Books Tagged With potential trigger - traumatic past

Word Count: Click here to reveal44000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Stepping out in borrowed shoes has never been so dangerous. Stripped of her inheritance as a child by a greedy stepmother, Alla’s future hovers between drudgery and slavery. Having spent years toiling in the mansion that was once her happy home, tending to her stepmother’s every whim, she has long since put aside any thoughts of a better future. When a chance encounter in the marketplace leaves her with an invitation to the upcoming ball, her only opportunity to play out an old dream of seeing inside the palace walls is by being someone she’s not. A farce that could see her executed or sold. But will she be able to maintain the illusion once she meets Princess Viktoriya?

Word Count: Click here to reveal56600 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Shane is a burned-out cop trying to mind his own business. Peter's the new wolf at the precinct. Nerdy, awkward, and oddly attractive — and he seems strangely drawn to Shane. Peter already has a partner on the job, the jealous and protective Sue. So, what's the deal? Maybe he wants something else from Shane. Maybe his interest is purely personal...and not in the least professional. Shane's starting to feel pretty unprofessional himself. But having feelings for Peter is riskier than Shane could ever have guessed. A shifters and partners novel (standalone) 56,600 words

Word Count: Click here to reveal77,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: She tried to steal treasure from the dragons’ hoard… and stole their hearts instead. To save her sister from a lascivious lord, Venya must steal a piece of treasure from a legendary dragon’s hoard. Dragons haven’t been seen in several generations, so imagine her surprise when she wakes not one, but two dragons from their hibernation. While the battle-honed Onyx is intent on having her for lunch, the graceful Gold appears more curious than angered by the theft. Abyss and Ray have very different ideas about what to do with the thief when they catch her. Abyss wants to punish her while Ray is intrigued by her audacity. After Ray turns his mate’s anger to desire, the dragons set out on a rescue mission, intent on capturing the brazen thief and learning more about her. And to see if her Song matches theirs. Neglected and discarded by her parents, Venya has never bonded with anyone except her sister. Now she has two mighty dragons wanting to woo her and take her as their mate. While she finds delight in their company, she must reassess her own self-worth before she can trust them enough to love them. But the dragons have exposed themselves to the outside world, and many covet not only their hoard but Ray’s golden scales. And when Venya’s closely held secret is revealed, she becomes a prize worth killing for.

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

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

Summary: When Orion joins an established coven of powerful mages he is unsure how he will fit into the group. The four elemental mages have had centuries to build both their powers and their relationships while Orion is little more than a stranger. As a light mage, Orion has the power to heal, but as he comes to know the other members of the coven, he learns that not all wounds are visible, and healing tortured souls and broken hearts isn’t as easy as fixing broken bones. Orion must bring them all together before they tear themselves apart. Only when the coven is strong will they be able to welcome the dark mage who will complete the circle and give them the power to defeat a mage who has waited centuries to exact revenge on the former members of his coven. READER ADVISORY: This story is a ménage and more story with emphasis on the more.

Word Count: Click here to reveal136000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: In a relationship that violates rules and expectations, Mayr and Tash have found their perfect match in each other. Despite their fears and difficult pasts, they hope for a shared future with security and a family. When Mayr's secret first love, Arieve, proposes they create that family with her, it seems dreams could become reality. But life is complicated, and so is the delicate balance between duty and love. While Mayr protects the Dahe family at all costs, Tash is determined to succeed as a priest. Both positions require sacrifice, forcing their relationship into painful choices. To make matters worse, criminals lurk in the shadows, seeking revenge on them and those they guard. The life they want risks losing everything—including Arieve and each other. Even if they can have it all, keeping it may take more than they can give.

Word Count: Click here to reveal34000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A werewolf with a death wish bargains with a hunter for salvation. Justin has spent several lifetimes atoning for the violent nature of his curse. A mindless angry beast several nights a month, he carries a burden of blood for past sins. Tired and lonely, he’s seeking an end to his torment. Vincent bears the curse, though only by half. A hybrid, he hunts those of his brethren who let their monsters take over. And he’s hell bent on destroying them all, until he's forced to deal with one who’s begging for peace. Except deliverance wears many guises. Their desire for redemption erupts in a fiery passion drawing them closer together.

