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Lots more MM (and one FM) HEA (happy ever after) books
Throwing Hearts by N.R. Walker
This one was lovely. Leo is buddies with Clyde, an older gay man, and takes Clyde out to talk and to classes. They sign up for a pottery class. Merrick has been too busy to date while getting his pottery + cafe business up and running. Merrick and Leo notice each other immediately. As a bonus, so do Merrick's uncle and Clyde later. A really fun, very short novel.
Best of Both Worlds, N.R. Walker
A drabble story. Sebastian and Ryland have been meeting anonymously for weeks at a bar then Ryland shows up at Sebastian's worksite.
Perfect Catch, N.R. Walker
Calvin and Troy have been best friends for ages. They head out on their friends' group usual yearly weekend, but everyone else has bailed. Plus, both are single at the same time for the first time. 3 stars
Elements of Retrofit, N.R. Walker
Clarity of Lines
Sense of Place
Thomas Elkin is legendary New York architect who came out a few years earlier. He recognizes a possible new intern as a friend of his son's and accepts him as his intern/assistant. Cooper's brilliant and knows exactly what he wants--to be as great as Thomas.
Book 2 finds the families not understanding the relationship.
Book 3 has outside forces affecting their relationship.
The architecture focus is cool, but oh! the intern/boss fling. No, just no.
Sunshine & Shadows, K.C. Wells
Jamie and Stephen were best friends as kids until Stephen moved to California. Now he's back. Stephen's had a hard time in California with at least one abusive relationship. Jamie was paralyzed at 18 in a car wreck. Can they become best friends again and maybe something more?
New Game, Start, C.S. Poe
Edgar works as a translator and scholar. He's been crushing on Walter, a top-level online gamer. Walter's going to be visiting NYC for a convention. Edgar replies to the announcement tweet and they start an online correspondence and arrange to meet.
Rocket Science, K.M. Neuhold
Elijah's now starting graduate school in California. His older brother contacts his best friend, Pax, and asks him make sure Elijah settles in, gets out, etc. Elijah's had the hots for Pax for years, as it turns out.
Four Letter Word, K.M. Neuhold
Polyamory between 4 men. Three were childhood friends. Two, Bishop and Hudson, remained local and are still friends. The third, Leo, fell out with Hudson, and ended up becoming a lawyer in New York. Leo is now moving back to California and staying with Bishop. Bishop meets Riot, a new bartended at the local hangout who introduces Bishop to polyamorous relationships. A bit neat that there's this completely with-it guy who can explain everything and soothe the rough edges and make them understand their feelings.
Network Effect, Martha Wells
Re-read. Murderbot...I'm sorry, SecUnit (I haven't been given permission to use that name) has been out on another mission with some Free Preservation members. On the way back, SecUnit and Dr. Mensah's daughter, Amena, are kidnapped by a strangely familiar spaceship which is inhabited by some weird-looking humanoids.
Caulky, K.M. Neuhold, Four Bears Construction series
Nailed
Hardwood
Screwed
Four guys started their own construction firm. Three are guy; one is divorced from a woman.
#1: Ren is on the rebound from a failed relationship. He has a steamy hook-up at a bar. Boy, is he surprised when he finds out who the contractor is to remodel the bathroom! Cole's never had a serious relationship. They both set up online profiles, not realizing who they are and start an online friendship.
#2: Stone moves into a house in need of renovation and immediately gets off on a bad foot with his neighbor, Dare. Dare's dog, an escape artist, starts showing up. Meanwhile, Stone is pulling pranks on his neighbor because hey, why not! Enemies-to-lovers.
#3 The divorced guy realizes he's gay and crushes on his kid's music teacher. Good family dynamics.
#4 Oliver falls in love at the drop of a hat and gets married but they never last. He gets ribbed about it ALL THE TIME by the other guys. Daniel is not having another serious relationship, no sir. In Vegas for the wedding of Cole and Ren, Oliver and Daniel wake up after getting completely trashed to find out they're married. They decide that they'll fake out the others by claiming it's real. If it lasts 6 months, they'll win a few thousand from the bets.
Closet Case, K.M. Neuhold
Jax's is out and proud in college who's sworn to not date another closeted guy. Along comes Matthew, football player. 3 stars.
Learning to Feel, N.R. Walker
Nathan is a high-powered doctor who decides to take a job in Maine. The job includes a house, complete with renovator, Trent, who has a few more weeks of work to finish. Nathan's amazed to realize that he's attracted to Trent.
Taxes & TARDIS, N.R. Walker
Brent is an electrician who needs an accountant to straighten out his books. Logan is the super-smart, geek accountant who can do it.
