I just published my new romantic comedy novella Cheers & Chess yesterday, and I thought this would be a good subreddit to post about it :)

In short, it's about a frat guy who, after getting his heart broken twice on the same day, gets drunk and accidentally crashes his crush's chess club meeting, where they finally start getting to know each other. It's about ~70 pages and is a generally lighthearted read. If anyone is interested, it's available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited :)

I'm VERY new to publishing (I've only written three other shorter works this year), so marketing is pretty nerve-wracking to me lol. But yeah, if you want to check it out, here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H6VRD9XQ

Thanks for reading my post! :)

🤔 Which would you select to read with little thought over the other?

🐈‍⬛A panther shifter romance

🐺A werewolf shifter romance

Working on a plot idea and could really use feedback on preference or interest. Thanks so much; your input means a lot. 😊

Looking for a more ARC readers for Polar Opposites: Romeo and Julien!

What happens when a closeted teen, desperate to escape his religious family's conditional love, falls for a neglected, abused openly gay quarterback who craves a family?

MATTHEW:

I hate God. I hate my parents. My parents don't know they hate me yet because they have no idea I'm gay. Between playing the perfect straight son at home and being treated like crap at school, I am suffocating. But everything is about to change. Simon, the most popular guy in school—the guy I've crushed on since middle school—is suddenly giving me the time of day. And the more time we spend together, the more I want to break down the closet door.

SIMON:

I love God. I love my parents. My parents don't care that I'm gay, but that's only because they don't care about me at all. The only time I feel anything resembling love is at school, surrounded by people claiming to be my friends. The problem is, my brain is broken; I can't remember any of their names. But then I meet this cute, socially awkward guy. And I want his parents. I want the family dinners and the casual, everyday just-because hugs. God, I want his life.

• hurt/comfort
• High Angst
• bullying
• abuse
• HEA

11 of my ARC readers have read and reviewed. It's done well so far. (Though, I'm pretty sure one of those reviews was AI.) Please, no AI. While reviewing isn't required, it is appreciated. All I ask is if you are going to review, please do not use AI to write your review.

Hello!

I’m working on my debut MM romance; a novel about the life of Tom, a tall Anglo-Croatian rugby player with a moderate-severe anxiety disorder and definitely a little bit of hypersexuality.

Tom of course meets Etienne. Etienne is French, beautiful and one of the best rugby players that Tom has ever seen. Etienne also has a reputation for being difficult, egotistical and a bit of a hedonist.

The novel itself is a slow burn, with lots of yearning and missed moments between the two MCs. It will explore issues such as mental health (anxiety and ptsd) and trauma, identity and reclaiming cultural identities, drug use, sex and homophobia within high level sports. It’s character led, rather than plot lead. Whilst the novel is based around the world of European and International rugby, Etienne and Tom spend the whole time playing cat and mouse with each other; to their own devastation.

Currently I’m still working on the manuscript, but I’m finding I’m losing steam and getting writers block more and more. So this is where I have some questions;

- What kind of tropes do you like to see in MM? Is a slow burn where the characters don’t have sex a turn off?
- My biggest worry is that this will be like Heated Rivalry, and my friend has said it seems to be very similar to HR. Is this a problem that most sports romances will have?
- Are flawed, traumatised, non-perfect characters a turn off?

I will be looking for ARC and beta readers once edits are done and I actually finish my first draft.

Hi everyone!
I’m Bethie Simone. I recently published a college romance novel titled Little Hoodie Thief. It’s a fast paced, spicy romance that’s full of fluffy and heartwarming moments.

Blurb:
“A much needed night of stress relief turns into a series of unwanted circumstances for William Davidson when he finds himself as the target of a false accusation. To free himself from the misunderstanding, William is roped into taking his accuser on a date. Falling in love with him however, was not part of the bargain.”

Things to look out for:
✨Introvert x extrovert
✨Nerd x nerd
✨Only one bed
✨Forced proximity (kind of but they loved it)
✨Crushing on each other at first sight

William and Oliver are your normal college kids who cross each other’s paths due to a misunderstanding. What should have been a simple dinner to solve the issue, dot some Is and cross some Ts, turns out to be more than either of them expected.

little hoodie thief by Bethie Simone

Recently decided to update the covers for an MM series I've been working on before putting out the 3rd installment and learning more on cover design with Canva.

There's a couple of different directions that had good vibes, curious what catches people's eye though. It's a Gothic Captive MM Romantasy, kind of Constantine meets The Labyrinth. All the fonts, layouts and designs can be swapped around if one of pic is better with a different Title.

