Books Tagged With potential trigger - abuse - past

Word Count: Click here to reveal67000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealDemisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Morgorth and Aishe must contend with a deadly threat that could spell disaster for their world. Payshthas were the first of the Mother’s intelligent children. It is rare for true friendship to form between them and another species—which makes Morgorth’s bond with Enfernlo unique. And it is due to their friendship that Morgorth doesn’t hesitate to answer Enfernlo’s plea for help. A thief has stolen something vital from Enfernlo’s colony—a stone of power. Their hunt for the stone leads them to a war torn kingdom, and Aishe can hardly stomach what he sees. The devastation urges him to assist however he can, no matter the risk. Meanwhile, Morgorth is faced with reminders of the monster he used to be, and contemplates how far he’s come, and yet how far he still has to go. And when his estranged mentor joins them on their search, Morgorth is forced to confront his resentment and sense of betrayal, and use Master Ulezander as a tool to save the payshthas. Forced into a deadly quest where trust is in short supply, and faced with challengers for the stone, Morgorth must put his faith in those he loves and in himself... and become a champion not just of the Mother but for Karishian itself.

Word Count: Click here to reveal95000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: A well-armoured lone wolf. Vigilante hacker Jack Horwood doesn't hunt pimps because he enjoys it. Neither does he expect praise, support, or even payment. Jack fights and lives alone, but when he arrives for a job interview and meets his former CO, his carefully constructed life goes off the rails. A fierce protector. Gareth Flynn looks after people, whether they're the men in his army unit, the members of the corporate security department at Nancarrow Mining, or an overcaffeinated, underfed Jack Horwood. Gareth has waited seven years for a chance to look after Jack again. Even if that job deserves a danger warning. A life-changing decision. Working together brings back memories. A snap decision changes the game. And neither Jack nor Gareth can walk away from what they've just discovered: explosive chemistry, a tentative trust, a chance at a home and a family. A second chance is a boon. Can they make it work, or will Jack's secrets and Gareth's need to protect destroy the family they're building? Job Hunt is the start of an m/m action adventure suspense romance series of survival, love, revenge, and second chances. Available from my store, all retailers, Kobo Plus, and libraries. Also available as part of a bundle. Please check my store for additional links.

Word Count: Click here to reveal135031 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Gay, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: Following the Prentish/Nemarri war, Kes is rejected by his homeland under the guise of religious purity laws. Though he's spared execution, the proud Nemarri's fate is only marginally more merciful than death when he is sold into sexual slavery at a prosperous pleasure house. Despite his stoic endurance, Kes knows he’s reaching his breaking point, but there is nothing he can do—there is no path to freedom in the Holy Prentish Empire, only a lifetime of humiliating servitude. That is, until a beautiful young slave and his formidable master approach Kes in the marketplace and make an astonishing offer to take him home with them. The only problem: “home” is the accursed Horthmont Castle from the scare-stories of Kes’s childhood. Thrown into a world of living myth, powerful magic, and ancient gods, Kes learns the secrets kept hidden by Horthmont’s thick blackstone walls. There he discovers something he thought he’d never know again: hope for the future.

Word Count: Click here to reveal70000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: It’s 1985, but different.... Frank Hope is a troubled high school senior. Being gay in a small Texas town in the eighties is hard enough, but Frank’s also fighting to win back his ex-boyfriend, trying to graduate while hating school, and struggling to care for his sick mom. Despite his cynical nature, he tries to remain, well, hopeful. Everything he desires seems beyond his reach—until a newfound ability promises financial success and prestige. But success always comes with a price. What is Frank willing to sacrifice? Kasimir is—humans would call Kasimir a demon. Kasimir’s people refer to themselves as the Eternals, who are engaged in a centuries’ long conflict with the mortals from another world. But Kasimir, sensitive and idealistic, can’t hate humans because he fell in love with a human boy named Frank while watching him through an interdimensional window when they were children. Now, as a priest scholar specializing in the study of humans, he’s set on finding his old crush. However, his boy has grown into something feared by all beings of the Eternal Realm. Taking place in an alternative 1985 where demon essence fuels everything from mopeds to the space shuttle, this story of star-crossed lovers combines elements of fantasy and dystopian genres with gay romance while weaving together themes of surviving past trauma, breaking obsessions, and the transformative power of love. Warning: period homophobia, hate speech, suicidal ideation, past suicide, explicit language, sex, violence, child abuse, drug abuse, smoking

