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…
Swings & Roundabouts (The Power of Zero #4) by Jackie Keswick
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Swings & Roundabouts
SERIES: The Power of Zero #4
AUTHOR: Jackie Keswick
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 366 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2018
BLURB:
Jack Horwood. Vigilante, hacker, security specialist. Partner to Gareth Flynn. Adoptive father to their two teenage boys. Happily juggling long days and short nights.
Gareth Flynn. Ex-army officer. Ace negotiator. Righter of wrongs. Family man. Away from home more often than he likes.
Desperate for a relationship reset, Jack treats Gareth to a romantic getaway and Sweden’s frigid peace gives them the break they both need. But Jack’s a trouble magnet and the next dead body just a wild skidoo ride away.
Can love, teamwork, and trust survive the troubles that follow them around? Can Jack save what’s become so important to him?
Murder Most Lovely (Lacetown Murder Mystery #1) by Hank Edwards & Deanna Wadsworth
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Murder Most Lovely
SERIES: Lacetown Murder Mystery #1
AUTHOR: Hank Edwards & Deanna Wadsworth
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 270 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 30, 2019
BLURB:
Lacetown Murder Mysteries: Case One
A killer at a small-town literary festival. Bumbling drug dealers. A kidnapped cat. Starting a romance among all this chaos might be the death of them.
Michael Fleishman is excited to meet his favorite mystery writer, Russell Withingham, at Lacetown’s Literary Fest. He is not expecting to cross paths with sexy hairdresser Jasper “Jazz” Dilworth—or become embroiled in a real-life mystery. As Lacetown’s only mortician and the county coroner, Michael is called to his first murder scene and is shocked to recognize the victim—Russell’s young lover.
Jazz only wanted to confront his ex, Russell, over his cheating. Instead, he meets the adorably awkward Michael and becomes a murder suspect. Soon Jazz is teaming up with Michael to clear his name. Along the way, they are helped and hindered by Michael’s sassy assistant, Kitty, the grumpy Sheriff Musgrave, Russell’s creepy PR rep, Norbert, and Michael’s lothario grandfather, who likes his manhattans strong and his women saucy. And of course, Mr. Pickles Furryton the Third…
Omega Released (Omega Re #3) by Tanya Chris
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Omega Released
SERIES: Omega Re #3
AUTHOR: Tanya Chris
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 199 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2019
BLURB:
Growing up in the Hinterlands hasn’t prepared Benjy for life in North Leland where the alphas grow to an alarming size and he’s expected to get a job. He’s never been farther than running distance from his den until the morning his father drops him off in the city to be claimed by the first alpha who‘ll have him. Of all the things Benjy isn’t prepared for, finding his own mate is at the top of the list.
Fortunately, JT has all that covered—a bed to sleep in, a job at the library he’s in the process of opening, even matchmaking services. There might be wolves in North Leland who disapprove of JT’s wild omega ways, but he knows all the hottest alphas and he for sure knows how to take care of himself. He can take care of Benjy too, even when Benjy goes into his first heat. But could any of North Leland’s alphas really be good enough for his precious potato?
As the library takes shape, Benjy makes friends and settles into life in North Leland, but he’s not getting any closer to picking out an alpha. Why would he want to when JT gives him everything he needs, including a very special sort of knot? But it takes an inconveniently timed heat and a predatory alpha to make Benjy realize who he really wants for a mate.
Omega Released is a sexy omega/omega love story. Please note that this is not an MPREG universe. No MPREG occurs in this story or any Omega Reimagined stories.
Antidote (Don’t #2) by Jack Pyke
REVIEWED by Lisa and Jen B.
SERIES: Don’t #2
AUTHOR: Jack Pyke
PUBLISHER: Men in Ink Press
LENGTH: 459 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2019
BLURB:
“Us. We’re okay, aren’t we, mukka?” ~ Jack Harrison
Video footage of Jack sleeping with Cutter, a man who has mutilated teenagers for his own sadistic streak, should have stayed dead and buried with the man who had filmed it. Yet when footage to Jack’s past starts appearing on internet porn sites, Jack’s whole world is again turned on its head. At first the porn links are done to unsettle, to disrupt Jack’s fire and ice world: all the sexed-up adrenaline of being caught between the pleasure to Gray Raoul’s BDSM kink and the “soft lad” gentleness of Jan Richards’ vanilla touch. But when the content of the porn sites force even Gray to turn his back on Jack, leaving Jack isolated and away from the full protection of the Masters’ Circle, Jack is left at the mercy of a group of men who are out to alter Jack’s whole perception on his BDSM lifestyle and the reality of being Jack Harrison. As brutally as possible, Jack’s sex life is now live webcam feed for a whole new audience.
