the drowners by David A. Anderson

For Aaron, this world is an unfathomable puzzle. Haunted by disturbing dreams, he drifts through empty days, shielding himself behind sarcasm and cynical wit. After being expelled, he sees an opportunity to rewrite his future at a new school. Connecting over a shared love for De Niro films with Robbie, an aspiring actor of Jamaican descent, he unexpectedly finds his companion piece, one person who truly understands him. Together, they navigate the chaotic waters of adolescence, from dramatic first dates to sociopathic bullies, iconic concerts, drugs, and a dead body. With adulthood fast approaching, can their unique bond survive the crushing weight of societal pressures and devastating revelations? Confronted by the ghosts of his past, Aaron must choose whether to blaze bright or fade away. A funny and poignant meditation on the forces that shape us, The Drowners transports us back to a time when our tolerance for hypocrisy was zero and life seemed infinite. An early draft of this novel won a 2021 YA Watty award.

Community Witch by Ash Kreider

Aspen Fahey is a non-binary aspiring community witch and failed witchfluencer living in downtown Toronto. When their aunt dies and leaves them her house and witching practice on beautiful, idyllic Vancouver Island, their life unexpectedly turns into a Lifetime movie: early thirties enby leaves the big city (including their toxic partner and the job they hate) to move to a beautiful small town, has meet cute with beautiful stranger before running into The One That Got Away. But can they navigate the hard work of building healthy relationships while juggling their responsibilities as town witch? Or will the trauma of their ex’s emotional abuse ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to them?

Golden Hour by Kat Jackson

Lina Ragelis prides herself on her bravery and strength, two traits that have served her well in her career in the US Army. Having been disconnected from her family since she turned eighteen, Lina has learned to rely solely on herself--and her slightly overbearing best friend--and she swears she prefers it that way. It's an easy lie for someone who has spent her entire life dodging love. Lina's pretty certain that she's damaged goods. But the truth is, she's the kind of person everyone wants in their corner, and the kind of woman many women want to love. Having had more than her fair share of challenges and hardships, there isn't much that scares Lina. Life would be so much easier if she were afraid of something basic--like spiders--instead of something significant. Something like real, true, healthy love.

Ripple the Mesh by Sam LaRose

Harper Wyatt has had a celebrity crush for Misha Levin since she was a teenager and he was drafted to the Minnesota Northern Lights. She never expected to fall in love with a hockey player, or marry one. Not to mention, that hockey player being friends with the great Misha Levin? Impossible! Yet, she finds herself not just friends with but girlfriend to the hockey legend and is visiting him on his home turf in Edmonton for the first time. With busy travel schedules for everyone in the polycule, it's a wonder any of them have time for themselves much less each other. Hard topic discussions involve tough to hear answers, but also keep an open flow of communication, holding their relationships together.

Dirty Dangle by Sam LaRose

The Osprey season is coming to a close. Pietr's past is coming back to affect his current relationships and he seeks help after having trouble with Harper wanting to experiment with a woman. Harper is reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. Finding her place within the WHOOSH has been a journey, but the welcoming nature of Marie, Becca, and Helen in particular maybe finally be getting through to her. While Pietr and Misha's husband, Cecil, are busy on their separate play-off runs, Misha comes for an extended visit. He and Harper do a bit of traveling to extend their tattoo collections and enjoy some time alone together before the final big game.

Top Shelf Biscuit by Sam LaRose

Picking up after the events of On the Power Play, Harper and Isaac are spending a month alone in Wisconsin before the Thanksgiving holiday. With a surprise last minute visit from Misha, the polycule is having a hard time keeping their relationship underwraps from family, friends, and their rabid internet fans. As Harper continues to battle with feeling out of place with the Osprey WAGs, the whirlwind of going from zero boyfriends to three in less than a year, and specifically her mother's hard feelings toward...everything, something has to give. How would having everything out in the open make the relationships different? Are Pietr and Harper cut out for the poly-triad with Isaac? Is a relationship between Harper and Misha sustainable? There certainly seems to be a lot more questions than answers as the polycule grows and loves unconditionally.

On the Power Play by Sam LaRose

It's been less than a year since Pietr Ivanov and Harper Wyatt met and had their first kiss in a bar bathroom. Since then, it's been a whirlwind of relationship milestones, the most recent of getting engaged. Now that the hockey season is over, the couple is looking forward to spending time together. With big plans to merge their families, they're looking to house hunt for their hockey retirement home in Wisconsin, near Harper's parents. But first, Harper has to survive meeting the WAGs –the wives and girlfriends of the other Osprey players. A week in LA with Isaac Parker and their first big public appearance together at the NHL Awards, where they run into a familiar face who sets sights on getting to know Harper better.

