Walking on Broken Paths by Amy Aislin

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: Walking on Broken Paths

Author and Publisher: Amy Aislin

Cover Artist: Morningstar Ashley

Release Date: July 22, 2025

Tense/POV: third person, past tense

Genres: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Childhood friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, damaged hero, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine

Heat Rating:  3 flames      

Length: 53 000 words / 210 pages

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

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Blurb

Desperate to escape the pain of his brother’s death, Jesse Melnik ran—but he couldn’t outrun the grief, no matter how much distance he put between himself and his past. Now, after fifteen years of trying, he’s finally ready to face his hometown of Charlottetown again.

He expects the memories of his brother to hover in every corner of his family’s sailboat and whisper in every sea-tinged breeze.

What he doesn’t expect is Parker Willis, the best friend he left behind without a word the day he fled.

And he certainly doesn’t expect old feelings to resurface.

Parker’s been stuck in a rut since his father died three months ago. Every day is the same: try to keep his father’s dinner cruise business afloat so he can chip away at Dad’s debts, all while working a job that leaves him more frustrated than satisfied.

Then Parker’s routine shatters in the best way possible: Jesse Melnik returns to Prince Edward Island for the summer, all six feet three inches of gorgeous hockey player.

Now, that’s different.

Jesse kickstarts Parker’s heart.

 Parker makes Jesse feel again.

And although both men are a little bit damaged from struggling down the broken path of loss, maybe—just maybe—if they can lean on each other, they’ll learn to move forward at last.

Content warnings: themes of grief, discussions of a parent's death from cancer, discussions/descriptions of a sibling's death from suicide 

Excerpt

Jesse glanced over and nearly swallowed his tongue.

How dare running shorts be so goddamn tiny and cling so goddamn nicely to long, shapely legs dusted with hair the same shade as the finest dark chocolate? Jesse was still reeling at being in the same place at the same time as Parker for the first time in years—had, in fact, tossed and turned all night thinking about Parker—and now he showed up out of nowhere again and sent Jesse’s libido into a jumble of desire and yearning?

There were things that Jesse had left in his past, and his attraction to his best friend was supposed to be one of them.

Former best friend? Best friend he’d recently gotten reacquainted with? Former best friend who could be his new best friend?

Fuck. Relationships were hard.

Along with the shorts, Parker also wore a long-sleeved running shirt in teal and a baseball hat with Montreal hockey’s logo on the front. His dark hair curled out from underneath the sides of the hat, and the two-day stubble on his jaw was way sexier than Jesse wanted to admit. He was a couple of inches shorter than Jesse’s six foot three, but whereas Jesse was—admittedly—very big, even for a defenceman, Parker was lanky and toned, the muscle definition obvious in his running gear in a way it hadn’t been in the jeans and Willis Dinner Cruises-branded long-sleeved T-shirt he’d been wearing last night when he’d appeared like a figment of Jesse’s childhood wishes and sat next to him on the bench at the marina.

Whatever he wore, Parker looked like he’d fit into all of Jesse’s empty spaces.

Shaking his head to rid himself of that thought, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and scowled. “I’ll get you a new hat.”

Parker’s lips quirked. “I like this hat.”

“Since when are you a Montreal fan?”

“Hey, don’t knock them. They made it to the playoffs.”

The unlike you was left unsaid, but Jesse heard it loud and clear and refused to be amused.

“So.” Parker’s shoulder bumped up against his. “What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?”

“This is my jogging route.”

“That so?” Jesse would have to remember to be by his window in the mornings so he could watch Parker run by in his short shorts.

“Mm-hmm. Is it your jogging route?”

“No.”

“What are you doing here then?”

Glancing back at the house, Jesse let out a long breath. “Deciding what to tackle first. What colour would you paint that door?”

Parker blinked once and frowned. “Why would you paint it any colour?”

“Because that rusty red makes me think of dead bodies on a crime show?”

“No, I mean . . .” That unique greyish-greenish gaze of Parker’s swung from Jesse to the house and back. “Do you know the people who live here? Are you doing work for them this summer or something?”

“I live here,” Jesse said. “And I don’t want to live with that gross colour for the next two months.”

“You . . . bought a house?”

Jesse grunted.

“But you live in Vancouver,” Parker said slowly, as though reminding Jesse of this fact.

“No, I know, but . . .”

But what? He’d wanted a project for the summer? Something that would keep him occupied so he didn’t have to think about where he was and why he was back for the first time in fifteen years? A fixer-upper was as good a distraction as anything.

His therapist wouldn’t love that he was keeping busy instead of sitting with and analyzing his feelings. But she didn’t have to know. Right?

When Jesse didn’t continue, Parker said, “Are you retiring from hockey and moving back here?”

“Fuck no,” Jesse blurted.

About the Author 

Amy’s lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit.

