Book picks similar to
How We Began by Edie Danford
anthology
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anthologies
romance
An Infatuation
Joe Cosentino - 2015
As a teenager, it was love at first sight for Harold while tutoring football star Mario, until homophobia and bullying drove Mario deep into the closet. Now they’re both married men. Mario, a model, is miserable with his producer wife, while Harold, a teacher, is perfectly content with his businessman husband, Stuart. When the two meet again, will the old flame reignite, setting Harold’s comfortable life ablaze? How can Harold be happy with Stuart when he is still infatuated with his Adonis, his first love, Mario? Harold faces this seemingly impossible situation with inimitable wit, tenderness, and humor as he attempts to reconcile the past and the future.
Out of Bounds
A.R. Barley - 2016
Can these college roommates fall in love without going out of bounds? Beaten and heartbroken, Jesse Cole is placed in a new dorm room after his last roommate attacked him. Just wanting to be left alone to heal in peace, he's shocked when tall, dark and dangerous-looking Nick Moretti walks in.Nick doesn't have time to tiptoe around his new roommate—he's too busy working in order to pay for school. But something about Jesse brings out his protective instincts. As their cautious friendship grows and becomes loaded with sexual tension, he wants to make Jesse comfortable.Enter the perfect plan: a line of tape down the center of the room. Boundaries established.But as innocent movie nights become hours-long temptation marathons, and whispered chats from across the room delve into straight-up dirty territory, crossing the line has never been so satisfying.
The Infinite Noise
Lauren Shippen - 2019
Other than that his life is pretty normal. But when Caleb starts experiencing mood swings that are out of the ordinary for even a teenager, his life moves beyond “typical.”Caleb is an Atypical, an individual with enhanced abilities. Which sounds pretty cool except Caleb's ability is extreme empathy—he feels the emotions of everyone around him. Being an empath in high school would be hard enough, but Caleb's life becomes even more complicated when he keeps getting pulled into the emotional orbit of one of his classmates, Adam. Adam's feelings are big and all-consuming, but they fit together with Caleb's feelings in a way that he can't quite understand.Caleb's therapist, Dr. Bright, encourages Caleb to explore this connection by befriending Adam. As he and Adam grow closer, Caleb learns more about his ability, himself, his therapist—who seems to know a lot more than she lets on—and just how dangerous being an Atypical can be."What if the X-Men, instead of becoming superheroes, decided to spend some time in therapy?" (Vox on The Bright Sessions)
Bender
Gene Gant - 2016
Having no carnal urges himself, the sexual side of his job leaves him cold, but he sees the pain inflicted on him by his clients as punishment for causing his brother’s death when he was in high school. Pain is not enough, however, to wash away his guilt, and Mace starts binge drinking in an effort to escape his remorse.The dorm’s resident advisor, Dex Hammel, sees Mace spiraling out of control and strives to help him. Despite the mutual attraction between them, Mace is disturbed that he still feels no sexual desire for anyone. Even with Dex’s support, Mace's self-destructive behavior escalates, leading to a situation that endangers his life.A New Adult title appropriate for ages 16+Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
Imaginary
Jamie Sullivan - 2013
Their friendship seems like a dream come true—or perhaps just a dream, because no one else can see or hear James. Aaron stubbornly clings to his new friend, however, even when the friendship makes him an object of scorn and ridicule. No matter the years that pass, or the challenges they face, Aaron refuses to give up on his best friend—but life might just find a way to take James from him anyway.
Where I End and You Begin
Preston Norton - 2019
The only problem is Imogen’s protective best friend, Wynonna Jones. Wynonna has blue hair, jams to '80s rock, and has made a career out of tormenting Ezra for as long as he can remember.Then, on the night of a total solar eclipse, something strange happens to Ezra and Wynonna--and they wake up in each other’s bodies. Not only that, they begin randomly swapping back and forth every day! Ezra soon discovers Wynonna’s huge crush on his best friend, Holden, a five-foot-nothing girl magnet with anger management problems. With no end to their curse in sight, Ezra makes Wynonna a proposition: while swapping bodies, he will help her win Holden’s heart…but only if she helps him woo Imogen.Forming an uneasy alliance, Ezra and Wynonna embark on a collision course of mistaken identity, hurt feelings, embarassing bodily functions, and a positively byzantine production of Twelfth Night. Ezra wishes he could be more like Wynonna’s badass version of Ezra--but he also realizes he feels more like himself while being Wynonna than he has in a long time…Wildly entertaining and deeply heartfelt, Where I End and You Begin is a brilliant, unapologetic exploration of what it means to be your best self.
Snowbody Like You
Ariella Zoelle - 2021
But he learns how fun a happily ever after can be when he falls in love with a man whose imagination is as lively as his own.Jude MooreWhat’s better than running into the love of your life in an airport while enacting a scene worthy of being in a Hallmark movie? That would be having the meet-cute gods snow us in together at a hotel with only one bed. Luckily, that’s only the start of my incredible relationship with Rigby. There’s so much more to our story because the real fun begins once we get home.Falling for Rigby is easy because he’s tall, adorable, and an academic nerd that makes my heart do the fandango. He’s also a total sweetheart who knows how to make me swoon by indulging my wildest fantasies to make all of my wishes come true. How could I not adore a man who gladly takes me on the trip of a lifetime to the Camelot of my dreams, where he’s the romantic King Arthur to my Sir Lancelot? Rigby PasqualiI never thought I’d be the “fall in love at first sight” type, but Jude makes me believe in romance and a happily ever after. He’s the first partner I’ve ever had who makes me feel safe enough to explore new sides of myself and discover what I want. When his creative imagination is as vivid as my own, it means there are no limits to the magical wonderlands we can create while we role-play scenarios that tick off all of the boxes on my wish list. How did I get so lucky to end up with a boyfriend who can be everything I’ve ever desired and complete me in a way I never knew I needed?Snowbody Like You is the first book in the Suite Dreams series and part of the Sunnyside universe. This novel features a role-playing, forced proximity, instalove, opposites attract romance. If you love cute sweetness, sexy fun, and no angst stories that will make you laugh and swoon, you’ll adore this satisfying HEA without cliffhangers. Each book can be read as a standalone or as part of the series in order.Snowbody Like You was originally featured as a 14k short story in the Winter Wonderland giveaway. It has been expanded into a 61k full-length novel, which means there’s more of Jude and Rigby to love!
