Book picks similar to
Brainy and the Beast by J.M. Cartwright
m-m
mm
contemporary
romance
Serenading Stanley
John Inman - 2013
Shy archaeology student Stanley Sternbaum has just moved in and fills his time quietly observing his eccentric neighbors, avoiding his hellion mother, and trying his best to go unnoticed… which proves to be a problem when it comes to fellow tenant Roger Jane. Smitten, the hunky nurse with beautiful green eyes does everything in his power to woo Stanley, but Stanley has always lived a quiet life, too withdrawn from the world to take a chance on love. Especially with someone as beautiful as Roger Jane.While Roger tries to batter down Stanley’s defenses, Stanley turns to his new neighbors to learn about love: Ramon, who’s not afraid to give his heart to the wrong man; Sylvia, the trans who just wants to be a woman, and the secret admirer who loves her just the way she is; Arthur, the aging drag queen who loves them all, expecting nothing in return—and Roger, who has been hurt once before but is still willing to risk his heart on Stanley, if Stanley will only look past his own insecurities and let him in.
Hidden Truths
Nicole Colville - 2013
Their lives are intertwined in more ways than they can see and only working through the truths hidden deep within each of them can they free themselves and find the love that they are searching for. Each of them need the other in a way not even themselves can understand. This is the first of three books following the complicated lives of Jamie Burton a three time Winter Olympic gold medallist, Valerio Capelli an Italian bike racing protégé and Scot a billionaire business genius. All three are stunning and sexy in different ways. All three desire the same thing, sex, love and freedom from their pasts.Jamie Burton is an enigmatic, beautiful, intoxicating person who entices those around him without him even trying. He's someone who appears to have it all. Good looks, good nature, wealth. How appearances can be deceiving. He has a crippling emotional fear of love and relationships stemming from his painful childhood. Mix that with his obsessive compulsion to remain clean and controlled and Jamie has no chance at falling in love. That may change when he meets Valerio Capelli. An innocent curly haired eighteen year old Italian bike racing protégé who lives life to the fullest and races at two hundred miles an hour on the world’s fastest racetracks. He’s warm and relaxed and undecided about his sexuality. Everything Jamie is afraid off but he can't stop the pull this enigmatic creature has over him.Just like Jamie Valerio is hiding the truth about his past, only by overcoming his fears and his hidden pain can he truly move on.Valerio may be Jamie's future but his past is constantly around him. Meet Scot the intense but stunning business man who appears to have nothing with Jamie apart from their passionate sex life. He’s a billionaire playboy who is controlled arrogant and powerful but weak around Jamie. When they meet both are lost and not just in their lust for each other but from the hidden secrets in their past.He sees things in Jamie that even he can't see, the truth shines from his black eyes tempting Jamie back into his arms I a way he doesn’t understand.All three have hidden the truth for so long about so many things. All have dark issues which can't be spoken about.What’s hidden in the fog of Jamie’s mind? What’s missing?Can these two men in his life help free him from his pain? Or will they push him the edge of his sanity in their attempts to make him love?
After the End
Alex Kidwell - 2013
In a single tragic moment, he goes from an artist with a loving partner and a future to an uninspired comic book store owner who barely exists. He hides behind a shield of grief, refusing to let Aaron go. He feels guilty for even trying to imagine a life apart from what he’d had.The charming party planner Quinn’s best friend insists he meet on a blind date isn’t someone he’s ready for. Brady Banner walks into Quinn’s small frozen world and turns everything upside down. For years, Quinn has focused on endings, but as Brady begins to thaw his existence, Quinn realizes that one moment can do more than stop a life—it can also start a new one.
