Books Tagged With what - emotion - guilt

Word Count: Click here to reveal112000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Be not inhospitable to – handsome – demons, lest they be angels in disguise. Two things are well-known about Alberto. One: he's gorgeous. Like it or not, like him or not, there's no debating that. Two: Alberto feels nothing and everyone constantly jokes about it. There isn't much else to say about him. Floating about like a drifting cloud, Alberto likes minding his own business, but out of nowhere, an angry guy named Mathias charges into his life, demanding answers. Deep down, he knows Mathias isn't the solution to his problems, but it doesn't matter, as long as he feels something. But here's the annoying thing with feelings: they can sneak up on you at the least opportune time... *** Mathias is new in town and enrolled at Colette International due to unfortunate circumstances. His devotion to his family places him face to face with a puzzling equation, one he never thought he'd have to solve before. Now he's forced into the path of a schoolmate he particularly dislikes, and not without reasons. The only problem is, he can't seem to take his eyes, nor his hands, off him. He was promised a peaceful senior year after everything he went through. But Mathias already knows life is never that easy. And now he's in the thralls of an unfeeling demon.     He Looks So Fine is a seven-part story about two young men's rediscovery of empowerment, communication and trust, about the lasting damages of trauma and the healing virtues of friendship. Part One is 360 pages long and contains arcs 1 to 3 pertaining to Alberto and Mathias's journey. The upcoming Part Two is longer; it contains arcs 4 to 7 and concludes their story. As it features several characters from the previous books, it's usually recommended to read the series from the start. However, the tone of this story is darker and more mature and differs from the rest of the series. As a result, this book can also be enjoyed as a standalone. Content Warning:Due to the presence of difficult themes, sexual content and other potentially upsetting scenes, this work isn't intended for readers below the age of eighteen. (A full content warning list can be found at the beginning of the book.) This is not a happy book! This work explores themes such as depression and grief.  If you're looking for fluffy romance, please select another book/author.

Word Count: Click here to reveal81000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A baby’s laughter. A mind uncaged. Lance is known as Scourge, the warrior in the black armor, the dog of the warlord Ulfr Blackwolf. He was just a boy when Ulfr found him and molded him into the perfect weapon. He slaughters and pillages on command, merciless and numb, devoid of emotions. Then a baby girl laughs at him during a raid. And everything changes. When Gust, a talented healer, is out deer hunting and stumbles across a magnificent horse bearing a mortally wounded rider, he has no idea that his life is about to change forever. Gust applies all his skills to his patient, determined to save the rider’s life, and is rewarded when the man opens his eyes. As friendship, and more, bloom between warrior and healer, so does the danger over the horizon. Ulfr has not forgotten, and Lance must take his first steps on the long road to redemption.

Word Count: Click here to reveal44080 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Wolf shifter Xavier learns that you are often your own worst enemy. Josh McPhee always wanted to be an agent. To keep from going crazy at the Agency’s New Mexico substation, he talks to the imprisoned wolf shifter—or tries to. Their one-sided conversations only prove the shifter is not getting the help he needs. After all, he is a victim too. Wolf shifter Xavier doesn’t remember much before his time with the Knights or the time under their control, where he was brainwashed and used to kill innocent shifters. He wants to recover his memories, and yet he fears what he might find. He would escape were it not for the aide whose voice quiets Xavier’s implanted urges. Late one night the Knights attack the station to retrieve what’s theirs. Overpowered, Josh cannot stop them before they unlock Xavier’s cage. But Xavier rushes to Josh’s rescue and, sensing his opportunity, escapes, taking Josh with him. When Josh wakes up on the road, they strike a bargain: Josh offers Xavier one month of freedom before he calls in the Agency. Both doubt he can be cured, but something about Josh makes Xavier better. They just have to figure out what before the enemy catches up to them. Second Edition with updated and revised text.

