Books Tagged With where - general - small town

Word Count: Click here to reveal84600 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Recently traded to the newly formed Vermont Trailblazers, professional hockey player Roman Kinsey needs to focus on helping the team win games and filling the stands, not on the blond, bespectacled part-timer who works at the library he volunteers at. He knows all too well that outing himself equals heartache and ridicule…or worse. Cody Evans, psych major and grad school hopeful, notices everything and thinks too much. But he doesn’t know what to think when he sees Roman reading to kids. The rugged hockey player just doesn’t look like the type. But it stirs something in him, something he’s never felt before. When the library is threatened with closure, Cody enlists Roman’s help. As they get to know each other better...much, much better...they realize that they have more in common than books. But Roman’s keeping a big part of himself from his team, and giving in to his feelings for Cody might be more than he’s willing to risk.

Word Count: Click here to reveal45000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Grey I was just a divorced, small town, hardware store owner, and the man most people considered a gentleman. A slip up in my strict routine would send the town gossips into a frenzy. Yet I'd grown up in that town and everyone knew everyone. No secrets were safe, but I carried one that would send my world into chaos if I let it. I was falling for a town transplant and one of my best friends, Sugar. He was everything I wasn't. Spontaneous, fun, and knew exactly who he was. What would he see in a boring man like me? Sugar (Shug) I was that fat, nonbinary person who hadn't known the inside of a closet in my life. With a mom like mine, she taught me to never live with regrets, but I had a massive one. I fell in love with my straight, gentlemanly best friend. Grey was everything I wasn't. Thankfully, he was clueless, but our shared friend group wasn't. How long could our friends stay silent in a town as small as ours?

Word Count: Click here to reveal42000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: This Christmas they'll get the most precious gift of all... Cam The holiday season is my favorite time of the year, but this year feels different. Greg and I have built a life together and now we’re ready for the next step—a family of our own. But when our plans for a surrogate seem unattainable, I start to wonder if the universe is telling us it’s not meant to be. It breaks my heart to think we might not have the child of our dreams. Still, when the snow starts to fall and Christmas comes to Collier’s Creek, I can't shake the feeling that something wonderful is just around the corner. Greg I’ve always been the realist in our relationship. After everything we've been through—my accident, Cam’s mom’s illness, the way life seems to keep throwing curveballs—maybe it’s a sign that we’re not supposed to have kids. But seeing the look in Cam’s eyes, his unshakable belief that we’ll be fathers one way or another, gives me hope. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to keep believing that having a family is just a matter of time. Silver Linings, a heartwarming holiday romance, filled with love and hope and the sweetest gift of all. Celebrate the holidays with the men of Collier’s Creek, where magic fills the air and irresistible romances are the highlight of the festive season. Six low-angst romances, each filled with heartwarming moments and swoon-worthy romance.

Word Count: Click here to reveal44000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Eric and Ellison Gant, better known as Sin and Saint, were opposite sides of the same coin. They epitomized the nicknames given to them by their friends in the band Executioners. One thing Sin and Saint did well was fight, and being inseparable meant they had a lot of disagreements, but one thing they agreed on was that Sheriff Camden Pelter was theirs. The older, stoic man didn’t agree, yet they were determined to change his mind. jCamden Pelter had the daunting job of turning the Powers Sheriff Department around. The residents of the Georgia town didn’t have much faith or respect in the deputies serving them. That’s where he came in, and he was determined to do his job. That was easier said than done with two annoying brothers, Sin and Saint, who dogged his every step. No way in hell was he getting mixed up in the chaos that were the Gant Twins. Now if only if he could get them to listen and realize they didn’t have a chance of changing his mind.