An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter.

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D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire, Book 44) by Jessamyn Kingley

COVER REVEAL

Book Title: D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire, Book 44)

Author and Publisher: Jessamyn Kingley

Cover Artist: LJ Anderson of Mayhem Cover Creations

Release Date: August 7, 2025

Genre: MM Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Trope: Fated mates

Themes: Love

Heat Rating:  3 flames

Length:  85 108 words

It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads Series Link 

Amazon Author Profile

Luck and love await the D’Vaire family at the newest dragon resort.

Blurb

In these five previously unpublished short stories, the D’Vaires are invited to the newest dragon resort, the Deck of Cards. 

King of Clubs: The King of Clubs restaurant boasts a menu ranging from flavorful steak to exotic fruits. Grab a seat at a table and dine with many of the beloved couples from the D’Vaire series.

Diamond and Dollars: The heart of this Vegas resort is the casino, and the D’Vaires are ready to discover if the odds favor them. Past the slots and tables is a vast shopping area, and the stores have plenty to tempt even the most discerning customer.

Goddesses Wild: The goddesses are keeping an eye on their treasured D’Vaires from the realm of the dead. Unfortunately, their jovial chat is interrupted by a sudden death with a few clues left to unravel.

Heathcliff’s Heart: Brynewielm Duke Heathcliff D’Vairefenix wants a quick beer, so he escapes to the Hearts bar with a book. When he gets there, Heath finds his mate. Young bartender Brinley Brimstone is saving every penny for an uncertain future. When the phoenix and fire mage meet, flames will surely follow.

Double Spades: For Bard Ashby D’Vaire, everything centers on his career, family, and garden. But Ashby is missing the love of a partner. It is with great reluctance that Seltivare Tristis takes a job at the Deck of Cards. But the elf’s misgivings are lost on his first night at work when he crosses paths with a jaguar hybrid who is determined to make his dreams come true.

Excerpt 

Grand Warlock Dra’Kaedan D’Vaire narrowed his navy eyes at his other half and crossed his arms. The dragon shifter was up to something. Brogan had used his best manners all day and hadn’t exploded once about safety, which was odd. No matter how often they left their remote estate, Brogan lectured everyone about rules and warned against potential bizarre situations that existed only in the man’s mind.

Dra’Kaedan waited for Brogan to toss the last of his things into his suitcase and close it.

“What are you up to?” Dra’Kaedan demanded. Subtlety wasn’t his style.

Brogan set the bag on the floor and glanced at Dra’Kaedan with fake innocence on his handsome face. 

“Huh?” Brogan replied.

“Why are you being weird?”

“We’re D’Vaires. We’re always weird.”

“D’Vaire weird is a good weird, and you’re being a bad way strange.”

Bending down to account for the fact that more than a foot of height separated them, Brogan kissed Dra’Kaedan’s cheek. 

“I’m in a good mood, baby. We’re off to have a fun family weekend at a new resort. What’s odd about that?”

“Well, usually you’d be running around with that crease between your brows and repeating yourself all day as you lecture us on safety. Instead, you’ve been polite. You’ve smiled. Your eye didn’t even twitch when Rorie went through his list of plans at breakfast this morning. So, what’s up?”

Protector Rorietheil D’Vaire of the Fae was mated to Dra’Kaedan’s familiar, Renny, and Rorie was a whirlwind of energy. The fairy’s complete lack of fear usually sent Brogan into a tizzy when they were leaving the estate. But Brogan hadn’t said a word while Rorie had excitedly discussed gambling, shopping, and venturing through every inch of the new resort. 

“We’ll be in a dragon-owned resort; what could go wrong?” Brogan asked. “Are you ready to go? Everyone else is probably already in the living room waiting for you to teleport us to Vegas.”

“What could go wrong? Are you honestly asking me that question? You’re the one who comes up with the crazy ideas about rogue assassins, natural disasters, and strange shit that will never happen.”

Brogan settled his hands on Dra’Kaedan’s shoulders. “Maybe I’m looking forward to having a great weekend with you.”

Those words caused the little hairs at Dra’Kaedan’s nape to stand up. “Bullshit.”

“Why are you so suspicious?”

“Because Elf arranged for Rafe and Aleksander to have a date tonight in the new swanky restaurant he designed.”

“I think that was sweet of Elf, and I can’t wait to see the hotel. It’s Vegas themed. I know they wanted to surprise us, but I went on the website and looked at the pictures. They named it Deck of Cards. Whole place is based on playing cards, which is cool. The restaurant is also an ode to dragon royalty and is called the King of Clubs. How awesomesauce is it that the High Kings will be one of the first couples dining there?”

“Okay, not going to lie, that’s incredible. But why aren’t you freaking out that Aleksander and Rafe will be in a restaurant without you?”

