Book picks similar to
The Snow Ball by Kenn Dahll
contemporary
emotional-abuse
rape-or-sexual-assault-or-dub-con
abuse
Off Base
Annabeth Albert - 2017
Pike's flirting puts virgin Zack on edge. And the questions Pike's arrival would spark from Zack's teammates about his own sexuality? Nope. Not going there. But Zack can't refuse.Pike Reynolds knows there won't be a warm welcome in his new home. What can he say? He's an acquired taste. But he needs this chance to get his life together. Also, teasing the uptight SEAL will be hella fun. Still, Pike has to tread carefully; he's had his fill of tourists in the past, and he can't risk his heart on another, not even one as hot, as built—and, okay, yeah, as adorable—as Zack.Living with Pike crumbles Zack's restraint and fuels his curiosity. He discovers how well they fit together in bed…in the shower…in the hallway… He needs Pike more than he could have imagined, yet he doesn't know how to be the man Pike deserves.Approximate word count: 73,000
Falling for Mr. Corporate
Gianni Holmes - 2018
Still, he never expected the trip to reveal the true nature of his boyfriend when he was around friends. When in a fit of rage over being ridiculed, he wound up lost and on the property of a man who had his gun aimed at his heart, Bryan just wanted directions to get as far away from the mountains as possible. An accident involving a sprained ankle foiled his plans and had him staying with the quiet and surly mountain man Tate who made it clear he was not welcomed. But when Tate wasn't expressing how much he disliked having Bryan there, his mouth was busy tying Bryan up in knots. Bryan had found his attraction to nature in the form of Tate but the other man harbored secrets Brian did not know how to get out of him. When push comes to shove, would Brian have the guts to make it in the woods for the sake of their budding relationship or could he just live in the moment and accept what little time he had with Tate? Falling for Mr. Corporate is a steamy MM contemporary romance novella with HFN ending. It is a 20k word prequel of the upcoming full-length novel, My Dear Mr. Corporate. It is the first book in the Corporate Pride series.
Summer Girl
Linda Watkins - 2018
Jake Chambers is also on a collision course with the past as he returns to Cutter Island for the first time in more than a decade. And, as the ferry approaches the wharf, he finds his mind filled with thoughts of a summer long forgotten and a girl destined to haunt him forever. From award-winning author, Linda Watkins, comes a story of love, loss, survival, and, most of all, hope...SUMMER GIRL, A Novel.
Here I'll Stay
Dominique Laura - 2018
Not when my best friends held onto me for dear life, and not when my heart had found one more person to beat for.I was going to fight. I was going to love.I was Daysie Flores and I was going to find every reason in the world to live—to stay.
Harvesting
Lisa Harding - 2017
When they are thrown together in a Dublin brothel in a horrific twist of fate, a peculiar and important bond is formed . . .This is a novel about a flourishing but hidden world, thinly concealed beneath a veneer of normality. It’s about the failings of polite society, the cruelty that can exist in apparently homely surroundings, the bluster of youth and the often appalling weakness of adults.Harvesting is heartbreaking and funny, gritty, raw and breathtakingly beautiful, where redemption is found in friendship and unexpected acts of kindness.Harvesting was inspired by Harding’s involvement with a campaign against sex trafficking run by the Children’s Rights Alliance. Although it is a fictionalised account, the text has been read and approved of by representatives for NGOs in both Moldova and Dublin.
Know Not Why
Hannah Johnson - 2012
After all, girls love a sensitive guy, and what's more sensitive than dedicating your life to selling yarn and ... stuff? (Okay, so maybe it'd be a good idea to actually learn what one sells at an arts 'n crafts store.) But things don't go exactly according to plan. Coworker #1 is Cora: tiny, much-pierced, and way too fierce to screw with in any sense. Coworker #2 is Kristy: blonde, bubbly, unattainable perfection. And Coworker #3 is, well, Arthur. It goes without saying that he’s not an option. Right?… Right?Yeah, Howie’s life just got straight up confusing.Pun intended.
Loving Luki Vásquez
Lou Sylvre - 2011
The mutual attraction is immediate, but love-shy Sonny has retreated from life, and Luki wears his visible and not-so-visible scars like armor. Neither can bare his soul with ease.While they run from desire, they can’t hide from the evil that hunts them. After it becomes clear that a violent stalker has targeted Sonny, Luki’s protective instincts won’t let him run far, especially when Sonny’s family is targeted as well. Whether they can forgive or forget, Sonny and Luki will have to call a truce and work together to save Sonny’s nephew and fight an enemy intent on making sure loving Luki Vásquez is the last mistake Sonny will ever make.
Cutting Cords
Mickie B. Ashling - 2009
A lifetime of insecurity leads him down dark paths. His childhood friend, Cole Fujiwara, a former major league pitcher, embodies all of Sloan’s hidden aspirations. Cole is physically fit, attractive, intelligent, and successful. Seemingly perfect. When Sloan shows up on Cole’s NYC doorstep needing a place to stay, their reunion is anything but simple. Sloan has always been drawn to Cole, but now, even though there’s a girlfriend on the periphery, the attraction seems mutual. One night, inhibitions slip away. But both men are hiding a multitude of secrets. Salvation could be found within each other’s arms. But only if they let it. Cutting Cords is the first book in the Cutting Cords Series previously published by Dreamspinner Press. This series must be read in order. HEA guaranteed at series end. Content Warning: contains body image issues, drug use and cutting.
