Books Tagged With potential trigger - traumatic past

Word Count: Click here to reveal90000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Crofton Hall is buzzing with anticipation for the filming of the Secret Histories TV special about a scandalous affair that has been hidden for over four hundred years. The hall's new historian, Dara Callaghan, is drawn not just by the hall's rich history but to TV producer, Nathan Lorimer. Nathan is finally ready to start dating again, several years after the death of his husband. There's something about Dara, a quietly spoken Irishman, and the romance that surrounds Crofton Hall, that makes him want to take a chance. Meanwhile, Ben Redbourn, 16th Earl of Crofton, is trying to persuade his boyfriend Ashley Niven that he'd like to don doublet and hose and play Sebastian to his Anthony. But Ashley's not having any of it... until someone else agrees to the take the part of the 1st Earl of Crofton's lover. This is the second Modern Crofton novel, featuring Benjamin Redbourn, the 16th Earl of Crofton and descendant of Anthony Redbourn, 1st Earl of Crofton from my historical series, The Crofton Chronicles. While designed to be read as a standalone, events that lead to this novel follow chronologically from Saving Crofton Hall. Trigger warnings: discussion of grief and dealing with bereavement

Word Count: Click here to reveal75700 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Lucky Lucklighter has a new life. His old life wants him back. He traded trafficking for taking down criminals with the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, and a drug-lord lover for a man on the right side of the law. Bo Schollenberger found the way past the thorny defenses of Lucky’s heart, and made Mr. I-Get-Along-Fine-Alone think about his and his closets, stevia in the sugar bowl, and a picket fence—with a good lock on the gate. Now Bo is missing, and a voice long silenced asks, “Did you miss me?” Lucky must deal with a devil from his past to get Bo back. And if Bo isn’t willing to come? A drug ring needs its back broken before flooding the US with a designer high, seductive and undetectable. But there’s a fine line between good and evil, and a truckload of temptation urging Lucky to cross.

Word Count: Click here to reveal144000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Mason I've escaped a past that would have destroyed most men: used, abused and sold for sex from a young age by those who should have protected me. An unexpected moment of compassion from a stranger gives me a chance at a new life. Though I've started over, my scars run deep; I'm an LGBTQ fantasy graphic novel writer and artist with a huge following, but I'm terrified of the world, and of my tormenters finding me. When I discover that the stranger who has saved me from a life of abuse is the same man who has finally awakened my body to desire, I realize the truth. Can I ever really be free if I'm still afraid of my past and the people who have shattered me?   Lee Serving as a medic in the Middle East, I felt the life of my fiancé slip away under my hands and was powerless to stop it. Discharged with physical and emotional wounds I can't heal. I go home to my crazy, geeky family and try to learn to live with the damage. Pain and grief lead me to some acts I'm not proud of, including paying strangers for sex. I'm determined to keep it strictly business, no emotions involved. However, when I discover that Mason Malone isn't a high-end escort, but a battered young man who has been forced into a life of pain and degradation, I'm frozen in indecision. Then the man with the raven curls and blue-gold eyes whispers, "Please..." and the barriers I have built around my heart shatter. Years later, fate brings us back together. He has a new name and career, but I have never been able to forget those eyes. Mason, unfortunately, doesn't recognize me. Every day I find myself more and more drawn to him, but I'm terrified of what will happen when my secrets are discovered. As both our pasts threaten our future, can we find a path to redemption? Or will the discovery of the truth create a chasm too wide to bridge? Can love and forgiveness overcome soul-shattering pain?     BIO Mellanie Rourke lives in Akron, Ohio with her loving (and long-suffering) husband, snarky children, and furry menagerie. She has been writing since she was a child but never had the impulse to publish until she was introduced to the world of MM Romance. Now her husband has to put up with a variety of new ways to say "penis", and her children aren't allowed to tell their teachers what she writes. For more information on Mellanie's upcoming work, join her Facebook group "Misfits & Malcontents"    

