He is as mysterious as he is sensual and irresistible and he’s not what Gideon expected to find when he set out to uncover the elusive arms dealer. He wasn’t expecting the passion or the reckoning with his past and being in the middle of the ocean can’t save him from the heat.

The Clouds Still Hang


Patrick C. Notchtree - 2012
    The first book deals with Simon’s childhood friendship and eventually love affair with an older boy, the second the trauma of his teenage years and early adulthood, the third his struggle to maintain equilibrium and the consequences of his failure at one point to achieve that. It is a fictional biography, written because it tells a strong story which raises many issues over six decades, the post war baby boomer generation who in many ways never had it so good. His own experience is probably unique, yet will strike a chord with many others who have been through similar things, as well as those with an interest in such matters, either personal or professional. It's a varied, exciting, demanding, sometimes terrifying life story.. Part 1, "The Book of Daniel" has received 5 star reviews and enthusiastically tweeted about. Read here: http://www.limebury.com/books.html It is not suitable for those under 18 years or who find explicit sexual narrative, including sexual violence, offensive.

The Ornamental Hermit


Olivier Bosman - 2015
    Detective Sergeant John Billings is a Quaker. He sees God in everyone and takes other people's suffering to heart. He is an honest and hard working man who has risen swiftly through the ranks to become one of Scotland Yard's youngest detectives. But in his private life he struggles with the demons of loneliness, morphine addiction and homosexuality. While Scotland Yard is in the midst of foiling a Russian counterfeiting operation, Billings is asked to investigate the cold blooded murder of Lord Palmer. The main suspect is a rough looking vagrant called Brendan Lochrane who was employed by Lord Palmer to live as an 'ornamental hermit' in a grotto in his estate. When Billings visits Lochrane in his holding cell, he is moved by the look in the man's eyes. This is not the 'Wild Man' the press have made him out to be. Lochrane is mute, docile and unresponsive. A gut feeling leads Billings to suspect that the man is being framed. But who is framing him? And why? Billings travels the length and breadth of Britain investigating the case. As he pieces together the fragments of Lochrane's extraordinary life, he slowly finds himself becoming embroiled in a web of corruption and deceit which goes right to the heart of Scotland Yard. 'The Ornamental Hermit' is a thrilling mystery which leads the reader on a colourful journey into Victorian England. This is the 2nd book in the D.S.Billings Victorian Mysteries series, but it can be enjoyed as a stand alone story.

Loving Layne


V.L. Locey - 2020
    Mysteries intrigue him, and his best friend Dillon seems to be sitting on a whopper. So, with his grandfather’s favorite hat on his head and his notebook in hand, the journalism major starts digging. Sadly, getting his bestie to spill the beans on what the secret is isn’t as easy as Roman had hoped.Now, through no fault of his own, he’s stuck in an expensive hotel attending a bachelor auction of all things. He’s surrounded by lumbering jocks who, he’s sure, are just waiting for the chance to poke fun at the skinny, gay Jewish guy. Imagine his surprise when one of the big lugs sits down with him and talks Bernstein and Woodward.Layne Coleman is sexy as sin, smart as a whip, considerably older, and has the same passion for investigative journalism as Roman does. His deep blue eyes and dark hair make concentrating on anything but the soft kisses they’re now sharing difficult. Roman’s keen instincts are understandably clouded by romance, so when Dillon reveals his secret in a highly public way, it’s hard to say who is more stunned—Roman or Layne, the man at the center of it all.

