Book picks similar to
Our Darkest Hour by Sarah Bailey
mm
m-m
second-chance
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Lost and Found
Lucy Lennox - 2017
But when I needed him the most, that was exactly what he did…Wilderness guide Xander Reed has spent fifteen years trying to forget the night he turned to his best friend in his darkest hour, only to find the young man who’d sworn to always have his back was turning his on Xander instead. Two thousand miles and fifteen years of building a new life in the quiet backcountry of the Rocky Mountains should have been enough to put the memory of Bennett Crawford out of his mind forever, but old wounds run deep and when Bennett suddenly reappears in his life as part of a wilderness expedition Xander is guiding, the scars he thought long healed break wide open.I’d only ever wanted to protect Xander from getting hurt again. I never considered the one he needed protection from was me…Bennett Crawford was faced with an impossible choice the night his best friend needed him.He chose wrong.As the only son of one of the wealthiest families in New England, he should have had the world at his feet, but losing his best friend at the tender age of fourteen changed everything. And even though Bennett’s managed to hide behind a mask of contentment as he takes his place at his father’s side in the family business, inside he’s searching for the piece of himself that’s been missing ever since Xander Reed walked out of his life. Bennett’s only saving grace is his work with a group of inner city kids, and when he’s given the chance to show the troubled teens that there’s a bigger world out there waiting for them if they just have the courage to reach for it, he takes it.But when he steps off that bus for what was supposed to be a week of fun and adventure, he’s instantly returned to the past when he discovers their expedition guide is none other than the boy he let go so long ago. Only, the soft-hearted, insecure little boy Bennett once knew is gone, and in his place is a brooding, bitter man who isn’t interested in second chances.People leave. I know that now and nothing Bennett has to say to me will change anything…All Bennett wants is another chance to show Xander that friendship was only the beginning. But when a stubborn Xander refuses to even hear him out, Bennett realizes he’s going to need to fight dirty.Because now that he’s found Xander again, he’s not letting him go a second time…
Beautiful & Terrible Things
Riley Hart - 2020
We couldn't have been more different, yet we were best friends, had each other's backs, and kept each other's secrets. What you are, I am, we always said.Then one night irrevocably changed our lives forever.It's ten years before I see Gage again, and instantly I can tell he's not the same boy I fell in love with. We're both haunted and hardened by the memory of that night--of everything we did and saw.Yet as much as we've changed, the connection between us lingers. Our history is so devastatingly complicated that it's difficult to allow ourselves happiness. With every touch, every laugh, every moment we take back, the more signs I see of the old Gage resurfacing. Little by little, I'm becoming the Joey he remembers too.But it's never that easy. If we truly want to heal, we have to find strength not only in each other, but in ourselves. Life is filled with beautiful and terrible things, and this time, we'll do whatever it takes to hold on to the good, and to each other.Warning: While this is a story about friendship, found family, and two men epically in love, it also deals with difficult themes: childhood physical and verbal abuse, some violence, depression, and anxiety.
Regret
Christina Lee - 2017
The last thing he expects is for his friend’s roommate to be the one guy he despises the most. The same guy who stomped on his heart senior year of high school. And by the looks of the girl on his arm, the same man who’s still deep inside the closet. Nicholas Dell never predicted that eleven years later, one of his greatest regrets would show up on his doorstep down on his luck. Nick has made some terrible mistakes—story of his life—and he’s been paying for them ever since. And if the guilt and shame aren’t enough, his first crush had to turn into one of the sexiest men he’s ever laid eyes on. Nick and Brin have weeks to steer clear of each other. Weeks to avoid strangling each other. But when stubbornness leads to skyrocketing sexual tension, hate-sex doesn’t seem like such an awful way to work through their frustration. Except hate is a powerful emotion, especially when it’s turned inward. And in Nick’s case he’s been drowning in a sea of self-loathing for so long, he can’t see his way out. As Brin reconnects with Nick, his perception of what really happened in their past begins to change. He’s finally ready to forgive him and take a second chance on the one guy who stirs him like no other. But Nick’s demons are complicated, heart-wrenching…demanding. So devastating, he might never allow himself true happiness—even with the one man who’s always owned his heart.
