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…
The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune
Reviewed by Jay V.
TITLE: The Bones Beneath My Skin
AUTHOR: TJ Klune
PUBLISHER: TJ Klune
LENGTH: 375 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2018
BLURB:
In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he’s been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family’s summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It’s not.
Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader.
Artemis, who isn’t exactly as she appears.
Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.
Alpha’s Pride (Irresistible Omegas #4) by Nora Phoenix
Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Alpha’s Pride
SERIES: Irresistible Omegas #4
AUTHOR: Nora Phoenix
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 303 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2018
BLURB:
An MMM Mpreg romance.
Bray knows what he wants: a sweet, pliant omega who will bear him an alpha heir. But he doesn’t want one now. He’s too young to settle down and just wants to have fun and play. That’s why hooking up with Kean is perfect, even if the beta doesn’t come close to what Bray is usually attracted to.
Kean thought he could keep things casual with Bray, but when he starts yearning for more, Bray makes it clear he’s not interested. When Ruari, a single-dad omega, arrives on the ranch with his baby, Kean instantly connects with him. He breaks things off with Bray to pursue Ruari, leaving the alpha confused and angry. But even though Ruari reciprocates his feelings, Kean can’t get Bray out of his mind.
Ruari doesn’t hesitate when he and his baby are offered a safe place at the PTP ranch. He’s in desperate need of support, especially after he finds out he has the Melloni gene. Meeting Kean makes him want to stay, even though he’s scared his father will find him. But when Ruari runs into the alpha-father of his baby, things get complicated fast.
Bray, Kean, and Ruari try to figure out where they each fit as sparks fly, tempers rise, and a stubborn beta and an equally sassy omega prove to be more than a match for a slightly arrogant alpha. Meanwhile, they and their fellow pack members have to take a stand against a rising threat to the pack. When trouble comes, the pack fights back, but it won’t come without a cost.
Alpha’s Pride is an MMM mpreg romance and the fourth book in the continuing Irresistible Omegas series. All books need to be read in order and are not stand alones. The love story between Bray, Kean, and Ruari ends on a soft cliffhanger in this book and will continue in the next book.
More Than My Words (Guarding the Gods #3) by Ann Lister
Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: More Than My Words
SERIES: Guarding the Gods #3
AUTHOR: Ann Lister
PUBLISHER: Rock Gods, Inc.
LENGTH: 293 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2018
BLURB:
Mason Foxworth has spent the last several months recovering from injuries he received doing personal security while on tour during the horrific fire in Germany. He’d been hitting his stride professionally when he fell through the floor that night, and now his life had been reduced to weekly appointments with physical therapists and various doctors while everyone else around him seemed to have moved on.
He felt useless and alone, and the worst part of it, the physical scarring left behind on his legs from the burns had ruined his self-esteem. Who would want him now, when he was so damaged inside and out and he had nothing much to contribute? He didn’t have a lot of friends and his co-workers felt it was safer to keep Mason at a desk in the office doing paperwork, rather than out in the field doing security. Mason wanted to get that status changed before he lost the last threads of his sanity, and the main obstacle in his way was a bum leg that was taking far too long to heal.
Tessler is an enigma in the sci-fi literary world. A young, reclusive author, known for the mystery swirling around him, he realizes he’s lost any real joy in his life when he suddenly starts to feel the strange emotion pumping through his veins. Barely beyond the age of twenty-five and he’s already made more money than most see in a lifetime, but Tessler feels empty within himself and also inside his two-story, meticulously renovated warehouse in the burbs of Los Angeles. What made him this way must remain the mystery it is, or he feels he’ll lose the empire he’s created. But meeting a man he feels could bring all his pieces together is challenging his reasons for anonymity and Tessler suddenly finds himself wanting more from life and from himself.
Mason wants his life back and Tessler is just looking to have a real life. Can two vastly different men find a way to smooth out their hard edges and blend their lives to offer the one ingredient neither has: love? Personal growth comes in many different shapes and Mason and Tessler have a mountain of it to climb in order to find their HEA.
In the Pines (A Charlie Schiffer Mystery #1) by Laura Lascarso
Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: In the Pines
SERIES: A Charlie Schiffer Mystery #1
AUTHOR: Laura Lascarso
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2018
BLURB:
When your high school crush is also your number one suspect, what’s a boy to do?
