Unraveling the best of Gay in audiobooks for May 2024.
A Love Song for the Sad Man in the White Coat by Roe Horvat
Simon had always expected love to feel different than this. Whether it was his Catholic upbringing or the poetry he'd read - Simon had thought that true love would be uplifting, fulfilling, that it would give a meaning to his loitering, and add joy to his leisure. But not this kind of love. This love was a flesh-eating monster, sharp-clawed and evil-eyed, ravishing his mind with medieval cruelty. Dr Simon Mráz is a respected specialist and lecturer at the Charles University in Prague. He is a serious man, responsible. His students call him The Cruel Doctor Frost not because he's unkind, but because of his unwavering, ice-cold composure. As a psychiatrist, he values sanity. And sanity can be found in work, restraint, and self-control. Not many know of that one time in the past when The Cruel Doctor Frost lost his cool. His ill-advised, secret affair with a student left Simon deeply wounded. Since that day, every minute of Simon's life has been a struggle to remain sane, functioning. He's managed so far - as long as he is needed, as long as his work makes a difference, Simon can scrape together enough strength to get up in the morning and run off the nightmares. But when his friends begin drifting away, his beloved protégé becomes independent, and the man who bereaved Simon of his precious sanity might return... Simon's mind and body stop responding to his impressive willpower.
1936 - Bethlehem, a ramshackle, decaying house in the dark, snowbound depths of the country. A son returns home to bury his mother. He is accompanied by his lover who finds Bethlehem haunted by mysteries: what lies behind the locked doors, and what is the son searching for in the ground at night, and why does the house shake at night?
JERKING IRON A Bad Boyfriends Novel Book 3 in the Bad Boyfriends Series With his business empire under fire and ready to collapse, Kane and his partners turn to unlikely sources for help. Nick Lopez is a wounded warrior, an undercover major crimes cop caught in the crossfire when he brokers a deal between competing rival Miami crime families. When his best friend, David Black, calls him for advice, Nick sees it as an omen. Sometimes it’s better to get out of Dodge and live, so he quits the force and heads north. Jace McClune has seen and done too much as a vice cop. His last undercover assignment was his undoing, leaving him with an intervention but no resolution. Thomas Kane has friends in high places and when he hints the mob’s fingerprints are all over the attempts to take over his businesses, the precinct brass see this as a good way for Jace to get his head on straight with a babysitting job. Jace and Nick pair up for a simple sting operation, but they soon discover that under the layers of betrayal and lies runs the threat of a new operation—one that takes the skin trade to new levels of perversion. Neither man is prepared for the mutual attraction that simmers to a rolling boil as it becomes clear that the only way they can cut to the truth is to allow Jace to sink once more into the dangerous underbelly of the city. They’re about to find out why a man you can’t break is a man worth breaking… Warning: contains adult sexual M/M content, romance, and adult language. It is unsuitable for readers under the age of 18.
Former gladiator Saevius is certain Fortune’s smiling on him when a Pompeiian politician buys him to be his bodyguard. That is until his new master, Laurea Calvus, orders Saevius to discover the gladiator with whom his wife is having a sordid affair. In order to do that, Saevius must return to the arena, training alongside the very men on whom he’s spying. Worse, he’s now under the command of Drusus, a notoriously cruel—and yet strangely intriguing—lanista. But Saevius’s ruse is the least of his worries. There’s more to the affair than a wife humiliating her prominent husband, and now Saevius is part of a dangerous game between dangerous men. He isn’t the only gladiator out to expose the Lady Verina’s transgressions, and her husband wants more than just the guilty man’s name. When Saevius learns the truth about the affair, he’s left with no choice but to betray a master: one he’s come to fear, one he’s come to respect, and either of whom could have him killed without repercussion. For the first time in his life, the most dangerous place for this gladiator isn’t the arena. This 52,500 word novel was previously published under the pseudonym L.A. Witt, and has been lightly revised.
Oen and Jarred Build a Better Tomorrow; Build a Better Tomorrow by Rod Mortin
Oen and Jarred are surprised by the arrival of not one but two teenagers. Jeromy, who met Jarred in Book Three of the Paths Trilogy, loves and admires Jarred. When Jeromy's mom remarries, the young Jeromy asks to live with Oen and Jarred. Rhea is sent my Dolana to find safety with Oen and Jarred. Raised in the shadow of the brothels, Rhea is a brilliant young woman who longs for safety and the opportunity to learn from Oen, the most gifted member of the Geneer tribe. Oen and Jarred successfully help both teens to complete their education and discover life partners. Their reputation as good parents leads the inter-tribal Council to recruit Oen and Jarred to oversee the construction and development of the first inter-tribal school. But tribalism rears its ugly head as members of a deviant group called the Proud Men seek to sabotage the school and all it represents. Oen and Jarred go on the hunt to track down each member of this secret group and bring them to justice. On the day of the school dedication, would-be assassins throw knives at the assembled leaders. Jarred protects a member of the Council by jumping in front of him, only to be nearly killed by the knife embedded in his spine. While he recovers, the source of the kill order is found and linked to yet another member of The Order. With their work at the school completed and their teens starting their own families, Oen and Jarred look forward to something approaching a normal life. But their desire is interrupted by a message from their friend Dolana. She and others want to leave the patriarchy and bigotry of their planet and start afresh on Zeta, the original destination of all the people who now comprise the tribes of their world. Should Oen and Jarred leave their home and all they've built to help Dolana build a new society? Can the dream of Zeta even be achieved? If they fail, will they make a path for the return of The Order and its evil oppression?