Book picks similar to
The Featherbed Puzzle by K.L. Noone
fantasy
romance
mm
m-m
Secret Chemistry
Chris T. Kat - 2013
The one Tim Evans grew up in detests those not of “pure blood”—so when Tim discovers his mate is Jay, a male fox-wolf hybrid ten years his junior, it shocks him, to say the least. Too young to claim his mate and too weak to protect him from the rest of the pack, Tim fears for Jay’s life. When a human gets hold of Jay, Tim believes he has lost him forever.The next eighteen years are hell. Tim devotes his life to his family and running their stable, but anger and depression threaten to consume him. Then fate brings Jay back into his life. Tim knows Jay feels the same attraction he does—mates always do. So why won’t Jay act on it?
Silver in the Wood
Emily Tesh - 2019
Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads.When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.
Nor Iron Bars a Cage
Kaje Harper - 2013
Then I was a hermit. For so long—for years that seemed to go on forever—I couldn't bear to be touched. I put up not just walls but whole stone bunkers to keep everyone out, emotionally, and physically as well. I was protected from people, from ghosts, from specters real and imagined. Sure, I was alone. But I felt safe. Only, after a while, I wasn't sure any longer whether a totally "safe" empty life was really worth living.Then Tobin came along. Out of the blue, out of my past, with a summons from the king that he wouldn't let me ignore. I tried to cling to my isolation, but he wouldn't give up on me. Tobin never believed in walls.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" 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.http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Soulseeker
J.C. Owens - 2016
Prince Rian is desperate to escape his abusive and tyrannical brother, Arran, the king of Rashma, and save those he loves from his brother's madness. But after recapturing Rian, the king is taking no chances when he forces the prince back to his duties as general. Arran has hired the Hawks, a group of hardened Zala mercenaries renowned for their battle prowess and skill with horses, to watch the prince. Broken and forced to submit, Rian endures these new bodyguards he knows are spies loyal to his manipulative brother. But Rian has a secret about to be uncovered. At night, when his mental barriers are lowered, he is guarded by the wraith of his dead twin. He can't hide the wraith from Hamon, the powerful leader of the Hawks who tangles all the emotions within Rian and makes him believe he just might be worthy of love. When Hamon agreed to guard the prince, he believed it would be a simple task...and allow the Zala to gather information on the expanding kingdom of Rashma. But after witnessing the prince's unique powers, he suspects Rian might be one of the legendary soulseekers, despite the fact that Rian is not of the Zala and a soulseeker hasn't been seen in decades... But more than that, he finds himself fascinated and attracted to the prince. Soon he begins to suspect the king has lied about the prince from the very beginning. Yet, how can he convince Rian he's the true soulseeker and bring him safely to where he's needed most... Contains intense emotional elements. Reader discretion advised.
Ranger's End Game
Lee Oliver - 2017
The inheritance from his grandmother would be nice. After all, he was supposed to get that on his twenty-fifth birthday and that was three months ago. But his father, Alpha Chalmers of the Northern States has insisted he won't release the money until Aiden has completed a week long training camp. The youngest of six brothers and having suffered a hard upbringing, Aiden figures anything would be worth going through so he could be free of his father. It's only for a week. Ranger doesn't like people and he especially doesn't like his latest assignment - training a bunch of wannabe alphas for some goodness only knows reason. As the top assassin for the shifter council, he's starting to think either someone wants him dead, or he's being punished for a transgression he knows nothing about. But matters take an even stranger turn, when on the very first day of training, he scents his mate. Things were never going to be easy for Aiden and Ranger. If the training camp wasn't hard enough, a missing will, the full secret about Aiden's inheritance and the little matter of Ranger being hired to kill his mate by a council member all add to their problems. If Ranger can keep his mate alive for the week, then maybe they will have a chance at a long and happy future. But it's a big if. This book is a complete story of 26,700 words. The epilogue does provide hints for the next book, but each of the stories in this series can be read as standalone. Warning: M/M, true mate trope. Contains graphic intimate scenes and coarse language.
Ever After
Riley Hart - 2018
But he’s long been tormented by desires that are far from princely. Especially when the beautiful Cassius is promoted to be his new valet, and Merrick is struck by a longing like never before—a longing to know him far beyond royal and servant. After his father’s passing, Cassius Havendale’s sole duty is to provide for his family. A promotion to serve a pampered prince is something he endures only for their sake. Surely Prince Merrick has no understanding of the true suffering of the common people, nor could he possibly understand what it’s like to desperately desire something he cannot have. Except the prince is not at all what Cassius imagined. Kind, humorous, and caring to those in need, he also shares Cassius’s affinity for the arts. In fact, Merrick understands his deepest vulnerabilities in a most remarkable way. As their affection deepens, the underlying tension between them becomes unbearable and they’re unable to ignore it any longer. But when the queen prepares a lavish ball with all the eligible ladies in the land in attendance, Merrick must fulfill his obligations to his country, and Cassius has the needs of his family to consider. They’ve long known their stolen moments would have to come to an end, but are they ready to give up one another and the idea of a happily-ever-after? ***PLEASE NOTE: EVER AFTER is a romantic fairy tale—minus the magic—that features one compassionate prince, one brooding valet, and plenty of angsty, forbidden love. It’s loosely based on a certain treasured fairy tale in a wintery make-believe setting that wouldn’t be considered contemporary but also isn’t based on any specific time period and doesn’t play by any traditional rules.