After the disappearance of Eastview High’s homecoming king, seventeen-year-old Charlie Schiffer must put his detective skills to work to help class heartthrob Dare Chalmers find his missing twin brother. From the gator-filled swamps of Paynes Prairie to the truck-stop strip club Café Risqué, there’s no situation too dicey for this amateur sleuth when he’s on the prowl for clues to this mystery.
Meanwhile, Dare is everything Charlie could want in a boyfriend—charismatic, handsome, polite—but as Charlie’s mother always says, the unlikeliest people can turn out to be criminals. When evidence surfaces revealing his suspects’ hidden motives, Charlie must dig deep to suss out who among them is innocent and who is guilty, even if it means betraying the man he cares for most.
My Kind of Man by AG Silver
Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: My Kind of Man
AUTHOR: AG Silver
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 228 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2018
BLURB:
An M/M age-play romance.
Michael knows what he wants. He wants a daddy.
When yet another attempt at a relationship fails, Michael decides to find himself his daddy. The one man that will care for him, nurture him, and love him for who he is. Twenty-six-year-old and successful in his career, Michael knows he’s missing out on life. He’s a quiet, introverted man with desires that seem too far out of his reach. Until he goes to Escape one night.
Callum is tired of being lonely. He has everything to offer the right man.
When forty-year-old Callum is encouraged to visit Escape, his hopes are high, but his expectancy of finding the perfect man is low until he sees a young man nervously looking around the club. Everything about him ticks Callum’s boxes. Shorter than his six-foot frame with blond curls that cry out to be stroked, and a look of anxious longing on his face. Callum is transfixed.
With only a few words exchanged, the two men are hooked, eager to explore everything they have ever dreamed of. Is this a life they can fulfill, or will they find too many obstacles in their way?
My Kind of Man is an age-play story and contains M/M sexual content, spankings, age play, ABDL.
Honeymoon for One by Keira Andrews
Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Honeymoon for One
AUTHOR: Keira Andrews
PUBLISHER: KA Books
LENGTH: 243 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 27, 2018
BLURB:
The wedding is off, but the love story is just beginning.
Betrayed the night before his wedding by the supposed boy of his dreams, Ethan Robinson escapes the devastating fallout by going on his honeymoon alone to the other side of the world. Hard of hearing and still struggling with the repercussions of being late-deafened, traveling by himself leaves him feeling painfully isolated with his raw, broken heart.
Clay Kelly never expected to be starting life over in his forties. He got hitched young, but now his wife has divorced him and remarried, his kids are grown, and he’s left his rural Outback town. In a new career driving a tour bus on Australia’s East Coast, Clay reckons he’s happy enough. He enjoys his cricket, a few beers, and a quiet life. If he’s a bit lonely, it’s not the end of the world.
Clay befriends Ethan, hoping he can cheer up the sad-eyed young man, and a crush on an unattainable straight guy is exactly the safe distraction Ethan needs. Yet as the days pass and their connection grows, long-repressed desires surface in Clay, and they are shocked to discover romance sparking. Clay is the sexy, rugged man of Ethan’s dreams, and as the clock counts down on their time together, neither wants this honeymoon to end.
Sin’s Thief (Vampires of Vadin #3) by Shelby Rhodes
Reviewed by Becca
SERIES: Vampires of Vadin #3
AUTHOR: Shelby Rhodes
PUBLISHER: Siren-Bookstrand Publishing
LENGTH: 207 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2018
BLURB:
Fouled mouthed, snarky and overly pessimistic, Cecil Baxter’s rules for life are to trust no one and to never become attached. Since birth, his life has been one pitfall after another. But when freedom was a fingertip away, Sin, a sophisticated man with a vocabulary to match, jumped in his path. Thrown into a world he doesn’t understand, Cecil finds himself breaking all his rules just for a chance to be with Sin.
Sin Draven, leader of the Draven Zaytari, knows he has quirks. Many would see him as an overly calm, civilized individual. However, people often forget that almost everyone has darkness inside them and Sin is no exception. When approached by a hurt young man his honor demanded he help, thief or not. That instance leads to Sin finding the one thing he has always wanted—a home.
When outside forces, misunderstandings, and inner turmoil pulls them apart, they must fight their fears before all is lost.
Trigger warning: Book touches on topics such as self-harm, suicide, and depression.
