Books Tagged With what - topic - friendship

Word Count: Click here to reveal84000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The Birthmark Murders (MM mystery with slow-burn sparks) Step into a world where secrets smoulder between the lines and truth hides behind the curtain. A famous father’s death. A city of secrets. A son who won’t let go. A play that refuses to stay on the stage. When Mikael—a half-Finnish New Zealander—returns to Finland to probe his father’s supposed suicide, nothing adds up. With reluctant new friend Pekka Wall, a sharp-tongued editor-translator, and a local misfit at his side, the stunning Mikael slips into Finland’s eccentric underbelly. In nightless summer, the light hides more than it reveals; silence is a blade; the past refuses burial. As layers of performance, paranoia, and betrayal peel back, the real challenge isn’t catching a killer—it’s facing the truth. Darkly funny and emotionally charged, The Birthmark Murders blends satire with sorrow, theatre with obsession, and a distinctly Finnish atmosphere you’ll feel in your bones. It launches a new pair of gay sleuths—Pekka Wall & Tuomas Ylivire—who crackle with wit and chemistry… even as the body count rises. For Queer Romance Ink readers MM mystery / crime with slow-burn attraction and banter Reluctant partners → found family vibes Queer leads front and center, no tragedy porn Atmospheric Nordic summer, theatre & literary satire Tone: darkly comic, emotionally satisfying, hopeful ending for the sleuths If you love smart, stylish queer mysteries with bite and heart—start The Birthmark Murders today. Grab your copy and meet your next favorite duo.

Word Count: Click here to reveal72000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Handful (MM coming-of-age with sweet first love) A story of courage, friendship, and finding your own way. In the crisp spring of suburban Finland, Tuomas Ylivire is teetering between boyhood and whatever comes next. With his judo kit, razor-sharp wit, and a rule-breaking streak inherited from his legendary detective father, he thinks he’s ready for anything. Then enigmatic Esa walks into his world—and buried truths start to surface. To move forward, Tuomas has to risk the hardest things: trust, vulnerability, and being open about who he is. As secrets unravel and friendships are tested, the boys learn that while being gay is perfectly normal, living honestly—and joyfully—can demand rare courage. Handful is a modern, heartfelt page-turner that blends suspense, smart humour, and the beautiful mess of real life. Expect hope, laughter, and a deeply satisfying finish that lingers. For Queer Romance Ink readers MM YA/NA coming-of-age with sweet, slow-burn first love Found family & fierce friendship vibes Finnish suburban spring and summer setting—crisp, atmospheric, real Emotionally safe: no queer tragedy; hopeful, affirming end Themes: self-acceptance, bravery, loyalty, stepping into your own power If you love tender, smart queer stories where joy outshines every struggle, dive into Handful. Meet Tuomas and Esa—and discover why this is the book everyone’s talking about. Grab your copy today.

Word Count: Click here to reveal12241 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Following a horrific break up with his fiancé, Luke Bennet spends two years as a social hermit, only going to work and talking with Tina, Gina, and Rita, three friends from high school. Refusing to let him wallow any longer, they intervene and talk him into going on twelve blind dates to get him back in social circulation. The Trio have not only planned the dating venues but also chosen the perfect guys to lure Luke from his isolation. Will he find love through these dates? Or will he run for cover again?

Word Count: Click here to reveal69034 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Matthew Doner is starting over. After a five-year prison term that alters every aspect of his life, he receives a bequest from his aunt with the stipulation that he use the money to make things right. Breaking free of the long-standing role he's played and inspired by the few who support him, he decides to create a safe place where people like him can find purpose and start a new life. Julian Capeletti likes challenges. He is confident, brash, stubborn, and just what Matt needs. Desperate for work after a downturn of luck, he accepts the job to renovate Matt's crumbling building. Over the course of a year, romance simmers between them as they restore the house. But there's a bigger renovation that must take place in their hearts. To become better men, they need to learn to trust each other even with secrets and painful memories they fear may rip them apart.

