Book picks similar to
Strawberries and Thunderstorms by L. Luther
m-m
mm
contemporary
fake-boyfriend
Release
A.E. Ryecart - 2020
But an act is all it is, as underneath he’s never felt more adrift as he struggles with crippling self-doubt. Sean’s distilled life into three simple rules: earn enough cash to get by, stick close to the friends who have become his family — and don’t let anyone steal his heart. Art is Laurie Cassell’s profession and passion. His calm and ordered life is just how he thinks he wants it, but it’s becoming harder to ignore the creeping feeling that calm and ordered has become dull and predictable. Laurie craves more but doesn’t know what, or not until a man with dark hazel eyes and a bad attitude swaggers into his life — and leaves with his heart.
Two men who should never have met, let alone fallen in love. Can Sean and Laurie release the other from lives that are holding them captive?
*** Release is a slow burn, opposites attract MM romance. Found family, good friends who give advice our men don’t want to hear, and the redemptive power of love can all be found between the pages. No cliff hanger, and a guaranteed HEA. ***
Dedicated
Neve Wilder - 2018
And he has no idea.”
Messy-haired, soulful-eyed, off-kilter lyricist Les Graves holds tight to the hedonist’s credo of consumption in every avenue of life. He has trouble staying still, trouble staying sober, trouble turning down a good time—but put a pen in his hand, and he’ll set a page on fire.Music was Evan Porter’s ticket out of the backwater mud puddle he was born in, the passion keeping him warm as he busked on street corners, fueling him through a dead-end bartending job. Every chord, every song, every ounce of sweat has been devoted to making Porter & Graves a success. He’s the level-head, the quiet maestro, the seatbelt that keeps Les from flying too far out of control. And he’s getting pretty tired of playing savior.Their onstage chemistry is electric, offstage it's… complicated.After Porter & Graves’s third album bombs, the pressure is on for the duo to redeem themselves with their fourth. While sequestered in an East Tennessee cabin to compose, things take a turn for the worse when an event from their past comes back to haunt them in an embarrassingly public fashion and forces them into an unusual position that tests a partnership already hanging by its bloody roots.Can Evan and Les find harmony or will they—and their music career—go down in flames?
Dedicated, the first standalone in the Rhythm of Love series, is a steamy bisexual friends-to-lovers romance featuring semi-kinda forced proximity, a fake relationship, angst, snark, a cock-blocking greenhouse, really poor decisions involving social media, and a HEA guarantee.
*Please note that this book contains reference to and depiction of a mmf scene.*
Finding His Place
Nic Starr - 2017
Despite striving to win his father's affection, a confrontation that has been years in the making leaves Kieran devastated to realize he will never be good enough. Jealous of the half brother he's never met, and who most likely doesn't know of his existence, Kieran vows to find out what makes his brother so special in their father's eyes.Darius Jensen manages a nightclub. He loves his job, but is reluctant to commit when given the opportunity to become a partner. His previous foray into business ownership with a boyfriend had disastrous results, and Darius is still paying the price, both financially and emotionally.When Kieran starts working with Darius at Sparks, Darius shows him it's not too late for Kieran to realize his dreams--the fulfilling career, a loving family, and someone who loves him for who he is. If only Kieran can convince Darius of the same thing. But before Kieran's and Darius's dreams can come true, Kieran needs to come clean with his brother and deal with the resulting fallout... which threatens his relationship with Darius.Note: This book was originally published as part of the Memories with the Breakfast Club Kindle World. The text remains unchanged.
Future Fake Husband
Kate Hawthorne - 2018
For the past seven years, Cole has dedicated himself to managing Mallory Vineyard, the winery his family owns. It’s not that he hasn’t had time for a relationship so much as he’s never found anyone he wanted to devote time to beyond the initial getting to know you stage. But that all needs to change—and fast—because if Cole wants to inherit the vineyard, he needs to be married. Rhett Kingston is about to have a new life dropped into his lap. What started out as a night of lonely drinking in a local bar ends with Rhett agreeing to "fake marry" his twin brother’s best friend. Rhett will act as the perfect future fake husband for Cole and, in turn, Cole will help Rhett launch the event planning business he’s always dreamed of owning. Before they know it, their totally fake relationship is tangled up with completely mutual desire. After a destination wedding forces Cole and Rhett into the same bed, sparks fly and fictional feelings escalate and threaten to turn into something very, very real and more than either of them bargained for.
Blue Notes
Shira Anthony - 2011
Jason Greene thought he had everything: a dream job as a partner in a large Philadelphia law firm, a beautiful fiancee, and more money than he could ever hope to spend. Then he finds his future wife in bed with another man, and he's forced to rethink his life and his choices. On a moment's notice, he runs away to Paris, hoping to make peace with his life.But Jason's leave of absence becomes a true journey of the heart when he meets Jules, a struggling jazz violinist with his own cross to bear. In the City of Love, it doesn't take them long to fall into bed, but as they're both about to learn, they can't run from the past. Sooner or later, they'll have to face the music.
