The Lion and the Dahlia by Gabriel Hargrave

It’s been months since Earth supported a pro-Purity coup on Baldwin, and Laith Ritter is settling into his new home on Europa Station. He’s a hit at work, he’s building a life with his boyfriend and Dom, Dorian Vidales, and he’s found a family, one that he would do anything for. He’s even caught the eye of his handsome coworker, Omar. On the surface, it would seem Laith’s star is on the rise and still climbing. But in reality, he’s struggling. And so is Dorian. He’s desperately trying to find his boyfriend, Kenny, and figure out how to help his coworkers who got arrested the night of the raid. And unlike Laith, Dorian’s not as big a hit as he used to be, which is hurting his already fragile ego. With their relationship already shaky, the last thing they need is to get swept up in more chaos. But some always manages to find them... When a client is found murdered, it’s up to Laith to figure out who really killed him and why. But the list of suspects is long—and some of them are people he cares about. As he and Omar work together to clear an innocent man’s name, Laith uncovers secrets that he’d rather not know, ones that throw what he believed about some of the most important people in his life into question. Can he find the murderer before it’s too late? And can Dorian and Laith’s rocky romance survive the chaos? The Lion and the Dahlia continues the epic kinky queer sci-fi romance series that began with The Orchid and the Lion and sends Dorian and Laith hurtling towards a fierce battle to reclaim the home they lost.

Adult • Science Fiction/Soft SF • Science Fiction/Romance • Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense/Amateur Sleuths • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+/Own Voices • Romance/Erotica

Content Warning: sexually explicit, swearing, drug and alcohol use, smoking, relationship issues, mental health struggles. alcoholism/drug addiction, death, mentions of suicide, mentions of unwanted groping, blood, dead body, murder, war, hospitalization, unsupportive families, therapy, dysphoria, coming out, police injustice, judging people because of their addictions, loss of partner, vomiting, guns, fascism, violence, injury, transphobia/homophobia/whorephobia (Purity Culture as a villain)