Contemporary Romance books

A Love Means... Story

Len Parker is laid off during the recession in the early eighties and decides to go back to college at home in rural Michigan, where he reconnects with his best friend from high school, Ruby. He's overjoyed when she marries Cliff Laughton and overcome with sorrow when she dies an untimely death, leaving behind her husband and two-year-old son. 

Out of work again, Len finds a job at Cliff Laughton's sorely neglected farm. Cliff is still mourning his wife, struggling to raise his son, and has little enthusiasm or energy left for work. Len immediately begins to whip the farm—including the two Laughtons—into shape. Working side by side, Len and Cliff grow ever closer, but loving another man takes a lot of courage. They'll have to stand together as they face faltering business, threatening drought, misguided family, and Midwestern prejudices to protect what might be a lifelong love.

Jim Kulik is giving a ranger talk as part of his job at Denali National Park, but his eyes keep wandering to an attractive blond man, who to Jim's surprise, seems to be looking back. Dave Roberts recently moved to Alaska on a business transfer, and after mourning his lover for two years, he's looking to begin again. It is amidst the glory and beauty of the Alaskan wilderness that the two men will find love in each other's arms.

...totally held my attention with its complex, organized plot, with its depth of characterization and, last but not least, its heart-stoppingly gorgeous sex scenes. Zahra Owens has done an exceptional job of developing the characters of these two men, plus a cast of secondary characters, against a complex and riveting plot. 5 of 5 Stars Carole @ Rainbow Reviews

Jonas Hunter is a high-class body for hire with a small, exclusive, mostly male clientèle who pay big bucks for his undivided time and attention. Discretion is Jonas's middle name—he can play his role to the hilt for the client's benefit and at the same time disappear seamlessly into a crowd, safely anonymous.

He's persuaded to take on a new client who is everything he despises in a man: the effeminate, tantrum-throwing, attention-seeking bad boy of Paris haute couture named Nicky Bryant. Nicky's shows are outrageous and always good for a front cover, and his appearance never fails to turn heads. But Jonas soon learns Nicky is a carefully maintained façade himself.

As a fiery attraction grows, Jonas and Nicky have to find a way to walk the tightrope between their public and private personas. They'll need to learn to love and trust each other around the other people in their lives if they're going to share their hearts.

Andrew Grey's Love Means No Shame is a tear jerker. The characters grab you from the beginning and refuse to let go... This is one book that will make it to several keeper shelves to be read again and again. 5/5 Nymphs - Critter Nymph @ Literary Nymphs

This story is written with heart. It is both bittersweet and uplifting, and reminds us that love can be generous and selfless and that a true family and sense of belonging don’t necessarily require blood ties. If you are looking to sink into a well written, poignant, sweet and romantic reading escape then I highly recommend “Love Means ... No Shame” by Andrew Grey. 4/5 Stars - Indigene @ Rainbow Reviews

A Love Means... Story

Geoff is in the city, living the gay life to the hilt, when his father's death convinces him to return to the family farm.  Discovering a young Amish man asleep in his barn, Geoff learns that Eli is spending a year away from the community before accepting baptism into the church. Despite their mutual attraction, Geoff is determined not to become involved with him, but Eli has discovered that Geoff shares his feelings and begins to court him, neatly capturing first Geoff's attention and then his heart.

Their budding relationship is threatened by closed-minded, gossipy relatives and the society at large, a whole new world to Eli, and he must decide whether to return to the community, his family, and the world and future he knows or to stay with Geoff and have faith in the power of love.

A Work Out Story

Working out is a daily routine for Dan, who meets his friend Lonnie at the gym to lift weights. But breaking a sweat takes on a whole new meaning when Dan sees Gene, a professional bodybuilder, in the mirror. Dan knows it's a lost cause: he's forty and nursing a broken heart, nowhere in the same league as gorgeous Gene.

Then at the gym the next day, Gene asks Dan if he can work out with him. A bet wins Dan a smoothie and conversation, which surprisingly leads to a date. Now Dan is faced with a dilemma: does he allow Gene to elbow his way into his life, or will he give up on the idea of a new relationship before it even starts?

When the manager of Kazuki, Japan's hottest pop star, approaches Benjamin Blume, manager of the fledgling rock 'n' roll band Hayate, he can't believe their good fortune. Their plan to court publicity by having Hayate's lead singer, Kaji, pose as The Shining One's lover sends both groups' popularity skyrocketing.  But when the publicity stunt turns into a real affair with disastrous consequences, Kaji is left heartbroken.

