Books like 'Return to Zero'

Readers who enjoyed Return to Zero by Isobel Starling also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  gay romance  queer  suspense  military  mystery  queer-awakening  age difference  bdsm  angst 

  • Fish & Chips by Abigail Roux

    Fish & Chips by Abigail Roux

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 107 ratings
    This romance is entering rough waters.After almost dying on their hiking trip, Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have a moratorium on the word vacation. This makes it hard to discuss their newest case: an undercover operation aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean...
  • Domestic Animals by Gregory Ashe

    Domestic Animals by Gregory Ashe

    Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 2 of 5
    Behind closed doors [?] · 19 ratings
    Sometimes, the most dangerous animals are the ones you let inside.When a man hires Emery Hazard to track down a teenager who, he claims, robbed him, Hazard isn’t convinced. The story has holes in it, and the client seems eager—too eager—to keep the authorities from getting involved. But Hazard is willing to play along; he suspects something much darker is going on, and he wants to know what it is...
  • Sponsored links
  • But For You by Mary Calmes

    But For You by Mary Calmes

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 35 ratings
    Jory Harcourt is finally living the dream. Being married to US Marshal Sam Kage has changed him—it’s settled the tumult of their past and changed Jory from a guy who bails at the first sign of trouble to a man who stays and weathers the storm. He and Sam have two kids, a house in the burbs, and a badass minivan. Jory’s days of being an epicenter for disaster are over. Domestic life is good...
  • Breaking Cover by Kaje Harper

    Breaking Cover by Kaje Harper

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 40 ratings
    For homicide detective Mac, it's been a good year. Having Tony to go home to makes him a better cop and a better person. For Tony, it's been hard being in love with a man he can't touch in public. Evasions and outright lying to friends and family take a little of the shine off his relationship with Mac, but Tony is determined to make it work...
  • The Magnolia Murders by Aimee Nicole Walker

    The Magnolia Murders by Aimee Nicole Walker

    Rated: 4.68 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 12 ratings
    Everything old is new again in love and murder.Work together, live together, and play together is the name of the game for Royce Locke and Sawyer Key. But one of those things changes when Chief Mendoza taps Sawyer to lead the newly formed cold case unit. His first task: solve the Magnolia Murders that spanned three decades and suddenly stopped in 2000...
  • A Chosen Man by Jaime Reese

    A Chosen Man by Jaime Reese

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    For Wall McCormack, actions speak louder than words. He’s giving and protective, loyal to his friends, and devoted to his job. While confident and powerful enough to conquer any challenge, his greatest strength lies in his calm nature. Until an unexpected assignment sends his world into a loud and colorful chaos he never could have anticipated. Rejection...
  • Christmas in Suite 37A by Tiffany Reisz

    Christmas in Suite 37A by Tiffany Reisz

    Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Originally available as a rough draft on Tiffany's website, this short story has now been fully revised and is now collected in the print, ebook, and audio collection Michael's Wings...
  • Enduring Night by John Wiltshire

    Enduring Night by John Wiltshire

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 14 ratings
    The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Nikolas has always liked art. You'd have thought that Ben and Nikolas would have learnt that their romantic holidays inevitably end up as disasters. A short break on the polar ice sees them trapped in a nightmare of murder and deceit...
  • Attraction by Carly Marie

    Attraction by Carly Marie

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 13 ratings
    An M/M Neighbors to lovers Romance. Could satin, lace, and sass be enough to break through the ice? Dexter has never hidden his sexuality, and doesn’t blend into the background. From his fiery red hair to the panties he likes to wear, everything about him is vibrant. He’s the complete opposite of his new neighbor, and shouldn’t care if the grouchy man likes him… but he does...
  • Shut Up and Drive by L.M. Krier

    Shut Up and Drive by L.M. Krier

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    A serial sex attacker is spreading fear in Stockport and DI Ted Darling and his team are on the case.The man randomly targets young women and abducts them from busy supermarket car parks. He's armed with a knife and is clearly highly trained in how to handle it.Ever-dwindling police resources make the manhunt harder, even though the attacker clearly doesn't care whether or not he's caught...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  queer  suspense  m-m  contemporary
  • Somebody to Cherish by April Wilson

