Books Tagged With where - state - texas

Word Count: Click here to reveal37,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sheriff Avery O’Rourke has tried to obey his strict Christian faith and lead a “normal” life. In 1923 in a rural East Texas town, “normal” means heterosexual. A cholera outbreak has made Avery a young widower, so he is married to his job. When a murder investigation forces him to confront his truth, will he finally be able to accept being gay? Veterinarian Garland Sands has returned from Europe to take over his father’s practice. Struggling with shellshock (PTSD) and heartbroken by the suicide of his French lover, he resigns himself to a quiet, solitary life as a country vet. But the murder of the town doctor brings the sheriff to Garland’s doorstep looking for help with the investigation. Seeing Avery awakens dormant feelings. Can he love a man who hates what he is? This isn’t the lavish 1920s of The Great Gatsby. This is the flip side of that coin—rural East Texas. No electricity. No indoor plumbing. No flappers. In 1923, the timber barons have left and racism, homophobia, and sexism thrive. A Little Sin is a realistic mystery with unlikely heroes and a timeless romance between lovers caught in a world where their love is forbidden. This book contains steamy sex scenes and is intended for adults only.

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

Summary: It is 1969 when Dewey Snodgress, high school theater star, meets irrepressible hippie Jeep Brickthorn, who quickly inserts himself into Dewey’s life—and eventually, into his heart. Meanwhile, Dewey prepares to appear in a production across town, a play about protestors of the Vietnam War, where he befriends the wild and wonderful Lucretia “LuLu” Belton, who is also determined to follow her dreams and become an actress—whether her parents approve or not. The show has a profound effect, especially on Dewey’s father, who reconsiders his approval of the war after his son’s performance. But Dewey knows his dad won’t be so accepting if he reveals the love he’s developing for Jeep, so he fights to push his feelings away and keep the peace in his family. Still, Dewey can’t ignore the ripples moving through society—from the impending Woodstock Festival to the Stonewall Riots—and he begins to see that the road to happiness and acceptance for him and Jeep might lead them away from conservative Fort Worth, Texas—and Dewey’s dad.

Word Count: Click here to reveal60000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sonny Lakes is as lost as a person can be. After being discharged from the US Army following a traumatic event, he’s sent home, where unbearable nightmares and deep despair lead him to attempt to take his own life, a choice that puts him on the path to a new home in a new town where no one knows him. But as Sonny tries to settle in, mysterious vandalism and harassment begin to take over his life, destroying the anonymity he craves. Abe Ellis has lived his whole life in Sweetshade, Texas, and that kind of loyalty lends itself well to being a small-town cop. His quiet life changes when a handsome newcomer moves into town and unlikely events begin to unfold. As Abe and his partner Nate begin looking into the crimes, Nate grows increasingly suspicious of the stranger with no history, no enemies, and few friends, to whom Abe is so drawn. Can Sonny’s faith in himself be restored in time to find the love and stability he seeks? Can Abe count on his instincts and trust the young man with his safety and his heart? Sweetshade is a small town, as calm and inviting as the name suggests. But even places like that can hide sinister secrets and dangerous threats. Warning: PTSD, suicide attempt

Word Count: Click here to reveal80,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: In 1888 Austin, Texas, a shy medium with clubfoot is visited by the horrific ghosts of murdered children and enlists the help of a rugged Texas Ranger to pursue their killer. As the two men hunt the murderer, they find themselves not only in the grip of a taboo love that could—at best—send them to prison, but also in danger of becoming the killer’s next prey. In the twenty three years of his life, Thomas Carillon has known nothing but unrequited love. People don’t notice him; they only notice his clubfoot. He has given himself up to a solitary existence with only the companionship of his cat and the ghosts who visit him. When a rare child ghost, her massive injuries evident, asks Thomas for help, the only law man that will listen is a hard-bitten Texas Ranger who reawaken’s Thomas’s secret desires. The two grow closer as they chase the killer, but can they hold onto their fragile, budding love in such hard times? Hadrian Burton thinks Thomas looks like an angel, except for whatever horror he’s hiding in that strange boot. Temporarily leaving life on the range and his complicated past to track down a killer with Thomas, Hadrian finds himself doing something he vowed never to do again—falling in love. Their “congress,” as Thomas calls it, is more intense than he has ever experienced. After a lifetime of virginity, the clubfooted man is going wild, and he doesn’t balk at Hadrian’s unconventional appetites. But they’re too different; Hadrian fears he will only hurt Thomas in the end. And yet, he has never fallen so hard for another man. How can he keep both his and Thomas’s hearts from being broken? And how can he bring the elusive Child Slayer to justice with only the help of a medium and ghosts? This erotic gay romance contains violence, period homophobia, period racism, period ableism, and graphic sex scenes.