Light the Lamp by Sam LaRose

"Where do your ideas come from then?" "I don't know. It's this nagging inkling of what-if." "I understand this nagging feeling." The man took a step closer. "Like, this voice in my head that keeps telling me to kiss you." Harper's eyes widened slightly. "What? Why?" "Why?" He sounded surprised. "Why not? You are sexiest person in this bar. You stood out to me right away." Pietr Ivanov is skating into his 10th pro-hockey season with a new team, in a new city. Fresh off a successful play-off run, he's looking forward to connecting with his teammates and settling in. When he joins his captain for drinks, he doesn't expect the night to change his life. Harper Wyatt has lived in Manhattan for nearly a decade. As a still-floundering author, they take the little wins where they can and their favorite place to do that is the Mounting Bison. Celebrating the publication of their second book with their besties, they anticipate a couple of drinks, lots of laughs, and then calling it an early night. When Pietr spies Harper across the bar, he's immediately smitten. He has no idea what "non-binary" means, but he's open minded and willing to learn. Harper typically steers clear of the Osprey players that frequent the bar with their captain, but Pietr has zero qualms about approaching them –in the bar bathroom of all places. And thus, in the first Meet Cute of their life, Harper's quiet, single life is upended. This slice-of-life romance is sure to thrill romance readers looking for diverse representation and a unique story with cozy vibes. Fans of the Dark Little Town series will love the connections to a New York they've grown familiar with. Light the Lamp features multiple LGBTQ+ characters, alternative relationship structures, and a lot of spice.

The Freezer by Kim Hunt

In the endless tracts of the New South Wales bushland Ranger Cal Nyx finds a dead body under unusual circumstances. It soon becomes apparent this is a historic death. Growing attention on the crime puts the blowtorch to a murderer who’s managed to evade justice. For now. Detective Inspector Liz Scobie leads the police investigation while her partner, Nyx, uses her own considerable - some might say unorthodox - methods to chase down a killer. With speculation growing in the small community, someone privy to information becomes a new target for the killer. Join Nyx and Scobie in their dogged pursuit of a bold predator with everything to lose.

The Other Team by Felix Fowler

Kit Cook is about to learn a whole lot more than soccer this summer Weltmeister Academy is the absolute last place Kit Cook wanted to go at the end of his freshman year. His parents are forcing him to leave behind his friends and go to the toughest soccer camp in the country so he has a chance to make varsity in the fall. With a lot of hard work, a little luck, and help from his new friend Freddie, Kit manages to build a semblance of normalcy and get through the summer. That is, until Kit sees something he wasn’t meant to, and his world is thrown into chaos. His friendships foundering and performance failing, Kit must find a way to reconcile what he saw if he wants to save his friendship and summer. Soccer isn’t all he’s going to learn this year – he’s going to learn all about a side of himself he didn’t know existed…

Rise of the Nightbloods by Shannon Haffely

Everything ends. Even magic. Even the gods. As a Seer, Raven is a direct line to the divine and time itself. She can feel the decay spreading across her country, but all the help the gods will offer is a tormenting vision of a stranger's death. An infamous pirate queen, Rélia craves freedom at any cost. Raven is her ticket to liberty. But growing feelings and a web of secrets entangle her in a quest to save magic while her chance at freedom slips away. Born without magic, Tezin's life falls into turmoil when he shows signs of power, and he's not the only one to notice. The man who killed his father captures him, eager to use his newfound magic to bend the seas to his will. Each of them has a role in the fate of magic. But with vicious pirates and a relentless navy admiral impeding them at every turn, their window for the salvation of magic—and themselves—is closing. Forever.

The Black Bird of Chernobyl by Ann McMan

Two-time Lambda Literary Award-winning author Ann McMan takes readers inside the inner workings of the funeral home business as only she can in this remarkable and wholly unforgettable romantic comedy that proves life is for the living. Everything about Lilah Stohler is her clothes, mood, and outlook on life and death. That last part is important because Lilah’s father has just retired and left her in charge of the family funeral home. But Abel Stohler knows his daughter’s comfort level rests “downstairs,” so he hires one Sparkle Lee Sink, to help Lilah manage the living part of the business of death. Sparkle is everything that Lilah isn’t—an empathetic marketing whiz who is a true people person. Lilah isn’t happy about this new arrangement. Still, when business starts booming because of Sparkle’s bright personality, delicious baked goods, and knack for funereal commerce, Lilah thinks things might work out. But joy is fleeting in the funeral home business, and Lilah’s world is turned upside down when an unwitting Instagram post featuring one of her moods goes viral—and now, sightings of “The Black Bird of Chernobyl” have become an obsession across the Instaverse. Lilah knows that Sparkle needs to go, but before she can give her the send-off she deserves, Lilah must first find a way to deal with the inconvenient attraction she’s developed for the nemesis whose unconventional methods are single-handedly transforming the death trade—and quite possibly the Black Bird, herself.