    Somebody to Cherish by April Wilson

    Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 10 ratings
    Tyler and Ian are embarking on their new venture as private investigators. After they solve their first case, they celebrate by taking a road trip to Key West. Their objective: fun and relaxation in the sun. Unfortunately, fate has something else in store for them. When a guest at the hotel where they're staying goes missing, they can't just sit by and do nothing...
  • Off Course by Nicole Edwards

    Off Course by Nicole Edwards

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    From New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Nicole Edwards comes the ninth installment in her Brantley Off the Books series. With wedding plans underway, Brantley Walker and Reese Tavoularis are attempting to create some balance between work and life. After a busy summer, they’ve finally slowed down enough to take a breather. At least until the hacker extraordinaire—a.k.a...
  • Chain Reaction by Nicole Edwards

    Chain Reaction by Nicole Edwards

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    From New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Nicole Edwards comes the tenth installment in her Brantley Off the Books series.During the two years since they created the Off the Books Task Force, Brantley Walker and Reese Tavoularis have had their share of difficult cases, but their next one hits close to home. Too close...
  • Castiel by Annabella Stone

    Castiel by Annabella Stone

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    What once was strong is broken.Can what was broken be repaired?Former SEAL and Operative for the US Government’s elite Red Squadron, Castiel Cunningham Clark has defied the odds more times than he can count. He learned the hard way how fickle fate can be and he’s made it his business to live his life at one speed and one speed only… full steam ahead. Except when it comes to one person...
  • Noble Hops by Layla Reyne

    Noble Hops by Layla Reyne

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 9 ratings
    Everything Dominic Price has worked hard to uphold is about to come crashing down on everything he holds dear. So much for the quiet life. Just as assistant US attorney and brewery owner Dominic Price is settling into a comfy new chapter with his partner, FBI agent Cameron Byrne, the sudden death of Nic’s father puts their happily-ever-after in jeopardy...
  • Bulletproof by Mary Calmes

    Bulletproof by Mary Calmes

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 38 ratings
    Jory Harcourt doesn't have to go looking for trouble. Wherever he goes, it seems to find him—particularly when his partner, Sam Kage, is working undercover on a federal task force. After the recession forces him to close his business, Jory goes to work as a matchmaker and event planner...
  • Diamond in the Rough by Charlie Cochet

    Diamond in the Rough by Charlie Cochet

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 38 ratings
    When the cards are stacked against you, the Kings will even the odds. For Ward “King” Kingston the role of protector, forged by fire and tragedy, is one he takes seriously. When King is asked to safeguard the son of a four-star general and friend, he is pulled back into the world of government black ops on a mission that raises painful memories from his past...
  • When I'm Old and Grey by L.M. Krier

    When I'm Old and Grey by L.M. Krier

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    DI Ted Darling doesn't like coincidences. There are too many for comfort surrounding his latest case. They're spilling over into his private life, too, when some toxic family secrets are uncovered. A serial killer appears to be targeting vulnerable elderly people in care homes and despatching them in the most cynical way. Ted and his team are struggling to get a lead on who the killer really is...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  queer  suspense  m-m  contemporary  length-medium
  • Just Jory by Mary Calmes

    Just Jory by Mary Calmes

    Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    A ficlet which is set in the time period between Bulletproof and But For You...
  • Old-Fashioned Cupcake with Cappuccino by Sagan Sagan

    Old-Fashioned Cupcake with Cappuccino by Sagan Sagan

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    Thirty-nine-year-old Nozue went from living a routine, melancholic life of sleep and work to spending his days in bliss with Togawa, his younger subordinate. Now six months into their relationship, the two have graduated from dates at a pancake shop to spending their nights together...
  • Obsessed by Sloane Kennedy

