Book picks similar to
Ocean of Tears by Phetra H. Novak


m-m
may-december
beaten-track-publishing
contemporary

Rock My Heart


Garett Groves - 2017
    A guitar prodigy. A rock 'n' roll romance. Jamie “Blaze” Cameron has seen and done it all. As the frontman for the hard rock band HEX, he’s toured the world for the last 20 years — and as a result has managed to avoid coming to terms with his troubled past and the one thing he’s spent his career singing about: love. At 25, Darren Greene’s ambition and skills at guitar playing have led him to do more in the world of music than many musicians twice his age, but it hasn’t been enough to put his name in bright lights. Without a big break, he’s terrified he’ll wind up stuck in his hometown with nothing but his broken dreams. When HEX’s guitarist is removed from the band unexpectedly right before the first leg of their 20-year anniversary tour for their first record, Blaze and his bandmates find themselves in dire need of a replacement. The band holds open auditions and Darren rocks their socks off — and his life hits a high note when HEX hires him. As the group adjusts to performing with their newest addition, Blaze and Darren realize it’s not just their chemistry on stage that’s making their hearts sing. Can the two navigate fame, unresolved grief, and their growing feelings for each other to bring the band into a new, golden era? Or will their budding romance and the controversy it stirs up in the media push them off the charts? Rock My Heart is a rollicking ride through rock 'n' roll culture with a song in its heart. If you like May/December relationships and a touch of the angst inherent in rock music, you'll love this new novel from Garett Groves! NOTE: Contains themes of suicide that may be triggering for some readers.

The Perfect Blend


A.D. Ellis - 2021
     Justin plans to put his business and baking skills to good use once he owns the small-town coffee shop of his dreams. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to make his dreams come true. If that means involving an unsuspecting silver fox in his scheme, so be it. Morgan knows moving to Briarton was the right step in getting his life back on track. A case of mistaken identity lands Morgan right in the middle of young, handsome Justin’s completely unexpected plan. Morgan should just say no, but something deep inside urges him to take a chance. Will Justin and Morgan complete the terms of their unconventional deal? Or will they finally admit there’s more between them than they first realized? **The Perfect Blend is a steamy, M/M age-gap, marriage of convenience, coffee shop romance.**

Tattoos & Teacups


Anna Martin - 2012
    That was sixteen years ago, and Professor McKinnon has never quite settled in his new home or found his place this side of the pond. He might be prematurely old, but he has his cat, and his books, and that's all he needs.Then Chris Ford explodes into Robert's life with a crash of cymbals. The younger man is the polar opposite of Robert's calm civility. Bright tattoos cover his skin, and he wears his hair in a Mohawk and plays drums for a rock band. But he's a shot of color in Robert's black-and-white world, and Robert turns out to be the one thing Chris can count on. Despite all the reasons it shouldn't work, somehow it does.Even if Robert wasn't looking for love—especially not with someone nearly ten years his junior—he can't deny being with Chris is fun. But sometimes Chris's free-spirited nature leaves Robert feeling vulnerable. If they can't find a balance between tattoos and teacups, their relationship won't survive—and neither will Robert's newfound lust for life.

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.

Noah


Cara Dee - 2016
    I came home to find my girlfriend of four years with another man. The next day a plane crash ripped my family away from me, shattering me in the process. In many ways, I died that day, too. The fun-loving man who'd lived in the fast lane and loved his career in the film industry was gone. Left was a forty-year-old shell that dwelled at the bottom of a bottle.Only one person knew what I was going through. My sister's stepson, who hadn't been on the plane. Julian knew what it was like to lose everyone he loved, too. He'd stopped showing up at reunions when he was a teenager, so I didn’t know him very well. But I told him at the memorial service he could come out and visit me in LA whenever. One day he did, and I guessed it was as good a day as any to start picking up the pieces and see what was left of us.

