Books Tagged With potential trigger - torture

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

Summary: Matthias has spent his whole life on the edge of a very small world. The bastard child of a fallen woman, he’s known nothing but judgment and hatred from the harsh, religious people of his enclave—except for Balthazar. The son and heir of the High Elder, Balthazar shows Matthias kindness, love... and desire. But when the High Elder discovers what his son has been doing, Matthias is arrested and sent to an isolated prison known as the School. There, and in the wastelands beyond, Matthias learns the secrets behind the hypocrisies of the Council of Elders, and his true heritage, true power, and true love.

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

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

Summary: Sequel to Cleave Hours after their mock wedding, real life intrudes, and arguments arise between Sloan Driscoll and Trent Hamilton. At his BDSM club, Trent bumps into an old army friend who makes him an offer he can’t refuse. In the meantime, Sloan receives a frantic call from ex-lover, Cole Fujiwara, who informs him the twins are missing. Cole asks for help but adds a caveat—keep it confidential. Trent considers the opportunity to resume a career cut short. Ignoring Sloan’s threat to postpone their wedding, he leaves for the Middle East on a fact-finding mission while Sloan rushes to aid Cole. As the former couple begin their quest to rescue the children, disturbing revelations are uncovered. A new understanding develops and old feelings arise. Despite the heightened awareness, neither man makes a move. Sloan focuses on the endgame without jeopardizing his current relationship, while Cole must prepare himself to survive another disappointment if Sloan remains with Trent.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal94000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Information not available

Word Count: Click here to reveal78967 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The last straw was the stun gun. Dex knew it was either flee or die. Ross’s increasingly hateful treatment over the last two years was getting even worse. Leaving his job as lead platform dancer at Over the Rainbow was hard, but he’d find work somewhere else—somewhere far away—somewhere with friendly people and a chance to do what he did best. The job at Hill Country Hideaway seemed perfect. He would teach guests some of his moves. What could be easier? Then he meets Husker, and he’s in trouble again. How could he resist the gorgeous man? Husker was straight, that’s how. But maybe not. Then Ross catches up with him, and his ideal world falls apart. Imprisoned again, he wonders how he could escape Ross's even tighter rein. Would he ever see Husker again?

Word Count: Click here to reveal59472 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: An untrained warlock is a dangerous man to love. On his twenty-first birthday, Evrain Brookes discovers he is an elemental warlock. The spell suppressing his talent lifts and he has to get used to a whole new existence. The protection that kept him safe during his childhood is gone, his skills are wild and uncontrolled and there are those that seek to use him for their own gain. Evrain’s grandmother is a witch, his godfather another warlock. Between them they do their best to keep Evrain on the right path. He learns that in order to gain control of his formidable powers, he will need to ‘channel’ through a life partner, a process that happens only with consent and through love. But how will he ever find a man prepared to put up with a Dominant warlock for a boyfriend? Dominic Castine has no idea that Evrain’s grandmother sees him as a prospective partner for Evrain. He tends her garden and she teaches him about herbs—a trade-off they both enjoy. He is drawn to Evrain’s charismatic presence but doesn’t understand why he wants to drop to his knees and submit to him. When Agatha is murdered, Evrain and Dominic are thrown together as she manipulates them from beyond the grave. Dominic becomes the pawn in a terrifying game between warlocks whose powers he barely comprehends. In the end, lives will depend on his courage, his willingness to grant Evrain control and the power of love. Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of kidnap and a reference to attempted sexual assault.

Word Count: Click here to reveal76,715 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Home. Family. Those words often invoke a sense of love and comfort. But for the dark mage Morgorth, they mean hate and pain. As the seventh son of a seventh son, many believe Morgorth's destiny is to become the Destroyer. His father embraced such a future and trained Morgorth through torture and fear to become his weapon. Morgorth managed to escape his father's cruelty, but not the nightmares that still haunt him. For many years he's lived with the stain of his father's savagery, but now he must confront his nightmares head-on. His father has found a stone of power. Morgorth must return to his land of birth, to the memories he's tried his entire life to suppress. Aishe is determined to help Morgorth defeat his inner demons, but he knows he might not be enough to save Morgorth from embracing his darkness. They know it will be a fight to the death and that Morgorth won't be the same if he survives. With Aishe by his side, Morgorth hunts for his father, and finds answers to questions he never dared to ask—and must live with the truths they reveal.

