Where the Heart Leads (M/M Erotic Romance)

Where the Heart Leads
by Yolande Kleinn
M/M, Erotic Romance, Friends-to-Lovers
[33 Pages/ 7,600 Words]

AMZ / Apple / BN / Kobo / SW / All Buy Links

Terry Linn has found a clever solution for an inconvenient crush: invite Elliot Kleiss into his bed without actually admitting he's already fallen hard. Elliot is a friend and mentor, practically family for all the ways he's tangled up in business with Terry's parents. Propositioning him could lead to disaster, but Terry's desperate enough to try.

Maybe a tryst with no strings attached will burn Elliot out of his system. More likely, rejection will be the kick in the pants Terry needs to get over his infatuation. Anything is better than this helpless, pining limbo. As long as Elliot never suspects how deep his feelings truly run, Terry can endure any outcome.

Heartbreak or not, at least he'll finally know where he stands.

( Excerpt )

 

Three Contemporary Romance Recs

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Season of Love by Helena Greer

When Miriam Blum unexpectedly inherits part of her eccentric aunt's Christmas tree farm, she has to team up with the hot butch farm manager to save the farm from developers—and face the past she's been running from for a decade. A queer, Jewish take on classic Hallmark tropes.

Why you should read it: This book choked me up multiple times, and the whole thing is just so sweet and cathartic and satisfying and good. The characters are lovely, the tensions fierce, the found family dynamic my perfect catnip. This is absolutely the first in a series, with half a dozen potential-future-book-protagonists sprinkled throughout the cast of side characters and an ending that leans very deliberately into one of them—but since all of these side characters were completely charming, I didn't mind. Seriously lovely, and I will be looking to get my hands on the next book for sure.

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You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.

It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career.

She’s even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits. This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. Who is she ready to become? Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love?

Why you should read it: Oh, these characters are so messy, and so gorgeous, and so fantastically complicated. I knew very little about the book going in. I had a feeling I would enjoy it based on some inklings from a friend, but otherwise it was very much a blank slate experience. The physicality of the characters feels very raw and real, and the exploration of grief—both solitary and shared—added an intensity to the whole thing that I'm not sure how to put into words. This is a strange and beautiful book.

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Common Goal by Rachel Reid

Veteran goaltender Eric Bennett has faced down some of the toughest shooters on the ice, but nothing prepared him for his latest challenge—life after hockey. It’s time to make some big changes, starting with finally dating men for the first time.

Graduate student Kyle Swift moved to New York nursing a broken heart. He’d sworn to find someone his own age to crush on (for once). Until he meets a gorgeous, distinguished silver fox hockey player. Despite their intense physical attraction, Kyle has no intention of getting emotionally involved. He’ll teach Eric a few tricks, have some mutually consensual fun, then walk away.

Eric is more than happy to learn anything Kyle brings to the table. And Kyle never expected their friends-with-benefits arrangement to leave him wanting more. Happily-ever-after might be staring them in the face, but it won’t happen if they’re too stubborn to come clean about their feelings.

Everything they both want is within reach… They just have to be brave enough to grab it.

Why you should read it: This was honestly delightful. Such fantastic setup of two men, who in fact want the EXACT SAME THING, being completely believable dumbasses and trying to protect each other by pretending not to want those things. A brilliant execution of the "it's just sex, we're not gonna fall in love or anything" trope. Bonus points for a less experienced older man (lol 'older' my ass - dude's only forty-one) having his first gay sexual encounters and unapologetically enjoying himself. Eric very much reads as demisexual to me, and I loved how that played into the way he experiences intimacy and views physical pleasure. EVEN MORE bonus points for a divorced man being on good terms with his ex-wife, which will always be a favorite trope of mine. All around a lovely book, and I'll have to check out more of Rachel Reid's titles.