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…
Sack of Gold (Welcome to Morningwood Omegaverse #4) by Kiki Burrelli
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Sack of Gold
SERIES: Welcome to Morningwood Omegaverse #4
AUTHOR: Kiki Burrelli
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 147 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2019
BLURB:
Dusty’s the town clown. Joseph is the uptight Sheriff. Sparks fly when these opposites collide.
Sheriff Joseph has kept a controlled eye on the quiet shifter community of Morningwood. As an alpha lion, he watches his town like he would his pride. Most days are peaceful, and that’s how he likes it. So, when Clydesdale shifter—and budding bad boy—Dusty starts pulling pranks, Joseph is quick to shut down his antics. Except, with each event, it becomes clear to Joseph that Dusty might be something more than just a thorn in his side.
Though they are in college, Dusty’s friends have all begun finding their mates, leaving him bored and lonely. Instead of sowing his wild oats, he’s left alone with his worries. His whole life he’s assumed he was an alpha, had lied to his friends claiming he was, but really, he doesn’t know. And won’t until he can find someone to be his first. Not so easy in a small, secluded town. He knows who he wishes would volunteer—his crush on the sheriff has grown to embarrassing proportions. Sheriff Joseph has all the emotions of a statue, and there is nothing Dusty would love more than to crack that cool facade. If only the Sheriff felt the same way.
When a new shifter comes to town, sniffing around Dusty and offering him a wild, carefree life, Joseph can’t ignore his attraction. He won’t let his fear of the town finding out, or Dusty’s age to dissuade him. He has to claim his mate or lose him forever. But can someone like him be the alpha Dusty needs?
Sack of Gold is the fourth book in the Welcome to Morningwood Omegaverse series and can be read as a standalone. It’s a steamy, fun romp that may or may not include sexy leprechauns. Hint: It definitely does.
Renegade (Kingmakers – Book Two) by Jaye McKenna
Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Renegade
SERIES: Kingmakers – Book Two
AUTHOR: Jaye McKenna
PUBLISHER: Mythe Weaver Press
LENGTH: 246 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 22, 2019
BLURB:
After betraying his oath to the Khalshir Guild, Coryn is expecting to be sentenced to a painful execution. Instead, he’s sent out on an assassination job designed to test his loyalty. When the test demands a moral sacrifice Coryn can’t bring himself to make, he flees, only to end up in captivity with two outlanders.
Kai is determined to save his teenage cousin Adrian from an abusive father. Before he can come up with a plan, their long-lost grandfather kidnaps them and whisks them away to another world. Once there, Kai learns that Adrian possesses a power that makes him a valuable commodity, and that protecting him may be far more dangerous than facing down his drug-addicted uncle.
With the Guild hot on his trail, Coryn has no intention of getting entangled with his fellow captives, but when a chance for escape comes, he finds himself unable to abandon the pair to certain death. Reluctantly, Coryn takes Kai and Adrian under his wing, all the while struggling to deny his growing feelings for Kai.
Can Coryn evade the Guild long enough to help the cousins escape their grandfather and find a mythe-weaver powerful enough to send them home? And if he succeeds, will his heart survive losing the man he’s beginning to care for?
Over and Back (Sequel to Round and Round) #5, by Andrew Grey
TITLE: Over and Back (Sequel to Round and Round)
SERIES: Bronco’s Boys, #5
AUTHOR: Andrew Grey
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 202 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 9, 2019
BLURB:
Opposites attract on an overseas holiday, but trouble has hitched a ride.
While Bronco’s nightclub is closed for renovations, the owners invite the staff on a trip to Italy. Bartender Hank needs a roommate, and he’s had his eye on waiter Grant for a while, even if he’s had to keep his distance. But sharing such close proximity means sparks are sure to fly….
Grant has a problem saying no, and it’s led him into some less-than-healthy relationships. While he’s determined not to repeat his mistakes, it’s clear Hank is different.
They’re both willing to take it slow and explore the feelings building between them, but even in a foreign country, their pasts are catching up, and that could hurt more than just their budding romance.
Trusting Him (The Retreat #2) by L.M. Somerton
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Trusting Him
SERIES: The Retreat #2
AUTHOR: L.M. Somerton
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 186 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 9, 2019
BLURB:
Trust is hard earned and all too easy to lose.
Luke Redding’s military background is an asset when it comes to managing The Retreat, but it hasn’t helped him find the submissive he longs for. A secluded life in the New Forest, witnessing a stream of happy couples playing out their fantasies, doesn’t provide much opportunity to develop a relationship either. When a friend’s manipulations lead to him taking on silver-haired Skye as a trainee sub, Luke finds it hard to trust in his own ability to provide the guidance Skye needs.