Brogan smiled, but it was wobbly and didn’t reach his dark blue scaly eyes. “Why would I freak out?”

“You aren’t planning on doing anything stupid, are you?”

“When have I ever done anything stupid?”

Dra’Kaedan couldn’t help it, he laughed at the man he adored more than everything else in the world. “Do you really want me to list all the stupid things you’ve said or done since the day we met?”

“It’s not that long of a list,” Brogan grumbled, his navy gaze downcast.

“Sure, whatever you say. Now, tell me what you’re up to tonight.”

“Well, you and I should probably eat dinner somewhere.”

“We aren’t eating in the King of Clubs.”

The grin fell from Brogan’s face, and his lips thinned in annoyance. “Why not? It’s got a great menu. Elf and Chrys had Henry hire the chef.”

Henry Gennevios was part of their large extended family and a renowned chef. But that was hardly enough to sway Dra’Kaedan to show up and ruin Rafe and Aleksander’s night.

“Because we aren’t crashing Aleksander and Rafe’s date.”

“Double dates are a normal thing, Dra’Kaedan.”

“Yeah, if one couple invites the other. Did Rafe or Aleksander suggest we join them for dinner?”

Brogan’s hands slipped from Dra’Kaedan’s arms, and he stepped away to fiddle with his already-packed suitcase. “Not exactly.”

“Not exactly, or not at all?”

“I’m sure they won’t mind.”

About the Author

Jessamyn Kingley has published over forty titles and refuses to pick a favorite among them. With an extraordinary passion for her characters, Jessamyn eagerly crafts new tales and avidly re-reads them whenever her schedule allows. Jessamyn shares a home in Nevada with her husband and their three spoiled cats. When she is not writing or adding new ideas to her thick stack of beloved notebooks, she is gaming with family and friends.

Visit her website 

Join her Facebook group, Jessamyn's Ruffian's

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The Way You Lie by Crea Reitan

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: The Way You Lie (Isle of Kala, book one)

Author: Crea Reitan

Publisher: Dragon Fire Fantasy, LLC

Cover Artist: Rebeca Covers

Release Date: July 10, 2025

Tense/POV: first person, present tense, alternating POV

Genres: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Forbidden love, Age gap, Dad’s best friend, secret relationship

Heat Rating:  4 flames

Length:  approximately 92 000 words

It is a standalone story.

It ends on a cliffhanger — not for this couple,

but for the couple featured in the next book.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

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Sometimes a happy ending comes with heartbreak. 

Blurb

Sometimes a happy ending comes with heartbreak. 

Falling in love with my father’s best friend wasn’t on my to-do list. Yes, he’s hot. Sure, I’ve been flirting with him since I was sixteen. Of course I’d be down for a little fun.

When Laiken begins returning my flirting, things get heated. It was supposed to be sexy summer fun and nothing more. We weren’t planning on making this a forever thing. 

But falling in love isn’t a choice. 

As it turns out, not everyone agrees and sometimes disapproval is loud, painful, and heartbreaking.

***

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

Excerpt 

I’m no stranger to Elijah Cain. I’ve seen him nearly every single day of his life since the moment he was conceived. His father, Nason, and I have been friends for over thirty years.

He began flirting with me four years ago when he was in high school, and at the time, I found it nothing but amusing. He was a kid. He’s my best friend’s son. In a way, he felt like my nephew.

But when he came home from college a few months ago, he’d suddenly stopped looking like a child to me. He was now an adult. Everything about him had grown up. And I’ve found that I really like every damn thing I see.

He’s adorable. He looks so much like his father but with his mother’s Latina complexion. The combination of Miranda and Nason is simply breathtaking. I’ve always thought so. I’ve always thought that Elijah was an adorable child.

Adorable has grown up into a man that never leaves my mind. His flirting hasn’t stopped. If anything, it’s increased. I’m not sure if he’s just a flirt or if it’s intentionally directed at me.

Not that it matters. I can’t go there. That’s Nason’s kid! My best friend’s only child and the man whom I can’t stop thinking about day or night.

About the Author 

Crea lives in upstate New York with her dog and husband. She has been writing since grade school and has a habit of creating secondary, and often tertiary characters that take over her stories. When she can’t fall asleep at night, she thinks up new scenes for her characters to act out.

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Golden Bond by Tavian Cross

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: Golden Bond

Author, Publisher, Cover Artist: Tavian Cross

Release Date: July 9, 2025

Tense/POV: first person, past tense, alternating POV

Genres: MM Fantasy Romance

Tropes: Bonded lovers, strangers to lovers, forced proximity

Themes: fate, choice vs duty

Heat Rating: 5 flames      

Length: 56 000 words/200 pages

It is the first in the series. The romance between MCs is complete here. It works as a standalone.

It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

I came to the sacred island to pay my family's debt. I never expected to lose my heart.

