Books Tagged With format - paperback

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: “Sometimes the hardest part of my job is dealing with human cruelty and its aftermath. It’s almost always instigated by fear. I wonder if we will ever evolve out of that instinct.” Pastor Phil Sturgis in The Handyman’s Summer By the late spring of 1987, Handyman Ed Stephens and his life partner Rick Benton are anticipating a lazy, peaceful, even boring summer. Things do not go as planned as Ed and Rick suddenly find themselves embroiled in mystery, scandal, surprises, and a lesson in both the kindness and cruelty of people. When local bag lady, Evie Fountain, suddenly dies of a stroke, Ed and Rick become interested in her rundown house. Evie’s house turns out to be shrouded not only with overgrown bushes, but also in secrecy. Ed and Rick are drawn into the murky legend of the official town character, determined to discover the truth underneath the rumors that have circulated throughout Porterfield, Indiana, for almost thirty years. When a personal journal is found in the house, they become immersed in a shameful story of small town bigotry and its tragic results. There is plenty of other activity to keep Ed and Rick busy over the summer. Neal Soames, the gay teenager they have been mentoring, graduates high school and suddenly gets cold feet about going away to college. He moves into Penfield Manor while Ed and Rick try to convince him leaving Porterfield is in his best interests. Ed’s friend, Dr. Paul Klarn, calls Ed for help when one of his patients is an unidentified victim of a queer-bashing. Ed and Rick decide to take this young man in as well, creating, as their friend Gordy calls it, “Uncle Ed’s Home for Wayward Homos.” Ed’s mother, Norma, also stirs up drama when she involves Ed in her troubles with the local garden club. Ed develops a scheme to turn the tables on a pushy, obnoxious woman who is determined to run the club in her own best interests. Norma will have another surprise for Ed before the summer is out. “Expect the unexpected,” Norma tells him. Muriel Weisberg, self-proclaimed vision-impaired bitch goddess, is on the scene as well throughout the summer, providing much needed comic relief for Ed. She uses her new role as a columnist for the local newspaper to solve problems, spout her sometimes unconventional wisdom, and to assist in the mystery of Evie’s house. As always, Ed supplies a soundtrack of both oldies and current hits to help him cope with this busy season, one that will, in some ways, change the lives of Ed and his beloved Rick forever. Join these two gallant men as they continue to create an oasis of freedom and acceptance in an otherwise narrow-minded world. Together, hand in hand, still in love, Ed and Rick move triumphantly forward, ready to take on the world.

Word Count: Click here to reveal75000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Twenty-one years ago, a four-year old child was kidnapped from his front yard. He was never found. Until now. All Nat Walker wants is to make his late father’s dream of running a father/son woodworking shop come true. And he had the perfect building in mind—until the new guy in town came in and bought the place right out from under him. The fact that the new guy is adorable means nothing. For all Nat cares, he can take his new dance studio and waltz back to New York City. Professional dancer Quinn Carroll couldn’t be happier that he made the move to the small town of Lakeshore, Oregon. Sure, it’s not New York, but now he’ll be living closer to his adoptive brother. And since his studio will be the only one in the area, he should get enough business to keep him busy. Besides, there’s something about this place that seems familiar... He doesn’t expect to fall hard for the local, grumpy woodworker who won’t even smile at him. Or find out that his entire life is a lie.

Word Count: Click here to reveal93300 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Silya comes into her own, but will she be enough? Silya finally has everything she always wanted: She's the Hencha Queen, head of the Temple, and is mastering her newfound talents. So why does the world pick now to fall apart? Her once-nemesis Raven is off riding dragons, and their mutual friend (and her ex) Aik is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, a new threat menaces the Heartland from the East. If she can't convince a reluctant city council to prepare for the worst, she may lose everything—and everyone—she's ever cared about. As Silya wields her abilities, dry wit, and sheer determination to save her city, she's joined by Raven and his new friends, just as a dark storm threatens to sweep them all away. Will their aid help tip the scales? And will she and Raven finally find out what happened to Aik? Forget messy. Things just got apocalyptic.

Word Count: Click here to reveal52000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Genderqueer, Intersex, Non Binary, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: **Book One of the 2016 Rainbow Award winning poly romance series** Carivel's secret could save her people. It will also destroy her life. She was born female, but she has been secretly living as a boy for years in her adoptive village of Draebard, doing a job the elders insist can only be done by a male. The last thing she needs is to fall for not one, but two unattainable men—a fierce warrior and a reluctant wolf-shifter with a horrific past. Now, the Alyrion Empire is poised to invade, and Carivel must choose whether to keep her secret or reveal it—not only to the men she loves, but also to the powerful female ruler whose army could help protect Draebard during the coming war. Perfect for open-minded fans of ménage and reverse harem romance, The Horse Mistress: Book 1 by USA Today bestselling author R. A. Steffan combines detailed world-building, and a heartfelt romance between three noble, damaged people who have no one to turn to but each other.

