Book picks similar to
Men of the Cross by Charlene Newcomb
historical
historical-fiction
m-m
mm
The Culling
Steven dos Santos - 2013
Each Recruit participates in increasingly difficult and violent military training for a chance to advance to the next level. Those who fail must choose an “Incentive”—a family member—to be brutally killed. If Lucky fails, he’ll have to choose death for his only living relative: Cole, his four-year-old brother.Lucky will do everything he can to keep his brother alive, even if it means sacrificing the lives of other Recruits’ loved ones. What Lucky isn’t prepared for is his undeniable attraction to the handsome, rebellious Digory Tycho. While Lucky and Digory train together, their relationship grows. But daring to care for another Recruit in a world where love is used as the ultimate weapon is extremely dangerous. As Lucky soon learns, the consequences can be deadly...
Clockwork Pirate
Lyn Gala - 2015
That changes when the pirate Beche takes Alex after capturing his ship. At first Alex believes his fate is death and the only question a matter of how he might die. However, the longer he is on the ship, the more he realizes that Beche hates the world because it is unfair in ways Alex never understood. As Alex begins to respect this strong, independent man, Alex’s dormant desires begin to reassert themselves.Beche hates the titled classes and their government enforcers. They might have outlawed slavery on paper, but they never came to the islands to free him or his family. Since his skin is black, society has little respect for him. Beche expects no more of this latest captive, but soon Beche begins to realize that Alex is a naïve and beautiful man who values family and struggles with his own place in society. That poses an even larger problem because Beche does not want to send Alex back to a world that will mistreat him, but he has no place for a lord on a ship full of pirates.
The Only One Who Knows
Cat Grant - 2014
When the holidays found them alone together and sharing a mutual attraction, they couldn’t help breaking a few regulations. And nearly breaking some furniture in the process.Years after their short-lived fling, Senior Chief Flint returns to SEAL duty and finds himself under the command of the man he’s never been able to forget: Lieutenant Commander Walker. And Josh hasn’t forgotten David, either. Rules be damned, they can’t keep their hands off each other.Despite their discretion, another SEAL catches on and threatens to expose their relationship, forcing Josh to bend to a blackmailer’s demands to avoid strife within the team just before a dangerous mission. David is the last man he can confide in…and the first to pick up on Josh’s tightly screwed-down stress.When a life-or-death decision calls Josh’s leadership into question, coming clean could cost him what he values most. His coveted trident…and the man he loves.WARNING: Contains a pair of Navy SEALs who don’t like playing by the rules, scorching-hot sex between two Alphas who like to be in charge, cursing as only Navy men can curse, lots of camouflage and badassery in the wilds of North Korea, and enough emotion to sink a battleship.
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.
Desert Ice
Rose Maefair - 2017
He’d been betrayed by his family, exiled, and sentenced to slavery in the desert lands where he doesn't know the language or the customs. Yet, as he faces the scrutiny of an interested buyer, Wyl realizes he was wrong. With an exchange of coins, he could go from life as a warrior and a prince to that of a pleasure slave. Lysander finds the stench of the slave-trading city almost unbearable. He longs for the quiet shelter of his home. Yet, Steed’s Hold is under siege and he has come to the city to find a warrior willing to fight for the cost of his freedom. However, Lysander does not expect to find the handsome Northerner or the new desires he sparks inside of Lysander. He also does not expect the terrible stipulation attached to the man’s sale, one that would demand a heavy price of them both. Lysander is a mage more used to commanding earth, metal, and wood than people. How is he to be master of a slave, and the slave’s desire, when Lysander hasn’t fully mastered his own?
Axios: A Spartan Tale
Jaclyn Osborn - 2017
At age seven, I left home to train with other boys where we were taught obedience, solidarity, military strategy, and how to withstand pain. My harsh upbringing stripped me of my weaknesses and forced me to become strong. Ruthless.But, I craved something greater—a life I could never have.Against all odds, and the toughest training a warrior could endure, I found an unexpected love in the arms of a fellow Spartan. He was the very air I breathed and the water that sustained me. Fighting side by side with him, we were invincible. Where he went, I followed.However, there was no place for love in Sparta. Feelings were for the weak. The only life for a Spartan was one of battle and brutality with no guarantee of tomorrow. In times of war, all men were put to the test, but the greatest challenge for us was not one of swords and spears, but of the heart.*M/M Historical Romance set in Ancient Sparta*
Raider
Jerry Cole - 2016
The bastard child of a pagan woman who died when he was a child, Aiden's life in the devoutly Christian village has never been easy, but it is unremarkable. Isolated and lonely, he tends his sheep and resigns himself to being alone; at night, however, he dreams of someone— anyone— taking him away from his misery. His prayers are answered in the last way he would have wished for when a band of Vikings raids his coastal village, burning and killing everything in sight. Just when he is certain they will kill him too, a handsome blond man intercedes, insisting that he wants to take Aiden for a thrall, a slave. The warrior Einarr claims Aiden as his bounty from the raid and forces Aiden into servitude in his house. Despite the collar around Aiden's neck, he can tell Einarr does not treat him as a normal thrall, and the desire in the warrior's eyes is unmistakable. Taken by brutal barbarians, Aiden struggles with his new place in the world and with the religious upbringing— which tells him that giving into Einarr's advances would be an abomination. Meanwhile, a terrible threat looms on the horizon, threatening to wipe out Aiden's new owners and Aiden with them. Can Aiden resist the affections of the man who owns him? And what will become of him when he's forced to take up arms and fight alongside that man to save his own life? Can Aiden learn the Viking way, forge his own destiny, and choose the life he wants, or will he forever surrender and let himself be tossed by the tides of cruel fate? Aiden can feel himself falling, unsure if Einarr will be there to catch him, or if he wants him to... Please Note: This book contains Adult Language & Steamy Adult Activities, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. Novella, approx. 35,000 words in length. HEA (happy ever after ending). Does not end with a "cliffhanger". History purists be warned, some creative historical license has been taken with this work of fiction.
