Book of the Week Poll
Welcome to the Love Bytes Book of the Week Poll!
Here are the books which achieved a 4.5 or 5.0 review last week from our reviewers.
As a reminder, the top two books from each week’s poll will roll into our Book of the Month poll at month’s end. Happy Voting!
Please scroll to the very bottom for the voting section.
POLL SCHEDULE:
This poll will remain open until at least 6PM, Amsterdam time next Friday. The actual closing time will vary depending on blog staff schedules…
Painting With Fire (Survivors Find Love #1) by Lissa Kasey
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Painting with Fire
SERIES: Survivors Find Love #1
AUTHOR: Lissa Kasey
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 173 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 2, 2016
BLURB:
Charlie “Wood Chuck” Fox knows his best friend and fellow wildfire firefighter Jessie Row had a major family break up in her past. Charlie has adopted her into his heart and into his huge family and when Jessie gets word her mother has passed away, Charlie fears returning home is going to tear her up.
Bastian Hart’s choice of career as a doll painter has put him at odds with his family. He’s made a sanctuary for himself on the San Juan Island of Friday Harbor, an hour away from his family. He welcomes his aunt Jessie and her friend Charlie into his house as they all prepare for the upcoming funeral. Charlie and Bastian discover a spark of smoldering fire igniting between them, but Charlie is unwilling to push and Bastian hesitant to trust.
They will have to wade through pain, hate, and fear to find their future together….Read More »
Loose Cannon (The Woodbury Boys #1) by Sidney Bell
Reviewed by Amber
TITLE: Loose Cannon
SERIES: The Woodbury Boys #1
AUTHOR: Sidney Bell
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
LENGTH: 327 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 3rd, 2017
BLURB:
Released after five years in the system for assault, streetwise Edgar-Allen Church is ready to leave the past behind and finally look to his future. In need of a place to crash, he’s leaning on Miller Quinn. A patient, solidly masculine pillar of strength and support, Miller has always been there for him—except in the one way Church has wanted the most.
With his staunchly conservative upbringing, Miller has been playing it straight his whole life. Now with Church so close again, it’s getting harder to keep his denial intact. As they fumble their way back to friendship after so many years apart, Miller struggles to find the courage to accept who he really is. What he has with Church could be more than desire—it could be love. But it could also mean trouble.
Church’s criminal connections are closing in on the both of them, and more than their hearts are at risk. This time, their very lives are on the line….Read More »
Love and Strength (Dancer #2) by Grein Murray
Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Love and Strength
SERIES: Dancer’s (book #2)
AUTHOR: Grein Murray
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 127 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 7, 2016
BLURB:
Skylar and Ryan have been happily married for a year, settling into their lives as performers for a theme park and living between the States and Australia. A tragic event threatens to change their lives forever. As Skylar struggles to come to terms with his current situation, he pushes Ryan away. Ryan can’t believe what has happened to his husband, Skylar. One minute they were having the time of their lives-the next, their world was turned upside down. Ryan’s heart breaks with the growing distance placed between himself and Skylar. He knows he has to fight to keep the two of them together. Will love & strength be enough to overcome the challenges they face?…Read More »
The Rainbow Clause by Beth Bolden
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: The Rainbow Clause
AUTHOR: Beth Bolden
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 213 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2017
BLURB:
Heisman winner. Member of the National Championship team. NFL Rookie of the Year. Quarterback Colin O’Connor knows he’s become the ultimate romance novel cliché: all the success he’s ever dreamed of but nobody to share it with. Too bad it’s not as simple as asking out the next girl who intrigues him – because the next girl to intrigue him probably won’t be a girl at all. Unexpectedly, the solution comes in one neat package: Nick Wheeler, lead journalist for a leading sports and pop culture blog. Hired by Colin’s team, Nick comes to Miami to shine a spotlight on the NFL’s most private quarterback. The heat in Miami rises when Nick discovers that Colin is nothing like the hollow personality he pretends to be in interviews and he’s even hotter in person than on his Sports Illustrated cover. Nick knows this is the story of his career, and after spending his teenage years as a bullied, closeted teen, it hits very close to home. What he needs is to help Colin share his story while keeping their growing relationship from boiling over in the press, but what he wants is to tell the world….Read More »
Gazes Into You (Mr and Mr Detective #1) by Alex Jane
Reviewed by Amber
TITLE: Gazes Into You
SERIES: Mr & Mr Detective #1
AUTHOR: Alex Jane
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 325 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 16th, 2017
BLURB:
Ex-detective John Right likes to watch.