Skye Ingham wants to explore his submissive nature but the noise and crowds at The Underground are overwhelming. He can’t believe his luck to be taken under Luke’s wing and offered a job at The Retreat. As Luke tests his boundaries, Skye trusts him implicitly, but how can he convince his new Dominant to have faith in himself?
Amid the bustle and excitement of a big house party at The Retreat, Luke and Skye edge their way towards a deeper understanding of each other’s needs and desires. But it will take a final leap of faith to secure their future and open a path to love.
Never Rest by Marshall Thornton
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Never Rest
AUTHOR: Marshall Thornton
PUBLISHER: Lethe Press
LENGTH: 243 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2018
BLURB:
Nineteen-year-old Jake Margate has had terminal leukemia for five years and is ready to let go but his mother has other ideas. She’s found a rogue doctor pursuing radical treatments and takes her son to a remote institute where he does seem to get better…at first. But then the treatment begins to fail in strange ways just as Jake begins to fall for another of the test subjects. Slowly, he realizes he’s been turned into something truly horrible. Two-time Lambda Literary Award-winning author Thornton has written a contemporary queer twist on the Frankenstein monster story.
Soft Place to Fall by BA Tortuga
Reviewed by Cindy
TITLE: Soft Place to Fall
AUTHOR: BA Tortuga
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 237 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 9, 2019
BLURB:
Stetson Major and Curtis Traynor are about as opposite as two cowboys can get. Stetson is a rancher, tied to the land he loves in Taos, New Mexico, while Curtis is a rodeo cowboy whose wanderlust never could be tamed.
But now Stetson’s momma is dying of Alzheimer’s, and she can’t remember that Curtis hasn’t been Stetson’s boyfriend for a long time. Curtis’s absence makes her cry, so Stetson swallows his pride and calls his ex-lover.
To Curtis, Stetson is the one who got away, the love of his life. And Momma is his friend, so he’s happy to help out. Yet returning to the ranch stirs up all sorts of feelings that, while buried, never really went away. Still, the rodeo nationals are coming up, and Curtis can’t stay… even if he’s starting to want to, especially to support Stetson when he needs it most.
Stetson and Curtis want to find a place where they both fit, to be there to catch each other when they fall. But family, money problems, and the call of the rodeo circuit might end their second-chance romance before it even gets started.
Indulge Me (Kitchen Gods #4) by Beth Bolden
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Indulge Me
SERIES: Kitchen Gods #4
AUTHOR: Beth Bolden
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 363 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 8, 2019
BLURB:
Throughout the restaurant industry, Chef Bastian Aquino is a notorious control freak. For two very long years, Kian Reynolds has worked for Bastian as his special assistant, doing whatever he and his restaurant needs. The toughest part isn’t even all the impossible tasks he expects Kian to complete flawlessly—it’s the hopeless, endless love he feels for his older boss.
Falling for someone so far above him might be agonizing, but at least his feelings aren’t unrequited. Bastian fell in love right alongside him, but at the very beginning, they made the choice to abstain for logical, smart, professional reasons.
But love isn’t logical, it isn’t smart, and it definitely isn’t professional. It defies containment, even by Bastian. While he watches Bastian struggle with their attraction, Kian finally comes to the conclusion that he’s done.
He’s done standing off the side, done not getting any of the credit, done letting Bastian define the boundaries of their relationship. Most of all, he’s done waiting.
Lonely Hearts: a novella bundle by Posy Roberts
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Lonely Hearts: a novella bundle
AUTHOR: Posy Roberts
PUBLISHER: Boho Press
LENGTH: 394 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 19, 2018
BLURB:
Stoic men, who believe they’re happy alone, find the world turned upside down when their perfect someone stumbles across their path.
Marc joins the Lonely Hearts chat room where men support men on their way to finding true love. He wants to believe that kind of love is possible for him, but his once-burned heart stops him from going all-in with anyone.
The chat group’s philosophy is, “Figure out how you keep screwing up your happily ever after. Once you know, you’re more likely to find the true thing.”
Skeptical as he is, Marc logs in and meets men in various degrees of getting there. At least he’s not alone. Luther truly loves his single life on the Bakken oil fields. William’s not sure he’ll ever measure up, let alone find someone he can be himself around. And Andrew still pines for a guy he hooked up with on a reenactment battlefield before he got blown up on a real one.
One by one they start dropping like flies. Flies drunk on love. And sooner than he expects, Marc’s luck starts changing thanks to these new friends.
Walk alongside these men as they find the men of their dreams and discover their happily ever afters.
Lonely Hearts: a novella bundle includes: Bent Arrow, Stroke of Luck, Momo: My Everything, and Love on a Battlefield.