Books like 'Down and Out'

Readers who enjoyed Down and Out by Parker St. John also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  gay romance  western  from hate to love  cowboys  angst  friends to lovers  queer  queer-awakening  hurt-comfort 

  • How to Say I Do by Tal Bauer

    How to Say I Do by Tal Bauer

    Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 56 ratings
    NoëManhattan is my heart and soul. In the cutthroat world of elite public relations, I’m one of the princes. I manage global superstars, predict the up-and-coming trends, easy. And social media? That’s my specialty. I can make you, hon, and launch you straight to the stratosphere. My life is champagne glitter and starlight, and everything around me is gold...
  • Navarro by Kelly Fox

    Navarro by Kelly Fox

    Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    The worst kept secret on Rebel Sky Ranch is that Desi Navarro is in love with Wyatt Goodnight. But don't tell Wyatt that. The much younger brother of his late wife is and will always be off-limits. Even if he can't manage his own life, let alone the ranch, without Desi. Even if Desi's love for Wyatt burns brighter than any star...
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  • Making Promises by Amy Lane

    Making Promises by Amy Lane

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 20 ratings
    All Shane Perkins ever wanted to be was a hero. But after a career-shattering decision to go down fighting, Shane comes home from the hospital to four empty walls, a pile of money, and a burning desire for someone to miss him the next time he gets hurt in the line of duty...
  • The Cowboy Contract by B.A. Tortuga

    The Cowboy Contract by B.A. Tortuga

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 11 ratings
    Ryder Vittor has almost everything he could ever want. He was a successful bull rider, he runs a rodeo company and a ranch for his family, and he's right where he wants to be. Until his grandmother issues him an ultimatum...
  • Courageous Hearts by Emmy Sanders

    Courageous Hearts by Emmy Sanders

    Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 11 ratings
    Mr. Right wasn’t expecting Mx. Tall, Dark, and Beautiful. BoBeing out and proud as a nonbinary person didn’t come easy, but I’ve finally found my place. I have an amazing work family at the cabaret bar where I perform, Chicago fits me better than my Texas hometown ever did, and I’m truly happy.Especially once Jameson walks into my life...
  • Red Dirt Heart 4 by N.R. Walker

    Red Dirt Heart 4 by N.R. Walker

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    Moving from a Texas ranch to an Australian Outback station was a life changing decision for Travis Craig. Though it wasn’t really a decision at all. Something in his bones told him to go, though he had no clue as to why. Until he met Sutton Station’s owner, Charlie. Loving Charlie shouldn’t have been easy. The man was stubborn, and riddled with crippling self-doubt...
  • Good Behavior by Kelly Fox

    Good Behavior by Kelly Fox

    Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 13 ratings
    From USA Today Best-Selling Author Kelly Fox comes a spicy forbidden romance between an ex-con and his prison therapist.There’s not much I miss about prison, save for the buttoned-up therapist who doled out subtle commands and generous praise in equal measure...
  • Never Stay Gone by Tal Bauer

    Never Stay Gone by Tal Bauer

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 18 ratings
    Six bodies in a single grave… in the same West Texas country where Dakota left everything behind. Every beat of my heart belongs to you. Thirteen years ago, Dakota Jennings thought he'd found his forever when he fell in love with Shane Carson. But one afternoon shattered their love story, and both Dakota and Shane left Rustler, Texas, with broken hearts...
  • Wishing Hearts by Emmy Sanders

    Wishing Hearts by Emmy Sanders

    Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 11 ratings
    A shameless flirt. A single dad. And an unexpected chance at love. HarrisonWhen I left Plum Valley ten years ago, I never thought I’d return. But a call about animals in crisis brings me back to the town that inadvertently broke my heart.What I don’t expect? Sam. The animal control officer looks every bit a cowboy wet dream, and for whatever reason, he’s latched on to me like a dog with a bone...
  • Down and Dirty by Parker St. John

    Down and Dirty by Parker St. John

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 12 ratings
    One kiss ended in tragedy.Now they have a second chance to do it right.Lane:Bull fighter. Heart throb. Wild card.Rodeo pro Lane Bell knows a thing or two about taking damage. He’s made a career out of punishing himself, but he can’t outrun his troubled past. Not when it shows up in an irresistible package to spring him from county lock-up and demand he come home...
  • Frog by Mary Calmes

