Book picks similar to
Too Like the Lightning by Travis Beaudoin
mm
age-gap
arc
romance
Center of Gravity
Neve Wilder - 2018
A year of nothing but heartache leaves him seeking refuge from loneliness and grief behind spreadsheets, punishing daily runs, and the occasional anonymous tryst. He wants only to bury the past and focus on his career, but he has one last task to complete: pack up his parent’s quaint beachside house and put it on the market. Alex Andrews is a budding artist with a penchant for Converse, Cracker Jack, and piercings. Family turmoil sidelines his dreams of finishing art school and building a career in three-dimensional design, and now he’s doing whatever he can to keep everyone afloat.When Alex shows up as a part of the moving crew hired to help Rob clean out the house, what should be a simple move becomes far more complex. Because it’s not the first time they’ve met, and their last encounter was memorable for all the wrong reasons. The attraction between them is undeniable and intense, but Rob’s hell-bent on pushing everyone away, and Alex is on the verge of spinning out of control. Can a grumpy accountant and a bootstrapping artist find their center of gravity together, or are they on a collision course to heartbreak?**An emotionally-charged, slow burn m/m romance featuring an age gap, hurt/comfort themes, and a very hard-won happily ever after. This is the standalone first in the Nook Island, Georgia series.**
One Night at Finn's
R.G. Alexander - 2017
Alexander.**
Ever been on a bad date? Hold my beer…
My dry spell isn’t voluntary. It just happened. Or didn’t happen. And then... it didn’t happen some more. I’m not saying I’m looking for perfection, but is hot, sweaty sex with a genuinely decent guy too much to ask? When I meet the much older and newly retired Master Sergeant Carter Willis, he definitely fits my criteria. But after he rescues me from the worst of my dating mistakes, I can’t tell if he’s watching my back to protect it, or because he likes what he sees. Giving romance tips to strangers is easy. This feeling I get when Carter is around is making life complicated. It feels like a thing. A forever type thing. And if there’s one thing that scares me more than my accidental abstinence becoming a permanent condition… It’s trusting in forever. A previously published alternate cover version of ASIN B075ZHQ8Z3 can be found here.
Arrows Through Archer
Nash Summers - 2017
Each day, he struggles his way through classes, parties, and trying to put on a good front for the sake of his best friend. But at night, he falls asleep to the sound of gunshots ringing in his ears.Mallory is a man fighting a war of emotions all his own. When his son invites his best friend back home to Banff over a college break, he’s happy for the company.Some time during the late-night talks, subtle smiles, and long, long silences, the two men begin to find solace in one another.But love isn’t always easy, especially when it strikes you straight through the heart.
Grumpy Bear
Slade James - 2021
It’s opening weekend at my clothing-optional campground, guests are starting to arrive, and I’ve got a pool party and a few hundred peoples’ vacations to save while battling Mother Nature’s tantrums.The last thing I need is a temporary employee who can’t even put up a tent.Luke Cody’s not my type. He’s too young, too pretty, and too much like my late partner. Another flaky musician? No thanks. But when a storm blows down his campsite, I can’t just leave him outside and soaked to the bone. Now he’s staying in my cabin, sleeping in my bed, and worst of all, he’s completely ignoring the proverbial sign over my head that says Grumpy Bear: Do Not Approach.I’m not quite as immune to his charms as I want him to believe, but he’ll only be here for a few days.Nothing’s going to happen…
Grumpy Bear is a boss/employee, grumpy/sunshine romance set at a gay campground full of bears. (Not shifters; the other kind of bears.) It’s the first full-length book in the Bear Camp series and can be read as a standalone.
The Boy Who Loved Wicked
C.P. Harris - 2021
I’d impatiently waited three years to take the course, but from the moment he strode in with his sad eyes that mirrored my own, I was intrigued by only him. Dr. Sebastian Wicked. Intrigue turned into obsession, and common interests set the stage for a tentative friendship with the enigmatic man. In time, every line put in place became blurred as what we shared sparked the flames of a forbidden affair. An affair that should've never been, a wrong that the universe sought to right. There was only one possible outcome—we were both going to burn. Would our love rise up from the ashes? Or would it smolder in the ruins?My name is Phoenix Michaelson, and I am the boy who loved Wicked.