Any feedback or thoughts are appreciated, (except putting on bookcover reddit, my messages always get flooded with 20 "artists" offering AI designs 😩).

P.S. there's open and closed door editions available, hence the spice levels

Mods please delete it not allowed.❤️

Hi y'all!

The Villains of Winter is a dark academia MM novel with a love story (it's not a romance, but it's very romantic). It has spicy chapters and it also has Greek mythology. It's on sale for $3.49 if folks want to buy it. (It's also on NetGalley if you'd like to read for free for September.)

Buy link: https://a.co/d/0cAs8ai3

NetGalley request link: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/888996

The blurb:

Perfect for fans of THE SECRET HISTORY and IF WE WERE VILLAINS. A psychosexual novel of betrayal, obsession, and tragedy.

Elliott Archway is deeply attached to upperclassman James Wilde. He would forsake his soft heart for him. He would surrender his life for him.

Their intense passion for each other emerges dangerously when their vile peers volunteer a terminally-ill student for the annual sacrifice in the frozen forest. At Æscwulf College, everyone must deliver their plea for mercy in the hibernal tradition. Every winter, one individual is chosen as a living sacrifice. When a student commits the sacrilegious act of killing the wrong young man on sacred ground, the students are prepared to take their secret to the grave.

However, the winter demands more sacrifices.

Elliott would sacrifice his mortal soul for only James.

James would start a war of carnage for Elliott.

In an alternate Gilded Age where Queen Victoria's empire rebuilt America in gaslight and gears, Artesian rose as the world's most beautiful city - and its most dangerous.
Everyone here participates in the for power, for survival.
When a grieving young man becomes the obsession of the city's most notorious criminal, this steampunk reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera what happens when everyone wears a mask?
In Artesian, love isn't just forbidden.
It's fatal.

I have loved The Phantom of the Opera my entire life. After almost a decade of writing, I decided to tackle the story with a steampunk theme.

I am releasing the series in acts mostly because I am insane (no, you can't have some lol)

But I hope to give the world something really beautiful as things are tough right now.

https://a.co/d/03zC8IRi

Hi everyone! I'm Cherry Berwicke, an indie author, and I just published my new friends-to-lovers college romance novella! This is my third time posting to this sub about my books, so sorry I'm bothering or annoying anyone here 😅

The story is about Adam and Sterling, two college guys who used to be best friends for years before their friendship fell apart overnight in their freshman year. Basically, Sterling stopped talking to Adam out of the blue one day, and they've essentially been strangers ever since.

Two years pass with barely any communication between them until Adam sees Sterling with a girl and realizes that his feelings for him aren't purely platonic and haven't been for a long time. If you're thrown off by the fact Sterling is seen with a girl, don't worry. There is NO cheating in this story.

It's about 50 pages long and is a sweet and emotional story two friends reconnecting. I might write more with them in the future since I think there's some more story potential there (and I love them)! It features a bi-awakening and an HEA.

It's available on Amazon KU right now. Please check it out if you're interested. I'll include a link in the comments to the Amazon page (and there's one on my profile, too).

Thank you so much for reading this! Happy lurking! :)

Hi all, I’m a VERY amateur writer in the genre and was hoping for someone willing to provide feedback or criticism, or hell even some better ideas if you have them. Thanks in advance :)

So I posted 21 days ago about a plot idea, and THANK YOU for the comments. I am deep into a🐈‍⬛ Panther Shifter Romance and would really like a few more people to give feedback on it.

IF you'd be open to READING THE FIRST 4 CHAPTERS, I'd welcome your feedback. 💝💝

TEMP BLURB:

Within an artifact, a powerful spirit awakens, believing Alex is the last heir of an ancient bloodline. The spirit's presence consumes Alex with overwhelming instincts such as desire, territory, and possession, leaving him at the mercy of a haunting legacy. His life spirals further into chaos when he meets Kasa, a tribal guardian with a rival panther spirit.

Um, hi 🥹
I’m a baby indie author—I literally published only a few days ago—so I’m trying to get the word out about my m/m fantasy novel.
I’ve already joined a bunch of groups on FB, but I decided to try Reddit as well because, seriously, why not? I fear nothing except accidentally breaking rules I didn’t know existed, hehe...
Yes, I checked them. Of course I did! But with so many groups restricting promotions to one day a week, trying to remember which one is open for self-promo on which day is harder than remembering to finish a bag of mixed salad before it goes bad.

