Book picks similar to
Getting Sacked by Van Cole
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Winging It
Ashlyn Kane - 2015
It doesn’t include being the first out hockey player or, worse, getting involved with one of his teammates. But things change.Dante Baltierra is Gabe’s polar opposite—careless, reckless… shameless. But his dedication to the sport is impressive, and Gabe can overlook a lot of young-and-stupid in the name of great hockey. And Dante has a superlative ass in a sport filled with superlative asses.Before Gabe can figure out how to deal, a tabloid throws him out of his comfortable closet into a brand-new world. Amid the emotional turmoil of invasive questions, nasty speculation, and on- and off-ice homophobia, his game suffers. Surprisingly, it’s Dante who drags him out of it—and then drags him into something else. Nothing good can come of secretly sleeping with a teammate, especially one Gabe has feelings for. But with their captain out with an injury, a rookie in perpetual need of a hug, and the race to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995, Gabe has a lot on his plate. He can’t be blamed for forgetting that nothing stays secret forever.
Off the Ice
Avon Gale - 2017
Despite a flourishing career as a defenseman for the Atlanta Venom, Tristan knows he can’t play hockey forever. One day he’ll retire—if an injury doesn’t force him to hang up his skates first. His backup plan? Finishing his business degree. But he doesn’t count on a very inappropriate attraction to his standoffish sociology professor, Sebastian Cruz.Sebastian is on the bottom rung of the Sociology Department at Georgia State. He has his sights set on tenure, and he can’t afford to be distracted, especially not by a sexy student with a body straight out of Sebastian’s dreams. No matter how much Tristan tempts him, that’s one line Sebastian won’t cross. At least not until summer classes end. After that, everything is fair game.But Sebastian lives loud and proud, and Tristan is terrified of being the first out player in the NHL. Neither of them can afford to risk their hearts when they can’t imagine a happily ever after. The problem is, unlike hockey, when it comes to love, there are no rules.
No Take Backs
Becca Seymour - 2021
If you say those words, get caught glancing at his bulge, or share a heated kiss, it’s game over. The “no take backs” rule strikes, and there’s no way you can backtrack. That’s the way it’s always been with me and Nate Griffin, my old best friend who thought he could change the rules. It doesn’t matter that time and distance have pulled us apart. I’ve finally figured myself out and yanked my head out of my backside. Now, if only I can drag myself out of the closet and be the man I want to be for Nate…But I’m a pro basketball player who has no desire to be a poster boy. Not only that, Nate and I don’t even live in the same country. Nate, big-hearted guy he is, takes it all in his stride, and I can’t help but wonder if just maybe he’s too good for me. But hell if I can resist him.It all boils down to: Do I want to take anything back when it comes to Nate Griffin?
Duplicity
A.E. Madsen - 2022
Now, I’ve been effectively disowned by my parents, and I haven’t dated anyone in almost nine months since. According to my friend, that’s too much time to waste regretting the actions of a good for nothing jerk. Part of me wants to get back out there, but I’m not sure. She insists on setting me up on a semi blind date with her old study buddy. But when I run into him on campus, he isn’t anything like she said. Ian I can count the number of people that I’ve told I’m bi on one hand, make that one finger. I’ve never been the out and proud type. So, when Daniel approached me nervously asking about a date, I was a little surprised, but I was also on my way to soccer practice and had no time to think it through. I gave him my number so we could meet up later and we went on a date the next weekend. It was great, and he kissed me when we were saying goodbye. Then he called me Aiden. That’s my brother’s name. Did I forget to mention I’m a twin? *Duplicity is a mistaken identity romance novel with a HFN ending. Please see front matter for TW.*
My Hero
Max Vos - 2013
Little did he know that years later, as a senior in college and Olympic diving hopeful, Rich would meet up once again with Johnny Milloway, now a big football player – and when Rich says big, he really means ‘bear’. The shy jock remembers his savior, and the two men become friends. Johnny isn’t put off by the fact that Rich is gay. In fact, the more time he spends with Rich, the more curious he becomes. Johnny wants to know all kinds of things – what it’s like to kiss a guy, for instance. Only it doesn’t stop there…Rich finds it difficult to believe that this relationship can go anywhere. Johnny is straight, and Rich isn’t prepared to deal with the heartache he knows will come his way in the future. He has enough on his plate as it is – the Worlds are just around the corner, his father would rather watch a football game than spend time watching his son dive…. What he doesn’t count on is Johnny, who can be very determined. And having Johnny in his life proves to be a catalyst for some pretty earth-shattering changes.
