Books Tagged With where - region - midwest

Word Count: Click here to reveal6400 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sometimes you have to go home again. When Bryce Edwards left Minnesota for the bright lights of Hollywood ten years ago, he was determined not to look back. He's built a solid acting career through his own hard work and talent. But when he finds himself unemployed right before Christmas, the memories he's been ignoring start to rise up and annoy him. Maybe it's time to take a different approach; maybe it's time to confront his past and not just use it as motivation for his next angsty scene. If he can make peace with what happened back then— the small-town bigots who drove him away, and his first boyfriend who refused to leave with him— maybe he'll be free to move on to something better. He's not sure what “something better” will look like, but he's finally ready to get on a plane, go home, and find out.   64,000 words

Word Count: Click here to reveal15898 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When Shawn rushes his daughter’s pet to the local vet, he isn’t expecting to meet the hottest guy in town. His shyness starts to trip him up, but thankfully his daughter is there to invite the man over for cookies. New in town, veterinarian Logan is excited to move out of the hotel and into his new house. He just needs to pick up the keys from his new neighbor before the snowstorm sets in. If only he could quit thinking about the sexy single dad that showed up in his clinic earlier. Can a precocious little girl, a lazy hamster, a dog named Bailey, and a snowstorm conspire to prove two men belong together?

Word Count: Click here to reveal110000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: He can find a use for his lover’s hands…except when he needs help the most. Kellen is short on cash—at least until his first novel starts to sell—but he has plenty of friends. None of them, unfortunately, share his love of books. For that he turns to IM chats with Mike from his online book group. Though he manages to coax the shy, socially inept pathologist into a real-time meeting, Kellen has no intention of letting his new friend become more than a casual lover. Shaky finances and ailing mother aside, self-sufficiency is Kellen’s prime directive. Mike considers himself a nerd of the highest order—short, bespectacled, prone to blurting out the wrong thing at the worst possible time. Meeting Kellen face to face is the biggest risk of his life, and he wonders if they’ll get more body parts together than just their faces. First meeting leads to first date—first everything for Mike—and soon Kellen’s faced with breaking his just-friends-with-benefits rule. Yet as his elderly mother wanders deeper into senility, Kellen wonders if it’s better to lean on Mike rather than fall.

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.

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Summary: Kyle Anderson grew up with the lie that he was one of the last humans born. Then Kyle’s quiet, lonely life as a research assistant and student is shattered when he discovers the government has been lying to the world for more than twenty years. Now on the run from authorities who would kill for his silence, Kyle is taken in by Daniel Shanks, a member of a militia group dedicated to discovering the truth. Daniel has seen death and violence in this new, radically changed society, and the closer he gets to Kyle, the harder his fears ride him. They will need to stop listening to the lies told by the government and start facing the lies they’ve been telling themselves, because the only place strays like them may be safe in this uncertain world is in each other’s hearts.

Word Count: Click here to reveal71000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary:

Lonely billionaire, Samuel Barron, has finally met someone he finds himself falling for, but can he handle a romance for a gentleman whose entire world is surrounded by silence?

Word Count: Click here to reveal82400 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: In The Bachmann Family Secret, Jaret Bachmann travels with his family to his beloved grandfather’s funeral with a heavy heart and, more troubling, premonitions of something evil lurking at the Bachmann ancestral home. But no one believes that he sees ghosts, and no one else saw his grandfather’s ghost warning him to stay home except his dog, Darth. Grappling with his sexuality, a ghost that wants him out of the way, and the loss of his grandfather, Jaret must protect his family and come to terms with powers hidden deep within himself.

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

Summary: (This is a short story! It can be read as a standalone but is part of a series) Gideon Gray is a venomous snake shifter. Born as the first son to an Alpha pair he’s been raised to takeover when his father retires. However, being Alpha isn’t what he wants. Gideon owns a mortuary and would rather live his life working with his friends than become someone else’s puppet. His parents won’t give up easily and with every blind date and matchmaking scheme Gideon’s resolve weakens. Ethan Tod is the Egyptian god Anubis. He’s never expected to find a fated mate. When the Fates themselves drop in on him for a visit he doesn’t say no to what they’re proposing. All it takes is a phone call and he’s leaving his homeland to find the mate he’s suddenly paired with. These two men have a date with destiny now that Fate has intervened and nothing will stand in the way. The journey ahead won’t be all hearts and flowers but with a mating blessed by the Fates these two will be able to handle anything. (Warning: Contains sexual content, Man on Man action, Mpreg and explicit language. Not recommended for those under the age of 18.)

