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…
Khalshir (Kingmakers Book One) by Jaye McKenna
Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Khalshir
SERIES: Kingmakers Book 1
AUTHOR: Jaye McKenna
PUBLISHER: Mythe Weaver Press
LENGTH: 205 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2018
BLURB:
A street rat taken in by the infamous Khalshir Guild and ruthlessly trained as a spy and assassin, Rio thinks he’s ready for anything. When he balks at performing his first assassination, his mentor is furious, but gives him a chance to redeem himself: a simple bodyguard assignment, protecting the son of a high-ranking noble.
Second son of one of the most successful businessmen in the kingdom of Tallin, Dani Jherek never expected to become his father’s heir. After a suspicious accident leaves his twin dead, a grief-stricken Dani finds himself struggling not only to fill his brother’s shoes, but to protect a dangerous secret that, if revealed, could mean his execution.
Guarding Dani turns out to be far from simple. Instead of a spoiled, pampered brat, Rio finds himself watching over a beautiful, miserable young man struggling to survive in a dangerous world he doesn’t understand. As Rio spends more time with Dani, he finds himself caught up in a tangled web of conflicting loyalties. When Dani learns the true nature of his father’s business, everything changes, and Rio is forced to make an impossible choice: his loyalty to Guild and family, or his growing feelings for his charge.
The Little Library by Kim Fielding
Reviewed by Tori (Vicki)
TITLE: The Little Library ![The Little Library by [Fielding, Kim]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51pI1m5S-wL.jpg)
AUTHOR: Kim Fielding
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 290 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 26th, 2018
BLURB:
Elliott Thompson was once a historian with a promising academic future, but his involvement in a scandal meant a lost job, public shame, and a ruined love life. He took shelter in his rural California hometown, where he teaches online classes, hoards books, and despairs of his future.
Simon Odisho has lost a job as well—to a bullet that sidelined his career in law enforcement. While his shattered knee recovers, he rethinks his job prospects and searches for the courage to come out to his close-knit but conservative extended family.
In an attempt to manage his overflowing book collection, Elliott builds a miniature neighborhood library in his front yard. The project puts him in touch with his neighbors—for better and worse—and introduces him to handsome, charming Simon. While romance blooms quickly between them, Elliott’s not willing to live in the closet, and his best career prospects might take him far away. His books have plenty to tell him about history, but they give him no clues about a future with Simon.
Point of Contact by Melanie Hansen
Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Point of Contact
AUTHOR: Melanie Hansen
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
LENGTH: 327 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2018
BLURB:
Only love can heal an impossibly broken heart
There’d forever been a thread running through Trevor Estes’s life—his son, Riley, strong and constant like a heartbeat. But when Riley is killed in combat, everything in Trevor’s life unravels into a mess he doesn’t know how to mourn.
Then Jesse Byrne, Riley’s friend and platoon mate, arrives on Trevor’s doorstep with a box of Riley’s things. Jesse’s all-too-familiar grief provides an unlikely source of comfort for Trevor: knowing he’s not alone is exactly what he needs.
Trevor never imagined he’d find someone who fills his heart with hope again. As the pair celebrate Riley’s memory, their unique bond deepens into something irreplaceable—and something neither man can live without.
But diving into a relationship can’t be so simple. Being together means Trevor risking the last link he has to his son…leaving Jesse to wonder if he’ll ever be enough, or if Trevor will always be haunted by the past.
Closer by F.E. Feeley, Jr.
Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Closer
AUTHOR: F. E. Feeley, Jr.
PUBLISHER: Beaten Track Publishing
LENGTH: 380 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2018
BLURB:
Maplewood, Vermont is a picturesque town filled with unique shops, unique homes, and a quaint familiarity all centered around a lake with an unusual history.
Legends, old as well as Urban, float around like the mist that hovers above the lake at break of dawn.
But they’re just stories, right?
Hayden Moore’s life was destroyed when his husband, Malcolm, was murdered. Giving up his job as an assistant district attorney in Boston, Hayden moved to the little burg of Maplewood to recover.
A new life.
A fresh start.
However, something underneath the water is stirring. Something rotten. A deadly secret wakes underneath the black waters of Lake Veronica so disturbing it haunts the nightmares of the local residents.