Word Count: Click here to reveal124,200 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: For Wall McCormack, actions speak louder than words. He’s giving and protective, loyal to his friends, and devoted to his job. While confident and powerful enough to conquer any challenge, his greatest strength lies in his calm nature. Until an unexpected assignment sends his world into a loud and colorful chaos he never could have anticipated. Rejection. It’s something Dylan Vaughn has known his entire life. But he’s a tough nut to crack and refuses to break. Armed with a sharp tongue and brutal honesty, he pushes through life and at anyone who attempts to take him on. Except for the quiet guardian who piques his interest and dares him to want…more. When Dylan’s past comes back with a vengeance and jeopardizes their growing connection, Wall will stop at nothing to protect the younger man and remain by his side. But convincing Dylan that someone accepts the real man behind the cocky facade might prove to be Wall’s greatest challenge yet. With his freedom on the line, Dylan must trust the strength of their bond and confront the forces threatening their future. Only then will he realize the dream of acceptance is real and finally have a place to call home.

Word Count: Click here to reveal45000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: There’s no glory in custodial work. That never bothered campus janitor Carl Gibson any. He worked hard—had to. His love life was a tragedy best not reopened and his only hope for the happiness he broadcast to the world was in two things: Halloween and the shrill, ever-demanding bark of his darling Lilah. But Halloween decorations were being displaced by Christmas already, and his precious pug? He could only hope she’d hold on a bit longer. Austin Edwards had failed his little boy. The most junior dining manager at the college, when everyone called out on Halloween, he got called in. The house lights were all dark. except one. A sparkling hope of legend at the college. For his boy’s sake, he hoped Carl was as crazy about Halloween as the stories said. When Carl filled his son’s empty bag with candy, Austin couldn’t help but wonder why such a wonderful man was so alone. He had to find out. With Christmas fast approaching, Carl and Austin tip-toe into dating. But they both have ghosts and memories to contend with. Can Austin be Carl’s Christmas vision? Or will Carl retreat, as he always has?

Word Count: Click here to reveal30000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Genderfluid, Lesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: Welcome to the Skeleton Crew. Bring your knitting needles and a good, strong brew. Gender fluid, autistic vampire Hyde Snodgrass runs Between the Leaves—a cosy village book store. Their life revolves around books, all things autumnal, and the two cats who rule their world. The shop also plays host to a weekly knitting group called the Skeleton Crew. When one of the leaders of the village coven fails to show up for the weekly knitting meeting, Hyde finds themselves investigating a horrific murder side by side with their long-term crush, Teresa Vega. Suspicion immediately falls on other members of their group. Hyde and Teresa struggle to find answers to the growing list of questions. It’s made all the more difficult when the killer has them in their sights. Can working together spark the romantic flame within them? Will they solve the mystery before death comes too close?

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: A Daddy for Christmas 4 is a multi-author series. Holiday tales of lost boys in need of Daddy’s love and in some cases, a firm hand. Naughty or nice, it’s all in Santa’s hands now. So why not dive in and read each standalone and enjoy the holidays alongside our boys? The characters' theme is Finding a Daddy or Finding a boy. More to come!

Word Count: Click here to reveal71000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The stage is set for murder It's the summer of 1929 and there's a serial killer on the streets of London. Bodies of young women are dumped at the stage doors of London’s theatres. Noël Coward's assistant Florence Miles, known to her close friends as Bill, is dragged into the investigation when the body of her former secret lover is found outside His Majesty’s Theatre. Bill forms an unlikely alliance with the Chronicle newspaper’s senior crime reporter Simon Sampson. Together they discover that the killer has friends in high places… This is the prequel to the LAMBDA finalist A Death in Berlin. It explores the secret world of the 1920s, a time when your sexuality could make you a lawbreaker. When gay men and women were constantly on their guard, careful about how they presented themselves in a hostile society. A Death At His Majesty's is the first of a series that brings together Bill and Simon and follows them as they embark on a series of sleuthing adventures.

Word Count: Click here to reveal30000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGenderfluid, Lesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: Welcome back to the Skeleton Crew. Keep your knitting needles sharp and have a strong brew in hand for their next adventure. Life for gender-fluid, autistic vampire Hyde Snodgrass has never been better. Her cosy village bookshop is thriving as is their new relationship with witch and taco bus owner, Teresa Vega. Autumn is in full magical tilt in their corner of the Scottish Highlands. Everything is beautifully perfect right up until a tainted meal ends with Hyde sick and someone dead. The police immediately suspect the restaurant owners. Hyde and Teresa find themselves drawn into yet another investigation, trying to save their friends from arrest and themselves from a murderer. The situation becomes even more complex when family feuds become tangled in the midst. Can they find the killer? Or will everything Hyde loves go up in flames?

