Book picks similar to
Imago by N.R. Walker
m-m
mm
romance
contemporary
His Royal Secret
Lilah Pace - 2016
But he's keeping a king-sized secret...James, next in line for the throne, is gay.He’s been able to hide his sexual orientation with the help of his best friend and beard, Lady Cassandra. Sometimes he feels like a coward for not coming out, but he daren’t risk losing the crown. If he did, the succession would fall on his deeply troubled younger sister, Princess Amelia. To protect her, James is willing to live a lie.While on holiday, he meets Benjamin Dahan—a rugged international reporter with a globe-trotting, unattached life—who catches far more than James's eye. And when Ben is transferred to London, it seems fate may finally be smiling on James.But what began as a torrid fling grows into something far more intimate and powerful. Soon James will have to decide who he is, what he wants from life and love, and what he’s willing to sacrifice for the truth...
Out
Cara Dee - 2017
I wanna get to know him.”I had two things on my list when I arrived in Los Angeles. One, track down Henry Bennington, the uncle and guardian of my little brother’s best friend, and tell him to get his ass back to Washington. He needed to do something about his nephew, who was turning into a douchebag. And two, figure out just how non-straight I was. For the past two years, I’d had all these fantasies, and now was the time to explore them, far away from my sleepy little town. Nowhere on this list did it say, “Get Ty’s uncle into bed and fall for him.” I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with another city either. But between brunch, making new friends, and discovering the man I was meant to be, I lost sight of the future that had once seemed pretty damn vivid. How the hell was I supposed to merge my old life and who I used to be with the new dreams Los Angeles and Henry had awakened in me?
Buzz
E. Davies - 2015
Cam can't hide his past – especially when his heart racing is a big risk, and boy, does his new boss's nephew make his heart race. Noah's exactly the kind of guy Cam needs after his hellish ex.“I want to do something new.”Art curator Noah Clark is glad his beekeeping uncle hired this hunk. Cameron is a sweet, smart bad boy. Noah works hard, like organizing a hockey-themed art exhibition, and he wants to let himself love hard. Noah's busy life would be perfect with Cameron, but what's his new lover hiding?“Tell me why you've been watching me.”Pitting Cam's budding relationship with sweet Noah against millions of bucks, Cam is offered a lot of money to abandon his new priorities: life, love, and family. The game of their lives is on the line. And after all's said and done, is it too late for Noah to forgive Cam for his partial truths?
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.
Coming Home
M.J. O'Shea - 2012
Ten years later Tallis is dead broke, newly homeless, and on the walk of shame to end all walks of shame. He needs money and needs it fast, and Rock Bay is the only home he knows. But the people of Rock Bay haven't forgotten him-or the spoiled brat he used to be. The only person in town willing to overlook his past is Lex, the new coffee shop owner, who offers Tally a job even though he appears to despise Tally based on his reputation alone. When Tally discovers his gorgeous boss is the kid he tortured back in high school, Lex's hot and cold routine finally makes sense. Now Tally has to pull out all the stops to prove he was never really the jerk he seemed to be. After all, if he can win Lex's heart, the rest of the town should be a piece of coffee cake.
Locked In Silence
Sloane Kennedy - 2017
It’s easier not to try anymore…Ten years after leaving his small Minnesota hometown in his rearview mirror for what Nolan Grainger was sure would be the last time, life has decided to throw the talented musician a curveball and send him back to the town he lived in but was never really home.At twenty-eight, Nolan has traveled the world as a successful concert violinist with some of the best symphonies in the country. But success breeds envy, and when Nolan’s benefactor and lover decides Nolan has flown high enough, he cruelly clips Nolan’s wings. The betrayal and ensuing scandal leaves the violinist’s career in shambles and with barely enough money to start fresh somewhere beyond his vindictive ex’s powerful reach. But just as he’s ready to get his life back on track, Nolan gets the call he’s been dreading.After a stroke leaves his father a partial invalid, duty-bound Nolan returns to Pelican Bay and a life he’s spent years trying to forget. When he’s forced to use the last of his own money to keep from losing the family home, desperation has him turning to the one man he’d hoped never to see again…Even if I could speak, there wouldn’t be anyone there to listen…Pelican Bay’s golden boy, Dallas Kent, had the quintessential perfect life. Smart, gorgeous, and popular, the baseball phenom was well on his way to a life filled with fame and fortune. But more importantly, he had a one-way ticket out of Pelican Bay and far away from the family who used love as currency and whose high expectations were the law of the land. But a stormy night, sharp highway curve and one bad decision changed everything, leaving Dallas with nothing.Because the accident that took his parents, his future and his crown as the boy who could do no wrong, also stole his voice.Despised for the horrific wreck that ended the lives of two of Pelican Bay’s most respected residents, Dallas has retreated to a secluded stretch of land where he’s found refuge in a menagerie of unwanted animals that don’t care that he once had the world at his feet or that he’ll never speak again.But when the quiet, bookish boy he wasn’t allowed to notice in school suddenly reappears ten years later at Dallas’s wildlife rehab center in desperate need of a job, Dallas is thrust back into a world he’s worked hard to escape.Dallas’s silence was supposed to send Nolan scurrying, but what if Nolan ends up being the one person who finally hears him?Will two men who’ve been fleeing from the past finally come home to Pelican Bay for good or will the silence drive them apart forever?