There’s no harm in it.
The latest object of his obsession—a twenty-something stranger who chains his bike outside John’s office—doesn’t feel the weight of John’s eyes on him, doesn’t know about the secret recordings or what John does with them in the dead of night. Except when the kid disappears, John finds himself doing far more that just watching.
Reluctantly, John has to start thinking like a cop once more as he frantically tries to track down his mystery man. Although when he finds him, John is left with more questions than answers. And the more he learns, the more he wishes he’d never started looking in the first place.
Can John get to the bottom of the mystery without giving away his own dirty secret? And without giving in to his urge to do more than simply watch?
Well…nobody’s perfect…Read More.
Blood of the Past (Chronicles of an Earned – Book 5) by Meraki P. Lyhne
Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Blood of the Past
SERIES: Chronicles of an Earned #5
AUTHOR: Meraki P. Lyhne
PUBLISHER: eXtasy Books
LENGTH: 373 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2017
BLURB:
Going from a constant workload as a fallen Earned back to the normal family and pack tempo is not as easy as Kaleb would like it to be. Changes to the packs everyday life, and Alex stumbling across new things to be given attention, puts more on Kaleb’s table than he had expected. Hectic time with assisting in thwarting a brewing magical war sucks him back in even as he is still rekindling his love for Mickey and his relationship with his family. Plus he has a secret to keep.
There’s no time for family drama of brothers hating him for his powers. But sometimes it’s the little things that deserve the most attention. A day for Kaleb to catch up with his dad and brothers sets off a chain of events. With the assistance of the mystical Order, to which Alex, Pritchard, and Mr. Henry belong, they unveil a century old secret and discover new magic….Read More »
Bronze Star: A Veterans Affairs Novel by A. E. Wasp
REVIEWED BY CINDY
TITLE: Bronze Star
SERIES: Book 6 in the Veterans Affairs series
AUTHOR: A. E. Wasp
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 165 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 27th, 2017
Blurb:
Chris Dobbs is used to getting what he wants, and what he wants now is his boss.
Everything about the dangerously handsome enigmatic older man drives him to his knees in more ways than one, ways Chris is realising he’s always craved.
Giving Jay-Cee his body is as simple as breathing, but when Chris smashes through all of Jay-Cee’s hard earned control, he learns Jay-Cee demands more than just his obedience. He wants things Chris can’t give him – his heart, his soul, and his trust.
Jay-Cee offered his brilliant young protégé everything. In return, Chris took only the pieces he wanted and rejected the rest, leaving Jay-Cee reeling.
But the deep connection between them isn’t easily severed, and it promises to heal them both of the scars of their pasts. If they are to build a sanctuary from the rubble of their broken hearts, they’re going to have to risk everything…Read More »
Skim Blood and Savage Verse (Offbeat Crimes #3)
Reviewed by Vicki (Tori)
TITLE: Skim Blood and Savage Verse
SERIES: Offbeat Crimes #3
AUTHOR: Angel Martinez
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 137 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 4th, 2017
BLURB:
Words damage more than just feelings as Carrington hunts feral books menacing the city.
When a ferocious book attacks Carrington at his own birthday party, he believes it’s an isolated incident. But similar books soon pop up all over town, menacing innocent people with harsh bits of poetry and blank verse that deliver damaging physical blows. It’s a frustrating case with too many variables and not enough answers, and the stakes go up with each attack.
