Books Tagged With where - state - california

Word Count: Click here to reveal62083 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Bells ring and choirs sing. People bustle with happiness and joy. Calories pile up while everyone gathers to chat with friends and relatives. What’s more exciting than all the holidays in December? But sometimes we need a break from the expectations and the wonderment. A great way to revive our spirits is by reading a story to ground us in the true meaning of the season. This collection features four stories infused with happiness, love, and joy. From a small business owner discovering his first fruitcake and a homeless man finding a permanent home to a blacksmith’s wish to propose to his childhood friend and a gay man relocating to a small town, each story is a journey of self-discovery leading to happily ever after. Contains the stories: Blame It on the Fruitcake: Motorcycle shop owner Sam McGuire falls for the fruitcake his loft neighbor’s grandma makes as well as the man himself. But will handsome, educated, personable Jay Merriweather be attracted to a grease jockey like Sam? The Orpheum Miracle: The son of crack addicts who abandoned him as a child, Mick has found refuge in the historic Orpheum Theater. But when the new owner takes over, will Mick be pushed out on the street or taken into the owner’s heart? Making the Holidays Happy Again: Butch has been manning the forge in Old Town and fantasizing over his best friend Jimmy since they were in high school. Does Jimmy feel the same way about Butch? Does Butch want to push their friendship and find out? Heart of the Holidays: When Silicon Valley programmer Dan Lassiter moves to a small California town, he doesn’t expect to find love. After Rick Reardon opens his bakery across the street, Dan may change his mind.

Word Count: Click here to reveal55000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A rowdy superstar in danger. His resentful new guardian. It’s hate at first sight until love takes an unexpected encore.   Closeted actor Owen fears failure and betrayal. So after he’s stabbed by a crazy fan, the movie studio offers a hunky bodyguard for protection. Suspicious that the ripped security man is just a gossip-seeking plant, he pushes back at his bulging biceps, ignoring the chemistry.   Newly retired SEAL Jamal is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. Reluctantly taking a Hollywood job for a bad boy with tight abs, he’s sure the star is simply paranoid. But when he discovers the sexy celebrity is in serious jeopardy, he doesn’t hesitate to jump into action mode.   As the peril hits closer to home, Owen finds himself falling for the handsome hero fighting for his life. And as the threats intensify, Jamal fears he might lose the man he has come to love.   Will Owen and Jamal go down in a catastrophic climax, or will they star in their own happy ending?   Hollywood Lighting is the red-hot first book in the Bodyguards M/M contemporary romance series. If you like tortured heroes, intense predicaments, and steamy affairs, then you’ll adore J. V. Speyer’s tale of LGBT passion.   Buy Hollywood Lighting to let desire take centerstage today!

Word Count: Click here to reveal39700 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Chris Kearney is a surgeon working the Emergency Room at a large hospital near the bad part of the city. After operating on and losing a teenaged patient, he runs into Drew Hayden, an undercover vice cop. Connecting over a kid who tried to get out of gang lifestyle and still died, the two men check each other out. When they run into each other at the grocery store, they are more than happy to reconnect and pleased to find that neither of them had read the signals wrong. It's hard for a cop and a doctor, especially an undercover cop and an emergency room doctor, to find time to meet, date and do all the other things a burgeoning relationship requires, but somehow Chris and Drew manage. Their lives are full and sometimes difficult. Will they get through the traumas and troubles of the first year and a half of their relationship? And, when they get there, what will the other side look like?

Word Count: Click here to reveal69k (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Tony award-winning musician Reese Matheson’s life resembles a natural disaster, and caregiver Jude De La Torre is caught in the eye of the storm. Can the love these two opposites find together survive caring for an ornery octogenarian with wayward balls and a meddling family insistent upon tradition?   A public break-up is not what Reese expects upon returning from the successful run of his musical in London. All he wants to do is spend time with his beloved grandfather and musical mentor, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Reese knows he doesn’t have much time left before the elder Matheson doesn’t remember him. In classic “Hurricane Reese” form, he moves into the cottage by the sea, displacing Jude, the intriguing caregiver he’d hired two years before. When Grandpa proves too much for Reese to handle on his own, Jude comes to his rescue, taming Grandpa… and the Hurricane as well. Soon all Reese can think about is how to get Jude out of his scrubs and into his bed. Permanently. Will Hurricane Reese destroy everything in its wake, or will this gay odd couple learn to harmonize together?  