Riyati Rivals by Kai Zeal

What would you sacrifice to alter an already guaranteed future? The new school year has begun in the quiet town of Opal Pines, and with it, new problems for Kylie and Jordan: Kylie’s mother barely lets her out of sight, and Jordan’s new friend makes it clear he’s no fan of Kylie. Even their older selves are at odds with each other: Siani refuses to intervene in the events to come; meanwhile, Rotanu is not sure the ends justify the means needed to get there. To make matters even worse, a familiar woman from the June kidnapping is back and wants Kylie’s head. What happens when the past is painful and still seeks vengeance, the present is lonely, and the future uncertain? Riyati Rivals is the second book of a new adult/adult contemporary, low dark fantasy series that seeks to explore themes of identity, legacy, the greater good, and finding your own path in life. The Riyati series includes multiple first person perspectives and multiple queer characters (currently including demisexual/romantic and lesbian representation with more to come in future books), set in the modern day United States.

this is not a love story by Hayley Phoenix-Winterburn

Hayley's third collection of poetry transports the reader into the depths of a whirlwind romance disguised as a fairy tale, but with the dark truth always lurking underneath. Hayley weaves a captivating tale featuring a Viking and a Witch, adding a spark of fantasy to the raw emotions and turbulent struggles of the heart. The haunting beauty and intricate layers of this story is the result of what happens when passion and pain collide in a mesmerizing dance. This book will resonate with anyone who has experienced emotional abuse. In this book you will find: -letters to the goddesses. -magic. -a little bit of feminine rage.

The Perfect Matchmaking: Another Valentine's Day Novella (Cupids & Goddesses Book 2) by Milena McKay

Life of a Goddess is hard. There are so many rules. Rule Number 1: Organize the Annual Cupids’ Convention in Las Vegas. Rule Number 2: Don't let Zeus interfere. Rule Number 3: When Zeus inevitably interferes, avoid getting ambushed by cupids at all cost. Even if it means missing out on your Perfect Match. When the Goddess of Love herself is made to run the gamut of tropes, from enemies to lover and second chance romance to friends to lovers and close proximity, will she keep her independence from the ever meddling Olympians, or will she chose to surrender to a well-placed cupid's arrow? The Cupids are back! Sabine and Abby are bringing with them a steamy and highly trope'y second installment in the Perfect Match series, filled to the brim with mischievous deities, intrigue-weaving gods and attractive elbow patches (trust me, you'll want to read about those!)

Rainsquall by Penny Moss

Lone shepherd Folke is content to drift through life without the hassle of others. Yet his quiet days come to a thunderous end when a storm forces three enigmatic men to seek refuge in his secluded cottage. Suddenly, Folke’s world is crowded with all the things he worked to avoid, while opening up to many alluring possibilities. Warm skin, shared breaths, and the caress of lips beguile him into what he knows will lead to heartbreak. Each day he grows closer to the men is another day until their inevitable departure—and to secrets that could change all he knows.

Attack of the 50ft Trans Woman by Caledonia Fife

Lily Watson will do anything to transition, so when a shady biotech company offers her an experimental gene-editing gender change for free, she jumps at the chance. It means the end of her marriage, but she is prepared to live with that. She isn’t prepared for the radiation mutating her edited DNA, causing Lily to grow to an astounding FIFTY FEET! Now the biotech company wants her dead, genital-obsessed cultists are whipping up a public fear of her, the media has labelled her a terrorist for the crime of being a (really, really) tall woman, the police are after her for stealing her own DNA, and the government has sent the army to kill her. She’s big and she’s angry Fine, if they think she’s a threat, she’ll be a threat. She sets out for Downing Street, with death, destruction and murderous mayhem on her mind. When she is given the opportunity to affect meaningful change for trans people, she must choose if that is more important than her lust for vengeance… #GiantTransLivesMatter

Queeird: A Collection of Unusual Trans Masculine Erotica (2023) by Max Turner

Androids and aliens, werewolves and vampires, furries and… tentacles? Queeird is a collection of unusual, and at times monstrous, erotic short stories featuring trans masculine characters. From the ridiculous to the romantic, expect kinks, quirks and tropes. All the stories feature trans masculine main characters, with a variety of cis, trans female, trans male and non-binary lovers.

A Little Lie by Max Turner

A sprite and a pixie walk into a bar— Christmas is a strange time for fae folk living in the mortal realm... Awen had a discomfort with Christmas. It didn’t make sense to him that any of the fae celebrated it; it wasn’t part of their traditions. A time when humans spoke of fairies and elves as though they were those creatures of lore and not their living, breathing neighbours? It was unsettling. And for Awen, another reminder of how apart from the world he was. Brock hated Christmas; there was something about it that stripped him of his usual confidence and charm. It was hard to be charming around all the happy couples when he knew his own happiness was not an option. Instead, year after year, he had to endure his mother asking when he would finally settle down, knowing he’d never get up the nerve to tell her the truth. His truth. A Little Lie is a sweet and smutty age difference Christmas MM romance where a nightclub hook-up becomes a fake relationship with a HEA, in a magical place called Three Rivers City (... Truro).

