Book picks similar to
Lake Steamy by R. Cayden


m-m
contemporary
m-m-romance
mm-romance

The Palisade


Rosalind Abel - 2017
    It was supposed to be just one night in town to close the deal, and sleeping with one of the local men, no matter how gorgeous, meant nothing more than a few hours of fun.Andrew Kelly is perfectly content with the life he has in his hometown. So much so that the only thing missing is someone to share it with. Going to bed with a tourist was never meant to be the answer to his dreams, just a beautiful distraction. He could get back to looking for Mr. Right the next day.Both Andrew’s and Joel’s worlds are turned upside down when a few hours of pleasure get extended to a couple of days. Even that shouldn’t have been a big deal. You can’t fall in love in that amount of time. That isn’t how it works. However, if destinies collide, a few short days may be all it takes to find your soul mate. Even so, when secrets and motivations get tangled, fate may do nothing more than leave two hearts in pieces.

Behind Iron Lace


Mercy Celeste - 2011
    Until he meets a smooth talking bad boy who makes him question his entire belief system.Darcy Butler is a fish out of water (or in his case a Duck out of Oregon), and he is suffocating in the humid New Orleans' heat. Dissatisfied with his career, his life, he is homesick and heartbroken. But above all Darcy is straight. Or so he believes until he meets the drop-dead gorgeous photographer he wants to hire to revamp the art department of the e-magazine he co-owns with his former lover.Caleb Mitchell, bad boy extraordinaire lives life on the edge. He's been around the world covering murder and mayhem. Back in New Orleans to tend his dying mother, Caleb is worn down by grief and his own mortality. He seeks the diversion of playing art director of a small local e-magazine to help keep him sane. He doesn't expect the instant attraction to the bright-eyed editor/owner. That Darcy is deeply closeted and possibly straight doesn't matter to Caleb. Because when Caleb wants something, there is nothing going to stand in his way.Not even Darcy.A jealous ex, the hot summer nights, and the secrets Caleb carefully hides behind iron lace tattoos could just be Darcy's undoing.

Coffee and Ink


Olivia Joy - 2021
    He only ducked in to get out of the rain the first time, but now along with his new reading habit he has someone to watch. Or watch over. Benjamin Harrison is starting over after tragedy changes his life in Texas and becomes too much to bear. In Boston, he pours his heart and soul into his bookstore and the sparkly, comfortable apartment above it. When his deal to rent part of his store as a coffee shop falls through, though, Benjamin isn’t sure how much longer his dream will last. Cary impulsively offers to fund and run the coffee shop because he knows he’s found exactly what he desires, mainly in Benjamin. The boy is all jangled nerves and confusion, and Cary loves to be the kind of Daddy who gives his boy guidance as well as showering him with love. Will Cary be just the kind of man Benjamin needs and never knew how to ask for?

Control


Mary Calmes - 2014
    Openly gay since he was a teen, Vy is proud and self-assured on the outside, while secretly worrying he’ll be forced to spend his life alone because two males can’t be mates. When bear shifter Robert Cimino appears in Vy’s small town, Vy realizes his concerns were unfounded — he has a male mate, and a sexy, dominant one to boot.Robert is a bear shifter who refuses to shift. Immediately attracted to Vy, he deviates from his normal pattern and seeks more than a one off with the powerful, bristly hawk. But Robert’s affections are rooted in his human form, and when Vy discovers Robert doesn't recognize him as his mate, he pulls away. If Robert wants to stay with Vy, he must convince a man deeply ruled by his animal instincts to give their relationship as humans a chance.

Little Squirrels Can Climb Tall Trees


Michael Murphy - 2012
    Though born to conservative parents and raised in small-town Oklahoma, Kyle realized young that he had to escape rural America. Now he's living in New York City, working as an ER doctor, and paying off his massive student loans. He's never been on a plane and never seen a movie, but he is worldly enough to recognize attraction when it smacks him in the forehead. Not that he knows how he managed to crack heads with Joseph, who's a good foot shorter than Kyle's six and a half feet.Joseph is Kyle's polar opposite in other ways too, well-off where Kyle is poor, and self-assured while Kyle is insecure. He's also determined to show Kyle what a great guy he is and bring the confidence Kyle shows in the ER out in his everyday life. But Kyle's hectic work schedule and inexperience with relationships won't make for an easy romance.

