Books Tagged With what - concept - acceptance

Word Count: Click here to reveal32000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: This is the story of two college professors who share an office and not much else – until the holiday season works its magic. Eric’s semester hasn’t been going all that well. Not only have renovations to the English Department’s physical space forced him to share an office with the department’s newest faculty member, Mike Kistler, his mother showed up at the beginning of the semester with all her worldly possessions and a U-Haul. It’s not that he doesn’t care for his mother, but she’s disruptive. She keeps wanting to honor traditions they never cared about when he was growing up, starting with the giant antique advent calendar she dragged over from her parents’ house in Hamburg. Eric has a solution, though. He might not have much interest in his mom’s traditions, but his irritating office mate does. He’ll bring Kistler over, and his mom will have someone who cares, and someone to speak German with, and Eric will be left alone to grade papers in peace. Mike is the rising star of the English Department. He’s worked damn hard to get from homeless teen to young PhD, he’s proud of his accomplishment, and he loves to give back. He likes his work. He could live without his office mate, who’s attractive but stuffier than an overfull burrito. He’s shocked when Eric invites him to help his mother celebrate Advent, but intrigued by the old traditions. And it’s been more than ten years since he’s had anything like a family to celebrate anything with, so he agrees. Moving from a cramped office to a family setting shifts things for Eric and Mike, and they start to see each other through different eyes. Can they find love, or will old family issues keep them apart forever?

Word Count: Click here to reveal46000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Innocence wasn’t a personality flaw. Nicolas “Pure” Warner lived with the curse of a cute face and a terminal blush. He was waiting for his happily ever after. Yet he’d given up on finding his one. His partner and spotter wasn’t the type to settle down but he’d always been drawn to the other man. Pure decided he could live with that, but when powers outside their control took Raul away, Pure would stop at nothing to get Raul back even if that meant leaving the Trenton Security team behind. Touching the sun only left you burned. Raul Martinez was a brutal fighter. He’d worked freelance for several years at Trenton Security. There was one dark spot to the perfect job: Pure. The man was sweet and looking for forever. How did the damaged and unworthy ever hope to touch the sun without getting burned? And touching Pure would be a dream come true. When Pure endangers his freedom to save him, how could Raul convince his boy that letting him go was the only option? This title may contain triggering material for some readers.

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

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

Summary: When two small-town country dudes win the lottery, they finally find the courage to speak their truth. An unexpected adventure follows. Linwood "Woody" Robinson has a routine. He works for his baby brother in construction, buys three lottery tickets every week, and lusts after his best friend from high school. He's done the same thing for twenty years. Eddison "Eddie" Howard owns the only gas station in their small South Carolina town, sells lottery tickets, and lusts after his best friend from afar. They joke around but never speak their truth. He knows they're cowards but can't seem to find the courage to bridge the gulf between them. And then they win eighty million dollars. Life changes. They go from never talking about their feelings to facing the world together. Can anything pull them apart?

Word Count: Click here to reveal65,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Raphael is no ordinary wolf shifter. Raphael knows he must be possessed by a demon. What else could explain the aggression, the physical, beastly transformations? To protect himself and others, his father locks him away. But when Raphael is nineteen, the demon gains full control and breaks free. Now Raphael is scared and desperate on the streets of El Paso, Texas, convinced he’s cursed. Then a stray cat enters his life and everything changes. Ahmes is a cat shifter and knows there’s something off about the young shifter he’s encountered. It soon becomes apparent that the young man doesn’t know what he is, and Ahmes is determined to help and care for him. But gaining the trust of not only the fearsome wolf but the scared young man will take all his persistence. Friendship, and the potential for more, grows between them as they travel to Haven, Montana—a town founded by shifters, for shifters, and home to a specialized counseling center, one that can help Raphael understand and accept who and what he truly is. If that wasn’t enough, on their trail is the last person either expected—Gregor Whitefield, the commander of the Knights of the Dawn, which is an organization bent on the eradication of shapeshifters. Gregor enjoys the thrill of the hunt, determined to collect the unique blood that is crucial to Arcas’s great plan. Raphael’s blood.

