Book picks similar to
The Carpenter and the Fairy by Cassandra Gold
m-m
mm
contemporary
short-story
Ice Cream on the Side
Wren Boudreau - 2009
He's a successful architect, lives in a great little town, and has good friends. More than ten years ago, Dylan's first boyfriend betrayed him. Since then he’s learned to appreciate men briefly and intensely, with no lingering complications. But Dylan finds himself wanting something more with Michael Gilmore, the new art teacher in town.Michael moved to Raven Pass to get away after a bad break-up. He just wants to teach and he's got an exhibit of his own work coming up. He doesn't expect to find himself attracted to anyone just yet. He has to give up his fear so he can explore a possible relationship with Dylan.The guys manage to get past their insecurities and into bed, where they find out just how compatible they are. Before their romance gains momentum; however, life gets complicated. An old dead body and a new murder are both connected to Dylan’s love life, and if the guys can't stop it Michael will be next.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices.
To Find and to Keep
Serena Yates - 2009
To escape their threats, he ran away to Canada. Now his twin sister Nicole is getting married to his best friend Peter, and Ryan will risk anything to attend. Help arrives in the most unexpected form: Peter's older brother Daniel, the man Ryan had loved from afar.
Big Cypress Crossroads
Bren Christopher - 2011
The last thing he expected to find was love in the form of a seemingly innocent wilderness guide--a guide who inexplicably knows more than he should.Noah Taylor lives for the wild backwoods, spending days camping alone and only returning to town on the weekends to lead kayak tours through the dark waterways of the Everglades. But when he finds the remains of a ritually sacrificed body hanging from the twisted limbs of a mangrove tree, his life's going to change in ways he can't possibly predict--or can he?Now Scott must untangle a web of deceit while struggling with his passion for Noah. Because loving him is easy. But trusting him could be deadly.
Stolen Summer
S.A. Meade - 2011
Can their love survive the fallout?The last thing journalist Evan Harrison expects to hear, when he returns from covering the war in Afghanistan, is that his best friend, Colin Williams, is in love with him.Colin, an Oxford Professor with a poet’s soul and a roving eye, turns out to be a temptation Evan can’t resist. What he discovers is that sex with Colin is hot, wild and relentless. The two of them embark on a passionate affair and Evan knows he’s going to spend his days with Colin - after one last assignment.A western journalist in Pakistan is too tempting a target for local insurgents. Evan's 'Oh-shit' sense fails dismally when he is taken hostage and spends four months refusing to let his captors grind him down by clinging to memories of the lover he left behind. Freedom from captivity, however, doesn't bring freedom from terror. The legacy of Evan's ordeal results in meltdowns and nightmares that threaten to destroy his life with Colin. He can't even seek comfort in lovemaking because the pills intended to save his sanity kill his desire.Evan seizes a chance to put his nightmares behind him by taking one final assignment, covering unrest in Jordan. Colin sees Evan’s decision as the end of a relationship he fought hard to save. If Evan makes it back to England in one piece, winning Colin back will be the toughest assignment he’s ever faced.
Bridges
M.J. O'Shea - 2011
The war started in third grade, with a surprise punch to the face, and lasted until the summer after high school when Brooklyn and Dallas are stuck working at the same store. At night. Together. It should've been a recipe for disaster. But instead of outright combat, they slowly start to notice that not only do they not hate each other, but perhaps they have more in common than either of them knew. Soon, amidst unexpected laughter and camaraderie, Dallas realizes that maybe the guy who used to be his number one enemy could actually be his perfect match.Original Prompt:Dear Author,These beautiful boys have a story to tell. A story of firsts. The first stirrings of attraction, the first feelings of love, the first touch of another, the first forever...Please tell us their story so that their love may live on...Photo Description: A black/white photo of two naked teenage boys in a white bedroom. One sits on the bed facing right, leaning back into the other kneeling behind him. His lover's right hand is across his arm and chest. The left hand gently strokes his hardened penis as they both watch.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Hot Summer Days" 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.Download the story, read it here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Vol 1 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, virgins, first love, enemies-to-lovers, high school, summer romanceWord Count: 14,012
Dudleytown
L.B. Gregg - 2010
Especially not his mouthwatering roommate, Shannon. When their ride share drives off the side of a mountain, the two young men find themselves deep in an uninhabited forest searching for their missing friend. Wandering the famously cursed grounds of Dudleytown, Alex figures something truly unholy must be at play, because only insanity could tempt him to break his cardinal rule.
Loving Edits
Mickie B. Ashling - 2010
The possible reunion entices Paul into considering a dinner invitation, but his hopes are dashed when he learns Mick is in a loving relationship with Spanish Jai alai player Tono Garat. Paul still accepts the invitation, and Mick asks Paul to help Tono through the final revision of a love story he's written, inspired by his affair with Mick. When Paul refuses, Mick reveals he's been diagnosed with a fatal disease, and the novel is Tono's only means of coping with the eventual outcome. Paul and Tono resent each other, but they can't deny the strong sexual attraction between them. Can the past blend with the present to ease the way for Mick's inevitable future? Will they overcome their differences to provide the loving support necessary to sustain the man they love or will their collision destroy Mick's final days?"
