Books like 'Taking Chances'
Readers who enjoyed Taking Chances by John Goode also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance mlm lgbtq family angst athlete high-school coming-of-age
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Unwanted by Marley Valentine
Rated: 5.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo halves of a whole, Arlo Bishop and I were both unwanted kids brought together by the foster system. Dealing with the aftermath of neglect and abandonment, we grew up side by side and found solace in one another.We wanted.We needed.We loved.Desperately.But somewhere along the way, Arlo wanted and needed and loved drugs more. So, I did the only thing I could and broke my own heart to save his... -
![Something Like Thunder by Jay Bell]()
Something Like Thunder by Jay Bell
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis isn’t a coming out story. Nor is it the tale of a lonely heart seeking companionship. This is about how I learned to fight.My name is Nathaniel Courtney and I’m a survivor. I didn’t let the cruelty of others wear me down, and I’ve weathered the more subtle hardships of the heart. Love is a Trojan horse, slipping past your guard and leaving you ransacked and vulnerable... -
![Letters Book One by Michael Robert]()
Letters Book One by Michael Robert
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNew York City financier, thirty-nine-year-old Perry Jackson, discovers a letter from his deceased husband, Jack. Jack’s recent death leaves Perry reeling and alone. After eighteen years together, Perry has no idea how he can move forward.Lucas Jenson, a nineteen-year-old residing in Beaufort, South Carolina, has lost both his mother and the man he dreamed of sharing his life with... -
![151 Days by John Goode]()
151 Days by John Goode
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWith just 151 days left until the school year ends, Kyle Stilleno is running out of time to fulfill the promise he made and change Foster, Texas, for the better. But Kyle and his boyfriend, Brad Graymark, have more than just intolerance to deal with. Life, college, love, and sex have a way of distracting them, and they’re realizing Foster is a bigger place than they thought... -
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![Line Brawl by Bianca Sommerland]()
Line Brawl by Bianca Sommerland
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNot all fights are one on one. In a team, no man should stand alone. ‘You can’t keep me.’ Shawn ‘Easy’ Pischlar has given his speech so often, it should be written on the white board in the Dartmouth Cobra’s locker room. Too many of his own teammates have heard the words. And the games he’s played are finally catching up to him... -
![Hot Wings by Eli Easton, Tara Lain]()
Hot Wings by Eli Easton, Tara Lain
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe alpha meets his match.Most macho of all the super-alpha Canali brothers and proud of it, Donny’s famous for his gorgeous face, his firefighter prowess, and for going through girls his family doesn’t approve of as fast as he changes jeans.Donny’s biggest hero is his fire captain dad, until his life gets saved from the skies by fire pilot Dell Murphy.Dell’s certain about most things... -
![Be Our Guest by CJ Bishop]()
Be Our Guest by CJ Bishop
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBlood is just blood. Family ties are knit in the heart and strengthened by love. With most of whom they consider ‘family’ already right there within their tight-knit circle, the Phoenix couples begin to look beyond that circle and contemplate those from the past who rejected and hurt them. Deep down, Dane longs for reconciliation with his parents... -
![You Are Not Me by Leta Blake]()
You Are Not Me by Leta Blake
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFollow Peter into the summer following his senior year to face new beginnings, new friends, and old baggage. After a tumultuous final year of high school, Peter Mandel needs a break. It's the summer of 1991, and his secret relationship with his ‘best friend’ Adam Algedi is put on hold as Adam goes away to Italy for the summer... -
![Pride High : Book 1 - Red by Jay Bell]()
Pride High : Book 1 - Red by Jay Bell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat’s it like being a teenager in the 90s? Let’s ask the characters of Pride High:Anthony Cullen: My life would be perfect, if I wasn’t in the closet. And in love with my straight best friend. Do you think he’ll ever notice me?Omar Jafari: Dude! I’m flunking out of most of my classes, but you know what really matters? A girl talked to me... -
![Tigers on the Way by Sean Kennedy]()
Tigers on the Way by Sean Kennedy