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

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

Summary: Mal’s first priority is giving his six-year-old son the best Christmas ever, a goal made trickier by a recent move to New England after losing his job. As a single dad, he’s not looking for romance—especially not with a blond California boy ten years his junior. After being ridiculed at the family business, Luca sets out to prove himself by opening an eco-friendly gift-wrapping store in a small town with a hard-on for Christmas that’s about as far from LA as he can get. Out of his comfort zone in snowy Maine, love is the last thing on his mind. But the magic of the season has other ideas. As Mal and Luca collide on wintery streets, will they let their first Christmas in Lighthouse Bay lead to happily ever after?

Word Count: Click here to reveal86611 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Prince Edmund of Thalassa and Prince Arden of Aither are eagerly anticipating their upcoming wedding, but the danger to their kingdom hasn’t lessened. They have a plan, but they won’t be able to carry it out alone: they need a strong wielder of each Element, whom they can trust implicitly, to carry out the magic. Rhys is a commoner and wielder of Earth magic. He and his sister have made a living from the use of their magic for years and have become highly respected in scholarly circles, though he prefers a more simple life with his plants. When a message from Prince Arden reaches them asking for their help, they don’t hesitate. They stop only to request that Gaz, a strong Fire wielder and the man Rhys has long been enamored of, accompany them on the journey to Thalassa’s royal palace. What no one knows is that Gaz was once known as Prince Gareth of Thalassa and is Edmund’s younger brother, long believed dead. He fled his home after his Fire Affinity made itself known and put him in danger, and he had no intention of ever going back. But he can’t keep himself from going to his brother’s aid, despite the risk of discovery and of the weight of his secrets potentially crushing his fledgling relationship with Rhys. Working against time, they must find a way to come together in a magical working the likes of which none of them has ever imagined, or their homelands will surely burn.

Word Count: Click here to reveal21534 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Josh has stepped back into the closet for a guy, but how long can he stay there? Life in a college town suits Josh Cassidy. He has good friends and neighbors, and the bookshop café he runs with his family is thriving. As the winter holidays begin, Josh finds himself enamored with police officer Alex Curiel, an old friend who has recently moved back to town. The trouble is, Alex isn’t ready for the world to know he’s attracted to men. At Alex’s request, Josh agrees to closet their relationship, though the secrecy quickly becomes a burden. When Josh realizes he is falling for Alex, his ability to hide his feelings from the world begins to slip, and he’s forced to decide if love is enough to keep him hiding behind closed doors. A Hometown Holiday is a 21.5K sex-buddies-to-lovers MM novella. It features a bookshop owner with a fondness for jazz music, a closeted cop who could be Mr. Right if only he’d give himself a chance, and the warm, fuzzy HEA that both guys deserve.

Word Count: Click here to reveal111200 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: After surviving ten years in prison, Cameron Pierce is attempting to put the past behind him. He tries to adjust to his newfound freedom with a place at the halfway house and a job. But one lesson he learned in prison keeps him guarded: hope is a dangerous thing. Hunter Donovan, Assistant State Attorney, is a man of justice who loves a challenge. After a lifetime of putting his career first, a milestone brings him to a harsh realization—he's lonely. Hunter's world changes when he meets Cam. The wary young man intrigues him and awakens a desire unlike anything he's ever experienced. When Cam's past resurfaces and threatens to rip them apart, their budding relationship is challenged and Cam's hope for a future begins to dim. These outside forces hunting Cam will stop at nothing to send him back to prison. But they'll have to get past Hunter first. ---------- NOTE: Word count: 111,200. This story is a romantic suspense/mystery novel and the second installment in The Men of Halfway House series. Although characters reappear from book one, this story can be read as a stand-alone.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Inheriting a beautiful house shouldn’t be such a headache! Ex-army captain Fritz Bronnley is used to shouldering responsibility for himself and his team. But a devastating loss and a hefty tax bill threaten to de-rail his plans for the private security company he wants to run with his friends Grant, Luca, and Rylan. The unexpected arrival of their first client is a welcome distraction from worries about the future. Staging an impromptu rescue and proving how well the four of them work together brings his worries right back. Until Grant, Rylan, and Luca point out that leaning on your friends is not a sign of weakness. It’s what friends are for. In A Knight to Remember, a prequel to the White Knight Security series, you’ll meet owners Fritz, Grant, Rylan, and Luca before they meet, save, and fall in love with their significant others. A Knight to Remember is a story of courage, camaraderie, and the many places where one can find strength. Available free from my store.