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

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

Summary: The line between angel and demon is razor thin. No one knows this better than Kai. As an Emissary of death, darkness follows Kai like a shadow, leaving him touch-starved and lonely. Tormented by the error in judgment that killed his only love, he accepts an assignment to redeem himself: hunting down the demons destroying the mortal realm. But fate takes a turn, and Kai finds himself drawn to one of his targets instead. Demonic martial arts expert Byron Black has struggled to survive his entire life. He has fought for every breath he’s taken and each bite he’s eaten, yet in the instant when his demise finally seems inevitable, death incarnate steps forward and spares him. Kai is as beautiful as he is terrifying, and although Byron suspects the angel’s interest in him is more than it appears, he can’t stay away. Together, the pair search for answers regarding who wants Byron dead—and why—but uncovering the truth might destroy them both in the process. Can Kai defeat his inner demons to save the one that has crawled into his bed? Set in the Star-Crossed Celestials universe, Emissary is a standalone novel featuring an array of creepy crypts and crematoriums, train-top sword fighting, an excessive number of buckles and buttons, and (of course) a Happily Ever After. It can be read as a prequel or companion story to the Star-Crossed Celestials Duet.

Word Count: Click here to reveal98000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Troubled residents come and go at the Care House where River Caulfield is a caregiver, working towards fulfilling his dream of becoming a nurse. When Silver arrives, a patient found on a roadside near death after suffering terrible abuse, River finds his previous personal detachment is compromised. Seeking to help the mysterious and enigmatic young man locked inside his own mind and memories, River finds his professionalism slipping as Silver begins to open up and live again. But as their relationship begins to blossom, the roots of Silver's past abuse and the abuser who forced him into such a mental state sends forth new shoots of darkness enveloping them in dangers threatening not only Silver's sanity, but their very lives. With River's devotion and help, will Silver finally be able to break away from his past? The answer lies in the words of a priest, a painting and a long walk through a churchyard harbouring the secrets of the enigma that is Silver.

Word Count: Click here to reveal85,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: All Keiron wants is a quiet life. Fat chance with a boyfriend like Bren. But if he thought Bren complicated his life, that was nothing compared to the complications that begin when he opens the door to what he thinks is a naked boy claiming to be his slave. Draven is a fairy with his sights set on the handsome human who keeps a wild place in the garden for fairies. When Draven slips through a fairy gate into the city, he sets in motion a series of events that binds him to Keiron forever, and just might be the end of him. While Draven explores Keiron’s world with wide-eyed wonder, Keiron does everything he can to keep Draven’s at bay, until the only way to save Draven and bring him home is to step into a world that should exist only in children stories.

Word Count: Click here to reveal32850 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary:

Word Count: Click here to reveal117000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Owyn had learned one lesson early – no one wanted him. Then he discovered that he was the Fireborn, and in an instant went from nameless slave to one of the most important people in the world. One of the most sought after. And one of the most hunted. Faced with a tantalizing link to his own unknown past, and the growing fear that the promised haven may be nothing more than a pretty trap, Owyn must learn to stand on his own in a race against treachery and time. He has to uncover the truth…. A truth that might destroy his hopes for a future.

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

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

Summary: After three years, Snow and Jude’s relationship is still passionate and strong. They’re getting ready for a romantic vacation at home when Jude receives a horrifying call no one wants to receive. His youngest brother was found barely clinging to life. While Jude’s family is rallying around Jordan, Jude is determined to find out what happened to him. Snow and Jude follow the clues, investigating a side of Jordan’s life none of them knew about…and is far darker than any would have believed possible. They get pulled deeper into the seedy side of life, while echoes from a past Snow thought he walked away from return to offer an unexpected insight into the cause of Jordan’s injuries. But someone else has noticed their involvement and is furious, putting them both in danger. The risk is high but so is Jude’s determination to find the truth—though the knowledge could very well fracture his heart. Trigger Warning: This book has a scene that some might find triggering, but the triggers are also spoilers to the plot, so they can be found at the front of the book.

Word Count: Click here to reveal102000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: In war, loss is the price of victory, and the cost of love is sometimes pain.   After Renaldo and Casto finally celebrate their marriage, the time has come for revenge against the followers of the Good Mother who tried to kill Casto—though this time, the Gods of War won’t use bloodshed to take Medelina.   As a member of the Confederation of the Plains, Medelina answers to Ummana, the head of the alliance… and Casto is heir to the throne of Ummana. Accompanied by their most capable mercenaries, Canubis and Renaldo travel to Ummana to make Casto king.   They’ll face the Council of Elders, Lord Aran, Casto’s father, and Princess Anesha, Casto’s sister—none of whom are happy about the king’s return. For Casto, the city is a reminder of a terrible childhood, and Renaldo can only helplessly watch his beloved fight a seemingly hopeless battle.   Through trickery and political scheming, vengeance against the Good Mother is finally within their grasp—but their success might be bittersweet. Not everyone will return to the Valley with Casto and Renaldo.  