Word Count: Click here to reveal30375 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Aidan Williamson has been plucked from his routine constable life to the harrowing existence of an undercover detective, damn near under the skirts of Her Majesty the Queen. His first two cases have taken him to places close to Balmoral Castle, where she and her retinue are set to stay for the summer.  This case is no different.  From a bothy—a stone hut—below Devil’s Point to Queen Vic’s old “Widow’s House,” the killing field seems to grow closer to home as the Queen’s holiday grows nearer. Now a hidden crime has been uncovered in the same place the royal party is set to visit soon. And Police Scotland is not amused. Enter Aidan, rookie dick, who’s struggling to confront his demons—and his angels too. Who’s the killer? A pillar of the local church…a couple of horny adolescents…a protective kinsman of the dead man’s wife…or the sweet widow herself? This time around, the edges are blurred more than ever, as mystery spills over into romance.

Word Count: Click here to reveal115000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Holden Russell let his job consume his life for too long, and it took his wife leaving for him to realize it’s time for a change. His marriage is over, but he’s determined to do right by his kids, starting with fewer hours at work and more with them. Except it’s no longer the kids competing with his job for his attention. It’s Holden competing for their attention… with their new live-in nanny. Their very hot male live-in nanny. Porter Blake never saw himself becoming a nanny, but okay. After burnout and PTSD drove him from his job as a paramedic, he’s desperate for something new, and it turns out the nanny gig isn’t so bad. The pay is decent, the stress is manageable, the kids are great, and their mom is cool. It’s the ex-husband he’s not so sure about. The situation is awkward enough when Porter and Holden are butting heads. When they find some common ground and their mutual attraction becomes too much to ignore, things are bound to get complicated. And unless they want Porter to lose his job, they’re going to have to fly under the ex-wife’s radar. Except secrets like this have a way of coming out… This standalone novel is approximately 115,000 words long.

Word Count: Click here to reveal46328 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: An innocent, natural soul is thrown together with a highly attractive but morally corrupt young man. What could possibly go wrong? STAG HEART tells the intertwined story of three men. ~A scholar-warrior seeking inner peace in an often brutal world. ~The bad boy son of a king who needs to learn to become a man. ~An innocent, a wilding whose soul stirs in rhythm with raw nature. These three are forced by circumstance to live and learn and finally survive together on Ireland’s sacred Hill of Tara, where mischief and mayhem lie hidden by ancient stones. An M/M historical romance fantasy-adventure set in The Iron Warrior novel universe.

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

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

Summary: After two years together, Alex has been dreading the inevitable moment when Damon learns the truth: that Alex is a shifter, part of a small percentage of the population able to switch genders at will. Thanks to a forced implant, though, Alex is suddenly static—unable to shift—and male. Overnight, he’s out to a world that neither understands nor tolerates shifters . . . and to his heterosexual boyfriend. Damon is stunned to discover his girlfriend is a shifter, and scared to death of the dangers the implant poses to Alex’s health. He refuses to abandon Alex, but what about their relationship? Damon is straight, and with the implant both costly and dangerous to remove, Alex is stuck as a man. Stripped of half his identity and facing serious physical and social ramifications, Alex needs Damon more than ever, but he doesn’t see how they can get through this. Especially if he’s static forever. This book was previously published. Note: This book was written several years ago, and since that time, the author's understanding of gender identity has evolved. Were Static to be written today, it would include (for example) non-binary identities rather than a male/female binary.

Word Count: Click here to reveal45082 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Deep passion meets raw danger... Dirk Black, a fist-and-furious undercover cop, knows nothing about lighthouses—except, in his own words, they’re put up by angels to guide seagoing idiots. So when his Detective Inspector assigns him to a solve a murder committed at a lighthouse, the cop is forced to partner with a true expert, his lover Stephan Tavish. But his decision is one wrested from his gut-deep conviction that he—and the powers that be—are putting the man he loves in a verra dangerous position. In his beguiling way, Stephan is stronger and smarter than any man Dirk’s ever met. But he’s a recovering paraplegic. Can he help solve a mystery in the same kind of old stone-and-masonry tower that caused his crippling injury? Or is this, as the wag once said, deja vu all over again? Deep passion meets raw danger. Here’s another facet of the love story, and the surprising metamorphosis, of Dirk and Stephan. ~Gay  ~Erotic romance  ~Scotland setting  ~Mystery/suspense  ~Deep undercover ~Third novel of a trilogy

Word Count: Click here to reveal94,010 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Demisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Love, served straight up. Malcolm Elliott has been keeping secrets. Helping his mom through a financial crisis has nearly emptied his bank account and his kitchen cupboards, despite his thriving career with Corporate Equality Campaign. Malcolm is also bothered by his inability to tell the most important people in his life that he identifies as gray ace. Stuart Morgan has a secret of his own. Though years have passed since the tattooed chef fled the Mormon church in Utah for New York, he's never truly come to terms with the fetish that ruined that rigid but outwardly perfect life. Experience has also taught Stuart that keeping his love of lacy things under wraps is safer than telling the truth. After Malcom's boss, Carter, hires Stuart's restaurant to cater a gala fundraising event, the strait-laced Malcolm is thrown together with badass biker Stuart. Despite their differences and a couple of false starts, the men discover they work well together and a friendship quickly forms. As Malcolm's feelings for Stuart deepen, his sexuality awakens, but he remains tight-lipped about his problems. And though Stuart grows more and more attached to Malcolm, he remains fearful of confessing his fetish. When both of their secrets are finally exposed, they find themselves at a crossroads in which they must choose between playing it safe or finally coming clean to the person they love.