Word Count: Click here to reveal110840 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When Robyn's father and brother are killed in the Third Crusade, she is banished from her manor home and branded a traitor by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Disguised as a boy, she joins Little John and the rest of the gang in Sherwood Forest—and soon finds herself their leader. Queen Eleanor suspects Prince John is up to no good, and colluding with Sir Guy and the Sheriff of Nottingham. To learn more, she engages Maid Marian as a spy—and unwittingly reunites Marian with her old childhood friend, Robyn. Together, the women help the queen acquire the funds needed to free King Richard and help Nottinghamshire—and perhaps fall in love along the way.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: In one tragic night Steven loses everything: his lover, his dreams, and his sight, but he gains the compassionate, caring dominant he has always longed for. He starts to rebuild with Nick, a fellow survivor of the tragedy, and together they discover new heights of love and ecstasy, and the real magic they can create together. Nick must teach Steven not only how to have a healthy and consensual BDSM relationship, but how to navigate the ways of magic. You see, Nick is secretly a mage, and the longer they're together, the more obvious it becomes that Steven is one, too. But as Steven begins to wield his new--and terrifyingly strong--powers, he draws the attention of evil beyond our world. The ancient enemies of the faerie courts have banded together under a cruel, calculating leader, and Steven is the only one standing in his way. Only Steven can defeat this threat... And he doesn't have the first clue where to start.

Word Count: Click here to reveal20055 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A Shifter Chronicles story, sequel to Healing Minds With the construction for their shifter rehabilitation clinic in Haven underway, wolf shifter Xavier and his mate Josh couldn’t be happier, professionally. But their busy lives leave them little alone time. It’s putting a strain on their relationship, and they still haven’t had anything close to a honeymoon. Josh realizes Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and sees an opportunity he can’t let get away. But never having observed the holiday before, he has no idea what Xavier might want. All Xavier knows is that Josh wants to celebrate, but he has no clue how. Before either of them makes a concrete decision, a bear shifter attacks Haven and threatens to trample their romantic plans. Second Edition with revised text.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: In 773 AD, Roland, a young man of King Charles’ court, was gifted with the sword Durendal. That sword was one of four swords of rare power, three of which were held by Wardens, mages charged with protecting the sacred bloodline of the Merovingian kings. The last sword was held by their mentor, the mage known to history as Turpin. That same year, a Saxon priest seeking retribution against Charles enlists the aid of a mage who seeks the swords for his own purpose, setting into motion events that lead to the battle at the Pass of Roncevaux, and to Roland’s death. A thousand years later, a research group doing excavations in part of Aachen Cathedral uncovers a collection of books and scrolls, a ring, and a sword. As they uncover the sword, they are attacked. Summoned to the site by the power of the magical attack, Yael Mystere and his apprentice, Warden-in-training Doctor Douglas Keith discover the sole survivor – Margaret Prentice, the daughter of the man leading the excavation. A second attempt on her life fails, sending Yael, Douglas and Margaret on a quest for the power behind the attacks ─ a power that has been waiting a thousand years to win the swords at all costs.

Word Count: Click here to reveal54,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Noah is Griffin Colewater’s best friend and absolutely no one knows him better. Certainly not any of the parade of girlfriends he’s had over the years. Even his most recent, Lauren, whom he has been with the longest. And just broke up with. Does it make Noah a terrible friend if he’s just a little bit thrilled about that? It doesn’t really matter, though. Griffin is the oldest son of the owners of Colewater Properties, a multi-gazillion dollar hotel conglomerate. He is also next in line to take over when his father retires which makes Griffin the most sought-after bachelor in the city. So, another girl is right around the corner. The issue? Griffin’s mother claims to be desperately tired of his playboy antics. She is demanding Griffin settle down with a wife and family “or else”. Being that Griffin has never actually been able to please his mother in anything, Noah doesn’t understand Griffin’s hopeless mission to make that happen now. Which makes the huge charity bash his parents are throwing a bit problematic. His mother is insisting on meeting Lauren. Yep. Griffin has yet to tell her he’s single again. And he insists he’s not going to. Instead, Griffin does something insane. He hires a fake girlfriend. Yah. A fake Lauren. Well ― not fake. She’s a ‘Lauren’, too. But that’s not the point. Griffin asked Noah to provide the “girlfriend for months” knowledge to Lauren number two so she could pull this whole ‘girlfriend’ thing off. Honestly. What can go wrong with that? Everything. Because Griffin is not only Noah’s very best friend in all the world, Noah is also so crazy in love with the man, he hurts. A stupid stunt like this could reveal that very thing and freak Griffin’s parents out so badly, he’s sure they will gift Noah with cement boots and personally pitch him off the pier themselves. But the bigger problem in Noah’s mind? Griffin is totally not gay and if he ever found out Noah’s true feelings? Damn. Griffin would more than likely be the one mixing the cement.

