Welcome to Manic Monday, my new blog feature. Why Manic
Monday? Well, for one thing, Mondays are always a little manic. More
importantly, though, this is my list of all the romance books coming out this
week that I'm aware of. Did I miss one?
Leave a link in the comments and I'll add it! Want to be included in a
future week's list? You can e-mail me, send me a message on FB, a PM on
Twitter, or leave that in the comments here too.
Now, on to the books!
What if sexuality wasn’t a definable thing and labels merely
got in the way?
Nick Jones can’t remember a time when he wasn’t part of the
in crowd. Everywhere he goes, he stands out as the best looking guy in the
room, and women practically fall into bed with him. Then, after kissing Corey
on a dare led much more and on many occasions, Nick’s “screw anything”
reputation escalated, but he didn’t care.
When Nick meets RC at the restaurant where he works, it
throws his whole life out of whack. Overweight, always sweaty, gay, and hairy
like a bear, RC lives up to his dubbed nickname “Scruffy Dude.” He seems Nick’s
complete opposite, but Nick can’t get him out of his head.
Because of peer-pressure and his fears about defining his
sexuality, Nick struggles with stepping out of his comfort zone and caring
about someone different than himself. If
he’s lucky, somewhere between arrogance and ignorance, Nick might find out what
it means to be an adult, but if he’s wrong, he could lose everything.
Length: Novel (340p.) | Genre: Contemporary | Release Date:
August 11, 2014
All he ever wanted was to be a normal guy….
Phil Brask spends his days in the basement of his mentor's
Victorian home, converting legal documents into electronic format. When the
pipe feeding the water heater bursts, Lee Redding arrives in the plumber’s
truck and draws Phil away from the narrow focus of his computer and camera
lens. Lee gives Phil hope for a life beyond the walls he’s constructed using
the nesting habits of migratory birds and dense legal files, a guided tour
through a world filled with romance and music…maybe even family. But there’s a
reason Phil retreated behind those walls, why he panics at a simple touch.
Lee has a good life—working with his uncle and on his
mother’s farm, playing bass in a horrible metal band, and hooking up when he
pleases—but he’s always suspected something was missing. When he meets the hot
photographer with the icy-blue eyes, he knows exactly what that something is.
Phil isn’t like other guys, but neither is Lee beneath his carefree exterior.
Maybe Lee's the perfect guy to show Phil that everything doesn’t have to be
done the hard way and "home" isn't a four-letter word.
Length: Novel (200p.) | Genre: Contemporary | Release Date:
August 11, 2014
Laurie Stallon isn’t like other high schoolers. After
suffering years of abuse at his father’s hands, he now lives in a foster care
facility and finds solace volunteering at the local animal shelter. Laurie’s
had to grow up fast, and even though his eighteenth birthday is still weeks
away, he’s more adult than most adults he knows. When he meets Dr. Sam Davies,
the new shelter veterinarian, the attraction is instant. They become friends at
work, but Laurie knows Sam will never go for someone like him. No matter how
Laurie tries to prove his maturity to Sam, Sam continues to reject him as too
young.
Needing a distraction, Laurie goes out dancing for his
birthday and finds his life in danger yet again. When Sam is called to the
hospital, he realizes Laurie needs someone to care for him. Sam takes him home,
and they slowly build a relationship. But more than their age difference works
against them. Facing the disapproval of friends and the scars from Laurie's
past, they'll need to put all their trust in love for a chance at a future
together.
Length: Novel (200p.) | Genre: Contemporary, Coming of Age |
Release Date: August 11, 2014
Elliot Beck may not have been blessed with mad art skills, a
crooner's voice, or a godlike physique, but he makes up for it with an
abundance of quick-witted sarcasm, massive insecurities, and a love of bad
boys.
After his best friend Trevor finds him naked and tied to his
bed—abandoned by his latest troublemaker—Trevor convinces him to take a chance
on a nice guy. When he has an awkward encounter in the men's restroom with a
fitness instructor named Chase, he never suspects the Adonis might be his
perfect bad boy.