Word Count: Click here to reveal8200 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Derrek is dealing with the recent, unexpected death of his mother just before Thanksgiving. He’s been alone for five year since his husband Will died, and he’s ready to find someone new and to start living again. Ryan lost his partner, David, in an auto accident, and is dating Alex, who doesn’t treat him right.

Derrek can’t figure out why Ryan won’t see what’s right in front of his face. Why does Ryan come to him to talk about all his hopes, dreams, and fears, then go home to Alex?

 If Derrek can figure that out, they might just have a shot.

Word Count: Click here to reveal108000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Kieran was sold into slavery where he was forced to care for other prisoners held by a shifter trafficking ring. But that changed when a Blackwood brother freed him and the others. Now for the first time in his life, the world beckons and he can plan his future. That is, until he discovers why the Fates brought him to the Blackwood Pack. Logan, one of the brothers, has become a virtual recluse, spending hours at his design table, unable to shake the horrible memories of his family's massacre and an unhappy childhood under the fist of his father, a dictatorial and abusive Alpha. When Kieran appears, Logan is smitten with this pink-loving twink who tries to use his sassy and irrepressible wit to win his heart. After Logan claims Kieran, he finds keeping him is not easy. When both realize Logan can't give himself completely to his Fated Mate, Kieran takes off but tells no one where. A frantic search, rejection, dark secrets revealed, ghosts exorcised- these are just some of the obstacles Kieran and Logan must overcome as they embark on a mission of discovery that will make their love for each other stronger. Only then, will these two unique wolves fulfill their destinies decreed by the Fates and gods and prove worthy of the powerful gifts bestowed on them.

Word Count: Click here to reveal87000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Shane A cat is a man's best friend, because they can't be bought or threatened. If they don't like you, they walk away, showing you their butthole. If they stick around, it's because they find you interesting. Mimsy's stayed with me through six years and across half the country, which means I'm not a total loser. We earn our daily bread and fishy treats by busking, and sometimes we get lucky. Like this abandoned wine-tasting place we're squatting in. California climate so we don't need heat, running water still on, all the comforts of home. Sure, there's a weird guy with mental health issues who shows up now and then, but he keeps life interesting and he's not bad to look at. We might stick around Gaynor Beach for a while. Theo I finally have control of my grandparents' legacy, which means I can give away all the things they valued more than me. I have enough money to live on without theirs. The vineyard's easy. I'll give it to Manuel, the guy who did most of the work while never being allowed in their showplace mansion. I love imagining his kids bouncing on Grandmère's priceless antiques. The wine-tasting parlor's harder. I'd like to burn it to the ground, but the cops frown on arson, plus when I went to check it out there was a homeless guy living in it. Instead of being scared of me— because I admit, I was losing it a bit when he spotted me— he cleaned up the cut on my arm and listened to me ramble. He had no clue who I was and I liked that. Maybe I can turn my grandparents' showroom into a homeless shelter. Or something for homeless animals. Shane loves his little cat, and I wouldn't mind if they stuck around for a while. Impurrfections is a slow-burn romance between a guy who loves pets more than people, and a man trying to escape a painful legacy, who come together to build something better for themselves and Gaynor Beach. Warning for past history of emotional abuse. This book is part of the multi-author stand-alone series Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue

Word Count: Click here to reveal15000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Jeff Holloway is a twenty-five-year-old skater with a killer smile and lots of free time on his hands. He’s also a vampire who prowls the dark corners of San Francisco looking for entertainment and his next meal. Lately, he’s been spending lots of time watching a tattoo parlor in the Mission District, where someone tall, artistic, and handsome has caught his eye.