No Good Mitchell


Riley Hart - 2020
    I'm straight...at least, that's what I figured until I find myself locking lips with a sexy city boy. Now all my circuits are going haywire, and the spark that ignites between us makes me even more curious.Unfortunately, I kissed the one man who's off-limits: Cohen Mitchell--the sole surviving heir to the Mitchell Creek distillery, a rival neighbor my family has feuded with for nearly a hundred years. Until he arrived in town, no one knew there were any Mitchells left. But the business-savvy city slicker has taken an interest in his legacy. Nothing means more to me than my family, so whether I like it or not, I have to keep my hands off the sexy, green-eyed beauty who Big Daddy has not-so-affectionately dubbed that "No Good Mitchell." Problem is: my hands have other plans...COHENI never expected to inherit a distillery from a father I had never known. That's how I find myself in a tiny Georgia town where everyone knows a family history I've been kept in the dark about. The townsfolk all have a different story about my ancestors, with two things in common: illegal activity and Mitchell vs O'Ralley forever.Maybe I shouldn't like Brody O'Ralley, but I didn't grow up with this stupid family feud. I enjoy touching him, kissing him and--oops--I'm falling for the man with sweet Southern charm and a big heart. Between the O'Ralley patriarch hating me, getting the Mitchell Creek distillery off the ground, and working through my own family issues, I know I should stay away from Brody.But I won't, and staying away is not what he wants either. I crave all the time with my country boy as I can get, even if it's breaking the rules. After all, I am a No Good Mitchell.

Love Him Free


E.M. Lindsey - 2020
    He just doesn’t know how to get it. From an early age, Simon’s life has been marked by loss. After the death of his father, Simon and his infant brother are ripped from their home in Tel Aviv and forced to settle in a small mountain town in the US where no one speaks his language. By the age of twelve, Simon is an orphan. By the age of twenty-one, Simon finds himself the unwilling owner of his bubbe’s bakery, and the hesitant guardian of his little brother. Terrified of losing what little he has left, Simon dedicates himself to his faith, sacrificing everything to keep the fragile scraps of his broken family.But, when Simon’s favorite film star’s life suddenly falls apart on social media, Simon makes a choice. He goes against every one of his instincts and fires up his camera, sending a message in rusty ASL. He doesn’t expect anything from it, of course. After all, Simon’s life has been anything but charmed.Deaf film star, Rocco Moretti, had anyone's fantasy life, and he wouldn’t change it for the world.When he was in college, Rocco decided to corner the market as a Deaf man in adult films as a quick way to make cash. Fifteen years later, and he’s rich with a house in Malibu, a boyfriend of almost two-decades, and a body that’s constantly in demand. His life was charmed, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. But when Rocco wakes up to his boyfriend leaving, he has nowhere to turn. People are starving for the drama, but no one cares that Rocco’s life has just fallen apart. His job is on the line, and he’s lost his interpreter, and all people want is the story. Rocco realizes in that moment, he wants something more. He’s not sure where to find it, but he thinks maybe the shy video in shaky ASL in his DMs is a good place to start. After all, Cherry Creek is in the middle of nowhere, and since seeing that video, Rocco hasn’t been able to stop thinking about that shy baker’s long fingers, shy smile, and the constellation of freckles on his pale cheeks.Rocco isn’t sure leaving his life behind is the right choice, and Simon isn’t sure he belongs in Rocco’s world. But the one thing they do know, is that this love has a chance to set them both free.Love Him Free is Book One of the series On The Market. It contains no cheating, light angst, and has a HEA.

