Book picks similar to
Crossed Hearts by K. Vale
m-m
mm
contemporary
romance
The First Three Rules
Adrienne Wilder - 2014
The distraction saved Jon’s life but cost the lives of innocent people including his best friend and partner. It was a price for survival Jon couldn’t live with and was sure he’d never understand. Driven by grief and guilt he tried to escape his past by fleeing to a small town in the middle of nowhere. Only instead of peace, the memories festered. Then the offer of a stick of gum from a stranger changes Jon’s life and puts him on a road out of the nightmare he’s trapped in. Ellis Harper has lived the past twenty years isolated from the outside world and sole caretaker for his mentally disabled brother, Rudy. While Ellis loves his brother, he longs for a life he’ll never be able to have. Shut away, his days consist of chores, endless cartoons, and games of Go Fish. A world that seemed to have no end until an innocent misunderstanding turns Ellis and his brother into a target for a town bully. It’s a fight Ellis can never win on his own but thanks to a chance meeting with a stranger, he doesn’t have to. What begins as a new journey in love for both men quickly unfolds into something neither of them could have ever imagined.
Off Stage: Right
Jaime Samms - 2013
If they get the right break, fame awaits. Seeking more professional management, Damian independently strikes a bargain with the best agent in the business, Stanley Krane. Unable to afford the penalty for breaking old contracts, Damian agrees when Stan’s best friend, country and Western megastar Vance Ashcroft, offers to buy him out of his old contract. Overwhelmed by a crippling loan, secretive guilt, Stanley’s expectations, and a volatile relationship with Lenny, Firefly’s lead guitarist, Damian disintegrates. Bad habits of too much sex, booze, and drugs create a rift in the band. Finally Vance, with his understanding of Dominant/submissive behavior, sees that submissives Damian and Lenny are falling into chaos, clinging to each other to try to avoid the inevitable crash. When the pressure to perform becomes too much and the unthinkable happens, Damian and Lenny have to decide: accept that they need something they can’t get from each other, or burn out and take Firefly with them. Vance is ready to claim Lenny, but even Stan’s hesitant agreement to give Damian the direction he needs might not be enough for Damian—or the band—if he loses Lenny.
Wild Pitch
Sloan Johnson - 2015
The day he acknowledged to himself that he was gay was also the day he vowed to stay in the closet in order to chase his dreams. The problem is, he never counted on Mason Atley.Sean showed rookie short stop Mason Atley the ropes, both on the field and off. The two forged a friendship which continued as both of them moved through the ranks of the farm system and into the majors. Unfortunately, there’s always been one secret Mason never felt he could share with Sean. Until now.For seven years, Sean lived with the fact that he loved a man who would never reciprocate. When Mason admits that he’s always known he’s bisexual but has never allowed himself to pursue a relationship with a man, will Sean be able to put aside his reservations about starting a relationship with the friend he’d always assumed was straight? And more importantly, will they be able to find a way to stay together when their careers keep them apart more than they can be together?
Hide and Keep
K. Sterling - 2015
Especially when it comes to his personal life.Dr. Aiden Sharp is Complicated. Complicated in ways that Lane can barely get his mind around when he's forced to babysit Aiden as a favor for the District Attorney.After that, things get very Complicated.
Blindside Hit
Michaela Grey - 2020
A brand-new contract with an NHL team, a nice apartment, the life he’s dreamed about since he was a little boy. He has everything, except the name of the man he shared a drunken, blistering hot night with. Etienne Brideau can’t stop thinking about the night he spent with Adam, but he knows better than to think Adam will want him sober. People don’t fall in love with gawky, rawboned, awkward Etienne, especially not men like Adam Caron, rising hockey star, with his stunning good looks and charismatic personality. When Adam gets back in contact with him, Etienne doesn't let himself hope that they'll ever be more than friends. But the more entangled he becomes in Adam's life, the more he can't imagine letting him go, and when an injury threatens Adam’s career, Etienne knows he’s in too deep to walk away. But Adam has secrets of his own, and more than just their life as a couple may be at stake.
Ruin Porn
S.A. McAuley - 2015
When Evin Rene appears in their life none of them can deny he belongs with Rez. They may have named their first album Ruin Porn because people get off on seeing how Detroit went from deeply loved to thoroughly forsaken, but they’re determined to prove that blight isn’t the entire story and blight isn’t always ugly. Ritchie, Miah, Finn, and Evin take Resonator to a level no one anticipates. But no prosperity comes without sacrifice, and no secret stays hidden without a trail of lies. As Rez’s fame grows, so does the intensity between two of its members…as well as their potential for destruction.Evin and Finn are about to discover the underlying beauty in their ruin porn.