Word Count: Click here to reveal130000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Guilt-ridden after the massacre of his family, Isaac Salvatore turned to binge drinking to escape the pain. Now twenty-four years old, Isaac is a recovering alcoholic woefully out of practice in the magical arts, leaving his fire affinity hanging on the edge of disaster. After a month of rehab, he returns to Beacon Hill and his family, determined to remain sober, learn to control his magic, and figure out a plan for his life that doesn't involve drinking. Constantine Batiste is the oldest, most powerful vampire in the city. Born in ancient Gaul, the bastard son of a Celtic king, his long life has been shrouded in tragedy and horrors. Recent mistakes have left him wary and determined to guard his clan from all foes. When two of his clan members fall victim to an ancient evil, he summons the Necromancer of Boston for aid. Accompanying his older brother to the Tower is the handsome young fire mage once wounded by Constantine's arrogance, and their encounter reignites an attraction that burns within both Constantine and Isaac. The answer to who is targeting the vampires of Boston is buried in the dark, early days of Constantine's transition to an immortal life. Isaac finds himself saddled with a painful insight into the evil cutting a swath through the supernatural population of Boston. While his brother, Angel, takes over the hunt to find and stop the threat to the city, Isaac struggles to find a balance between helping his brother and finding his own purpose and place in the world, free from his brother's shadow. Falling in love wasn't part of his plan, but mastering the flames that burn between him and Constantine soon becomes the most important thing in his life, even as an ancient evil seeks to destroy them.

Word Count: Click here to reveal79,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Medusa Pilot Captain TiCara X273, ex-street kid and former bondslave, thought she wanted nothing more than to be captain of her own starship. Or, at least, that was all that she thought she wanted until Sherin Khan came back into her life. A bar singer turned corporate rep, Sherin is now working for Ser Trin Vahn, one of TiCara's best clients and head of Vahn Corp. Once they are thrown together on TiCara’s ship, TiCara and Sherin can no longer deny their simmering attraction to each other. A simple mission to transport the ailing Vahn to the legendary asteroid, Electra 12, for medical treatments turns dark and dangerous as betrayal leads to betrayal. TiCara's greatest enemy is pursuing them, there's a traitor on her crew and Sherin has a secret that can tear them apart. Can they learn to trust each other before it's too late?

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

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

Summary: Beauty and the Bear: Can these opposites fake their way into something real? Sheldon Soleskin should be having a horrible day. Even though he’s been unexpectedly transferred to a new school right before the holidays, has only one day to set up his new classroom, and just discovered his twin sister's been hiding an invitation to his ex-boyfriend’s Christmas Eve wedding, he’s still ready to take on the world with a smile on his face and a skip in his step. Theo Berenson just wants to be left alone to his custodial duties. But when the chipper new first-grade teacher needs help moving furniture the Sunday after Thanksgiving, he's forced to do something he detests. Help. To make matters worse, Theo's overbearing parents are coming for Hanukah in a few weeks, and he's told them he has a boyfriend. Except he doesn't. Because who would want to date an oaf like Theo? Working together, these opposites discover they might be able to help each other out. Agreeing to be each other’s dates, they become friends as they practice for their upcoming events. But when all the rehearsing starts feeling a little too real, and both men's pasts come roaring back to haunt them, will they be able to pull off the ultimate holiday masquerade?

Word Count: Click here to reveal51000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A human thief unable to escape a deadly fate. A vampire warlock who lives in internal chaos. Saving his fated mate means saving his sanity, but is a human willing to be a Daddy to a needy boy?   Mitchell Burke is out of time. Escaping an evil crime boss who makes him fight for his life every night is impossible. Until the prettiest stranger comes to his rescue.   Seryn is one-of-a-kind. He's a vampire and a warlock. He's also an assassin and a darn good one. But Seryn has a problem. He can see the future, but his visions are out of control. The second he sees his fated mate the past and future collide.   All Mitchell has ever known is how to fight and steal, but helping Seryn means having a firm but gentle touch. Just when he has it all figured out, his past comes back to bite him.   Mitchell is the second novel in the Dragon Skull MC Daddies series. This steamy MM Paranormal Romance features a Daddy-in-training who finds out vampires and magic exists the hard way and a magic-wielding vampire who looks like an angel but will kill everyone who hurts his fated mate. If you love unsuspecting humans, mates with a size difference, and lots of sexy time, then you'll love this Action-packed romance.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: “Ky’s a fighter. Blue’s an artist. But together they are truly magical.”  Ky’s fought his way to the boxing championship for the third time, but now the fight of his life isn’t against an opponent in the ring. He’s battling a darkness within himself that he can’t ignore and can’t control. If he fails, everything he’s spent his life working for will be gone, and he can’t see a path to victory. Only a hunch sends him looking for help in the most unusual places. Blue’s a quiet guy, living for his family and the art of his tattoos. He’s created his shop, Blue’s Dungeon, to be a place for the celebration of art on skin—simple, friendly, and mostly uncomplicated—and Blue likes it that way. But when Ky shows up in Blue’s tattoo studio, desperately searching for a lifeline, it’s the beginning of something magical for both men…