After the End
Alex Kidwell - 2013
In a single tragic moment, he goes from an artist with a loving partner and a future to an uninspired comic book store owner who barely exists. He hides behind a shield of grief, refusing to let Aaron go. He feels guilty for even trying to imagine a life apart from what he’d had.The charming party planner Quinn’s best friend insists he meet on a blind date isn’t someone he’s ready for. Brady Banner walks into Quinn’s small frozen world and turns everything upside down. For years, Quinn has focused on endings, but as Brady begins to thaw his existence, Quinn realizes that one moment can do more than stop a life—it can also start a new one.
Windows in Time
M. Jules Aedin - 2009
Now his house is a prison, and he's working from home while his sister checks up on him. The only diversion in Jonah's routine is catching the odd glimpse of a man in the apartment across the way taking off his clothes in front of the window. But then Jonah is distracted by Liam Brooks, the nurse his sister sends over when she goes on vacation. As they dance around their growing attraction, Jonah and Liam begin to wonder about the man in the window. Why is he always dressed in the same clothes? Why is he there one minute and not the next? How is it that he lives in an old woman's apartment? It's while trying to answer these questions that they stumble across a fifty-year-old missing persons case they can't resist trying to solve.
In All Your Ways
Cari Z. - 2012
Ancient enemies. Lifetimes of yearning. For millennia the demon Renat has loved the angel Emiel from afar. One kiss was all they ever shared, ages and ages ago. When Emiel is captured and imprisoned in Hell, Renat knows he will risk anything to rescue Emiel and return him to Heaven, even if it means facing the wrath of Satan himself.Please find a way for this lonely demon to save his angel and get his long-awaited happy endingPhoto Description: A nude angel with white wings kneeling before another man, only seen from the chest down, armed with a katana.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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.Download the story, read it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 5.
A Better Man
Jaime Reese - 2012
After a five-year prison term that alters every aspect of his life, he receives a bequest from his aunt with the stipulation that he use the money to make things right. Breaking free of the long-standing role he’s played and inspired by the few who support him, he decides to create a safe place where people like him can find purpose and start a new life.Julian Capeletti likes challenges. He is confident, brash, stubborn, and just what Matt needs. Desperate for work after a downturn of luck, he accepts the job to renovate Matt’s crumbling building.Over the course of a year, romance simmers between them as they restore the house. But there’s a bigger renovation that must take place in their hearts. To become better men, they need to learn to trust each other even with secrets and painful memories they fear may rip them apart. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: 2nd edition is revised and expanded.
The Trouble With Angel
J.M. Cartwright - 2011
Great job, great boss, and he can keep an eye on his mom. The one thorn in his side is major league pitcher Brandon Halvorsen, The Great Dane. The stuffy, stick-in-the-mud straight guy is one of his boss' best clients, and the guy annoys the hell out of Angel. Huge changes are happening in Brandon's life, and he needs help. Becoming an instant father was not on his list of things to do. Ever. He sure as heck wasn't planning on the snotty, gorgeous Angel being the solution to his problem, but stranger things have happened. What happens when hip, LA-cool Angel is dragged into famous jock Brandon's world? Life gets interesting, and hot, in a hurry.
Rentboy
Fyn Alexander - 2012
Edward Atherton, is out looking for his first sexual encounter in order to avoid being a 30 year old virgin, and because he desperately wants sex with a man. With his birthday fast approaching he goes in search of a prostitute. The young Goth he meets in a back alley in Soho, London, was not exactly what he had in mind, but he soon finds himself in bed with Fox Baillie having the sexiest time of his life. When he wakes up to find Fox gone and with him Edward’s computer he feels embarrassed and used, but still he cannot get the skinny, pale young man with the black hair and eye makeup out of his mind. He finds Fox once again in the alley and is treated to a hand job up against the grimy wall.The last thing Fox expected when he was ordered by his ex-military father to seduce Dr. Atherton and steal computer with its valuable information was that he would actually find the dude sexy and enjoy the encounter. Ignoring the danger from his brutal father he continues to seek out Eddie to continue what they started.
Better
Jaime Samms - 2012
When Jesse meets third-year law student Aadon at the library where he works, their mutual attraction is instant and obvious.Despite the sparks, they just can't seem to make it work. Aadon is mired in guilt over his inability to help his older brother, damaged by events far too similar to Jesse’s past. Jesse is stuck in his own desperate wish to forget the painful shadow that continues to threaten him and any hope of a happy future.The only way to move forward is for Jesse to acknowledge he’s broken and for Aadon to accept he can’t make him better.
Any Given Lifetime
Leta Blake - 2018
Neil isn’t a ghost, but he feels like one. Reincarnated with all his memories from his prior life, he spent twenty years trapped in a child’s body, wanting nothing more than to grow up and reclaim the love of his life. As an adult, Neil finds there's more than lost time separating them. Joshua has built a beautiful life since Neil’s death, and how exactly is Neil supposed to introduce himself? As Joshua's long-dead lover in a new body? Heartbroken and hopeless, Neil takes refuge in his work, developing microscopic robots called nanites that can produce medical miracles. When Joshua meets a young scientist working on a medical project, his soul senses something his rational mind can't believe. Has Neil truly come back to him after twenty years? And if the impossible is real, can they be together at long last? Any Given Lifetime is a stand-alone, slow burn, second chance gay romance by Leta Blake featuring reincarnation and true love. This story includes some angst, some steam, an age gap, and, of course, a happy ending.