Play Me, I'm Yours
Madison Parker - 2013
Twinklefingers. Lucy Liu. Will the taunting ever end? Lucas Tate suffers ridicule because of his appearance and sensitive nature. When he’s not teased, he’s ignored, and he doesn’t know which is worse. He feels unloved by everyone, but the one comfort in life is his music. What he wants more than anything is to find a friend.Much to his dismay, both his mom and a schoolmate are determined to find him a boyfriend, despite the fact Lucas hasn’t come out to them. His mom chooses a football player who redefines the term “heartthrob,” while Trish pushes him toward the only openly gay boy at Providence High. But Lucas is harboring a crush on another boy, one who writes such romantic poetry to his girlfriend that hearing it melts Lucas into a puddle of goo. All three prospects seem so far out of his league. Lucas is sure he doesn’t stand a chance with any of them—until sharing his gift for music brings him the courage to let people into his heart.
David, Renewed
Diana Copland - 2016
Unfortunately his new home comes with a laundry list of problems: electrical, plumbing, heating… things David knows nothing about. When his mother offers him the business card of a local handyman, David pictures an overweight, balding man in his fifties. But Jackson Henry couldn’t be further from that stereotype.Dark-haired, muscular, and handsome, Jackson left a large construction firm in Seattle to take care of his sick mother. However, his hometown still has an active “good old boy” network, and finding employment in construction is almost impossible for an openly gay man. Determined to persevere, Jackson takes odd jobs as a handyman. He’s exactly what David needs—in more ways than one.David isn’t ready for his attraction to Jackson, not considering the way his last relationship ended. But as the two men get to know each other, it becomes clear that the heart often knows best, and it rewards those willing to listen.
Dumped
Lucy Hawkins - 2018
Too ashamed to show his face in Manhattan again, Alex flees for his upstate hometown and vows never to plan another wedding again. When his best friend announces her engagement, she begs him to reconsider his decision. Torn between his duty as BFF and his newly acquired cynicism for love, Alex reluctantly agrees. Little does he know that by agreeing to do so, he’s also agreeing to work with his high school bully, Hank Morrison. Once a college football star heading for greatness, Hank Morrison now runs the inn he inherited from his aunt in the small town of Redwood. The problem is, his aunt’s beloved inn isn’t getting business and with the bank threatening repossession, Hank needs to come up with a way to acquire money fast. When his high school nemesis and first love interest, Alex shows up wanting to plan a wedding at the inn, he can’t turn down the kind of money on offer. Even if it means having to deal with the uptight wedding planner who always thought he was too good for him. Opposites in every way, Alex can't ever imagine hunky straight Hank ever being anything to him. Until he finds out Hank isn't so straight after all. Especially after all those years he made his life hell. Tensions run high between the pair as they're forced into close proximity due to their working relationship. It also means that they can't help getting to know each other and when they find out they aren't as different as they once thought, things become complicated.
Fall For Me
Ann Lister - 2013
Exposing the story would boost Ryan's career, but it would also come with the risk of ruining Dagger's privacy – and possibly his Rock God status.The unlikely friendship that develops between Dagger and Ryan brings Ryan to question more than just his journalistic oath to report the news. It also forces him to take a look at himself and newly discovered feelings – feelings that make Ryan blind to the risk of becoming front page news himself.Will Ryan find the courage to make a life decision to give himself true happiness with Dagger or take the path that would likely lead to heartbreak and destroy his career forever?
Unearthing Cole
A.M. Arthur - 2013
He hopes to sell everything and use the money to start over in Canada, far away from his abusive ex-boyfriend. It’s a daunting task, and Cole has no idea where to start. Luckily for him, the local antique store owner, Jeremy Collins, volunteers his services in sorting the hoard. Their professional relationship soon evolves into a personal one, but Cole must overcome his past and his anxiety before he can accept a new man in his life or the possibility of a happy future.