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSequel to Tigers on the Run Documentary producer Simon and ex-footballer Declan are taking some big steps toward a lasting life together. They’ve bought a house, and they’ll need it for the family they plan to start. Their friend, Nyssa, has made the generous offer to be their surrogate, and Declan couldn’t be more excited about the idea of a baby... -
![The Music of the Spheres by Chase Potter]()
The Music of the Spheres by Chase Potter
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn athlete and introvert from a family touched by loss, Ryan Mattson splits his life between reading and spending time with his dad and precocious younger sister. With the wounds of Ryan’s past almost healed, high school is simple, and so is everything else.But that changes when he’s paired with Adam for a class project... -
![All I Ever Wanted by Alexa Land]()
All I Ever Wanted by Alexa Land
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsI’ve been given this amazing gift: a second chance. I have to get it right this time. Because Cole Ealy is all I ever wanted, and this is our last shot at forever. River and Cole met, and fell in love, and then it all went horribly wrong. A year has passed, but River can’t move on... -
![Snow Boys by Simon Doyle]()
Snow Boys by Simon Doyle
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDean O’Donnell is a wallflower with a secret and a voice that could steal the show. Preferring to blend into the background at his high school, his world tilts on its axis when he is chosen for a major solo in the upcoming Christmas choir performance. His quiet life is further disturbed when he receives a Secret Santa gift, and an unexpected friendship forms... -
![End Game by Samantha Wayland]()
End Game by Samantha Wayland
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGarrick LeBlanc never intended to fall in love with two people, but he has, and now he has to figure out what to do about it. He wants to make them happy, but is afraid he’s doing just the opposite. To make matters worse, he’s trapped in New Brunswick until the end of the hockey season, while his lovers are both in Boston... -
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![Lost And Found by Aiden Bates]()
Lost And Found by Aiden Bates
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI’m going to die on this cliff with only a bobcat kitten for company. I’m sure of it until the hottest man I’ve ever seen swoops in and makes me leap.Eli’s made for danger, and he dedicates his life to finding desperately stranded hikers like me.He’s too perfect to be true.I’ve fallen hard before and ended up bruised and battered.I have to resist him... -
![St. Clair by Rose Christo]()
St. Clair by Rose Christo
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"I never want to hurt you. You get that, right?" Skylar knows Rafael wants something very specific from him--and Skylar wants him to have it. Convincing Rafael is going to take some serious innovation. Skylar lost his voice twelve years ago to the Nettlebush Indian Reserve's first and last serial killer. That serial killer was Rafael's father. Rafael's father, Skylar learns, isn't the problem... -
![When I Grow Up by John Goode]()
When I Grow Up by John Goode
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Tales from Foster High Story After graduation, Kyle Stilleno and Brad Graymark move to California to pursue their dreams. But high school sweethearts are called that for a reason, and their love rarely stands up to the test of time. As money, school, sex, and jealousy test their relationship to the breaking point, Kyle and Brad fight to hold on to the love that brought them together... -
![Reclamation by Vee Hoffman]()
Reclamation by Vee Hoffman
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBook 2 in the Acclamation series, Reclamation picks up the story of Michael and Dominic just as tragedy strikes the Butler family. Loss, heartbreak and guilt challenge the relationship between teacher and student, taking their romance off course, more so than any social conventions in their path... -
![Shouting Match by Pandora Pine]()
Shouting Match by Pandora Pine
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAfter the death of his father, Capone Lombardi was tasked not only with keeping his father’s legacy alive, but also to look after his mother and three younger brothers. Putting his own love life on the back-burner, he’s spent the last five years ensuring the family restaurant, Lombardi’s, thrives... -
![Forever by E. Davies]()
Forever by E. Davies