Word Count: Click here to reveal68,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Gabriel Hunter wants one thing. Joel Reading. Joel is alone in the world and down on his luck. When he's forced out of his apartment with nowhere to go, handsome stranger Gabriel swoops in and saves the day. He gives Joel a place to stay, food to eat, and most importantly, something to hope for. It's taken extensive planning, but Gabriel finally has Joel right where he wants him. Joel didn't mean to fall for his wealthy savior, but Gabriel knows him too well. He has Joel's favorite coffee, favorite books, and he knows exactly how Joel likes to be touched. It's almost too easy to fall in love with the mysterious man who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Gabriel's omissions come back to haunt him and he's left hoping Joel can see through the deceit to the man he really is. The man he wants to be. As he's getting comfortable with his new life, Joel's happiness is snatched out of his grasp. With his world spiraling out of control, there's only one person he wants to catch him, because... Joel Reading wants one thing. Gabriel Hunter.

Word Count: Click here to reveal100000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The ADA Chronicles: Book One A jaded man surrounded by walls thick as steel and a naïve telepath who is determined to capture his heart. Can his defenses stand strong or will the younger man find a chink in his armor?  Gabriel works to keep everyone at arm’s length, his past driving him to avoid emotional entanglements. Until he is sent on a mission to save twin brothers with abilities hauntingly familiar to his own and one of them stirs feelings inside of him he’d long since buried. He tries to distance himself at every turn only his boss orders him to train Alex on how to control his ability, putting him in close quarters with the younger man. Alex and his twin brother are held prisoner by a faction hell bent on using them for their powers until a mysterious group of strangers breaks in and rescues them. He can’t seem to ignore the intense attraction he has toward their brooding and gorgeous leader, but Gabriel freezes him out at every turn. Alex is given the chance to find a crack in Gabriel’s walls when they end up on the run together, alone. Dangers surround them from every direction and the clock is ticking. When Gabriel’s ghosts become all too real, he must decide between reliving his past or saving Alex. Failure is not an option in the world they live in and Alex refuses to give up on Gabriel, intent on showing him their pasts don’t define them.

Word Count: Click here to reveal53400 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Connor Westin and Early Jericho have a comfortable, busy life in Denver. Connor is a lawyer who brings home the bacon and Early is a stay at home dad to their two young boys. Sure, Early is a cowboy at heart, but he loves their kids and as far as Connor is concerned they’re happy in their suburban home. When Early inherits a ranch on the Western Slope of Colorado, neither is sure what they should do about it. That is until they visit, and Connor sees just how much it all means to his husband. Both men agree to uproot their family and take a shot at running the ranch together, but it takes time to shut down one life and start another. Early takes the boys to the ranch while Connor spends the summer in Denver to handle all the details of moving on.   Between the long distance, the new responsibilities, and interference from a not so well meaning employee, Connor and Early have trouble staying connected. Will the ranch become the home they need it to be, or will it tear their family apart?