Blurb

My name is Callis, and I'm an offering.

Sent to Eletheria—the legendary pleasure palace where gods once walked among mortals—I have one purpose: submit to the bonding ritual, serve my time, and return home with my family's honor restored.

But the man who chooses me changes everything.

Auren is silver-haired, devastatingly beautiful, and dangerously powerful. As a Thorn of the sacred order, he needs to complete a successful bond to advance in rank. I should be just another transaction to him—a means to an end.

Instead, he awakens something in me I never knew existed.

Under his skilled touch, I discover pleasure that burns hotter than temple incense. The bond between us grows deeper than any ritual, more consuming than prayer itself. But Auren carries the scars of three failed bonds, and I have a ship waiting to take me home.

As our connection intensifies, I'm forced to choose: honor my duty and leave, or risk everything for a love that could either complete us both—or destroy us.

Some debts can only be paid with the heart.

Excerpt

Auren's eyes didn't leave mine. He took a step forward, then another, just enough to draw closer without closing the distance completely. His movements were measured and elegant. Confident without the need to prove it.

"I believe the state of my attire is acceptable, Callis," he said, voice low and smooth, a flicker of mischief curling at the corner of his mouth. His eyes gleamed—was it amusement, or something darker?

The lead priest stepped forward again, drawing our attention back to him with a subtle lift of his hand. The scent of resin filled the space as one priest lit the offering fire. Smoke curled upward, sweet and sharp, as the brazier took its breath.

When the priest then turned to me, "Come hither, and place your hand upon the staff."

I moved.

I didn't trust my legs, but they carried me. I stopped in front of Auren, lifted one hand, and set it lightly over his where he gripped the staff.

It was warm. His skin. The staff. The silver. Everything felt charged.

"Speak," the priest said, not unkindly.

I drew breath. "I accept," I said. My voice was quiet, but it didn't shake. "I accept this bond. I come in truth, though I do not know what waits. I offer what I am, and will not turn away."

The priests withdrew, leaving us alone.

Auren's hand found mine again, warm and firm.

We undressed each other slowly.

Not ceremonially, though it felt like a ritual. Not erotically, though there was no mistaking the heat under my skin.

It was like opening something fragile. Something wrapped for safekeeping.

The silks they dressed me in shimmered like flame. When they stepped back, they studied me in silence, then bowed lightly.

We stood bare, inches apart, the silk pooling at our feet. The altar waited behind him. I knew what it was meant for. But in this moment, there was no pressure.

Only him.

Only me.

And the space between us, narrowing, breath by breath.

Auren stepped toward me.

There was no hesitation in his stride. He closed the space between us in a quiet step, and suddenly I could feel the warmth of him, closer than anyone had ever stood, close enough that our bodies brushed, whispering against each other in the stillness.

He kissed me.

Not gently.

His mouth found mine like he'd done it a hundred times, firm and sure, his hands lifting with the same certainty to touch me. One framed the side of my jaw, his fingers a breath from trembling, the other settled low at my waist, grounding me, anchoring me to the moment.

Heat bloomed through my skin like lightning seeking purchase.

The kiss wasn't soft. It wasn't exploratory. It was fiercely possessive in a way that set fire to something deep inside me, something I hadn't even known was there. Auren kissed like someone who had no interest in surface things. He dove straight for the center.

And I—

I didn't know what to do with that.

My hands hovered, helpless for a moment, until instinct caught hold and I clutched at his sculpted arm. My fingers curled there, tense and searching, and my other hand rose to his shoulder as if I could brace myself against the storm building in my chest.

Auren pressed closer.

His lips parted slightly, just enough to pull me deeper, and my body responded before I could stop it—leaning in, opening, breath hitching in surprise at the feel of him.

It was like I had been asleep for nineteen years and someone had finally whispered my name.

When Auren finally drew back, he didn't go far.

He studied me: my face, my breath, the tremble I couldn't hide in my fingers.

"You're not what I expected," he said, his voice low and uneven at the edges.

About the Author 

Tavian Cross is an emerging author of gay erotic fantasy romance.

Obsessive fan-fiction reader, BL manga collector, and erotic steam engineer, Tavian is setting out to create a world where love has no boundaries, lust serves a higher purpose, and beauty is divine.

Follow Tavian online for more heart-tugging content.

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The Teacher Inside Me by Anthony Auswat

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: The Teacher Inside Me

Author and Publisher: Anthony Auswat

Cover Artist: Anne Channarong

Release Date: June 11, 2025

Tense/POV: first person, present tense, single POV

Genres: MM Dark Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Queer Psychological Thriller, Taboo, Coming-of-Age

Tropes: Student/teacher, forbidden love, power imbalance, age gap, first love, coming out

Themes: Obsession, power and control, desire vs. morality, reputation and ruin, queer identity, boundaries, masculinity

Heat Rating: 4 flames     

Length: 71 000 words/322 pages

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  Universal Link

A forbidden student-teacher obsession. 

