Book picks similar to
Him Improvement by Tanya Chris
m-m
contemporary
age-gap
romance
Heavyweight
M.B. Mulhall - 2014
Their weight can be crushing, but their release can change everything—and not necessarily for the better. Ian is no stranger to secrets. Being a gay teen in a backwater southern town, Ian must keep his orientation under wraps, especially since he spends a lot of time with his hands all over members of the same sex, pinning their sweaty, hard bodies to the wrestling mat. When he’s trying not to stare at teammates in the locker room, he’s busy hiding another secret—that he starves himself so he doesn’t get bumped to the next weight class. Enter Julian Yang, an Adonis with mesmerizing looks and punk rocker style. Befriending the flirtatious artist not only raises suspicion among his classmates, but leaves Ian terrified he’ll give in to the desires he’s fought to ignore. As secrets come to light, Ian’s world crumbles. Disowned, de-friended, and deserted by nearly everyone, Ian’s one-way ticket out of town is revoked, leaving him trapped in a world he hates—and one that hates him back.
Taste on my Tongue
Beth Bolden - 2017
However, his new agent's brilliant plan for Landon's superstardom doesn’t have anything to do with his music – it’s called Kitchen Wars, and it’s the hottest new reality show on TV. Landon wishes he could have nothing to do with it. Since the first morning he mixed flour and water, Quentin Maxwell knew he wanted to be a baker. After becoming the pastry chef at a popular LA bakery, anyone else might be satisfied. But Quen wants to call his own shots. Going on Kitchen Wars to win the money for his own bakery seems like a huge risk, but maybe it's worth it. They’re an unlikely pair. Landon can’t even figure out how to turn an oven on, while Quentin makes his living with one. But with each passing week on Kitchen Wars, they discover what a great team they make – on set, off set, and between the sheets. Winning should be everything, but what happens when the tastiest pairing is their own? Taste on my Tongue is a 80,000 word standalone gay romance featuring two men falling adorably in love, reality TV shenanigans, and too much food porn. Don't read hungry!
Beauregard and the Beast
Evie Drae - 2019
If he wins, his record-breaking title reign will remain unbroken. If he loses, he’s on the fast track for retirement. But when nerdy and awkward Beauregard Wilkins stumbles through his front door, staying focused on the task at hand becomes a struggle.After taking over as his little sister’s legal guardian when their parents passed away, Bo is used to working hard to take care of his family. And now that Lulu is off at the expensive college of her dreams, he can’t afford to lose the generous salary his new position as Adam’s live-in personal assistant offers. However, as chemistry sizzles beneath the guise of an unexpected friendship, Bo discovers his new boss hardly lives up to his beastly reputation.At the end of the day, Adam always thought the most significant fight of his life would be a physical one. But when things take an unexpected turn, he realizes
his greatest prize can't be won in the octagon.
Ten Mile Bottom
Teodora Kostova - 2018
I’m a son, a brother, a friend. A writer. An addict. Dead. Cardiac arrest isn’t enough to keep me dead, though. The doctors brought me back, but for what? At twenty four I’ve already achieved what most people do in a life time. I’m a successful author, own a flat in the heart of London and drive my dream sports car. Or at least that’s what people see. Once the spotlight fades, I’m left alone with my overactive mind, alcohol and drugs the only way to quiet down the noise. Until an overdose nearly kills me and drags everyone I love down with me. With the help of my best friend, I leave London and its toxic influence behind, moving to a small town in the outskirts of Cambridge to try and put my life back together again. If only it were that easy.
Red Hot
Sean Ashcroft - 2017
That is, until he rescues a slightly odd computer nerd from his burning apartment building. Andy isn’t just any computer nerd. He’s the computer nerd who single-handedly built the up-and-coming dating app, M4M. Until now, Red’s been afraid to put himself out there—but with Andy as his new roommate, he’s not going to have any choice. Andy needs a test case, someone to prove his matching algorithms can find anyone the perfect partner. When he discovers that Red’s never been on a date before, Andy makes him his pet project—he’s going to find Red the man of his dreams, whatever it takes. The only problem is that Andy is the man of Red’s dreams, and Red can’t bring himself to face the embarrassment of telling him—after all, Andy isn’t interested, right? Little does Red know that Andy’s been thinking the same thing. If only his algorithms agreed… Red Hot is a standalone gay romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It does, however, contain several terrible jokes, stress-induced baking, a string of weird dates, explicit sex scenes, and a Dalmatian called Spot.
