Book picks similar to
Brainy and the Beast by J.M. Cartwright
m-m
mm
contemporary
romance
Solace
Sierra Riley - 2016
Even though the scars he collected overseas ran deep, her light always brought him through the darkness. But when his ex-wife denies him the chance, those scars bleed into every part of his life and Shane is forced to admit he needs help.“You can’t fool me. I know who you really are.”Aaron Hayes thought he’d found the perfect career as a service dog trainer. Until he realized speaking to crowds was part of the job description. He’s never felt safe in a crowd, but one-on-one? That’s a different story. And when a handsome and troubled veteran needs his help training a service dog, Aaron doesn’t hesitate.“You’re the only one who sees me.”Shane tries his best to keep Aaron at a distance, even though his attraction to the man is undeniable. Convinced a quick fling will get it out of his system, he seduces Aaron. But he soon realizes he’s the one falling under Aaron’s spell. As Aaron starts to become his light in the darkness, Shane fears their future together--or lack thereof. If he can't even win back his own daughter, how is he ever going to fend off his demons long enough to find solace with Aaron?Solace is a steamy, standalone gay romance novel with a HEA and no cliffhangers.
Why I Love Geeks
T.A. Chase - 2011
He likes sports, beer, and classic cars. Chuck’s a homicide detective, and it’s put a damper on his relationships. Hard to find a guy who will put up with his crazy hours. How is he to know that planning the impending death of his newest phone will bring him in contact with a cute geek who just might have a thing for rugged, slightly out-of-touch with the newest gadgets older men?Herbert Pommerest has never been on a date or even kissed a man before. Oh, he knows he’s gay. He did all the experiments to ensure it was true, not just a rebellious phase or a knee-jerk reaction because women scared him to death. It’s easy to hide himself behind his research and daydream about what having a boyfriend would be like. Saving an expensive phone from an early demise brings him in contact with a street-wise mature detective. Suddenly Herb wishes he knew how to flirt because he’d love to take some lessons from Chuck Davidson of the sensual kind.Can a geek and a detective find common ground between their worlds before one of Chuck’s cases threatens to put Herb in danger?
Sole Support
Kaje Harper - 2013
Then he coaxes Mike, the shy, socially inept pathologist he talks books with online, into a real-time meeting. He hadn't planned for them to become more than perhaps casual lovers, but as he and Mike grow closer, Kellen realizes he might be edging toward his first real relationship. Except that his finances are getting shaky, and his elderly mother is rapidly becoming confused, unpredictable, and needy. He's faced with difficult choices, and not sure how much he can handle.Mike considers himself a nerd of the highest order— short, bespectacled, prone to blurting out the wrong thing at the worst possible time. Meeting Kellen face to face is the biggest risk he's taken, and he doesn't expect it to be a success. But first meeting leads to first date, first everything for Mike. So it's confusing when Kellen begins pulling away, just as Mike gets up the nerve to move closer.Kellen's most important goal has always been self-sufficiency. His mother taught him to stand on his own two feet. If he lets himself lean on anyone now, even Mike, is he heading for a fall, just when his mother needs him most?**This book has been edited and polished, but is not substantially changed from the 2013 original.
True North
Bethany Brown - 2009
The surprise is the magnetic, heated attraction to the enigmatic Julian Piet, a charming doctor with killer good looks that appears to treat him, sending Jack off his lonely course.Now that their paths have crossed, Jack and Julian head off in a new direction - but between Jack's reluctance to be open about his sexuality and Julian's shattered self-confidence, they can't seem to decide what direction that is. It takes a push from Julian's meddlesome sister to send them stumbling headfirst into romance.Happily wrapped up in their fledgling relationship, Jack and Julian think they may have found their way until unexpected roadblocks appear on their path to forever. Wrathful storms, dangerous illness, family connections, and broken hearts threaten their tenuous balance and will send them spinning apart – their love scattered to the four winds - if they cannot believe and trust that together, they can find true north.
Too Stupid to Live
Anne Tenino - 2013
Yes, he’s still too tall, too skinny, too dorky, too gay, and has that unfortunate addiction to romance novels, but he’s wised up. His One True Love is certainly still out there, but he knows now that real life is nothing like fiction. He’s cultivated the necessary fortitude to say “no” to the next Mr. Wrong, no matter how hot, exciting, and/or erotic-novel-worthy he may be.Until he meets Ian.Ian’s a new man. He’s pain-free, has escaped the job he hated and the family who stifled him, and is now—possibly—ready to dip his toe into the sea of relationships. He’s going to be cautious, though, maybe start with someone who knows the score and isn’t looking for anything too complicated. Someone with experience and simple needs that largely revolve around the bedroom.Until he meets Sam.Sam’s convinced that Ian is no one’s Mr. Right. Ian’s sure that Sam isn’t his type. They can’t both be wrong . . . can they?