Secrets & Lies
Nicky James - 2019
He came without warning. Without permission. I didn’t want him there, and a small part of me loathed his very existence. But then something changed. Overnight, he became everything to me. I loved him. I cherished him. He was mine. But they took him from me. They tore him from my life with such cruelty, my heart wept. My soul cried. For years I went without him. Until… He was back. And everything had changed. Our bond was deeper. Our needs greater. He was my addiction. But it was dangerous. Too dangerous to hold on to. Too dangerous to keep. Loving him like this wasn’t safe. Loving him… was wrong. **This book contains content of a taboo nature. Please heed warning**
Just Friends
Saxon James - 2020
The move was supposed to get my life on track. I even had a list. Life changing epilepsy surgery. Check.See the world. CheckGet over my straight best friend … Not exactly.No matter where I go or who I meet, I can’t let Tanner go. I’m back to tell him how I feel. To get the closure I need once and for all.Only now I’m here and falling for him all over again, it’s getting harder to say the words. Because once I have my closure, I’ll be gone. And this time it will be for good.TANNERWhen my best friend, Roo, left for Australia, it was the worst day of my life. I thought we’d have each other always.But Roo needed the surgery so I let him go, thinking he’d come straight back.Five years is a long time.Now he’s here, all I want is to hold on tight. I need to show him what he means to me. The problem is, I’m not exactly sure what that is. My draw to him has always been confusing and different—everyone in town says so. But I struggle to understand it. All I know is I won’t survive him leaving again. And I’ll do anything to make him stay. Just Friends is a best friends-to-lovers romance with an oblivious MC, only one bed, and terrible kangaroo jokes.
Forgotten: Luca
Sloane Kennedy - 2019
His name is Remy, and while I didn’t recognize him upon meeting him again, he sure as hell remembers me.It would be easier just to turn my back on him a second time, especially since that’s exactly what he wants, but there’s no way I can let the tormented young man go. At least not without trying to make things right first. The problem is, even if I can make up for leaving Remy behind so long ago, I’m not sure I’ll be able to walk away from him twice.I don’t know what that means, but I do know that it scares the hell out of me.Because needing in my world comes at a heavy price… one that not even I can afford to pay.RemyHe gave me hope when I’d had none left, but he forgot about me just like all the others…I fight. That’s what I do. It’s who I am. But when Luca Covello walked into the dark, dirty room my captors were keeping me in so long ago, I’d already decided to do the one thing I hadn’t in the three years since I’d been taken from my home and family.Give up.Then he’d been there, like a bright light in a sea of darkness, and I’d had something new to fight for, to stay alive for… the day Luca came back to get me like he’d promised.Except he never came.And now, eight years later, he’s decided he wants to play the hero and save me. Well, I don’t need saving. Not anymore… not ever.Along with two years of sobriety under my belt, I’ve got a good job, a decent apartment, and I’ve managed to put my past where it belongs… in the past. No one, not even the gorgeous, mysterious businessman, is going to mess things up for me. If he’s come seeking forgiveness, I’m fresh out.And if he’s come seeking something else… well, let’s just say that when I’m done with him, there’s no way he’ll forget me this time around. Trigger Warning: For those who would like to see the trigger warnings associated with this book, please either download the sample or use the "look inside" feature and go to Trigger Warning page for more information.
What You Own
A.M. Arthur - 2013
Then my best friend. And soon my entire world. But a gay bashing rips us apart before we can be more, and I try to move on. Joke’s on me when we’re thrust together four years later to do a fundraiser for my local community center. Adam might look right through me, but I still want him down to my bones.
I had a plan, damn it. Survive my summer internship with my homophobic father’s company, graduate college, get my trust fund, and then find Ryan again. Beg his forgiveness for what happened in high school. But that plan shatters when my internship leaves me working with Ryan on a fundraiser. Old feelings can't be denied, and as we come back together over a shared love of musical theater, I realize neither one of us knows the whole truth about the night that tore our friendship apart.
WHAT YOU OWN is a standalone, 60k word MM romance novel. It was previously published and has been lightly updated, but no significant changes were made. Warning for mentions of past violence.
Scars and Secrets
Avril Ashton - 2016
His new mission is to forget, by any means necessary, so he tries his hardest. Pills. Booze. The warm bodies that never quite measure up to what he’d had. What he’d lost. It’s almost a relief when he learns his identity might be compromised—except he’s not the only one exposed. So is the husband he hasn’t stopped needing all these years later. He’d been aching to die, but for Levi Nieto, Donovan will live. To protect. To regret. To remember.The realization that everything he loved was a farce sent Levi Nieto spinning out of control, and running away from the memories. Now Donovan is back in his life, still fully entrenched in darkness. Their physical connection is one thing, but the truth of who they are to each other remains trapped among the anger, violence and lies suffocating them. Fixing what’s broken will take more than each man exposing his scars. Secrets—and blood—must be spilled.