Word Count: Click here to reveal24000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: I was a runner, I'd disappear for days and come back to work like nothing happened. As a Gargoyle, I liked to stay in the shadows. I was used to the stares and snickers. I knew I wasn't sought after like the rest of Bloody Knuckles Crew. Claws and wings, fangs, yeah, I wasn't pretty, but I was nice, or at least I thought so. But I played the game, and no one needed to know what I did on my time away from the bar and community of trailers we lived in. No one needed to know about her. She treated me like I was normal, but friends was all she'd offer and I could deal…maybe.

Word Count: Click here to reveal43199 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Mike’s life is carefully compartmentalized. He’s deep in the closet to his family in Kansas, but lives life honestly and openly in Austin. He’s unnerved when Wes, his old university crush, turns up at his door in answer to a roommate advertisement, but quickly sees the potential…benefits of the arrangement. Wes has never doubted nor denied his sexuality. With the support of his family he’s an out and proud LGBT activist. On the scale balancing his self-esteem on one side, and the love of his family on the other, Mike has to decide which weighs more. Is Mike being fair to his parents by not giving them the chance to know his real self? When the delicate balance of his life is disrupted, he decides he’s tired of living a lie. Will Wes understand his concerns, or will their fledgling relationship crumble under the strain of Mike’s uncertainty? Keywords: roommates, roommates with benefits, coming out, closet, family, meet cute, short novel, anxiety, homophobia, slice of life, ebook, print, paperback

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: When Anderson “Logic” Whitehead gets a call from his sister that she’s in a dangerous situation, he leaves his California home to head back to Texas for the first time since high school. He’s a different man now, a well-known author and creator, as well as out and proud, so he’s not about to let anyone intimidate him, whether his sister’s stalker or an old nemesis from his bad old days. Cowboy Jericho Yeager has his land, his kids, and a lot of conflicting emotions about his hometown. When his neighbor Bailey starts having trouble with what his daughter calls a “bad man” Jericho mounts up to help, but he doesn’t find a stalker, he finds Logic, who used to be a skinny, pimply kid. Now Logic is everything Jericho could ever want, but he knows he can’t just grasp the brass ring. Guys like Logic don’t fall for men like Jericho, and relationships that begin under high stress never last. At least that’s what Jericho tells himself. Logic is used to going after what he wants, so he’s wiling to ask Jericho to give him a try, but even he’s not sure he can get past all of their history with each other, and with their deep East Texas hometown.

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

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

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

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

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

Summary: Information not available

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Boston in 1888 is quite urbane, but unfortunately for Gil Porter, that isn’t the same thing as being understanding. When his sexuality is exposed by the scandalous suicide of his lover, Gil is exiled to the small town of Mercy, Texas, by his domineering father, George, who believes life on Vernon Porter's ranch will cure Gil of his “unnatural” desires. Grieving and ashamed, Gil is determined to keep his distance from everyone until he can return home. To his surprise, he finds acceptance at Bent Oak Ranch, especially from Matt Grayson, the handsome son of the ranch foreman. Knowing he must fight his attraction to Matt, Gil courts a local girl, but an unexpected encounter with Matt leads to his discovery of Matt’s feelings for him. Torn between Matt and his desire to be “normal," between returning to his old life and building a new one in Texas, Gil is faced with a choice—appeasing his father or becoming the man Matt knows he can be.