Word Count: Click here to reveal139,317 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Every lifetime, Luc breaks the rule: Never fall in love with a mortal. But this time, with this man, it's forever... Being dumped broke Luc's heart, but public humiliation crushed it. Online betting programs placed odds on how long it would take the wealthiest man in the Empire to find a new romance. He was betting on never. When Izzorah's band signs with Luc's company, the desire that flares between himself and the catlike alien is instant and irresistible. But resist he must, for to yield means becoming vulnerable, and sharing secrets far too painful to reveal. Izzorah's ability to smell every emotion means Luc cannot hide even one of his feelings. The sole thing Izzorah always desired was to have a male warrior to love, a forbidden coupling on his homeworld. So he makes a sincere wish that if Luc is his warrior, the man will rescue him. When an accident occurs, and Luc donates blood to save him, what else can it be but Izzorah's wish coming true? It's clear to Izzorah that Luc is too hurt to surrender his trust, even though Luc longs to be loved. No matter what obstacles he faces by coming out, Izzorah decides to put aside his fear and focus on Luc's need. Because as sure as the sun rises each day, Izzorah was made to be the shelter of Luc's heart...   Surrender Love is a sensual bad-breakup romance with a heartbroken alpha male who meets his cuddly cinnamon roll hero. Includes bonus short stories.

Word Count: Click here to reveal99,578 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Gabriel has been gone longer than predicted, and Evander is growing increasingly worried each day that passes without his return. Confounded by their leaders’ lack of answers, Evander and the team begin to fear the worst. In the midst of fruitlessly searching Miami for clues to the Daemon Abaddon’s whereabouts, Evander begins to have disturbingly vivid dreams. With a little help from a newly returned and empty-handed Michael and Barabbas, Evander discovers Gabriel has been calling out for help across their nascent bond, and they set off to rescue Gabriel from the depths of the Underworld. Gabriel is old friends with torture, and his captors haven’t been gentle. Despite growing weaker every day, Gabriel resolves to survive long enough for rescue, or to die fighting, until a Dark Seer begins to dredge up the terror of Gabriel’s horrific childhood, threatening to destroy his mind and soul. Nearing the end, Gabriel manages a last-ditch effort to contact help, reaching out to Evander in his dreams. Against all odds, Evander and the team fight through the Underworld to reach Gabriel and come face to face with mortality. Sacrifices made for the bonds of brotherhood nearly break them, and Gabriel learns the hard way that embracing the darkness while fighting for the light may be the only way to survive. From the underbelly of Reno to the glitz and glam of Vegas, Gabriel, Evander, and the men they call family will be tested, and the final confrontation with Gabriel’s maker may be the end of everything they hold dear.   Surviving the Shadows is an approximately 100,000-word LGBTQ urban fantasy with a romantic subplot. It is a direct sequel to Shadowing the Light and reading the first book in the series is essential to enjoying this one. Please see the disclaimer on the Copyright Page for content advisories.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Months have passed since Mystere left England in search of Joyeuse, leaving Douglas and Margaret behind, safe in behind ancient shields in a manor house in Sussex. Then Douglas is called away for an emergency, and disappears without a trace. A letter arrives, assuring Margaret that Douglas will be safe. A letter from Caedda, one embedded with spells meant to kill. Fearing for her husband, Margaret risks her own life and that of her child in a desperate attempt to summon Mystere, setting into motion a journey that will take them from Sussex to Aachen to the mountains of Austria, and to the long-hidden sword, Joyeuse. With all four swords once more in the world, the secrets they’ve been hiding will finally be revealed.