Word Count: Click here to reveal151000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: At seventeen, Rick Albright left his home, his parents and even his old name, rather than pretend to be straight. But being on his own was hard. When his big brother Sam found him, and insisted on giving him a place to stay, he didn't resist too long. Living with Sam is better than fighting just to survive, but it's not easy to find his balance in a simple, small-town life, after his time on the streets. Travis Brinkerhoff finally managed to come out in college, his second year anyway. It was the one bright side to losing his baseball scholarship and jock status. But without money for tuition, second year came to an abrupt end. He's back in his small Minnesota hometown, and back in the closet. Travis feels like he's trying to fit into a life he's outgrown. If he's going to survive, he has to figure out a way to be his own man, maybe even have his own man, without losing the family he loves. When he left the Marines, Sam Albright wanted nothing more than to find his missing younger brother. Mission accomplished. Now he's got an independent, possibly traumatized, openly gay young man on his hands, a girlfriend in a war zone overseas, and parents he has to lie to in order to keep the peace. Keeping it all together won't be easy, but Sam has never backed away from a challenge. 145,000 words

Word Count: Click here to reveal21000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Jesse Calhoun met Devin Palmer five years ago, in front of a Christmas tree at a friend's party. It was Jesse's first holiday alone, away from home. Devin didn't have much of a home to go back to. They found a way to make the season brighter, together. Four years ago, Jesse brought Devin to his parents' house and came out to them. It wasn't all roses, but his family came around, and Devin has spent each holiday with the Calhouns since then. Jesse really loves sharing Christmas with his family, and sharing his family with Devin. So he isn't prepared to hear his mom say, “I don't want Devin to come to the house for Christmas Eve this year.” Suddenly it's not smooth sailing, keeping peace with the family he was born with. 20,000 words

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Word Count: Click here to reveal54000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Hayden Green is the epitome of a cheery, generous, small-town guy. He keeps himself busy in a tiny railroad town tucked in the hills of the Midwest by helping others. If he also finds himself wishing for a tall, dark, and handsome man to waltz into town and sweep him off his feet, who can blame him? Gannon Snow closed himself off to emotions and connections a long time ago. He’ll head back to his late grandfather’s beloved holiday town, but only to sell the old man’s house and store. He has his own business to run and no time for feelings. Much to his chagrin, Gannon gets caught up in nostalgia and finds himself mesmerized by a happy little holiday helper. Hayden and Gannon share an instant connection, but Gannon isn’t staying and Hayden isn’t keen on a broken heart. However, the universe—and maybe some holiday magic, which Gannon most definitely doesn’t believe in—has a different plan, and the men find themselves smack dab in the middle of a small-town Christmas romance. The Heart of St. Nick is a steamy, forced proximity, small-town M/M holiday romance with a slight age gap between a bowtie and suspender-wearing good guy and an emotionally-stunted man with a cold heart just waiting to be melted.

Word Count: Click here to reveal29800 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A fun, gay romantic romp, within a cosy mystery setting: When Jack moves into the vintage carriage-house he inherits, he has no idea that his book-dealer uncle’s suicide might have been murder: not until a handsome detective comes knocking at his door to ask questions, where the powerful attraction between the two young men leads to much more than just a murder investigation. Nottinghill Lane is situated in a beautiful old neighborhood in a charming small town on Rainbow Lake. The Lane is cul-de-sac inhabited by interesting historic homes and eccentric characters; a literary enclave where everyone has a devotion to a favorite author: but can books lead to murder?

Word Count: Click here to reveal40,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: BOOK ONE: THE PINKERTON MAN Stiles Langberry leaves England under the dark cloud of blackmail. He resettles in America with a new name, becoming a Pinkerton Agent. His new employer sends him undercover to a brothel that serves homosexual men, where prostitutes are being murdered. In the course of his investigation, he becomes involved with Paul, one of the prostitutes. Complicating matters, one of the suspects draws Stiles like no man before him. Stiles knows he must stop the killer before he strikes again. BOOK TWO: HOME ON THE RANGE Pinkerton Agent Stiles Long is sent to the Circle W Ranch to uncover who is killing the ranch’s cattle. In order to discover the truth about the goings on at the ranch, Stiles has to prove to the ranchers he’s more than a good-looking city slicker. Savage Beare, the head ranch foreman, is far from happy that Stiles is there to check things out. He has secrets of his own. Stiles finds Savage incredibly good-looking, but cold and aloof. He’s also a suspect. One of many. When Stiles’ best friend and partner, Lizzie Ferguson, is kidnapped things begin to shake apart. Stiles doesn't trust anyone and he needs to find Lizzie before it's too late

