Book picks similar to
Us Against the World by Shayne Prescott
mm
college
m-m
arc
Follow the River
C.E. Ricci - 2020
There will be triggering content for some readers. SPECIFIC TRIGGERS WILL NOT BE LISTED at the beginning of the book as they will be spoilers, so please be advised that if you have triggers, any at all, this book might not be for you.I've never been one to back down from a challenge. Rather than shy away, I grit my teeth and use it as an opportunity to prove myself. Not just in football, but also in life. Even when I was thrown through a loop in discovering I was bisexual, I embraced it. Owning it so no one can use it as ammunition against me.But when Ciaráin Grady comes barreling into my life with his venomous tongue and amber eyes brimming with disdain, I realize every test of my character and strength could never have prepared me for the trial he holds.One that toes the line of love and hate.It's all-consuming and toxic.Yet under the layers of revulsion he masks his face with, I see it. A glimmer of lust from deep within his secretive, broken soul.And when we're thrown together under heinous circumstances, the distinction between enemy and lover begins to blur.So...what is Ciaráin Grady to me?I'm only certain that he is the greatest challenge of my life.
Howling
Skyler Snow - 2020
In the city of Detroit, everyone is either an alpha, beta, or omega. That includes Leland and his boss, Nicholas. The only difference is that they’re not quite human, and shifters have troubles no one else can understand. Nicholas needs someone to pretend to be his fiance so he doesn’t have to enter into an arranged marriage. Leland could use the money his boss is offering for the task. It would just take one weekend, one little deception, and then everything would go back to normal. Lies grow and sparks fly until Leland isn’t sure what’s real and what’s acting. Their animals keep screaming they’re fated mates, but could that be true? And will going through with this farce ruin everything they’ve built over the years? Howling is book 1 in the City Heat Mpreg series. They can be read as standalones with the occasional character making an appearance in other books of the series. Howling is full of sweet moments, a sassy Siberian Tiger, and a very annoyed wolf.
A Not So Typical Love
Tristen Rowen - 2019
Jordan Cameron is not like most nineteen year olds. He’s never been on a date, he’s never left New England, and he’s never fallen in love. He lives in his own world, or so that's what it seems to the average person. No one, not even his thirty-one year old brother, Tim, has ever given him the chance to break free. With a schizophrenic mother in a group home and a career-obsessed absent father, Tim does the best he can raising someone with Jordan’s challenging behaviors. Despite Jordan’s diagnosis, Tim refuses to label him because “labels make us less than human.” Thirty year old Jamie Perron has a history of bad relationships. After his girlfriend kicks him out this last time, his friend, Tim, lets him move in for the summer. Music is the driving force that draws Jordan and Jamie together. With a similar taste in music, Jamie understands Jordan when no one else does. Never did Jamie think he would develop such an intense, romantic relationship with a strange, quiet, and sullen (yet cute) nineteen year old boy through the course of one interesting summer. Jamie changes everything Jordan has ever known. This is the summer of Jordan’s sexual awakening. On acres and acres of land in the beautiful countryside of Northeastern Massachusetts, Jordan learns to love, Jamie learns how to be loved, and Tim learns how to let go. This revised Second Edition of A Not So Typical Love contains a brand new ending. Do Jordan and Jamie live happily ever after? Read to find out!
Stripped
Brooklyn Skye - 2013
I look away, down the rutted parking lot.“Don’t... waste those words on me.”He touches my cheek. “You just need someone to show you.”“No.” I ease back again. “I don’t. So please, Torrin, stop trying to swoop in and save me. I don’t need saving.” College freshman, Quinn Montgomery, will do anything to avoid the mistake her sister made — killing herself over a boy. But when she is forced into nude modeling at a local college to support her family after a bankruptcy, she begins to crack, just enough to let Torrin, the university’s top varsity oarsman, see that the real Quinn is not as feisty and unapproachable as she wants everyone to think. But letting someone in comes at a steep cost and, it turns out, Torrin is connected to Quinn’s family in more ways than she could ever imagine.
Everything to Lose
E.M. Denning - 2020
It shouldn’t be a problem but being around Dante makes Zane question everything he thought he knew about himself. The more time he spends around Dante, the more alluring he becomes. But… Zane is straight. Right?Dante is alone in a strange city. He didn’t have much back home, but at least he had his best friend. Zane’s increased presence in Dante’s life comforts him and stops him from feeling adrift and alone. There’s one complication, however. Dante’s years-old crush on his best friend’s brother is back. While struggling to put his feelings behind him for good… Zane kisses him.Pursuing their mutual attraction isn’t without risks. Zane could lose his heart, but loving Zane could cost Dante everything.
Cross the Line
Becca Steele - 2020
He knows I want him, and he hates me for it.But I can see right through Kian Courtland, and I’ve figured something out. Something that he won’t even admit to himself.His secret?He wants me, too.Cross the Line is a standalone M/M new adult high school romance novella with enemies to lovers themes.*Originally published as a short story in the Love At First Fright anthology. This novella edition has been revised and expanded.
Someday, Someday
Emma Scott - 2019
From addiction and living on the streets, to recovery and putting himself through nursing school, he’s spent the last ten years rebuilding his shattered sense of self. Now he’s taken a job as a private caretaker to Edward Marsh III, the president and CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Max soon learns Marsh’s multi-billion-dollar empire is a gold and diamond-encrusted web of secrets and lies.The longer Max works and lives with the Marsh family, the tighter the secrets tangle around him. And his heart—that he’s worked so hard to protect—falls straight into the hands of the distant, cold, and beautiful son of a dynasty…Silas Marsh is set to inherit the family fortune, but his father is determined his heir be the “perfect” son. Before Silas can take over the company and end its shady business practices, he must prove himself worthy…and deny his true nature.Silas must choose: stand up to his father by being true to himself and his undeniable feelings for Max. Or pretend to be someone he is not in order to inherit everything. Even if it means sacrificing his first chance at love.Content warning: contains scenes of conversion therapy, homophobia, and parental verbal abuse of a neurodivergent character. Readers are advised to proceed with caution.