    Frog by Mary Calmes

    Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 31 ratings
    Weber Yates's dreams of stardom are about to be reduced to a ranch hand’s job in Texas, and his one relationship is with a guy so far out of his league he might as well be on the moon. Or at least in San Francisco, where Weber stops to see him one last time before settling down to the humble, lonely life he figures a frog like him has coming...
  • The Cook and the Gangster by Jackie North

    The Cook and the Gangster by Jackie North

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    “Time cannot erase the love I feel for you, my friend.” Levi has worked very hard to find a private corner of the world where his past can’t catch up to him. His life, with its fourteen-hour days working in the ranch’s kitchen, is a little humdrum, but he likes it that way. And it’s safe, because he lets no one get close...
  • Cowboy Haven by B.A. Tortuga

    Cowboy Haven by B.A. Tortuga

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    When Heath Barron leaves Texas for Northern New Mexico, he thinks he's getting a luxury house rental for a steal, getting away from his ex, and finding a home for his newborn triplets. What he finds is a broken down trailer, a freezing winter, and the feeling that he's at rock bottom in his life. Again.Former rodeo champ Kolt Cordova has a good life...
  • Cowboy Healing by B.A. Tortuga

    Cowboy Healing by B.A. Tortuga

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Patrick Kelly needs some help. His husband passed away a while ago, and now he has a thriving medical practice, two busy kids, and one ranch outside Aspen, Colorado that he's not really sure how to run...
  • The Meaning of Life by BA Tortuga

    The Meaning of Life by BA Tortuga

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    When tragedy strikes in the parking lot of a rodeo event, bullfighter Jasper Dean loses his best friend Kayla, inherits her barrel racing horse, her pack of dogs, and her two babies, who also happen to be his biological kids. He has no idea what to do about any of it, and JD struggles to juggle all of his new responsibilities...
  • The Cowboy Guardian by B.A. Tortuga

    The Cowboy Guardian by B.A. Tortuga

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Watson Torres and his daughter Naomi have had a rough time of things. They've lost a loved one, and Naomi has lost an arm in a house fire. So when Wat lands a job at the Broken C ranch, he's excited to start over. He loves teaching kids, and there seems to be a steady supply at the ranch, which means Naomi will have a chance to make friends, as well...
  • Red Dirt Christmas by N.R. Walker

    Red Dirt Christmas by N.R. Walker

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    **14,500 words, gay romance** Travis had been here at Sutton Station for just over a year. We were technically engaged, not that we’d told anyone. He was happy just knowin’ I’d said yes, and I had some head-clearin’ stuff to work through. Knowing I was good enough for Trav was one thing, but knowing if I was good enough to be a husband and father was somethin’ else entirely...
  • Forever Promised by Amy Lane

    Forever Promised by Amy Lane

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 11 ratings
    Crick has been home from Iraq for five years, Jeff and Collin are finally married, and Shane and Mikhail are quietly making lives better for the dispossessed teenagers who come their way. Everything is right in Deacon's world, but nothing ever stays the same. When Deacon's best friends, Jon and Amy, answer the call of an opportunity in Washington, DC, Deacon figures that’s life...
  • Down in Flames by Parker St. John

    Down in Flames by Parker St. John

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    He’s been in love with a rugged, hunky cowboy for years.The problem?Michael is fifteen years older…and straight.West Owens grew up suffocated by his overprotective family. To prove he’s not the frail child he once was, he’s shredding through local rodeos on the wildest broncs around. But the man he most wishes would stop seeing him as a sickly child is Michael...
  • Release Me by Faith Gibson

    Release Me by Faith Gibson

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Fifteen Years… For fifteen years, Cade Anderson, drummer for the world-famous rock band 7’s Mistress, has been in love with his best friend, the band’s lead singer. Even though it’s been years since they were lovers, Cade still wants the man. When his best friend falls in love with someone else, life as Cade knows it is over. The band breaks up and Cade has to figure out how to move on...
  • Broken In by B.A. Tortuga