Word Count: Click here to reveal102,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: San Francisco’s legendary promise of acceptance draws Xander Peters to its streets like a rainbow beacon. Despite his parents’ cruel rejection after coming out to them, he is hopeful of the future awaiting him there. Entranced with the sights and sounds of the city he is blissfully unaware of the dangers lurking behind the friendly faces. Jamie Beck watches from the shadows of the bathhouse as a rowdy group of leather daddies try coercing the young twink inside. Unable to idly stand by while the men bait the naive teen, he steps into the crowd and rescues Xander from eminent danger. When Jamie offers Xander the spare bedroom in exchange for help with his ailing partner, he jumps at the opportunity. He’s won the lottery—free room and board in trade for a few hours each day of caretaking. However, the year is 1985 and the AIDS epidemic is relentless. Charles Greyson has a gift for making money. He is a successful lawyer and he harbors a secret. His newest client has a penchant for finding trouble and it’s his job to keep the young activist out of jail. Greyson recognizes his attraction to the young man, but he has a legal obligation to fulfill, and his interest in Xander only impedes his need to stay closeted. Over the course of three decades Remembrance and Renewal recounts the years AIDS savaged a generation. It is the story of one survivor’s journey toward the promise of love in a world left wary by the ravages of a pandemic.

Word Count: Click here to reveal57,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The magic that was gifted to Prince Avery's family has always been a part of his life. When he was fifteen, that magic marked him as the heir to the throne. Ever since, he's known that someday that same magic will lead him to his true love and a magical bond that will tie them together. Avery knows that even magically destined love will still take work and love is always complicated, especially for a royal. He's prepared for some complications, like his destined bonded being politically challenging or a gender he's not romantically attracted to. He's not prepared for poachers, broken magic, and a surly but intriguing cat shifter that threatens to break his heart. Avery is convinced that the two of them can find their happily ever after, but Kael is hurting and resistant. How can Avery convince Kael to believe in the magic when Kael's own magic is so broken?

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

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

Summary: Can a retired assassin be the savior his people need? How does a former assassin save his fellow humans from extinction? By allying them with mrrogs of course! But that’s easier said than done as humans are understandably distrustful and suspicious of sescurei, the official species of the InterGalactic community. Leopold must convince them that Mastrodai’s offer of alliance isn’t a trick, which means diplomacy, patience, and tenacity. Times like this make him grateful that he has two strong mates to lean on. And when it comes to understanding his own people, he’d be wise to follow Alex’s lead. Alex has been too long away from her family and is thrilled to see them again. But with reunions come old pressures, old doubts, and old wounds. She must negotiate who she was with who she is, while helping her mates and her colony come together with the shared goal of freedom. Mastrodai, meanwhile, finds himself in the minority for the first time in his life, and the constant hostility has him doubting the wisdom of their choices. But he’s devoted to his human mates and determined to see things through no matter the discomfort… or danger. Not everyone wants what Leopold and his mates have to give, and he needs to break through the resistance humans have built up after generations of degradation, humiliation, and fear. He must win his people’s trust, solve the riddle of his parents’ rings, and navigate the new complexities of his love life. Being an assassin was so much easier. Reader Discretion advised: PTSD, abusive family, a cult, MMF romance, dystopian.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Fitz Gaffney finally has some breathing room. His mother’s out of town, his piano coaches have backed off, and he’s spending his time in a music conservatory where he only has to be adequate for an entire year before all his responsibilities comes crashing back in again. Along with his new free time comes the realization that he’s lonely, but his first attempt to make new friends goes horribly awry. Fitz’s new — but possibly imaginary — friends, Evan and Serge want to help him find happiness. His used-to-be-step-brother Ari Scheffield wants to help him gain confidence and a little much-needed cool. His housekeeper Marguerite wants to keep fowl in the back yard for butchering because Duck confit is expensive and she has pillows to re-stuff. And his possible new boyfriend Garrett wants to prove he didn’t mean for their first date to end with Fitz lying unconscious in a Dumpster. All Fitz wants is someone to care about him, but suddenly there seems to be a glut. How’s a shy guy to know what’s real when he’s confronted by crazy ghosts, a less than truthful boyfriend, and relatives with hidden motives in Rhapsody For Piano and Ghost.

Word Count: Click here to reveal73039 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Kace Hallard leaves Sacramento, bound for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, something he and his father had always planned to do together. When his father realizes he won’t be able to make the trip, he makes Kace promise to go on his own. He takes off, not sure he’s up to the challenge. When he has mechanical trouble a few hours away from home, he questions his choice even more. Striker Johnson is just out buying lunch for the guys at the shop when he notices the handsome stranger in the parking lot checking over his Harley and looking confused. He approaches him and offers his help. The next few hours fly by, and Kace asks Striker to join him. It’s the trip of a lifetime for them both, one man looking to ease his grief, the other riding toward emotions he has no hope of controlling. One way or another they’ll have to decide if they ride together or separately, when life throws them one more curve.