Word Count: Click here to reveal17,600 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sometimes life gives you more than this. Two years after whistle-blowing on irregularities in the company she worked for in the US, businesswoman Veronica Smith runs into Cassandra Forster, the woman with whom she had an intense affair back in New York. Cass pushed all Ronnie’s buttons as well as her boundaries, and the relationship was becoming something more before Ronnie left without an explanation. When they pick up where they left off, Ronnie finds she still wants more…but does Cass feel the same? Cass wants an explanation. Being with Ronnie had begun to mean more than great sex, but then Ronnie left her high and dry. Cass’ feelings haven’t changed, but can she trust Ronnie enough not to hurt her again? Can she trust herself to let someone into her life? Over a weekend and a wedding, the two women finally talk and discover they have more in common than the ability to meet each other’s desires. But can they take this second chance life has given them to have more than this?

Word Count: Click here to reveal47,349 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: All the Honorable St. John Ashford ever wanted was his father’s love, but if he can’t have that, he’ll settle for being noticed. In an effort to do that, St. John sets his sights on Andrew Dorincourt, a man for whom the Viscount has nothing but disdain. Surely this will draw his father’s attention? Unfortunately, while Andrew seems willing to date him, he appears entirely disinterested in anything else. St. John knows it’s just a matter of time before all his plans going up in smoke, especially when Andrew becomes attracted to an exotic young man he rescued from Malossini’s House of Oddities. Robin Dorincourt is something of a playboy who enjoys nothing so much as flitting from one boyfriend to another. He doesn’t poach, though, and when he finds himself attracted to St. John Ashford, he does what he can to keep a healthy distance between them, using taunts and teasing. It’s difficult, until he realizes his brother is in love with someone else. Robin’s path toward St. John is clear, and he makes his move. But is his path as clear as he imagines? St. John might be as attracted to Robin as Robin is to him, but he’ll be damned if he allows himself to be passed from one brother to the other as if he’s nothing more than a poor second choice. Now it remains is for Robin to persuade St. John he’s no one’s second choice.

Word Count: Click here to reveal112800 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: England, 1891 Lindsey Althorp, the only son of a wealthy baronet, has never worked a day in his life. Aubrey Warren was born in a workhouse and hasn’t stopped working since. When Lindsey wins a textile mill in a game of cards, he falls at first sight for the assistant clerk, Aubrey. Lindsey is certain that Aubrey is the Achilles to his Patroclus, the David to his Jonathan. Yet Aubrey, unaccustomed to affection, refuses to be a kept man—though he isn’t immune to Lindsey’s considerable charm. Buoyed by Lindsey's optimism and fuelled by Aubrey's industry, the two men strive to overcome the class gulf between them. But a horrific accident reveals a betrayal that threatens to tear them apart forever.

Word Count: Click here to reveal67642 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Edward Grey is a medical student by day, necromancer by night. He lives alone with the first zombie he ever raised, his childhood cat, Boo. Edward’s life is simple: studying medicine, training his necromantic powers with his mentor, Mariel, and having weekly dinners with his parents. When he finds a very attractive corpse in a park and brings it home to reanimate, he creates a sassy, free-willed zombie who believes Edward is the one who murdered him. With no memory of his former life, Edward names the zombie Kit and tries to win his trust. Kit slowly adjuststo his new un-life with Edward’s help, though he’s still suspicious of Edward’s role in his death and is convinced that Edward is hiding his former identity. Edward is very attracted to Kit, but understands why Kit doesn’t trust him. As they become closer to one another, Kit turns to Edward for comfort and love. The fragile trust they’ve built together will be tested when Kit unexpectedly regains his memory and seeks revenge on his murderers.