What It Looks Like
Matthew J. Metzger - 2016
He's grown up wonky in a world that only deals with the straight and narrow -- and his new boyfriend isn't helping.Rob Hawkes is six feet of muscle, tattoos, and arrest warrants. A career criminal and a former guest of Her Majesty's Prison Service, he'd rather hit Eli's parents than sit down to dinner with them. One wrong move, and Rob could destroy Eli -- and his family -- without a second thought.But this isn't what it looks like.Rob's not in control here -- and Eli's the one to blame.
Save Me
Peter Styles - 2016
He's much less delighted when he realizes said classmate is dating an infamously violent criminal that is always in and out of jail. While trying to help protect Davie, Jonah also has to contend with a family who has refused to speak to him since he came out, an ex-girlfriend-turned-bestie, and a partner who doesn't understand why Jonah could ever want to date someone other than him. Along the way, Jonah starts to realize that maybe being the perpetual hero isn't all it's cracked up to be. This book contains sexually explicit content not suited for those under the age of 18. The book is approximately 50,000 words, has a happy but realistic ending and does not end in a cliffhanger.
Playing the Point
Ashley K. Broome - 2017
It happened. But even he couldn't predict that he'd be going from Seattle to their biggest rival, the Sioux Falls Martens. It didn't keep him from happily packing his bags and moved to a team that, hopefully, wanted him there.With plans to keep his head down and to prove to the Marten's organization and his new teammates that he was a worthwhile trade, Henny thought he was ready.Until he met Matt.Matt Doherty, the captain of the Martens, had Henny throwing any plans he'd made out the window. Their chemistry was instantaneous, on the ice and off it. Getting his mind off the captain and on the game was near impossible. There was something about how Matt treated Henny that made it too easy for him to think there could be something more than friendship between them.As the season progresses, the temptation becomes harder to resist. For the first time, Henny started to think that he could have both hockey, and love.
Enforcing Emory
Mickie B. Ashling - 2015
On the surface, Nik is a typical badass enforcer, intimidating and dangerous, on and off the ice. The only son of Ukrainian immigrants, Nik has been groomed from childhood to fulfill his father’s dream of seeing him in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Igor guides his son toward that goal with a controlling—and oftentimes abusive—hand, steering him clear of anyone who might ruin his chances. Although Emory is the US National Figure Skating champion, he’s in-your-face gay, and his audacious persona rubs Nik and his family the wrong way. Raised by supporting and loving parents, Emory is Nik’s polar opposite in every way but one—his desire to succeed. Underneath the feather boa, glitter, and makeup beats the heart of a fierce competitor, and this side of Emory’s personality begins to close the distance between the two athletes. While the attraction is one-sided in the beginning, Nik finds himself responding to Emory’s flirting. But before the incongruous pair have a chance at any sort of relationship, they must survive the pressure of career, separation, and most importantly, Igor’s ruthless homophobia.
Openly Straight
Bill Konigsberg - 2013
. . now in paperback.Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate break down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben . . . who doesn't even know that love is possible. This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate feeling different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.
Catch Me If I Fall
Noah Steele - 2021
When I confessed my crush at seventeen and he pulled away, I got scared and left town without saying goodbye. Fifteen years later, we’re both back in Sugar Hills, and all I want is closure. But when he proposes a flashback tour through our friendship, all my feelings come flooding back. When our reunion leads to romance, is the fall worth the pain of losing Jasper again? JasperBy the time I realized I'm not so straight, Cole was gone, and I was confused and alone. Now I’m back home, between jobs, and looking for a second chance. I need Cole to know he was never just my best friend. The closer we get, the less I want to be without him, even knowing I’ll eventually be leaving town again for my dream job. Maybe it’s my turn to put my heart on the line so I can prove to Cole my feelings are real. I didn't know how to catch him when we were kids, but I'm finally ready for one last fall. Catch Me If I Fall is a best-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, second chance, MM romance that also features meddling friends, a curious library cat, and a fluffy fall small town Canadian setting. It's low angst, swoony, steamy, and packed with tons of early 2000s nostalgia.
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.
Rookie Mistake
Baylin Crow - 2021
One, Logan's straight. And has a girlfriend. That alone makes anything between us impossible.Two, living in the guesthouse with my family on his parents' estate, I'm really just the unnoticed lawn guy. Our social status difference is night and day.Those reasons are now irrelevant, because I'm determined to get over this pointless infatuation I've harbored for Logan Kelley for years. He's more of a jerk than I realized.Logan:There are three things people know about me. I'm a Saints tight end. My bank account stays fat with cash. I have a girlfriend, Jules.What they don't know is that I'm gay, and Jules is actually my childhood best friend who's been doing me a solid in a mutually beneficial arrangement.Colton Lockhart has been the one person I've wanted, but he doesn't know that. When I come home for a week during the summer, I'm ready to tell him and have it all planned out. Except I immediately blow my shot with him.It's safe to say that although years of playing on the field have made me a seasoned athlete, in relationships… Well, I have zero experience in dating. Or anything else for that matter.I hope he'll chalk it up to a rookie mistake and give me another chance.Rookie Mistake is a low angst, high heat Sugar Land Saints novella that takes place where book three ended