Looking for Trouble
Riley Hart - 2019
After the devastating loss of his father, he travels across the country to deliver a letter to his dad’s estranged best friend. But surely, he deserves a night of relaxation when he first gets to town, right? He sets his sights on the attractive older guy at the bar—except his almost-one-night-stand turns out to be the very man he’s in town to see. Oops. Clayton Turner has a nasty habit of either losing or hurting the people he cares about. After his partner died, he’d decided keeping to himself was the smartest life choice. He doesn’t count on trouble stumbling into his life in the form of a sexy guy twenty years his junior… and for that guy to be linked to one of the most painful losses of Clay’s past. Fate steps in and Dylan gets stranded in Bailey Springs. He gets a job, and Clay can’t stop himself from trying to help Dylan get on his feet. And Dylan? Well, Dylan can’t seem to stop flirting with Clay. He tries, he really does…just about as much as Clay attempts not to like it. They couldn’t be more different…or are they? Soon, Trouble and Sad Eyes realize they have a lot more in common than they thought, and once they land in bed together, there’s no going back. Moving forward isn’t any easier, though. Clay’s always walked the straight and narrow, always followed all the rules. But what does he do when the only right path involves looking for trouble?
Firm Hand
Nora Phoenix - 2019
He’s too old, too imperfect to ever attract a Dom again. Until Rhys. When Rhys gives him commands, Cornell yearns to obey. When Rhys takes care of him, Cornell wants to kneel for him. When Rhys is everything he’s dreamed of, Cornell aches to call him Sir. And when Rhys makes him fly, Cornell soars higher than ever before. But there’s one problem. Rhys is twenty years his junior…and he’s Jonas’s son. How can you call your best friend’s son Sir…or Daddy? Firm Hand is a standalone slow burn MM romance with daddy kink, an age gap, a very caring Daddy and a boy who needs it, hurt/comfort, mild D/s play, and all the feels.
Best Man
Lily Morton - 2019
The product of a disorganised and chaotic childhood, Zeb likes order and control, and as the boss of his own employment agency he can give that to himself. Life runs along strict lines and he never mixes business with pleasure. Everything in his life lives in neat, alphabetized boxes. Until Jesse. Jesse Reed is Zeb’s complete opposite. He’s chaos personified. A whirling cyclone of disorder. He’s also charming and funny and a very unwanted distraction. Which is why it comes as a complete surprise to Zeb to find himself asking Jesse to pose as his boyfriend for a few days in the country at a wedding. Zeb doesn’t do impulsive, but as the time away progresses, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the merry and irreverent Jesse. But can he bring himself to break the hard-won lessons he’s learnt in life? And even if he can, how could Jesse be attracted to him anyway? He’s so much older than Jesse, not to mention being his boss. From the bestselling author of the Mixed Messages and Finding Home series comes a warm and funny romance about one man’s fight for control and another man’s determination to circumvent it. This is the first book in the Close Proximity series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Roommate Arrangement
Saxon James - 2022
And ditch the gray sweatpants. And not leave his door ajar when he’s in compromising positions ...Beau:In search of: roommate.Must be non smoker and non douchebag.Room payment to be made in meal planning, repairs, and dumb jokes.Since my career took off, I barely have time to breathe, let alone keep my life in order. I’m naturally chaotic, make terrible decisions, and scare off potential dates with my “weirdness”.So when Payne gets back into town and needs somewhere to stay, I offer him my spare room with one condition: while he’s staying with me, I need him to help me become date-able.And while he does that, I can focus on my other plan: ignoring that Payne is the only man I’ve ever wanted to date.
September
Robert Winter - 2016
After the death of his lover, Kyle, from cancer, he buried himself in his law practice and the gym. At forty-eight, he is haunted by his memories and walled off from the world. When David injures himself working out, he’s assigned to Brandon Smith for physical therapy. The vibrant young therapist is attracted to David and realizes he needs a hand to get back into dating. What begins as a practice coffee date escalates to friendship, passion, and maybe something more, as they navigate a new relationship in Washington, DC, and the gay mecca of Provincetown. But David remains trapped behind the barrier of fear and guilt. Will he remain loyal to Kyle’s memory if he moves on? Can he and Brandon manage a twenty-two-year age gap? Brandon thinks he understands David’s concerns, and for him, the answer to those questions is yes. He wants to be with David, and he believes he can overcome David’s barriers. But Brandon fails to account for the world’s reaction to a handsome young man attached to an older, wealthy lover. David’s memories, Brandon’s pride, and an unexpected tragedy might cost them something very special… Note: Another publisher released September previously with a different cover. The author has made only minor changes to this edition.
Taboo for You
Anyta Sunday - 2013
Luke. My next door neighbor. My best friend. My unofficial co-parent. God, I’ve missed him. Really, deeply missed him. Now he’s around again? Maybe he’ll help me tick my way through my Must Do List . . . Swim with the great whites?Get into crazy, nasty shape. Lift weights before work!Date someone ten years older.Flirt, have fun, don’t fall in love.Do something sexually taboo. (Or just have sex again.)I mean, I’m straight, so Luke doesn’t have to help me with the last three points.But, what . . . what if he does?