    Broken In by B.A. Tortuga

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Greyson Hayden wants to prove to his ex that he's made it. He's a successful stock contractor with a couple of million dollar bulls, a ranch owner with more acres than he can count, and he stopped drinking when Kyler kicked him out. He's had a lot to prove, but now he's back in town to show Kyler that he has. And maybe rub it in...
  • Back in the Saddle  by BA Tortuga

    Back in the Saddle by BA Tortuga

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    When David Garcia's family suffers a loss, he comes back to New Mexico to help, leaving his life in Austin behind. He knows he has to make the best of it, so he uses his skills as a teacher to set up a daycare business on his parents' ranch and start helping out local friends and family who need a babysitter now and then...
  • Home Free (Higher Elevation ) by Jodi Payne, BA Tortuga

    Home Free (Higher Elevation ) by Jodi Payne, BA Tortuga

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Connor Westin and Early Jericho have a comfortable, busy life in Denver. Connor is a lawyer who brings home the bacon and Early is a stay at home dad to their two young boys.Sure, Early is a cowboy at heart, but he loves their kids and as far as Connor is concerned they’re happy in their suburban home...
    Categorized as:
    angst  cowboys  queer  m-m  mature couple  suspense  western  humor
  • Second Chance Cowboy by B.A. Tortuga

    Second Chance Cowboy by B.A. Tortuga

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    When Liam McMartin calls Cowboy Wanted, he just wants to hire a cowboy to take him to an event. Objective? To make his ex-husband Sawyer Canton insanely jealous. He and Sawyer just couldn't make things work, but they see each other all the time to exchange their two daughters, and Liam wants Sawyer to believe he's doing better with this whole divorce thing than he really is...
  • Seeds and Sunshine by Jodi Payne, B.A. Tortuga

    Seeds and Sunshine by Jodi Payne, B.A. Tortuga

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Shiloh Williams lost his husband in the bullriding ring two years ago and hasn’t been able to move on. It’s been so long since he was happy he’s forgotten how to be. After making the long drive up to Vermont to visit friends, he finally decides that getting out of Texas might be the only way to leave the hard days of his past behind...
  • Texas Family by R.J. Scott

    Texas Family by R.J. Scott

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes begin a journey that will change their lives forever. Set against the backdrop of the Double D, the cast of the Texas books face changes that won’t leave a single one of them untouched. Jack and Riley want to extend their small family of three...
  • Eight Seconds to Ride: A Rivals to Lovers Small Town Romance by Ashley James

    Eight Seconds to Ride: A Rivals to Lovers Small Town Romance by Ashley James

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    A steamy one night stand in the bathroom of a bar in Las Vegas after a world championship win? Yes, please. Meeting him again months later, only to learn he’s my newest competition? Not so much. The weight of the legacy I carry is a constant tug in my mind, with the ghosts of the generations before me always whispering for me to push harder, train longer, be better...
  • ISO: In Search Of by Lucy Lennox, Molly Maddox

    ISO: In Search Of by Lucy Lennox, Molly Maddox

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 14 ratings
    How in the world does a grumpy rancher end up falling for a rich dilettante? Richard Dunning has it all: private school education, an exquisite designer wardrobe, a last name that ensures he’s invited to all the best parties, and a skincare regimen that’s to die for. The only thing he doesn’t have is… well, a job. Or a home. Or money in the bank. Not since his dad cut him off...
  • More Than Life by Mary Calmes

    More Than Life by Mary Calmes

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 17 ratings
    Hart Jarrett was only supposed to be passing through Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He wasn’t supposed to get involved, no emotional entanglements to tie him down. Setting down roots was never part of the plan, not until he opened himself up to love. Too bad the man he bet on bailed and left Hart holding the ranch. There were two choices after that: run away, or stay and build something real from nothing...
  • Fool Hearts by Emmy Sanders

    Fool Hearts by Emmy Sanders

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 33 ratings
    Best friends. Unrequited love. A story that spans decades. WyattAt twelve, he was my best friend. At sixteen, he became my crush. And now, at thirty-four, he’s the man I’m still pining after.Falling in love with Easton was never part of the plan. But now that I’ve done it, I can’t seem to stop. It doesn’t help that we’re living under the same roof...
  • Guys Like Him by Aimee Nicole Walker