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJake Gray always wanted a real family. He left his own behind when he began his transition, but if he wants a baby he'll need to come off testosterone and get his life in order. The tips he makes as a waiter are barely enough to pay L.A. rent, let alone raise a child. But he’s made his own way for so long that he doesn’t want to rely on others now... -
![Sheets by Sareyen]()
Sheets by Sareyen
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings[BxB] Waking up next to someone after having a little too much to drink was no new, riveting story in this day and age. Waking up next to another boy, when you were also a boy, was a little more interesting, but still nothing to write home about. But waking up in Nico Beckett's sheets?To Wesley, it was a nightmare come to life... -
![Rookie by Eddie Cleveland]()
Rookie by Eddie Cleveland
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings* Although part of a series, you will enjoy it as a standalone as well! Rookie is everything you love in an MM first time gay romance. A journey of self-discovery, the undeniable sparks with the man who makes him question everything, the moment of realization, the secret relationship, and coming out... -
![The Long Way by DomLuka]()
The Long Way by DomLuka
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNote: Book cover incorrectly titled.After tragedy strikes at home and he loses a special friend, is betrayed by someone he trusts and his father discovers he's gay, Owen Dovan moves in with the brothers he hasn't seen in two years. Even in a loving environment things aren't always easy... -
![过门 - Guomen by Priest]()
过门 - Guomen by Priest
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” -Matthew 7:14Guomen, 過門/过门, meaning marriage in Chinese. If explained literally, it means going past the gates/door-a reference to the Bible(see above).“Through the Strait Gates”: to me, it’s the best way to explain it.The gate’s narrow, the road small for them... -
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![Until Jude by Briar Prescott]()
Until Jude by Briar Prescott
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI'm the first one to tell you doing the right thing has never been high on my list of priorities.Same goes for respecting the law. And ethics in general.It's more like guidelines anyway.Until him.Jude Riley.I invite myself into his life and refuse to leave. I know it's wrong. I know I shouldn't.I do anyway.It's never meant to turn into anything serious.It's never supposed to matter.Until it does... -
![Fearless by Chris O'Guinn]()
Fearless by Chris O'Guinn
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAt fifteen, Justin is already a cynic. He’s experienced too many betrayals, too many disappointments. He doesn’t want to be involved in anything. He doesn’t want to be popular. He doesn’t even want friends anymore, since they only ever let you down. He just wants to get through high school and the best way he can come up with to accomplish that goal is to simply be invisible... -
![Line Drive by Sloan Johnson]()
Line Drive by Sloan Johnson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPJ Nolan just has to get through this year. He’d been hoping for a trade to Milwaukee, where he wouldn’t have to hide the fact that he was gay, but that didn’t pan out. He’s close enough to achieving his goal that he can’t walk away, no matter how hostile the Miami clubhouse had become... -
![Once Burned by Alexa Land]()
Once Burned by Alexa Land
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCameron Doyle is an arson investigator who’s learned he can’t trust anyone. Ignacio Mondelvano is an artist with a secret that could tear them apart. A year ago, shy, quiet Cameron had his trust shattered by a sociopath who used him to gain information on an arson case... -
![Love & Other Inconveniences by Catherine Cloud]()
Love & Other Inconveniences by Catherine Cloud
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMorgan Boyle wants two things in life: to play hockey and to be left alone. Noah Andersson is loud, outgoing and probably hasn’t stopped talking since he learned how to say words. When Morgan ends up on a team with Noah at the Olympics, they get closer than either of them expected, and even when they’ve returned home Morgan still finds himself drawn to Noah... -
![Baby Makes Three by R.J. Scott, V.L. Locey]()
Baby Makes Three by R.J. Scott, V.L. Locey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen baby makes three, Christmas will never be the same for Ten and Jared.There's not much that Tennant Rowe hasn't accomplished, and all before reaching thirty. Hoisting the Cup, marrying the man of his dreams, and becoming a spokesman for LGBTQ2+ athletes' rights have filled his world with great joy... -
![Fancy Free by Mia Monroe]()
Fancy Free by Mia Monroe