Fair Isn't Life
Kaje Harper - 2018
He’s survived the past year by putting one foot in front of the other in dead-end jobs to survive. Cleaning up city folks’ trash at the State Fair is just another two weeks of money between him and being back on the streets. But seeing Mason Bell in the parade— gorgeous, gay, out-of-his-league Mason— stirs dreams he thought he’d given up long ago.Mason left his small hometown for college in Minneapolis without looking back. It’s been fun and easy— classes and guys— but nothing has really felt important. Then he spots his high school crush, Luke, picking up trash at the Fair. Mason’s done with smooth and easy; he desperately wants a second chance with the boy he left behind.This is a rerelease of the 2018 Dreamspinner Press novella, with only minor editing changes.
The Plunge
Ruthie Luhnow - 2016
One day, he leaves it all behind and heads to the mountains in a desperate attempt to find himself. Matt can’t outrun his problems, though—and things only get more complicated when he meets a young, charismatic stranger he can’t seem to stay away from. Wild, passionate, and deeply troubled, Josh Day is interested in one thing: forgetting his crappy life. Whether it’s at the bottom of a bottle or in bed with a fling, Josh moves too quickly and parties too hard to give himself a chance to think about everything that’s gone wrong. When Josh meets Matt at a party, it seems like the perfect opportunity for his next hook up. The two men are quickly drawn to each other, opening up to one another in ways they never have before. As Matt and Josh grow closer, they are forced to confront their inner demons. To be together, Matt will have to leave his old life behind completely and Josh must face the trauma he’s been hiding from—but they find that love alone may not be enough to overcome their fears. Will both men be brave enough to take the plunge? The Plunge is an emotional m/m contemporary romance with hurt/comfort themes, plenty of heat, and a happy ending.
Godsend
Sloan Johnson - 2015
Despite assuming from a young age that he was gay, Scott Murphy couldn’t imagine life without Shelly. He threw away the label he'd stuck on his sexuality and had eleven amazing years with her, but now, he feels even more lost trying to figure out how to move on after Shelly’s death. After nearly a year of watching Scott fade away, Shelly’s father forces him to start living again.As much as Chris loathes the idea of attending a bereavement group week after week, it’s one of the only places he can go in this town, other than the bar, to not feel so alone. When there’s nothing to distract him or dull his senses, he spends too much time obsessing over how he should have been able to help his sister. When Scott shows up at his group session, Chris decides that maybe some good can come out of his sister’s death. There’s no denying that Chris is the first man to catch Scott’s attention in a long time, but how can he move on when just thinking of Shelly sends him to his dark place? The road to recovery won’t be an easy one, but Chris is determined to help Scott see that life is still worth living. But before Scott can allow himself to admit what he feels for Chris, he knows he has to reveal the full truth about Shelly’s death.
Taking Love's Lead
H.L. Day - 2018
Knocked for six by a less than orthodox meeting with the sexy Edgar, he resolves to see him again. Even if it does involve hatching a plan using his heavily pregnant sister, her dalmatian, and a rather large dose of subterfuge. Sick of being dumped, dog-walker Edgar's sworn off relationships. Zack might just happen to pop up wherever he goes, but that’s not going to change anything. It’s not like Zack would ever want anything more than a walk on the wild side with him anyway. They’re just too different. He’ll stick to his four-legged friends instead. They might get up to a lot of mischief but they never let him down. Zack wants love. Edgar only wants friendship. Can the two men find common ground amid the chaos of Edgar's life? Or is Zack going to find that no matter what he does, he’ll end up having to walk away? A romantic comedy full of mad mishaps with dogs, ducks, and lakes. Oh, and two stubborn men as well who find it almost impossible to both be on the same page.
The Walls of Troy
L.A. Witt - 2014
So typical—a high-ranking officer abusing Navy resources for unnecessary security as a status symbol. But it doesn’t take long before Iskander realizes he’s not really there to protect the kid from benign harassment by homophobic classmates.Behind the piercings, eyeliner, and bad attitude, Troy Dalton is hiding something. He’s scared, and although he’s not so sure the armed bodyguard by his side is enough to keep him safe, he can’t risk revealing the truth.Slowly, Iskander gains Troy’s trust, and the walls start coming down, but before they know it, the two men are way too close to each other… and suddenly Iskander is attracting more danger to the man he’s sworn to protect.Now he doesn’t know how to keep Troy safe from harm—by staying close to him, or getting as far away from him as possible.This 74,000 word novel was previously published.