A queer coming-of-age thriller. 

A story that lingers like a bruise you can't stop touching.

Blurb

Liam is just trying to finish high school and keep his secrets to himself. Mr. Hilton, his English teacher, is everything Liam shouldn't want—straight, married, and way off-limits—but possibly...interested. What starts as an innocent crush blurs into something more real, more intense, and more dangerous than either of them can control.

Because some lines should not be crossed. Some lessons can't be unlearned. And some desires come at a terrible price.

The Teacher Inside Me is an emotionally charged LGBTQ+ psychological thriller about longing, power, and the darkness within us all.

Originally racking up 2.6 million reads by a global audience on Wattpad before it was banned, this newly revised and completely uncensored edition invites you back into the shadows—rawer, deeper, and more haunting than ever.

This is the book they tried to bury—but The Teacher Inside Me is too disruptive to ever disappear.

Excerpt 

I can’t believe he’s wearing that cologne again. Today of all days. A test day. A day when we get handed an exam with a series of questions about the Anton Chekhov play, The Seagull. A day when we have to scribble answers in the form of short essays to prove not only that we read the play from beginning to end but also that we thought about it deeply. First line: “Why do you always wear black?” Last line: “The fact is, he’s shot himself.” And everything in between.

I’m sitting in the front of the classroom, dead center, because we all were randomly assigned seats at the beginning of the school year and I guess I happened to be unlucky. Never before have I willingly chosen to be this far up front, an open target for questions posed, stripped of the privilege of blending in. But in this class, I don’t mind all that much because it means I get to be close to Mr. Hilton, closer than any other student.

I can smell him from here, and it’s making me swoon. I know it’s an old-fashioned word, “swoon,” but that’s the best way to describe how I’m feeling. How am I going to make it through this test? The scent—his scent—has managed to crawl far up my nose. And that may sound like a complaint. But it’s not.

I’ve always been sensitive to smells. And when the smell is wafting from a man I find extremely attractive, a man in his early thirties who seems simultaneously young and mature, a man whose rugged stubble covers a boyish face, a man whose wavy dark brown hair is short enough to be considered clean-cut but long enough for someone like his wife to run her fingers through, a man whose slim blue jeans and red dress shirt reveal the contours of his fit body, a man who doesn’t belong in a quiet suburb of Los Angeles teaching English but does belong in between the pages of a men’s fashion magazine . . . well . . .

The room is spinning a little, the way it does when I sometimes get up out of bed too fast. A comforting warmth fills my entire head and melts down onto my shoulders and the rest of my body. My heart: is it beating faster? My stomach: is it tightening up? Down further: what?

To put it simply: his cologne is driving me crazy. Like I want to leap out of my chair, pin him against the chalkboard, and ram my tongue down his mouth so deep and so long that I could tell exactly what he had for breakfast. Gross, I know. But these are my thoughts. And if I can’t be honest in my thoughts, then life would suck even more than it does now. I mean, I can’t be honest in my words and actions. And that’s one of the reasons I can’t wait to graduate. To get out of this city, Point Liberty, where I was born and where I don’t want to die. I want to move to a place where nobody knows me and I can finally be myself.

About the Author 

Anthony Auswat is the author of hot and dangerous gay thrillers, including The Teacher Inside Me and Hunter’s Hidden Camera—which collectively racked up more than three million reads on Wattpad before being banned. He lives in Los Angeles, where he writes under a pen name to protect the guilty, hide from his bosses, and get away with murder.

Social Media Links

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Giveaway 

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a signed paperback copy of the book

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The Hidden Heart by Patrick Bryce Wright

BOOK BLAST

Book Title:  The Hidden Heart

Author:  Patrick Bryce Wright

Publisher:  JMS Books

Cover Artist: Written Ink Designs

Release Date:  April 26, 2025

Tense/POV: third person, past tense, single POV

Genres:  Sweet MM Contemporary Romance

Tropes:  Co-worker to boyfriend, silver fox, age gap, May-December, size difference, boss-employee, workplace romance

Themes: Wounded guy finds love, found family

Heat Rating:  1 flame

Length:  20 000 words/ 60 pages

It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - On sale for $1.99 during the promo on 

Amazon and JMS Books

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |   JMS Books  

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Ellis Isaacs falls in love with his new boss, silver fox Richard Quillen, but worries Richard will find him inaccessible or cold. Will the older man see Ellis’s true heart and return his feelings?

Shorter blurb

At the Kissinger-Mann detective agency, the mystery of love is solved just as often as crimes. When detective Ellis Isaacs joins the agency, he falls in love with his silver fox of a boss, Richard Quillen. But Ellis worries Richard will find him inaccessible or even cold. Will the older, wiser man see Ellis’s true heart and return his feelings, or will Ellis’s heart remain hidden?