The Ghosts of Crushes Past
Isla Olsen - 2020
And so, it seems, does everyone else...I have an awesome, not at all cheesy mistletoe-related plan to make my Christmas wish come true, but before I can put it into action I’m thwarted by the arrival of not one, not two, but three of Ty’s drop-dead gorgeous former crushes. It seems they’ve all conspired to spend their holiday break at my family’s Aspen resort...and they’ve all got eyes for Tyler—I’m sure of it.Now I need to come up with a new plan. A plan that involves showing Tyler that I’m the guy for him, that what we have could be so much more than friendship...And if I happen to break a limb or burn my house down in the process? Well, as they say...love hurts.Disclaimer: this book does not contain any actual ghosts
Law's Stubborn Omega
Ki Brightly - 2019
Being a thirty-six-year-old omega with no partner or family suited him just fine, until it all changed. When he ran out of his heat-suppressant pills and his doctor refused to prescribe more, he had his first heat in years. Around the same time, a young alpha who drives him crazy started working as his partner. Lawson Fisher hated Cherry Hollow. He only returned to his small hometown to help his papa when his dad was diagnosed with cancer. Working alongside Sheriff Miller was frustrating at the best of times, but when Trent went into heat, Lawson felt it was his duty to help him through it, like any good alpha. Besides, he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off Trent. The more time Lawson spends with Trent, the more he realizes the omega isn’t as bad as he first thought. When they find out Trent’s pregnant, both their lives change. They need to decide the best thing to do for themselves and their baby, especially since not everyone in town is rooting for them to have a happily ever after.
Welded
Lorelei M. Hart - 2019
I snuck into the back of his truck and am now in the basement of a building still under construction. He can’t find me. I won’t let him. But when I hear steps coming down the stairs, I know I’ve been caught. He says his name is Alois, and that he won’t tell anyone. Can I trust him? I don’t have a choice. This ragged and thin omega—someone has treated him all kinds of wrong. I’ll bring him home and make sure he’s safe, just until he gets back on his feet. But he smells so good, and I can’t help but want to keep him. But his ex, and my former boss won’t give up easily. I’ll do anything to stop him, including going to jail for making sure he can’t ever harm him again. Welded is the first in The Industrial Alphas, a brand new series featuring strong, hard-working alphas, the thetas—a special kind of omega—they love, and their adorable babies.
Just Friends
Saxon James - 2020
The move was supposed to get my life on track. I even had a list. Life changing epilepsy surgery. Check.See the world. CheckGet over my straight best friend … Not exactly.No matter where I go or who I meet, I can’t let Tanner go. I’m back to tell him how I feel. To get the closure I need once and for all.Only now I’m here and falling for him all over again, it’s getting harder to say the words. Because once I have my closure, I’ll be gone. And this time it will be for good.TANNERWhen my best friend, Roo, left for Australia, it was the worst day of my life. I thought we’d have each other always.But Roo needed the surgery so I let him go, thinking he’d come straight back.Five years is a long time.Now he’s here, all I want is to hold on tight. I need to show him what he means to me. The problem is, I’m not exactly sure what that is. My draw to him has always been confusing and different—everyone in town says so. But I struggle to understand it. All I know is I won’t survive him leaving again. And I’ll do anything to make him stay. Just Friends is a best friends-to-lovers romance with an oblivious MC, only one bed, and terrible kangaroo jokes.
A Diamond in the Mud
Sterling Rivers - 2016
Do they dare to be more? After a bad breakup, Alex Abbott is living with his parents and looking for a job. The best thing about being home is seeing his closest friend again. Going away to college didn’t diminish Alex’s attraction to Gavin Crawford one bit … but Gavin is straight, and doesn’t even know Alex is gay. Gavin is tired of serial monogamy. For now, all his energies are going into his fledgling motorcycle shop. Reconnecting with Alex gives him a boost, as does the other man’s offer to help him with advertising. But when Alex confesses he’s gay, Gavin’s initial surprise is quickly overcome by curiosity … and other feelings it’s more difficult to put a name to. Alex is relieved by Gavin’s acceptance, but becoming more than friends is fraught with danger. If he lets himself fall for the one man he’s always wanted, his heart will be shattered once Gavin goes back to women. Will Alex risk everything? And if he does, how can Gavin convince him that he’s not just playing around this time?
Electric Melty Tingles
K.Z. Snow - 2010
Except Ned Surwicki. He isn’t an Ivy Leaguer. He doesn’t appreciate female strippers. And although he’s been Oliver’s best friend since they were 14, Ned isn’t much inclined to celebrate his pal’s impending marriage.Ned is gay, something he’s known since he kissed a boy and got the melty tingles. Ned is also in love with the groom-to-be. Ned is miserable.On the night before his wedding, Oliver realizes that he’s miserable, too. Of course Ned comes to his rescue.Thus begins a romance that spans forty years, requires one coming-out after another, and survives a broken engagement, a menage with War and Pees, world travel, an ill-advised marriage, scores of fuck buddies, a father who thinks his son is destined to be a clone of Liberace, parents who reject their son, and, worst of all, the failure of two misguided men to pursue their fondest dream.The most important coming-out for Ned and Oliver is summed up in a declaration they spend too many years trying futilely to forget: “I love you. That’s never going to change.”