Word Count: Click here to reveal65,040 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: A bond they thought couldn’t be broken... Lord Morgorth, Dark Mage of the North, has never felt so far away from his precious mate as he does now. Still reeling from the events of a month before, Aishe struggles to come to grips with what the dream demon did to him while pretending to be Morgorth. For his part, Morgorth is haunted by the chilling vision the Mother sent him while he traversed Dreamworld—a vision where he kills the one most precious to him. Due to that knowledge, he knows he must choose his magick or his mate. A choice with devastating consequences... When Morgorth goes missing, Aishe must search for him, frightened that he has lost his mage forever. In his heart he knows they were meant for each other and refuses to allow his own horrid memories to tear them apart. But when he finds Morgorth he is stunned to realize that Morgorth doesn’t remember him. In fact, in Morgorth’s mind, he is a young lad named Lazur. Sometimes the most well-known truth is the greatest lie... For his entire life, Morgorth always knew his destiny was to become the Destroyer of his home world. His birthright as the third seventh son of a seventh son guaranteed such an outcome. Everyone told him so—except his mentor, Master Ulezander. Morgorth will learn that his mentor has been keeping the greatest secret of all: his true destiny.

Word Count: Click here to reveal111,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Isaac Morris has devoted his life to preaching against the sin of homosexuality. But when his sister proposes a documentary to demonstrate once and for all that it’s a choice—with Isaac choosing to be gay as proof—he balks. Until he learns his nephew is headed down that perverted path. Isaac will do anything to convince the teenager he can choose to be straight . . . including his sister’s film. When Isaac’s first foray into the gay lifestyle ends with a homophobic beating, he’s saved and cared for by Colton Roberts, a gentle, compassionate bartender with a cross around his neck. Colton challenges every one of Isaac’s deeply held beliefs about gay men. He was kicked out by homophobic parents, saved from the streets by a kind pastor, and is now a devout Christian. Colton’s sexuality has cost him dearly, but it also brought him to God. As the two grow closer, everything Isaac knows about homosexuality, his faith, and himself is called into question. And if he’s been wrong all along, what does that mean for his ministry, his soul, his struggling nephew—and the man he never meant to love?

Word Count: Click here to reveal110000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Call it a situationship, call it roommates with benefits—whatever it is, Riley Sweet is mostly fine with the arrangement. After all, he’s got an awesome off-base apartment on Okinawa, and he’s got someone to hook up with on the regular with no pressure and no strings. The problem is that he’s starting to catch feelings for the hot, aloof Marine who’s apparently interested in very specific types of fun, but nothing else. He won’t even sleep in the same bed as Riley. Nolan Tyler is carrying a dark secret that’s kept him closed off from everyone for years. Out of shame, fear, and self-preservation, he keeps everyone at arm’s length, including Riley. When Nolan is asked to be his brother’s best man, there’s no bowing out. Not even when going home means facing everything he enlisted to escape. Though Riley doesn’t know exactly why Nolan balks at going home, he offers to come with him as backup. In exchange, Nolan will come with him as his “boyfriend” in a last ditch effort to get Riley’s parents to accept, once and for all, that their son is gay. Nolan takes him up on it, but he’s terrified that the truth about his past will come out… and the man he’s falling for will leave. Content Advisory: past sexual assault, on-page harassment and verbal abuse, discussions of self-harm

Word Count: Click here to reveal165000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Demisexual, Gay, Pansexual, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: What does a former assassin do when he’s not out there… well… assassinating? Saving his species from extinction, of course. At least, that’s what Leopold wants to do with every molecule in his body. But the task won’t be fast or easy, and he can’t do it alone. Enter Mastrodai—a mrrog prince who has absolutely no desire to rule, much to his father’s exasperation. He craves the ability to prove his worth as a mate and to somehow atone for his actions that led to Leopold’s torture at the hands of an enemy. Making humans official would be a good start. But politics rule no matter what the species, and Mastrodai has to maneuver carefully and risk what he has built to give his mate what he deserves. And when he realizes both he and Leopold have deeper feelings for Alex, one of Mastrodai’s human slave women, he knows his future is out among the stars with his humans, not planet-bound with his kin. Unfortunately, before they can set their plan into motion, Leopold receives a vision that sends him reeling and questioning everything he knows about himself. A vision he must investigate, back to where he began—Lex, the backwater planet where he spent his early years, and where he swore never to return. Reader Discretion Advised: Includes violence throughout, PTSD, a scene of graphic torture, and the start of a consensual MMF relationship.

Word Count: Click here to reveal74000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Apollo On my darkest day, a handsome stranger saved me, but one look into his eyes and I knew he was broken, too. I promised myself that one day, I'd find him and thank him, but what do you do when your savior turns out to be rock god Sebastian St. Crow? I'm about to find out... Sebastian On my darkest day, I found someone who needed help maybe even more than I did. Someone whose pain echoed mine, and in that moment, I'd wanted to save him. I gave him a second chance--but forgetting the beautiful young man with those haunted eyes was next to impossible. I can have anyone I want, but I want him...and I think he wants me, too. Little Infinities is a 74,000 word MM contemporary romance novel with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and of course, a guaranteed HEA.