It’s coming closer…
A Wish Upon the Stars (Tales of Verania # 4) By TJ Klune
Reviewed by Roberta & Annika
TITLE: A Wish Upon the Stars
SERIES: Tales from Verania Book 4
AUTHOR: TJ Klune
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 450 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018
BLURB:
Sequel to The Consumption of Magic
Nearly a year ago, blinded by grief and betrayal, Sam of Wilds made a desperate decision to follow the Great White into the Dark Woods. Now, he emerges to a world changed.
The City of Lockes is a prison. The King has been locked away in the dungeons. The Kingdom of Verania has fallen, and the Dark wizard Myrin sits on the throne.
But soon after his return, Sam learns of a resistance fighting in his name, led by a courageous knight, a defiant prince, a pissed-off unicorn, and a half-giant who wants to smash everything in sight. If he has any hope of defeating the villains who have taken their home, Sam must face the consequences of his choices—and the friends he left behind.
Dragon Magic by Megan Derr
Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Dragon Magic
AUTHOR: Megan Derr
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 440 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2018
BLURB:
Four strangers. A shared moment long forgotten. A bond forged in desperation.
On the first day of the Festival of Counting, the beginning of the royal census that takes place every ten years, the royal city is filled to overflowing. Everyone is happy, excited, and proud to be counted amongst those who live in the glorious kingdom of Orhanis.
Then a demon strikes, killing thousands in mere seconds and leveling the city. As the royal castle burns, only four men remain to drive the demon away—and in their desperation, accidentally bind themselves together in a legendary Oath, unable to part ways until they find and kill the demon once and for all.
Mahzan, the King’s Jester, an orphan who clawed his way to the top and hides a fearsome magic… Sule, the notorious North Captain, who sacrificed everything to live as a strong, capable, highly respected man… Cemal, a priest who traveled the continent bent on revenge and now lives lost… and Binhadi, the mercurial shadow mage with a dark history and bloody ties to the throne…
Four men used to standing apart, standing alone, who must learn to stand together if they hope to save themselves and all of Orhanis.
Invitation to the Blues (Small Change #2) by Roan Parrish
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Invitation to the Blues
SERIES: Small Change #2
AUTHOR: Roan Parrish
PUBLISHER: Monster House
LENGTH: 220 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2018
BLURB:
Eight months ago Jude Lucen fled his partner, his career, and a hospital in Boston after a suicide attempt. Now back in Philadelphia, he feels like a complete failure. Piano has always been his passion and his only escape. Without it, he has nothing. Well, nothing except a pathetic crush on the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.
Faron Locklear came to Philly looking for a fresh start and has thrown himself into tattooing at Small Change. He’s only met Jude a few times, but something about the red-haired man with the haunted eyes calls to him. Faron is blown away by Jude’s talent. What he isn’t expecting is the electricity he feels the first time they kiss—and the way Jude’s needs in bed speak directly to his own deepest desires.
Jude and Faron fall fast and hard, but Jude has spent a lifetime learning that he can’t be what the people he loves need. So when the opportunity arises to renew his career in Boston, he thinks he has to choose: music, or Faron? Only by taking a huge risk—and finally believing he’s worthy of love just as he is—can he have the chance for both.
The Small Change series is set in the Middle of Somewhere universe and features crossover characters from that series. Each book can be read on its own.
Content warning: This book contains explicit discussion of depression, anxiety, attempted suicide, and feelings of worthlessness.
Ocean of Tears (Soul Series #1) by Phetra H. Novak
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Ocean of Tears
SERIES: Soul Series #1
AUTHOR: Phetra H. Novak
PUBLISHER: Beaten Track Publishing
LENGTH: 117 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 5, 2017
BLURB:
Karl Meeke—the talented guitarist of Manchester’s own pride and joy, Ocean of Tears—is depressed. It’s not a word he would usually use for himself, but lately, he’s feeling worse. A lot worse. Over the past few months, the music that has been a constant sound inside of him hasn’t just grown quieter; it’s fallen silent. The love of his life has abandoned him, and at the prime age of fifty-three, he feels like it’s all downhill from here. That is, until he meets the young and vibrant Noa.