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe last thing I need is a curious straight guy sniffing around me. So why is he so hard to resist?My life is everything I ever wanted - by design. Being one of the nation’s most sought after wedding planners has led to a life of traveling to glamorous locations, bumping elbows with the rich and famous, and sampling every handsome hunk the world has to offer... -
![Totally Schooled by Nicole Dykes]()
Totally Schooled by Nicole Dykes
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNolanI’m a teacher who has only one thing missing from his life: a healthy relationship.I have a plan in place. This should be easy.No more toxic men. No more casual hookups. I want something real. A love that’s equal, not lopsided. I’m a fixer at heart, but I’m done with the hopeless and the selfish.RafeI’m a dad. Pure and simple.The only thing I want is for my daughter to be happy and healthy... -
![New Tricks by Davidson King]()
New Tricks by Davidson King
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter thirteen years together, Malcolm and Embry are all too familiar with their differences. Malcolm is free-spirited and spontaneous while Embry prefers having everything planned out... -
![Away Games by Misha Horne]()
Away Games by Misha Horne
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOne step forward… and then what?When you live your whole life just wishing for things to be good enough, suddenly having everything you ever dreamed about is pretty unsettling. Safety, security, love… not the senior year I expected.Coach T calling me into his office, talking about untapped potential, didn’t see that coming either... -
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![The Layover by Roe Horvat]()
The Layover by Roe Horvat
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEight years ago, Ondro Smrek fled Slovakia and the bigotry that drove his first lover to take his own life. The demons proved impossible to outrun, though, and now, desperate for somewhere to belong, Ondro is returning to start over. During a layover in Basel, Switzerland, he meets Jamie, an American living in Scotland who is as brilliant as he is beautiful... -
![Like Water Catching Fire by E.M. Lindsey]()
Like Water Catching Fire by E.M. Lindsey
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"He was like if water caught fire—a beautiful anomaly. It was gorgeous. Danny wanted to exist inside that explosion and let himself be consumed by it." With his life upended at the sight of his cheating boyfriend, Danny Zhou flees across the country with two million dollars in his bank account, and a broken heart to mend. Danny was never the sort of man who was supposed to make it rich... -
![Stronger In Your Hands by Diane Adams]()
Stronger In Your Hands by Diane Adams
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEighteen and still trapped at prep school, Alex feels he and Jared will never get together, and then a surprise visit from Jared puts all doubt to rest. After Alex graduates everything seems to fall right into place. The heat between them is scorching, but secrets from Jared's past and his need to take care of everyone around him, jeopardizes their fledgling relationship... -
![Legendary Daddy by Mia Monroe]()
Legendary Daddy by Mia Monroe
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI knew he would be my Daddy one day. Now I have to convince him.My vision board has three things on it:Move to LABecome a popular directorMeet my idol and make him fall for meWhat can I say, I’m a dreamer. My chances of making that last one happen were slim to none, until one day, fate shined upon me and I was standing face to face with the man himself, Legend... -
![Shark Out of Water by Jenn Cooksey]()
Shark Out of Water by Jenn Cooksey
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWith the Amazon Bestseller Shark Bait, the first novel in the Grab Your Pole series, debut author Jenn Cooksey delivered a fun, snarky, and realistic beginning to a larger story that has found its way into the hearts of readers everywhere... -
![Exchange of Hearts by N.R. Walker]()
Exchange of Hearts by N.R. Walker
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEighteen-year-old Harrison Haddon has grown up alone. Surrounded by wealth, nannies, and material things, all he craves is the approval of his father. Sent away to the boarding school his father and grandfather attended, it’s assumed he will follow in their footsteps from Sydney’s prestigious Ivy League school straight into medical school.But Harrison doesn’t want to be a doctor... -
![Any Given Sunday by Mari Carr]()
Any Given Sunday by Mari Carr