Word Count: Click here to reveal82000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Does a bear shift in the woods? Well, partially. That was what got grizzly shifter Ted Farnsworth into trouble. He wasn’t trying to break the Secrecy Pact. He just wants people to see the real him. So he signs up with the mate-matching service Supernatural Selection — which guarantees marriage to a perfect partner. Not only will Ted never be lonely again, but once his new beaver shifter husband arrives, they’ll build Ted’s dream wilderness retreat together. Win-win. Quentin Bertrand-Harrington, scion of an incubus dynasty, has abstained from sex since nearly killing his last lover. When his family declares it’s time for him to marry, Quentin decides the only way not to murder his partner is to pick someone who’s already dead. Supernatural Selection finds him the ideal vampire, and Quentin signs the marriage agreement sight unseen. But a mix-up at Supernatural Selection contracts Quentin with Ted. What’s Ted supposed to do with an art historian who knows more about salad forks than screwdrivers? And how can Quentin resist Ted’s mouthwatering life force? Yet as they work together to untangle their inconvenient union, they begin to wonder if their unexpected match might be perfect after all.

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

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

Summary: Arrow Bay: a picturesque seaside city of parks, mountain trails, incredible views…and corpses. An unidentified vigilante, unhappy with plans to alter the idyllic character of Jake Finnigan’s hometown, goes to extreme ends—in disturbingly creative and fatal ways—to express their displeasure. The citizens of the village are growing increasingly concerned and agitated, wondering who will be next and if the killer walks among them. Jake and his partner Sam O’Conner, who insist that they do not poke their noses into murder investigations, suddenly land in the middle of an increasingly complex and bizarre case, and as the body count grows, find themselves falling under suspicion.

Word Count: Click here to reveal60,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! At the conclusion of SCANDALOUS LIES, Noah Sanders made a startling discovery, one that turned his already conflicted motives into further turmoil, the mystery of his past growing as dangerous as the undertow of the ocean. In Cane’s Inlet, located on a barrier peninsula along the Jersey Shore, the lucrative summer season is fast-approaching, as is the Opening Night celebration of the Medusa Lounge, where Noah has secured a job. But working alongside the Hatcher’s at their exclusive resort is complicated by his own investigation into the scandal that might connect them. With a family secret uncovered during a surreptitious visit to their mansion, Noah’s quest to seek the truth behind his mother’s deathbed confession takes on sudden credence. With the aid of his new lover, Demetri, as well as Cane’s Inlet busybody Cilla Cane, the questions only deepen. When another murder shocks the coastal village, Noah realizes that what’s happening no longer concerns only himself, but perhaps all of Cane’s Inlet. With a mystery dating back to the village’s founding and the raising of the old pirate ship Medusa, no one is safe from being exposed, or from a desperate killer. For Noah, the truth might come at a price higher than he’s willing to accept. SINISTER MOTIVES is the second part in a trilogy that will lay bare stories of the past, and in the end, no one will escape the web of deceit that has defined Cane's Inlet for more than one hundred years. Scandalous, sinister, suspicious, the Cane's Inlet Mystery is a tour-de-force tale of two families, one secret, and, ultimately, one man's discovery of his own true self.

Word Count: Click here to reveal90,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When need meets fear, can two very different men find common ground? Alhazar Bukhari spent his Navy career in the closet. Now he’s retired, divorced, and hungry for the love he’s never had a chance to experience. He tries to put his faith in Allah to bring the right man into his life, but it’s hard to be patient after all this time. Chaplain Dylan Pedersen spends his days counseling Sailors, and his nights with men he doesn’t know. Months after finally escaping an abusive relationship, he’s terrified of anything more than a physical connection. Maybe it’s a sin, but he’s too lonely to not let men into his bed, and too scared to let them into his heart. When Alhazar’s civilian job brings him aboard the USS Fort Stevens, and his daily prayers bring him into Dylan’s chapel, the chemistry is instantaneous.  Sex and friendship quickly evolve into more, but Dylan’s too haunted by his recent past to be the man Alhazar wants. Alhazar needs love, Dylan needs time, and if they can’t find some sort of balance, they’ll sink before they ever have a chance to swim.