Regret
Christina Lee - 2017
The last thing he expects is for his friend’s roommate to be the one guy he despises the most. The same guy who stomped on his heart senior year of high school. And by the looks of the girl on his arm, the same man who’s still deep inside the closet. Nicholas Dell never predicted that eleven years later, one of his greatest regrets would show up on his doorstep down on his luck. Nick has made some terrible mistakes—story of his life—and he’s been paying for them ever since. And if the guilt and shame aren’t enough, his first crush had to turn into one of the sexiest men he’s ever laid eyes on. Nick and Brin have weeks to steer clear of each other. Weeks to avoid strangling each other. But when stubbornness leads to skyrocketing sexual tension, hate-sex doesn’t seem like such an awful way to work through their frustration. Except hate is a powerful emotion, especially when it’s turned inward. And in Nick’s case he’s been drowning in a sea of self-loathing for so long, he can’t see his way out. As Brin reconnects with Nick, his perception of what really happened in their past begins to change. He’s finally ready to forgive him and take a second chance on the one guy who stirs him like no other. But Nick’s demons are complicated, heart-wrenching…demanding. So devastating, he might never allow himself true happiness—even with the one man who’s always owned his heart.
The Boyfriend Game
Stella Starling - 2018
Carter Olson never expected he’d get a chance to date his older brother’s best friend, Rip Taylor. Wished for it? Yes. Fantasized about it? Possibly too much. But ever thought it would actually happen? Not in a million years, since Rip is straight. But even if it’s just to try and win a gay game show, having Rip for a boyfriend—even a temporary/pretend one—is still the best thing to happen to Carter in... well, ever. Especially because Rip’s so good at it. Amazingly good, actually. So good that Carter starts to hope that maybe it won’t have to end once the show’s over… If there are two things Rip Taylor lives for, they’re having fun and being there for his friends, so a trip to Vegas to help surprise his best friend’s girlfriend with a big, flashy proposal sounds awesome. And even more fun? His bestie's plan to try and win some prize money for the wedding by signing the two of them up as contestants on The Boyfriend Game. The game show is sponsored by the gay dating app bLoved, and Rip is all in. He may be straight, but he's never been narrow, and when circumstances (aka a best friend who can't hold his tequila) mean that little Carter Olson gets roped into being Rip's fake boyfriend instead, that’s almost better… because who wouldn’t be able to be a convincing boyfriend to Carter? After all, Carter’s hella sweet. Kind of adorable, actually. And really, really easy to get into character with… Winning The Boyfriend Game? Rip and Carter have it in the bag. The Boyfriend Game is a gay romance novel of approximately 75,000 words that contains some confusion about tops and bottoms, a straight guy who realizes he isn’t, an ice cube that melts much too fast, and the kind of luck that can only be found in Vegas. Every Stella Starling romance takes place in the same interconnected, contemporary world. The Boyfriend Game is a standalone book with cameos from other Stella Starling stories, a #boyfriendsbybLoved spinoff that takes place around the time of the epilogue from Ready For Love (Book One of the Semper Fi series).
Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts
Charlie Cochet - 2015
An adventure in picking up his prescriptions puts him in the path of his geeky, brownie-baking neighbor, Spencer Morgan. Spencer sweeps into Quinn’s life like a tropical storm of sunshine and rainbows. Not surprisingly, it’s chaos at first sight. Quinn’s in need of a little tender loving care, and Spencer decides he’s just the man for the job. Their very different lives might clash, but they might also find some common ground—and maybe more.
The Blueprint
S.E. Harmon - 2018
He has friends, a wonderful family, and a great job. But his love life has reached a new level of pitiful. Why? Well, his heart decided to break all the rules. Don’t fall in love with a straight guy. And definitely don’t fall in love with your best friend.NFL standout Britton “Blue” Montgomery has pressure coming at him from all sides. From his father, who’s only interested in Blue’s football career. From his coaches, who just want him to play without getting injured again. From the fans. From his agent. And from his mother, who has popped up on the radar after leaving his family years before. And now his relationship with Kelly is on shaky ground, and that frightens Blue more than anything.When Kelly admits he’s in love with Blue, bonds are tested, and Blue has to decide what’s really important. He doesn’t want to lose the number-one person in his life, but the cost to keep Kelly close might be more than he’s willing to pay.It’s a good thing his nickname is the Blueprint—it’s time to draft a new set of plans.