Broken in Silence (Demons and Wolves #1) by Katze Snow
Reviewed by Becca
SERIES: Demons and Wolves #1
AUTHOR: Katze Snow
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 239 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2017
BLURB:
Tannerian Wulfric is a leader—a strong alpha who bows to no-one, especially those who try to undermine his authority.
When an opportunity arises, he grabs it with both hands and lets nothing get in his way. Trouble is, his brother has been caught in the crossfire of glorious retribution, and Tanner is in need of assistance.
For many years, Alex Jonas has lived his life in peace. But when fate lands him in the hands of his ex-lover and alpha, he finds himself in the centre of a feud he never knew existed, and must immerse himself in ways he had never imagined. One chance encounter, one night, and everything comes crashing down around him. Alex must fight for his life while Tanner fights for one thing and one thing only—vengeance, which has never tasted sweeter.
Can Tanner avenge his family’s death without spilling more blood? Or will his inner demon tear apart everything he has worked for, and lose the man who owns his heart?
Warning: Contains strong language, violence, and graphic, erotic scenes. This is NOT a romance. It’s hot, it’s sticky, and all kinds of messed up.
Heat for Sale by Blake Moreno
Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Heat for Sale
AUTHOR: Blake Moreno
PUBLISHER: Dark Ink Press
LENGTH: 192 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2018
BLURB:
Heat can be sold but love is earned.
In a world where omegas sell their heats for profit, Adrien is a university student in need of funding. With no family to fall back on, he reluctantly allows the university’s matcher to offer his virgin heat for auction online. Anxious, but aware this is the reality of life for all omegas, Adrien hopes whoever wins his heat will be kind.
Heath—a wealthy, older alpha—is rocked by the young man’s resemblance to his dead lover, Nathan. When Heath discovers Adrien is Nathan’s lost son from his first heat years before they met, he becomes obsessed with the idea of reclaiming a piece of Nathan.
Heath buys Adrien’s heat with only one motivation: to impregnate Adrien, claim the child, and move on. But their undeniable passion shocks him. Adrien doesn’t know what to make of the handsome, mysterious stranger he’s pledged his body to, but he’s soon swept away in the heat of the moment and surrenders to Heath entirely.
Once Adrien is pregnant, Heath secrets him away to his immense and secluded home. As the birth draws near, Heath grows to love Adrien for the man he is, not just for his connection to Nathan. Unaware of Heath’s past with his omega parent and coming to depend on him heart and soul, Adrien begins to fall as well.
But as their love blossoms, Nathan’s shadow looms. Can Heath keep his new love and the child they’ve made together once Adrien discovers his secrets?
Heat for Sale is a stand-alone m/m erotic romance by Leta Blake, writing as Blake Moreno. Infused with a du Maurier Rebecca-style secret, it features a well-realized omegaverse, an age-gap, dominance and submission, heats, knotting, and scorching hot scenes
Digging Deeper (Elemental Evidence #4) by Bellora Quinn & Sadie Rose Bermingham
Reviewed by Becca
SERIES: Elemental Evidence #4
AUTHOR: Bellora Quinn & Sadie Rose Bermingham
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 279 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2018
BLURB:
Unearthing the past brings them closer together…and to danger.
A maniac is on the loose in London, drugging young women and assaulting them before burying them in shallow graves.
When Inspector John Cordiline asks Jake Chivis for his unique assistance as a Fire Elemental with the Cemetery Rapist case, he feels he can hardly refuse. What begins as a simple job—trying to get memories from a suspect to aid conviction—soon takes a darker turn when one of the victims dies and an offer of help comes from an unexpected and unwelcome source.
Dr. Mari Gale is disturbed to find that his former lover Tomas Arregui is London and wants to meet with him. Despite his best efforts to avoid the man, fate seems to be pushing him onto a collision course with Tomas. And the impact will cast him into more trouble than he could ever have imagined.
Digging deeper for the truth could be the death of them.
Hiding the Moon (Fish Out of Water #4) by Amy Lane
Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Hiding the Moon
SERIES: Fish Out of Water #4
AUTHOR: Amy Lane
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 216 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2018
BLURB:
Fish Out Of Water: Book Four – A Fish Out of Water/Racing for the Sun Crossover
Can a hitman and a psychic negotiate a relationship while all hell breaks loose?