Word Count: Click here to reveal63500 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Edward Grey is no stranger to the undead; since raising his cat as a zombie when he was a child, he and his mentor Mariel have explored and developed his power as a necromancer. Despite everything he's learned, as a necromancer and a medical student, he's never encountered a ghost. While Mariel is unreachable in Haiti on mysterious business, a ghost wakes Edward in the middle of the night, claiming to be his grandfather. When the ghost offers to teach him about this different form ofundeath, Edward has little choice but to trust the spirit. After receiving a phone call from a young girl claiming her father is possessed, Edward and his Undead Canadian fiancé, Kit, must travel to an acreage in Kingston…Ontario. The haunting proves far more complicated than Edward could ever have guessed, and he finds himself pitted against an ancient evil determined to engulf everyone on the farm. Edward's love and connection to Kit will be tested, and his necromancy stretched to his limits as he has to find—and destroy—a twisted spirit more powerful than anything he's ever encountered.  

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Roll up, roll up... The circus has long been that dream palace, intoxicating with so many lights and sights, sounds and smells. Sawdust, popcorn, strange animals, make-up, and the sweat of the roustabouts. The circus intrudes into the life of the ordinary and mundane and brings magic. Editor Matthew Bright invites you to the enjoy the sixteen attractions of the fantastical and dark Myriad Carnival. "Bright brings together 17 eclectic and sometimes surprising tales of vicious magicians, desperate contortionists, unexpected sharpshooters, and the marks who pay to see them, in this anthology about queer identities and fantastical circuses... The specifics of the eponymous carnival change from story to story, but a mood of the strange, eerie, and poignant suffuses the anthology and provides coherence" - Publishers Weekly

Word Count: Click here to reveal237403 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: These four novels span about a year, from late October 2013 until early October the following year. A pivotal date to remember—and to celebrate—is February 4, 2014. On that day, around eleven o’clock on a fair morning, Scotland’s Parliament approved the country’s historic same-sex marriage bill. These novels serve as a commemoration of that lovely day, its foreplay, and its aftermath. Rory Drummond and Alex Dominguez are an unlikely pair…a bigger-than-life Scot with an immense appetite for sex and adventure meets a shy Nevada State Trooper who’s been thrust into the job of “baby-sitting” him during a big game hunt in the mountains of Nevada. What could go wrong? More important, what could go right?  The first novel, Nevada Highlander, brings these guys together. And boy howdy, as some folks might say, do they come together—a lot—until Rory finds out that the man on his tail is doing it only as a job. One reviewer said it well: “Sparks and Levi’s fly.” In The Kilt Complex, Rory is back in Scotland, at the castle he oversees as a laird or “landlord.”. But there’s an interesting new meaning to the words “castle keep,” because Alex is now living with him. As Alex struggles to extricate himself from his role as boy toy, Rory tries his best to understand why his lover needs to earn his own way in such wide open spaces. And thereby hangs a tale of guilt and kilt…the story of a lovely girl named Thistle…and the mystery of a killer in paradise. Alex’s need for space comes to a climax when he moves out of Rory’s castle, into a small cabin called Hunter’s Point. And speaking of points—he now has a job as Special Constable, overseeing the point of land where a famous lighthouse stands. The action ramps up when a local teacher turns up missing, and the trail of a possible killer leads to the lonely lighthouse. It also leads straight to a very troubling time in Rory’s past…and to the fateful date of February 4. When an old friend and former war comrade of Rory’s father disappears, Rory and Alex team up as a pair of ersatz constables in Scotland’s Highlands. Rory finds out the hard way that being the mate of a hard-ass cop means he’ll always be Sleeping with Danger. On the trail of the missing man, they find a Jacobite tower hiding recent violence…a 300-year-old elbow of the devil…and a graveyard whose crumbling bones cover old secrets worth killing for. In four novels, a pair of intriguing men go from the Highlands of Nevada to the Highlands of bonnie Scotland. The romance is full of bumps and detours, a silver wolfhound, several silver foxes, and surprising self growth for both of them. PS, a fifth novel (Brash Tower) is due to be released in early 2022. A jawbone and an old relic serve up a deadly mystery for Rory and Alex, just as they move into their new home and try to plan an official wedding ceremony that Scotland has not decided how the hell to do.

