IT IS THAT TIME AGAIN!
Welcome to our Book of the Month Poll for February 2018!
Here are your voter chosen top two from each week in no particular order. Please vote for your favorites and you can vote for as many as you want, but as with our Book of the Week Poll you only get one visit, so make it count!
Remember, the top two go through to the Book of the Year Poll!
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…
Going Overboard (Anchor Point #5) by L.A. Witt
Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Going Overboard
SERIES: Anchor Point #5
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 287 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 5, 2018
BLURB:
Second-class petty officers Dalton Taylor and Chris Ingram have been best friends since coxswain’s school. Now they’re stationed together in the harbor patrol unit of NAS Adams. They’re content as friends, but secretly, they both ache for more. Neither makes a move, though; while Dalton is out and proud, Chris is closeted—even from his best friend.
Then another coxswain’s negligence nearly drowns Dalton. After a taste of how easily they could lose each other, neither man can keep his feelings hidden anymore, and it turns out love and sex come easy when you’re falling for your best friend.
Things aren’t just heating up between the friends-turned-lovers, though. The Navy is investigating the accident, and the harbor patrol chief isn’t going to let his star coxswain go down for dereliction of duty, even if saving him means throwing Dalton under the bus.
As the threats and gaslighting pile up, Chris and Dalton need each other more than ever—as shipmates, friends, and lovers. But if their chief prevails, the only way they can save their careers is to let each other go. Read more
Bobby Green (Johnnies #5) by Amy Lane
Reviewed by Tori (Vicki)
TITLE: Bobby Green 
SERIES: Johnnies #5
AUTHOR: Amy Lane
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 350 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 6, 2018
BLURB:
Vern Roberts couldn’t wait to turn eighteen and get the hell out of Dogpatch, California. But city living is expensive, and he’s damned desperate when Dex from Johnnies spots him bussing tables.
As “Bobby,” he’s a natural at gay porn. Soon he’s surrounded by hot guys and sex for the taking, but it’s not just his girlfriend back in Dogpatch—or her blackmailing brother—that keeps him from taking it. It’s the sweet guy who held the lights for his first solo scene, who showed him decency, kindness, and a smile.
Reg Williams likes to think he’s too stupid to realize what a shitty hand life dealt him, but Bobby knows better. What Reg lacks in family, opportunity, education, and money, he makes up for in heart. One fumbling step at a time, they connect, not just in their hearts but in their bodies, where sex that’s not on camera, casual, or meaningless, becomes the most important thing in the world.
But Reg is hampered by an inescapable family burden, and he and Bobby will never fly unless he can find a way to manage it. Can he break the painful link to his unrealized childhood and grow into the love Bobby wants to give? Read more
No Shame (No Shame #4) by Nora Phoenix
Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: No Shame
SERIES: No Shame #4
AUTHOR: Nora Phoenix
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 308 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 26, 2018
BLURB:
(This is NOT a stand alone novel. See end of this description for details)
Brad feels nothing but shame about himself. Shame about his sexual needs, about his reputation, about his medical problem no one knows about. No one, except his best friend Charlie, but no matter what feelings Brad may have for him, he’s not going there. Charlie deserves so much better, and Brad desperately needs something not even Charlie can provide.
Charlie has loved Brad forever, but he’s never acted on his feelings, unsure of where he stood. Plus, there was the complication of his boyfriend. But when his boyfriend’s abuse gets too much for Charlie, it’s Brad who helps him escape and recover.
Miles ends up severely wounded in the line of duty as an FBI agent. He’s floored when the man he was protecting, Indy, opens his home to him so he can recover. Indy also sets him up with Brad, who turns out to be a perfect solution for Miles’ sexual issues…until Miles wants more than sex from him, and a developing friendship between Miles and Charlie complicates things even more.