Word Count: Click here to reveal68000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: Love & Limitations is Scott's fourth short story collection and first one featuring contemporary MM and LGBTQ+ stories: I Only Want to Be With You: Derrek likes Ryan. Ryan likes Alex. Alex treats Ryan like trash. So why can't he see who really loves him? The Boy in the Band: It's hard for a trans kid in high school, just like it was for a gay kid two decades before. Can Ryan and Justin find common ground in time? Translation: Dominic has a thing for Italian guys, especially his boss, Dante. His roommate Enrico has a thing for him. No matter how this ends, someone is going to get hurt. Slow Thaw: As the Antarctic warms, so does the chilly relationship between scientist Javier Fernandez and new arrival-and trans man-Col Steele as they contend with a disaster on the ice. Ten: After the death of his husband, Chris faces a gay mid-life crisis-at thirty-five-as he jumps back into the dating scene for ten dates in ten days. This is the first time all of these stories have all been collected in one place, and the first publication of the The Boy in the Band in any form.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: Small but mighty—that could be Detective Nevin Ng’s motto. Now a dedicated member of the Portland Police Bureau, he didn’t let a tough start in life stop him from protecting those in need. He doesn’t take crap from anyone, and he doesn’t do relationships. Until he responds to the severe beating of a senior citizen and meets the victim’s bow-tied, wealthy landlord. Property manager and developer Colin Westwood grew up with all the things Nevin never had, like plenty of money and a supportive, loving family. Too supportive, perhaps, since his childhood illness has left his parents unwilling to admit he’s a strong, grown man. Colin does do relationships, but they never work out. Now he’s thinking maybe he won’t just go with the flow. Maybe it’s time to try something more exciting. But being a witness to a terrible crime—or two—was more than he bargained for. Despite their differences, Colin and Nevin discover that sparks fly when they’re together. But sparks are short-lived, dampened by the advent of brutal crimes, and Colin and Nevin have seemingly little in common. The question is whether they have the heart to build something lasting.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal105K (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Gay, Non Binary, Questioning, Polyamorous, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: Longtime friends Jackson Riley and Juliette (aka Jules) Baxter are committed to fulfilling their first year of business at their breakfast café, but trouble is brewing again in their personal lives. Jack and Reese Baxter are in a committed relationship -- or are they? Jack's not so certain given Reese's continued reluctance to come out of the closet. Jules has ended her polyamorous relationships, but she's juggling her romantic attraction to two café staff members - a man and a woman. Jules's parents split in their support of the cafe, and Reese's mother is making a big stink as well. When more details of Jack's secret past rise from the ashes, everything is thrown in turmoil. Will they all survive to celebrate?

Word Count: Click here to reveal313000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Love shows up in the most unexpected places... including on the road!   This collection includes 5 books of men finding romance on the road. Is It Over Yet? - Derek and Rhys are divorcing. It's over. There's no coming back... right? Deep Dish - When a reluctant influencer helps a homeless man, he has no idea he's changing the direction of both their lives. I Think We Missed Our Turn - Armin and Marques each think they've missed their shot together... until a road trip to pick up a sculpture by an eccentric artist puts them on a collision course with love. The Road Home - When David tries to get back in his estranged family's good graces, he enlists his best friend and first love, Hunter, to pretend to be his boyfriend. But maybe it's not so fake after all. The Torches We Carry - Ex-boyfriends Reuben and Marcus have co-existed as co-workers for years now. When a road trip to a conference throws them together on the heels of an ill-judged holiday party threesome and Reuben's impending divorce, some kind of spark is bound to ignite. Grab your favorite road trip snacks, buckle up, and get ready for love!

Word Count: Click here to reveal40000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary:

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Manny's willing to do anything it takes to be loved by the spirit mate of his dreams, but there's a fine line between dreams and nightmares.  Manny's life has improved in so many ways since moving to Romania, but he's unhappy that the last essential piece ”finding his spirit mate” hasn't happened yet. He's more than ready, willing, and able to make that dream come true. If only the match for his birthmark would finally show up, because he's determined to be the best damned spirit mate anyone ever had. Mika's always been relieved to not have a birthmark like his twin. He's never going to end up stuck with some fate-ordained mate he doesn't even know. The rock & roll bachelor life, with friends and hook-ups he chooses for himself, suits him perfectly. But Mika's never had a friend quite like Manny, and he's never been as angry about the whole fated mate nonsense as he is when it becomes Manny's only goal. All Mika can do, though, is offer Manny his support. As his friend.