Length: Novella (71p.) | Genre: Contemporary | Release Date: August 13, 2014
Noah thinks he’s nothing special. Average height, a bit on
the skinny side, and cute but rather geeky, he’s relentlessly ordinary. He
certainly doesn’t expect to be noticed by Sol, the gorgeous dark-haired
stranger Noah sees on his commute home most days. But when Noah’s friend, Dom,
persuades Noah to take a huge risk in a bid to get Sol’s attention, things turn
out better than Noah dared to hope. Noah and Sol start dating, and much to
Noah’s surprise, his feelings seem to be reciprocated.
But Noah’s insecurities make him doubt Sol. He doesn’t
believe he’s interesting enough or sexy enough to hold Sol’s attention, and as
Sol tries to get closer, Noah’s instinct is to pull away to protect himself. If
their relationship is going to survive, Sol needs to convince Noah that he sees
Noah very differently than Noah sees himself. Because to Sol, Noah is something
very special indeed.
Length: Novella (187p.) | Genre: Contemporary | Release Date: August 13, 2014
During his youth, orphaned thief Faris was flogged at the
pillar in the town square and left to die. But a kind old man saved him, gave
him a home, and taught him a profession. Now Faris is the herbalist for the
town of Zidar, taking care of the injured and ill. He remains lonely, haunted
by his past, and insecure about how his community views him. One night, despite
his reluctance, he saves a dying slave from the pillar.
A former soldier, Boro has spent the last decade as a
brutalized slave. Herbs and ointment can heal his physical wounds, but both men
carry scars that run deep. Bound by the constraints of law and social class in
15th century Bosnia, Faris and Boro must overcome powerful enemies to protect
the fragile happiness they’ve found.
Length: Novella (144p.) | Genre: Historical European | Release Date: August 13, 2014
It’s a lonely life being an Interpol kid. With both Michel’s
parents working for the international police force and always moving from
country to country, it’s hard enough to make friends, let alone find a
boyfriend. Then he meets Benny during an online chat, and Benny is everything
Michel ever wanted and more. He looks forward to meeting his crush when his
family heads to Australia on an important mission. But Benny isn’t quite what
he seems, and it may have something to do with the man Michel’s parents are
investigating and his relationship to an AI. In order to find out the truth,
Michel will have to go to greater lengths—and face greater dangers—than he ever
imagined.
Length: Novella (65p.) | Genre: YA, Gay, Science Fiction | Release Date: August 14, 2014
When Hollywood comes a-knockin’, a young, small-town
Mississippi photographer named Sawyer Taylor packs his bags and heads to the
West Coast. He’s been hired to photograph for a romantic comedy in San
Francisco and looks at the opportunity as a chance to rebuild and reclaim his
life. But a quick, drunken hand job behind a bar in the Castro might prove a
horrible mistake.
Film director Miles Eisenberg isn’t a man who wants to
commit. He has a daughter who means the world to him at home, and he worries
over how his decisions might affect her. He comes up with a million good
reasons not to give Sawyer a second look, but sometimes the heart is determined
to love, and the brain can’t convince it otherwise. His affair with Sawyer
becomes a whirlwind romance worthy of the silver screen, but life doesn't
always imitate art, and imperfect heroes don't always get their happy endings.
Length: Novel (206p.) | Genre: Contemporary | Release Date:
August 15, 2014
Sequel to Siempre
Three years after starting their life together, Jamie and
Sean decide the time is right to expand their family. Preparing to adopt, they
cross their Ts and dot their Is. But nothing can quite prepare them for Angel
and his sister, Margarita.
After over a year in foster care, Angel, eight, and
Margarita, four, are hesitant to trust their new dads. Angel doesn’t believe they will follow
through with the adoption, and Margarita, scared, refuses to speak. While the
process seems slow, Jamie and Sean are happy to take their time winning the
kids over. But when the siblings’ foster mother takes a fall and can no longer
care for them, Jamie and Sean rush to take on parental duties they don’t feel
ready for. Even as they work to finalize the adoption, life continues to throw
them curve balls, and the happy couple worries they aren’t doing enough to save
their fledgling family.