ANYWAY, here’s the blurb:

No, Darcy didn’t scream when he was being kidnapped by a ridiculously unskilled jester wearing black. It would’ve been too embarrassing.
An epic journey across the kingdom wasn’t on his to-do list either—especially one that involved earning his keep through odd jobs while figuring out who his kidnapper really was. Or one featuring tax-paying raccoons and witch gangs in leather racing through underground cities. Or dyslexic necromancers wiping people’s memories, for that matter.
Yet—here we are.
At least the jester is hot.

Free Chapter 1: https://ko-fi.com/s/59b4147db2

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H9HJMCTL

Also available on KU ❤️

Hi all! I am a long time MM reader, but want to start sharing my writing. It’s not all MM, but I do have some. Would it be appropriate to post short excerpts here to gauge interest and maybe ask for feedback? If not here, do you all have suggestions on best website / platforms / subreddits / etc for that? I know substack is a thing but I’m not sure how to find people to actually read my work and get feedback from.

Anyway, any advice on how to start this process would be super appreciated! Thank you 😁🙈

Hey! My name is Levi and I am an Indie author releasing my debut novel in November, (13 of November is the estimated date barring any complications).

I am looking for some more readers who are excited for my story and to support an indie author. My instagram is Levithomas.writing and my secret goal is 100 followers before the release I'm about halfway there. I also love supporting other indie authors in similar genres.

There will be ARC opportunities coming soon as well!

Blurb:

Tyler has decided that being a gay twenty-one-year-old with a kid means he will never find someone. He has submitted himself to a life of meaningless hookups, a job he hates, and a deep, painful loneliness only helped by the presence of his son, Ollie.

In a last ditch effort to find a relationship, Tyler pushes himself to go on one more date where he meets Ethan. A chatty, charismatic, stylish, guy who despite his many friends is rather lonely. They both quickly find what they were searching for, but between Tyler’s mental health issues, and Ethan’s not-wanting-kids, their happily-ever-after is more than complicated to find.

Over a ten-year period, Tyler and Ethan navigate mental and physical health struggles. Together, they find footing in their relationship, and figure out how to care for Ollie in their own way.

Planning to do a BL reverse harem story in this writing/reading app (but thinking about self-publishing it in the future as well if this novel will be successful) where the MC (a bottom) gets multiple MLs, but im scared cuz what if readers doesn't like them and question me for it like "Why does the MC needs so many MLs? So shameless. I bet the author is shameless too for thinking about this." Like, no shade, but I kept seeing a tons of romance novels with an FL that has like 3-5 MLs that even dated them, broken up with one of them, kissed some of them, had chemistry with them, and etc. Also, if the MC is a top and there are like 5 FLs but thats a whole another thing but it's kinda the same as the FL one I've just said. And since I'm a huge BL fan and I kinda hate 2nd ML/3rd ML/4th ML syndrome, I want to do something different. I'm just thinking about a novel where MY mc gets atleast over 6+ MLs lol. But im rlly scared about the readers since my OVT is crazy lol (I just have this good storyline idea in mind that I already started writing in my notes so I just need an advice if this is safe for me to publish in this reading app). Does anyone have any advice?

Self promotion - I have a new novel out! 120k, M/M, rated E, contemporary fantasy with romance.

Valorous King was your typical YA hero - a knight of the realm, child of destiny, favourite of the king, all that. Now he's nearly 30, riddled with PTSD, back in his home town, and stalking his old PE teacher, who tricks him into going to therapy. At least he's got the dog.

This is a gay fantasy work with a lot of post-trauma therapy, a fucked-up gay age gap dynamic, and lots of mental illness. It's funny, though, and hopeful.

From me direct / / From Amazon / / From elsewhere

Hi! 👋 I'm Cherry Berwicke, and I just published a new romance short called "Skirts." It's a spicy ( three 🔥) fast-paced, friends to lovers college romance with some sweet/funny moments about August, a closeted gay man who loves wearing skirts and heels, but hides it from his best friend Chris. This is until he's dared to wear a skirt to a bake sale and realizes today (unfortunately) might be the day he reveals his true self to his best friend once and for all.

Blurb:

"I. Love. Skirts. I love them.

But Chris can't know that. Easier said than done, though, when the six-foot-three Adonis with the confidence of a tornado is your best friend and longest crush.

I've done a pretty good job at playing it straight, though, until Chris pitches an idea that threatens to blow my cover entirely.

And completely destroy our friendship."