Word Count: Click here to reveal87300 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Intersex, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: **Book Two of the 2016 Rainbow Award Winning Series** Carivel, Andoc, and Senovo have defied convention by declaring their love for each other. Carivel is a pariah—a female who has been quietly living as a man. Senovo has been hiding his shape-shifting curse, believing the wolf inside him to be a vicious killer. When their secrets are finally revealed to the village elders, they fear dragging Andoc down with them. Next in line to become Draebard’s tribal chieftain, Andoc risks his position by continuing with such an unorthodox relationship. When Senovo and Carivel are captured by the enemy, though—to save their lives, he’ll have to risk everything. Perfect for open-minded fans of ménage and reverse harem romance, The Horse Mistress: Book 2 tells the story of forbidden love and loyalty against a rich backdrop of magic, history, and impending war.

Word Count: Click here to reveal74800 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Intersex, Non Binary, Pansexual, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: **Book Three of the 2016 Rainbow Award Winning Series** Carivel, Andoc, and Senovo have refused to let circumstances tear them away from each other. Draebard’s tribal chieftain does not approve of Andoc’s decision to continue with the unconventional relationship, and now, on top of everything else, war is looming after the combined forces of Draebard and Meren destroyed the Alyrion Empire’s military outpost in northern Eburos. Senovo and Carivel have long relied on Andoc to be their rock. Their touchstone. But when Andoc's future is shattered by betrayal and life-changing injury, it will fall to both of them to give the big-hearted warrior a new reason to live. Perfect for open-minded fans of ménage and reverse harem romance, The Horse Mistress: Book 3 explores themes of loss and desperate hope against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Word Count: Click here to reveal78500 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Intersex, Non Binary, Pansexual, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: **Book Four of the 2016 Rainbow Award Winning Series** War is coming to the island of Eburos. Andoc, Carivel, and Senovo can no longer live quietly in the shadows of the village of Draebard. As tribal Chieftain, Horse Mistress, and High Priest, it now falls to the three of them to organize a defense against the terrifyingly powerful Alyrion Empire. Senovo—a shape-shifter—has a desperate plan to save them all. But if he succeeds, it just might end up tearing the triad apart forever. Perfect for open-minded fans of ménage and reverse harem romance, The Horse Mistress: Book 4 examines the balance between love and sacrifice, along with the hard choices thrust upon those in power when the past and the future collide.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: The truth is harder to hide when someone sharp starts poking around. Grant Eastbrook hit the ground crawling after his wife kicked him out. Six months later, in Seattle without a job or a place to live, he escapes to the woods of nearby Vashon Island to consider his options. When he’s found sleeping outdoors by a cheerful man who seems bent on irritating him to death, Grant’s plans to resuscitate his life take a peculiar turn. Oliver Rossi knows how to keep his fears at bay. He’s had years of practice. As a local eccentric and artist, he works from his funky home in the deep woods, where he thinks he has everything he needs. Then he rescues an angry man from a rainy ditch and discovers a present worth fighting the past for. Amid the buzz of high summer, unwelcome attraction blooms on a playing field of barbs, defenses, and secrets. Standalone romance novel. HEA.

Word Count: Click here to reveal61230 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Unlocking long-buried secrets could save lives…or cost them. In the heart of London’s labyrinthine streets, Landry Carran, sub and antique store owner, becomes embroiled in the pursuit of a missing treasure. Along with his Dom, Detective Gage Roskam, Landry is brought to London through the machinations of James Ellery, a British rogue who has involved the pair in several dangerous adventures in the past. With Ellery missing, Landry joins forces with Ellery’s sub, and together they navigate a series of complex clues. Pursued by a relentless, powerful enemy and guided by a trail of enigmatic clues, Landry finds his wit and resilience become his greatest assets. The clues unravel against a backdrop of danger, romance and the ever-present threat of betrayal, dating back to the Russian Revolution. In a race against time, Landry and his friends must outsmart ruthless adversaries hell-bent on claiming the treasure for their own. The stakes are high, and Landry’s journey becomes a thrilling adventure where the true worth of friendship is revealed.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: When the right space pilot walks into his bar, a desperate bartender uses all his wiles (and tentacles) to talk the man into business and his bed--but the spacer is still enslaved by his past and isn't sure he can deal with a two-armed lover, much less one with six. As the supply shipments stop coming, Teo Houdin needs all his tentacles to keep his waystation bar open. Facing a riot by thirsty miners stranded in the backwater of the galaxy, Teo helps a greenie space pilot buy a ship in return for a regular haul of liquor. But he longs for the courage to invite the enigmatic spacer to fill his lonely bed as well. Still smarting from his newly implanted navigational ports, Jimenez knows owning his own ship will prevent him from ever being bought and sold again. For a former slave, transporting cargo through the emptiness of space sounds like paradise, but after meeting the compassionate and sexy Teo, his heart feels empty, too. At the edge of the galaxy's spiral arm, can Teo convince Jimenez that the heart has its own tentacles and theirs should be entwined forever?