Length: Novel (200p.) | Genre: Contemporary | Release Date: August 15, 2014
Sequel to Inside Out
Bronco's Boys: Book Two
Bronco's Boys: Book Two
Lowell Cartwright’s life as a mercenary problem solver has
taken its toll, and after one more difficult job, he wants out. For help, he
turns to Bull, a soldier of fortune turned club owner—not exactly a friend, but
the best chance Lowell has. He visits Bull’s club to scope it out and meets
Jeremy Hodgson. The twink captures his attention in a big way. Bull tells
Lowell to stay away from the club until he decides whether he can help, so
Lowell stays in town. When he spots Jeremy passed out on the floor of a
convenience store, he goes to Jeremy’s aid.
Lowell piques Jeremy’s interest immediately, pushing all the
right buttons. Then, when Jeremy needs help, Lowell’s kindness turns interest
into something more.
But trouble comes knocking when Jeremy’s place is bugged.
Maybe Lowell’s past is catching up to him, or maybe the danger centers on
Jeremy’s roommate Tristan’s mysterious boyfriend. Whatever the source of the
problem, the future Lowell and Jeremy hope for doesn't stand a chance unless
they can find a way to protect themselves.
Length: Novel (200p.) | Genre: Contemporary | Release Date:
August 15, 2014
And one from last week because I'm really looking forward to reading it and haven't had a chance yet.
Resurrection Man by K.Z. Snow
Bad enough Elijah Colter’s life of comfort comes to an abrupt end when he’s seventeen and his family discovers he’s gay. Bad enough he must live out of his car and turn tricks. But when his perfect boyfriend, Alonzo, becomes the victim of a drive-by shooting, Elijah plummets into suicidal depression. The concepts of trust and hope become more alien to him than ever.
All that keeps Elijah going is a promise he made: that he would look after Alonzo’s stepdad, Dizzy, who’s on the verge of losing his house.
Diz and Elijah become companions in homelessness—until Elijah discovers a program for throwaway LGBT youth. Through it he secures an apartment… then loses it after a year. He’s kept his promise, though, and until he can get back on his feet, he’s resigned to joining Dizzy in the abandoned factory the older man calls home.
One fall day, a pair of new presences in Elijah’s life promise to shape his future: Michael, an outreach volunteer, and Alonzo’s ghost. Both prompt Elijah to decide which of his dreams to pursue, which to cast aside, and just how much he can dare to believe in love, and in himself, again.
Resurrection Man by K.Z. Snow
Bad enough Elijah Colter’s life of comfort comes to an abrupt end when he’s seventeen and his family discovers he’s gay. Bad enough he must live out of his car and turn tricks. But when his perfect boyfriend, Alonzo, becomes the victim of a drive-by shooting, Elijah plummets into suicidal depression. The concepts of trust and hope become more alien to him than ever.
All that keeps Elijah going is a promise he made: that he would look after Alonzo’s stepdad, Dizzy, who’s on the verge of losing his house.
Diz and Elijah become companions in homelessness—until Elijah discovers a program for throwaway LGBT youth. Through it he secures an apartment… then loses it after a year. He’s kept his promise, though, and until he can get back on his feet, he’s resigned to joining Dizzy in the abandoned factory the older man calls home.
One fall day, a pair of new presences in Elijah’s life promise to shape his future: Michael, an outreach volunteer, and Alonzo’s ghost. Both prompt Elijah to decide which of his dreams to pursue, which to cast aside, and just how much he can dare to believe in love, and in himself, again.
Length: Novella
(209p.) | Genre: Contemporary | Release Date: August 6, 2014
What books are you looking forward to this week?
Is it bad that I have pre-ordered all of them!!!
ReplyDeleteNot at all. I have. :)
ReplyDeleteHugs to both of you
ReplyDelete