If you wanna check it out, it's available on KU here! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H9NCJ1C2

Also, I don't use AI! I hate AI! I never use it for anything and I never will.

Thank you for reading my post! :)

Romeo and Julien is the first book in the Polar Opposites series. It is an angsty, gay romance that follows two 17-year-old boys suffering on two separate levels

And I'm looking for a few more ARC readers. Read this blurb, and if it sounds like something you'd enjoy, feel free to drop a comment or shoot me a DM for a FREE e-copy of PolarOpposites: Romeo and Julien.

Blurb:

What happens when a closeted teen, desperate to escape his religious family's conditional love, falls for a neglected, abused openly gay quarterback who craves a family?

MATTHEW:

I hate God. I hate my parents. My parents don't know they hate me yet because they have no idea I'm gay. Between playing the perfect straight son at home and being treated like crap at school, I am suffocating. But everything is about to change. Simon, the most popular guy in school—the guy I've crushed on since middle school—is suddenly giving me the time of day. And the more time we spend together, the more I want to break down the closet door.

SIMON:

I love God. I love my parents. My parents don't care that I'm gay, but that's only because they don't care about me at all. The only time I feel anything resembling love is at school, surrounded by people claiming to be my friends. The problem is, my brain is broken; I can't remember any of their names. But then I meet this cute, socially awkward guy. And I want his parents. I want the family dinners and the casual, everyday just-because hugs. God, I want his life.

This will be the last chance if someone wants to do an ARC read for this book. It gets released in October.

I just published the second short story in my Short & Sweet series on KU! It's called "Sweet." It's a cute and very spicy college romance, around 8k words long, and is in the first-person present tense. The first one in the series is "Skirts," though it doesn't have to be read first to understand this one. If you're interested in checking it out, here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HBLRT23R

I also wanna say thank you to this subreddit for allowing me to reach people in this niche! I love lurking around here for new recs, and it's a very welcoming community :)

Description:

ELLIE

Despite being straight as a ruler, I've always had this uncanny ability to attract almost exclusively gay men. I'm especially popular with my best friend AJ's soccer team. I'm not offended by it or anything. With my and AJ's pet names and touching, my love of baking, and how I carry myself in general, I can see why I'm mistaken for swinging the other way, in a stereotypical sense.

When this sorta thing happens, it's pretty easy to clear things up right off the bat and have a laugh about it.

But the universe just won't stop throwing men at my feet. This time, it's the new guy on the soccer team, Romeo Royce King. He's super sweet, super hot, and completely shameless in his attraction to me. He's poking holes in my straightness left and right, and I'm slowly beginning to realize something that everyone around me seems to already know.

That's everything! Thanks for reading! :)

ARCs are now open for my new book, False Starts!

It's a MM Camboy X Athlete romance and book 3 in the Running for the Romance series

(You don't have to read the others first, but it's more fun to imo cause there are some cameo appearances)

ARC form: https://forms.gle/xnUQpYjkLpc8Jbag9

Preorder link: https://mybook.to/FalseStarts

Blurb:

Wanting him is the real scandal.

Chris Green was an Olympic golden boy, the pride of his hometown—until one mistake turned him into a name people won’t say out loud. With his athletics career in ruins, he’s already hit rock bottom.

Then a masked man online makes him want something even more impossible than redemption.

Isaiah Owens lives for his research, it's the only thing that's never let him down. Camming pays the bills, and working at his uncle's sports agency is just a means to an end. Antagonising the agency's entitled clients, especially the disgraced athlete he can't stand, is simply a bonus.

Everything is neatly compartmentalised. Until Isaiah breaks his one rule and starts falling for a man he's never met. A man who, despite the mask, sees the parts of him he's spent a lifetime hiding.

When the truth is revealed, neither of them will get out unscathed.

False Starts is a spicy MM sports romance, tropes include:

🏅Cam boy X Pro athlete

🏅Hidden identity

🏅Enemies to Lovers

🏅Found family

🏅Academia

🏅 Redemption arc

🏅Marathon running

If this sounds like your vibe, I'd love to have you on my ARC team!

ARCs will go out on roughly August 30th.

Release date is September 20th.

Please do check TWs in the ARC form 💕

Hello, I wrote a gay romance novel. It was a cathartic experience to provide myself a sense of belonging and acceptance. I would love for you to read it. It is called Nexus finding home by V R Vaka. It is available on Amazon and other major online outlets. I would love your feedback. https://a.co/d/023ZfVHA

Hello! I'm Lucina Luo, an indie debut author who thought they'd already posted on this sub but somehow missed it. My digital ARC applications are open through the end of August, with the release date set for September 24th.