Screwups
Jamie Fessenden - 2014
Even as a successful business major, he is absolutely miserable. Not only is Jake pursuing a field he hates when he’d rather study art, he is utterly terrified of what will happen if his father finds out he’s gay. When he finally gets up the courage to move into the creative arts dorm on campus, his new roommate, Danny, is openly gay—and there’s no denying the attraction between them.Danny Sullivan has been out since high school, and he appears comfortable with his sexuality. But something happened in Danny’s past—something that gives him nightmares he refuses to talk about. Unknown to Jake, the way he mistreated his friend, Tom Langois, when Tom came out to him in high school, is mild compared to the way someone very much like Jake treated Danny.It may be too late to fix the mess Jake made with Tom, but if Jake wants to be with Danny, he’s going to have to fix the mess made by another closeted jock he’s never even met.
We Danced
Jeff Erno - 2012
After the tragic loss of his parents and sister, Rex has no interest in romance. He's respected in his community and regarded as one of Carlisle's most eligible bachelors, but he's accepted that his life isn't conducive to a romantic relationship, especially as a closeted gay man. Enter Josh Billings, a veterinary student who's serving an internship in town. Josh's deepest passion is helping animals. Romance is the furthest thing from his mind... until the night he meets taciturn, handsome Rex Payton. Chance and an after-hours dance conspire to forge an intimate connection neither man looked for-one neither man can ignore after the dance leads to a kiss. Suddenly romance isn't so insignificant, but it's also not without complications. For this relationship to work, Josh has to decide if he can cope with dating a single dad, Rex has to open his heart, and Ty has to learn to share his dad's affection.
The James Dean Vintage
Jess Whitecroft - 2018
Driven by social embarrassment and the anxiety that the messy truth might kill off his ninety-nine year old grandmother, Oliver finds himself ‘married’ to one James Dean Jackson. Hustler, card-counter, lapdancer, drifter – Dean is seemingly a chronic liar, a human tumbleweed incapable of putting down roots. By contrast, Oliver is as deeply rooted as the grape vines that are his livelihood. Oliver’s idea of heaven is a 1945 Chateau d’Yquem, while Dean thinks veraison is a cellphone provider and once almost did the Pinot Noir monologue from Sideways over a Laurent-Perrier Rosé. As the season unfolds and the grapes ripen, the mismatched pair begin to discover that playing the perfect husband isn’t so hard after all, especially when the other person might just have the thing you were missing all along.
Clay's Challenge
Cassandra Gold - 2011
Partying and one-night stands have gotten old, but how’s a boy supposed to find someone when nobody looks beyond his surface to the man inside? A wilderness retreat seems like just the ticket for proving he’s more than everyone else believes—until he actually gets there. Everything is a lot more difficult than he expected, including the man he’s partnered with for the week. Sexy, surly Trent Raines is a puzzle Clay would love to solve, but the man pushes him away at every turn. Totally out of his element and stuck with a survival partner who barely tolerates him, it’s not long Clay starts to wonder if he’s made a huge mistake. If Clay can get through the week, he just might find himself… and a lot more.
Heart of the Steal
Avon Gale - 2017
Right and wrong, justice and injustice—the differences are clear, and Will has spent his career drawing a line between them. Maybe his convictions have cost him relationships, but he’s not willing to compromise what he knows is right. Until the night he meets Amory Vaughn.As the head of his family’s philanthropic foundation, Vaughn knows very well that being rich and powerful can get him almost anything he wants. And when he meets endearingly grumpy and slightly awkward William Fox, he wants him more than he’s wanted anything. Vaughn is used to being desired for his name and his money, but Will doesn’t care about either.When Vaughn falls back on old habits and attempts to impress Will by stealing a painting Will admires, their nascent bond blows up in his face. But Vaughn isn’t willing to give up on the glimpse of passion he saw the night he took Will apart. Before Will knows it, he’s falling for the man he should have arrested, and Vaughn has to realize that some things can’t be bought or stolen. Love has to be given freely. But can a man who lives by the rules, and a man who thinks the rules don’t apply to him, ever see eye to eye? Heart of the Steal is a standalone romance with a happy ending. It features a Southern gentleman who thinks he’s always right, a buttoned-up FBI agent who secretly likes his buttons unbuttoned, and wall sex. And desk sex. And picnic blanket sex.