It’s Not A Secret by Max Turner

Transgender Londoner Adam keeps running into an infuriatingly rude Danish migrant Elias at different points during his transition. Elias is very confused by Adam, the easy friendship they develop and how attractive he starts to find the curious self-made man.

Dancing With The Count by Max Turner

Neither seasoned dance pro Tommy Miller or celebrity chef Count Christian De Clare want to be the first same-sex pairing on Celebrity Ballroom, but it’s happening. The pressure is on to not get eliminated or become the season’s novelty act… which would be a lot easier if they actually liked each other. This sweet, tropey Christmas-time romance is a short read chock full of intimacy, sweetness, and of course, dancing! The quick plot and medium heat level are just right for a cozy night in.

The Child of Hameln by Max Turner

Elk Pass is a town cloaked in darkness and plagued by an unknown evil, where twenty years earlier all but one of the town’s children were stolen. That remaining child, now the deputy sheriff, is left to unravel corruption and cover up when his mentor, the town sheriff, dies unexpectedly. The mystery unfolds as a snow storm blows in, threatening to isolate the town, leaving Deputy Bobby Taylor to deal with a plague of rats and the monsters, both human and fae, that follow. This supernatural mystery and light horror is a dark fable set in 1980’s small town USA, and is a retelling of the German folktale The Pied Piper of Hameln.

If Only You Had Stayed by C. P. Ashton

Sarcastic. Scarred. Stuck. Charlie Foster is a disaster. Just ask her therapist. After high school, Charlie loaded what little she owned into her car, ripped off the proverbial rear view mirror, and drove out west with her angsty punk music blaring as loud as the speakers could handle. The falling out with her best friend, Skylar, right before graduation still haunts her ten years later. Now Charlie’s back in town for their high school reunion searching for answers, closure, and one last shot at Skylar’s heart. But Skylar may have moved on long ago—for better or worse. If Only You Had Stayed explores shattered first loves, fumbled second chances, and the inescapable external forces that shape a life.

Child of the Dragon by Ashley N. Y. Sheesley

The chosen one is dead, the prophecy left unfulfilled, and the shape-shifting dragons of modern-day Earth are still cursed to be puppets to their dragon kings. It’s now up to a chronically ill ex-assassin, a sarcastic rebel, the chosen one’s granddaughter, and her anxious best friend to take up the mantle and save the dragons once and for all. Coleman, a teenage, chronically ill, shape-shifting dragon, thought betraying the king that cursed the shifters would be a “one time” thing. But when he watches the resistance’s leader—the only uncursed shifter and the chosen one—die, his only choice is to return to his king, fool him again, and buy time for his best friend to find and train the late leader’s granddaughter. Otherwise, the curse will never be broken. When studious high school senior Kat’s grandma dies, and she accidentally turns into a dragon, she realizes that all her grandma’s old stories were true. And now that her grandma is gone, Kat is the last dragon immune to the king’s curse. Now, training in secret, her best friend, Aaron, is suspicious that something is wrong, and he desperately wants to help her. He just didn’t think helping her would involve fighting by her side (and from her dragon back) to save a secret society of shifters—a threat that is about to become a lot more personal than he ever imagined. With cursed dragons lurking around every corner, it’s up to Coleman, Kat, Aaron, and the rest of the resistance to take fate into their own hands, but if Kat can’t master her new powers and break the king’s curse, her friends will remain puppets to him forever, and she too might succumb to his curse.

How to Slay a Demon Lord and Get away with it by Devi Letalis

Damien is barely holding it together. Struggling with the weight of his recent loss, he finds himself torn between his duty to Lariza and his responsibility as the leader of Lamia Vult. Just when he thinks things can’t get worse, an angry mob forms at the gates, blaming the cult for mysterious dreams that drain not only the citizens of the city but also the members of Lamia Vult. And as if that weren’t enough, Damien can’t shake the feeling that Damnatio might be lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With pressure from the police and his allies questioning his ability to lead, Damien must face his demons—literally—and hope that he can save himself before everything falls apart. Will he survive the nightmare, or will he lose himself in the chaos?

The Anonymous Letters of C Forestier by Felicia Davin

Paris, 1825. Isabelle de Tourzin cannot afford to fall in love with a mortal. Not again. Ageless and nearly invulnerable, she spends her days in private grief and plots to end Malbosc, the powerful, secretive man who seduced her only to leech her magic for more than a century. She was rescued before she had the chance to kill him, and he’s eluded her ever since. At last, Isabelle has in her hands a magic compass that will point her toward her quarry. Infuriatingly, a cunning stranger keeps disrupting her search. The interloper claims to be hunting Malbosc as well. Trust is impossible, but the stranger proves to have useful information. Isabelle reluctantly agrees to an alliance. The stranger—a shameless liar who appears to be a man named Forestier—accompanies Isabelle across France. He’s charming and unexpectedly kind. It’s been a lifetime since she enjoyed anyone’s company so much, which makes Forestier an even greater danger than Malbosc. Forever is too long to live with a broken heart.

