Book of the Month Poll July 2021
IT IS THAT TIME AGAIN! Welcome to our Book of the Month Poll for July 2021!
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…
Stripped (Four Bear Construction #6) by K.M. Neuhold
Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Stripped
SERIES: Four Bears Construction #6
AUTHOR: K.M. Neuhold
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 171 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2021
BLURB:
A ripped, transgender construction worker and a tweed-wearing, tortoise-shell-cozy-knitting, bear of a professor… Somebody’s getting stripped.
The last place I expected to run into my childhood camp crush was at the local university, looking all kinds of cute in a tweed jacket with a nervous blush. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for the nerdy professor type.
Demetri says he doesn’t date. I want to believe that it’s true and not that he’s not interested in a transgender man like me. If all he can offer me is friendship, I’m more than happy to take it.
Coy looks during sweaty workouts, rainy nights on his couch watching him knit shell cozies for his pet tortoise… I’m falling for him whether I want to or not.
Can I break down his walls and prove to him that he can trust me with his heart? And can I trust him with mine?
You Are Cordially Invited (Auckland Med #5) by Jay Hogan
Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: You Are Cordially Invited
SERIES: Auckland Med #5
AUTHOR: Jay Hogan
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 255 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 17, 2021
BLURB:
There’s a wedding in the air at Auckland Med, but Reuben wonders if they’ll survive the stress long enough to say, ‘I do’. Cam is directing the entire operation with his combat eyeliner in place, whilst the wedding party is doing its best to ignore him. The pressure is mounting and the cracks are beginning to show.
There’s a bachelor party to survive.
The paparazzi to outrun.
A wedding outfit to confirm.
A rugby game to win.
A jerk of a father to cope with.
A stunning opportunity to consider.
A relationship to untangle.
And a shocking event that could derail everything.
With the universe conspiring against them, Reuben and Cam will have to summon every scrap of belief they have in each other to make it to their vows.
Chasing Fate (Friendship and Desire Book 2) by Mia Monroe
Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Chasing Fate
SERIES: Friendship and Desire Book 2
AUTHOR: Mia Monroe
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 204 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 16, 2021
BLURB:
Hooking up with your friend is a totally acceptable way to pass the time until your soulmate shows up. Right?
I’m on a mission – happily ever after or bust. I just know my handsome, successful, bearded prince is out there waiting for me to find him. I’ve had my cards read a million times. This is my destiny. True, it’s been a challenge navigating the dating scene, but you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince.
So when my childhood bestie reappears after years apart, announcing his desire to reconnect, it’s a pleasant distraction to introduce him to my world and help him acclimate again. He’s not my type at all, but he’s fun enough to pass the time with. Burnt out from chasing yet another potential Mr. Right, I offer a friends with benefits deal. I could use a bit of fun.
If only Diego had some of the qualities I’m looking for in a mate. Just because he’s funny, sweet, charming, and incredibly good at — um, anyway, he’s just not the one. He couldn’t be. The cards wouldn’t steer me wrong.
But the longer we do this, the more I wonder, are we just blowing off steam or are we chasing fate?
Chasing Fate is a fun and steamy friends to lovers story featuring a devout believer in bearded princes, pining, sexual awakening, friends with benefits, and finding out maybe destiny doesn’t always work out the way you think it will. It is book two in the Friendship and Desire series featuring men finding out that maybe they were always more than friends.
Summer Kisses (Kiss Me #2) by Charlie Novak
Reviewed by True
TITLE: Summer Kisses
SERIES: Kiss Me #2
AUTHOR: Charlie Novak
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 226 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 15, 2021
BLURB:
Two chefs. Two summers. One shot at a second chance.
Aaron’s Plan
Then:
1. Get a better job
2. Learn more skills
3. Get money for restaurant
4. Don’t fall in love with Josh
Now:
1. Finesse menu
2. Stop being angry at Josh
3. Swear less (Ben’s idea)
4. Stop wanting to kiss Josh
5. Get Michelin stars
6. Stop being in love with Josh
Josh’s Plan
Then:
1. Start new job
2. Try not to burn out
3. Don’t fall in love with Aaron
4. Seriously. Don’t. It will only end badly…
Now:
1. Survive the summer
2. Get a new job?
3. Don’t get involved with Aaron again
4. Don’t think about kissing him
5. Don’t think about his smile
6. Don’t think about how much you still love him
Summer Kisses is a 78,000-word contemporary MM romance featuring two chefs with a complicated history, clashing egos, cheese toasties, and two summers that will change everything. It is part of the Kiss Me series and can be read as a standalone.
Content Warning: This novel contains mentions of drug use and issues of alcohol abuse.