Word Count: Click here to reveal65000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: By the winter of 1870, Caleb Fletcher has carved out a sheltered existence for himself in a simple cabin, outside a small town in the backwaters of Nebraska, resigned to living out his days as a solitary wolf. But his quiet life is interrupted when another werewolf lands on his doorstep on the eve of a snowstorm, brutalized almost beyond repair, with nowhere else to turn. When Caleb reluctantly welcomes Jacob into his cabin, and eventually his bed, it forces him to face up to the traumas he’s been running from; the shame that made him leave his pack behind, and the horrors of war he endured. As the weeks pass, it seems that Jacob’s arrival might not be the coincidence it first appeared. Jacob has an agenda. One that involves Caleb. And if Caleb agrees to it – if he can let go of his past and his prejudices – it will change Caleb’s whole world. Maybe even for the better. Without a mate – a family, a pack – a wolf has no home. But what if home finds you?

Word Count: Click here to reveal73341 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: He struggles with the stirrings of his heart The welcoming lights of Las Vegas dim when Kevin Monroe and his drag persona Layona Beach leave Robbie Rhythm. Deciding it’s time to face his past, Robin McMaster emerges from Robbie’s shadow, and sets his sights on Canada to reconcile with the mother who abandoned him. But, first he to travels to San Francisco, intending to mend his broken heart amid red-headed sluts and willing men. A year after his partner of twenty years left him, retired Master Sergeant, Cassidy O’Connor lives alone on his mountain. With his PTSD under control, he is content with his solitude. When a mutual acquaintance requests a favor, Cassidy agrees to trail Robin covertly. With instructions to keep Robin safe, Cassidy is unprepared for his attraction to the engaging young man. But Cassidy has a secret. So, he struggles with the stirrings of his heart for the young musician, over his loyalty to his former partner. Will Robin allow himself to give his heart to the man called Hound? Can a gruff Master Sergeant find love with a fiery redhead whose past goes beyond heartache? Will the secrets of their pasts grant a life of harmony?

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: In a respectable neighbourhood, on the top floor of a beautiful house, crouches the Succubus; by design, and by temperament, she is all that men crave and fear. To the wealthy and privileged men of London, the Succubus is a test they must pass to gain access to the House of Sable Locks, the most exclusive brothel in town. However, to William, a wealthy young man born and raised in India, she is the very essence of his desires. William is recovering from the loss of everything he knows and loves when he first meets the Succubus. With great care she tears him apart... and he falls in love again. But their idyll cannot last: there is a killer loose in London, and the darkness of William's past is about to collide with the terror of his present. Based on the story "The Succubus" from the acclaimed erotic steampunk anthology Like Clockwork, HOUSE OF SABLE LOCKS lets us enter the mysterious brothel readers previously only had a glimpse of.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Riordan Darcy has spent the last fourteen years building a name for himself as a notorious assassin. He travels the world taking the lives of some of the worst humanity has to offer, leaving his signature on every victim. Riordan becomes unhappy and withdrawn from the world after a job goes horribly wrong and he makes the decision to get out of the life he was forced into, so long ago. When his meddling, older sister gives him a birthday gift that’s impossible to refuse, his plans to leave his life of crime take a backseat when he’s forced to protect the life of a veritable stranger. When professional hugger and TLC provider, Teddy Harris, is offered a month-long companionship contract, he’s hard pressed to turn it down. Cuddler by day and a video game reviewer by night, Teddy’s need to make people feel loved and cared for is what drives him. When he meets Riordan Darcy, professional challenge and personal temptation collide, making it nearly impossible for him to endure a whole month with the gorgeous, enigmatic man without falling head over heels in love. When a mole is discovered within Riordan’s organization, relationships are compromised, and people’s lives are in danger. Time isn’t on their side, and they discover answers can’t always be found by hugging it out when someone is hell-bent on eliminating each and every one of them. Can Riordan and Teddy survive long enough to fall in love, or will they die trying?