Random Acts
Mia Kerick - 2014
After struggling for nearly a decade, he has yet to complete his college degree. Working as a school custodian, living in blue-collar Landsbury, MA, his love life is as empty as the rest of his existence. But on his way home after another disastrous date, his truck breaks down in upscale Oceanside. When he thinks life can't get any worse, a man who is the epitome of Boston elite and everything Bradley finds attractive and intimidating helps him move his truck to the side of the road. Ashamed of his lot in life, Bradley almost lets the opportunity slip away, but he comes to his senses in time and tracks Caleb down.From a random act of kindness, romance begins to grow, filling all the dark corners of Bradley's empty life—until a random act of violence threatens to take it all away. Bradley must step up and be the man Caleb believes him to be. Caleb rescued him from a life without hope. Can Bradley rescue him in return?
Life in a Nowhere Town
Hanna Dare - 2016
It's not the sort of place where a quiet, eighteen-year-old who loves the Beatles and playing guitar can expect to fit in.Conor's also pretty sure he's the only gay person in town.Well, except for one other person...Derek Folsom is the kind of bad influence parents warn you about. He's tough, rough, and always looking for a fight. He's the last person anyone would suspect of being gay, in fact he's likely to punch anyone who does suspect it. So why is he suddenly so interested in Conor?Conor's pinning all his hopes on auditioning for a TV show. It's his only chance to realize his dreams, and escape all of these confusing feelings. But will he be able to find his voice... and his true self?
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.
Love You So Hard
Tara Lain - 2013
He was wearing that damn T-shirt and now I can't get it out of my head. I'm thirty-two years old and have never topped in my life. Guys seem to think I have a sign on my forehead that says “bottom only”. The one time I asked, it didn't go well. But now it seems I see this kid, he's twenty if he's a day, everywhere, and that T-shirt text is burned in my brain. I wonder...Can be any genre you like, and as explicit as you like. I'm not too fussy, but a first time top should be fun.Photo Description: The slim, taut torso of a young man from neck to hips wearing a T-shirt that says “I Would Bottom You So Hard”Genre:contemporaryTags:first time top, age gap, gaining self-worth, bottom you so hard, younger teacher/older student, beautiful boyWord count:20,237This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
The Lonely Drop
Vanessa North - 2014
He could pretty much have any man he wanted. I walked away because I deserved better.Now our paths have crossed again. He has the world at his feet. It’s a tempting thought to throw away my lifetime of ideals for a single night with him.Do I still have the strength to walk away?Do I even want to?Photo Description: Two men lie naked in bed. One is on his stomach, with his head out of the frame, the other strokes a hesitant hand down his lover’s back.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
Hanging by the Moment
H.B. Pattskyn - 2013
He dropped out of school to help run the failing family restaurant, and ever since he’s put up with his difficult business partner, who also happens to be his father. And, of course, he keeps his sexual orientation a secret from his conservative Russian family. After being closeted costs him his first serious relationship, Pasha resigns himself to one-night stands and loneliness.But after a chance encounter with lost delivery truck driver, Daniel Englewood, Pasha starts to question all of his assumptions about life. Daniel is sweet, funny, smart, drop-dead gorgeous—and for the last six years, he’s been living with HIV. Pasha worries that he won’t be strong enough to help Daniel if HIV turns to AIDS, but he can’t walk away from their deepening attraction. He also doesn’t know if he can be strong enough to face the hardest task that a relationship with Daniel demands: coming out to his family and friends, and risking losing everything else he holds dear.
Saving Crofton Hall
Rebecca Cohen - 2014
Faced with his mother’s gambling debts, forgery, and the possibility of foreclosure by the bank, Ben vows to make Crofton Hall pay for herself. But opening an Elizabethan manor house to the public isn’t a one man job. With time running out, Ben needs help—and fast.Ashley Niven needs a new challenge, and that’s exactly what he gets when he answers a job advert asking for people who like history, earls, and old houses. Working with the dashing Earl of Crofton to open up Crofton Hall is a dream come true, and Ashley soon finds himself drawn not just to the charm of the house but its charismatic owner.But Crofton Hall has many untold stories, and a family secret dating back four hundred years to the 1st Earl of Crofton, Anthony Redbourn, is about to change all their lives.Second edition. Previously published by Dreamspinner Press.
Touch Me Gently
J.R. Loveless - 2010
Luck finally turns his way when he finds work as a cook on a Montana ranch, where he meets terrifyingly handsome Logan Michaels. Logan is different from any man Kaden’s ever met, and before long, he finds himself falling in love with the big cowboy. But Kaden’s nightmares won’t let go of him so easily, and he’s not just jumping at shadows. He has nearly a lifetime of abuse, horrifying memories, and pain addiction to overcome. Can Logan's gentle touch help Kaden heal inside?
Sex & Sourdough
A.J. Thomas - 2013
Though a hiking virgin, he’s glad he made the decision when he receives threatening messages from his ex. Luckily, Kevin, an experienced backpacker, takes him under his wing.Kevin Winters isn’t looking for a hiking partner, let alone a fling with a cute man on the rebound. After learning he has the autoimmune disorder that killed his father, Kevin left his family to wander remote trails. Convinced his future holds only pain and death, Kevin refuses to get close to anyone. The family sourdough recipes he recreates over a campfire are his only solace.In the wilderness, Anders and Kevin discover a lot of common ground. While the future holds uncertainties they may not be ready to deal with, it might also hold the chance for happiness.