    Obsessed by Sloane Kennedy

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    I wanted him from the moment I laid eyes on him and from that point on, the question wasn’t if I’d have him but when…Thirty-five-year-old Matias de la Vega is good at one thing and one thing only...
  • Noble by Annabella Stone

    Noble by Annabella Stone

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Red Squadron is the tip of the spear in the war against global terrorism. Navy SEAL Commander, Noble Bauer, leads the JASOC Taskforce and knows his team won’t be complete until he finds a Communications Specialist. He knows just the man for the job. The only problem is can he get him to listen...
    Categorized as:
    military  suspense  angst  mystery  queer  m-m  war  contemporary
  • Ghost of Christmas Present by Pandora Pine

    Ghost of Christmas Present by Pandora Pine

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    With only a week until Christmas, Detective Jude Byrne is wrapping up final preparations for his family’s celebration. He’s made a list and checked it twice, bought presents, planned the neighborhood cookie exchange, and hung mistletoe. Jude’s got a handle on everything, that is, until his son asks if his grandfather is coming to celebrate with them—a man Jude hasn’t seen in six years...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  suspense  queer  contemporary  m-m  length-short
  • Thuggiana by Gregory Ashe

    Thuggiana by Gregory Ashe

    Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    Pics, or it didn’t happen.Thuggiana is a collection of short stories connected to The First Quarto. It includes the following:“The Slightest Folly”This prequel provides a glimpse into Auggie’s and Theo’s lives in high school. It takes place before They Told Me I Was Everything.“As School-Boys from Their Books”A series of vignettes set shortly after the events of They Told Me I Was Everything...
  • Common Ground by R.J. Moray

    Common Ground by R.J. Moray

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Why can't you have your cake and eat it too?Channon belongs to Jack—that's just a fact. But they aren't an island, and if Channon's going to get the happy-ever-after he wants, Jack's going to have to bury the hatchet with (and not in) the one other person in Channon's life whose disapproval matters...
  • Daddy Detectives Episode 1: A Tyler and Ian Jamison Story by April Wilson

    Daddy Detectives Episode 1: A Tyler and Ian Jamison Story by April Wilson

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    This is the first installment in a new series for private investigators Tyler and Ian Jamison. Our heroes are adjusting to life as a married couple and are now parents of newborn twins. While the guys are enjoying paternity leave, their administrative assistant, Kimi, comes to them with a personal emergency...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  suspense  queer  contemporary  m-m
  • Interwoven by Ripley Hayes

    Interwoven by Ripley Hayes

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Daniel Owen has spent the best part of ten years renovating his house when he finds the cellar. By falling into it. The mysterious cellar has a mysterious door, and behind the mysterious door is a mysterious box … and in the box … there are clues to the shocking history of Daniel’s beloved home town. A cold case is occupying Mal Kent’s time. A notorious car thief is released from prison...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  queer  suspense  m-m  contemporary  length-medium
  • Modern Warfare by Valerie Vaughn

    Modern Warfare by Valerie Vaughn

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Covert Affairs M/M Romance Book Two Navigating a new relationship is never easy, but Deputy Director Syler Perrin has the uniquely hair-raising privilege of doing it with one Special Agent Arthur Dufault, premiere CIA operative and all around menace...
    Categorized as:
    military  mystery  queer  m-m  contemporary  length-short
  • How Not to Break by Susan Hawke

    How Not to Break by Susan Hawke

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Take one former SEAL with a healthy dose of regret… Nick St. Cloud is living with shame from the one time he let his lust override his sense of honor. He’s haunted by the memory of when he made love to his best friend’s eighteen-year-old son. The tragic accident that happened that same night has only compounded his guilt...
  • Somebody to Love by April Wilson

    Somebody to Love by April Wilson

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Chicago homicide detective Tyler Jamison has accepted that fact that he was born defective. Women just don't do it for him, and he can't contemplate any other option. So, loneliness it is. Ian Alexander has met the man of his dreams, but the guy's in complete denial of his sexuality. Ian's not giving up on Tyler, though. Tyler's a domineering, controlling force of nature..
  • Roman by Annabella Stone

