Book picks similar to
Where Wishes Go by S.A. McAuley
m-m
contemporary
mm
mm-romance
The Zero Knot
K.Z. Snow - 2011
In just a few months he’ll be starting college, and it’s time for him to admit the truth: he’s gay, not bi, and only one of his childhood buddies holds any kind of real interest for him. When Dylan Finch, aka Mig, follows his lead and puts some distance between himself and the old crowd, he and Jess give in to a mutual attraction that’s been building for years.But navigating a fledgling relationship isn’t easy for beginners, and forces they can’t seem to control keep tripping them up: sexual appetite, personal insecurities, fear of discovery, and more. They need clarity. They need courage. Just as they’re on the verge of finding both, a vindictive act of jealousy sends one of them to jail. All their hard-won victories are in danger of falling to dust. The only way to save what they have is to recognize it for what it is . . . and fight for its integrity.
Fearless
Chris O'Guinn - 2013
He’s experienced too many betrayals, too many disappointments. He doesn’t want to be involved in anything. He doesn’t want to be popular. He doesn’t even want friends anymore, since they only ever let you down. He just wants to get through high school and the best way he can come up with to accomplish that goal is to simply be invisible.His self-imposed exile from high school life is threatened when Liam, the scary stoner, reaches out to him. What starts out as a strange and unsettling encounter with the unnerving, pot-smoking teenager evolves into the sort of friendship that changes the course of a person’s life.But as Liam drags the reluctant Justin out of his shell, Liam’s own secret is revealed. Fearless is the story of the myriad shades of love, how to find one’s courage and the transformative power of friendship.
Sand & Water
Shae Connor - 2011
Haunted by the memory of his dead wife, John hasn't considered dating again until he meets Bryan Simmons in the park. It isn't long before John realizes that what he feels for Bryan could be something real, but how will he know he's ready to move on?As John soon discovers, Bryan carries some heavy emotional baggage of his own. With John's help, Bryan starts to put his demons to rest, and together they lay the foundation for a relationship. It looks like they might finally leave their tragedies behind them—until John takes a misstep that could turn a magical night together into their last.
Safe
C. Kennedy - 2012
Caleb Deering is the captain of the swim team and the hottest senior in school. He comes from a loving home with a kind father and a caring, but strict, mother who is battling breast cancer. Nico Caro is small and beautiful, and has a father who rules with an iron fist--literally. One morning Caleb forgets himself, and he pecks Nico on the lips at school. A teacher sees them and tattles to the Headmaster. The accidental outing at school might be the least of their problems, because the ball set in motion by the school’s calls to their parents could get Nico killed. In the face of that very real danger, Caleb knows he has only one mission in life: to keep Nico safe.
Behind Iron Lace
Mercy Celeste - 2011
Until he meets a smooth talking bad boy who makes him question his entire belief system.Darcy Butler is a fish out of water (or in his case a Duck out of Oregon), and he is suffocating in the humid New Orleans' heat. Dissatisfied with his career, his life, he is homesick and heartbroken. But above all Darcy is straight. Or so he believes until he meets the drop-dead gorgeous photographer he wants to hire to revamp the art department of the e-magazine he co-owns with his former lover.Caleb Mitchell, bad boy extraordinaire lives life on the edge. He's been around the world covering murder and mayhem. Back in New Orleans to tend his dying mother, Caleb is worn down by grief and his own mortality. He seeks the diversion of playing art director of a small local e-magazine to help keep him sane. He doesn't expect the instant attraction to the bright-eyed editor/owner. That Darcy is deeply closeted and possibly straight doesn't matter to Caleb. Because when Caleb wants something, there is nothing going to stand in his way.Not even Darcy.A jealous ex, the hot summer nights, and the secrets Caleb carefully hides behind iron lace tattoos could just be Darcy's undoing.