Noa is attending the Northern School of Ballet in Manchester; his dream is to become a ballerino for the London Royal Ballet. Noa dances into Karl’s life from nowhere, and even when Karl shows no interest, Noa will not let him go. Instead, he finds a way to nestle into that lonely slot in Karl’s heart, where music once lived, and makes a home there.
Only when things start to change, for the better, does Karl realise what it all means, and by then, he’s so far into the deep end he has no choice but to start swimming.
A Hard Call (Stonewall Investigations #1) by Max Walker
Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: A Hard Call
SERIES: Stonewall Investigations #1
AUTHOR: Max Walker
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 240 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2018
BLURB:
Zane Holden hasn’t had the easiest go of things. His childhood was rough and adulthood hasn’t been a walk in the park either. The only good thing in his life would be Stonewall Investigations, an investigative company he found to work primarily with the LGBTQ community. Things were ok and Zane was finally healing from a personal tragedy but the reemergence of a serial killer turns his world upside down.
Lorenzo De Luca is a cocky defense attorney dripping in Italian charm. He’s well known as one of the best lawyers in New York City, a title he worked hard to achieve. When he picks up a difficult case, he finds that he needs extra help. This leads him to Stonewall, where he meets Zane for the first time and instantly feels himself falling for the mysterious and stone-cut detective.
The two men have their own hangups to work through, but both men are having a hard time denying the connection between them, even though they’re trying.
When fate insists on pushing them together, Zane and Enzo give in and start exploring their feelings. They’ll need to balance their budding relationship with the stress of Enzo’s case, which takes them both on a twisting journey toward the truth, all while a bigger threat looms on the horizon.
_______________
A Hard Call is the first book in the Stonewall Investigations series. It’s a full-length, steamy gay romance novel.
The Cabot Girls of Coventry Island by Geonn Cannon
Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: The Cabot Girls of Coventry Island
AUTHOR: Geonn Cannon
PUBLISHER: Supposed Crimes
LENGTH: 167 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2017
BLURB:
There have always been Cabot girls on Coventry Island.
Located off the Washington coast, the tiny island is a source of incredible magic. Women in the Cabot family are entrusted with protecting it from being abused by the outside world. Twins Reese and May, along with their older sister Winnie, are the current custodians and use their connection with the island to the betterment of its inhabitants. Winnie owns a bakery where she imbues her creations with positive energy. Reese and May have a thrift shop where repurposed items are blessed and passed on to the owners they were always meant to have.
The sisters have a close connection, still living together in the same house where they grew up. But once their impenetrable bond was nearly shattered by a woman named Jessica Vaughn. She very nearly succeeded but, in the end, the sisters were able to overcome her manipulations and exiled her from the island once and for all. Or so they thought.
Jessica has come back, determined to stay, and she has big plans for the island, plans that run contrary to the quaint and quiet life the Cabots have vowed to protect. This time she has an ally who could turn the tide. The tight-knit sisters will discover their family has been harboring certain unforgivable secrets.
At a time when their island needs them the most, the Cabots may find their relationship has been fatally fractured.
From Upstairs to Downstairs by J.P. Bowie
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: From Upstairs to Downstairs
AUTHOR: J.P. Bowie
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 236 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 24, 2017
BLURB:
When everything is taken from you, including the memory of who you are, what possible chance is there for happiness?
Edward Lazenby has it all – a rich grandfather, a beautiful home, days spent riding his favorite horse in Hyde Park. What he doesn’t have, and feels he never will, is handsome Thomas Marsden, a man who, at first, seems repulsed by Edward’s forwardness when they meet. Dalliances with members of the same sex in Victorian England can lead to scandal or even imprisonment, so Edward and a few close friends have formed their own Club where they can meet without fear of persecution.
When Edward’s grandfather dies, Edward is heir to his estate but before he can lay claim to it, he is brutally assaulted, his injuries resulting in complete memory loss. Months later, Thomas Marsden finds him working as a stable boy on a country estate. Thomas takes him back to London, hoping to find a way to have Edward’s memory restored to him, and remind him that just before he disappeared, they had declared their affection for each other.
Can the two men build a life together or will Edward’s disability be too much of a hurdle to happiness?
Wow, so many good books in your selection this week. But holy sh*t is the cover of the first book awesome.