Word Count: Click here to reveal45000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The Legend of the Ghost Train Today, people say that on a quiet night in the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, you can hear the far off shriek of a locomotive whistle and the rumble of the train’s cars as they clamor across the tracks. The legend claims the train moves through the valleys and mountains searching for lost souls that need a lift to the other side. In the early Twentieth Century, railroads were not only a way to transport people, they also carried all types of goods across the country. Lumber from the forests of Tennessee, coal from the mines of Kentucky, and tobacco from the fields of Virginia were just a few of the industries that depended heavily on the railroad system. Even the Vanderbilt’s built a train system to carry the products needed to construct the great Biltmore Estate. The Legend of the Ghost Train series will carry you off to a simpler time before WWII and the Great Depression. It’s about the love between two men that wasn’t spoken of and ghosts of past loves that still linger in the mountains. Some haunt the living looking for a loved one. Some want revenge for wrong doings. And, others are evil and will stop at nothing to repeat the past and kill again. Jesse Lawson was never afraid of the strange and unusual dreams he had. But lately, they were becoming darker leaving him with a need to discover why he was having them. He believed he would find answers at the site of logging camps in The Great Smoky Mountains. His great grandfather had lived and died there, and Jesse was sure it was Jackson Douglas haunting him. Carter Thompson never knew his great great uncle George Thompson, but he inherited his land, home, and money. George had come here to America to find work in the lumber camps. Meeting Jesse Lawson was about to turn his world upside down. Jesse’s dreams somehow involved Carter, and the more they searched the closer they became. George left journals that could clear up many mysteries, including Jackson Douglas’s death. Now it seemed that something was trying to destroy Carter and Jesse’s growing attraction to each other. Whoever it is will stop at nothing to keep them apart, even if they have to repeat the past to do it.

Word Count: Click here to reveal41600 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Namid’s a city boy, born and bred, but he needs a change of pace. Tired of the political jockeying and demands of being a doctor in Chicago, he moves West to Hooper's Town. He’s about to find out that “quaint small town” is really a euphemism for “completely weird.” Porches that attack people, herds of cats, nookomis watching him like hawks, Namid accepts the small town as it is because of one important factor—a recluse of a cowboy he just happens to save from a fire. Now if only Namid could find a way to tell Dusty the whole town is gleefully gossiping about them dating.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal30375 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Aidan Williamson has been plucked from his routine constable life to the harrowing existence of an undercover detective, damn near under the skirts of Her Majesty the Queen. His first two cases have taken him to places close to Balmoral Castle, where she and her retinue are set to stay for the summer.  This case is no different.  From a bothy—a stone hut—below Devil’s Point to Queen Vic’s old “Widow’s House,” the killing field seems to grow closer to home as the Queen’s holiday grows nearer. Now a hidden crime has been uncovered in the same place the royal party is set to visit soon. And Police Scotland is not amused. Enter Aidan, rookie dick, who’s struggling to confront his demons—and his angels too. Who’s the killer? A pillar of the local church…a couple of horny adolescents…a protective kinsman of the dead man’s wife…or the sweet widow herself? This time around, the edges are blurred more than ever, as mystery spills over into romance.

Word Count: Click here to reveal72000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A fireworks salesman intent on making his mark in his family’s business. A twice divorced father in desperate need of a sale and a new love life. A week-long town celebration that sparks their competitive natures. Owen Gillespie is no stranger to competition. But his plan to spend Independence Day week at the Williamsville Inn before pitching his fireworks proposal is derailed when he meets a handsome and snarky man in the elevator. Dom Mitchell has two marriages behind him and three kids he’s supporting. His bisexual awakening has opened him up to dating men for the first time, but he isn’t looking for a serious relationship; he’s in town to sell a fireworks package. When both men realize they’re vying for the same business, they decide to turn it into a competition. But things slip out of their control when the mayor learns of their agreement and proposes some challenges of her own. These two corporate rivals will need to work together even as they’re competing against each other to woo the mayor and other city officials, all while keeping their mutual attraction a secret and their hearts in check. At the end of the week, only one of them will be leaving town with a signed contract, but the sparks between them are undeniable, and their love life might just be the most dazzling display of all. This funny, snarky, and steamy story about corporate rivals turned lovers with a slight age gap and a spanking fetish is set in the Williamsville Inn world but can be read as a standalone story.