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?
Working Out the Kinks
Misha Horne - 2017
I learned early on that pretty much everything in life is a scam, and love's at the top of the list. Easy to fake, maximum payout, and people just never stop falling for it. Watching my mom break hearts and empty bank accounts as we bounced from house to house taught me just how dangerous feelings could be. That's a whole lot of hassle I don't need. These days, I stick to three basic rules. I don’t take something just because I want it. I don’t ask for help, even if I need it. And I never look twice at a guy who has a bigger bank account than I do. I know where those things can get you, and it's not anywhere I need to go. I’m perfectly happy being a dive bar rock star who can barely pay his rent, chasing the dream until my time or my sanity runs out. At least, I thought I was. Until Brett showed up. Another thing I don’t do is think about the past. All the people I can never look in the eye again. Who know just how ugly I really am deep down. The last person I need to get mixed up with is someone on that list. The last person I need to go breaking all my rules for is the cocky, spoiled brat who used to sleep in the room across the hall. No matter how gorgeous he is now. No matter how filthy he is in bed. No matter how good it feels when he says all he wants in the world is me. Working Out the Kinks is a 98,000 word filthy forbidden romance novel about a grumpy, broken rock star who refuses to fall in love and a lonely, relentless, spoiled brat looking for someone to belong to. So much angst, so much arguing, so much spanking, and a touch of taboo. Avoid at all costs if you don’t like those things.
These Violent Delights
Jess Whitecroft - 2017
The last thing he needs is his English teacher riding him about his poor class performance. For teacher Tom, still raw from an ugly breakup, the last thing he needs is a new romance, especially one that drags him into the thorny ethical issues of dating a student. When a chance encounter opens the door on unexpected lust, Tom and Milos plunge headlong into an erotic, all-consuming affair, but can the violent delights of new love survive secrets?
The Nerd Jock Conundrum
Hayden Hall - 2021
How could I not? But Jackson and I are polar opposites. He’s popular, confident, and as hot as hell in a tight T-shirt. Me? I’m just a scrawny, awkward nerd.Another point of difference: he’s straight.And as I trip, stumble, and stammer my way through all our conversations, my desire is growing at an alarming rate. I keep wondering what he looks like when he’s on his knees.As if my crush on him isn’t bad enough, Jackson is assigned to be my partner on a year-long project, and I have no choice but to spend time with the hottest guy on campus. Bummer.But the attraction is intensifying. We’re on a collision course. I shouldn’t be leaning in…I think I’m going to kiss him.JacksonSweet. I got partnered up with the biggest nerd on campus. If I play my cards well, a passing grade is guaranteed.Troy’s all shy and awkward; a classic nerd. But there’s more to him than he’s showing. And it’s making me curious.I want to see him come out of his shell. I know he would be better off if he let his guard down. I want to be his friend, but he thinks I’m just another dumb jock. Except, I see him looking at me the way I could never look at him.Am I sending the wrong message? Is he falling for me?He’s leaning in fast… He’s about to kiss me.And I’m not even ducking.The Nerd Jock Conundrum is the first book in the College Boys of New Haven series, but it can be read on its own. It features a fresh twist on the nerd jock trope, opposites attract, bisexual awakening, enemies to friends to lovers, and a very happy ending.
Changing Lines
R.J. Scott - 2017
To get out of their shadows, and against their advice, he accepts a trade to the Harrisburg Railers, where he runs into Jared Madsen. Mads is an old family friend and his brother’s one-time teammate. Mads is Tennant’s new coach. And Mads is the sexiest thing he’s ever laid eyes on.Jared Madsen’s hockey career was cut short by a fault in his heart, but coaching keeps him close to the game. When Ten is traded to the team, his carefully organized world is thrown into chaos. Nine years his junior and his best friend’s brother, he knows Ten is strictly off-limits, but as soon as he sees Ten’s moves, on and off the ice, he knows that his heart could get him into trouble again.Can Tennant show Jared that age is just a number, and that love is all that matters?