Home for the Holidays


Jerry Cole - 2017
    He’s sure that the moment that he arrives his family is going to tell him just how disappointed they are in him. He can’t blame them. They’re right. He’s an abject failure. Even after trying to make it in the city for almost a decade, he still has no steady gigs as an actor and now that he has broken up with his ex-girlfriend—if she can even be called that—he has nowhere to live and no one to pay his bills. Max worries that he might not be able to come back to the city when he goes home if his parents realize just how much he’s struggling. They have never supported his career as an actor and now he’s just going to prove them right. Sitting there in the airport, dreading what’s going to come next, something completely unexpected happens. Max runs into Jason Mayes, his childhood best friend. The same guy who went on to become a teenage frenemy. The very same Jason Mayes that Max is still moderately sure he’s in love with. Of course, Jason wants nothing to do with him. Max knows that he was awful to him when they were kids and he knows that there’s very little he can do to apologize for what he did. But when all flights are grounded and Jason decides to talk to him, all bets are off and the scales start to fall from Max’s eyes. Will Max be able to convince Jason that he means it when he’s apologizing? Will Jason be able to let go of one more egregious offense after he attempts to forgive him? Maybe their long-lasting relationship will end with a tryst in the bathroom of an overcrowded airport. But not if Max can help it. He doesn’t like men—he doesn’t think—but with Jason, everything is different. And he will do anything it takes to prove to him that he has changed. Please Note: This book contains adult language & steamy adult activities, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. Novel, approx. 60,000 words in length. HEA (happy ever after ending). Does not end with a "cliffhanger".

Dragon's Destiny: Fated Mates: The Complete Series


Wolf Specter - 2016
    Set in the contemporary world, this addicting series has made thousands of readers fall in love with the close-knit family of dragons who overcome everything thrown in their way to finally claim the men they love. You’ll laugh, cry, and have to fan yourself as the dragons struggle to come to terms with their own natures, use their powers for good, and embrace the love fate intended for them. Dragon’s Destiny: Fated Mates: The Complete Series brings you 260,000 words of steamy gay paranormal romance that contains male pregnancy (mpreg), potty-mouthed soldiers, unbreakable love, and a whole lot of heat. The bundle includes all four complete novels in the series. HEAT - BOOK 1 Unlike the rest of his species, dragon shifter Dane Bennett has dedicated his life to caring for humans, looking out for them, fighting for them, protecting them—and never, ever letting them know what he really is. But after four hundred years, that’s about to change. The dragon inside Dane is telling him that Wesley Byrne, the twin brother of a soldier Dane serves with, is his destiny. The only problem? Dane doesn’t trust his dragon. The pull of a fated mate, though, is just too powerful to resist... SCORCH - BOOK 2 For two hundred years, Maksim has kept his true nature as a dragon shifter secret from the humans he lives among and the men he takes to his bed. He prefers his love life, and life in general, to stay easy… simple…. fun. Maks doesn’t like complications, but when he finally meets his fated mate, claiming him isn’t just complicated… it’s impossible. Fated mates are two halves of the same soul, designated for each other—but Fate isn’t going to make it easy on Maks, because the one man Maks needs is also the one he can’t have. Devin is married. Devin has a child… and a very pregnant wife. Regardless of what fate may have had in mind for Maks, Devin simply isn’t available. IGNITE - BOOK 3 Ben wants a baby, and for five hundred years, he’s been searching for the one man who can give him that: the human man who is the other half of his soul, his fated mate. When Ben finally finds him, though, his mate isn’t at all what he expected. Zander is a loong, a wingless Chinese dragon and the child of fated mates himself. He’s young for a dragon, idealistic, and not at all sure he’s ready to be tied down to a mate and child. When an outside threat makes Zander face losing everything, he has to decide what really matters the most. BLAZE - BOOK 4 Fate hasn't been kind to Ivan, but the long-lived dragon shifter doesn’t blame her. After all, he’s spent the last couple of centuries doing terrible things to humankind, and he's the last person with any right to expect kindness from something as fickle as fate. Some things are simply unforgivable. Ty Byrne is dragonkind’s biggest fan.

Fortunes of War


Mel Keegan - 1995
    Seperated by seven years of war, the two meet up again in the Caribbean, where Dermot now commands a privateer. The couple's adventures on the Spanish Main make a swashbuckling romance in the best pirate tradition. A rip-roaring yarn from the author of "Ice Wind and Fire, Death's Head, Equinox" and "Aquamarine."