Jerkbait
Mia Siegert - 2016
Forced to share a room to prevent Robbie from hurting himself, the brothers begin to feel the weight of each other's lives on the ice, and off. Tristan starts seeing his twin not as a hockey star whose shadow Tristan can't escape, but a struggling gay teen terrified about coming out in the professional sports world. Robbie's future in the NHL is plagued by anxiety and the mounting pressure from their dad, coach, and scouts, while Tristan desperately fights to create his own future, not as a hockey player but a musical theatre performer. As their season progresses and friends turn out to be enemies, Robbie finds solace in an online stranger known only as “Jimmy2416.” Between keeping Robbie's secret and saving him from taking his life, Tristan is given the final call: sacrifice his dream for a brother he barely knows, or pursue his own path. How far is Robbie willing to go—and more importantly, how far is Tristan willing to go to help him?
The Right Words
Lane Hayes - 2014
Desperate for a fresh start, Luke accepts a job remodeling a tired old beach house for a professional soccer player and his model girlfriend. While his passion is literature, not sports, focusing on the renovations eases his anxiety. Until the job he signed up for turns out to be more complicated than advertised.Sidelined with a serious injury, soccer star Michael Martinez decides his beach house is the perfect place to recuperate. Remodeling might be the diversion he needs to keep his mind off his busted knee. Falling for the pretty designer with some quirky habits wasn’t on the drawing board. Unfortunately, Luke didn’t build a big enough closet for Michael to hide in. Having a star-powered sports career used to be all Michael lived for, but he’ll have to reevaluate his plans and find the right words if he wants to build more than a beach house with Luke.
Bring Me the Horizon
Lucy Hawkins - 2016
He has his beautiful beachfront home and his career as a thriller writer to keep him satisfied. When it comes to matters of the heart however, he’s locked himself up and thrown away the key. It’s not easy to let anyone in when you’ve experienced great loss, not to mention keeping the strictest of rules when it comes to intimacy. “It doesn’t matter what’s supposed to be right.” All his life, River Davis has felt unwanted. When things inevitably went south between him and his abusive ex-boyfriend, he boarded a train and never looked back. Life in the sleepy New England tourist town of Seabrim was supposed to be a fresh start and a chance to follow his dream of becoming a chef. So when he meets a handsome and seemingly lonely older man, he knows he shouldn’t get involved. But when Elliot knocks River off his skateboard during a thunderstorm, it’s kind of hard not to. “You don’t have to be alone anymore. Not if you’ll let me love you.” Soon they realize it might be more than just an intense physical attraction that draws the unlikely pair to each other. But with Elliot’s constant denial and secretive nature, River can’t seem to break through the older man’s walls. When River’s past comes calling, could it be Elliot who finally decides to let him in? And could it be that despite the years between them, they might just be able to give each other exactly what they need? Bring Me The Horizon is a sweet and steamy May/December gay romance. It is a full-length novel with no cliffhanger and an HEA.
Never Met a Stranger
J.M. Snyder - 2014
When his last boyfriend cheated on him, he was driven to experiment with women. Sex with Marian, though, had its own dangers, and before he knew it, he was a father. Now estranged, the only thing Gavin and Marian have in common is their daughter Evie, a precocious seven-year-old who stays with Gavin every other weekend.While out with her daddy, Evie meets the heavily-tattooed Brody Phelps, a sketch artist with serious talent who still dresses like a brooding punk rocker, even though he’s in his thirties. Brody is instantly attracted to the sexy college professor, but knows Gavin is out of his league -- the man has a kid, which probably means he isn’t gay, and besides, Brody never even graduated from high school. Guys like Gavin don’t go for guys like him.But when Evie leaves Gavin’s cell phone behind, Brody has the perfect excuse to meet up with them again. To his surprise they hit it off, and when he asks Gavin out, the professor accepts.Even though Evie brought them together, will her demanding personality pull them apart? Is Gavin ready to trust his heart to someone else again? Can Brody overcome his own fears of inadequacy and let Gavin in? And what will Marian have to say when the father of her child starts dating again?
Cop Out
K.C. Burn - 2011
Determined to do the right thing, Kurt offers the mourning Davy his assistance. Helping Davy through his grief helps Kurt deal with the guilt that his partner didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth, and somewhere along the way Davy stops being an obligation and becomes a friend, the closest friend Kurt has ever had.His growing attraction to Davy complicates matters, leaving Kurt struggling to reevaluate his sexuality. Then a sensual encounter neither man is ready for confuses them further. To be with Davy, Kurt must face the prospect of coming out, but his job and his relationship with his Catholic family are on the line. Can he risk destroying his life for the uncertain possibility of a relationship with a newly widowed man?
Boyfriend for Rent
Jamie Lake - 2014
Who would have known after everything they'd been through together Father McDermott, a Catholic priest he has secretly been dating would do something like that to him? Then he meets Hunter, a slightly older, slow-talking, smart but simple country boy who takes him in and teaches Casey to believe in himself, what true love is, and how to please a real man in bed (or on his knees).
The Boy Who Came In From the Cold
B.G. Thomas - 2013
His abusive stepfather calls him a fag; his friend Austin makes him realize he may be gay, but Todd doesn’t want to admit his stepfather is right; and he dreams of being a chef. Three good reasons to flee his hometown and pursue greener pastures. But when Todd reaches the big city, his luck runs dry. Soon he can’t pay his rent and gets evicted. In the middle of a snowstorm. Gabe Richards is a wealthy businessman with enough wounds of his own to make him afraid of ever being intimate again. But when he sees Todd outside his building, freezing to death, he takes pity on him and takes him in from the cold.To their mutual surprise, Todd and Gabe find themselves drawn to each other. “One night” turns into a week. Maybe letting a man in from the cold can melt the ice around Gabe’s heart—and maybe getting evicted will turn Todd’s luck around.