Word Count: Click here to reveal38000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Aromantic, Bisexual, Demigender, Demisexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Word Count: Click here to reveal57000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Detour Five years after the death of his spouse, Austin MacIsaac is ready to find love again—and he’s got the perfect guy in mind: his sexy cowboy of a best friend, Cal Anderson. If only he can convince Cal to detour out of the friend zone. Road work ahead Cal has been in love with Austin for longer than he can remember. The man has been his rock through the ups and downs of messy family drama. But shaking up their friendship for something more could lead them down a bumpy and unsafe road. Merge Amid a backdrop of the Wyoming mountains and under a summer sky, can Austin and Cal merge their lives into one and let the road to romance lead to happily ever after?

Word Count: Click here to reveal57,500 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Several years ago, Will's best friend ran away with an alien to live happily ever after. They've kept in touch, but Will misses the man that might as well be his brother. So, he decides he's going to go visit. Who cares if visiting requires a trip to outer space? No big deal, right? Ticheck met Will for the first time while trying to find a friend who had gotten lost. Since then, they've seen him a couple times a year at most. Ticheck wasn't expecting him to be coming for a surprise visit, and they definitely weren't expecting to end up with him as a temporary roommate when cramped quarters on the ship force them to share. From strangers, to surprise roommates, to friends…and maybe something else? But do they dare to dream of a life together when they literally come from two different worlds? Roommates and Space Trees is a sweet asexual romance. It is book two in the Iska Universe series, but can be read as a stand-alone.

Word Count: Click here to reveal72014 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Lord Morgorth is a dark mage on the planet Karishian. He’s considered a villain by his peers and relishes the title, having embraced the role early in his life. However, not all of his actions are necessarily villainous. Despite owning several of the Stones of Power—gemstones infused with powerful magick—he doesn’t use them, preferring to keep them hidden away and out of destructive, power-hungry hands. He hates them more than anything. So when a sorcerer gets a hold of a major stone, Morgorth has no choice but to go after him. But, to his irritation, he is not alone. Aishe is a dialen whose tribe was massacred by the sorcerer, and is now on a mission of vengeance. The attraction is instant between them, but Morgorth keeps his distance. Because of a traumatic childhood and a deadly destiny, he has no desire for emotional complications. But Aishe’s very presence challenges Morgorth's resolve. Not only does Morgorth admire Aishe’s strength and intelligence, but he begins to see Aishe as a friend. As their hunt continues and their time together lengthens, their bond deepens, as does Morgorth’s fear. If he becomes the monster that destiny claims he will be, will he hurt Aishe? Will he harm the one person who sees right through him? Who accepts him wholeheartedly? Determined to not let that happen, Morgorth keeps Aishe at a distance. But when Aishe is kidnapped by the sorcerer, what will Morgorth do to get him back?

Word Count: Click here to reveal57,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Rudy and Clay are deeply in love and expecting the birth of their boys thanks to Clay’s twin sister, Clarice. Tragedy strikes, and Rudy and Clay become parents to not just their twins, but Clarice and Patrick’s three little girls as well. They desperately need help with the five kids so Rudy hires a ‘manny’, Jackson Frost. But Frost comes with a horrible past. Guilty of betrayal, and for almost killing Clay while they were in the military, he is freshly released from prison and desperate for work. The man is definitely not Clay’s first choice as a caregiver for his children. Strange things begin to happen, leading them to think that Patrick and Clarice were not just a random attack. Then Rudy is suddenly kidnapped. The clock is ticking and despite their past, Jackson and Clay must join forces to find Rudy before he is killed, or worse…  

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

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

Summary: Samuel has one goal in life: fix his broken core. What does he not want? A bossy, overprotective, possessive, teasing dragon sticking his nose in business that is not his. Even if he is sexy. And supports Samuel on his quest to find the lost Sousa Mage Clan. Utterly beside the point. He does not need a dragon boyfriend. (Un)fortunately, Dimitri disagrees. Tags: Ice dragons, Brazil, fated mates, dragon shifters, not mpreg, found family, true acceptance, hurt/comfort, broken cores, lost clans, magical creatures, beware of stompers, fun with waterfalls, snowball fights in summer, ice dragons know how to stay cool, Dimitri licked him and now he’s his, overprotective and grumpy, calming cuddles, seriously Dimitri needs all the cuddles, booby traps,  Sam was not trying to seduce Dimitri, it was the cuteness that snuck under Dimitri’s guard, communication, because miscommunication is the devil’s trope, Dimitri has a weakness for sassy intellects, who knew, Dimitri is a walking air conditioner, Sam approves