Spoiler Alert, Olivia Dade
I kept seeing this one show up as a recommendation. Olivia is overweight but happy with her life and the new job she's starting soon. She tweets out a picture of her cosplaying Lavinia, from a currently running tv series adapting a book series about Aeneas, Dido, Lavinia, etc. The actor who plays Aeneas sees it, likes and follows her, and asks her out to dinner. Little do they know that each are best friends online on a fanfiction site and discord. Marcus realizes it at dinner but doesn't tell her. She realizes that the dim-witted, happy-go-lucky actor has actually been playing roles on and off-screen and tries to draw him out. A lot of fun and laugh-out-loud moments with some angst in the middle.
Galaxies and Oceans, N.R. Walker
Ethan is in an abusive relationship with his politician boyfriend. Sequestered at a remote cabin with an oncoming wildfire, he walks away, leaving almost everything behind. Following the southern cross, Aubrey ends up on Kangaroo Island living in a decrepit trailer and doing odd jobs. Patrick lost his fisherman partner several years old and is happy enough tending to the local lighthouse. In this small town, everyone knows everyone else and Aubrey and Patrick quickly meet. Patrick wants to help this obviously troubled soul. Aubrey hasn't felt so safe or comfortable with anyone for a long time.
Spencer Cohen, Books 1-3, "Yanni's Story", N.R. Walker
Spencer is an Australian who came to the US a few years ago. He doesn't need to work, but now plays bait as the boyfriend of someone who's trying to get back a former lover. Is a breakup serious or not? Andrew's lover walked so his sister decides to hire Spencer to see if they can get the lover back. You can see where this is going, right? Books 2 and 3 are direct sequels so best to read them back-to-back. Yanni's Story is about a guy that Spencer was hired to find. Books 1 and 2 earned 4 stars from me but I bumped #3 up to 5 and Spencer's family situation is straightened out.
Private Charter, N.R. Walker
Stuart's a financial analyst finally taking a few weeks off on a private charter boat. His sometime-lover bails but he decides to go by himself. He and the captain (as it turns out another financial analyst who chucked it all several years ago) are seriously attracted to one another...There's a fun scene in Sidney which bumped up my rating.
Three's Company, N.R. Walker
Wilson is outed in his small southern town and dumped by his even more closeted boyfriend, leading to ostracism by many and the probably collapse of his restaurant (he's a chef). He heads to Key West alone where he meets Simon, manager of the hotel resort, and Adam, bartended and Simon's partner. Adam and Simon often invite in a third for a day or two, no longer, but find that they're willing to keep Wil around for over a week. The resort is also threatened by a homophobic developer who's making a point of buying LGBTQIA+ friendly properties and making sure they're no longer friendly.
The Weight of it All, N.R. Walker
A Very Henry Christmas (follow-up, short story)
This was very nice and got 5 stars from me. Henry is dumped by his partner of 8 years because he's overweight and boring. He decides to make a change and heads to the gym where his personal trainer, Reed, is super friendly. Friends-to-lovers. Just really fun.
Love Happens Anyway, R.J. Scott
Derek has taken over his father's advertising agency but feels stifled by the old guard and his father's continuing suggestions. He's made up a boyfriend, and is now trapped into producing said boyfriend at several holiday-related functions. He ends up hiring Luke, who is fits the description, and desperately needs money to renovate his family's bar. Sparks fly immediately--but that's crazy, right? Fine, probably won't try other works by this author.
Tic-Tac-Mistletoe, N.R. Walker
Hamish has decided to move to the US from Australia for two years. His sister travelled to the US 4 years earlier and settled in Idaho. After a diversion due to a snowstorm, Hamish ends up in western Montana and decides to drive. At least one wrong turn later, he runs off the road and the car won't start. Luckily, Ren hears him honking and takes him in for a few days...Love at first sight (practically).
Ambient Conditions, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
A short story and a novelette. "A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom" is set on Surebleak. The Liaden Scouts have sent an administrator and a scout to figure out why the schism has occurred. The scout ends up angering the administrator. She decides to become part of the solution than the problem (aka Liad). "Ambient Conditions" is the retelling of this year's story, "Preferred Seating." At some point, Liad decided to cull the 'small talents'--not strong enough or a talent already listed as acceptable to the Healer's Guild. Korval and Ixin agreed to take them to off-world colonies. Kishara is one of the culls. She ends up on a world which tends to amplify talents and can send them mad. She already knows that one of her travel group has a talent of persuasion and command and has stolen from others. Kishara's talent is luck and occasional foretelling. She ends up finding a Korval pilot and they team up to take down the bad guy.