Longer Blurb

At the Kissinger-Mann detective agency, the mystery of love is solved just as often as crimes. When detective Ellis Isaacs joins the agency, he falls in love with his silver fox of a boss, Richard Quillen. However, Ellis faces two big problems: He tends to fall for straight men, and even when he doesn’t, Ellis’s ex-boyfriends claim he is inaccessible or even cold. Also, he has no idea how Richard will react to the age gap between them.

As Ellis works hard to spend time with Richard outside of work, problem after problem unfolds. Is Richard straight, or is he already dating a male co-worker? Is the age gap a problem, or is the issue Ellis’s reputation for being cold? Will this older, wiser man see Ellis’s true heart and return his feelings, or will Ellis’s heart remain hidden?

Excerpt 

Ellis steeled himself and headed across the hallway to Richard’s office. On the strength of the single donut he had eaten on the way there and half a cappuccino, Ellis paused in the doorway and gathered his nerve. It was time to ask the man out for coffee. 

Richard was already seated at his desk, wearing a dark gray suit and a maroon bowtie. He read over papers that filled a manila folder. As expected, he was breathtakingly handsome. 

Ellis took another sip of cappuccino for courage and then spoke. “Sorry to interrupt you, but I have a question.”

Richard glanced up. “Hm?” He met Ellis’s gaze and gave him a smile. “Not at all. What is it? I’m always here to help.”

If only you could help in the way that I wish you would. “I’d like to get coffee with you sometime this week. At lunch, maybe? Or tomorrow morning? We could even go after work, if that’s better timing.” Ellis’s heart pounded. He always hated this part: setting himself up for rejection.

“Well, sure,” Richard said. “Be glad to. We could get some coffee tomorrow morning if you’re an early bird like me, or we can have lunch. I know a café not far from here that has great sandwiches and decent coffee.” He looked curious, one eyebrow lifting, although he didn’t ask any questions.

“Lunch is perfect,” Ellis said. “Let’s shoot for noon today.” This was the closest he had ever gotten to asking an older man out on a date. Despite his miserable track record with men in general, he’d managed to go on dates with men his own age. That was how he knew he wasn’t interested in getting serious with any of them. At securing a lunch with Richard, Ellis felt a smile threatening to overtake his face, and his heart still raced. “We can always leave a couple of minutes early or late depending on how our mornings go.”

“True,” Richard said. “All right. As soon as you’re ready for lunch, stop by. I’m just doing paperwork today.” There was a kind twinkle in his eyes. 

“Great!” Ellis headed up to the third floor to his office, his dour Monday morning officially turned around. I asked a silver fox out for coffee, and he actually said yes.

About the Author 

I’m a quirky English professor with tattoos, piercings, and an addiction to supernatural thriller, horror, fantasy, and science fiction. I'm proudly neurodivergent, third gender, and a trauma survivor, all things often reflected in my novels. I have degrees in both English and psychology, both of which inform my writing. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, off-road biking, and pyrography.  

Author Links

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Forbidden Lust by Oliver Takely

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: Forbidden Lust

Author: Oliver Takely

Cover Artist: Emily’s World of Design

Release Date: June 6, 2025

Genres: Contemporary MM Romance

Tropes: Forbidden love, age gap

Themes: Insta love

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 33 000 words

Each book in the Sinful Knights series is a standalone and can be read in any order.

It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link   |  Amazon US  |   Amazon UK 

Two hearts, one secret connection: will lust turn to love?

Blurbette

Josh meets Daniel, a successful lawyer twenty years his senior. Their passionate weekend blurs the line between lust and love. When it is revealed Daniel’s best friend is Josh’s secret father, he must choose between financial security and the chance for a future with the man of his dreams. Will this forbidden love conquer the odds? 

Full blurb

In the City of London, Josh works tirelessly to provide financial security for his younger sister, following the tragic deaths of his parents. He longs for a connection with his birth father who doesn’t want Josh to wreck his perfect life. Mature beyond his years, Josh craves the love and stability of an older man to anchor him.

Daniel, a wildly successful lawyer, works hard and plays even harder. His heart is closed to love after the betrayal of his ex-husband, until he meets Josh, twenty years his junior, and the executive assistant of one of his clients. Their chemistry ignites during a passionate weekend, initially driven by lust, awakening feelings Daniel never thought he’d experience again.

But fate has a cruel twist in store: Daniel’s best friend is also Josh’s birth father, making their love utterly forbidden. With a tempting offer on the table from his father to walk away, will Josh choose financial security or take a chance on love? And can Daniel convince Josh that the only choice he needs to make is to follow his heart?

Excerpt 

The warmth of the coffee shop was a welcome relief from the biting cold of January. The UK weather was always unpredictable, but it was guaranteed January and February would be ball-freezing cold.