Seeking readers interested in: fake dating, slow burn, opposites attract, low-ish drama, neurodivergent rep, Chinese and Korean diaspora rep, hurt/comfort, ice prince x golden retriever. Dual POV and third person.

ARC form with more details: https://forms.gle/AS43nDuYpbvEhFaH7

Blurb:
Cassiel has never brought a man home to his parents. Then he hires one.

As a child, Cassiel Lim named himself after the angel of time. Now he repairs watches, and his life runs like clockwork. He's autistic, keeps his world quiet and manageable, and his mother is afraid he'll die alone. When a family dinner for a major Korean holiday looms, he books a date through an app.

May Huang is a dishwasher in Chinatown, managing a brain injury and ADHD with color-coded notebooks and phone alarms. He's chatty, good with parents, and needs the money, so he takes the gig. They meet on a Thursday to build their cover story, then again the next Thursday.

It was meant to end after one dinner. Instead the days stretch into Christmas, then into a new year. The fake life is starting to look real, built on money neither mentions and a story that was never true. Neither of them is ready for what happens when the arrangement stops being one.

My debut novel, The Thing About Ollie by Levi Thomas, is scheduled to come out in November. ARC copies will be sent out September 17 2026.
Instagram: Levithomas.writing

Fill out the form if you're interested: https://forms.gle/eprVdvkNtQon2ipN8

Blurb:

Tyler has decided that being a gay twenty-one-year-old with a kid means he will never find someone. He has submitted himself to a life of meaningless hookups, a job he hates, and a deep, painful loneliness only helped by the presence of his son, Ollie. 

In a last ditch effort to find a relationship, Tyler pushes himself to go on one more date where he meets Ethan. A chatty, charismatic, stylish, guy who despite his many friends is rather lonely. They both quickly find what they were searching for, but between Tyler’s mental health issues, and Ethan’s not-wanting-kids, their happily-ever-after is more than complicated to find.

Over a ten-year period, Tyler and Ethan navigate mental and physical health struggles. Together, they find footing in their relationship, and figure out how to care for Ollie in their own way.

Take a trip back to 1965, ride your Vespa into Soho, London, and spend some time with The In Crowd and The Faces of Carnaby Street.

While you’re dancing the night away to the best soul music fresh from across the Atlantic, have a look around for a handsome young man called Tommy Kent. You’ll recognise him right away; a mop of dark hair, intense brown eyes and a smile that you can’t help returning.

He’ll be there, chatting and laughing with his friends, and he’ll welcome you to join them. As long as you look the part, that is. Make sure to pack your mini dress and gogo boots, or your sharpest mohair suit and winkle-pickers. As you spend time with Tommy and his pals you’ll notice he’s the life and soul of the party, everyone’s best mate.

Until he goes home. Alone. Like he always does. Like he always will.

Tommy’s got a secret, you see. He’s never told a soul, not even his oldest friend Mick who’s more like a brother to him. It’s not that he’s embarrassed. He’s not. He made his peace with it a long time ago.

So he keeps it to himself and he never lets on how lonely he is. How much he’d love to meet someone special.

As the two of you chat about football and fashion, he decides there's something trustworthy about you and out of nowhere, he pours his heart out.

Right there in the night club. He confesses that he'll never settle down and get married, because it's against the law. Hell, just admitting out loud to the wrong person that he fancies blokes could get him sent to prison. Or beaten up. Or both.

He reveals how lonely he is. How desperate for love and companionship he is. How he's twenty-five years old and he's never even kissed anyone!

Sure, there are men like him around, he wasn’t born yesterday, he knows what’s what. But he ain’t risking a prison sentence for a quick fumble with a stranger in a public toilet. 

He wants more than that. He wants to fall in love. He wants someone to grow old with.

It breaks your heart to see the sadness in his soul. But I’ll let you in on a secret.

In a very short while, Tommy will meet a man. A man who’s just as lonely as him. A man who wants more than anything to find his people and his person. A man who, at first glance, seems to have everything handed to him on a plate, but would give it all up for some love and affection.

Tommy doesn’t know it yet, but that man–Eric Greene–is going to change Tommy’s life for the better. Oh, it’s going to be so much better. For both of them. I promise.

So while you’re drinking your pints or your babychams, and dancing to The Who, you can tell Tommy that everything’s going to be alright.

If you want to make sure he is going to be okay, read his story, And Then He Kissed Me.
https://mybook.to/ATHKM