Fire from Heaven
Mary Renault - 1969
In Alexander's childhood, his defiant character was molded into the makings of a king. His mother, Olympias, and his father, King Philip of Macedon, fought each other for their son's loyalty, teaching Alexander politics and vengeance from the cradle. His love for the youth Hephaistion, on whom he depended for he rest of his life, taught him trust, whilst Aristotle's tutoring provoked his mind and Homer's Iliad fuelled his aspirations. He killed his first man in battle at the age of twelve and became the commander of Macedon's cavalry at eighteen - by the time his father was murdered and he acceded to the throne, Alexander's skills had grown to match his fiery ambition.
The Good Fight
Andrew Grey - 2012
Luckily, that means he can hire some help. Jerry just hopes his new employee, John Black Raven, ends up being more helpful than distracting—but John’s deep eyes and long hair are very distracting. John came to town for an education and a chance at a life he couldn’t have on the reservation, but what’s important to him now is getting a job and keeping it. Six months ago, his sister died, and now her children are in foster care. Despite having the law on his side, John can’t get custody—can’t even see his niece and nephew. As Jerry and John grow closer, John discovers he doesn’t have to struggle alone. Jerry helps him win visitation rights and provides much-needed support. Yet their victories aren’t without setbacks. Child Services is tangled up with money, politics, and red tape, and Native American children are their bread and butter. But John and Jerry are determined to fight the good fight and to win—in more ways than one.
Under the Poppy
Kathe Koja - 2010
Decca is in love with Rupert, but he in turn is in love with her brother, Istvan. When Istvan comes to town, louche puppet troupe in tow, the lines of their age-old desires intersect against a backdrop of approaching war. Hearts are broken when old betrayals and new alliances - not just their own - take shape, as the townsmen seek refuge from the onslaught of history by watching the girls of the Poppy cavort onstage with Istvan's naughty puppets . . .Under the Poppy is a vivid, sexy, historical novel that zips along like the best guilty pleasure. Nominated for the IMPAC Award. Winner of the Gaylactic Spectrum Award.
Save the Date
Annabeth Albert - 2017
That includes an epic bachelorette pub crawl, leading him to Portland’s most popular gay bar… and into Hunter Mitchell’s well-muscled arms. A one-night stand with a sexy soldier is the perfect way to ditch that pesky V-card and get himself in the mood for a weekend of flowers, cake, and nuptials.Hunter wants to blow off some steam before he stands up as his best friend’s best man. He's already married to his military career, not looking to settle down. He certainly doesn’t intend for the one guy he met (and, okay, got off with) in Oregon to be his counterpart in the wedding party. Or a virgin. Definitely wasn’t intending that. Luckily, they have the rest of the weekend for Hunter to show Randall what he's been missing.The more they’re thrown together by the wedding, the more Randall and Hunter grow together outside the bedroom… which is dangerous because there’s a lot more than 2500 miles standing between them and a happily-ever-after. If they want a future beyond their wedding weekend hookup, both must find the courage to take a chance on love.Length: approx. 38,000 words
Sword Dance
A.J. Demas - 2019
Adrift and still grieving, he tries to find meaning in an unsatisfying job. Work takes him to the remote seaside villa of an old friend, where, among an odd assortment of guests, he meets the eunuch sword-dancer Varazda. Enigmatic and beautiful but distinctly prickly, Varazda is the antithesis of the straightforward and serious Damiskos. Yet as they keep getting in each other’s way at the villa, their mutual dislike is complicated by a spark of undeniable attraction. Then the villa’s guests begin to reveal their true characters and motives—no one here is what they seem—and Damiskos finds himself at the centre of a bizarre web of espionage, theft, and assassination. Varazda may need Damiskos’s help, but not as much as Damiskos, finally awakening to a new sense of life and purpose, needs Varazda. Sword Dance is the first book in the Sword Dance trilogy, an m/nb romance set in an imaginary ancient world, with murderous philosophy students, sex acts named after fruit, and love blossoming in the midst of mayhem.
Lars
Aleksandr Voinov - 2016
But being on his own sucks. So when he finally meets a mixed group of other queer witches and magick-users, it’s like finding family. If family involved exploring past lives and casting spells.Rhys Turner quit a stressful job in the City after his high-strung boyfriend of six years walked out. He sold the expensive flat in central London and bought a run-down house out in the suburbs. Never mind that it needs walls knocked down, its garden landscaped, and what the hell is up with that carpet?With his health failing, Rhys is desperate for a clean slate and a new start. He isn’t ready to fall in love with anybody, least of all the hunky builder who looks like he’s stepped out of a TV show about Vikings—tattoos, long hair, and all. But as strong and loyal as Lars is, he also has a very soft heart, which might be the hardest thing for Rhys to resist.Note: This is a 73,000-word novel.
Never Met a Stranger
J.M. Snyder - 2014
When his last boyfriend cheated on him, he was driven to experiment with women. Sex with Marian, though, had its own dangers, and before he knew it, he was a father. Now estranged, the only thing Gavin and Marian have in common is their daughter Evie, a precocious seven-year-old who stays with Gavin every other weekend.While out with her daddy, Evie meets the heavily-tattooed Brody Phelps, a sketch artist with serious talent who still dresses like a brooding punk rocker, even though he’s in his thirties. Brody is instantly attracted to the sexy college professor, but knows Gavin is out of his league -- the man has a kid, which probably means he isn’t gay, and besides, Brody never even graduated from high school. Guys like Gavin don’t go for guys like him.But when Evie leaves Gavin’s cell phone behind, Brody has the perfect excuse to meet up with them again. To his surprise they hit it off, and when he asks Gavin out, the professor accepts.Even though Evie brought them together, will her demanding personality pull them apart? Is Gavin ready to trust his heart to someone else again? Can Brody overcome his own fears of inadequacy and let Gavin in? And what will Marian have to say when the father of her child starts dating again?