Worth Keeping
Susan Mac Nicol - 2013
Mostly. Other days life seems a little much. Especially when Nick knows he’ll always be alone. On those days his thoughts turn black. He walks the Norfolk coast and considers the frigid embrace of the waves. And then, one stormy night, he finds someone who’s tasted just that. The beautiful stranger on the beach is near death, and Nick rushes him home to slowly nurse back to health. As he does, he finds a love unlike any other. Owen Butler’s body is as warm as the sea was cold, his heart as big as an ocean. And Owen is a man who swears to repay the favor. Nick can yet be saved from himself, and he will see that he is indeed a man ... worth keeping.
Campus Visit
Stella Huerto - 2012
They're close enough that Damian dares a shocking e-mail confession: he's bisexual and wants to experiment with men. With Alex.It's supposed to be a simple friends-with-benefits arrangement, one weekend only. Then one weekend turns into two, then three, then a whole season of unexpected passion. But life after graduation can't be ignored; soon Damian will be obliged to return to his family's orange groves, and Alex will fly off to his dream job in Europe.Unless they can admit their feelings to each other and the world, their time as best friends may be over.
That Feeling When
S.M. James - 2018
Because he isn’t. At all. Forced to reassess his life goal at Camp Crystal Cove, it’s by sheer dumb luck he meets Landon Summers, who turns everything Archie was sure of into chaos. Poor boy turned teen heartthrob, Landon Summers, is the name on everyone’s lips. With his unexpected leap to fame, his agent advises him to keep his bi status on the down low. Not a problem! Until Landon meets Archie. Their unexpected friendship leads to an inevitable kiss, but their moment is caught in high definition and used as fuel for blackmail. If the truth gets out, Landon’s career could be over, and Archie will be forced to acknowledge the one thing he’s fought to deny. But how do you go back to your average life once you’ve experienced That Feeling When ... you’re finally happy?
In His Secret Life
Mel Bossa - 2013
So when his sister Elsie became pregnant eight years ago and then ditched by her boyfriend, he stepped up to the plate. Since then, he's been his sister's support system and father figure to his niece. Allan's world is turned upside down when Elsie becomes engaged, and he meets her fiancé's older brother, Davinder -- a beautiful, brooding artist with a thousand secrets breathing in his eyes. But Davinder is a married man and father of two young boys. From the moment they meet, and for over four decades, Allan and Davinder will walk along the edge of their secret lives, never allowed to push open the gates. And though their love is a head-on collision, a meeting of the minds, a fusing of two lost souls, both men know that it is also, and above all ... impossible.
More Than Words
T.T. Kove - 2015
Or is it?I’m tired. Tired of being bullied, ignored, and tired of my dysfunctional parents. I clean out my locker, so no one else has to do it for me once I’m gone. But when someone knocks my books out of my hands, it sets off a motion of events that makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before.Andreas is the best friend of one of my bullies, but he’s nothing like any of them. He’s kind and compassionate and charming—and he doesn't seem to mind my scars. When he reveals he’s bisexual and interested in me, it all seems too good to be true.But who am I to look a gift-horse in the mouth? It’s not like I can’t postpone my plans, after all, and go along with him for as long as he’ll have me.
Redemption
Garrett Leigh - 2020
When friendship turns to love, it’s up to Paolo to convince him second chances are worth the pain.Luis Pope is back on the street after a six year stretch in prison, but life on the outside seems just out of reach, especially when the whole neighbourhood knows his face for all the wrong reasons.Paolo’s temper makes it hard to keep staff, and he knows Luis’s rep all too well. But his nonno believes in redemption, and Luis isn’t the tough guy Paolo remembers. Prison has left its mark, inside and out, and all the kindness in the world can’t fix the three inch scar on Luis’s skull.And it can’t keep ghosts locked up. Luis’s the best worker Paolo’s ever had, and Luis’s happier than he’s ever been. But his old life doesn’t want to stay in the past. Trouble comes to call, and when it makes him an offer he can’t refuse, keeping Paolo safe hurts the most.Redemption is an angsty, standalone MM romance novel, with second chances, found family, friends-to-lovers, and buckets of hurt/comfort themed loveliness.