The Mischievous Letters of the Marquise de Q by Felicia Davin

Paris, 1825. Losing her husband is the best thing to happen to Delphine in ages. After he used magic to control her, Delphine’s only regret is that she didn’t kill that petty tyrant herself. Widowed, Delphine can pursue her dashing rescuer, the androgynous novelist Camille Dupin—and solve the mystery of her first love, a man called Ari who disappeared before Delphine could tell him she was pregnant with his child. Ari isn’t dead. Three years ago, he stole a magical weapon from a powerful man and was exiled to a distant prison. When a stroke of luck allows him to escape, he sets out to confront the man who ruined his life and reunite with Delphine. He never expected to find her in bed with Camille, or to find himself falling in love with both of them. Camille loves Delphine and was almost ready to let her guard down. Ari’s reappearance stirs up old hurts and threatens them all—Ari’s enemy will stop at nothing to get his stolen artifact back. Camille’s conscience won’t let her abandon Delphine and Ari in danger, but she won’t stay to have her heart broken once they’re safe. Before Delphine, Camille, and Ari can imagine a happy future, they’ll have to reckon with the past.

The Scandalous Letters of V and J by Felicia Davin

Paris, 1823. Victor Beauchêne has led a stifling existence, unrecognized for both his cleverness and his gender, except in the pages of his meticulous diary. Abruptly cut off from his family’s fortune, he takes the opportunity to start a new life in a shabby boarding house with his beloved spinster aunt Sophie. There, he stumbles upon two kinds of magic: a pen with eerie powers of persuasion and a reserved, alluring art student named Julien. Brilliant, unconventional Julien is also Julie, a person whose magical paintings can transform their body or enchant viewers. Haunted by a terrible episode in their past, they’ve come to Paris for artistic success—the ordinary, non-magical kind. Victor, too handsome and far too inquisitive, is a dangerous distraction from their ambitions. Drawn to each other, Victor and Julie strike up a cautious correspondence of notes slid under doors. It soon unfolds into a passionate romance. Outside the bedroom, their desires clash: Julie wants to distance herself from the world of magic and Victor wants to delve deeper. When the ruthless abuser from Julie’s past resurfaces, he aims to take control of her powers and ruin more lives. Victor and Julie are the only ones who can stop him. Do they trust each other enough to survive the threat to their love and their lives? The Scandalous Letters of V and J is a historical fantasy romance with two nonbinary main characters, told primarily in letters and diary entries. It is approximately 100,000 words long and sexually explicit.

Napkins & Other Distractions by M.A. Wardell

On paper, they're a disaster. In the sheets, they're a perfect match. ​ Kent Lester is proud of the joyful, thriving learning community he's created as principal of Lear Elementary School. But six years after his divorce, he's ready to focus on his personal life and spread his bisexual wings. Things get off to a rocky start when Kent's first date is an uptight control freak — although that doesn't stop them tangling some sheets. Vincent Manda never seems able to move past the friend zone, and besides, he's not sure anyone can handle his OCD. But that night with the bearded, older Kent revealed a side of Vincent he'd never experienced before. And he's equal parts scared of and desperate for a repeat. When Lear's test scores take a nosedive, Kent finds himself under the microscope. Forced to implement new software to monitor and collect school data, he's horrified to discover that Vincent is working on the project. With his last install ending less than ideally, Vincent's job depends on this one succeeding — and butting heads with the principal won't help. Vincent and Kent need to view each other in a new light, but that could change their futures forever.

More Bugs by Em Reed

Dumped, broke and stranded at her mother’s house, Amy has few options for escape. Hanging out with her ex comes with getting to know his new girlfriend, someone who looks suspiciously like Amy’s younger, straighter doppelgänger. Strapped for cash and desperate to be out of her mother’s home, she ends up babysitting the UFO-obsessed kids of the hot working mom down the street. Over a dull, torrid summer in the Pennsylvania suburbs, strange lights linger on the horizon, and subterranean connections reach out their tendrils in the dark, signalling another, otherworldly possibility…

Shadebloom by Felicia Davin

Separated from her companions and abducted, Alizhan is delivered back to Laalvur, right into Iriyat’s clutches. Iriyat has tightened her hold on the city in Alizhan’s absence, magically manipulating the other Council members and further charming the public. No one believes her capable of plotting an experiment that could destroy cities. All alone, what hope does Alizhan have to convince Laalvur of the truth? Half a world away, Ev and Thiyo are adrift at sea. In the wake of their monstrous encounter, they receive an unlikely rescue, but neither of them emerges from the water unharmed. They must survive to warn the world of what Iriyat is planning—and to find Alizhan before it’s too late. As Iriyat’s plans come to fruition, how far will Alizhan, Ev, and Thiyo go to defeat her?