For a Dragon's Touch
Charlie Richards - 2013
One wants to kill the dragon. One wants to capture it. Both have secrets. When men from the northern town of Brock come to Adencass, sharing tales of a dragon, Ian MacGree thinks it’s a ploy to get out of sending their share of support. His father, Chieftain Goth, sends Ian to discover the truth. Never does he think the stories of a dragon terrorizing the area would be true until he runs into Roark, who claims to be a dragon hunter. Ian’s attraction to Roark is almost instantaneous, but as the second son of the chieftain, romance has no place in his life, for his father plans to wed him to another to seal an alliance. But he’s not the only one with secrets. When he discovers Roark’s, will their secrets bring them together or drive them apart?
Oak King Holly King
Sebastian Nothwell - 2022
When he wins a tournament in the Court of the Silver Wheel, its queen names him her Oak King - a figurehead destined to die in a ritual duel to invoke the change of seasons. Shrike is determined to survive. Even if it means he must put his heart as well as his life into a mere mortal’s hands.Wren Lofthouse, a London clerk, has long ago resigned himself to a life of tedium and given up his fanciful dreams. When a medieval-looking brute arrives at his office to murmur of destiny, he’s inclined to think his old enemies are playing an elaborate prank. Still, he can’t help feeling intrigued by the bizarre-yet-handsome stranger and his fantastical ramblings, whose presence stirs up emotions Wren has tried to lock away in the withered husk of his heart.As Shrike whisks Wren away to a world of Wild Hunts and arcane rites, Wren is freed from the repression of Victorian society. But both the fae and mortal realms prove treacherous to their growing bond. Wren and Shrike must fight side-by-side to see who will claim victory - Oak King or Holly King.
A Royal Affair
John Wiltshire - 2014
In reality, he is a man haunted by an unusual past and running from his own nature. While the Reformation transforms much of Europe, it has yet to touch Hesse-Davia; this is a land mired in superstition with cruel punishments for crimes such as witchcraft and sodomy. While traveling to the dying king’s bedside to offer his medical expertise, Nikolai is set upon by a bandit. Reaching the king’s ancient stronghold, he discovers his mysterious brigand is the beautiful, arrogant Prince Aleksey. Aleksey is everything Nikolai is not: unguarded, passionate and willful. Despite their differences, Nikolai feels an irresistible desire for the young royal that keeps him in Aleksey’s thrall. But Hesse-Davia is a dangerous world for a newly crowned king who wants to reform his country—and for the man who loves him.
Public Display of Everything
Cara Dee - 2014
Flynn has a job he can no longer hide behind. A simple proposition in an effort to solve both of their problems leads two young men to confront the heartbreaks of their pasts in order to make a future together.What starts as an innocent bit of voyeurism turns into a public display of…everything.You know you like to watch.
Dear Daddy, Please Love Me
Gianni Holmes - 2020
That has to count as something nice, right?I’m tired of being with men who always leave so I’m asking for something a bit different. Something I’m afraid of wanting. Please Santa, help me find a Daddy who will love me. Cheeky_Bottom Down on his luck rancher, Lawson is in no position to be in a relationship when he’s one late mortgage payment away from losing his spread. He definitely should not want the high maintenance stripper Cheeky_Bottom who’s looking for love from a Daddy. Been there. Done that. And he has the debt to show for it.“Possessions over people” has always been Opie’s mission statement in life. His possessions remain as long as he takes care of them, but people always leave. When he meets a mysterious rancher online, Opie has a feeling things were about to change. Has Opie finally found the Daddy he won’t let walk away this time?Dear Daddy, Please Love Me is part of the Naughty or Nice multi-author series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but there are so many boys hoping that holiday magic will bring them their perfect Daddy, why not grab them all?
Sinders and Ash
Tara Lain - 2012
Then his carefully planned life is upended with the arrival of Ashford Armitage, son of the fifth richest man in America—and the most beautiful guy Mark has ever seen. Ash must find a wife or he’ll lose his grandfather’s inheritance, and he settles on Bitsy Fanderel. But secretly Ash is gay, and the guy who cleans the fireplaces sets his heart ablaze.Further stirring the pot is the little elf of a man, Carstairs Pennymaker, who has Mark wearing his own designs and masquerading as a girl to impress the fashion investors in the hotel. When the clock strikes twelve, two beautiful princesses line up for the wedding—but one isn’t a woman. Will the slipper fit? Only Mr. Pennymaker knows for sure.
The Dream of a Thousand Nights
Shira Anthony - 2011
Knowing that the other Jinn would find and punish him for falling in love with a human, Tamir takes Neriah’s memories of their brief time together and leaves him with only a jade pendant as a token of his love. Tamir is then stripped of his powers and imprisoned for his crime.Ten years later, Neriah is still on the run from the King’s assassins, but each night he dreams of a lover whose face he cannot see and whose name he does not know, but who fills his heart with peace. Tamir, freed at last from his prison cell, poses as a pleasure slave and offers to serve the prince. Although Neriah does not recognize Tamir, he falls in love with the powerless Jinn. But just when Tamir has earned Neriah’s trust, he is forced to betray it. There may be no hope of mending their broken relationship, but Tamir is determined to see Neriah on his rightful throne—even if it costs the Jinn his life.
Widdershins
Jordan L. Hawk - 2012
After the tragic death of the friend he secretly loved, he’s ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man.So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons following the death of his partner, hoping to start a new life. But the powerful cult which murdered Glenn has taken root in Widdershins, and only the spells in the book can stop them. Spells the intellectual Whyborne doesn’t believe are real.As the investigation draws the two men closer, Griffin’s rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne’s iron control. When the cult resurrects an evil sorcerer who commands terrifying monsters, can Whyborne overcome his fear and learn to trust? Will Griffin let go of his past and risk falling in love? Or will Griffin’s secrets cost Whyborne both his heart and his life?
Boy Meets Boy
David Levithan - 2003
Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.