Imperfect Harmony


Jay Northcote - 2016
    He’s shut himself off from everything that reminds him of what he’s lost. When his neighbour persuades him to join the local community choir, John rediscovers his love of music and finds a reason to start living again.Rhys Callington, the talented and charismatic choir leader, captures John’s attention from the first moment they meet. He appears to be the polar opposite of John: young, vibrant, and full of life. But Rhys has darkness in his own past that is holding him back from following his dreams.Despite the nineteen-year age gap, the two men grow close and a fragile relationship blossoms. Ghosts of the past and insecurities about the future threaten their newfound happiness. If they’re going to harmonise in life and love as they do in their music, they’ll need to start following the same score.

Out in the Field


Kate McMurray - 2012
    His dream comes true and then some; he finds himself playing alongside his idol, first baseman Matt Blanco, who is everything he dreamed of and more. Matt Blanco is entering the twilight of his career, plagued by injuries and two decades of lying about who and what he is, but he thinks he still has a few good years left in the major leagues. Then he meets Iggy and everything turns upside down. But carrying on an affair with a much younger man is one thing. Having an affair with his teammate introduces a whole new set of complications. When a trade and a career-ending injury threaten to keep them apart, both men have to figure out what they’re willing to risk for the love of baseball and each other.

Emerett Has Never Been in Love


Anyta Sunday - 2021
    After losing his best friend to marriage—completely crushing his heart—he deems it prudent to distract himself, and what better way than playing cupid?He’s already got his eye on two young men desperately seeking romance, and he has a plan to hook them up.Barbecues.Photoshoots.Reciting Shakespearean love declarations.Lake is killing it. Love is positively pulsing in the air. Anyone could see it.Well, anyone other than Knight, his best friend’s dad, who cautions Lake to stop meddling. To leave love to its natural course.Lake has always valued Knight’s frankness, but this time he’s wrong. Without him, two hearts might be doomed never to find love.Besides, what does Knight know about romance? He’s barely dated in all the seven years Lake’s known him. He’s clueless.Though, there’s a thought. Knight has everything going for him. Sensibility. Kindness. Generosity. And for a forty-four-year-old, he’s—objectively—freaking hot.Why is he single?~ ~ ~“. . . [T]here may be a hundred different ways of being in love.” ~ Jane AustenAnd a hundred different ways not to recognize it.

Strong Medicine


Max Hudson - 2018
    Aaron “Mitch” Mitchell, with all its problems, including handling board members who want to tell him how to do his job, and professionals who think he isn’t doing it well enough. Add to that the stresses of being the guardian of a pre-teen, and Mitch’s cup is overflowing. The very last thing he wants to do is mix business with pleasure, but that is exactly what happens when he accepts an invitation to a weekend mixer at a friend’s swanky country home. Mitch isn’t into hooking up. He’s on the wrong side of forty, going bald, slower on the track, and not interested. So why he can’t ignore the impossibly alluring billionaire Alexei Costas is anybody’s guess. The pharmaceuticals magnate is only visiting, and Mitch isn’t shopping. Still, the sparks fly and before they know it, Mitch and Alex are neck deep in a love affair. Then things go wrong, causing them both to question whether or not the love they are finding with each other will be enough to weather the storms that threaten to tarnish Mitch’s reputation and that might lose him his job. Please Note: This book contains adult language & steamy adult activities, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. Novel, approx. 70,000 words in length. HEA (happy ever after ending). Does not end with a "cliffhanger."

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.

His Sassy Omega


Raiven Matthews - 2022
    Truthfully, I barely believed in love. It wasn’t something I’d ever needed, and I didn’t have time for it. Besides, love just led to being hurt, and I could do without that.When a huge alpha barged his way to the front of the line in my bakery, it was anything but a meet cute. My sassy mouth promptly told him exactly where he could take his perfectly formed behind. Right back out the door he’d just come in, and don’t come back, thank you very much. Then our hands touched, and sparks of electricity shot between us, and my soul screamed Mate. I wasn’t looking for love or a mate, but he was looking at me and I couldn’t look anywhere else. He was big and sexy and growly, and smelled like every wishful dream I’d ever had, and forgotten. Making me want things I’d never wanted before. Making me want to run from him as fast as my legs could carry me. Secretly, hoping he would chase me.LachlanI was having a bad morning. Clashing with a smart-mouthed, sarcastic omega was the cherry on top of my already bad day. Getting tossed out of my favorite place for sweet treats was not how I’d planned to start my day. I’d always played by the rules and done what was expected of me. My whole life, I’d known what I’d wanted in my mate. Until he was standing in front of me, nothing like I’d expected him to be, sassing me and ordering me about. Now he was all I wanted. I just had to convince him of that.We were opposites in every way. Fate must have gotten Her wires crossed and messed up big time. Or did She? His Sassy Omega is the first book in a series, but can be read as a standalone, with no cliff hangers and a HEA. It contains opposites attract, age gap, shifters, knotting, and mpreg.**Trigger warning: There is a situation where terminating a pregnancy is discussed between the MC’s, but it is only a discussion. If this could trigger you in any way, please skip that chapter. This does contain a HEA.**Revised for additional editing. No new content was added.**