Bit by bit Charlie and Miles break through Brad’s defenses, until they come crumbling down. Miles will have to prove he can provide what Brad needs, and Charlie’s sweet love will be put to the test. But when Brad finally finds the courage to break free of his shame, will the fragile love that has blossomed between the three of them survive? Read more
Second Wind by Aimee Nicole Walker
Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Second WindAUTHOR: Aimee Nicole Walker
PUBLISHER: Chasing Rainbow Press
RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2018
LENGTH: 236 pages
BLURB:
Second Wind: A new strength or energy to continue something that is an effort. After an amicable divorce, Lincoln Huxley is ready to embrace the sexuality he repressed for more than two decades. Rush Holden is no longer willing to settle for closeted men or those who don’t share his dreams of marriage and fatherhood. A chance encounter on a lakeside pier is the second wind they both need. Or will it just be a painful reminder of all they had lost? Second chance: an opportunity to try something again that failed one time. Rush and Lincoln have shared a lot of firsts—friendship, young love, and heartbreak. Cruel reality forced the two men to choose paths that took their lives in different directions. Twenty-five years later, they get a second chance to fall in love with each all over again. Can it really be that simple, or will the same issues ruin their happiness a second time? Happily ever after: to live happily for the rest of one’s life. Rush and Lincoln know that love and life can’t be defined by words alone. Patience, commitment, and the determination to do whatever it takes will be the only way the two men achieve their happily ever after. Read More »
Rebel (Ballsy Boys #1) by Nora Phoenix & K.M Neuhold
Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Rebel
SERIES: Ballsy Boys #1
AUTHORS: Nora Phoenix and K. M. Neuhold
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 248 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 31, 2018
BLURB:
“I don’t do relationships, I break them.” ~ Troy
If there’s one thing life has taught me it’s that everyone eventually leaves. But that’s okay because I have a strategy: no friends, no boyfriends, limit repeat hook-ups, no sleep overs, and above all leave them before they leave me. I’ve put my break-up skills to work doing others’ dirty work for them.
The last thing I expected when I agreed to do an embarrassing breakup song and dance was to end up on the doorstep of the very recognizable—and stupidly sexy—Rebel. When you meet a man like Rebel you’d be insane not to make a move. And just because he has me tossing out every single one of my rules doesn’t mean I’m in trouble, right?
“I’m everyone’s friend, but no one’s everything.” ~ Rebel
I love working for Ballsy Boys, but when you make the kind of videos I do relationships are pretty damn impossible. Besides, guys find me sexy and want to either be with me or be me, but no one has ever cared enough to see the real me.
Until I meet Troy. He has no problem whatsoever with my job, but he’s determined to keep me at a distance. For the first time, a hook-up alone is not enough. I want more with him. Hell, I want everything. But he resists at every step until I’m about ready to give up. What do I need to do to show him that this is real and worth fighting for? .Read More »
Body and Soul (Twist of Fate #3) by Lucy Lennox & Sloane Kennedy
Reviewed by Kimberley
TITLE: Body and Soul
SERIES: Twist of Fate, #3
AUTHOR: Lucy Lennox, Sloane Kennedy
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 335 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 2, 2018
BLURB:
Oz: Escaping the international modeling scene to design my own fashion collection is the first step to shucking my bobble-headed supermodel reputation and proving to the world I’m more than just a pretty face. But the minute I have to accept roadside help from the sexy man next door, I feel like the airhead people think I am. And what’s worse, the man clearly doesn’t think I’m worth the time of day.
But despite trying to ignore my attraction to the mysterious doctor, I can’t help but be drawn to him. With every moment spent together, I begin to realize he’s hiding more than just some details of his past. He has one foot out the door.
As soon as I start to feel like everything might be coming together for me, I realize the man I’m falling in love with isn’t who I thought he was.
Jake: After three years on the run for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I’ve finally found a seemingly safe place to settle in Haven, Colorado. With friends, a job, and a cabin in the woods, I have everything I need to live a simple life without drawing attention to myself. Everything’s fine. Fine.
Until I meet my new neighbor. The gorgeous man is anything but subtle and brings color to my life that I didn’t know was missing. But I learned years ago that falling in love with someone wasn’t an option anymore when simply being seen with me could have dire consequences. It’s time for me to run again, but I wonder if it’s safe to stick around just long enough for a taste…
Just when I begin to realize Oz is the missing piece to bring me back to life after years of hiding, my past catches up to me and throws everyone around me into danger. I know I should run, but what if it’s time to finally stop running and make a stand, once and for all?