Word Count: Click here to reveal62000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Alone on his mountain, the kitsune Tadashi only wishes to be left in peace so he can mourn his lost lover and take care of his temple. Unfortunately, several townsmen who have no idea of Tadashi’s true nature have different plans for the "Jap on the mountain" and his land. When they push the kitsune too far, he reacts with horrific violence, leaving tragedy in his wake. Broken and terrified of himself, Tadashi represses his natural drives and shuts himself off from the world. The intrusion of a lost little girl and her persistent veterinarian uncle, Berg, stumbling into Tadashi’s life, though, and turn his carefully ordered world upside-down. The reluctant hero needs to decide whether he is truly happier alone or whether he can once again embrace a truth he used to know, that life is for the living. Please Note: This is a re-edited, second edition with 4 illustrations. No changes have been made to the story. There will be B&W and Color print editions released.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Thirty years ago, an asteroid struck the Earth. Now killer plants hunt the last surviving humans. Ori Scott is a young junkie running from his mother’s prophecy that he’d one day save the world from the killer plants. Her preaching made him a laughingstock and now he hides in his drugs. But he can’t hide the change in his veins. They are turning green, and the prophecy is dragging him into a dark struggle between invisible forces. Set up on bogus drug charges, Ori is taken to a secret facility where he becomes a test subject in experiments to discover an antidote to the alien plant’s sting. Jack Doll is a cop with a vendetta against the plants that killed his best friend. All he has in the world now is his old friend’s lover, Rive. Together they form an unbreakable bond—or so he thought. Jack has never liked Rive’s friend, Ori, but he believes in Ori’s innocence and doesn’t understand Rive’s strange indifference to Ori’s conviction.  Struggling with his suspicions, Jack can’t help digging into a mystery that draws him closer to Ori than ever before—and closer to somebody who has secrets to hide. Alone and scared, Ori is grateful for Jack Doll’s friendship, and his longtime crush soon blossoms into love. But Ori has no plans to accept his fate. He wants to escape, and he doesn’t care if he takes the cure with him.

Word Count: Click here to reveal25000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary:

Word Count: Click here to reveal73000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Secrets, curiosity, and passion. Fantasy becomes reality with little encouragement. Willa Camden, a successful author of steamy novels, becomes entwined with Jackson Mitchell, a brilliant billionaire, and his best friend Casey Melrose. Their love is shared equally, and Willa is not always in the middle. Craving excitement, they embark on international adventures in the style befitting a billionaire. Cyber threats, blackmail, and theft turn their world upside down. Their careers are jeopardized, and lives are in danger. Fair warning: They curse a little and have sex a lot, so please don't be shocked. Join them for a wild ride. If you're ready for a book that will have you on the edge of your seat and grabbing for a fan, this story is for you.

Word Count: Click here to reveal212 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Making it to Rocktoberfest will be a feat when a crazed fan goes after Danny Raven Wells, the lead singer of Warrior Black. On the cusp of launching its first major album, Danny has to navigate the band’s quick rise to fame, a stalker that’s willing to kill, and an infuriating bodyguard Danny’s falling for. Tobias Grant has only two jobs: to protect the lead singer and deliver him safely to Rocktoberfest. Falling fast for the talented rocker, who somehow got under his defenses, isn’t one of them. However, Tobias will do whatever it takes, even putting himself in the line of fire, to get Danny on stage before the deranged fan hurts another person. In this close proximity ballad, Danny and Tobias must make compromises, but will their new relationship survive the days of music and danger?