Eros Rising
Ally Blue - 2007
Can they rise above the heartaches of their separate pasts and build a future together?
Scott Jasper needs a change in his life. Stuck in a dead-end relationship with a man who manipulates and uses him, Scott wants out but hasn’t found the one thing to motivate him to leave. Until the night his partner takes him to local gay swinger’s club Ganymede’s Grotto, where Scott meets the man who might just be The One. Keegan Rourke—a.k.a. “Eros,” the most popular stripper at Ganymede’s Grotto—has been burned before. Determined never to let another man rip his heart out, Keegan doesn’t let anyone get close enough to love him. Until Scott comes along, offering Keegan the gentle, unconditional love he’s always needed but has never experienced. For Scott and Keegan, the road to lasting commitment isn’t a smooth one. A lot of roadblocks stand in their path—Scott’s trepidation about his own dominant tendencies, Keegan’s abusive past and resulting fear of intimacy. Can they can rise above past sorrows and find their happiness in each other’s arms?
Hanging Loose
Lou Harper - 2011
After graduating from art school Nate left the Midwest for sunny Southern California, not quite sure what he hoped to find. It was almost certainly not falling in love with another man. His whole world and assumptions about himself begin to slowly turn upside down on one hot summer day. Seeking respite from the heat and his loneliness at Venice Beach he has a chance encounter with a handsome blond surfer. Jez is friendly, easygoing, and just a little bit mysterious. Openly gay, Jez offers Nate a place to stay, and the two men become fast friends. Nate makes new friends, adjusts to his new life, but his unbidden attraction to Jez keeps growing. In their moments of closeness Nate realizes that he wants Jez more than just a friend, but it might be too late. To make Jez his, Nate has to face not only his own fears and insecurities, but his mysterious mate has secrets of his own. Warning: Al fresco man-love, a scene-stealing old coot, and a relentless California sun.
How Not to Blend
Susan Hawke - 2019
Corbin Davis is a busy guy just trying to do his best as a single parent. He may be oblivious to a lot of things, but surely he would’ve noticed something as important as his fifteen-year-old son, Grayson, being bullied, right? And what the heck is non-binary, and why hasn’t Gray shared this all-important part of himself with his own dad? Plus one sassy Southerner… Andy Ferguson, or Kandi as the Thursday night drag community knows him, is just trying to get along in a small town and hold things together while he takes care of his beloved Gam-Gam. If she’d just get off his back about finding himself a man, that would be fantastic, thank you very much. He’ll get around to love… one of these days. Equals a pair of fake-boyfriends who will keep you in stitches. When Corb gets the wild idea to ask Andy to pose as his boyfriend to let Gray know that his dad is bisexual and open-minded enough to talk to about his nonbinary status, Andy is amused and just intrigued enough to say yes… especially since he seems to be in the market for a fake boyfriend himself, if it will get Gam-Gam to quit nagging. This is the first book in the LOVESTRONG series about finding love and being yourself in a small town. Intended only for 18+ readers, this is an mm romance fill with all the fun, fluff, and feels you’d want from an S. Hawke book.
Rentboy
Fyn Alexander - 2012
Edward Atherton, is out looking for his first sexual encounter in order to avoid being a 30 year old virgin, and because he desperately wants sex with a man. With his birthday fast approaching he goes in search of a prostitute. The young Goth he meets in a back alley in Soho, London, was not exactly what he had in mind, but he soon finds himself in bed with Fox Baillie having the sexiest time of his life. When he wakes up to find Fox gone and with him Edward’s computer he feels embarrassed and used, but still he cannot get the skinny, pale young man with the black hair and eye makeup out of his mind. He finds Fox once again in the alley and is treated to a hand job up against the grimy wall.The last thing Fox expected when he was ordered by his ex-military father to seduce Dr. Atherton and steal computer with its valuable information was that he would actually find the dude sexy and enjoy the encounter. Ignoring the danger from his brutal father he continues to seek out Eddie to continue what they started.