Making it Personal
K.C. Wells - 2013
And he’s going to stay that way. Because if his father finds out he’s gay, Blake could lose everything he’s worked so hard to achieve during the last six years as CEO of Trinity Publishing, the fastest rising star in the publishing firmament. Not that coming out wouldn’t solve a couple of problems. Maybe then his father would stop trying to set him up with yet another empty-headed, social-climbing girlfriend. And better still, Blake could stop using that escort agency when he wants a night of hot sex with a cute guy…Will Parkinson has had a tough life so far, but he’s back on his feet. Okay, so he’s working as an escort – with ‘benefits’– to pay off his student loans, but that does have its advantages, such as the really hot guy who hired him. Yeah, Blake rocked his world last night – several times. So imagine how Will feels when he arrives to be interviewed for his dream job as PA in a publishing company, and the guy who’s hiring is….. Blake.And then things get really complicated….
How to Bang a Billionaire
Alexis Hall - 2017
. .If England had yearbooks, I'd probably be "Arden St. Ives: Man Least Likely to Set the World on Fire." So far, I haven't. I've no idea what I'm doing at Oxford, no idea what I'm going to do next and, until a week ago, I had no idea who Caspian Hart was. Turns out, he's brilliant, beautiful . . . oh yeah, and a billionaire.It's impossible not to be captivated by someone like that. But Caspian Hart makes his own rules. And he has a lot of them. About when I can be with him. What I can do with him. And when he'll be through with me.I'm good at doing what I'm told in the bedroom. The rest of the time, not so much. And now that Caspian's shown me glimpses of the man behind the billionaire I know it's him I want. Not his wealth, not his status. Him. Except that might be the one thing he doesn't have the power to give me.
Fresh Catch
Kate Canterbary - 2018
Get away from Silicon Valley's back-stabbing and power-grabbing. Recharge the innovative batteries. Unwind, then come back stronger than ever.Instead, I got lost at sea and fell in love with an anti-social lobsterman.There's one small issue: Owen Bartlett doesn't know who I am. Who I really am. ~~I don't like people.I avoid small talk and socializing, and I kick my companions out of bed before the sun rises. No strings, no promises, no problems. Until Cole McClish's boat drifts into Talbott's Cove, and I bend all my rules for the sexy sailor. I don't know Cole's story or what he's running from, but one thing is certain: I'm not letting him run away from me.
Fresh Catch is a standalone novel. A portion of this novel appeared in the 2016 anthology INCOGNITO. The story has been substantially expanded.
Unscripted Love
Aimee Nicole Walker - 2017
He easily checked off the first item on the list when he took over his grandfather’s veterinary practice. Too bad he wasn’t as lucky in love. Chaz Hamilton took a leap of faith when he decided to pursue a career in writing, but one best seller didn’t mean he could quit his day job. All work and no play threatened to make Chaz a very dull man when the only romantic action he saw was in the pages of his manuscript. Too bad he couldn’t write his own happily every after. Circumstances pushed the two men together, and one magical kiss beneath fireworks and stars changed everything. Kyle knew his luck had finally turned around and Chaz found a man far better than any book boyfriend ever written. There was just one problem. Chaz has kept a secret from Kyle that could ruin their chance at a beautiful life together. Kyle and Chaz learn that the best-laid plans often go awry, the heart has a mind of its own, and the greatest love is unscripted. The books in the Road to Blissville series can be read either as standalone books or as part of the series. This book contains sexually explicit material and is intended for mature adults 18 and older.
Fire and Water
Andrew Grey - 2014
His job policing the streets of Carlisle, PA, only adds to the ugliness, and lately, drug overdoses have been on the rise. One afternoon, Red is dispatched to the local Y for a drowning accident involving a child. Arriving on site, he finds the boy rescued by lifeguard Terry Baumgartner. Of course, Red isn’t surprised when gorgeous Terry won’t give him and his ugly mug the time of day.Overhearing one of the officer’s comment about him being shallow opens Terry’s eyes. Maybe he isn’t as kindhearted as he always thought. His friend Julie suggests he help those less fortunate by delivering food to the elderly. On his route he meets outspoken Margie, a woman who says what’s on her mind. Turns out, she’s Officer Red’s aunt.Red and Terry’s worlds collide as Red tries to track the source of the drugs and protect Terry from an ex-boyfriend who won’t take no for an answer. Together they might discover a chance for more than they expected—if they can see beyond what’s on the surface.