Volatile (Treacherous Chemistry #1) by Avylinn Winter
Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Volatile
SERIES: Treacherous Chemistry #1
AUTHOR: Avylinn Winter
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RE-RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2019 (Second Edition)
LENGTH: 322 pages
BLURB:
Chris Sinclair fades under a dark cloud after losing his mother to cancer. On the cusp of adulthood, he doesn’t know where he should go or how to get there. But watching life pass him by was never the plan, and when he is forced to attend a concert in an attempt to coax him out of his shell, he discovers that life might have more to offer.
Dante Heron holds the audience between his delicate bow and the tips of his fingers. He plays the violin as if every heart is his to command, but the discipline needed to perfect his skills has left him with nothing to spare. He’s a fire that burns too bright or not at all—unpredictable and demanding.
When Chris is unexpectedly offered a job to travel around Europe as Dante’s assistant, or ‘friend’, he surprises himself by accepting. Their journey barely starts before Chris realizes he’s in over his head. Every step along the way is fraught with tension, and the farther they go, the closer they veer to a breaking point.
Invisible strings are at play, stitched into Dante’s life by those who should have taught him how to love. Perhaps Chris is right to be afraid, but sometimes, what you fear the most is what you can’t afford to lose.
This story has been published previously in another version. This second edition includes material from the companion short story, Magnetic, and is extensively rewritten and expanded.
If A Butterfly Don’t Fly (Out of Underhill #2) by Mell Eight
Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: If A Butterfly Don’t Fly
SERIES: Out of Underhill #2
AUTHOR: Mell Eight
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 124 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2019
BLURB:
Merridy has always loved music, but can’t sing. The only job in the music business he can get is as a security guard for The Bard and Sons, a premier record label. He keeps their secrets and patrols their hallways, always secretly wishing for a big break he knows will never come.
Changeling’s Court is a brand new band struggling to cut their first single and record. Merridy chances upon a scrap of their lyrics without accompanying music notes and can’t help composing a simple ballad for them. If he’s found out he’ll probably get fired.
Instead, he finds himself in a strange new world of magic and faeries—and danger.
Framed for Murder by Edward Kendrick
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Framed for Murder
AUTHOR: Edward Kendrick
PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC
LENGTH: 93 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 9, 2019
BLURB:
My name is Charlie English. I’m thirty-eight and homeless, so when a man offered me forty bucks to deliver a message and another forty when I had, I jumped at the chance. I shouldn’t have. I walked into the house — and a murder scene — barely getting away before the cops arrived.
I needed to get out from under the frame, and knew a private detective who might be willing to help me. There’s one problem, though. He’s my ex-lover, which could make things dicey.
He’s less than happy to see me when I show up at his office … until I tell him why I’m there. That piques his interest. Now it’s a case of finding out who the dead man was, who killed him, and proving it wasn’t me. Can we succeed … while dealing with our renewed interest in each other?
Coming Up For Air by Amanda Meuwissen
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Coming Up For Air
AUTHOR: Amanda Meuwissen
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 191 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 30, 2019
BLURB:
It’s not easy being someone’s fairy tale.
Leigh Hurley is making a name for himself among thieves and criminals, even if it isn’t the life he would’ve chosen. He shouldn’t have screwed over the Moretti brothers, though. It landed him in the river with weights on his feet. But somehow he’s escaped certain death. The last thing he remembers before waking on the riverbank is a beautiful face and a soft kiss.
Then, Tolomeo turns up naked at Leigh’s apartment.
Tolly comes from a race of killers—merfolk who drown humans for fun. But Tolly is different, and when he sees a human in trouble, he offers a kiss, granting the man the ability to breathe underwater… and himself the ability to walk on land, at least until the next full moon. The ancient laws state that if he is given a vow of love by the one he kissed, he will be able to keep his legs. If not, he will be put to death when he returns to the water.
But love is not something Leigh offers easily… and Tolly has a secret of his own.
Window Watcher by Matt Converse
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Window Watcher
AUTHOR: Matt Converse
PUBLISHER: Encompass Ink
LENGTH: 92 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2019
BLURB:
Murder is in the eye of the beholder. In this M/M nod to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Rear Window, Heston is a writer who spends most of his life alone in his own little world. One spring day he pulls up his window shades and sees more than he ever imagined.
The gorgeous and younger Icarus wants Heston to commit to love. To prove himself, he ends up trying to solve a murder without either of them becoming the next victim. A peek into a stranger’s life can turn from sexy to deadly in the blink of an eye. What you see isn’t always what you get.