Luke:
He’s the guy I’m in love with. He doesn’t even know I’m gay.God, I’m screwed.~ ~ ~"There For You" is a slow burn, Friends To Lovers, boy-next-door, bi-awakening story with HEA. A sweet & cozy M/M romance. This is the first book in the "Love & Family" series, set in Wellington, New Zealand.The books in the Love & Family series are standalone romances, and can be read in any order.THERE FOR YOU: Sam & Luke’s storyMADE FOR YOU: Ben & Jack’s storyHAPPY FOR YOU: Felix & Mort’s story~ ~ ~"There For You" was previously published under the title "Taboo For You".
The New Neighbor
Rye Cox - 2021
His Mom and younger brother depend on him to be strong and support them, even if it meant sacrificing himself. He was resigned to being a cog in the wheel in a job he hated, until his new neighbor moves in and challenges everything.Zack didn’t do relationships. After his family cut ties with him, he vowed to stick to friendships in the future. However, when his blushing neighbor overhears him mention erectile dysfunction and balls, he can’t let the cute man leave thinking he has issues with his lower parts.The New Neighbor is book 1 of the Corio Heights series about well, the new neighbor. Join Caleb and Zack’s story as they discover that they can have more than what they resigned themselves to. It features a regal cat, hurt/comfort themes, and lots of blushing.
Long Winter
Rachel Ember - 2021
Alone, that is, except for his three devious cats, four saddle horses, and the forty-eight mustangs that roam the ranch. Robbie is preparing for yet another snowfall when he gets the last call he expected—a plea to pick up Lance Taylor from the county jail.Lance wasn’t just his little brother’s best friend, he was a part of the family. Then, one night, after Lance asked Robbie for something Robbie couldn’t give, he ran away and never came back. Lance was sixteen and heartbroken when he left his middle-of-nowhere hometown. Six years later, he’s at rock bottom with nowhere else to go, and no one to turn to but Robbie, the man Lance has been inconveniently in love with for most of his life.When Robbie offers Lance a place to stay, Lance expects a guest bedroom and awkward silences. Instead, he finds himself sharing Robbie’s one-room hayloft apartment and its single bed, while realizing that the old flame he carries for Robbie might not be so hopeless, after all.Long Winter is the first book in the Wild Ones series and has a happy-for-now ending. Robbie and Lance’s story continues in Signs of Spring.
Dirty Mind
Roe Horvat - 2017
He’s a respectable man in his thirties who stays fit, has a decent career and travels alone—his only vice is an occasional greasy meal. And beer. And violent computer games. Nobody has to know about the other Alex—the acclaimed porn writer. His ingenious erotic fantasies earn him good money and keep his capricious mind harmlessly entertained. When his young friend and protégé Christian transfers to Freiburg for medical school, Alex is overjoyed…and terrified that Christian will find out about Alex’s indecent alter ego. The time they spend together, as lovely as it is, could overturn Alex’s carefully balanced life. Suddenly, the writing is not good enough, his hair seems to be thinning, his careful hookups leave him unfulfilled, and his dreams are haunted by the innocent young man he’s vowed to protect. However, Christian is not a boy anymore. He’s a grown man of twenty-one, clever and deadly attractive. And he’s hiding some secrets of his own.
Over and Over Again
Cole McCade - 2018
A promise. Ten years of separation. And memories of an innocent love with the power to last through time. When Luca Ward was five years old, he swore he would love Imre Claybourne forever. Years later, that promise holds true—and when Luca finds himself shipped off to Imre’s North Yorkshire goat farm in disgrace, long-buried feelings flare back to life when he finds, in Imre, the same patiently stoic gentle giant he’d loved as a boy. The lines around Imre’s eyes may be deeper, the once-black night of his hair silvered to steel and stone…but he’s still the same slow-moving mountain of a man whose quiet-spoken warmth, gentle hands, and deep ties to his Roma heritage have always, to Luca, meant home. The problem? Imre is more than twice Luca’s age. And Luca’s father’s best friend. Yet if Imre is everything Luca remembered, for Imre this hot-eyed, fey young man is nothing of the boy he knew. Gone is the child, replaced by a vivid man whose fettered spirit is spinning, searching for north, his heart a thing of wild sweet pure emotion that draws Imre into the compelling fire of Luca’s frustrated passions. That fragile heart means everything to Imre—and he’ll do anything to protect it. Even if it means distancing himself, when the years between them are a chasm Imre doesn’t know how to cross. But can he resist the allure in cat-green eyes when Luca places his trembling heart in Imre’s hands…and begs for his love, over and over again?