“Good morning, Daniel,” said Jakub, the owner.

Daniel had moved to Hampstead three years ago after selling the marital home and finalising his divorce. He’d been coming to this independent coffee shop ever since. Jakub knew him well, and he raised a questioning brow when Josh was looking the other way. All Daniel could do was smile and act like it was nothing. The fact was, in all the time he’d lived in this area, he’d never brought another man to his favourite little coffee haunt.

“Morning, Jakub. My usual please. Josh, what would you like?”

Josh was in his own world, looking at the eclectic décor of the coffee shop. If you knew Jakub, it was very him – chaotic yet calm. A mishmash of different chairs and tables packed in, with nothing matching. Calm pastel colours on the walls, with a variety of art from local queer talent.

“Josh.”

Daniel put his hand on Josh’s shoulder, causing him to startle a little. He turned and smiled, looking a bit embarrassed. Daniel loved how much he blushed, because it made him look even more adorably cute. 

“What would you like to drink?”

“Oh, erm . . .” 

Josh looked up at the menu board, looking uncertain about what to choose. Jakub had a great place here, but the choices were limited to the staples. Daniel was getting irritated – not at Josh’s indecisiveness, but at what had happened to the assertive, needy boy who’d begged for his cock earlier.

“You can’t go wrong with one of my cappuccinos,” said Jakub, picking up on the awkwardness.

Josh let out an audible sigh of relief and nodded at Jakub. He shot a “what the fuck” look at Daniel as he steered Josh to a table. The coffee shop wasn’t too busy; it was past the lunch rush. After their breakfast, and morning fuck, they’d had another nap before showering together. Then he’d dropped to his knees and sucked another load out of Josh. Oh, to be twenty-five again.

“Are you okay, Josh?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Tell me if I’m overstepping here, but you seemed overwhelmed when you were ordering your coffee.”

“Oh, that’s just how I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m indecisive when there are lots of choices. That’s why I love my job with Oscar. He’s very clear in what he wants. No room for ambiguity. Life’s easier that way, don’t you think?”

It was hard to argue with his logic, but life just wasn’t like that. It was constant ambiguousness and second-guessing. Intuition was essential for survival, and he wasn’t sure if Josh went with his gut very often.

“Is there anything you’ve got going on now that you’re struggling to decide about? Maybe I can help, as a neutral observer,” he smiled.

“Spoken like a true lawyer.”

Daniel chuckled. He wasn’t wrong there, but what he really wanted was for Josh to open up to him and share what was bothering him, because something was.

“I guess . . . well . . . please don’t take this the wrong way . . .”

About the Author  

Oliver Takely is a passionate MM romance author who revels in dark, edgy stories featuring complex, flawed characters. With years of writing experience and a creative day job, Oliver Takely is also an avid reader of MM romance, consuming 300 books in both 2023 and 2024. His favourite trope is enemies to lovers, but is also a sucker for a feel-good Christmas romance.

Originally from the north, Oliver now resides in the south of England with his husband and their beloved fur baby, who is treated like a princess, living their own happily-ever-after straight out of a romance novel. When not writing or reading, he enjoys holidays and indulging in lots of good food, because who doesn’t love a delicious combination?

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Death and Maia by A.C. Jolly

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: Death & Maia

Author and Publisher: A. C. Jolly

Cover Artist: Alyssa Winans 

Release Date: April 24, 2025

Tense/POV: first person, present tense, single POV.

Genres: FF Dark Fantasy, Historical, Paranormal

Tropes: Fated mates

Heat Rating:  4 flames 

Length:  Approx 35 000 words/184 pages

It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads 

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited and Paperback

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Can love truly conquer death when mortality stands in the way?

Blurb 

A lush, sapphic romantasy.

In the shadowed streets of plague-ridden Athens, Maia lies on the brink of death. When the grim reaper appears to claim her, Maia makes a bold request: a kiss.

Ancient and enigmatic, Lady Death has guided countless souls into the unknowable afterlife. But Maia is different. Her resilience and humour—and that kiss—awaken a desire that Death has never known. What begins as a moment of terrified curiosity deepens into a passion as tender as it is consuming. 

Excerpt 

There’s death and sheaves of hyacinth beside me in the chamber. The body of the other girl lies on the floor. I can see her in the darkness like a misshapen pale rock in a shallow puddle. I want to swim to her.

I was with her when she died. I didn’t know her name, but I told her mine.

“My name’s Maia,” I said. I don’t think she heard me. Her thin breath was drowned out by the music coming from the street below. A festival, the Anthestreria by the sounds. But I knew that she was still alive, and as long as she lived, I might. My wrists were tied above my head to a bracket on the wall.

“I’m here,” I said. “I’ll wait with you.”