On Silver Shores by V.T. Hoang

Sirens are known for their beauty and grace. Everything from their lithe figures to their perfectly symmetrical faces to the cadence of their voices is designed to charm. Pleasure of the flesh is how they sustain themselves. So, of course, Detective Carver would be the one siren lucky enough to hate sex. Ever since his husband died, Carver has resented the defining feature of his race, but when his boss calls in someone to assist with his investigation, he finds himself confronted with a problem he never expected—attraction. Jian is supposed to be just an analyst, buttoned-up and stiff and unassuming. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, he can put on a nice smile and act polite enough, but there's something behind his eyes that's decidedly not professional. That hunger for carnal satisfaction Carver thought long dead starts to come back to life as they work together. And he has to wonder if he's just starving or if this is a craving.

Monsters, Mayhem & Wild Magic by Noah Bodie

In the harsh, forgotten village of Eyrei, Cerci Rivera, a determined intelligence operative with a troubled past, seeks the help of Ridge Thorne, a haunted monster hunter with a mysterious ability to hear the cries of the damned. As they navigate a world of magic, betrayal, and hidden truths, their growing bond is tested by their own secrets and the looming threat of a powerful enemy. Together, they must confront their deepest fears and uncover the dark forces that threaten to tear their world apart, all while discovering that, sometimes, the most unexpected alliances can lead to redemption and love.

Gellert's New Job by Johannes T. Evans

Gellert has worked as a business manager for the King family for nearly a decade when an error in judgement brings his employment to an abrupt end. Lucien Pike, a rival kingpin, employs his services instead. Fantasy, crime, and a good bit of dark humour. 21k. Rated M. Transgender, autistic man’s POV; both protagonists are autistic.

Something New by Jacqueline Ramsden

The “something new” at your sister’s wedding is supposed to be your sexuality, right? Thea Cooper is heading to her sister’s wedding in Montana for Christmas. The problem is that her ex is going to be there, and her mother is hoping they’ll rekindle their romance. All Thea wants is to enjoy the lodge, the holiday, and celebrate her sister. Erin Foxglove, wedding planner extraordinaire, is giving up her Christmas to work the Cooper-Perez wedding. Despite her best friend’s hopes that she’ll at least reward herself with a fun little fling while she’s away, Erin isn’t interested. She’s there to do a job and she has her rules about not sleeping with clients. That is, until she meets Thea. As sparks fly between them, Thea realizes she might not be as straight as everyone thinks, and Erin finds some people are worth breaking her rules for. But, faced with an expiration date on their time at the mountain retreat together, will their romance fizzle out or will they get everything they’re wishing for? Something New is a low-angst, toaster-oven holiday romance featuring forced proximity, and a vacation romance with a wedding planner. Content warnings for open-door sex scenes.

An Empty Embrace by Cyril Mezden

Submit. Repent. Obey. Celest was raised to follow. Trained from an early age to be a cleric, the elf has lived his life fully devoted to the goddess of the sun and the doctrine of his citadel. Newly paired with his teammates, Sable, a quick-witted halfling witch, and Viktor, a bull-headed half-orc warrior, the three are swallowed into a dark city, long forgotten by the world from which they came. There, they find a family wracked by fear. A man of unquenchable thirst haunts the rain-soaked nights, preying off the living. But, when his interest is piqued upon first meeting the considerate Celest, all else seems unimportant. Armed with unnatural beauty, a silver tongue, and a wicked smile, the vampire begins his intimate pursuit to cage the cleric’s heart. AN EMPTY EMBRACE is a chilling tale of queer love and twisted intentions.

The Secrets That They Keep by T.M. Lore

The Secrets That They Keep is a gritty and dark thriller with morally complex characters. Alyx Beck is caught in a nasty web. Driven by her determination to care for her neurodivergent twin brother she navigates a treacherous world where sex and money intertwine. As events spiral, both their lives hang in the balance and survival becomes the ultimate goal. Sometimes for the fly to survive it must kill the spider. Alyx has to fake it several times a day. Fake the desire, the lust, and the orgasms. What she doesn't have to fake is her love for her neurodivergent twin brother or her allegiance to her employer. She'll do whatever her handler requires of her. They've taken care of her since her parents died tragically, and they've never steered her wrong. They pay her well so she can care for her brother's needs, too. However, when Alyx's driver/bodyguard-and only friend- Sasha, goes missing with $100K, her devotion can no longer shield her from her handler's wrath. As events spiral Alyx realizes-a little too late-that she has been backing the wrong people. She's caught in a sticky web and there is only one way out-but she may have to get a little blood on her hands.It's Promising Young Woman meets Filthy Rich, with a touch of Haunting Adeline, Gone Girl, and Luckiest Girl Alive.This dark thriller has a female protagonist, neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ characters

Journey Home by May Barros

Amara e Luiza are two witches in a queerplatonic relationship. When Luiza decides to embark on a journey throught the galaxy in search for the lost fortress of Laura, the Dragon Queen, she ends up finding more than she bargained for, while Amara follows her footsteps hoping it’s not too late.