    Guys Like Him by Aimee Nicole Walker

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Kieran Sullivan is broken when he arrives at Redemption Ridge. A wrongful conviction and twenty months in lockup will do that to a man. The ranch is a place for second chances and fresh starts, but for him, it’s an opportunity to discover who set him up. Get in, get answers, and get out...
  • The Reaper by Silvia Violet

    The Reaper by Silvia Violet

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    A marine. An assassin. A fine line between love and hate.I’ve seen too much death as a marine and the son of a mafia boss’s stooge. I finally have a chance to do what I’ve always wanted: raise horses.The catch: My brother’s ranch is also a safehouse for men the police would never protect.TJ, our first client, is a hot AF mafia assassin who doesn’t take no for an answer...
  • Down Low by Parker St. John

    Down Low by Parker St. John

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 21 ratings
    His broken bones could finally mend their broken bond…Bull riding was the only thing that calmed the thrill-seeking, self-destructive beast inside of Calvin Craig. It allowed him to escape a small-minded town and the pain of his troubled youth, fleeing to bright lights and big city fame without looking back.One trip on the horns of the wrong bull changed everything...
  • Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane

    Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 25 ratings
    Carrick Francis has spent most of his life jumping into trouble with both feet. The only thing saving him from prison or worse is his absolute devotion to Deacon Winters. Deacon was Crick's sanity and salvation during a miserable, abusive childhood, and Crick would do anything to stay with him forever...
  • Texas Pride by Kindle Alexander

    Texas Pride by Kindle Alexander

    Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 24 ratings
    When mega movie star and two time Academy Award winner, Austin Grainger voluntarily gave up his dazzling film career, his adoring fan base thought he’d lost his mind. For Austin, the seclusion of fifteen hundred acres in the middle of Texas sounds like paradise. No more cameras, paparazzi, or overzealous media to hound him every day and night...
  • The Ranch Hand and the Single Dad by Jackie North

    The Ranch Hand and the Single Dad by Jackie North

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    "If Austin has forgotten what love is, maybe Clay can show him the way."Happy-go-lucky Clay keeps busy with hookups at the local bar after working hard at the ranch. Those hookups used to be fun, but now they leave him empty.Austin is reeling after a difficult divorce. His wife took everything, including full custody of his daughter, Bea, who is only nine...
  • One Trick Pony by Eli Easton

    One Trick Pony by Eli Easton

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    Forgiving yourself is the first step toward finding true love.Henry Atkins is determined to turn around his no-good, sorry life and prove to the residents of Clyde’s Corner that he’s not the town bad boy anymore. If going to church every Sunday with the Ladies Society is what it takes to polish his reputation, he’s all in...
    Categorized as:
    cowboys  queer  western  humor  m-m  contemporary  length-medium
  • The Fight for Identity by Andrew Grey

    The Fight for Identity by Andrew Grey

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Will Martin’s racist father, Kevin, hates Native Americans and wants to keep them off his property, never mind that part of the ranch land is sacred ground for the Sioux. When they request access for prayer, Kevin refuses—but Will doesn’t share his father’s views. Ever since he first saw Takoda Red Bird during one of the Sioux sacred ceremonies, Will has been fascinated...
  • Colby by R.M. Neill

    Colby by R.M. Neill

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    ColbyI never meant to fall in love with my stepbrother, but Dante cared for me in ways no one ever had before. Then, he vanished without a trace. For five years I’ve wondered how he could walk away so easily, leaving our hopes and dreams behind. I never thought I’d see Dante again, then my world is turned upside down when he reappears. I want to push him away, but I can’t...
  • The Blacksmith and the Ex-Con by Jackie North

    The Blacksmith and the Ex-Con by Jackie North

    Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 9 ratings
    “If anybody ever needed him, Ellis did. Ellis was broken. Jasper liked to fix things.”Jasper has the perfect life. He’s a blacksmith at a small guest ranch in Wyoming. The last thing he needs is to have that perfect life interrupted by a shifty-eyed ex-con, but the ranch needs the tax benefits the ex-con program will bring.Traumatized by his time in prison, Ellis can barely speak...
  • The Rancher's Son by R.J. Scott

