Book picks similar to
Just Stay by Mika Fox
m-m
contemporary
romance
new-adult
Wes and Toren
J.M. Colail - 2009
Senior Toren Grey cares more about his family and his grades than what brand of clothes he wears. He agrees with the majority consensus that he's a nerd. So he's quite surprised when resident bad boy Wesley Carroll speaks to him in the hall, stirring feelings that Toren has to hide. Disconcerted by Wes's free and easy ways, Toren can't deny the attraction between them. As he relaxes and gets to know Wes better, he finds there's more to the sexy rebel than his public image. Before long the young men are exploring new territory and falling in love, but life just isn't that simple. After they graduate, obstacles block their relationship at every turn: Wes working versus Toren in college, the virulent disapproval of parents, and everyday trials faced by any struggling young couple. Wes and Toren have to believe in each other... and never doubt that their love can conquer all.
#20DaysToLA
Tanya Chris - 2020
To fly out to LA where he has an apartment and a coveted entry level job waiting for him. To build a life filled with the security and stability he never had as a kid. To find a husband who’s a lot like him: steady, smart, responsible, and capable of making good choices. To leave Connecticut and everything in it behind him, including his mother, her revolving door of suitors, and his straight ex-stepbrother.Craig has a plan. To convince Braxton to drive out to LA with him. To see every last sight along the way, no matter how weird or expensive or out of the way. To have one last hurrah before embarking on the adult life he’s in no way ready for. And maybe to act on the bisexuality he’s kept to himself so far.Whose plan wins? Is twenty days enough to make it from Connecticut to LA and from ex-stepbrothers to friends to happily-ever-after? Will Braxton’s stuffed bear, Mr. Lovey, find a real-life bear friend? Find out in this slow burn, friends to lovers, opposites attract, bi awakening, road trip romance in which there’s ONLY ONE BED.
Living on Air
Susan Mac Nicol - 2018
The only exception - his work. As a top-billed aerialist in a popular travelling circus, he enjoys accolades and applause, but little else. When notable photographer, Rhys McIntyre, joins the circus to catalogue its inner workings, Cary fights the attraction that hits him from the moment they meet. But a kind soul wrapped in a beautiful body has a way of battering all the walls Cary has built around his cold, dark heart. WITH LIGHT Rhys McIntyre is on his third iteration of reinventing himself. Once a hotdog financier, he embraced his passion for photography and became an eminent war photo journalist. Until one too many bullets lodged in his body, and he gave up the front lines for the softer side of chronicling life. When he accepts the assignment to record life in a circus, the last thing he expects is to find the man crush of his dreams. Except Cary Stilwell is a cold, tortured man who seems incapable of any warm emotion, never mind love. But Rhys is known for his persistence, and this time the pay-off might be more than he could have ever imagined.
Breaking Out
Garry M. Tuckwell - 2013
His mum died during the summer holidays, his older brother, the only person he feels he can talk to, is away at university, and he lives with a father who simply can’t deal with anything emotional. Justin tries to navigate his way through his final year at secondary school but his friends and teachers no longer seem to know how to treat him, or what to say, so they keep their distance.But then there’s Niall Casey; he’s funny and compassionate, and makes Justin feel things that confuse him; they make him feel wonderful but even more isolated at the same time. As if Justin’s life isn’t complicated enough, he now has to try to make sense of the thoughts and emotions that course through him every time he sees Niall.This is a story about taking risks, facing the truth and finding love when it seems that the whole world is against you.
Off Campus
Amy Jo Cousins - 2014
Some are just harder to hide.With his father’s ponzi scheme assets frozen, Tom Worthington believes finishing college is impossible unless he can pay his own way. After months sleeping in his car and gypsy-cabbing for cash, he’s ready to do just that.But his new, older-student housing comes with an unapologetically gay roommate. Tom doesn’t ask why Reese Anders has been separated from the rest of the student population. He’s just happy to be sleeping in a bed.Reese isn’t about to share his brutal story with his gruff new roommate. You’ve seen one homophobic jock, you’ve seen ’em all. He plans to drag every twink on campus into his bed until Tom moves out. But soon it becomes clear Tom isn’t budging.Tom isn’t going to let some late-night sex noise scare him off, especially when it’s turning him on. But he doesn’t want any drama either. He’ll keep his hands, if not his eyes, to himself. Boundaries have a way of blurring when you start sharing truths, though. And if Tom and Reese cross too many lines, they may need to find out just how far they can bend…before they break.Warning: This book contains cranky roommates who vacillate between lashing out and licking, some male/male voyeurism, emotional baggage that neither guy wants to unpack, and the definitive proof that sound carries in college housing.
Reason Number One
Briston Brooks - 2016
He’s been kicked out of his house, knocked around by an abusive boyfriend, and defined by a heart condition for far too long. So an acceptance letter from a prestigious college is a perfect opportunity to start over, even if it means being away from the one person in the world he has on his side, his twin sister, Aela. All he has to do is be normal, which in Taylor’s book, means acting one hundred percent straight. Too bad that becomes one hundred percent impossible when he meets his roommate’s friend, Calis Schrader, who has a major flirting problem. Especially with Taylor. Calis and his friends force Taylor to question every truth he’s accepted about himself and the world him around him.As Taylor struggles to reconcile his past with his future, he finds himself evaluating what it means to be normal, what it means to be ruined, and what it actually means to be gay.
Patient Eyes
Andy Eisenberg - 2009
So when one of his house mates introduces him to gay-for-pay porn, he reluctantly agrees to take part. During his first scene, Jaden meets Brendan, and he's stunned to find himself falling in love.