But she drowned to death, or burned, or something. I didn’t know her name.

And now there’s only me, and the party downstairs is finished, and the street outside is quiet. Dawn has come and it finds me dying, too. I was working in a different neighbourhood with the other girl, who was so, so pretty. “Follow me,” I remember saying to a passerby, some young guy with an absent look and fancy laundered clothing. He smelled good. I took the pretty no-name girl by the hand because I wanted her with me, and the guy followed us down a narrow street to a doorway strung with many-coloured ropes.

After that I don’t remember much until the neighbourhood, below us, below our chamber, got fired up with the festival and its lights purred orange on the back wall. And then the music died and the sun rose, just about enough to see the flowers on the step beside the shuttered door, no doubt to cover up the smell of the body of the pretty no-name girl.

It’s hot in the chamber. I sit with my back against the wall, a rag across my stomach. I couldn’t tell you how many days I’ve been here. I’m starting to think that the fires and the music and the shouting in the street may not be festive at all, unless many months have passed since that pretty afternoon with the girl, the guy, the doorway with the many-coloured ropes. Unless the music that I’m hearing is carried to me from a far, far different quarter of this city or the next one over. I think about home. My cabin. I miss it. My tiny little cabin where I keep my only thing, a patterned clay horse figurine, on a stool beside the mattress.

The dim light fades. Maybe it’s another evening. And I’m still not dead. The hyacinth is failing at its job. It’s night again and I can’t remember what it’s like to have arms—well, what it’s like to feel them. They’re not actually tied to a bracket on the wall. That’s just fucking nonsense. They’ve fallen at my sides and don’t move.

The chamber fills with cooking-fire flakes and the music blares. I open my eyes, which rasp with dryness, and black smoke falls from the long, high slit of window at the top of the opposite wall. And if my nose wasn’t telling me otherwise, I’d think it wasn’t smoke at all but a river of perilous dark hair that runs down the wall, sinks down the wall, and starts to fill the chamber, flooding round the body of the pretty no-name girl, and I panic, thinking, Shit, she’s gonna drown!

But she’s dead already.

And this evening Death has come again, for me.

She kneels in front of me, a woman dressed in subtle linens. In her right hand she holds a moist and I assume human heart with fronds of cypress growing out its ventricles. She has the pale face of a barbarian and jet-black hair and dark eyes, not black but glorious brown and shot with other colours, whirling blue and green, each eye a round of deep sky reversed on a field of white moon.

She says, “You may ask something small of me, if it is reasonable.”

And although I’ve never actually heard her voice, I kind of already know it. You would too, if you came from my neighbourhood. And right now, in this moment, I’m determined not to ask her for a thing, but I know that won’t last. She is unspeakably lovely and ancient, and I’ll definitely crumble. But I play it out, anyway. “You took your time,” I say, because the truth is I should have died eight years ago, when a dated version of this fever took my parents and uncles and baby brothers, or five years ago, when my master and his favourite slaves were murdered by his business partner, or just a month ago, when a wild wolf-dog came down the alley and through the empty canteen where I was drinking down my supper.

She smiles briefly and her teeth are white and perfect. That smile makes me sure this is the way she prefers it done. I mean, if I was her, I’d enjoy the rude ones a lot more than the simps.

“My name’s Maia,” I say. “What should I call you, Lady?”

“My name is Death.”

Alright, so now I’m scared. My split lips sting with salt from tears and sweat. And I’m so fucking angry at myself because there’s no point in that, there’s no point in crying, because I have no choice. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry,” I say, and my breastbone cracks as the breath coils, blooms, inside my body.

“Why promise that?” says Lady Death.

And she’s not holding the cypress heart anymore. Instead, a column of fine red dust drops from the funnel of her hand.

“I wanted to defy you,” I say raggedly. “You know how it goes.”

“I do,” she says. “But why waste time? Remember, you may ask something small of me, if it is reasonable.”

I take a breath.

“A kiss,” I say, because why not. “Is that reasonable?”

“Aye,” says Lady Death, and I suppose she’s granted this same favour a thousand million times before.

She has to come to me because I can’t move. She holds my face in her hands, and they’re warm like fire but do not burn, and her lips meet mine gently, and they’re soft and cool like mist but do not chill. Her tongue tastes of sweet apples, and peppery, exactly what I’d hope for from the wildest, freshest, most inspirited of oils. I keep my eyes shut tight because the final thing I want to see on earth is her mouth as she handed it to me.

I keep my eyes shut tight and say, “Who knew Death would be so beautiful?”

About the Author 

I'm a writer from New Zealand, and now live in the UK with my wife. I wrote Death & Maia, which is about a romance between Lady Death and a mortal woman, after watching the TV series Agatha All Along and being a bit disappointed with the (lack of) backstory.

Author Links

Instagram: @acj.olly 

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