Maurice
E.M. Forster - 1971
In order to be true to himself, he goes against the grain of society’s often unspoken rules of class, wealth, and politics.Forster understood that his homage to same-sex love, if published when he completed it in 1914, would probably end his career. Thus, Maurice languished in a drawer for fifty-seven years, the author requesting it be published only after his death (along with his stories about homosexuality later collected in The Life to Come).Since its release in 1971, Maurice has been widely read and praised. It has been, and continues to be, adapted for major stage productions, including the 1987 Oscar-nominated film adaptation starring Hugh Grant and James Wilby.
The Cranberry Hush
Ben Monopoli - 2011
He lives alone, works in a comic book shop, and has a crush on his coworker he can't seem to act on. Like an old comic book, his life's colors have started to fade. Everything brightens when Vince's long-lost friend Griff appears on his doorstep in the middle of a blizzard. They were roommates in college, so close back then that Griff's girlfriend called them "lifebuddies" -- but Vince's love for Griff had ended the friendship, he thought, forever. They haven't spoken in years. Why has Griff shown up again? And, more importantly, can Vince handle his return?Vince and Griff are two twentysomethings struggling to find their places in the world and in each other's lives. This is a story of friendship and love, both unrequited and requited, and of learning how to fly through the post-college void, which just might hold more than a cranberry hush.
Prelude to Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts
Lyn Gala - 2016
Ye Ondry wants to earn status, and he is curious about this new human. Liam has just arrived on the planet and he’s trying to figure out these aliens who supposedly have good metals to trade. Neither of them suspects that a chance trade and a few pots knocked off a table could lead their lives and their fates to intertwine. Note:This free story is a prequel to the story of Ondry and Liam that details how they met. As such, it's not a romance.
Guardian
Carole Cummings - 2010
At least not until he meets “Wilfred Calder” who’s been been running from it all his life. When Wil is brought in for questioning as a witness to a brutal murder, and subsequently flees, Dallin is dragged by duty into the chaos of ancient myth, fanatical religion, and the delicate politics of a shaky truce between two perpetually warring countries. And all of it seems to reach its nexus in the man he knows is not Wilfred Calder.When Dallin finally catches up to Wil, it only makes matters worse. Prickly and full of rage, Wil tells an unbelievable tale of magic and betrayal that threatens to shatter the carefully cultivated foundations of Dallin’s world. Leery and only half-believing, Dallin finds himself questioning not only his own conscience and his half-forgotten past, but the morality and motives of everyone around him—including those who hold the power of his own country’s fate in their hands.
Rebel Yells
Rain Carrington - 2014
When Martin dies Jack goes into mourning so deeply that he starts to see his late husband everywhere. Martin tells Jack that he needs to move on and find another love but Jack is holding on too hard to his love and his job to see love when it speeds through the small sleepy town he watches over.Rebel Marino lives up to his name. He fights hard not only with his fists but to keep from letting anyone get close. Rebel inherits a home and business from his favorite aunt, whom he sees even though she recently passed away. She tries to convince him that the tall handsome sheriff is worth a leap of faith.Together they start to discover what it means to move on, to trust, and push the boundaries of not only their interest in BDSM but of love itself but will a third man who is secretly in love with Jack come between them and rip them apart before their love can fully bloom?
Best of Both Worlds
N.R. Walker - 2017
He knows nothing about him, not even his name, only to find one day this familiar stranger turns up on his building site and they need to work together. Ryland Keller knows better than to get involved. Alone and half a country away from home, he revels in isolation until a handsome man in a gay bar turns his world upside down. Sebastian wants to help Ryland recover from a horrible past, but only if Ryland can let his guard down long enough to see that he can have the best of both worlds.
Facing the Mirror
Jaye McKenna - 2013
The things he's done in the name of his mission weigh heavily on his soul, and Cam is reaching the point where he's not sure he recognizes the man he sees in the mirror anymore.Things come to a head when Cam finally gets the break he's been waiting for: an invitation to work for the boss himself as a psionic interrogator. While working at the boss's estate, Cam meets Miko, a powerful psion trapped behind a wall of silence. It doesn't take long for Cam to realize that Miko is a slave, handed around to the boss's associates as a reward for a job well done.Miko's plight tugs at Cam's heartstrings, forcing Cam to examine just how many lines he's willing to cross in the name of serving the greater good. Will Cam risk his life and his career to help Miko? Or is the trail of broken minds and bodies he's left in his wake worth the possibility of victory over the Guild?Content warning: This story contains sexually explicit material and describes sexual relations between men.
Right Back Where
C.E. Kilgore - 2015
Sam's ended up right back where he started - the small Texas town he swore he'd never step foot in again after making fast tracks to SMU. He's not the young, gay kid he was when he left. He has a music degree now, with no job and is about to lose his dorm room... When an old friend has him coming back to where he started, Sam struggles to deal with muddled memories and an unexpected reality. Things in Alvarado aren't exactly how he remembers them, and neither is his arch nemesis Cody Greene. The two men get stuck together by a promise, and the bitter memories that Sam had held onto for five years begin to unravel. When the dust settles, Sam and Cody have to decide if they can let go of the past to build a future.