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWild Irish, Book Seven.The child who is born on the Sabbath day, is bonny and blithe and good and gay. Sean Collins is happy working at the family pub and sharing a house with the woman of his dreams. He and Lauren are equals in every way, including in bed, where they burn the sheets. Life is good. Even if he must hide a couple of secrets to keep it that way.Lauren is madly in love with Sean... -
![Henry Hamlet's Heart by Rhiannon Wilde]()
Henry Hamlet's Heart by Rhiannon Wilde
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA sparkling queer YA romance set in Brisbane, Henry Hamlet’s Heart follows one guy and his sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking journey to love.Henry Hamlet doesn’t know what he wants after school ends. It’s his last semester of year twelve and all he’s sure of is his uncanny ability to make situations awkward. Luckily, he can always hide behind his enigmatic best friend, Len... -
![Dear Mona Lisa... by Claire Davis, Al Stewart]()
Dear Mona Lisa... by Claire Davis, Al Stewart
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTom, shy office clerk by day and drawer of foxes by night wakes up one Monday knowing the most extraordinary week of his life is about to begin. In five days time a lifelong ‘secret’ will be made gloriously public—but will it mean losing the person he loves most? Getting married… It seems like only yesterday Tom changed nappies and sang nursery rhymes to a laughing baby... -
![Outcasts by B.D. Fresquez]()
Outcasts by B.D. Fresquez
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHow can he act so calm and collected after he just stole my first kiss? Riley Summers doesn’t quite fit in the Fairfield High crowd. She listens to Led Zepplin and watches Star Wars—not your usual teenage girl favorites. She has been fine with living in the fringes of her high school scene until Aiden Callaway, Fairfield’s infamous rebel hunk, “kidnaps” her one afternoon... -
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![Bodies in Space by Shukyou]()
Bodies in Space by Shukyou
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIsaac didn't make mistakes. He was a very thorough and hard worker, and had been praised for that by his supervisor on so many occasions that he'd lost count, and something had to happen very many times before Isaac lost count of it.Words: 21382 in two partsAlso on Ao3:http://archiveofourown... -
![366 Days by Kiyoshi Tanaka]()
366 Days by Kiyoshi Tanaka
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSixteen year old Garrett Powell is agraphobic, androphobic and haptephobic. Ryan Thompson, the new kid, just wants to be his friend and then-hopefully-something more. Kellie Powell wants her big brother back. And Erin Donaldson is just, well, Erin. Not for readers under sixteen. Warnings for strong language... -
![Go Your Own Way by Zane Riley]()
Go Your Own Way by Zane Riley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWill Osborne couldn’t wait to put the roller coaster ride of his public education behind him. Having suffered bullying and harassment since grade school, he planned a senior year that would be simple and quiet before going away to college and starting fresh. But when a reform school transfer student struts into his first class, Will realizes that the thrill ride has only just begun... -
![Tutus and Tinsel by Rhys Ford]()
Tutus and Tinsel by Rhys Ford
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsZig Reid-Harris has everything an eleven-year-old girl could ever want: a great home, two fantastic fathers named Deacon Reid and Lang Harris, and all the books she could possibly read. When a school assignment about holiday traditions unexpectedly broadsides her, she discovers burying the past isn’t as easy as it looks, and the stark reality of her life before her adoption sinks in... -
![Hair Balls by Tara Lain]()
Hair Balls by Tara Lain
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat happens when a blue-collar dude who hides behind his Sasquatch hair gets sheared by a toppy femme in pink lace bikini panties?Contractor, Rick Ronconi can’t admit what he really wants because it’ll lose him his job, his father, his few friends, and maybe even the one thing he really cares about—his sister, Alice... -
![Changing the Rules by Brigham Vaughn]()
Changing the Rules by Brigham Vaughn
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRule #1: Don’t fall in love with the coach.Gabriel Theriault’s been skating on thin ice for the past two seasons with Toronto but his arrest following an off-ice fight is the final straw.His only shot at redemption is to start over in Evanston and prove that he still has what it takes to be a pro player.No more fights. No more drinking. No more random hookups. Rule #2: The team always comes first...
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