    The Rancher's Son by R.J. Scott

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    When he wakes up in hospital, the victim of a brutal beating, John Doe, as he is labelled, has no memories of who he is or who hurt him. The cops can find nothing to identify him and he can't remember anything to help... except the name Ethan, and one recurring place from his dreams. Three words, and they're not much, but it's a start. Crooked Tree Ranch...
  • Texas Heat by R.J. Scott

    Texas Heat by R.J. Scott

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Riley and Jack Campbell-Hayes are doing well. Jack is expanding the Double D, Riley is close to his first ethical based contract, and Hayley is nearly ten and happy as all get out. Jack hires Robbie, who is recovering from a loss, as his right-hand man. Riley's photographer friend, Eli, decides the Double D is perfect for a cowboy-themed model shoot and falls in lust with Robbie...
  • Love Means... No Boundaries by Andrew Grey

    Love Means... No Boundaries by Andrew Grey

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Joey Sutherland has found a home with Geoff Laughton and his partner, Eli, living and working at the farm that has become a refuge after a motorcycle accident left him with a scarred face and a lot of insecurities...
  • A Cowboy's Home by R.J. Scott

    A Cowboy's Home by R.J. Scott

    Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    One burned and broken man finds his way home. Can he find peace in the arms of a man easy to love? Justin made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, battling domestic terrorism, never the man he really was, using hate to avenge the death of his best friend. The friend he'd killed. What he doesn’t count on is getting shot, and if he's going to die he wants it to be on Crooked Tree soil. Home...
    Categorized as:
    angst  cowboys  queer  m-m  contemporary  military  suspense  abuse
  • Love Means... Freedom by Andrew Grey

    Love Means... Freedom by Andrew Grey

    Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Spurned by his father and driven from his home, Stone Hillyard is struggling to find shelter in the Michigan winter when he lucks upon the horse farm run by Geoff Laughton and his partner Eli. They take him in, warm him up, and give him a job working with their No Boundaries therapy riding program...
  • Long Winter by Rachel Ember

    Long Winter by Rachel Ember

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 5 ratings
    A complicated history divides them, but when they find themselves in close quarters while the snow falls, the heat between them builds slowly, and burns hot.It’s been a long, cold winter at Riverside Ranch, where Robbie has lived alone since his brothers moved away. Alone, that is, except for his three devious cats, four saddle horses, and the forty-eight mustangs that roam the ranch...
  • Cattle Stop by Kit Oliver

    Cattle Stop by Kit Oliver

    Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    The only thing Cooper dreads more than working with Whit? Sharing a room.Cooper has one chance to save Two Pines Farm. But Whit, the newly appointed farm manager, is as stubborn and pigheaded as—well—the pigs and refuses to admit change is desperately needed. Convincing him otherwise means working together, living together—and trying to forget that night they kissed...
  • Marathon Cowboys by Sarah Black

    Marathon Cowboys by Sarah Black

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Jesse Clayton loves painting, his cowboy grandfather, and his life as an artist with a wild abandon that leaves scorch marks on everything he touches. Budding Navajo cartoonist Lorenzo Maryboy is a hard-working former Marine: staunch, brave, and honorable. Chance brings them together on the road to Marathon, Texas, and passion flares. Just as always, Jesse puts his art ahead of everything...
  • My Cowboy Homecoming by Z.A. Maxfield

    My Cowboy Homecoming by Z.A. Maxfield

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Love can heal the deepest wounds… A sense of duty brings a soldier home…but a passionate cowboy makes him want to stay. After his brother’s tragic death, Tripp has to leave the army and return to New Mexico to take care of his mother while his father is in prison for arson...
  • A Daring Ride by Andrew Grey

    A Daring Ride by Andrew Grey

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    Simon “Frizz” Frizzell sneaks away to the rodeo on weekends, and it’s not until after he wins a buckle that he tells his parents about his bull-riding. He knows they won’t approve of his choice of sport, but his parents own a Christian bookstore, and he couldn’t possibly tell them the whole truth: he’s gay...
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