The world might not know who Lee Burton is, but it needs his black ops division and the work they do to keep it safe. Lee’s spent his life following orders—until he sees a kill jacket on Ernie Caulfield. Ernie isn’t a typical target, and something is very wrong with Burton’s chain of command.
Ernie’s life may seem adrift, but his every action helps to shelter his mind from the psychic storm raging within. When Lee Burton shows up to save him from assassins and club bunnies, Ernie seizes his hand and doesn’t look back. Burton is Ernie’s best bet in a tumultuous world, and after one day together, he’s pretty sure Lee knows Ernie is his destiny as well.
But when Burton refused Ernie’s contract, he kicked an entire piranha tank of bad guys, and Burton can’t rest until he takes down the rogue military unit that would try to kill a spacey psychic. Ernie’s in love with Burton and Burton’s confused as hell by Ernie—but Ernie’s not changing his mind and Burton can’t stay away. Psychics, assassins, and bad guys—throw them into the desert with a forbidden love affair and what could possibly go wrong?
Game Changer (Game Changers #1) by Rachel Reid
Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Game Changer
SERIES: Game Changer #1
AUTHOR: Rachel Reid
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
LENGTH: 334 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 22, 2018
BLURB:
New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter takes his pregame rituals very seriously. In this case, it’s not just a lucky smoothie he’s craving—it’s the man who made it.
Pro hockey star Scott Hunter knows a good thing when he sees it. So, when a smoothie made by juice bar barista Kip Grady precedes Scott breaking his on-ice slump, he’s desperate to recreate the magic…and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter.
Kip knew there was more to Scott’s frequent visits than blended fruit, but he never let himself imagine being invited back to Scott’s penthouse. Or kissed with reckless abandon, never mind touched everywhere all at once. When it happens it’s red-hot, incredible and frequent, but also only on Scott’s terms and always behind his closed apartment doors.
Scott needs Kip in his life, but with playoff season approaching, the spotlight on him is suddenly brighter than ever. He can’t afford to do anything that might derail his career…like introducing the world to his boyfriend. Kip is ready to go all-in with Scott—but how much longer will he have to remain a secret?
Eidolon by E.S. Yu
Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Eidolon
AUTHOR: E.S. Yu
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 305 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 20, 2018
BLURB:
When Cyrex Corp, one of the foremost bioaugmentation companies in the world, sends Vax to assassinate Zai Lumero, Vax thinks it’ll be a simple, straightforward job. Zai is only a journalist, after all, and with his bioaugments, Vax has never botched a job before. But then the hit unexpectedly goes south, and before Vax can correct his mistake and finish Zai off for good, he discovers that Cyrex has turned on him, putting him in their crosshairs as well.
With no one else to turn to, he strikes a grudging partnership with Zai to help him expose Cyrex’s connection to a missing persons case and take the company down. Getting along with a justice crusader who hates Vax’s profession with a burning passion isn’t easy—though Vax finds himself drawn to Zai in a way he never expected.
As they race against time to unearth Cyrex’s secrets, Vax can’t shake the feeling that Zai is hiding something from him. And the closer he gets to uncovering the answers—of how he’s related to Zai’s investigation, and how Zai is connected to a past that Vax can’t remember—the more he suspects that finding out the truth might destroy him.
Us Three (One Voice #1) by Mia Kerick
Reviewed by Chris
Retro Review by Donna
TITLE: Us Three
SERIES: One Voice #1
AUTHOR: Mia Kerick
PUBLISHER: Harmony Ink Press
LENGTH: 180 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2014
BLURB:
In his junior year at a public high school, sweet, bright Casey Minton’s biggest worry isn’t being gay. Keeping from being too badly bullied by his so-called friends, a group of girls called the Queen Bees, is more pressing. Nate De Marco has no friends, his tough home life having taken its toll on his reputation, but he’s determined to get through high school. Zander Zane’s story is different: he’s popular, a jock. Zander knows he’s gay, but fellow students don’t, and he’d like to keep it that way.
No one expects much when these three are grouped together for a class project, yet in the process the boys discover each other’s talents and traits, and a new bond forms. But what if Nate, Zander, and Casey fall in love—each with the other and all three together? Not only gay but also a threesome, for them high school becomes infinitely more complicated and maybe even dangerous. To survive and keep their love alive, they must find their individual strengths and courage and stand together, honest and united. If they can do that, they might prevail against the Queen Bees and a student body frightened into silence—and even against their own crippling fears.