Word Count: Click here to reveal87,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It took losing nearly everything, to discover what they can’t live without. A few excruciating minutes pinned under a burning beam cost Ryan Ward his job as a firefighter, the easy camaraderie of his coworkers, his current girlfriend, and damn near cost him his left leg. Giving up, though, wasn’t an option. He fought and won the battle back to health, over a painful year. Now, choosing a new profession, going back to school, and renting a room from the college groundskeeper should be simple. Until he realizes he’s falling in love with his housemate, and things take a turn for the complicated. John Barrett knows about loss. After moving twice to stay in touch with his kids, he could only watch as his ex-wife whisked them away to California. Offering Ryan a room seems better than rattling around his empty house alone. But as casual friendship moves to something more, and emotions heat up, the big old house feels like tight quarters. It’s nothing they can't learn to navigate, until life adds in unhappy teen kids, difficult family members, and mysterious deaths on campus. Rebuilding will be far from easy, even for two guys willing to open their minds, and hearts. (This is a rerelease of the 2012 Samhain novel, with only minor editing.)

Word Count: Click here to reveal24,189 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Thirty-three-year-old gay farmer Vladimir Wozniak IV lives for his crops and the hard work that makes them profitable every year. Five miles up the road, former rodeo bull rider and rancher Thomas Sullivan is just as committed to his corn-fed beef. Once best friends until VJ kissed Tommy during freshman year in college, they stopped speaking when Tommy rejected VJ. Ten years later, after the country doctor who helped bring them into the world dies and his will names them as co-owners of property, they decide to check out their inheritance together to see which one wants to buy out the other. As they travel down memory lane through the Doc’s correspondence and visit familiar sites on the land, can they work their way back to friendship ... and possibly beyond?

Word Count: Click here to reveal98,500 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary:

Word Count: Click here to reveal84000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sam and Ulysses have finally moved in together. Unfortunately, the new apartment is not quite the safe haven they'd hoped for--their neighbors have a ghost problem, and the building has a spider infestation. To make matters more complicated, Ulysses's brother Laz is back from Vietnam, and he's not happy about Sam's presence in Ulysses's life. Laz's anger isn't their only challenge. When their magical bond starts acting up, Ulysses's increasing discomfort and attempts to fix it drive a wedge between him and Sam just when it becomes apparent that the spiders are no accident and a shadowy cult may mean them harm. Maybe they're not done with Sam's grandfather, Julius Sterling, after all.

Word Count: Click here to reveal108000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Fire. Water. Burn. In the two months since the All Hallows’ Eve party, Tally has courted Haru, buying expensive gifts, taking the two of them to upscale restaurants and trying to find a balance in earning Haru’s fragile trust while being new parents to the Cohen joeys. Tally sees hope in the new domesticity the family has settled into, despite having some bumps along the way. Gifts and treats have satisfied Haru’s otter, but the human half remembers the brutal lessons of giving their trust away. How can two lijun who barely know each other anticipate what will happen when times get tough? There are circumstances Tally doesn’t understand yet, and Haru struggles to find their feet with an Urusar who doesn’t know the rules. A revelation not only throws the tentative relationship between them askew, but also starts Tally and Haru down a path the two of them can’t escape, one so heart-wrenching Haru’s not sure their heart will survive. Traditionalist concerns that have always nipped at the Bastille clan’s heels come roaring to the forefront with demands and ultimatums. Tally needs to fall in line or face further threats to his otter, his family and his clan. Haru needs to find the strength to believe in the good despite the bad. In an environment where it’s vital to know ally from foe, Tally and Haru need to stand united or watch the community Tally’s family has built fall under the thumb of heartless, greedy autocrats.

Word Count: Click here to reveal111000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Now a Free novel in ebook: For a hidden shifter, falling in love with a man may be the death of them both. Simon Conley knows about being an outcast. Born into a secret werewolf pack, he’s the lone gay wolf, an outsider even among his packmates. The top wolves consider him a perversion, a failure, and a security risk. To survive in the human world, werewolves rely on absolute secrecy, and any breaches of their code are dealt with swiftly— and violently. So when Simon falls in love with Paul, a human man, even his Alpha's grudging tolerance won't protect him. He must keep Paul from discovering the truth about him and the secrets the pack jealously guards, or it’s not just their love that’ll end up dead. (re-released 2021 with light editing and the 1.15 short story included)