Bishop


A.E. Via - 2019
    His gang was his family, the streets his home. Until the crew he’d always called his brothers betrayed him. After doing five years in a federal prison, Bishop is back at his dad’s trailer and working for his landscaping company, thrust into a legit world where he’s no longer the alpha—a world where a criminal record is the least of his disadvantages, because Bishop can’t read or write. Illiteracy had never been an obstacle for him on the streets, he didn’t need to know how to read Moby Dick to survive, he needed to know how to read people… and that was a hustle he’d learned hard and fast. Now, he had to change his life. Bishop’s only support system was a young, inexperienced dad who’d insisted he call him Mike all their life—since they looked more like brothers than father and son. And his hot-tempered, childhood, best friend from ’juvie, Trent. Bishop already had the deck stacked against him, but he wasn’t afraid of hard work to change his situation, and he did want to change. Especially after he encountered Edison Scala, a kind-spirited office manager who didn’t hesitate to come to his defense… a man that saw past Bishop’s grass-stained coveralls. A man who wasn’t intimidated by his stern features and his silence. Edison hadn’t grown up the way most of his peers had. He’d been raised by a single father who’d owned an old-fashioned barber shop where Edison was taught how to not only shave with a straight razor, and shine shoes, but also how to treat others, to not judge, to be a gentleman, to be respectful and speak without profanity. But, the biggest lesson he’d learned, was to always be himself. His lack of friends and a social life wasn’t his fault. No matter how much weight he gained, no matter how many times his staff called him a square, Edison did not need to change. Bishop knew Edison was off-limits. He’d made personal vows to himself when he was released from prison, ones that he never intended to break. But, when Edison asked him about providing landscaping services at his home, there was no way he could refuse. He hadn’t expected Edison to feed him, praise him, encourage him, and look at him the way he did—as if Bishop was somebody. Mike and Trent warned him not to mix business with pleasure and he didn’t intend to. No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a very, very HFN. Warning: This book is a M/M contemporary romance, a hardened man’s struggle to find real love. There are no police chases or doors being kicked in, in this one. But, don’t worry. Bishop is still intense enough to keep you on the edge.

Glass Tidings


Amy Jo Cousins - 2016
    The only time he broke that rule, things went south fast. Now he’s on the road again, with barely enough cash in his pocket to hop a bus south after his (sort-of-stolen) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Midwest, USA.He’s fine. He’ll manage. Until he watches that girl get hit by a car and left to die.Local shop owner Grayson Croft isn’t in the habit of doing people any favors. But even a recluse can’t avoid everyone in a town as small as Clear Lake. And when the cop who played Juliet to your Romeo in the high school play asks you to put up her key witness for the night, you say yes.Now Gray’s got a grouchy glass artist stomping around his big, empty house, and it turns out that he . . . maybe . . . kind of . . . likes the company.But Eddie Rodrigues never sticks around.Unless a Christmas shop owner who hates the season can show an orphan what it means to have family for the holidays.

Happily Ever Alfie


K. Sterling - 2018
    Especially when life kicks you every time you're down. Alfie Stanford was a master of fairytales and happy endings but his own story was one sad twist after another. He didn't have time for true love and he was too tired to dance at midnight, he had four younger siblings to raise. Happily Ever After doesn't happen for everyone. Sometimes, you miss your chance while you're serving your country. Jack Church gave more than thirty years of his life to the Army and believed it was too late for him to be some man's Prince Charming. Sometimes, a little girl and a very special quilt are all it takes for something very magical to happen... Sometimes, there's robots.

Drive Me Crazy


Beth Bolden - 2020
    Too bad he’s not allowed to take a bite out of the boss.Considering all the crap Lucas Barnes has done to achieve self-employed independence, taking a job making fish tacos for a local food truck should be a no-brainer. In the off hours, he can even work on his dream business: health-conscious energy bars.But it turns out the hardest part isn’t the long hours, the stifling heat inside the truck during a Los Angeles summer, or even the non-vegan menu, it’s his new boss.Tony Blake is over-confident and an enthusiastic carnivore—and also one of the hottest, funniest, most charming guys Lucas has ever met. Even when Tony is driving him crazy, he’s completely irresistible.Lucas knows hooking up with the boss is off-limits, but Tony is a tough guy to resist. And with the two of them spending the steamy summer evenings tucked in each other’s pockets . . . it turns out it’s not a question of if, but a question of when.

A Hole in God's Pocket


K.Z. Snow - 2012
    What's the point of a twenty-five-year-old gay virgin having designs on a twenty-two-year-old straight player who just broke up with his girlfriend? But... assumptions often prove erroneous. Faron Weaver's girlfriend was actually a boyfriend, and he's every bit as screwed up about being a promiscuous gay Amish man as Greg is about being a celibate gay ex-monk. A bond forms between them, as bizarre as it is fitting, when Greg's current housemate moves out and Faron moves in. Although mutual attraction charges the air, their friendship remains chaste. Other men disappoint and even hurt them, making real love seem like an impossible dream. Estrangement from faith and family fills them with guilt. They confide and commiserate and consider solutions, but nothing seems to be enough. Greg and Faron have a longing to belong that could send them back to the places they came from... unless they accept the blessing that's right under their noses.