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Read Aidee Ladnier's 2016 Prism Award Winning novella The Klockwerk Kraken, paired for the first time with its sequel Spindrift Gifts and a special never before published epilogue. When the right space pilot walks into his bar, a desperate bartender uses all his wiles (and tentacles) to talk the man into business and his bed--but the spacer is still enslaved by his past and isn't sure he can deal with a two-armed lover, much less one with six. As the supply shipments stop coming, Teo Houdin needs all his tentacles to keep his waystation bar open. Facing a riot by thirsty miners stranded in the backwater of the galaxy, Teo helps a greenie space pilot buy a ship in return for a regular haul of liquor. But he longs for the courage to invite the enigmatic spacer to fill his lonely bed as well. Still smarting from his newly implanted navigational ports, Jimenez knows owning his own ship will prevent him from ever being bought and sold again. For a former slave, transporting cargo through the emptiness of space sounds like paradise, but after meeting the compassionate and sexy Teo, his heart feels empty, too. At the edge of the galaxy's spiral arm, can Teo convince Jimenez that the heart has its own tentacles and theirs should be entwined forever?

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Rejoining Mystere in Paris, Douglas and Margaret find that the search for the second sword will not be as easy as they had thought -- Hauteclere is missing, and there is another force competing with them to find it. Mystere believes that the disappearance is unconnected to Caedda, but they must find Hauteclere before the others do, and before Caedda follows them to Paris. But in the midst of their search, Margaret vanishes. In order to save his wife, Douglas must regain his long-forgotten mastery as a Warden, and to do that, he must find Hauteclere.

Word Count: Click here to reveal160000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Henry Hope lies in a coma, and Lord Clearwater’s hunt for his mother’s secret treasure is on hold. But when a new clue comes to light, Clearwater and the academy men resume their greatest adventure. It is also to be their most dangerous. With murderous enemies behind, the unknown ahead, and a warrant out for Clearwater’s arrest, no-one is safe. Loyalties and friendships are tested as the men face harrowing confrontations, a war of attrition in the national newspapers, storms, gunfights and death. Will love and friendship be enough to secure the lives and futures of Lord Clearwater and his crew? Can they solve the riddles in time, and will anyone ever know the meaning of the seemingly unlockable riddle? Behind four points ’neath gifted crook, the light awaits for those who look… ◆ ◆ ◆ The Larkspur Legacy follows on directly from ‘Starting with Secrets’ and is the culmination of both the Clearwater and Larkspur mystery series. It is not necessary to have read the Clearwater Mysteries, but to get the best from this ‘end of season finale,’ you’re advised to read both, the Larkspur Mysteries in particular, and to read them in order. With themes of friendship, bromance, male love and revenge, the story combines historical fact with fiction. As with all of Jackson Marsh’s mysteries, the novel contains humour, love and action, while offering the reader the chance to solve the clues with the cast of disparate, well-drawn characters. “This is a book that could have been written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dan Brown.”

Word Count: Click here to reveal23000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: All James wanted was a little solitude at his favourite resort: bright sunshine overhead, soft, white sand underfoot, and a hammock to read in while the warm breeze rustles through the coconut palms and almond trees. However, when an old acquaintance shows up, and James is obliged to share “his” beach, a profound exchange over a bottle of rum leads to a lust-fuelled encounter in the dark. Reeling from the intensity of the drunken tryst, James decides to cut his vacation short rather than face what he’s kept hidden under mountains of denial. However, his escape is thwarted when Rudie, handsome and plainspoken, calls him out on his behaviour and makes him see that life needn’t be spent running away from his desires. Set at a rundown old resort on a small Caribbean island, The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel is a story about letting go of fear and learning that passion and love can be found in the most unexpected of places.

Word Count: Click here to reveal18000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sera is the last runner from Earth, bringing badly needed supplies to the Tharassas Colony across a twenty-five year gulf between the planets. Jas works on a hencha farm to make ends meet, harvesting berries from the semi-sentient plants. Neither one that knows their lives—and worlds—are about to change forever.