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

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

Summary: Welcome to Bear Essentials, where we strive to make your inner beauty shine bright. Mel Carter is perfectly content with their life. A chance encounter and a size fifteen foot in their mouth later, content is no longer acceptable. Elias Garcia slammed into Mel's life with a carefree giggle. There was only one thing for a Dommy with a penchant for strict rules like Mel to do, assess their life and take the leap, okay two things. Join Bear Essentials' front-end manager as they discover just how special the full-time genius, part-time free spirit, Elias aka Blu, really is. Ruling It All is an M-NB sweet and fluffy romance with BDSM concepts, an age gap, pets who are "silent" characters, and an AI that will cause more than a little mishap.

Word Count: Click here to reveal14000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: As a security officer on an interspecies ship, Growlan Raskli's experienced in heading off species-specific aberrant behaviors in order to keep the peace. But when her captain asks her to find out what's bothering their sole human crew member, Raskli's out of her depths. She hardly knows anything about humans and she's not a psych doctor. Something's definitely upset Human Jen, something to do with human holidays. The more time Raskli spends studying humans and interacting with the intriguing Human Jen, the more personal the assignment becomes. Determined to lift the dark cloud from Human Jen, Raskli will do whatever it takes—within safe parameters, of course.

Word Count: Click here to reveal36,600 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It isn’t easy to leave a family that hurts. But what if it’s the start of finding a love that heals? High-school senior Sandy's Catholic parents are furious to discover he's had sex before marriage. But when he blurts out he's bisexual, they go ballistic. To avoid conversion therapy, Sandy runs away from Rockford, Illinois to move in with his gay uncle in Portland and start a new life. He leaves behind Jade, the fabulous out gay kid in their Catholic high school. They hooked up—once—to confirm Sandy’s bisexuality. Jade had never expected to get that far with star athlete and altar boy Sandy. But he was crushed when Sandy disappeared without even telling him. A year later Jade and Sandy run into each other on the train going home to Rockford for Thanksgiving and form an alliance to help Sandy confront his parents. Will they keep building where they left off or will their spark turn to dust? If you like coming of age stories, queer kids finding the courage to be themselves, and the comfort of found families, you’ll love Sand-Man’s Family. 2^nd edition, revised.

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

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

Summary: James Vicksburg should be happy that he's finally achieved acting success on Broadway, but his conservative senator father controls what he can do and who he can love. When James's baseball idol, Mike Cooper, meets him backstage after his show, the mutual attraction is palpable. The two begin what they think is a secret affair, but James quickly learns that nothing stays hidden from his vindictive father for long. James is torn between his growing love for Mike and his desire to protect him from his father. What he doesn't realize is that Mike has his own plan to fight for James's happiness, even if it means losing each other.

Word Count: Click here to reveal38,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Fate and a dragon unite two men in a battle for love, magic, the march of time, and holiday joy. ___________ In a time of tall-masted ships and hand-made lives, a Guardian and a sailor find true love and their fates in each other. But romance, and a future together must wait, for duty calls. In a battle against dragons, can they seize victory in time to rescue the magic of Darknight and deliver holiday joy to a world that can no longer find its own way? ____________ All Reo Faramund plans for the evening is to take his son Pariso to the Festival of Lights in Sailor’s Cove, their home when they’re not out to sea on the tall-masted merchant ship, Mighty Hawk. Then, in less than a blink, the festival, the town, and the life he knows all vanish. When they find themselves high on a wintry mountain, Reo fears for their lives until an extraordinary stranger comes out of the night to offer help. First Guardian Jael Kohlinor patrols high up on Mount Lucia’s flank, his sole purpose to make sure no Flatlanders find out about Lucia, a tiny country hidden in a fold of time where a dragon named Nicholas presides over a bloom of dragon eggs that yields gems and riches every Darknight solstice. Without the Darknight cache, Nicholas can’t deliver holiday wonders across time, and time itself will suffer the consequences. When Jael finds Reo and Pariso shocked and shivering in the winter cold on the night before Darknight, he contemplates wiping their memories and getting them off the mountain, which is what the need for secrecy dictates. But invisible bonds pull Jael toward Reo like fate, and defying all rules he takes the strangers in out of the cold. Unknown to anyone on Mount Lucia, strange and greedy dragons are already winging toward Lucia with plans to steal Nicholas’s wealth. Jael and Reo might have a future, a family, a fated love, but only if they can first save Darknight.