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.
Counting Daisies
Nicola Haken - 2016
Growing up together, they shared everything. By the age of fourteen they were more than best friends – they were in love. They dreamt of their future, of success, marriage…happiness. They were going to grow old by each other’s side.But… “Kids are stupid.”When tragic circumstances forced them apart, Dylan discovered that life wasn’t the fairytale he dreamed of; it was dark, difficult, saturated with pain and shame. Life wasn’t meant to be enjoyed, merely survived, but even that became a challenge.Damaged, worthless, and disgusting, he saw no point to his pitiful existence…Until he came face to face with the boy he used to love.Successful, honourable, and happy, Cameron had achieved the future they planned. He was good, positive, popular…everything Dylan would never be. What would happen if Dylan let him back into his world? Would he destroy Cameron too? Would his poison push him away like everyone else?“Everybody leaves.” “They leave or they die.”But what if…what if Cameron didn’t?Counting Daisies is book one in The Counting Series, but can be read as a standalone novel.(M/M romance. Not suitable for readers under 18 years of age due to language and sexual content. ***Please note*** This book contains scenes and descriptions of intravenous drug use which may be uncomfortable for some readers.)
Foxes
Suki Fleet - 2016
But Danny finds interaction difficult and must keep his world small in order to survive. By day he lives in an abandoned swimming pool and fixes electrical devices to trade for supplies, but by night, alone, he hunts sharks a reckless search for dangerous men who prey on the vulnerable.A chance meeting with an American boy selling himself on the streets throws this lonely existence into disarray. Micky is troubled, fragile, and Danny feels a desperate need to protect him from what, he doesn't know. As Danny discovers more about Micky, he realizes that what Micky needs saving from is the one thing Danny can't help him fight against.To save Micky, Danny must risk expanding his world and face something that scares him more than any shark ever could: trusting he will be accepted for who he is. If a freezing winter on the streets, a sadistic doctor, and three thousand miles don't tear them apart first, that is.
Gods & Monsters
Saffron A. Kent - 2018
She was his muse.To everyone in town, Abel Adams was the devil's spawn, a boy who never should have been born. A monster.To twelve year-old Evie Hart, he was just a boy with golden hair, soft t-shirts and a camera. A boy who loved taking her picture and sneaking her chocolates before dinner. A boy who made her feel special.Despite her family's warnings, she loved him in secret for six years. They met in empty classrooms and kissed in darkened church closets. Until they couldn't.Until the time came to choose between love and family, and Evie chose Abel.Because their love was worth the risk. Their love was the stuff of legend.But the thing about legends is that they are cautionary tales. They are made of choices and mistakes. And for Abel and Evie, the artist and the muse, those mistakes come in the form of lights, camera, sex.NOTE: This is NOT a paranormal or a priest romance.
Rare
Briar Prescott - 2020
Too bad the ingredients of success haven’t mixed too well for him and instead of having the world at his feet, Alex has, once again, landed himself in a hot mess of trouble. The community service his father arranges for him in a wildlife center on the other side of the country comes as a bit of a nasty surprise, though. Being shipped off to middle-of-nowhere, Oregon, is not Alex’s idea of the perfect summer vacation.What Alex never expects is to meet Noah Price. He never expects to be noticed and understood. He never expects to feel valued and special.He never expects to fall in love. Everything is not what it seems, though, and love that feels invincible turns out to be anything but.But love finds a way, and when Alex and Noah unexpectedly cross paths years later, they will have to risk it all for the love they both deserve and so desperately need. Rare is a standalone MM Second Chance romance about first loves, one perfect summer, one debilitating secret and finding your forever.
Release
Aly Martinez - 2020
Growing up, Ramsey Stewart branded my soul in ways time could never heal. At twelve, he asked me to be his girlfriend. At thirteen, he gave me my first kiss. By sixteen, we’d fallen in love, planned a future together, and had our eyes set on the horizon. Love never fails, right? But for Ramsey, it did. Love failed him. I failed him. The entire world failed him. At seventeen, Ramsey was convicted of killing the boy who assaulted me. Move on, he wrote in his first and only letter from prison. Start a new life, he urged. I don’t love you anymore, he lied. There was no such thing as giving up on Ramsey. Love may have been our curse, but he was mine—then, now, and forever. So here I am, twelve long years later, waiting for a man I don't even know to emerge from between the chain link gates.