Heart of the Woods


Grant C. Holland - 2018
    It makes it impossible to fly.” When Levi left college to convince his grandmother to pack up her off-the-grid life in the Northwoods of Minnesota and return to civilization, he never expected to lose an argument and stay. He didn’t expect to fall in love either. In the small Missouri farm town where he grew up, Levi was a skinny gay kid with glasses scared of his own shadow and the tormentors who lurked in the hallways of his high school. A rugged life on Lone Cedar Lake helped him blossom into an attractive, muscular young man, but the underlying insecurities remained. Brandon fell in love with the lakes and woods during a spring break visit with a college friend. Upon graduation, he began building a wilderness guide business that gave him the capital to buy his first house at age 24. A downturn in the local economic atmosphere sent him scrambling to shore up the bottom line. He thought a new wilderness route to the mysterious Lone Cedar Lake would be just the ticket to lure in new clients. While exploring for the new route, Brandon spotted Levi in another canoe. Their first encounter led to a physical battle on the forest floor, but soon, an attraction they couldn’t ignore blossomed. Unfortunately, romance won’t be so easy when the mysteries of the past threaten to stand in their way. Heart of the Woods is a 55,000-word ugly duckling romance set in the Northwoods of Minnesota. It includes steamy scenes, a happily-ever-after ending, canoes paddling in the wilderness, and some of the best stargazing on earth.

Aiden Inspired


Blake Allwood - 2019
    In fact, he’s known among the art elite for being the man to watch. That doesn’t keep his critics from arguing that his work lacks personality or emotion. Of course, his life doesn’t have much of that either. While perusing a dating site that connects urban gay men to their rural counterparts, Aiden comes across a profile of a Washington state rancher. The silhouetted picture and matter-of-fact language trigger his inspiration and spin him into a creative journey that ends with a collection that surpasses perfection. After his collection sells to a prestigious buyer, Aiden feels he has no choice but to meet and thank his muse. Little does he know the journey to the rugged mountains of Southeast Washington could change his life forever.Devin Pearce is tall, built and remarkably handsome, all of which is accentuated with the personality of an angry bear. When he first comes upon Aiden, he can’t see past his anger -- this stranger is here because his nosy housekeeper set up that damned profile. But Aiden isn’t a typical stranger, not only does this man have the looks but he has a work ethic Devin has seldom seen in another man. Sure, Devin wants love, but experience has taught him to be leery. Can he trust his instinct that Aiden is an extraordinary person, or will he let the tragedy of past relationships get in his way?The fire between them burns hot, but they are truly opposites. Only the fates know if they are brave enough to overcome their differences and build the relationship they both dream of.

His Sassy Omega


Raiven Matthews - 2022
    Truthfully, I barely believed in love. It wasn’t something I’d ever needed, and I didn’t have time for it. Besides, love just led to being hurt, and I could do without that.When a huge alpha barged his way to the front of the line in my bakery, it was anything but a meet cute. My sassy mouth promptly told him exactly where he could take his perfectly formed behind. Right back out the door he’d just come in, and don’t come back, thank you very much. Then our hands touched, and sparks of electricity shot between us, and my soul screamed Mate. I wasn’t looking for love or a mate, but he was looking at me and I couldn’t look anywhere else. He was big and sexy and growly, and smelled like every wishful dream I’d ever had, and forgotten. Making me want things I’d never wanted before. Making me want to run from him as fast as my legs could carry me. Secretly, hoping he would chase me.LachlanI was having a bad morning. Clashing with a smart-mouthed, sarcastic omega was the cherry on top of my already bad day. Getting tossed out of my favorite place for sweet treats was not how I’d planned to start my day. I’d always played by the rules and done what was expected of me. My whole life, I’d known what I’d wanted in my mate. Until he was standing in front of me, nothing like I’d expected him to be, sassing me and ordering me about. Now he was all I wanted. I just had to convince him of that.We were opposites in every way. Fate must have gotten Her wires crossed and messed up big time. Or did She? His Sassy Omega is the first book in a series, but can be read as a standalone, with no cliff hangers and a HEA. It contains opposites attract, age gap, shifters, knotting, and mpreg.**Trigger warning: There is a situation where terminating a pregnancy is discussed between the MC’s, but it is only a discussion. If this could trigger you in any way, please skip that chapter. This does contain a HEA.**Revised for additional editing. No new content was added.**