You Can't Sniff the Internet by Rosalind Wulf

Death isn't the end. It's the beginning, and Lillian Burden's story begins a little earlier than they'd like. After dying young with few accomplishments to their name, Lillian is determined to give themself a second chance. Like a sneaky bit of malware, Lillian brute forces their way into a new reality. The bizarre afterlife Lillian arrives in ranges from inhospitable to technologically futuristic, and the denizens they meet are equally strange and disparate. Nevertheless, they're tasked with finding their place amongst shattered time. They're far from alone in this artificial world, but there are some residents who think that the dead have no business living their new lives. Lillian wanted a chance to make a difference — to do something with their life. Now they've given themself the chance to do something with their death. Can they really make a meaningful existence with little more than stubborn persistence?

Nochebuena by Stephanie Shea

Camila Morales is a hopeless romantic. Not that she thinks every couple is meant to be—she is a divorce lawyer, after all. But when her happy, married-thirty-years parents announce their own separation three weeks before Christmas, Cami’s world is turned upside down, especially since she’s been trying to feel her way through her own marital slump for months. Sutton Davies is an imposter. At least, that’s what her therapist says. Or was it that she may have imposter syndrome? Same difference. With a promotion she’s not sure she deserves, a wife who’s definitely too good for her, and a best friend who’s always been in her corner, she should be fine. Perfect, even. But maybe that’s the problem—this unattainable quest for perfection—which is why she’s decided to focus on something she can control. Proving to Cami that this bout of spotty communication and dwindling intimacy is nothing but a blip. Every couple goes through it, right? Will Sutton’s attempts to reconnect over the holidays reignite sparks, or is it all too little too late?

Cinnamon Rolls and Villainy by Chanté A. Campbell

A kind-hearted baker with a dark secret. The vicious, beautiful villainess he’s forced to serve. And the ruthless game that will decide the fate of their world. Human, Ayc Waylonder should have died in a massacre that destroyed his people, but a swift lie spared him from a bloody fate. Taken prisoner by the cruel Sovereign of the Everadyn fae, he has survived her foreign court on cheap tricks and his extraordinary baking skills. Ten years later, the Sovereign announces she’s relinquishing her throne and triggers the start of the Sovereignty Trials, an ancient and ruthless game. The winner will be the next to rule over Everadyn… and Ayc, as well. When Loraphne - a villain as vicious as her mother, the Sovereign - asks Ayc to join her team of Five in the Trials, he can’t say no. Not when unbreakable magic forces him to serve her. Ayc must embark on seven dangerous quests alongside the rest of Loraphne’s unlikely team: including Ayc’s two best friends, a powerful sorcerer, a gifted navigator with his faithful guide dog, and a temperamental gryphon. Dragons, wraiths, and six other teams—who have decided killing Loraphne is their top priority—stand in their way as they fight to be the first to finish a race where few participants survive. The Sovereignty Trials are no place for a kind-hearted baker, and it’ll take far more than his legendary cinnamon rolls to save him now. Cinnamon Rolls and Villainy is Book 1 in a high stakes, adult romantic fantasy series, with enemies to lovers, spicy romance, and a cinnamon roll hero who will lay claim to your heart and refuse to let go. Perfect for adult fans of The Cruel Prince.

The Mage-Killer by Christina K. Glover

A FIGHT TO RECONNECT Magicless mage Henley Yu is on a mission to keep a promise. He swore he wouldn’t forget the Chief Operator, but Kit won’t know Henley kept his promise until his friend proves it to him in person. Joining the same Order that tried to kill them is the best way to make that happen, if he can navigate the rewritten Between and fellow officers skeptical of the ‘special case’ making waves in their unit. Kit has bigger problems than the certainty that he’s been forgotten. The Ethereal plane is spilling elemental destruction into the Between and leaving him at odds with both the Shields and his own people. Even worse, there’s a chance Kit is to blame for the failure of the barrier that holds the magical world in balance. Henley and Kit are unstoppable together. A chance to reconnect is all they need, but as the peace of the Between frays, old secrets and new enemies will fight to keep the pair apart.

The Switchboard by Christina K. Glover

FOR MAGIC. FOR MEMORY. FOR EACH OTHER. Mortal mage Henley Yu has enough to worry about between the storms caused by broken magic and his strained relationship with his father. He’s trying to keep his head above water, but when he finds a stranger hiding in his kitchen cabinets he’s forced to reconsider his priorities. Chief Operator Kittinger has overseen the flow of magic for centuries, but he’s no fighter. Betrayed by his protectors in their quest to gain control of the magic, he’s running for his life when he makes Henley his accomplice. Kit might lose his new ally if Henley finds out that Kit’s secrets go deeper than the magic itself. Together they’ll venture into the Between, where magic connects worlds, to fight an army of officers ready to finish what they started when Kit fled the scene. For Kit, failure means death. For Henley, it means losing the memory of the only person who gives him purpose. Henley won’t let anyone interfere before he finds out what that means for their future together. He’ll save Kit. He'll save the magic—or he won’t be the only one who dies trying.