Word Count: Click here to reveal50000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sonny Lakes has found a home with Abe Ellis in Sweetshade, a small town as calm and inviting as the name suggests. But even places like that can hide sinister secrets and dangerous threats. After facing down Sonny’s stalker and coming to terms with their need to work on better communication, they seem to have settled into the domestic bliss they’ve both been craving. But just as Sonny is about to return to the medical field and pursue his dreams, he gets enmeshed in an all-too-familiar nightmare, upending any sense of stability he had. Their hard-won peace robbed from them, Abe fights to keep Sonny on the path toward the career he’s always wanted. Abe is willing to do whatever it takes, but his increasingly risky deceit not only threatens their relationship, but his own life yet again. Can Sonny and Abe find their way through the fire once more and learn to dance in the rain? Warning: school shooting, gun violence, PTSD

Word Count: Click here to reveal426 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sometimes the best thing about living in New York is leaving it. When January Bell takes a risk on a business trip to Denver and introduces himself to the hot as fire cowboy across the bar, he has no idea what he’s in for. Hawk is like nobody he’s ever met, and Jan finds he is intrigued enough to want more than just one night with the deceptively complex man. Hawk Destry is working hard to wring every moment he can out of his bull riding career. He’s used to beating the eight second clock, but a life-long degenerative disease is causing him to slowly lose his sight and he doesn’t have a lot of years left in the sport. None of that seems to matter, though, when Hawk meets January, who treats him like he’s worth more off a bull than on one, and who’s willing to work just as hard to be with him. The two men have to deal with the distance, unexpected challenges when Hawk visits New York, family on both sides, and neither of them sees any of it coming. Eventually even Hawk’s dangerous job is thrown into sharp relief when tragedy strikes. How will January and Hawk find their way when they’re flying blind?

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

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

Summary: Ex-necromancer Frank Hope risked his life to help his demon lover Kasimir return to his homeland, a dimension humans call Hell and Kasimir calls the Eternal Realm—a beautiful medievalesque land. Now, because Kasimir is the heir apparent to a vast, wealthy kingdom, the two live in luxury in a palace by the sea. But darkness haunts them. Necromancers, humans sworn to capture and slay demons for Earth’s energy corporations to use as fuel, continue to strike the Eternal Realm. Strife between the Eternals’ kingdoms grows as well. When war breaks out with a neighboring land, Frank and Kasimir are forced to make hard choices that threaten their relationship—and even their lives. Is their love truly meant to be? Will the universe that once smiled upon them turn against them? This is the final book in the Love Songs for Lost Worlds trilogy and combines elements of fantasy, paranormal, and gay romance within the framework of an alternate 1980s world. Explicit sex, violence, suicide attempt, sexual assault

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

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

Summary: It’s 1985, but different.... Frank Hope is a troubled high school senior. Being gay in a small Texas town in the eighties is hard enough, but Frank’s also fighting to win back his ex-boyfriend, trying to graduate while hating school, and struggling to care for his sick mom. Despite his cynical nature, he tries to remain, well, hopeful. Everything he desires seems beyond his reach—until a newfound ability promises financial success and prestige. But success always comes with a price. What is Frank willing to sacrifice? Kasimir is—humans would call Kasimir a demon. Kasimir’s people refer to themselves as the Eternals, who are engaged in a centuries’ long conflict with the mortals from another world. But Kasimir, sensitive and idealistic, can’t hate humans because he fell in love with a human boy named Frank while watching him through an interdimensional window when they were children. Now, as a priest scholar specializing in the study of humans, he’s set on finding his old crush. However, his boy has grown into something feared by all beings of the Eternal Realm. Taking place in an alternative 1985 where demon essence fuels everything from mopeds to the space shuttle, this story of star-crossed lovers combines elements of fantasy and dystopian genres with gay romance while weaving together themes of surviving past trauma, breaking obsessions, and the transformative power of love. Warning: period homophobia, hate speech, suicidal ideation, past suicide, explicit language, sex, violence, child abuse, drug abuse, smoking