Word Count: Click here to reveal59000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: You can never escape yourself. It has been a year since the death of Brodie ‘Tosh’ Mackintosh’s husband, Harry. Unable to face all the memories of their life together, he moves into the house of his best friend, Darach McNaughton, and is comforted by the local Church of Scotland minister, Sam Carmichael, the middle of the five Carmichael brothers. Sam Carmichael has always been a bit different from his siblings. He’s the only blond in a family of redheads, and the only one with religious beliefs. He also has more than one secret. Can these two men overcome the events of their pasts and find truth and comfort with each other? And, when all their secrets are revealed, will they be forced apart or be able to plan on staying home together?

Word Count: Click here to reveal88000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When a love triangle breaks, Steven Everett is left alone to grieve over a boyfriend lost to someone else. Surrounded by friends too tied to Aidan's new lover to give advice, Steven turns instead to a broken and beaten man, Aidan's other ex, Michael Rossier, who also knows the pain of having loved and lost Aidan. Steven's and Michael's confessions grow deeper, each confiding in the other until neither can deny an attraction. But being with Michael feels like cheating, and Steven isn't sure what to do. The connection get stronger every day, and Steven realizes he's facing an impossible choice. To make a relationship with Michael work, Steven needs to make peace with Michael's troubled past. Even more terrifying, he'll have to tell Michael the secret he's never told anyone, not even Aidan. With Michael recovering from yet another surgery, Steven leaves to face the ghosts of the past. He has to be certain. This time, Steven knows, the decision means revealing the secrets of his heart and hoping their fragile feelings can survive.

Word Count: Click here to reveal8000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: One weekend away will change everything. At twenty-five, Jeff Wilder is dissatisfied with city life and unsure of his future direction. The only thing he really cares about is his monthly visit to his grandfather in the country. His exact opposite, Danny Amaro is an artist and a free spirit. He believes in taking chances and living life to the full. Over one weekend, Danny gives Jeff a glimpse of what life could be like if he opens himself to change. Can a new friend, shared passion, and marmalade, be the ingredients to set Jeff in a new direction? Note: This is a short story of approximately 8k words and is available free to Nic Starr’s newsletter subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive your FREE copy.

Word Count: Click here to reveal36000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Owen’s bitter heart can’t resist a man with the voice and face of an angel. Owen Ashby thought his life was over the day of his car accident. Coming face to face with death has a way of changing a person. Not that Owen likes change. He doesn’t. He especially doesn’t like his wheelchair. He just wants to be left alone, but his family has other ideas. They think it’s a great idea to make Owen into a farmhand and call that therapy. But the farm has a way of healing a person. When he meets Neil, his world tilts and Owen gets his first taste of what insta-lust must feel like. But was it a passing feeling, or would their attraction turn into something deeper? Trigger Warning: Death of strong secondary character, character with paralysis, character who is neurodivergent.

Word Count: Click here to reveal34,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Trey has a problem he’s worked hard to manage. It involves not turning into a bumbling mess while around a gorgeous brown-haired man who’s way out of his league. Eight months’ practice from being part of the same LGBTQIA+ adventure group, Outback Boys, means he’s perfected the skill. That’s until an epic stumble makes his head spin and he throws all caution to the wind. But there’s no turning back now, especially since a snow-filled trip means they’re forced to spend even more time together. Mark has no concerns about the changes unfolding between him and Trey, the giant of a man who’s adorably reserved. He’s been crushing on him for so long that he’s eager to explore more. But when their latest adventure is over and they fall back into the real world, balancing work, life, and a relationship proves more challenging than he envisioned. Something has got to give, and neither man knows the best way ahead without upsetting the status quo. Can the two Aussies work their way through their new connection, or will they stumble at the first hurdle in their way?