Take Me Home
Sloan Parker - 2011
Aspiring television writer Evan Walker has been in love with his best friend since high school, but Kyle doesn't do boyfriends. Never has. Never will. Evan knows it's a bad idea to give in to desire when he wants more than a friend with benefits. He has a new dream job. Now all he needs is the dream partner. Kyle Bennett is a mystery novelist with a severe case of writer's block. He needs a change. He has three days on their cross-country train trip home for the holidays to figure out how to tell Evan he's staying there for good. He also has to write the overdue pages for his editor. Only, he's a little too distracted by the close quarters in their sleeper compartment--and Evan's ass--to get much done. The sparks that fly between them are hotter than ever. Good thing they have a real-life mystery to focus on: why people all around them, including Evan's new boss, want to get their hands on a journal that once belonged to Kyle's grandfather. When a blizzard traps them in the mountains, Kyle and Evan steam up the train's windows and must finally face their true desires. This book contains explicit sexual content and graphic language.
Handyman
Claire Thompson - 2008
Simple handyman. Can they find common ground? Will Spencer is a player with a reputation for using and discarding lovers as easily as he earns big money on Wall Street. Handsome, sexy and openly gay, he’s used to having whatever—and whoever—he wants at the snap of his fingers. And what he wants now is his new handyman, Jack Crawford. But Jack is skittish. One lingering touch, one stolen kiss could send the older man into full retreat. Where Will might have quickly moved on to a more ready-and-willing partner, he unexpectedly finds himself wanting to go slow. With just a little coaxing, he’s sure he can show Jack how good it could be between them. Jack, a recent widower, never thought of himself as gay. Frightened years ago by an erotic encounter with his best friend, he focused firmly on his marriage. Now that his bed is empty, however, those deep sexual longings are rising dangerously close to the surface. Their connection is deep, instant, and one that Jack tries to ignore. Yet friendship grows into an erotic journey that must cross a divide of different generations, backgrounds and worlds. The prize is the one thing neither is sure he can handle—true love.
The Nothingness of Ben
Brad Boney - 2012
His life is perfect until he gets a phone call that brings it all crashing down: a car accident takes his parents, and now he must return to Austin to raise three teenage brothers he barely knows.During the funeral, Ben meets Travis Atwood, the redneck neighbor with a huge heart. Their relationship initially runs hot and cold, from contentious to flirtatious, but when the weight of responsibility starts wearing on Ben, he turns to Travis, and the pressure shapes their friendship into something that feels a lot like love. Ben thinks he’s found a way to have his old life, his new life, and Travis too, but love isn’t always easy. Will he learn to recognize that sometimes the worst thing imaginable can lead him to the place he was meant to be?
A Simple Romance
J.H. Knight - 2013
Even the cat was perfect. When his partner of eight years decides he wants something else—something that doesn’t involve Skip or the apartment or even the cat—Skip decides it’s time to go home to the other side of the country.However, Skip’s hometown doesn’t just hold a loving meddling mother but also the memories of his awkward crush on a boy he met his senior year in high school. A boy he humiliated himself in front of just when it looked as if his fantasies might become reality. Finding out Paul Miller is now working at the same high school where Skip has just been hired flips his world upside down. After a heated night together, Skip is happy being friends with benefits. Paul will have to convince him love is worth the risk.
Last First Kiss
Diane Adams - 2014
He likes Gage but the intense attraction between them makes remaining just friends unlikely, and the young farmer with two small children is a complication Trent doesn’t need. Despite all the reasons to stay away, Trent is pulled into the small family. Gage’s boys are delightful and the young man’s honesty and genuine affection impossible to resist. Trent is intrigued by a life so different from everything he’s known. As he struggles to reconcile his plans with his feelings Trent begins to suspect that his random offer of a ride in the rain might lead straight to his last first kiss.
The Boys and the Bees
Mari Donne - 2012
But his family has other ideas: his father manipulates him into a job he hates and his mother uses him as a patch for coping with his siblings’ problems. When Mark runs into Jamie Novotny after a particularly bad day at work, he’s surprised to find the quirky kid he knew in high school has grown into a driven ecowarrior. But the shock of finding Jamie working in the local co-op pales compared to his astonishment when Jamie confesses he’s had a crush on Mark for years.Their first night together leaves Mark happy but disoriented, but their second leaves him bereft. He's unable to find Jamie because he refuses to use cell phones, fearing their environmental impact. Mark’s usual stoicism splinters, and he can’t stop himself from tracking Jamie down. When their lives collide, Mark makes room in his heart and his house for Jamie—but what Jamie really wants is for Mark to man up.