Gumption & Gumshoes
Alex Kidwell - 2013
He’s overweight, undermotivated, and stuck in a dead-end job. As a Chincha, he’s part of a long line of chinchilla shifters, but the greatest accomplishment in his life so far has been moving an hour away from his close-knit herd. That all changes when August’s grandfather leaves him enough cash to pursue his dream: becoming a detective himself.Sam Ewing is a bitter divorcé who enjoys watching football and being alone. It’s easier when his only interaction with people is when he collects rent from his office building tenants. Then August rents space from him to set up his new detective agency, and Sam is drawn to him despite his misgivings.Sam soon finds himself involved with one of August’s cases, and the men join forces to catch their criminal. The greater challenges they face, however, are how August makes Sam want to give love a second try and how Sam makes August believe that real life might be even better than fiction.
I Just Play One on TV
A.L. Turner - 2011
Vince barely realized men like Alex actually existed, and he writes the encounter off as a one-time mistake. Then he and Alex end up costars.Things get complicated as they play a deep, subtextual romantic attraction between their characters on screen and become close friends in real life. When Alex finally admits his attraction to Vince, and his fear of it, Vince becomes determined to fight the forces that are working against them: in Hollywood, in Alex, and in Vince himself.
Empty Nests
Ada Maria Soto - 2015
They might make a connection if they can get past their differences—and their fears.At age fourteen, James Maron decided to prove he wasn’t gay despite vast evidence to the contrary. Now at thirty-two, he’s getting ready to send his son to college and wondering what he’s supposed to do next. Outside his son, his life consists of an IT job he hates and watching telenovelas with the women in his apartment building. Gabriel Juarez is the CFO of a technology giant. He has looks, charm, fantastic wealth, a workaholic personality, and a string of boyfriends who only stick around because he’s too busy to tell them to leave. A bad laptop/projector interface causes James and Gabe’s paths to cross. Friends, family, and coworkers jump to match Gabe with a nice guy, and James with anyone. But are they too different? Everyone will have to tread very carefully to keep things from ending before they start.
Blank Slate
Louisa Keller - 2018
I figured it would be easy, fun even. But that was before I came sprinting into the studio on the first day, late and viciously hungover, and found myself face-to-face with Axel Hawthorne. Suddenly I was stripping down in front of the very man who had blown me off after a brutally hot night on the dance floor…and letting him draw me. Hot tempered and abrasive, I knew there was more to Axel than met the eye. As the term went on I decided I was going to figure out why an award-winning artist was teaching local art classes. And why I couldn't get his stupid, gorgeous face out of my head. "You don't know what you do to me." Axel: It had been one year since a devastating incident had robbed me of my ability to paint. I was ready to live out the rest of my days in a state of abject misery…and then Colby Stevens wormed his way into my life. Passionate, self-assured, and more than a decade younger than me, I was intoxicated by him. Suddenly I was making art again, filling canvas after canvas with his body and my desire. As our working relationship segued into something more, I allowed myself to consider that he might be the key to starting fresh. But healing would be an uphill battle…would I be able to start over with a blank slate?Blank Slate is a steamy contemporary romance with hurt/comfort and enemies-to-lovers themes, no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA.
Captive Hearts
A.E. Ryecart - 2018
Protector. Lover.Dashiell acts first and thinks second when he uses his fists to stop a vicious assault. The victim’s young, blond and beautiful — and the bratty kept boy of a gangland thug. Dashiell’s not offered thanks. Instead, he’s offered a job as the boy's bodyguard. Out of work and short of cash, it’s tempting to say yes. But there are strings attached, and Dashiell’s not sure he wants to get entangled.Billy knows his place. He’s the property of a violent criminal, and just one wrong word means a beating, or worse. He yearns for a man who will love and protect him, keep him safe, and catch him when he falls. Dashiell could be that man — but only if Billy has the courage to follow his heart. Their love is forbidden, and danger stalks their every move. Escape is the only option but as the walls close in, is time running out for Dashiell and Billy?Captive Hearts is the first in the Deviant Hearts MM Romantic Suspense series. Expect a hard fought for HEA. No cliff hangers.Note: this book was previously published under the name of A E Ryecart. The cover and description may (or may not) have changed, but the book title and contents remain the same as before.