Lost in the Echo


Jack L. Pyke - 2013
    Three questions. Three answers."Despite being a linguistic tutor and having every conversational tool at his disposal, all Will Chambers wanted to do was fade into the background, become lost in the echo of wild heath and harbour. But now someone wants to put his body and mind on full display, force Will to find his voice -- answer three questions, over three days. All Will has to do is provide three... simple... answers.

The Painting of Porcupine City


Ben Monopoli - 2011
    His coworker Fletcher Bradford is looking for a heaven spot of his own, and his is even more elusive. Out since age 12, Fletcher's been around more blocks than Mateo has ever painted. He's dated all the jerks, all the creeps, all the losers in between. At 26 he's decided the only way to meet a nice guy is just never to give him a chance to prove otherwise. When he's introduced to Mateo, Fletcher expects to add another notch to his bedpost. But Mateo is different--and from him Fletcher will rediscover a long-lost feeling: surprise. What Fletcher finds in the trunk of Mateo's car will change his life in ways he never imagined--and may help him find what he's always wanted.From the author of THE CRANBERRY HUSH comes an epic story spanning years and hemispheres and miles of painted walls. At times sexy and sweet, gritty and gut-wrenching, THE PAINTING OF PORCUPINE CITY takes readers along with Mateo and Fletcher on an adventure through the subways of Boston to the towers of São Paulo. Are you in?

Cookies


Teodora Kostova - 2016
    I came back in pieces to find out who I really was...It took me nearly ten years, two tours in Afghanistan and losing a leg to come to terms with who I really am.Two years after coming back from war, I can say that I’m finally content. I’m as fit as ever, my prosthetic leg allowing me the freedom to move and exercise as if nothing has changed. I own a small bakery in the centre of Cambridge, and I have a loyal circle of friends that I can always count on.And yet...Yet, there’s something missing. A part of me craves the intimacy, the deep connection to another human being. But another – bigger – part of me is terrified of letting anyone in.My internal conflict didn't stand a chance when I met Jay. He stormed through my defence walls like a hurricane, wrapping around me with gentle force until I had no choice but to surrender.Surrendering has never felt so good.Will Jay want to stay when he sees the real me? When he sees the nightmares and insecurities clawing at my soul? When he realises the burden I come with may be heavier than we both can carry?My name is Amir Gopal and this is my story.Author's Note: I did a ton of research about amputated limbs, soldiers, the military and, of course, baking. I read some heartbreaking stories, but I also read stories that inspired me and lifted my spirits when I felt stuck.I desperately wanted to do all these people justice. But at the same time, I wanted to show the softer side of the story, not focus on the initial battle to get your life back that nearly every veteran experiences coming back home.I really hope I succeeded showing the respect I feel for every single person who’s fought for their country.Cookies is a feel-good, happy book. It's a curl-on-the-sofa-on-a-rainy-Sunday-afternoon kinda book.I wanted to make people smile, and gush, and desperately want a brownie or five. Hopefully, I succeeded. Enjoy! xx

Dead Ringer


Heidi Belleau - 2015
    His grandfather, silver-screen heartthrob James Ringer, died tragically at twenty-one, and Brandon looks exactly like him. But that’s where the resemblance ends. Brandon is unknown, unemployed, and up to his ears in bills after inheriting his grandparents’ Hollywood mansion. He refuses to sell it—it’s his last connection to his grandmother—so to raise the cash he needs, he joins a celebrity look-alike escort agency.Percy Charles is chronically ill, isolated, and lonely. His only company is his meddlesome caregiver and his collection of James Ringer memorabilia. When he finds “Jim Ringer” on Hollywood Doubles’ website, he books an appointment, hoping to meet someone who shares his passion for his idol.Brandon? Not that person.But despite their differences, they connect, and Percy’s fanboy love for James shows Brandon a side of his grandfather he never knew. Soon they want time together off the clock, but Percy is losing his battle for independence, and Brandon feels trapped in James’s long shadow. Their struggle to love each other is the stuff of classic Hollywood. Too bad Brandon knows how those stories end.