Lean on Me


Sierra Riley - 2018
    He has five hundred Facebook friends but feels utterly alone. Finally, he gets some good luck: his old best friend is moving back into town, and Levi takes him up on an offer to go hiking and get away from it all. He's looking forward to the trip, as long as the crush he had on Marcus back in the day stays buried. “Let's get away from it all. Together.” Recently dumped by his long-term girlfriend, Marcus Townsend is struggling to readjust to single life. He needs to get out into nature, to lick his wounds and recover. A two-day hike with his old college friend Levi is just what he needs. But when a horrible accident befalls them on the trail, Marcus finds himself depending on Levi for more than just friendship. “You're going to be okay. I've got you. Just stay with me.” Levi will do anything to get Marcus home safe. And Marcus had no idea just how much Levi cared. But once they get home, how are they ever going to deal with the feelings that surfaced on the trail? Was it a moment of weakness or a glimpse of something deeper? Lean on ME is a steamy, standalone gay romance novel with a HEA and no cliffhangers.

Triumph


Avery Ford - 2018
    In the ten years since he’s graduated, he’s opened a bookstore and made it his mission to bring diversity and inclusion to Silver Lake while working hard to maintain the small town charm that he loves so much. The only thing missing is someone to share his dreams - his once best friend, who left Calvin behind with a broken heart.   Jack Roberts has the life he’s always wanted. He left Silver Lake ten years ago for college in Boston and hasn’t looked back since. If it wasn’t for the occasional holiday trip to visit his parents, he’d happily forget all about that town and all the memories it holds, especially Calvin Berry, who despite trying, Jack’s never forgotten.   When Calvin and the other business owners in Silver Lake are on the verge of getting pushed out in favor of nameless corporations, Calvin knows he has to do something. He wants to turn Silver Lake around, and he needs as much help as he can get—even if that means asking for it from the man he used to call his best friend. Can Calvin and Jack get over the hurt from their past and take a second chance on each other? Will they be able to move forward and discover that despite the distance between them, their feelings for each other only grew stronger?

Hold Fast


Sebastian Nothwell - 2018
    When the late baronet’s will tasks him with finding the lost heir and making a gentleman of him, he is determined to succeed.Thirteen years ago, Evelyn Winthrop ran away to sea. Now that his hated patriarch is dead, the ancestral home he returns to is more shadowed than what he left behind. Ungrateful relations and old friends alike tie a knot of scandal and depravity only a sailor could hope to unravel. And all the while, the siren song of the sea calls him to return at the first opportunity.Neither anticipated forming more tender attachments.To Evelyn, his unexpectedly handsome agent is the only thing anchoring him to shore. He sees a captain’s soul within Morgan, and his heart is caught upon the hook of command—if only Morgan would return his affections.To Morgan, his new employer’s charms threaten to tear down the thorns that have grown around his heart—thorns he cultivated to restrain his unnatural instincts.When the estate and all who live there are threatened by a maelstrom of bitter secrets and sinister plots, it is down to Morgan to take command, down to Evelyn to hold fast, and down to them both to navigate their own treacherous sea.

Find My Way Back


Kaya LaSalle - 2020
    Disillusioned after hitting a rough patch in life, she wants to do something that changes the world for the better. If only she could figure out what that was...Corina Garces is the youngest CEO in the history of Garcorps International. She’s driven, opinionated, and one of the most eligible bachelorettes in the world. But she’s not looking for a relationship...at least not until she meets Sunny.The attraction is instant, but both women have their secrets. Will they be able to find their way back to each other when the rest of the world threatens to tear them apart?

A Very Messy Motel Brothers Wedding


Kate Hawthorne - 2020
    Back in Cherry Creek with his boyfriend, Luke, Cameron wrangles everyone who means anything to the family into town, ready to celebrate. Joined by their loved ones, Cameron sets to righting his relationship with Eddie and planning the wedding of Eddie and Charlie's dreams. But as it often happens, emotions run high, and words from the past resurface, leaving Cameron doubting his future with Luke. Thankfully, his brothers and their boyfriends rally to his side, and when all is said and done, maybe two couples will end the day with rings on their fingers. --- A Very Messy Motel Brothers Wedding is a short story that takes us back to Cherry Creek for one last hurrah before saying goodbye. A Very Messy Motel Wedding is best enjoyed after reading the entire Room for Love series, and it gets back into the heads of your favorite Motel men and their partners for the wedding to end all weddings.

Franny, the Queen of Provincetown


John Preston - 1983
    With genuine caring and concern for her boys, Franny looks after the gay men of Provincetown with the ultimate goal of making a place in the world for those who don't belong and making the world better for all.