Clickbait


Garett Groves - 2017
    An abrasive internet sensation. Desire even enemies can’t deny.   Jeff Taylor is a cable news juggernaut with an ax to grind—particularly with the media industry that made him. After a tough interview with Kile Avery, online troll extraordinaire, Jeff melts down on air and tells the world just what he thinks of the media machine.   He’s swiftly fired and blacklisted by every major media organization… except one. NewSpin—the same fluff media company that Jeff most blames for the current state of journalism—wants to hire him to do a piece on Avery.   “Avery’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I’d sooner live under a bridge than work with him.” Kile Avery is a viral blogger who thinks love and traditional media are dead. He’s built an online empire quickly by posting scathing video takedowns. So when Kile’s approached by NewSpin for a documentary series on his meteoric rise to fame, he can’t say no… even if Jeff Taylor is the reporter assigned to the project.   “When we started this, I wanted to destroy Taylor. Now I just want to sleep with him.”   The two have nothing in common save for their mutual hatred, but they quickly discover they share real chemistry on and off camera—chemistry neither of them wants to admit to, privately or publicly.   Can they set aside their differences and come together to make a ratings hit? Or is their story destined to become yet another clickbait headline?   Clickbait is the first book in a series of lighthearted and witty M/M romance novels that can all be read as a stand-alone or as part of the series. If you like political backdrops, witty banter, and steamy enemies-to-lovers stories, then you’ll love this first installment in the Off the Record series. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed HEA.   Buy Clickbait to get the cameras rolling on Jeff and Kile today!

Building Forever


Kelly Jensen - 2018
    Sure, he’s a widower raising a teenage daughter who just got her first boyfriend, his book series isn’t writing itself, and he has a crush on his new neighbor — the guy next door. But everything’s just fine.Simon Lynley is doing better. He moved to Bethlehem to fall out of love and rebuild his career. An affair with his neighbor isn’t part of the plan, but the attraction between them is too hard to ignore.But when Simon’s ex follows him to Pennsylvania seeking reconciliation, and Charlie’s life starts to feel like a video on repeat, everything comes apart. Charlie worries that he’s failing as a father, and Simon is a distraction he can’t afford. Meanwhile Simon doesn’t know if he could survive being left again, and he hasn’t come all this way to make the same mistakes. But despite their fears, it’s only together that they’ll find the strength to slay old foes and build the forever they’ve been waiting for.

Kiss Me Again


Garrett Leigh - 2019
    He works alone, and lives alone, and it doesn’t occur to him to want anything else until a life-changing accident lands him in hospital. Then a glimpse of the beautiful boy in the opposite bed changes everything. Ludo Giordano is trapped on the ward with a bunch of old men. His mind plays tricks on him, keeping him awake. Then late one night, a new face brings a welcome distraction. Their unlikely friendship is addictive. And, like most things in Ludo’s life, temporary. Back in the real world, Aidan’s monochrome existence is no longer enough. He craves the colour Ludo brought him, and when a chance meeting brings them back together, before long, they’re inseparable again. But bliss comes with complications. Aidan is on the road to recovery, but Ludo has been unwell his entire life, and that’s not going to change. Aidan can kiss him as much as he likes, but if he can’t help Ludo when he needs him most, they don’t stand a chance.

The Life We Have


Kelsey Kingsley - 2020
    That is, until the discovery of his father, Sebastian - a world renown drummer in a famous rock band.Overnight, Greyson's world had been turned upside down, taking him from rags to riches. And now, six years later, Greyson's only goal is to follow in his dad's footsteps.Except, while his father is a reformed ladies' man, Greyson is gay. And that's a secret he's not ready to let go of.But he never planned on meeting Zach.How can he keep the man he loves without disappointing the man he admires?

After the Crash


Emma Alcott - 2019
    Not only is his high school crush back in his life, but he’s matured into a gruff, brooding, drop-dead-gorgeous specimen of a man that makes Marshall’s wet dreams seem about as exciting as drying paint. The only problem: Fox Fraser, the individual in question, is straight.Super straight.The kind of straight that would make a ruler jealous.But if what Marshall sees when he looks in Fox’s eyes is to be believed, he’s broken, too. There are scars inside of him that no one notices. No one but Marshall. It’s not wrong to want to help him, is it? To hire him to take care of things around the house so he can get back on his feet? It’s just work. Work that leads to lingering looks. To prolonged touches. To… mmph. It’s better not to think about it. Marshall’s fantasies aren’t real. A guy like Fox would never pin him to a wall and do things to him like that. Maybe. Probably. Right?After the Crash is the first book in the Small Town Hearts series, which features heroes scattered across the rural United States who find love where they’re least expecting it. In addition to explosive chemistry, you can expect sneezing bushes, tea that tastes like hay, and a wet wrestling match that's just boys having fun, Mom.