Word Count: Click here to reveal12000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: ~~a short story~~ April 1185 Stephan l’Aigle is the third son of a Yorkshire baron with no hopes of inheriting land or titles, probably a good thing as he has no interest in women, nor any desire to marry or produce heirs. He finds pleasure in the arms of other men. At eighteen years old, Stephan has recently been knighted and must make his living on the tournament circuit or become a soldier for hire. His fortunes change when Richard, Duke of Aquitaine & son of King Henry II, sees his skills in battle. Stephan will hone his sword arm against Richard’s enemies, and learn about comradeship, duty, and honor. Will his relationship with one of Richard’s knights crack his hard-hearted armor? NOTE: this is not an HEA. It’s rather bittersweet.

Word Count: Click here to reveal51,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Three friends torn apart by jealousy and carelessly spoken words. Only one has ever held on to the hope of them reuniting, and with a few well times suggestions and a whole lot of luck, he’ll finally have them in the same place together after eight years. Eight long years of pining and wishing for a wand he could wave to put things back to the way they used to be. When the fireworks that burst forth at their reunion are sparked by a passionate embrace, he begins to hope that the two weeks that lay ahead of them at Pride Camp were going finally fix what was broken between them. Especially when they meet a man interested in not one, or even two of them, but the trio they’d always been, and the potential is as limitless as the fireflies they chase along the banks of the lake. When the past rears its ugly head, can he find a way to lay it to rest forever, or will he lose them all as they lose themselves to bitter and angry grudges? Welcome to Pride Camp where diversity and inclusion is our motto. We’ve got daddies, littles, pets and so much more. So, unroll your sleeping bag, make a couple smores, and enjoy the show!

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Dear Santa, please let this Christmas be the one where I get a daddy of my own... Joey Bennick wants more out of life than working in marketing. He wants to be the next big social media influencer. And of course, find his lifetime daddy. A little without a daddy is nothing but sad. Vince Seely spent the first part of his adult years racing Formula 1. But that meant denying any kind of personal life completely. What was he even doing with his life? Retiring and figuring it out, that's what. Who knew a Christmas Charity Event would be the key to bring these two lost souls together. This book is part of A Little Christmas: Season Four, a multi-author series. Each book in A Little Christmas is a standalone but why not read them all and see what our silly boys and their protective daddies are up to?

Word Count: Click here to reveal37,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sheriff Avery O’Rourke has tried to obey his strict Christian faith and lead a “normal” life. In 1923 in a rural East Texas town, “normal” means heterosexual. A cholera outbreak has made Avery a young widower, so he is married to his job. When a murder investigation forces him to confront his truth, will he finally be able to accept being gay? Veterinarian Garland Sands has returned from Europe to take over his father’s practice. Struggling with shellshock (PTSD) and heartbroken by the suicide of his French lover, he resigns himself to a quiet, solitary life as a country vet. But the murder of the town doctor brings the sheriff to Garland’s doorstep looking for help with the investigation. Seeing Avery awakens dormant feelings. Can he love a man who hates what he is? This isn’t the lavish 1920s of The Great Gatsby. This is the flip side of that coin—rural East Texas. No electricity. No indoor plumbing. No flappers. In 1923, the timber barons have left and racism, homophobia, and sexism thrive. A Little Sin is a realistic mystery with unlikely heroes and a timeless romance between lovers caught in a world where their love is forbidden. This book contains steamy sex scenes and is intended for adults only.

Word Count: Click here to reveal6365 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When Jack meets Tom, he’s immediately smitten. But the time isn’t right for romance. Instead, they become best friends. Tom has just bought his dream café and is working around the clock to get it up and running. Jack totally understands since he’s establishing himself as a CPA. After Tom’s sister dies, leaving him with her six-year-old son, Jack realizes Tom doesn’t have the time or energy to do everything the boy needs. So Jack offers to help raise the boy. Despite Jack’s reluctance to declare his love and Tom’s exhaustion, they adjust into a semblance of a modern family. When Zack is ready to go off to college, though, the dynamic is threatened. Will their nuclear family explode or become fused forever?