True Blue
Connie Bailey - 2008
As always, the good-natured Texan was hoping to find a friend; his assigned roommate was hoping to be left alone and said so rather bluntly. Heydn had never met anyone quite like Blue Barclay, the campus's resident eccentric loner, but the two young men soon find they have more in common than they might have imagined. Friendship quickly takes on a new dimension of physical intimacy accompanied by bewildering new feelings. However, Blue and Heydn are given little time to explore and understand what is growing between them before they're pulled apart. Heydn is chosen for the track team and befriended by a popular senior. Fearing, rightly, that their relationship would cost him the place he's won at Acton, Heydn turns his back on Blue. He feels he's made the right choice for his future, but when Blue finds a new friend, Heydn realizes he's made a terrible mistake. Is it too late for him to try to win Blue's heart again?
You're Always in the Last Place You Look
T.N. Gates - 2014
He has a few friends—okay, one real friend and his roping partner. But being the town pastor’s son isn’t easy. Not to mention he’s sure he was born askew, without the ability to experience life the way others seem to. It is the only explanation he has for why he isn’t like everyone else. However, when he rescues Zane, a misplaced city boy dressed in tattoos and leather, from a killer bumblebee, he experiences more than he expects. Zane shows Gabriel that sometimes the path you’ve chosen isn’t set in stone, and more times than not, you’ll find yourself in the last place you look.
We're Both Straight, Right?
Jamie Fessenden - 2011
But when Larry hears that other guys they know are getting paid to have gay sex on camera, he convinces Zack that they could pick up some quick, easy cash by being in one of these films… together.If Zack thinks making a gay porn film with his best friend is disturbing, he is absolutely horrified when Larry proposes they “rehearse” for the film so they won’t be nervous in front of the director. As the they fumble their way through a checklist of sexual positions and acts, Zack finds himself seeing Larry in an entirely new light—a very sexy new light, and possibly a romantic one, as well. But does Larry feel the same? Or is this all for easy money?
Honesty
Seth King - 2010
Maybe we were meant to explode.”As a closeted teenager in the Deep South with a holy-roller father and the scars to prove it, bookworm Cole Furman has resigned himself to experiencing life and love only within the pages of his favorite novels. But after Nick Flores seems to walk off a page and starts to rewrite his story, Cole finds his dreams spinning into a dazzling – and complicated – reality. If you have ever found yourself on the wild breathless thriller ride that is young love, Honesty will rip you back again in screaming color.
Just a Game
Thomas Carver - 2017
And Luke has no better friend than Preston, his snarky genius roommate. They spend their summer surfing and playing innocent games, like Who's-the-Spy and Hide-and-Seek. But when Luke changes the rules, inventing games like Kidnapper and Interrogation, Preston feels something he's never felt before for his friend. He lies awake at night, waiting for Luke to "break in," eager for the ominous tearing sound of duct tape, the rattle of handcuffs. He doesn't understand: he's straight, and so is Luke. He's always loved his best friend. Of course he has; that's what friendship is. But now he's starting to wonder: does he love him, or is he in love with him? Or maybe he's just in love with the taste of tape on his lips and the chafing of belts against his wrists. The two friends trade sweet pain and agonizing pleasure, until Preston is bound and helpless -- in every sense. Is Luke feeling something similar when he puts on his leather gloves and mask, or is all just a game to him? This 44,000 word stand alone novella contains scenes of steamy BDSM.
Frozen Hearts
Teegan Loy - 2013
Can Erik make peace with his past and the boy he left behind, or will he fold under the pressure? The best college hockey player in the nation is hanging up his skates because he's tired of living a lie. Five years ago, Erik Fox was forced by his father to change schools in the middle of the night when his father found out about his indiscretion. Erik had a boyfriend and hockey players do not date boys.With his college career over, Erik is determined to change his life. Can Erik make peace with the boy he left behind and find the life he wants to live, or is he going to fold under the pressure from his father and everyone else who thinks he is defined by the game of hockey.
No Apologies
Tibby Armstrong - 2011
But becoming buddies with Grayson Academy’s golden boy is not on Greg’s agenda. When a wager erupts into violence, the young men are thrown together with unexpected consequences. And, a single kiss forges a path to an epic love that won’t let go—no matter the obstacle. At least, this is how Greg, now a successful screenwriter, has always wanted to portray his and Aaron’s coming-of-age story. His thinly veiled biopic, No Apologies, catches the attention of Hollywood—and the loosely based account of the lovers’ origins soars free of society’s moorings to become the most buzzed movie of the year. Still, such an emotionally honest tale has its drawbacks. Greg believes in the power of imagination, but perhaps it’s caused him to deny the very real and cavernous cracks in his present day relationship. Now he and Aaron must determine if they can rewrite the hard truths of their history, or if it’s too late to pave the way for a new future together. "Tibby Armstrong delivers an engrossing story of self-discovery, unlikely friendship, and a love that stands up against the odds. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.” – Ella Frank Young love, the curses of stardom, and the chance for happily ever after collide in this emotionally compelling tale of fiction versus reality. “Attractive leading men and a gut-wrenching storyline make No Apologies a compelling read from start to finish. I'll be looking out for more by Tibby Armstrong.” – Harper Fox “Highly emotional, sexy romance with vivid characters and an engaging plot. Lovely.” – Z.A. Maxfield Note: NO APOLOGIES is a previously published work, and is not substantially different from the original edition.