Word Count: Click here to reveal52,500 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Former gladiator Saevius is certain Fortune’s smiling on him when a Pompeiian politician buys him to be his bodyguard. That is until his new master, Laurea Calvus, orders Saevius to discover the gladiator with whom his wife is having a sordid affair. In order to do that, Saevius must return to the arena, training alongside the very men on whom he’s spying. Worse, he’s now under the command of Drusus, a notoriously cruel—and yet strangely intriguing—lanista. But Saevius’s ruse is the least of his worries. There’s more to the affair than a wife humiliating her prominent husband, and now Saevius is part of a dangerous game between dangerous men. He isn’t the only gladiator out to expose the Lady Verina’s transgressions, and her husband wants more than just the guilty man’s name. When Saevius learns the truth about the affair, he’s left with no choice but to betray a master: one he’s come to fear, one he’s come to respect, and either of whom could have him killed without repercussion. For the first time in his life, the most dangerous place for this gladiator isn’t the arena. This 52,500 word novel was previously published under the pseudonym L.A. Witt, and has been lightly revised.

Word Count: Click here to reveal97,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Nathan doesn’t know how to stop dwelling on the failures and tragedies that have plagued him since the last time we saw him at the end of The Mayor of Oak Street, a twenty-one-year-old happily in the arms of the handsome young doctor he had pined for since he was twelve. Many years later, what could mend Nathan’s heart after the latest tragedy and stop his deep dives into the past? Another handsome young doctor? Or would someone in the medical field do? After a chance meeting with ER nurse, Mateo, a lot of Nathan’s reminiscing is now devoted to that encounter and how it made him feel. Will he seize the day or continue wallowing in the past, having lunch with his best girlfriend from high school, and writing poetry? Nathan has lived through and had a personal connection to many of the crises that have plagued the LBGTQ+ community in the last forty years: the Up Stairs Lounge fire in New Orleans, the assassination of Harvey Milk, and the AIDS epidemic. He has lived in foreign countries, traveled the globe, and had lovers on every continent, all the while with a disease that people once thought was a death sentence. There are moments he is convinced that Mateo is the reward to all his suffering and loss, that his whole life led him to this great love. At other times, he’s so frustrated with Mateo, he’s ready to run as far away as he can get. Mateo, for his part, must take care of his ailing mother while he works full time in the emergency room. The practical aspects of starting a new relationship are challenging to say the least. The Long Journey to You is both a moving romance and a lesson in survival.

Word Count: Click here to reveal95500 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Magic is real. So are the Fae. And they swear I'm their queen. I’m just a misfit college student with pointed ears who ruins technology with a touch. Until my twenty-first birthday, when three seductive Fae warriors kidnap me from my party to tell me I’m so much more. The attraction between me and my newfound royal guards is undeniable... yet also unattainable. You see, their first priority is to protect me, but they have their own secrets. To top it off, they weren’t the only ones searching for me. I'm being hunted by an enemy who already killed the other heirs to the throne. They have different plans for me, though, and somehow, that’s worse. With my powerful guards by my side, it's time for me to unravel the mysteries of my past and the Fae's future... If I survive. ----- Note: 18+ only. The Lost Queen contains scenes of trauma dealt by the baddies, but no sexual violence. All intimate encounters with Glori’s consorts are consensual.

• • A steamy story with substance!
  • Full-length novel (95,500 words / 368 pages)
  • New adult romantic fantasy
  • Slow-burn / slow-build (5 consorts gathered over 6 books)
  • Later books include steamy M/M and group scenes that always involve Glori
  • Poly themes

Word Count: Click here to reveal60343 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Antiques and ammunition do not mix well. The antique trade is not known for its life or death excitement and Landry Carran is happy that he has to contend only with furniture polish, woodworm and his irascible boss. He gets all the thrills he needs at his favorite BDSM club, Scorch. Detective Gage Roskam is hunting stolen jewels taken from a Tokyo exhibition then shipped to Seattle. Mired in a deadly race involving the Yakuza, an enigmatic Englishman and too many indecipherable clues, he doesn’t have time to indulge in Dominant fantasies. When their worlds collide, neither Landry nor Gage expects things to get quite as complicated—or dangerous—as they do. When Landry steps into the path of some powerful, ruthless people, it’s up to Gage to protect him. Along the way they might just discover what they both need.

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

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

Summary: I broke the rules and fell in love with my best friend. Newsflash—he didn’t feel the same. I had to stand by and watch him fall for someone else. Moving on hasn’t been easy since we all live and work on the same high country sheep station, but I’m finally getting there. I’m building a new life, a new set of dreams, planning a different future, just me and my dogs. The last thing I need is Luke Nichols, the sexy, enigmatic, ex-husband of my nemesis, filling my head with a laundry list of cravings. Talk about complicated. Luke is only in Mackenzie Country for a few months and I’m not about to put my heart on the line again just for a little fun. But the more I’m around Luke, the harder it is to remember exactly why Luke and I are a bad idea, the worst idea. Things between us are about to go nuclear. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe we can keep it simple. Maybe I can satisfy my cravings and hold on to my heart. And maybe pigs can fly.