    Roman by Annabella Stone

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Fact: Six years ago, former Force Recon Marine Roman Walsh made the biggest mistake of his life and chose duty to his country over love. Fact: He was an idiot. Now the one he loves is missing, and Roman has only one thing on his mind. Get him back alive...
  • Just Say When by Aimee Nicole Walker

    Just Say When by Aimee Nicole Walker

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 18 ratings
    Someone wants Police Chief Emilio Mendoza dead. And if his unknown assailant doesn’t kill him, pining for Sheriff Abraham Beecham just might. Abe and Lio’s thirty-year journey has taken them from heated rivals to best friends with countless labels and pit stops along the way. Romance is the only avenue left unexplored but not from lack of love or desire...
  • Northland by Cara Dee

    Northland by Cara Dee

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 15 ratings
    Two years ago, Logan Ward got the surprise of his life when he discovered he was the father of a two-year-old boy. Professionally and romantically adrift, he devoted all his time and energy to caring for his son. But now he’s searching for something more, and he and Justin head north to Alaska to try out the life his best friend Quinn has been raving about...
  • A Matter of Time Book II by Mary Calmes

    A Matter of Time Book II by Mary Calmes

    Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars
    · 31 ratings
    Jory Keyes is doing his best to get over Detective Sam Kage, who broke his heart. Fearful of coming out of the closet, Sam intended to marry and uphold the status quo. After testifying against the man he saw commit cold-blooded murder, Jory is sure he and the detective will never cross paths again. But fate has other plans...
  • Shades of Gray by Brooke McKinley

    Shades of Gray by Brooke McKinley

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 40 ratings
    Miller Sutton, a by-the-book FBI agent, is starting to see some troubling shades of gray in his black-and-white world. He comes face-to-face with his doubts in the person of Danny Butler, a mid-level drug runner Miller hopes to use to catch a much larger fish: Roberto Hinestroza, a drug lord Miller has pursued for years...
  • Without Warning by Reese Knightley

    Without Warning by Reese Knightley

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 23 ratings
    What the hell do you do when life changes on a dime without warning? Ryder Freeman- His job is to keep Harrison safe from a stalker and one step ahead of the paparazzi. That’s it! The hotter than hell young billionaire is forbidden fruit and crossing that line is not an option...
  • Tempest by Lisa Henry, J.A. Rock

    Tempest by Lisa Henry, J.A. Rock

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Something wicked this way comes. FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness and con man Henry Page are on the run again. This time they’re headed back to where it all began: Altona, Indiana. Population: some goats. Henry’s not happy about lying low at the McGuinness family farm, but they’ve got nowhere else to go...
  • A Matter of Time Book III by Mary Calmes

    A Matter of Time Book III by Mary Calmes

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    Three years have passed since Jory Keyes was kidnapped, shot, and left by his lover, Detective Sam Kage. Jory walked through fire and came out the other side stronger. He changed his name to Harcourt and shut the door forever on a past full of pain. Jory now owns his own business, and has a life he enjoys. What he doesn’t have is love...
  • Skin and Bone by T.A. Moore

    Skin and Bone by T.A. Moore

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Digging Up Bones: Book Two Cloister Witte and his K-9 partner, Bourneville, find the lost and bring them home. But the job doesn’t always end there. Janet Morrow, a young trans woman, lies in a coma after wandering away from her car during a storm. But just because Cloister found the young tourist doesn’t mean she’s home...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  mystery  queer  m-m  contemporary  length-medium
  • Xavier by Silvia Violet

    Xavier by Silvia Violet

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    I thought I was straight.I thought protecting my identity mattered more than anything besides family.Then Emilio came to me for protection.It's my fault he’s in danger, and no one is going to touch him.No one besides me...
  • Gently Come Knocking by Cole McCade

    Gently Come Knocking by Cole McCade

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    ** Warning: the following description contains heavy spoilers for the ending of Criminal Intentions: Season Two. ** Malcolm Khalaji is one paternity test away from a breakdown. When a one-night stand from a year ago shows up on his doorstep, she's bringing more than a trip down memory lane — and her little bundle of joy may just be a bundle of trouble if it turns out the baby is actually his...
  • Secret State: Enemy by Ripley Hayes