Sam Dorsey and His Sixteen Candles
Perie Wolford - 2014
When he turned one, he fell face-down into his birthday cake. When he turned seven, he broke his arm. At his twelfth birthday, his house caught fire. Now Sam is about to turn sixteen and he is dreading the day.The only birthday wish he has is for Jake Timbers, the Mr. Popular of Arcadia High, to acknowledge his existence, or better yet give him a happy-birthday kiss. But that's unlikely to happen. Or is it?Disclaimer: The plot of the book substantially varies from the movie and all the references are made as a tribute to its awesomeness.
The Dotted Line
Nick Pageant - 2015
Jimmy gets in touch with a Stevie Nicks loving gypsy named Sonia, and together they summon up a demon from the pits of Hell to put Jimmy's love life in order. What could possibly go wrong?
Sound of Silence
Mia Kerick - 2018
He likes being invisible to all around him; it keeps life safe and predictable. In his attic bedroom, he experiences a world far from the drama of his family. He doodles, listens to music, and contemplates the troubled souls he observes when attending self-help meetings designed for people with problems he doesn’t have. Renzy lives his life like a spectator, always on the outside of life’s games, looking in at others.Everything changes when Seven and Morning Moreau-Maddox relocate from their glitzy lives in Paris to boring, picturesque Redcliff Hills, Missouri. Tall, platinum blond, and as put-together as a pair of European high-fashion models, the sophisticated siblings befriend Renzy, drawing him in and then pushing him away. What starts as nothing more than a means to an end for Seven, however, quickly becomes something more. Could icy-hearted Seven be thawing for the silent, quirky charm of Renzy Callen?Determined to find the cause of Renzy’s selective mutism, the three teens set off on a road trip, during which they discover that flawless physical facades can conceal the most scarred souls, and that sometimes silence is better than golden.
Take the Long Way Home
J.A. Rock - 2015
He’s infatuated with his online friend, Evan, alienated from his family and former classmates, and still trying to recover from his father’s death six years ago. He’s also keeping a troubling secret about his older brother, Gunner, who is away at boot camp.
Then Dresden meets Caleb, a judgmental environmentalist who’s hardly Dresden’s fantasy come true. But Caleb seems to understand Dresden’s desire for rough sex, big feelings, and, ultimately, safety. As Dresden becomes embroiled in a farmers market drama involving Caleb, a couple of bullying tomato enthusiasts, and a gang of vigilante vegans, he discovers he might be willing to trade a fantasy relationship with Evan for a shot at something real with Caleb.
But Dresden fears telling quick-to-judge Caleb his secret, and the news that Gunner is coming home sends him fleeing to California for a chance to meet Evan in person and hopefully fall in love. When the encounter doesn’t go as expected, Dresden faces a choice: stay in California and carve out a new life, or take the long road home to his family, Caleb, and a past he must face if he has any hope for a future.
Antisocial
Heidi Cullinan - 2017
He came to idyllic, Japanese culture-soaked Benten College to hide and make manga, not to be transformed into a corporate clone in the eleventh hour. Skylar’s life has been laid out for him since before he was born, but all it takes is one look at Xander’s artwork, and the veneer around him begins to crack. Xander himself does plenty of damage too. There’s something about the antisocial artist’s refusal to yield that forces Skylar to acknowledge how much his own orchestrated future is killing him slowly…as is the truth about his gray-spectrum sexuality, which he hasn’t dared to speak aloud, even to himself.Through a summer of art and friendship, Xander and Skylar learn more about each other, themselves, and their feelings for one another. But as their senior year begins, they must decide if they will part ways and return to the dull futures they had planned, or if they will take a risk and leap into a brightly colored future—together.
One Time Only
Lauren Blakely - 2020
And nowhere in the job description does it say I should lust after the charismatic, charming rock star.But every night I spend with him the attraction grows more intense, electric, undeniable.Until one night in a limo when we combust.One time only will have to be enough.Because the mistakes from the past are chasing me.And If I give in again, I might lose everything.Good thing I’m strong, determined, and dedicated to resisting him.But after a close call at his concert, all bets are off.And in his hotel room, we strike a brand new deal.One that can’t end well for me, but I do it anyway. Because sometimes you grab hold of the desire. And other times, the desire takes hold of you.
Icebreaker
A.L. Graziadei - 2022
L. Graziadei's Icebreaker is an irresistible YA debut about two hockey players fighting to be the best—and the romance that catches them by surprise along the way.Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league's top draft spot. The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey's infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he's willing to risk for it.This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.
Men Under the Mistletoe
Josh Lanyon - 2011
Boyhood sweethearts get a second chance at romance. Two very proper gentlemen indulge their forbidden desires. And a Christmas tree farmer has an epiphany. It may be cold outside but these four holiday novellas will warm you up. Anthology includes:My True Love Gave to Me by Ava MarchWinter Knights by Harper FoxLone Star by Josh LanyonThe Christmas Proposition by K.A. MitchellStories also available for purchase separately. 116,000 words