Book of the Month Poll September 2021
IT IS THAT TIME AGAIN! Welcome to our Book of the Month Poll for September 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…
Dearest Milton James by N.R. Walker
Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Dearest Milton James
AUTHOR: N.R. Walker
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 193 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 24, 2021
BLURB:
Malachi Keogh finds himself in a job he neither wanted nor asked for when his father, boss of Sydney’s postal service, sends him to the end of the business line, aka The Dead Letter Office. Malachi expects tedious and boring but instead discovers a warehouse with a quirky bunch of misfit co-workers, including a stoic and nerdy boss, Julian Pollard.
Malachi’s intrigued by Julian at first, and he soon learns there’s more to the man than his boring clothes of beige, tan, and brown; a far cry from Malachi’s hot pink, lilac, and electric blue. Where Julian is calm and ordered, Malachi is chaos personified, but despite their outward differences, there’s an immediate chemistry between them that sends Malachi’s head—and heart—into a spin.
To keep his father happy, Malachi needs to keep this job. He also needs to solve the mystery of the pile of old letters that sits in Julian’s office and maybe get to the bottom of what makes Julian tick. Like everything that goes through the mail centre, only time will tell if Malachi has found his intended destination or if he’ll find himself returned to sender.
Hijacked (Licking Thicket: Horn of Glory #1) by Lucy Lennox and May Archer
Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Hijacked
SERIES: Licking Thicket: Horn of Glory #1
AUTHOR: Lucy Lennox and May Archer
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 242 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 2, 2021
BLURB:
Renowned cardiologist Carter Rogers is used to having things under control. His life, his prestigious reputation, his career, his future.
Things he can’t control this time around:
• His meddling grandfather
• His annoying gamer cousin
• Buggy South American jungles
• Being the meat in a feuding cartel sandwich
• Getting kidnapped by a monologuing drug lord
•Falling for his very hot, very mouthy ex-Special Forces bodyguard
In short, Carter’s peaceful, well-planned life has been… hijacked.
Firefly Lane (Briar County #1) by Riley Hart
Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Firefly Lane
SERIES: Briar County #1
AUTHOR: Riley Hart
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 269 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 7, 2021
BLURB:
At forty-three, Holden Barnett is getting along just fine. His job as a pilot keeps him from getting restless, and he’s got a man who doesn’t want promises for the future. One phone call from his estranged sister changes everything. She needs his help, so Holden drops everything and heads to Harmony, a small town in Briar County, which represents everything he’s tried to avoid in life.
Monroe Covington is forty-five and happy. He loves his life—running his store, helping at his family’s farm, and spending his days with his best friend, Lindsey, and their son, Wyatt. Sure, half the town likes to forget he’s gay, and he’d love for the queer population to be bigger, but Roe makes do. He misses dating, relationships, and a man to hold at night, but at least he gets new eye candy when Holden, the brother of the woman who’s renting his cabin, shows up.
The attraction is instant, the friendship not far behind, but between Holden’s initial relationship status, family complications, and the two of them wanting different things, they’re a disaster waiting to happen…only it doesn’t feel that way, not with how much time they spend talking, laughing, and eventually, tumbling into bed, a field, or the back of a truck together. The closer they get, the more Holden realizes that just being fine isn’t enough, and Roe begins to see that his life isn’t as complete as he thought. Now, if they could only sort out the rest of it…
Tourist Attraction (Destination Daddies) by Luna David and Honey London
Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Tourist Attraction
SERIES: Destination Daddies
AUTHORS: Luna David and Honey London
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 166 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 26, 2021
BLURB:
When an ER doctor rescues an accident-prone boy on a tropical island getaway, is it true love or just a tourist attraction?
Gavin doesn’t do relationships. Sure, he’s a Daddy, but he’s married to his job. So a kinky vacation to Turks and Caicos, where he can find a boy-of-the-week, is exactly what he needs to temporarily sate his Daddy desires. What he doesn’t need is to find an awkward and brilliant boy in the Miami airport who makes him question everything before his vacation has even begun.
Ollie needs a Daddy… and a doctor as well. He inadvertently injures himself on a daily basis so when he literally stumbles into Gavin, it seems like a match made in heaven. Ollie regularly relies on his trusty first aid kit, but when he learns Gavin isn’t looking for something serious, Ollie realizes he can’t put a bandage on a broken heart.
Will Gavin be able to make room in his life for the perfectly imperfect Ollie after they return to Miami, or will a week of playing doctor become nothing more than a fond memory?
Goodnight (Rebel Sky Ranch #1) by Kelly Fox
Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Goodnight
SERIES: Rebel Sky Ranch #1
AUTHOR: Kelly Fox
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 233 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2021
BLURB:
Trip:
I was born and raised on Rebel Sky Ranch. In the long, terrible year since my mother’s death, meeting Sam is the one bright spot. He reminds me of the horses we rescue. Scarred, skittish, and…strong. Beautiful.