Noah
Cara Dee - 2016
I came home to find my girlfriend of four years with another man. The next day a plane crash ripped my family away from me, shattering me in the process. In many ways, I died that day, too. The fun-loving man who'd lived in the fast lane and loved his career in the film industry was gone. Left was a forty-year-old shell that dwelled at the bottom of a bottle.Only one person knew what I was going through. My sister's stepson, who hadn't been on the plane. Julian knew what it was like to lose everyone he loved, too. He'd stopped showing up at reunions when he was a teenager, so I didn’t know him very well. But I told him at the memorial service he could come out and visit me in LA whenever. One day he did, and I guessed it was as good a day as any to start picking up the pieces and see what was left of us.
Home Goal
H.J. Perry - 2016
Career-focused Jason Tant has given up on love to play football at the highest level: his team is in the Premiership, and Jason also plays for the English national team. He doesn’t want to be the poster boy for LGBT people in sport—and his advisors have told him that coming out will ruin his career. It’s not an issue until Scott captures Jason’s heart and turns his world around. Out and proud... With a carefree, live-for-today attitude, Scott Cole was never in the closet. Funny, clever, and a terrific dancer, the science student has many talents but the man he loves requires something else—discretion. They seem an unlikely couple but neither can resist the chemistry that draws them together. Under scrutiny... Prying paparazzi are everywhere, determined to out gay footballers. Scott questions whether he and Jason need to keep their love a secret when professional British sportsmen in other fields are coming out. Will Jason have to choose between love and his career? Or will the tabloids destroy them both? An MM romance novel with a happy ever after. The story spans 2012-2015. Set in England where fans would die for their football team and football is not called soccer. It is 51,000 words. The book was inspired by the news story in October 2015 that British gay footballers are preparing to come out in public.
Crossing Swords
Mixie Edwards - 2017
But after a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, he finds himself crossing swords with his best friend Jeremy Pratt. Who’s also not … gay. It was a one-time thing. It didn’t mean anything. They like girls. At least, that’s what these boys of summer tell themselves as they pretend it wasn’t more than experimentation. With only four weeks left before they leave town for college, Christopher and Jeremy awkwardly navigate their way through a series of unfortunate (or very fortunate) events. Often leaving them breathless, conflicted, and dressed in nothing but a pair of socks. Because socks are less gay. As their time together comes to an end, will Christopher and Jeremy accept that love doesn’t discriminate, or will they put their swords up for good?
An Unforgettable Love
Jerry Cole - 2019
He has plenty to do, being the head ranger of the Tahoe National Forest, but living alone in a cabin in the middle of the woods isn’t exactly the most riveting life. He’s known excitement, too. For many years he served as a sniper in the marine corps, but a devastating shoulder injury has reduced him to civilian duties. These days, a walker’s twisted ankle or a trapped raccoon is about as exciting as it gets. Nothing can prepare him, though, for the day he comes across a man lying in the middle of a lonely forest road. The man is alive, but he’d certainly been left for dead. When he wakes up in the hospital, it becomes obvious that he’s suffering from amnesia. With nothing to identify him save for the huge angel tattoo that spreads across his shoulders, the hospital staff name him Gabriel, and tell Hopper that with nowhere else to send him, once he’s recovered from his injuries he’ll have to be sent out into the world. Against his better judgement, but always a sucker for swarthy looks and piercing blue eyes, Hopper agrees to allow Gabriel to stay with him. Perhaps, together, they can work at finding out who this mystery man is, why he was left lying in the forest, and who could possibly have attacked him so badly. What Hopper can never prepare himself for is how deeply he will fall for this handsome stranger, and how he will be able to let Gabriel go when the past, as it always does, comes to catch up. Please Note: This book contains adult language and steamy adult activities, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. Novel, approximately 82,000 words in length. HEA (happy ever after ending). Does not end with a "cliffhanger." Themes include: Forest Ranger, Amnesia, Angel tattoo, Lake Tahoe, Falling in love, ex-marine