Eyes of Time by Riley Taylor

Zuri wants nothing more than to protect what family she has left, her younger brother, Emin. When she meets the kind-hearted Kai, they finally escape the grasp of Hideki and try to make the most of their new ‘normal’ life. Zuri and her found family come together through training missions and travel to the Village of Trees, a place with a terrible secret down below, the Orchid Palace, where a princess is trapped in the same day she disappeared, and a deep dark ravine with a deadly spell over it. Driven by the desire for revenge, Zuri vows to take down Hideki, while keeping her family safe. To do that, she needs to get stronger. For now, she and her friends must stay alive and work to uncover the truth about their city before it's too late…

Pack of Her Own by Elena Abbott

Natalie Donovan jumps at a friend’s offer to stay in the family cabin for a month—she desperately needs the chance to get away from, and get over, her messy breakup. She doesn’t count on the owner of the local diner making her heart pound and her body desperate to be touched. Wren Carne is a lone wolf. As an Alpha shifter, she has no pack and maintains her territory without causing drama, just the way she likes it. When she checks on the girl staying in a local cabin, she’s not expecting her wolf to identify the human as her One True Mate. As fallout from their pasts encroaches upon the sleepy town of Terabend, Wren must decide if she wants a pack of her own, while Natalie worries that her secret—she’s transgender—might be too much for Wren.

Dissonance of Bird Song by Alexandra Beaumont

In the storm-riven wilds of ancient Cornwall the sea's whisper will charm us all. "Dissonance of Bird Song" is the folkloric-fantasy tale of Eseld, a song-weaver fleeing her home to cure the sacred birds of her people and save her sister. Locked between the lies of land-dwellers and the snare of an ancient sea queen, Eseld must fight to find her own path. Amidst a storm of betrayal and heartbreak, what will Eseld sacrifice to save the ones she loves? Readers who enjoyed Lucy Hounsom’s "Sistersong," Naomi Novik’s "Uprooted," and Sam Horton's "Gorse" will love "Dissonance of Bird Song."

Christmas Carols (Tales from the Maximeverse) by Maxime Jaz

Five gay Christmas short stories of love found, when all hope has been given up. When the shards of broken hearts bleed the soul dry. When pleasure laces with pain. When there's darkness dancing with the Christmas lights. When men who have given up on love might just get it as a gift. A standalone short stories collection.

More to Love by Georgina Kiersten

An Unexpected Love For Jamir Cunnigham, a relationship is the last thing on his mind. After inheriting his grandparent’s bookstore, Jamir has been completely focused on running the business. And if he’s lonely, that was between him and the books. Yet, from the moment Emmy Park walked into his life, Jamir was immediately captivated by the plus-size Korean. A Fresh Start After his recent divorce, former Olympic Wrestler Emerson “Emmy” Park moved to Texas to get a fresh start. After taking a job as an assistant wrestling coach at a nearby university, he stumbles across Jamir’s bookstore. Emmy is instantly attracted to Jamir. Unfortunately, he is big and burly with a resting bitch face and thinks he has zero chance with the gorgeous Black man. However, when a sudden encounter shows them how good they can be together. Is the simmering attraction between them enough for them to see past their differences and finally give in to their desires? More To Love is a short and sweet m/m romance book featuring bookstores, coffee shops, plus-size main characters, bisexual couples, sapphic side characters, autumn feels, and Black/Asian romances.

The Captain and the Guppy by Noah Bodie

In the underground city of Pirn, Cedric, the enigmatic second-in-command of the feared pirate ship The Waning Moon, oversees an orphanage that provides refuge to the city's most vulnerable. Captain Hawke, the legendary Warden of the Seas, is known for his strength, cunning, and love for those in his charge. As tensions between them simmer beneath the surface, a deeper bond is tested when Hawke returns home wounded and weary, leaving Cedric to question their place at Hawke's side.

Suneater by Noah Bodie

In a world scarred by war, Andreas and Simon are unlikely companions brought together by fate. Andreas struggles with the weight of his family's legacy, while Simon, a hardened mercenary, is haunted by his past. As they journey together, their bond grows from wary allies to something deeper, offering glimpses of hope amid the darkness. They must learn to trust each other not just with their lives, but with their hearts. "Suneater" is a captivating story about trust, family, and self-discovery. It follows the fateful meeting of Andreas and Simon as they navigate a world filled with mystery, magic, and turmoil. As they confront their pasts and grapple with their intertwined destinies, they must unravel the complexities of their relationships and confront their feelings for one another. This captivating narrative explores themes of loyalty, resilience, and the enduring power of human connection, offering a rich and immersive journey into the depths of the human spirit.