Boy Toys


A.E. Wasp - 2017
     Betrayed by first his body and then his girlfriend, Liam O’Reilly, assistant coach of the Seattle Thunder, is not having a very merry Christmas. So when a smoking hot hockey player in a Santa suit offers himself up like a present begging to be opened? Well, it’s a freaking Christmas miracle. If only the man in question wasn’t hockey’s own bad boy, Joey ‘the Looch’ Luciano, his best friend’s little brother and the same kid who used to trail behind Liam like a loud, mouthy shadow. Whatever. Wrong as it might seem, a one-time hookup with Joey is exactly what he needs to make the yuletide gay. By tomorrow, he’ll be back in Seattle, Joey will be in New York, and his troubles will be miles away. But as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, Joey weaves his way past all Liam’s defenses, and Liam starts to see the sensitive, caring man behind the cocky smirk. When the last present is opened and the Christmas lights go dark, will Joey and Liam's night together be just another Christmas memory or can the holiday magic they made survive the pressures of the real world? Boy Toys is a heart-warming Christmas story featuring the inappropriate use of a Santa suit, sibling bribery, and ninety separate instances of the f-word.

Rewind


Rowan Shaw - 2019
    Forced to rebuild his future and fight for his dreams, Enzo refused to let anything take him down...until the man of his life walked out on him and shattered his heart.Florian Beaudry had his whole life figured out. His business was flourishing and everything was settling down at last. Or so he believed...until he walked in on his girlfriend and best friend.Still on the rebound and unable to trust another man, Enzo never expected a chance encounter with Florian. The one person he thought he would never see again. The one person he missed the most. Were they truly meant to get a second chance or were they doomed from the start?REWIND is an MM romance novel set entirely in France. Though part of a series, it is a standalone story without a cliffhanger.

Love You Senseless


Susan Mac Nicol - 2014
     THE MEN OF LONDON From Soho to Norwich, there’s no escaping love. A TASTE OF FOREVER An award-winning chef with his own restaurant and an inexhaustible passion, Gideon Kent once had everything. Then came tragedy. It stole more than Gideon’s home. He hasn’t cooked since. Until Eddie Tripp. Fun-loving and vivacious, the Norfolk redhead’s a real up-and-comer in Gideon’s kitchen—and other places. Slim where Gideon’s broad, easy-going where Gideon is growly, he and Gideon seem polar opposites, and yet Eddie conjures flavors that would tempt anyone with a taste for perfection. The sauce of love is already simmering, and this pair is about to dine on the most delicious dish they’ve ever prepared. Because Eddie’s been Gideon’s missing ingredient all along.

Our December


Diane Adams - 2010
    Deeply in love, Jared and Alex are such a couple, but the path to true and lasting love is rarely smooth. At fifteen, being gay isn't the best thing that ever happened to a guy. In fact, Alex Ross thinks it's down right scary. Then he meets twenty year old construction worker Jared Douglas, and Alex starts to think the gay thing might not be so bad after all.The attraction between them is intense, but -- mindful of Alex's age -- Jared is determined to keep the sparks from igniting. The stress of controlling his feelings makes it almost a relief when Alex's father ships him off to prep school. Jared expects Alex to forget him and find a boy friend his own age; he doesn't anticipate how much it will hurt. When Alex comes home for Christmas, just turned 16, with his heart on his sleeve, Jared knows he can't continue to keep everything he feels a secret.

Turn the World Upside Down


Nyrae Dawn - 2016
    He lived the perfect life with the perfect family before the dark truth came spilling out. Now his dad’s in prison, and after Hunter explodes at school, accidentally hitting a teacher, his mom has him committed. Hunter doesn’t belong at Better Days. He needs to be stronger, not sent to a well-dressed loony bin. If he’d been better, less selfish, he would have realized something was going on under his own roof. No amount of psychoanalyzing and group therapy can change the past.But among the bullies, fights, and bad cafeteria food, Hunter meets a group of friends: anxiety-ridden Casey, wild and exciting Rosie, recovering bulimic Bethany, and Stray, a self-harmer who doesn’t think he belongs anywhere. Around this group of misfits, Hunter doesn’t feel so alone and angry anymore.Still, as he’s making friends and falling in love with Stray, the guilt is always there. If Hunter can’t open up and find a way to deal with what happened, he might fall victim to his mental illness—and he won’t be the only casualty.