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

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

Summary: All is fair in love and war. Or is it?   On the world called Ana-Darasa, the gods of war engage in a desperate search for their lost hearts while waging a battle against the Good Mother for supremacy. But theirs is not the only struggle as dominant men, powerful rulers, and demigods clash, fiery passion erupts, and destinies are shaped on the battlefield and in the bedroom. In a war between pride and love, no victory is ever simple.   BLURB All is fair in love and war. Renaldo has lived happily by that proverb his entire life. But he has finally met his match, and he’s about to discover how unfair love and war can be.   When demigod and warlord Lord Renaldo takes a beautiful stranger captive during an ambush, he is delighted to have found a distraction that will keep him entertained during the upcoming siege. Little does he know, Casto is keeping more than just one secret from him. Slowly, Renaldo gets sucked into a turbulent roller-coaster relationship with his mysterious prisoner, one that begins with hatred and soon spirals into a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. And when it seems that things can get no worse, an old enemy stirs right in the heart of his home.   Determined to keep Casto by his side, Renaldo has to find a balance between the capricious young man and his own destiny as a ruler and god to his people.  

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

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

Summary: Rhys Tyler, captain of the Gremlin, is no stranger to living on the edge: the edge of solvent; the edge of legal; the edge of sane. An empath so sensitive that he cannot bear human touch, Rhys makes his living hauling cargo through the deep dark, the interstellar emptiness between populated star systems. And if keeping his aging freighter in working order means resorting to smuggling, well, a man does what he has to in order to survive. Alek McKinnon is a Federation agent in trouble. Everything that could have gone wrong with his latest mission has. He's been ambushed, kidnapped, imprisoned, and forced to participate in an illegal experiment that has crippled his psi and left him bonded to an ancient artifact that has already proved itself deadly. When Alek stows away aboard the Gremlin, all he's looking for is a way home so he can report to his superiors. He's not expecting to find a psion in desperate need of training. And he's sure as hell not expecting to fall in love. (~100,000 words)

Word Count: Click here to reveal5,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Harmony Ink Press is delighted and honored to showcase the short fiction of some of the best up-and-coming authors working in the LGBT genre. The stories in this third volume of Harmonious Hearts represent the winners of our Young Author Challenge—a group of talented writers between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one. The stories in this anthology are as diverse as their creators and range from the speculative to snapshots of everyday life for people growing up in a society in flux. They confront many issues facing young adults, and they celebrate the joys of this sometimes rocky period of transition: friendship, loyalty, first love, and learning to feel comfortable in one’s own skin. These experiences are universal, and thanks to the courage and talent of authors such as these, young people of all gender identities, expressions, and orientations are starting to see themselves included. Everyone deserves a story that speaks to them, and in these pages, they’ll find that story. Dani Anderson—To Lauren Nick Anthony—Scrapyard Sunsets Hilda Friday—A Progression of Love Arbour Ames—You Saw Blue Chloe Smith—Plenty of Fish Caleb Andrews—I Am Logan Sarah Caulfield—Make Mad the Guilty Xoe Juliani—Loving You Through the Years Irene Grant—Jordan and A.J. Latitude Brown—Equinox Anika Olivo—Melodimensional Frisk Gillespie—Ten Words

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Pansexual, Straight (Click here to hide)

Summary: Still reeling from his final encounter with the Elders, Matthias finally reaches the promised safety of Haven. There, he is met with suspicion and accusations, learning too late that the new world he’s entered is built on as many illusions and lies as the world he’s left behind, and that the safe home he’s been searching for isn’t safe after all. When all the illusions come crashing down, and Matthias barely escapes with his life and his friends, he finds himself going back to the start—and finds himself one step closer to the truth.

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

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

Summary: Ricardo Torralba and August Morrison don’t agree on much besides the fact that they hate each other. According to Ricardo, August is a spoiled brat who really needs to knock off the sass once in a while. August insists that Ricardo needs a sense of humor, a good lay, or a well-placed bullet. Maybe all three. Fortunately, the assassin’s profession is a solitary one, and they can go about their lives without getting in each other’s way. Usually. When a contracted hit turns out to be a setup for both of them, they narrowly escape with their lives. Now, even if they don’t like it (spoiler: they don’t), August and Ricardo have to work together if they want a shot at survival. In between firefights and questionable interrogation methods as they hunt down their would-be killer, the cranky assassins discover that under all that mutual loathing is a spark of chemistry they can’t ignore. They want to ignore it, they probably should ignore it, but August can’t help flirting to annoy Ricardo, and Ricardo can think of at least one way to shut him up for a while. But they need to focus, damn it, and figure out who’s gunning for them and why. Assuming they don’t kill each other first. Hitman vs Hitman is a standalone gay romantic suspense featuring two men who’d rather chew glass than fall for each other, a whole lot of inappropriate comments, and some buttons that will need resewing.

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: Information not available

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.