City Boy


A.E. Wasp - 2017
    He’s been playing professionally since he was fifteen. Twenty years later, he’s rich, famous, tired, and alone. And possibly gay according to his ex-wife.When a blown tire leads directly to mind-blowing sex with a motorcycle-riding white knight named Dakota, Bryce discovers he is most definitely gay. Now Bryce has a tough choice to make, follow the money to a new multimillion dollar contract, or follow his heart into the unknown?All Dakota Ryan knows how to do is grow apples. Now at twenty-four, he faces losing both his home and his livelihood in one cruel twist of fate.Then Bryce Lowery crashes into his life like the answer to all of Dakota’s prayers. He’s whispering promises to make all of Dakota’s wildest dreams come true. But Dakota knows better than to give his heart to someone who could leave, and if life has taught him anything, it’s that everyone leaves.Dakota has a choice, sit back and wait for Bryce to decide his fate, or for the first time in his life, chose what he wants his future to be.City Boy is a first time gay, fish out of water, May/December love story with a happy ending. It features snarky siblings, a dirty-talking farmer, lots of food, and big choices. (No poultry was harmed in the making of this book.)

You're Always in the Last Place You Look


T.N. Gates - 2014
    He has a few friends—okay, one real friend and his roping partner. But being the town pastor’s son isn’t easy. Not to mention he’s sure he was born askew, without the ability to experience life the way others seem to. It is the only explanation he has for why he isn’t like everyone else. However, when he rescues Zane, a misplaced city boy dressed in tattoos and leather, from a killer bumblebee, he experiences more than he expects. Zane shows Gabriel that sometimes the path you’ve chosen isn’t set in stone, and more times than not, you’ll find yourself in the last place you look.

His Kind of Love


Kate Hawthorne - 2018
     Nineteen years old, estranged from his family and seemingly unable to ever get a second date, he's surrounded himself with the things he loved most: old books and old music. When one date got out of hand before it even began, Joel found himself displaced from a flooded apartment and on the doorstep of a handsome and older stranger, more than willing to take Joel in for the night. Gabriel Hunter had waited years for the right man. When a distressed Joel showed up at his door needing a place to stay, it was more perfect than Gabriel could ever have hoped for. He quickly found himself falling for the complex and beautiful boy he welcomed into his house, and started to believe in a future with the young man he adoringly called, Little Red. Unfortunately, Gabriel was a man of many secrets, and they threatened to unravel the delicate relationship he was building with Joel. Would Joel be able to see beyond Gabriel's deliberate omissions and give their love a chance, or would Gabriel's kind of love prove to be more than Joel could handle?

Claiming Marcus


Jocelynn Drake - 2019
    But nothing prepared me for Marcus Varik.Tall, dark, and mind-numbingly sexy.But he’s also shy, protective, and adorably eccentric.Oh God, I should have never agreed to betray him. Hopefully, it's not too late to fix my mistake before I lose more people I love. Claiming Marcus is the first book in an MM paranormal romance series that has vampires, betrayal, annoying brothers, music, heartbreak, hope, sexy times, and a raven named Ozzie.

Rules to Live By


Heidi Belleau - 2015
    He can’t decide which he enjoys more: his punishment, or the reward afterward. Good thing he gets both.A lesson in humility.In The Harder They Fall by Heidi Belleau and Lisa Henry, spoiled college boy Tad hires a prostitute, but “Daddy” couldn’t care less about what Tad wants. Instead, he’s going to give his spoiled little boy exactly what he deserves.A cage that means freedom.In Master Key by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox, Marquis offers Navin the key to the most intimate of locks, hoping it will help them to prioritize their relationship. And it does—until work and insecurities threaten to drive them apart again.A spool of rope and a desire to be bound.In CTRL Me by Anna Zabo, a night out between friends turns hot and tempting when Gabe deliberately pushes Tom’s submissive buttons. Then Tom discovers rope in Gabe’s glove-box—and not the type for securing luggage.

Open Road


M.J. O'Shea - 2016
    When his boyfriend breaks up with him the night of his thirtieth birthday party and announces his engagement to a twenty-two-year-old less than ten hours later, Angus is… a mess. To put it lightly. He spends days in bed, drinks himself into a stupor every night, and ends up losing his job and his apartment. His best and oldest friend, Reece, decides it’s time for an intervention. And a change of scenery.Reece and Angus take off on a buddy trip across the US. They don’t have much of a plan; they just start driving. It takes Angus a couple of days to do much more than grunt when Reece talks to him, but slowly he opens up. They drive, talk, heal, shout, drink a bit too much sometimes, dance, meet new friends… and somewhere between Portland, Oregon, and Portland, Maine, they fall in love.Which was the last thing in the world Angus expected.