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 reveal107,226 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: This is part of a continuing series by Amazon Bestselling Author, Mary Rundle – reading the previous titles is advised. Readers will enjoy catching up with members of the Blackwood Pack and reading about what is happening to them as the pack does what it does best  ̶  caring for one another and helping shifters everywhere. Barely surviving Arald’s prison, Theo’s luck has finally changed. Discovering an unknown passion for cooking, he’s settled into his new life with his fiancé at the Blackwood Pack. He’s excited about tying the knot with Norm in the company of all their friends. It’s everything Norm promised him during their bleakest days of incarceration and he doesn’t think he can be any happier. Waking up at Arald’s, Norm's sole mission in life is to help his Fated Mate, Theo, survive the horrors inflicted on them both. Now free, he sets about to make all of Theo’s dreams come true, including the most important one, the cub his mate so dearly wants. Smokey heads North to pick up Kevin’s parents and deliver them to the Blackwood Pack before hurrying back to LA. Easy-peasy…right? That’s what Smokey thinks but then, what is supposed to be a simple mission, turns into a race to avoid human hunters who have already shot Kevin’s father. Using his skills honed as a secret agent, Smokey manages to elude the hunters, heal the father’s wound and then successfully transport them to safety only to find the Fates have a surprise waiting for him. After a series of misunderstandings and then with some help from Jackson, the pack’s Alpha, Theo and Norm finally accept Smokey as their mate and set upon a journey to unite the three of them. Discovering truths about their past lives leads to uncovering long-kept secrets that end up bonding Theo, Norm and Smokey together, giving each more love and happiness than they ever knew existed. Astounding surprises, rare and unique gifts, an action-packed mission, and many unexpected twists and turns make this passionate love story by Mary Rundle impossible to put down once you’ve read the first page.

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: Click here to reveal69000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: "Nichols has created something really fascinating here and I am very eager to continue on with the series."—Joyfully Jay Police officer Jordan and dragon shifter Edra might have to work together, but they don’t trust each other—even if sparks do fly between them. If anyone finds out Jordan’s a mytho sympathizer, it could kill his career. No one can know that he frequents the satyr dens and uses the drug Bliss. A dead satyr might not get much attention, but two dead humans who appeared to overdose on Bliss? That shouldn’t even be possible. And it might not be an accident. Edra, the Mythological Services Liaison, has been covering up mytho crimes to protect the community’s reputation. With a mayoral election looming, the last thing his people need is a scandal. To get a murderer off the streets, Jordan and Edra will be spending a lot of time together, and it won’t be easy to keep up with their deceptions… or to keep resisting each other. ~~~ Book 1 in the gay urban fantasy series that follows Jordan and Edra as they solve crime and figure out how to improve Mytho and human relations. For readers who like dragon shifters and forbidden romance. Also available in French: https://books2read.com/u/4AvRlN

Word Count: Click here to reveal15298 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Blacksmith Butch has secretly loved his best friend, science nerd Jimmy, since grade school. Now their shops in Old Town Seven Winds, California, are only doors from each other. They’re about to turn thirty, and Butch refuses to wait another day to make a decision: propose to Jimmy and start the family he’s always wanted or forget his dream to avoid risking their friendship. Why can’t the choice be as easy as creating decorative ironwork in his forge?

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

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

Summary: Murder is a Drag. Victor has a secret identity, and she’s being framed for murder. Murder She Wrote… If Jessica Fletcher were a Fabulous Drag Queen The mayors been murdered and everyone is on edge and reclusive mystery author Vicki Dean is the prime suspect. Can Victor clear her name without revealing his secret identity? Will the hunky new sheriff help Victor prove Vicki's innocence or be a threat to not only his freedom but also his heart? Victor must let go of his fear and step out of the shadows in his high heels and lipstick to solve this mystery as only a drag queen can. His life depends on it!

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: All 3 Midnight Hunt books from Road to Rocktoberfest are now available in 1 complete collection. But that's not all... This also includes the bonus story of Miami and Jinx’s wedding!   1. Midnight Reunion/ The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022 2. Midnight Riff/ The Road to Rocktoberfest 2023 3. Midnight Rhythm/ The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024 And the bonus story: Midnight Reception See how Miami and Jinx finally tie the knot and what happens at the reception (or something else depending on how the story plays out)