The Winter Spirit


Indra Vaughn - 2015
     Although a boyfriend wouldn’t go amiss. Someone to share his beautiful B&B with, even if it is in the middle of nowhere and he’s long past the wrong side of thirty. Problem is, Nathaniel’s living with a ghost who thinks he’s cupid, and whose arrows fly a little too straight. Gabriel Wickfield had the unfortunate luck of dying before his time, and now he’s stuck trying to make romance happen to earn his right to move along. Not that he’s bored in the meantime—Nathaniel is just too easy to tease. And also a little bit scrumptious… With the curse reaching its expiration date, Gabriel needs to make a final match this Christmas. Without it, nothing but darkness awaits. Love can conquer all, but can it beat death?

That Eighteenth Summer


Raine O'Tierney - 2015
     Ollie knows exactly where he's going and what his plan is: get a smokin' hot girlfriend (so she can cry over him when he enlists), join the military, work his way up to Army Ranger, and finally earn he respect of his big brother, Benjam. But everything changes when a military car pulls up in front of the Hannigan household. Now Ollie's world is in chaos. His friends have abandoned him, his plans are falling through left and right, and he doesn't know what he wants in life anymore. Plus, as if he wasn't already confused enough, his brother's best friend, Luca Santini, has caught Ollie's eye. While Luca may be smokin' hot, he's definitely not the girlfriend Ollie was expecting!

Language Lessons


Jay Bell - 2011
    For Joey, he didn't care if it ever came at all. He was much too busy adding notches to his bedpost and preparing for life as an adult. But when a casual fling waxes nostalgic about the one that got away, Joey starts to wonder if he isn't missing something after all, if there really is something to be learned from the language of love.

After The Fall


Sarah Goodwin - 2012
    His wife is a stranger, his dead parents just a photograph, and his home an unfamiliar, shabby place that smells of dog.At a local support group for amnesiacs, Connor meets Nate, a fellow sufferer of retrograde amnesia. Nate has no memory, and no idea how he came to lose it, but he remains easy going, and Connor quickly considers the foulmouthed, chain-smoking Nate a friend. But, when Nate makes a pass at him, Connor starts to question everything he’s learnt about himself. Is he really a happily married 32 year old, or are secrets being kept from him?Who is the mysterious ‘Coop’ whose cryptic emails are still in his inbox? And why, on the day of his accident, was he driving with another man in his car? A man whose life, and death, are still a touchy subject at home.

A Little Too Broken


Brad Vance - 2013
    Tom is there to adopt another service dog into the Canine Comrade Corps, but it’s Jamie his heart goes out to. But each man turns away, walks away, from the potential pain, the rejection, the knowledge that it’ll all end in tears…Jamie knows damn well that the HIV he contracted from an unfaithful lover has put him out of the dating game forever in the small town of Santa Vera. Tom lost his legs in Afghanistan, and got new ones, yeah, but with a side order of PTSD to go, he thought grimly. The real problem is that only now does he realize he’s gay, now that the revelation would be just one too many things to put his family through, after everything else they’ve had to deal with. So both men grin and bear the loneliness, put their feelings on a shelf, even as Jamie’s volunteer stint at CCC turns into friendship and, despite their resolve, something more…

The Lonely Drop


Vanessa North - 2014
    He could pretty much have any man he wanted. I walked away because I deserved better.Now our paths have crossed again. He has the world at his feet. It’s a tempting thought to throw away my lifetime of ideals for a single night with him.Do I still have the strength to walk away?Do I even want to?Photo Description: Two men lie naked in bed. One is on his stomach, with his head out of the frame, the other strokes a hesitant hand down his lover’s back.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.