Word Count: Click here to reveal68000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Hunter Callahan loved being a merc. As an explosives expert for Lawson & Greer, he’s dealt with everything from IEDs to rogue nukes. But when a suicide bomber in the form of a seven-year-old boy walks into camp, Hunter learns there are some fates far worse than death. Payne Gibson recognizes the “thousand yard stare” of the PTSD Hunter refuses to acknowledge, and as a natural caretaker, he can’t resist when his boss, Cade “Hercules” Thornton, asks him to help. Hunter is resistant until their surveillance assignment turns dangerous, and Hunter realizes he’s in danger of losing his career, the only thing in his life that matters to him anymore. Conventional therapy hasn’t worked, so Payne suggests an unorthodox form of therapy: BDSM. As a Dom, Payne thinks he can help Hunter face the issues he’s been avoiding. Having come to trust Payne and knowing his career is on the line, Hunter agrees to try. Their relationship as Dom and sub deepens more than either of them expected. Payne knows adding emotions into the mix is dangerous, but he can’t help it when Hunter is both the man and the sub Payne has hoped to find. But Hunter doesn’t feel he deserves love, not when his best friend is dead because of him, leaving behind a wife and child to mourn -- and to blame Hunter for their loss. Payne can help Hunter to stare into the abyss… but what stares back might be more intense than either of them can handle.

Word Count: Click here to reveal49135 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Love hurts… Rick Hendrickson is a drifter who stops in the hick town of Noble, Nevada, hoping to find a job. One night in a bar his delft-blue eyes reach out and snag young Tony Grazzo like barbed wire. Hometown boy Tony, home from college, is ducking a suffocating relationship with a girl. When he and Rick find themselves in a dumpy roadside motel room, on a swaybacked bed …blue eyes and tight Levi’s come together. Their affair is fast and unrestrained, in spite of Tony’s awkward naivete and Rick’s shrouded history. Each begins to think life is pretty damn good. But the past of both men fractures their present life together. What happens to put one behind bars, while the other runs? And if love hurts this bad, can it also heal?

Word Count: Click here to reveal103000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: First I was a sorcerer. Then I was a hermit. For so long—for years that seemed to go on forever—I couldn't bear to be touched. I put up not just walls but whole stone bunkers to keep everyone out, emotionally, and physically as well. I was protected from people, from ghosts, from specters real and imagined. Sure, I was alone. But I felt safe. Only, after a while, I wasn't sure any longer whether a totally "safe" empty life was really worth living. Then Tobin came along. Out of the blue, out of my past, with a summons from the king that he wouldn't let me ignore. I tried to cling to my isolation, but he wouldn't give up on me. Tobin never believed in walls. This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. 103,000 words

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Former Federal Agent Yuri Sorenson had left the bureau behind to become a private investigator. A friend from his old life came to him with a favor, not knowing who else to trust. Yuri had always had a way of keeping his emotional distance from the people he protected, yet that changed the day Clarkson hesitantly limped into his life. What happens when love is confused with pain? That’s the exact question Josh Clarkson had asked himself for years. He’d grown up in an overburdened foster care system, and from what he knew of love, he couldn’t expect anything but to be something tolerated. Was he meant to be more than a plaything or a piece of scenery; he could hope. Two men who know nothing but being broken find that patience and acceptance are harder than losing hope. Is the leap of faith worth the reward of letting someone else in? Maybe they’ll find the strength to find out before the danger of Josh’s past tries to tear them apart.

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

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

Summary: When the past intrudes, can two lost souls forge a future together? Karl’s carefully erected walls are crumbling. Giving up sex and relationships made perfect sense when he was eighteen. For a decade, he poured all his time and effort into his flourishing career. Doubts crept in the first time Karl met Leo and now, after two years of avoiding him, Karl is in charge of training Leo. Leo loves his life in The Blowhole. Entertaining the guests during explicit shows under Roger’s guidance meets Leo’s needs and keeps his demons at bay. When Roger leaves, Leo’s job expands but he’s assigned to work with Karl, the General Manager who appears to detest him, and Leo’s anxiety blossoms. It wouldn’t be so bad if Leo hadn’t been attracted to Karl from the first moment he saw him. Two men. A truck-load of insecurities and an attraction that can’t be denied. When the full horror of Leo’s past comes to light, will their fledgling connection be strong enough to weather the storm?