    Secret State: Enemy by Ripley Hayes

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Paul needs to work out who's trying to kill him...if only they’d stop for long enough to let himPaul Qayf. Secret Service agent. Reckless. Flamboyant. Dangerous.John Bean. Copper. Steady. Small town. Determined.Everything that Paul Qayf isn’t.‘Distrust’ doesn’t even come close.Qayf’s job is simple. Stop a smuggling gang operating in the desolate, Dickensian marshes to the east of London...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  military  queer  m-m  contemporary  length-short
  • Silent Knight by Layla Reyne

    Silent Knight by Layla Reyne

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    I won’t let anything happen to you. Fourteen years ago, Braxton Kane’s feelings were forbidden.As an officer, he couldn’t fall for an enlisted… no matter how much he longed for Holt Madigan.Now—as a police chief in love with a digital assassin—his promise to always protect Holt is becoming harder to keep. I’ll protect you...
  • War of the Wicked by Davidson King, Morningstar Ashley

    War of the Wicked by Davidson King, Morningstar Ashley

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Lucifer’s Landing is full of unscrupulous people: five families desperate to own every inch. For years, under the watchful and most powerful eye, there has been peace. With the murder of the most powerful man, it’s as if the gates of Hell have opened.Dante Scavo is trying to fill his father’s shoes, find the person responsible for killing him, and stop Lucifer’s Landing from becoming a war zone...
  • Zenith by Eli Easton, R.J. Scott

    Zenith by Eli Easton, R.J. Scott

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    A killer haunts Prophet, and this time it’s personalThe discovery of a body at the Thompson Cabins sets off a chain of events that hits too close to home for Sheriff Gabriel Thompson. When his brother Sam becomes a prime suspect in the murder investigation, Gabriel is forced to keep secrets from Tiber and call in outside help as he fights to prove Sam’s innocence...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  mystery  queer  m-m  contemporary  audiobook
  • Endings and Beginnings by Patricia Logan

    Endings and Beginnings by Patricia Logan

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Recently married ATF special agents Thayne Wolfe and Jarrett Evans are ready for some normalcy to return to their work in the ATF the way it has at home. They’ve just moved into their new house and neither of them are prepared for their next assignment, being tasked out to the FBI along with the rest of their team...
  • His Protector: a First Love, M/M Romance by Sue Brown

    His Protector: a First Love, M/M Romance by Sue Brown

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    What kind of courage does it take to travel two thousand miles just to say hello to a man who doesn’t know you exist? At thirty years old and never been kissed, Walker is about to find out. After a rocky start to his life in the agency, newly trained operative Walker takes the biggest chance of his life before his first mission. He returns to J.T...
  • Finding Ky by Luna David

    Finding Ky by Luna David

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Partners in every sense of the word, Sawyer and Jackson have been a unit since they were young teenagers. Growing up together in the same foster home, they learned they could depend only on each other. But when Kyler—a boy barely half their age—arrived heartbroken and scared, the young men took him under their wings, vowing to take care of him and protect him...
    Categorized as:
    military  bdsm  queer  contemporary  m-m  audiobook
  • When Stars Align by Denver Shaw

    When Stars Align by Denver Shaw

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    Scarred by the past. Terrified to love again. SavionOnce upon a time, my life was a fairytale. Engaged to a beautiful woman, we were planning our perfect future. Then, the sick act of an obsessed man ruined everything. Alone, disfigured, and betrayed, I fled to LA to focus on my work as a paleontologist.It was there I met Declan...
Fantastic book recommendations by romance book lovers for romance book lovers.
Find out more about romance.io.


Get recommendations by genres & tropes

Use the romance book finder to mix and match over 100 content keywords to find the books that match your preferences

romance book finder

Looking for more inspiration? Enter another book title to get more suggestions on what to read next.


Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.