Riven


Roan Parrish - 2018
    The paparazzi, the endless tours, being recognized everywhere he goes—it all makes him squirm. The only thing he doesn’t hate is the music. Feeling an audience’s energy as they lose themselves in Riven’s music is a rush unlike anything else . . . until he meets Caleb Blake Whitman. Caleb is rough and damaged, yet his fingers on his guitar are pure poetry. And his hands on Theo? They’re all he can think about. But Caleb’s no groupie—and one night with him won’t be enough. Just when Caleb is accepting his new life as a loner, Theo Decker slinks into it and turns his world upside-down. Theo’s sexy and brilliant and addictively vulnerable, and all Caleb wants is another hit. And another. That’s how he knows Theo’s trouble. Caleb can’t even handle performing these days. How the hell is he going to survive an affair with a tabloid superstar? But after Caleb sees the man behind the rock star, he begins to wonder if Theo might be his chance at a future he thought he’d lost forever.

Beyond the Sea


Keira Andrews - 2016
    One desert island.Troy Tanner walks out on his boy band’s world tour rather than watching his little brother snort his life away. Screw it. He’ll take a private jet home and figure out his life away from the spotlight. But Troy doesn’t make it home.The plane crashes on a jungle island in the South Pacific. Forget dodging the paparazzi—now Troy’s desperate for food and water. The turquoise ocean and white sand beach looks like paradise, but danger lurks everywhere. Thank God the pilot survived too. At least Troy’s not alone. He has Brian.Brian’s smart and brave and strong. He doesn’t care that Troy’s famous. Brian’s real. As days turn into weeks with no sign of rescue, Troy and Brian rely on each other. They make each other laugh despite being stranded. They go from strangers to friends.What happens when they want more?Although he and Brian both identify as straight, their growing desire burns hotter than the tropical sun. If they explore their sexuality a thousand miles from anything or anyone, can their newfound love survive in the real world when they’re finally rescued?This slow-burn LGBT romance from Keira Andrews features bisexual awakening, scorching exploration, an age gap, and of course a happy ending.

Northern Star


Ethan Day - 2013
    Growing up in a broken home with an alcoholic mother and a revolving door of truly pathetic father figures taught him to keep his expectations low. Now at twenty-seven, on the night before Christmas Eve, his life is turned upside down yet again; his boyfriend has dumped him, he just fled the holiday family reunion from hell, and now to top it all off, a blizzard has left him stranded in an airport hotel. Steve Steele has spent the better part of his forty-four years living a lie, ignoring his attraction to other men in an attempt to fit into the mold of the man he thought he should be, instead of living life as the man he knew himself to be. Recently divorced after coming home from work one day and coming out to his wife, Steve has floundered over the past year, desperately attempting to wade through the guilt and find the courage to start again.That’s when a chance meeting in a hotel bar brings two lonely men together… and what should’ve been a one night stand turns into something much more than either one ever expected.

Off Balance


Jay Hogan - 2020
    Not to Painted Bay. Not to his family’s struggling mussel farm. Not to his jerk of a brother. Not with his entire life plan in shreds. And certainly not into the tempting arms of MORGAN WIPENE, the older, ruggedly handsome fisheries officer who seems determined to screw with Judah’s intention to wallow in peace.But dreams are fickle things. Shatter them and it’s hard to pick up the pieces. Hard to believe. Hard to start again.But the hardest thing of all? Finding the courage to trust in love and build a new dream where you least expected it.