Royally Screwed: A Tale of Two Princes
Lynn Van Dorn - 2020
Never mind that Angelo isn’t gay and didn’t choose to be saddled with a moony-eyed princeling who is determined to ruin Angelo’s life. Then one day Yuri goes too far and Angelo has to take matters into his own hands. Add one doomed arranged marriage… Prince Yuri is destined forever to pine after Prince Angelo. Arranged marriages are archaic and awful enough without being stuck for life with someone you want who will never, ever in a million years want you back. Still, for someone who claims to want nothing to do with Yuri, Angelo is surprisingly possessive. And you just might get one unexpected romance. Two men, thrown together by fate and scheming parents, shouldn’t have a prayer of finding a happy ever after. But fate can be fickle, and love can exist where you never thought it could. Royally Screwed is a 75,000-word M/M novel featuring royalty, a poorly-thought-out betrothal, one prince in need of a firm hand, a second prince who isn’t as straight as he always thought, drunken texting, bickering, practice kissing, odious British nobility, and falling in love despite all the reasons why you shouldn’t.
Protecting My Commitment
Taylor Rylan - 2018
After spending a little over ten years with the Denver PD, he’d had enough and joined Wildlife Services, not expecting it to be such an isolating career. When his job takes him on assignment to Crooked Bend, he jumps at the chance to work with actual people again when the town’s sheriff needs to hire a few more deputies. While at his new boss’ wedding reception, he unexpectedly meets a blue-eyed architect that makes his brain go fuzzy. Collin McKenzie has trust issues. After countless bad experiences, culminating in spending over a year hidden in the closet by his ex, he decided enough was enough. He not only broke up with him, but he moved to a different state to start fresh. He loves working for the Welsh brothers and living in Wyoming puts him closer to his family. He’s sworn off men, but while attending a wedding, he sees a dark-haired man that makes him catch his breath. After spending an unforgettable night together, Collin mistakenly lumps Dalton in with his past experiences. Things are awkward between them, but the attraction is there and undeniable, so they agree to give it a try. But when Collin’s ex finds him in Wyoming and won’t take no for an answer, Dalton steps up and claims what he wants, Collin. But will he be able to protect the man he’s quickly falling hard for? And will Collin ever trust him enough to let him in? Protecting My Commitment is the first book in the Sulfur Springs series. This is a Men of Crooked Bend spin off, but it isn’t a requirement that you read that series to enjoy this one. Familiar faces will be seen, but this series takes you off of the ranch and into the lives of those in Sulfur Springs. While each book focus’ on a different couple and may be read as a standalone, you will receive maximum enjoyment reading them in order. Each book contains sexually explicit material between two men and is intended for adults over 18.
Rescued
Felice Stevens - 2014
His parents cut off contact because he’s gay and his boyfriend left him, choosing drugs over love. Aside from his rescued pit bull, his only joy is hanging out with his younger brother. Then his mother does the unthinkable and forbids them to see each other, leaving Ryder devastated and alone. His friends urge him to date, but Ryder would rather throw himself into working at the dog rescue and figuring out a way to see his brother again.When Jason Mallory’s girlfriend gives him an ultimatum to get married, he shocks everyone by breaking up with her instead. He believes he's too busy for a relationship now that the construction company he started with his brother is taking off. When he discovers a group of abandoned pit bulls and calls the local dog rescue group to pick them up, an uncomfortable encounter with Ryder causes Jason to question feelings he’s hidden deep inside for years.Jason and Ryder build a friendship, until an unexpected kiss sparks the attraction they’ve been fighting. Jason gives Ryder unconditional love and helps him reconnect with his brother while Ryder shows Jason the passion he’s always missed in relationships. Together they must battle through their family differences and ugly prejudices. Only then can they prove that once you find the right person to love, there’s no turning back.This has been re-edited and revised from the original release of 2014
Firefly Lane
Riley Hart - 2021
His job as a pilot keeps him from getting restless, and he’s got a man who doesn’t want promises for the future. One phone call from his estranged sister changes everything. She needs his help, so Holden drops everything and heads to Harmony, a small town in Briar County, which represents everything he’s tried to avoid in life.Monroe Covington is forty-five and happy. He loves his life—running his store, helping at his family’s farm, and spending his days with his best friend, Lindsey, and their son, Wyatt. Sure, half the town likes to forget he’s gay, and he’d love for the queer population to be bigger, but Roe makes do. He misses dating, relationships, and a man to hold at night, but at least he gets new eye candy when Holden, the brother of the woman who’s renting his cabin, shows up.The attraction is instant, the friendship not far behind, but between Holden’s initial relationship status, family complications, and the two of them wanting different things, they’re a disaster waiting to happen…only it doesn’t feel that way, not with how much time they spend talking, laughing, and eventually, tumbling into bed, a field, or the back of a truck together. The closer they get, the more Holden realizes that just being fine isn’t enough, and Roe begins to see that his life isn’t as complete as he thought. Now, if they could only sort out the rest of it…Firefly Lane is a small town, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers summer romance with no cheating, mature characters who talk out their problems, like to work with their hands, and have amazing chemistry. Did I mention they watch movies in the company of goats?