Word Count: Click here to reveal41820 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Enemies can sometimes become allies... and lovers. Orphan Hunter Landon craves a family who will love him unconditionally. When he’s adopted by the Knights, an organization dedicated to destroying shifters, Hunter is grateful, but their ideology never sits right. Finally, on a rite of passage during which he’s supposed to kill his first shifter, Hunter discovers the truth: he meets Glenn Lightfoot, a deer shifter, and asks a lot of questions. Glenn hates the Knights and worries about the safety of his herd with one in their midst. After all, the Knights have hurt his family before. On the other hand, this is his chance to convert an enemy, and instinct tells him Hunter won’t betray him. When Hunter sees the Knights for the monsters they are, he knows he must leave the herd and protect Glenn. But Glenn is determined not to lose the man he has come to love and respect to the Knights’ cruel campaign. Second Edition with updated and revised text.

Word Count: Click here to reveal68919 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Honor, redemption, destiny, and magic. As captain of the king’s guard, Kerric should have laid down his life for the royal family. Now, the king and his heirs lie dead. Kerric deserves death, too, yet the court mage has another punishment in mind. For their failure on the fateful day an enemy invasion killed the king, Captain Kerric and his men will forever guard the castle as gargoyles, both as a curse and as a warning. His one chance for redemption is to put a rightful heir on the throne. How can that happen when there are no living heirs, and he’s encased in stone? Eron doesn’t remember much about his time before being rescued by notorious highwayman Lord Night and taught to live the life of a noble by day and brigand by night. There’s much more to Lord Night than meets the eye and much more to Eron’s destiny than purses of gold and nightly conquests. A mysterious mage appears, saying it’s time for Eron to return home, overthrow an evil usurper, and take his rightful place. As king.

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

Summary: In one day, Dylan’s whole life was destroyed. In one night, he may have found the beginnings of a new one. Still grappling with the loss of his home, Dylan has no choice but to head for Wintervale. His one solace is in travelling the same direction taken by the enemy. But the truth behind the attack on the spellster tower suggests things aren’t as clear-cut and the enemy may well be closer than they thought. Crossing the kingdom also means remaining in the presence of Tracker, the King’s Hound who Dylan’s repressed desire refuses to let out of his head. The man’s gentle protectiveness, coupled with his flirting, certainly doesn’t help. It taunts him with ideas of the night they shared in the tower becoming something more, a thought that is no less ridiculous than remaining unleashed. After all, it’s a hound’s job to escort or kill spellsters. They do not disobey orders. They do not falter. And they do not fall. Especially not in love.

Word Count: Click here to reveal101995 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: NBA Superstar CJ Wright is still lying on the floor, unconscious, with blood gushing from his body. As he edges ever so closely to death, he continues to recall everything that brought him to this fateful day. In this segment, CJ enters his senior year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he deals with the issues of his lover. He engages in new life experiences that come back to haunt him. As CJ moves to the NBA, he is thrust into the life of the rich and famous. While things look good on the outside, he still battles the internal demons of his past. As CJ finally starts to become ok with his new reality, a situation disrupts everything, abruptly changing the course of his life. Join CJ in the second entry of this trilogy, as he comes into adulthood, and encounters more twists and turns that help to bring him to the unforgettable day of January 11, 2011.

Word Count: Click here to reveal78000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Ex-necromancer Frank Hope risked his life to help his demon lover Kasimir return to his homeland, a dimension humans call Hell and Kasimir calls the Eternal Realm—a beautiful medievalesque land. Now, because Kasimir is the heir apparent to a vast, wealthy kingdom, the two live in luxury in a palace by the sea. But darkness haunts them. Necromancers, humans sworn to capture and slay demons for Earth’s energy corporations to use as fuel, continue to strike the Eternal Realm. Strife between the Eternals’ kingdoms grows as well. When war breaks out with a neighboring land, Frank and Kasimir are forced to make hard choices that threaten their relationship—and even their lives. Is their love truly meant to be? Will the universe that once smiled upon them turn against them? This is the final book in the Love Songs for Lost Worlds trilogy and combines elements of fantasy, paranormal, and gay romance within the framework of an alternate 1980s world. Explicit sex, violence, suicide attempt, sexual assault