The Dating Experiment (Better With You #2) by Briar Prescott
Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: The Dating Experiment
SERIES: Better With You #2
AUTHOR: Briar Prescott
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 280 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 20, 2021
BLURB:
Jamie:
Three years ago, I sold my soul to the devil.
Also known as my boss. Same thing.
Here’s the deal. Connor Quinn is arrogant, impossible to please, cold as ice, and prone to find flaws in everything.
Since that fatal day three years ago, many a murder plan have been made and many a weapon considered.
Until…
I accidentally get to know him better, which is unfortunate, since it turns out that underneath Connor’s icy exterior, there’s a man shaped by past hurts and difficult life lessons.
Which means I’m in a bit of a pickle since it also turns out I might kind of like the bastard…
Connor:
For as long as I can remember, I’ve chased calm. I’m the exact opposite of an adrenaline junkie with my pursuit of peace and quiet.
My rules are simple. I don’t make terrible decisions. I don’t make mistakes. And I don’t do chaos.
Until Jamie.
He’s an anomaly. A glitch in the system. Unpredictable. Distracting. Confusing.
But now I’ve accidentally gotten to know him better, and it turns out he’s also warm. And funny. And interesting. And with him, the world gets just a tiny bit quieter.
And I fit just a tiny bit better.
Sleight of Hand (The Kings: Wild Cards #3) by Charlie Cochet
Reviewed by Jen B.
TITLE: Sleight of Hand
SERIES: The Kings: Wild Cards #3
AUTHOR: Charlie Cochet
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 208 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 6, 2021
BLURB:
Former Special Forces Green Beret, Sacha “Joker” Wilder, is well-versed on the subject of demolitions. As a silent partner of Four Kings Security, Joker spends his days working alongside his brothers-in-arms and his best boy, Chip—a bomb-sniffing Belgian Malinois with sass. Years of military and private security experience have prepared Joker for almost anything, except the explosive attraction between him and Giovanni Galanos.
When Gio returns from his travels abroad, everyone is charmed by the handsome billionaire philanthropist, but in Joker’s experience, anyone who’s too good to be true usually is. Gio is hiding something, but the more time Joker spends around Gio, the more his walls start crumbling, leaving him exposed and at risk of losing his heart, something he swore he would never do. Love is for suckers, and that’s not him.
For years Gio has dedicated his life to his charity work, helping people around the globe, but when things go horribly wrong during one particular trip, Gio decides it’s time to come home for good. The desire for family, and a certain ex-Green Beret with a chip on his shoulder, has Gio eager to restart his life Stateside. For all of Sacha’s blustering and griping, no one makes Gio feel safer. If only Sacha could see how right they are for each other.
Danger lurks in the shadows as someone sets their sights on Gio, and secrets are forced into the light. If Gio and Joker are to have any kind of future together, they’ll have to face difficult truths, because where love is concerned, it’ll take more than sleight of hand to make things work.
The Kings: Wild Cards series is a spin-off of the Four Kings Security series.
Kept Man (Firsts and Forever Stories #2) by Alexa Land
Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Kept Man
SERIES: First and Forever Stories #2
AUTHOR: Alexa Land
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: unknown
RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2021
BLURB:
Micah is a has-been rock star under house arrest, who’s managed to push away everyone he’s ever cared about.
Jasper is the sweet, beautiful escort Micah hires to share his home—and his bed—for the next six months.
The heat between them is undeniable. But can two very different men learn to trust and build something real, before the six months are up and life pulls them in opposite directions?
This low-angst, opposites attract gay romance is set in the world of Alexa Land’s Firsts and Forever Series, and it can be read as a stand-alone.
C is for Comfort (The Alphabet Desire #3) by Colette Davison
Reviewed by True
TITLE: C is for Comfort
SERIES: The Alphabet of Desire #3
AUTHOR: Colette Davison
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 1375 kB
RELEASE DATE: July 27, 2021
BLURB:
A single dad, a doctor, and a one-night-stand. Is there room in their lives and hearts for one another?
Corey
Stress is my middle name. I’m a single dad and a newly qualified teacher, so it’s hard to find time for myself. What I didn’t expect from an adult party is a man who allows me to relax fully. What starts as a hook-up becomes so much more, but is a ready made family a step too far for Spence?
Spence
Working crazy shifts at the hospital, I don’t have much time for romance. Meeting Corey, the beautiful boy who’s happy to call me Daddy, changes everything. Only it’s not just his heart I have to win over but his five-year-old daughter’s too. How hard can it be?
C is for Comfort the story of two men learning that life is about more than work and that cuddling can fix everything. It’s the third of three steamy, low angst novels, which follow each of the ABC triplets as they find love. You can read Archie and Blake’s stories in A is for Aftercare and B is for Beg.