With the help of his misfit squad mates at the 77th and the public library’s Rare Books Department, the missing pieces decrease but not Carrington’s vexations. His commanding officer rakes him over the coals at the beginning of every shift. His police partner has lost patience with what she sees as his delusional relationship choices and his inability to pick the right man in a vast field of two. City Hall demands that the books be stopped immediately. It’s enough to put a nutritionally challenged vampire off his skim blood….Read More »
More Than Luck (Legendary Pairs #2) by Casey Cameron
Reviewed by Danielle
TITLE: More Than Luck
SERIES: Legendary Pairs #2
AUTHOR: Casey Cameron
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 303 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2017
BLURB:
It’s never too late to play for keeps.
Drey Harper isn’t looking for love; he had more than enough heartbreak after a betrayal cost him everything five years ago. Now at 40, he’s the art director for the hit collectible card game Legendary Pairs. Between long hours at work and countless anonymous hookups, Drey’s life seems pretty full…until the day he meets Lucas Cho.
In the world of Legendary Pairs, 24-year-old Lucas Cho is a superstar. He plays for big money and parties like a rock star, and his arrogant swagger gets him what he wants, at the gaming table or in bed. But when a chance encounter with Drey in a crowded bar leaves him wanting more, all his fortune and skills count for nothing.
The company thinks Lucas’s glamorous playboy lifestyle is good for business, but it’s going too far–Lucas is spinning out of control, and Drey has been sent to clean up the mess and save Lucas’s sponsorship. With a major tournament coming up and Lucas’s contract with Legendary Pairs on the line, it’s up to Drey to keep him out of the bottle and walking that line.
For Lucas, the stakes have never been higher, but the game he’s playing has nothing to do with cards and everything to do with the stoic older man who’s captured his attention. Drey knows a relationship between them is out of the question–Lucas is too young, too reckless, too broken–but the more time he spends in Lucas’s company, the more he wants the beautiful disaster he knows he shouldn’t have….Read More »
Falling Into the Black (A Planet Called Wish #3) by Caitlin Ricci
Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Falling Into the Black
SERIES: A Planet Called Wish #3
AUTHOR: Caitlin Ricci
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 145 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2017
BLURB:
A Planet Called Wish: Book Three
Sometimes there’s a difference between duty and doing what’s right. And sometimes doing what’s right comes with a high price.
Every aspasian at Asiq adores the handsome peacekeeper Resan—all except for Arin. While the other workers vie for Resan’s attention, Arin avoids him at all costs, which rouses Resan’s suspicion. When he discovers Arin is a runaway slave, Resan is bound by law to return him to his master. It is only later that Resan realizes what he’s done. Arin’s owner bought him at twelve, married him, and not only violated Arin himself, but loaned him out to his friends. Resan has returned him to a life of rape and abuse, and now he must make a decision: free Arin and abandon the oaths he swore as a peacekeeper, or leave him to languish and abandon his own conscience and heart….Read More »
Liminality (Kingdom of Night #2) by L.C. Davis
REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Liminality
SERIES: Kingdom of Night #2
AUTHOR: L.C. Davis
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 479 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 26, 2016
BLURB:
Duality is just a fact of life when you’re the hybrid offspring of a psychotic vampiress and an alpha werewolf. Remus Black is about to learn the hard way that the vampires aren’t the only ones who have designs on the hybrid prince of legend. When the Family, a legion of undead hunters who have lain dormant for years, starts killing supernaturals and targeting the people Remus loves, old bonds and new alliances are tested.
The Family is only one of the problems Remus must face now that he’s more vampire than werewolf and less human than ever before. Suppressing his wolf side was necessary in order to do what it took to save Victor’s life, but his nascent vampire nature has come at the cost of his relationship with Sebastian. Even more shocking than how easy it is to live without his humanity is the fact that he finds it restored in the arms of his destined mate’s brother.
Remus and his newfound pack are about to learn that surviving the harvest moon was nothing compared to the threat that looms with the hunter’s moon. Remus finds himself at the center of a war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of the Sun, but the battle raging in his own mind poses the greater threat. It soon becomes clear that Victor is bound to the vampiric half of his soul while Sebastian holds claim to the very wolf nature Remus must keep at bay to protect his fragile heart.