Purgatory: A Novel of the Civil War
Jeff Mann - 2012
One is a war-weary but scholarly Southerner who has seen too much bloodshed, especially the tortures inflicted upon the enemy by his vicious commanding officer, his uncle. The other is a Herculean Yankee captured by the rag-tag Confederate band and forced to become a martyr for all the sins of General Sheridan's fires. When these two find themselves admiring more than one another's spirit and demeanor, when passions erupt between captor and captive, will this new romance survive the arduous trek to Purgatory Mountain?
Once Upon a Time in the Weird West
Tricia KristufekTali Spencer - 2016
The usual suspects are all present: cowboys, outlaws, and sheriffs. There’s plenty of dust, tumbleweeds, horses, and cattle on the range, but there are also magical gems, automatons, elementals, airships… even dinosaurs and genetically modified insects. Roaming among the buffalo and coyotes, you’ll encounter skinwalkers, mad engineers, mythical beings cloaked in darkness, and lovers who stay true to their oaths… even beyond the grave. On this frontier are those at the mercy of their own elaborate devices as well as men whose control of time and space provides a present-day vision of the West. There might even be a dragon hidden amongst the ghost towns and wagon trains.If you like your Westerns with a splash of magic, a touch of steampunk, and plenty of passionate romance between men, these genre-bending tales will exceed expectations. Hold on to your hats, cowboys and cowgirls. The West is about to get weird, and you’re in for a hell of a ride.
Hidden Away
J.W. Kilhey - 2012
Roosevelt said, “No man and no force can abolish memory.” John Oakes and Kurt Fournier are living proof of the truth behind those words. Since the horrors of the Second World War, John and Kurt have been trudging through existence, bleeding from wounds that have never healed. Now they’re at the crossroads of the 1950s: the war may be over, but the battle to find lasting peace has just begun.John, a PhD student at UC Berkeley and a battle-hardened veteran, floats through his postwar life until he catches the mysterious Kurt secretly playing a university piano. John thinks he may find comfort in Kurt’s company but doesn’t know how to connect with a man who lives a life of such careful solitude. Guilt and regret threaten to cripple their hopes for a normal life. No man is an island, so John and Kurt must risk their hearts to find happiness. Unfortunately, memories and enduring fears can paralyze even the strongest man.
What It Takes
Jude Sierra - 2016
When Milo is called home from college to attend his domineering father’s funeral, he and Andrew finally act on their mutual attraction. But, doubtful of his worth, Milo decides to sever all ties with his childhood friend. Circumstances send both men home again years later, and their long held feelings will not be denied. But will they have what it takes to find lasting love?
Straight Boy
Jay Bell - 2018
I imagined us being together, and we are, but only as friends. Best friends! I’m trying to be cool with that, even though I know he has secrets, and there have definitely been mixed signals. I don’t want a crush to ruin what we already have. Then again, if there’s any chance that we can be together, it’s worth the risk, because Carter could be the love of my life. Or he might be the boy who breaks my heart.Straight Boy is Jay Bell’s emotional successor to his critically acclaimed Something Like… series. This full-length novel tells a story of friendship and love while skating the blurry line that often divides the two.
Night Drop
Marshall Thornton - 2017
Noah Valentine, the owner of Pinx Video in Silver Lake, notices the fires have taken their toll on fellow shopkeeper Guy Peterson’s camera shop. After the riots end, he decides to stop by Guy’s to pick up his overdue videos, only to find Guy’s family dividing up his belongings. He died in the camera store fire—or did he? Noah and his charmingly meddlesome downstairs neighbors begin to suspect something else might have happened to Guy Peterson. Something truly sinister.The first in a new series from Lambda Award-winner Marshall Thornton, Night Drop strikes a lighter tone than the Boystown Mysteries, while bringing Silver Lake of the early 1990s to life.
The Other Half
Jess Whitecroft - 2018
It’s like the only possible outcome with me.” Chris Solomon has it all – a career, a New York apartment, a hot model fiancé, and a wedding to plan. Then there’s the house in New Hampshire, a historic farmhouse belonging to his childless Aunt Becky, a prize that Chris’s family always expected would be divided between Chris and his sister Josephine. So comes as something of a shock when Aunt Becky dies and leaves Josephine’s half of the house to a pansexual male stripper named Jody Ohanian. When Chris’s life and relationship explode in dramatic fashion, he heads for the peace and quiet of New Hampshire, only to find that the sexy, unconventional Jody has already moved into his half of the house. And that the place looks a cross between Grey Gardens and The Money Pit. It’s the last place in the world Chris anticipates finding comfort or joy, but love has a habit of blooming where you least expect it. The characters in this 80,000 word novel are far from perfect, so if all infidelity offends you, best skip this one.
Mere Mortals
Erastes - 2011
Upon his arrival, he finds that he's not the only young man given a fresh start. Myles Graham, and Jude Middleton are there before him, and as their benefactor is away, they soon form alliances and friendships, as they speculate on why they've been given this new life. Who is Philip Smallwood? Why has he given them such a fabulous new life? What secrets does the house hold-and what is it that the Doctor seems to know?