Blind Passion by Penny Brandon
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Blind Passion
AUTHOR: Penny Brandon
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 221 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2018
BLURB:
Attraction for Adam was not a handsome face, a striking smile, or beautiful eyes, but a scent that would drive him to distraction or a voice that could make his heart beat faster. When the combination of the two walked into his life in Luke, Adam couldn’t help but want him. But how was he supposed to know if Luke felt the same attraction? He had no prior experience, no past encounters, nothing to help him. Not even his sight.
One look at Adam and Luke wanted him. Sensual, gorgeous, kind, with a strength that Luke was drawn to, Adam was everything Luke desired. Being in Adam’s arms, showing him the pleasure of a man’s body, being touched, held, and desired in return, had Luke wanting more, had him wanting what he knew he couldn’t have.
It didn’t matter to him that Adam was blind, but Adam deserved more than someone like him. Luke was a man with a broken past and falling in love with Adam was a foolish thing to do, especially because Adam would never love him back if he found out what Luke was hiding. Read More »
Hurricane Reese by R. L. Merrill
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Hurricane Reese
AUTHOR: R.L. Merrill
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 205 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 30, 2018
BLURB:
The life of Tony-winning musician Reese Matheson resembles a natural disaster, and caregiver Jude De La Torre is caught in the eye of the storm. But can the love of two opposites survive caring for an ornery octogenarian with wayward balls and a meddling family insistent upon tradition?
Fresh off the successful London run of his musical, the last thing Reese expects when he comes home is a house surrounded by paparazzi and his girlfriend throwing his stuff into the pool. All he wants to do is spend time with his beloved grandfather and musical mentor who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Reese knows he doesn’t have much time left before the elder Matheson forgets who he is. In classic “Hurricane Reese” form, he moves into the cottage by the sea and displaces Jude, the intriguing caregiver he hired two years before. When Grandpa proves too much for Reese to handle on his own, Jude comes to his rescue, taming Grandpa… and the Hurricane as well. Soon all Reese can think about is how to get Jude out of his scrubs and into his bed—permanently. Will Hurricane Reese destroy everything in his path, or will this odd couple learn to harmonize together? Read More »
Sanctuary Found (Pelican Bay #2) by Sloane Kennedy
REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Sanctuary Found
SERIES: Pelican Bay #2
AUTHOR: Sloane Kennedy
PUBLISHER: Sloane Kennedy
LENGTH: 307 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 25, 2018
BLURB: Coming home should be the easiest thing in the world, but I’ve never felt more lost…
When his stellar military career comes to an abrupt and terrible end, thirty-two-year-old Maddox Kent returns to the town he never planned to step foot into again, hoping to mend the rift he himself caused with the brother he left behind. But coming home means facing some hard truths about himself and his actions. When he has the chance to start making amends by helping his brother with the wildlife sanctuary he runs, Maddox is thrown another curveball when a stranger appears…
As long as we keep moving, everything will be okay. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway…
For twenty-one-year-old Isaac, Pelican Bay is only supposed to be a stopping point on the trek from San Francisco to New York. With his little brother, Newt, in tow, Isaac is just looking to make things right by returning something of value to a person he wronged. But “getting lost” in the next big city proves to be a problem when the brutal Minnesota winter claims Isaac’s car and strands him and Newt at the animal sanctuary. When the owners of the place offer him a job, a desperate Isaac agrees, despite the presence of a man Isaac instinctively knows could be his downfall…
It should be so easy to let him go, but I can’t. And not just because I want to protect him…
Nothing about Isaac makes sense to Maddox. Not his piercings or makeup or flashy clothes. And most certainly not the snarky mouth that doesn’t match the vulnerability Maddox sees in the younger man’s eyes. But one thing does make sense to the hardened former soldier. Isaac is running from something, and Maddox’s gut is telling him not to let Isaac and little Newt go until he can ferret out the truth.
But having Isaac around means trying to make sense of something else Maddox isn’t expecting… his own body’s response to the beautiful younger man. Aside from their explosive chemistry, nothing about the straitlaced soldier and the secretive misfit works.
But maybe that’s exactly why it does… Read More »
Thank you so much!!!