Unfortunately, Ben has problems of his own. Soothing his lead singer's pain and keeping Hayate on the road to success becomes even more challenging when his ex-lover, rock god Hagen Rune, shows up promoting rival band Voodoo. Torn between the attentions of Kazuki's attorney, Shin Yoshiro, and the feelings for Rune that have never quite died, Ben's decisions could send Hayate to the top of the charts—or lead to disaster for them all.

Nicholas Sayers, needing money for college, takes a job as assistant to infamous photographer Damian Wolfe. It's just taking pictures, right? Wrong. While Nick has never questioned what kind of man he is or what he truly wants in life, working for Damian during a BDSM photo shoot opens his eyes to all sorts of sexual possibilities, and many of them include the handsome Mr. Wolfe.

Damian has serious doubts about getting involved with a younger man who knows nothing about the BDSM lifestyle, but Nick's adventurous and humorous approach to new experiences is far too alluring to resist. Although he knows it might be a mistake, Damian takes Nick into his life.

Flirting on the edges of control, submission, and pain excites Nick more than he would have ever dreamed possible. With Damian, Nick learns about his own deeply hidden desires and finds out that relinquishing control doesn’t make him weak—having someone else in control of his sexual pleasure simply heightens it. And the reverse is true for Damian: Control turns him on. So they set out to explore these sensual boundaries together, neither expecting to find love along the way.

Seeking first-time riding lessons in the rolling hills of Connecticut, Gerald Saunders is pleased to discover Sutcliffe Cove. The current proprietor, Brett Sutcliffe, welcomes the beginner, and Gerald quickly finds a home away from home at the farm as he spends more and more time volunteering there.

Over the course of a few months, Gerald and Brett build a strong friendship, but it's not until Gerald is off on vacation that the two men realize their friendship could be so much more... sexually satisfying, emotionally intimate, or even warmly loving. But Gerald is so laid back, Brett just isn't sure what to do next. Move forward and deepen their relationship? Or back off and just be friends with benefits?

A Bottled Up Story

Tyler O'Connor, a successful antiques dealer, meets aspiring artist Mark Burke when Mark's mother decides to sell some of her antiques collection. Tyler is enchanted by the quiet, reserved artist and works up the courage to ask Mark to dinner. Despite the date's success and their mutual attraction, Mark's happiness takes a blow when his mother learns that he is gay and throws him out of the house. Unsure of where to go, Mark shows up on Tyler's doorstep and finds shelter.

Tyler's encouragement and support help kick-start Mark's career, especially when Mark finds that Tyler inspires him in the bedroom as well as the studio. But they're daunted when bad memories of the past, struggles in the present, and fear for the future strain Mark and Tyler's budding relationship. As the old saying goes, the best revenge is living well—and in this case—loving well, and with that in mind, Mark and Tyler go in search of happily ever after.

John McCann, a man who judges life by the tally of an accounts ledger, has a supreme goal in life: To achieve, live, and enjoy the rarified executive lifestyle. But he's encountered one problem: The migraines are going to continue to get worse unless you make some major changes in your lifestyle. What you need is a 'sea change'… Perhaps buy a nice little business in the country, settle down, something easier to occupy your time…

While John knows the doctor is right, he just can't resign from the job he's fought so hard for. He decides the sacrifice of taking a year's leave of absence won't interfere too much with his plans, and so he finds himself running Margins, a cozy little bookstore, with the help of the former owner's son, Jamie. John expects to put in his year, get his stress under control, and then get back to business.

What John doesn't expect is how Margins and its denizens draw him in, particularly the quiet, disheveled man who takes refuge in the old leather chair in the second-hand book section. John's plans for an unattached year of simple business crumble when he meets David and is forced to reevaluate life, love and what he really wants from both. John and David are forced to come to terms with their pasts as they struggle to determine what possible future they might build together.

It wasn't the first time Heydn Case had to transfer to a new school, but Acton-Pierce Academy was the prep school of choice for people with a lot more money than he had. As always, the good-natured Texan was hoping to find a friend; his assigned roommate was hoping to be left alone and said so rather bluntly.

Heydn had never met anyone quite like Blue Barclay, the campus's resident eccentric loner, but the two young men soon find they have more in common than they might have imagined. Friendship quickly takes on a new dimension of physical intimacy accompanied by bewildering new feelings. However, Blue and Heydn are given little time to explore and understand what is growing between them before they're pulled apart.

Heydn is chosen for the track team and befriended by a popular senior. Fearing, rightly, that their relationship would cost him the place he's won at Acton, Heydn turns his back on Blue. He feels he's made the right choice for his future, but when Blue finds a new friend, Heydn realizes he's made a terrible mistake. Is it too late for him to try to win Blue's heart again?