Word Count: Click here to reveal86000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Face to face with an old grudge. Riley Chase escaped the drama of Five Foxes High School when he went away to pursue his dreams of Broadway. After returning home to help a friend in need, now the only drama Riley can handle comes from his students on stage. But to keep drama club funds, Riley is forced to work with his old nemesis—the guy he’s hated since senior year. Colton Effing Landry. That old grudge is also smoking hot… Since his senior year a decade ago, Colton has tried to make amends for his past mistakes—lying for a homophobic bully first and foremost. He never thought he’d be back at the school with so many bad memories. Still, he needs the job. But Colton’s first day as Five Foxes High’s new girls’ JV coach hits him with bad news. Two of his athletic teams are on the chopping block due to budget cuts. And that’s where he finds Riley Chase. Riley Chase, the guy he had a crush on back during high school. The same Riley Chase whose last words to him during their senior year were I hate you. Not the way to kick off a new job. A stormy past could lead to a nightmare of a fall semester. Now they have to work together to raise the money to save their programs. It’s either that or let their kids down. Can Riley really trust the guy who betrayed him all those years ago? And can Colton prove to Riley he’s not the same dumb kid he was back in high school? Can hate really turn to love? Stupid Love is an enemies-to-lovers, contemporary gay romance novel featuring a nerdy English teacher and a hot jock coach with a little angst, some sensual heat, an HEA, and no cliff-hangers. It can be read as a stand-alone novel. Trigger warning: This book deals with the aftermath of a rape that happened ten years prior. No non-consensual sex happens during the story, and the previous rape is never described in any detail.

Word Count: Click here to reveal40000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A rockstar with a tainted reputation. A shy, sensitive farmer. A magical ten days on the seas of the South Pacific. Axel Zelman Stepping in to protect my younger brother was a no-brainer. Now I have to pay the consequences and repair my tarnished reputation. That means facing my demons and spending ten days at sea on a cruise ship. At least it’s for a good cause. Kyle Brown Thanks to my interfering family, I’m thrust into a world of extravagance and dazzling spectacle. I’d much rather be at home in the vineyard. That is, until I find an undeniable connection with a gorgeous, brooding passenger. Imagine my surprise when I find out he’s an award-winning performer. Why on earth would he want to spend time with me? It’s only a cruise, a bit of fun, not a life commitment, and as my brother said—we’re not here for a long time, but a good time—so I’m determined to enjoy the limited time we have. I just wish my heart got the message. Sun-Kissed is a sweet and sexy story where two worlds collide in an opposites attract, celebrity/ordinary guy, rockstar romance set amongst the fun and chaos of a Pride Cruise.

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

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

Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! At the shocking end of SINISTER MOTIVES, Noah Sanders was forced to make a decision that would change everything he’d strived for since arriving in the coastal paradise, one that jeopardized not just his relationship with his family, but with his lover. In Cane’s Inlet, located on a barrier peninsula along the Jersey Shore, the lucrative summer season is just two weeks away, with Hatcher’s Resort its most-desired attraction, including the newly opened Medusa Lounge. But drama ensued onboard the restored pirate ship, leaving Noah determined to leave Cane’s Inlet behind. A killer has another idea, and soon Noah knows there is no escape. Living behind enemy lines, Noah realizes he must finally confront Ginette and Emerson Hatcher about the truth he’s been hiding from them all these months. But then the killer strikes again, making Noah’s investigation even more personal. He uncovers a string of secrets that have been lost to the ocean floor for generations. Reaching deep into the past, Noah is in a race against time before the season begins. Needing to repair his relationship with Demetri if he’s ever to find happiness, Noah sets a chilling plan in motion. One which will have devastating consequences, but not before the final, shocking truth is revealed. SUSPICIOUS TRUTHS is the third part in a trilogy that will lay bare stories of the past, and in the end, no one will escape the web of deceit that has defined Cane's Inlet for more than one hundred years. Scandalous, sinister, suspicious, the Cane's Inlet Mystery is a tour-de-force tale of two families, one secret, and, ultimately, one man's discovery of his own true self.