Word Count: Click here to reveal61450 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Choices have consequences. Sixteen-year-old TJ Shaw had to grow up fast as he is juggling the responsibilities of fatherhood, school, and being the top athlete while trying to maintain an active social life. Even though the relationship with his son’s mother is on shaky ground, other factors in his life are triggering him to make poor decisions. As TJ’s friendship with Seven Richardson blossoms, it has the potential to disrupt TJ’s world as he knows it. While TJ is dealing with his own horrible circumstances, his best friend, Elijah, is on the brink of disaster. Elijah McDaniel is going through a lot emotionally. Although his sexuality is no secret to those closest to him, it is his secret life that could potentially cause him great harm – mentally, physically, and socially. While he’s alienating the people who care for him, it is possible that a chance encounter could thrust Elijah into unfamiliar and very dangerous territory. What will cause TJ and Elijah’s relationship to be pushed to the point of no return? Will their friendship still stand once the dust settles? Join our friends in the first book of this spinoff series from Jaxon Grant’s Life of a College Bandsman, as our favorite sons, TJ and Elijah, come together to reveal their truths. And one thing to be true in this story – the truth will not be pretty.

Word Count: Click here to reveal79204 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Tobias Rogan never wanted to be a leader. But in the past several months, he’s gone from a quiet life as Alpha of the smallest pack in the United States to ruling the entire Northeast Region. With his mate, Kyle Slidell, by his side, Tobias is adjusting to his new normal. But now, with the future of the entire werewolf world at stake, Tobias must step further out of his comfort zone. The Anax, ruler of all werewolves in the United States, is no longer competent to rule. Only Tobias is dominant enough to defeat the Anax. And when Kyle’s life hangs in the balance, Tobias must choose: Challenge the Anax to claim the rank, or allow the Anax to declare war. This book includes references to past child abuse and sexual assault, depictions of PTSD, and homophobia from minor characters. This book was previously published in 2014. This edition has been moderately revised and re-edited from the original, and includes a newly-written ending.

Word Count: Click here to reveal182253 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A disgraced Scot...  A misplaced Quaker (3-novel box set) In this box set of three novels, two men meet in a travelers’ stop in Scotland and end up as trainer and student (Unkilted) before crossing the ocean together as sailors (Unbroken) and then hitting the road on horseback to discover America’s wild blue-ridged mountains (Frontier Highlanders: Unbound). At first their relationship is oil poured on water. Gregory MacGregor, who goes by the name Grier Black when the novel begins, is a Highland clansman and outlaw hiding from his tragic past. He distrusts strangers, but he hates Campbells and British “Sassenachs” even more. David Campbell (David Adamson), the son of a Philadelphia Quaker printer who’s been kidnapped by unscrupulous men, is a naive young man whom Grier dismisses as a weak bairn. Only when he begins to train David does he discover the hidden steel in the lad’s character…and under his trousers…and at last, unfortunately, his detestable last name. Each novel runs together like the Shee Waters, the burn where their romance begins, to form a whole. In Unkilted, Grier learns how to love. But his own melancholy nature gets in the way of happiness as he and David part in anguished misunderstanding. The central novel Unbroken recounts the sea adventures of these two would-be lovers—plus the harrowing story of Grier’s Uncle Iain and his own lost love. The final novel Frontier Highlanders: Unbound is about freedom, and about discovery—of a  frontier father, a rough and wild territory, complex people whose skin is not white, and their own honest needs.

Word Count: Click here to reveal50000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: In 1860, four brothers on a mission from God tunneled beneath the surface in Nevada territory, looking to find the next Comstock Lode. Legend has it they went down into the Earth as honorable Christian men but returned as something more sinister, their good intentions abandoned. There they became possessed and altered by an evil force, and their hold on the residents of what was known then as Lake’s Crossing allowed them to gain unfathomable wealth and power. Youngest brother Jonah ran from that evil and has been in exile under an alias for nearly 70 years. He spends his existence as Jimmy Manwaring, playing piano nightly to the rough-and-tumble saloon crowd in Fort Bragg, California, with the final words of his beloved deceased wife constantly on his mind. “When hope comes, you must protect them.” An act of violence thrusts barmaid Hope Johnson, her unborn twins, and her lover, Bonnie, into his world, and he swears to protect them, but not even one with the power of Sight could predict the series of events that threaten their safety. Will Jonah receive the absolution he seeks, or will his new family suffer for the sins of the Bane brothers?

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: How can something so cuddly and adorable be so destructive? The teddy bear robot decimating his lab is only the first disaster of the day for roboticist Forbes Pohle. If he can figure out how to end its rampage, he still has to interview applicants for the position of research assistant and convince the time traveler on his doorstop that they should be making their future right now. Oliver Lennox didn’t travel back in time to have a quickie in the blast chamber—but it certainly is fun. This younger Forbes is a sweeter, more innocent version of his lover. And it will be hard to leave him behind in the past. If you like sexy nerds, humor, plenty of action, and a love story not even time can disrupt, this romantic adventure has the perfect credentials for the job.