When Love Is Not Enough
Wade Kelly - 2011
Jimmy Miller never intended to lead a double life starting the day he fell in love with Darian, but his parents’ divorce, fighting in school, and constantly keeping secrets for his closeted best friend and protector, Matt, force his hand. Jimmy finds the demands too great to withstand and ends it all prematurely, leaving behind an angry best friend and a shattered lover. Matt and Darian cling to one another in the aftermath of their loss, forging a new friendship immediately tested by the truths of their relationships with Jimmy that are hidden in the pages of Jimmy’s journals. Will Matt and Darian discover what truly happened to their friend? And will this tragedy birth something beautiful between them as they learn the balance between life, family, and friendship when love is simply not enough?A Bittersweet Dreams title: It's an unfortunate truth: love doesn't always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.
Always Mine
Sloane Kennedy - 2019
Until I met the one boy who changed all that. When we were kids, Xavier Price understood horses, but somehow, he got me too. He’d made me feel like I wasn’t just the overdressed, too sensitive fifteen-year-old geek who loved math and didn’t always say the right thing. But all that changed the night he threw my trust back in my face and betrayed my family in the worst kind of way. And while I’m back in Eden to make sure my uncle’s horse ranch is operating in the black, the one thing I know I won’t have to deal with is the man who’d been on the verge of stealing my heart ten years ago. Because Xavier Price is still in prison for what he did and even if he weren’t, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to show his face in Eden ever again. Right? Xavier Wrong. That’s what returning to Eden after ten years behind bars feels like. But it wasn’t like I had a whole lot of choices. And it wasn’t like I was going to be handed any decent job offers, let alone my dream one of working with horses. But that’s exactly what happened and now that I’m foreman of Black Hills Ranch, I’m not letting this job go for anything. Not even the spoiled little rich kid I’d thought was different when he’d glommed onto me ten years ago. I have no doubt Brooks Cunningham didn’t wait long to move on to bigger and better things the second my jail cell was locked behind me, and that’s just fine by me. I’d been wrong about the sweet, emotional boy who’d had a habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve anyway. Except fate has decided to have another go at me by tossing Brooks right back into my sometimes too small world. Gone is the scrawny, stars-in-his-eyes nerd who used to do math problems just for fun. In his place is a gorgeous specimen of a man who thinks he can go toe to toe with me and once again destroy everything I’ve worked for. Not happening.
A Beautiful Lie
Tyler Robbins - 2013
Faced with the possibility of being left behind, Jesse vows to care for her young son, though he’s not convinced he can.When Trip Cantrell returns to town, he’s blindsided the instant he’s reunited with his kid brother’s lifelong friend, Jesse. His inability to find happiness in the years he’s been gone, suddenly makes sense. Love’s been waiting at home all along.Life begins to look promising, except for the fact that neither have come out of the closet publicly, and that’s not even their biggest problem. Someone has a secret so shocking they may never find a way past it.Will they be accepted in their small Texas town, or will secrets, lies, and the threat of tragedy destroy everything?
Too Close
R. Phoenix - 2016
Making ends meet seemed impossible until Tate Chandler took them in -- his knight in shining armor who promised to make life about more than just surviving. But Tate is not the man he seemed to be, and even his whispered I love yous and generous gifts do little to soothe the pain he causes. Knowing he can't give his sister all that she deserves without Tate, Skylar stays with him, relying on bad puns and a worse sense of humor to keep up the charade. He will do anything for his sister, even if that means acting the responsible adult and going back to his old high school to meet Dexter Weston, the hot math teacher who can make even algebra interesting. Sparks fly between the two of them, but with his dependence on Tate, Skylar isn't free to follow his heart. He wants what is best for Evie, but can he pass up the chance to find love that heals instead of harms? Warning: This book contains scenes of domestic violence/abuse that some may find triggering to read.