To stop the hunters and ensure the future stability of the pack, Remus will be forced to do the unthinkable and choose between Victor and Sebastian. Will his choice tear the brothers apart for good, or is his love the key to bringing them together and standing against the hunters as a united front?…Read More »
Micah Johnson Goes West (Get Out #2) by Sean Kennedy
Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Micah Johnson Goes West
SERIES: Get Out #2
AUTHOR: Sean Kennedy
PUBLISHER: Harmony Ink Press
LENGTH: 186 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 4th 2017
BLURB:
Sequel to The Ongoing Reformation of Micah Johnson
On the outside, Micah Johnson seems to have everything. He is proving his worth on the field during his rookie year with his new professional football team, the Fremantle Dockers, but his personal life is a mess. Homesick, three thousand kilometres away from his family and friends on the other side of Australia, Micah isn’t coping. He’s using casual sex, alcohol, and drugs as crutches since he doesn’t feel comfortable approaching his foster family with his problems, and he’s left with nowhere to turn. It isn’t until he experiences a health scare and a friend is rocked by a personal tragedy that Micah realises he does have the strength to succeed at a new life in the West—but he has to learn to ask for help….Read More »
Something to Dye For (Curl Up and DYE Mysteries #2) by Aimee Nicole Walker
Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Something to Dye For
SERIES: Curl Up and DYE Mysteries #2
AUTHOR: Aimee Nicole Walker
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 241 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 3, 2017
BLURB:
A phone call in the middle of the night forces Detective Gabriel Wyatt out of his warm bed and into the frigid night to identify the body of a murdered man whose wallet contains Gabe’s business card instead of an ID. That night sets off a chain of events that chills Gabe to his bones when it appears that the killer has set his eyes on a new target – Josh Roman.
Josh comes face-to-face with a painful reminder of his past just when he’s ready to acknowledge that his feelings for Gabe go way beyond liking the man. How can he trust that his feelings for Gabe are right when before he’d always been so wrong?
Will Josh and Gabe finally acknowledge that what they have is something to live for or will they allow danger and doubts to destroy their chance at something amazing?
Something to Dye For is book 2 in the Curl Up and Dye Mysteries series. These books are written to be read in order. They contain sexually explicit material and are intended for adults 18 and older….Read More »
TITLE: Home Fires
SERIES: Common Law #4
AUTHOR: Kate Sherwood
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 174 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 3rd, 2017
BLURB:
Trouble comes to Mosely, Montana, from the outside world. When the residents of Mosely are left on their own, they can make things work. Sure, there’s always been a militia operating up in the hills, but they were small-scale—just survivalists doing their thing—until organizers came in from out of state. Now Jericho Crewe and the rest of the sheriff’s department are facing down a heavily armed band of fanatics, and the feds are busy elsewhere.
The odds are hopeless, but Jericho swore an oath to serve and protect the citizens of Mosely. He won’t walk away from that, even if Wade Granger’s begging him to run away somewhere and finally be together the way they always should have been.
But this time, it’s Jericho who refuses to leave Mosely, even if staying kills him…Read More.
Tall, Dark and Deported (Dreamspun Desires) by Bru Baker
Reviewed by Cinnamon
TITLE: Tall, Dark and Deported
SERIES: Dreamspun Desires book #31
AUTHOR: Bru Baker
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 236 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2017
BLURB:
Snap decisions and misguided ideas bring Portuguese national Mateus Fontes and businessman Crawford Hargrave together at the Canadian border crossing.
Mateus is caught in a catch-22. With his almost-expired tourist visa, entrance to Canada is denied, but the US won’t let him back in either. Crawford thinks he’s solved things when he tells the border agent they’re engaged, and it works—except now they have to actually get married before either of them can get back into the United States. But Crawford has been burned by marriage once, and he’s determined not to make that mistake again.
Neither of them expects real feelings to bloom out of their fake marriage, but they do. And the two of them have to learn how to be honest with each other to make things work, which is especially hard when their entire marriage is based on lies….Read More »