Word Count: Click here to reveal101,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Stoic men, who believe they’re happy alone, find the world turned upside down when their perfect someone stumbles across their path. Marc joins the Lonely Hearts chat room where men support men on their way to finding true love. He wants to believe that kind of love is possible for him, but his once-burned heart stops him from going all-in with anyone. The chat group’s philosophy is, “Figure out how you keep screwing up your happily ever after. Once you know, you’re more likely to find the true thing.” Skeptical as he is, Marc logs in and meets men in various degrees of getting there. At least he’s not alone. Luther truly loves his single life on the Bakken oil fields. William’s not sure he’ll ever measure up, let alone find someone he can be himself around. And Andrew still pines for a guy he hooked up with on a reenactment battlefield before he got blown up on a real one. One by one they start dropping like flies. Flies drunk on love. And sooner than he expects, Marc’s luck starts changing thanks to these new friends. Walk alongside these men as they find the men of their dreams and discover their happily ever afters. Lonely Hearts: a novella bundle includes: Bent Arrow, Stroke of Luck, Momo, My Everything, and Love on a Battlefield. blue-collar, reluctant lovers, rural, bisexual, gay, meet-cute, fated lovers, Halloween, love triangle, white-collar, opposites attract, multicultural, coming out, second chance, first time, disability, recovery romance, meant to be, military, artist, world traveler, coming of age, long distance, pen pals, gay romance, contemporary, MM romance, lone wolf, alpha male

Word Count: Click here to reveal56546 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Elian, a sexy restaurateur meets Martin, an equally sexy food critic. Will their past keep them from giving love a chance? Restaurant entrepreneur Elian Whitman believes hard work and determination usually wins out in the end, but that theory is put to the test after meeting the handsome but reticent Martin Williams. Martin knows better than anyone that relationships can fall apart when you least expect them to. After a nasty break-up he leaves his Texas home and restarts his life as a restaurant critic in Fort Lauderdale. Just as Martin is coming to terms with the belief that he’s going to spend the rest of his life alone, he comes face to face with the sexy Elian who throws his perfectly controlled world into chaos. Despite the roadblocks Martin throws up, Elian is persistent, but is persistence enough to break through Martin’s thick walls and give them both a chance at love

Word Count: Click here to reveal81599 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Months after James’s brutal murder, Sam gets an opportunity to help Thomas find closure. That means leaving New York City to travel to the O’Reilly’s Texas home, to meet Sam’s parents and get a taste of how and where the O’Reilly brothers grew up. Their vacation is also an opportunity for Thomas and Sam to move beyond the past, drop their remaining baggage, and finally solidify their tumultuous relationship. But that may be easier said than done given that Thomas has a secret he’s been keeping from Sam, and Sam is sick and tired of everyone in his life knowing what’s going on but him. It’s the worst time for their trust to break down, because their final confrontation with James’s killer looms, and if they’re going to walk away, they’ll have to do it together. Note to our readers: Each of the three books in The Cowboy and the Dom Series has a fully realized, romantic ending. However, the overarching suspense element will leave readers on a cliffhanger after books one and two, to be fully resolved in book three (this book). Readers should begin the series with book one, First Rodeo.

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

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

Summary: For these polar opposites, the most interesting plays happen off the field. Garrett Stevens is done with scandal. The drinking, the hookups…he’s over it all. It’s time to grow up and focus on his pro football career. The last thing he needs is a new romance. So why can’t he keep his mind (or hands) off the sexy bar owner who makes him question everything he thought he ever wanted in life? Chester Monroe is too busy working day and night, making his business a success, to worry about finding love. Even if he was looking for a relationship, it wouldn’t be with someone famous. Which meant getting involved with Garrett was definitely a mistake. The easiest one Chester ever made… When all is said and done, will the ghosts of the past—and the secrets of the present—destroy Garrett and Chester’s shot at happily ever after?

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 reveal65000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Information not available