Word Count: Click here to reveal60000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealQuestioning, Pansexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: Robert Montagnet and Dan Cooper are a nice gay couple who live in a nice waterfront condo in a nice, touristy part of Playa del Carmen, Mexico. At least, that’s who they’re pretending to be. After five months on the lam, Dr. Crane is strained to the point of breaking—he just wants it to be over. But, with his mental and physical health in decline, living where he doesn’t speak the language and relying on his partner for everything, he feels trapped. Just the way Max likes it, of course. When Crane is presented with an opportunity to clear his name once and for all, he’s compelled to take it… But, it means betraying the young man who thoroughly intoxicates him in ways he had never imagined possible. Can Crane break his addiction or is he too far down the rabbit hole to escape?

Word Count: Click here to reveal71538 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Rainbow Award Finalist for Contemporary Romance A burned out salary man and a comfort worker, both grieving, in need of a second chance at happiness… Koji’s boss forces him to take a vacation before he destroys his health. Driven to satisfy everyone’s expectations except his own, Koji is on the verge of fainting. He has just enough energy to make one request of his boss: let him choose the place where he’ll take his forced vacation. There’s one place, a hotel for gay men he’s heard of but never dared to try, nestled in Shinjuku, Tokyo’s swanky gay quarter. To ensure Koji actually does it, he has Koji make the reservation then and there, and has him escorted out into a taxi. His attendant, Naoto, is everything Koji has ever fantasized about… in strict secrecy. But Naoto’s healing hands and kindness unleash the beginnings of the inner freedom Koji has been craving his whole life. But the pull of duty is woven into Koji’s very DNA, as is guilt toward his father who blames him for his own loneliness. Naoto is still grieving the tragic death of his partner when he’s asked to tend to the new arrival. He has a soft spot for men desperately in need of comfort and looking after Koji becomes the comfort his own heart has needed for so long. For the first time in three years, Naoto feels the call of life and passion. Unfortunately, the man who’s awakened it seems not so ready to give up the very forces that almost destroyed his body, as they’re destroying his chances at happiness. What will happen when the week is over? Is it really possible to just go on with life as normal when everything both men have ever yearned for is just within their grasp?

Word Count: Click here to reveal17,600 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealLesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: Sometimes life gives you more than this. Two years after whistle-blowing on irregularities in the company she worked for in the US, businesswoman Veronica Smith runs into Cassandra Forster, the woman with whom she had an intense affair back in New York. Cass pushed all Ronnie’s buttons as well as her boundaries, and the relationship was becoming something more before Ronnie left without an explanation. When they pick up where they left off, Ronnie finds she still wants more…but does Cass feel the same? Cass wants an explanation. Being with Ronnie had begun to mean more than great sex, but then Ronnie left her high and dry. Cass’ feelings haven’t changed, but can she trust Ronnie enough not to hurt her again? Can she trust herself to let someone into her life? Over a weekend and a wedding, the two women finally talk and discover they have more in common than the ability to meet each other’s desires. But can they take this second chance life has given them to have more than this?

Word Count: Click here to reveal47,349 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: All the Honorable St. John Ashford ever wanted was his father’s love, but if he can’t have that, he’ll settle for being noticed. In an effort to do that, St. John sets his sights on Andrew Dorincourt, a man for whom the Viscount has nothing but disdain. Surely this will draw his father’s attention? Unfortunately, while Andrew seems willing to date him, he appears entirely disinterested in anything else. St. John knows it’s just a matter of time before all his plans going up in smoke, especially when Andrew becomes attracted to an exotic young man he rescued from Malossini’s House of Oddities. Robin Dorincourt is something of a playboy who enjoys nothing so much as flitting from one boyfriend to another. He doesn’t poach, though, and when he finds himself attracted to St. John Ashford, he does what he can to keep a healthy distance between them, using taunts and teasing. It’s difficult, until he realizes his brother is in love with someone else. Robin’s path toward St. John is clear, and he makes his move. But is his path as clear as he imagines? St. John might be as attracted to Robin as Robin is to him, but he’ll be damned if he allows himself to be passed from one brother to the other as if he’s nothing more than a poor second choice. Now it remains is for Robin to persuade St. John he’s no one’s second choice.

Word Count: Click here to reveal80000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Vegan werewolf Kyle Slidell didn’t sign up to be the mate of the most powerful werewolf in the United States, the Anax Tobias Rogan. But fate had other plans after Kyle was changed from human to werewolf, and now he and Tobias are building a life together. And planning a wedding, if Tobias will get with the program. Since taking the rank of Anax, though, Tobias has changed. While at times he’s the Tobias Kyle knows and loves, more and more often, it seems as if the power Tobias holds is trying to take control of him. And when a werewolf confronts Tobias about a crime committed by someone Tobias once loved, it pushes Tobias over the edge. Now Kyle must help Tobias overcome and integrate the Anax power and protect his mate from those who believe Tobias should be removed from the rank—which would end Tobias’s life. Kyle has fought many threats to defend Tobias, but what can he do when the biggest threat is Tobias himself? This book includes discussion of past sexual assault, depictions of PTSD, violence between werewolves, and a very temporary breakup between the main characters.