He’s a bit of a hat-stealer, and, truth be told, I’m a little leery of his chosen profession. The things he does in front of a camera… Well, it makes me blush just thinkin’ about it. But if that scar on his face is any indication, he could use somebody at his back. I aim to be that person.
And yeah, some of my parts get confused by the fact that he’s all delicate and sparkly, but that’s not important. Even if the good hand lotion has somehow made it into the tack room.
I just hope he knows that he’ll always be safe with me.
Sam:
I’m a cam boy who officially identifies as Wrangler-sexual. It’s entirely the fault of Trip Goodnight, the strapping cowboy at the ranch next door. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to be the father of my two-point-five children.
We’re an unlikely pairing, what with him being straight and me being a gay sex worker, but those, darling, are mere details. When he saves me from a literal nest of rattlesnakes, it’s nothing if not true love. I’m aiming for a spring wedding.
While it’s true that I haven’t been able to let a man touch me since I was attacked last year, and there’s no telling what my father might do if he manages to find me, I’m not letting any of that stop me.
In fact, I’ve stolen Trip’s cowboy hat and used it in one of my videos, so I’m already well on my way to making him mine. Besides, he’s the first man outside of my found family who’s made me feel safe. Protected.
That’s gotta count for something…right?
Bisexual awakening, hurt-comfort, size difference, friends to lovers
Sparrow (Rebel Sky Ranch #2) by Kelly Fox
Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Sparrow
SERIES: Rebel Sky Ranch #2
AUTHOR: Kelly Fox
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 2xx pages
RELEASE DATE: September 15, 2021
BLURB:
I like horses better than most people. After years of supporting our local equine rescue, it’s safe to say that I have a certified hate-on for the rodeo. So why is Luke McCall, injured rodeo diva, in my training paddock?
I feel bad that he was outed by the media, and I get the need to regroup out of the spotlight. I might even be willing to admit that he’s a little more vulnerable than his Rodeo King persona would suggest.
But, seriously—why does he have to recover in my bunkhouse?
I thought volunteering at a queer-friendly horse ranch was a stroke of brilliance—I’d get to hang out with horses while rebuilding strength and mobility after my injury. Win-win, right? Wrong.
Rebel Sky’s gorgeous foreman hates my guts on sight, even if he is willing to protect me from the bigots who just want a shot at the fallen cowboy.
What would it take to get him to see that I’m a good man with a soft heart and a helpful little rope kink?
Enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, hurt-comfort, rope play.
Drilled (Four Bears Construction #7) by K.M. Neuhold
Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Drilled
SERIES: Four Bears Construction #7
AUTHOR: K.M. Neuhold
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 183 Pages
RELEASE DATE: September 3, 2021
BLURB:
A month in a remote cabin with the last man I ever expected to see again? I can’t decide if I should punch him or drill him. it might end up being both.
After more than a decade, the last person I expected to see walk into the Four Bears Construction offices as a new hire was Ridge.
He was my first crush, and my first heartbreak when he started dating my sister. When he left her at the altar without so much as a note, I wrote him off for good.
No amount of excuses and explanations can erase what he did. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. But when we end up being sent to a remote campground alone to spend a month rebuilding the cabins, it’s too easy to remember why I fell for him in the first place.
I know the guys are all taking bets on how long it takes us to start playing with each other’s tools.
It’s going to be a long month.
On Board (Painted Bay #2) by Jay Hogan
Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: On Board
SERIES: Painted Bay #2
AUTHOR: Jay Hogan
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 370 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 23, 2021
BLURB:
Leroy Madden is in trouble. Big, handsome, Fox Carmody trouble.
Leroy has buried his attraction to the enigmatic fisherman in irritation and pointless bickering, keeping Fox at a safe distance. But with the troublesome man now living in Leroy’s house, it’s becoming impossible for Leroy to keep his true feelings hidden, or the fact that Leroy maybe isn’t so straight, after all.
Leroy hungers for something different between them. He wants more. But Leroy’s business is struggling, his newly mended relationship with his brother is at risk, Fox doesn’t plan to stay, and their mothers are lovers.
Regardless of what Leroy’s heart so desperately wants, his entire world is at stake, and nothing about a relationship with Fox Carmody was ever going to be easy.
Madison Square Murders (Memento Mori #1) by C.S. Poe
Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Madison Square Murders
SERIES: Memento Mori
AUTHOR: C.S. Poe
PUBLISHER: Emporium Press
LENGTH: 299 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 28, 2021
BLURB:
Everett Larkin works for the Cold Case Squad: an elite—if understaffed and overworked—group of detectives who solve the forgotten deaths of New York City. Larkin is different from others, but his deduction skills are unmatched and his memory for minute details is unparalleled.
So when a spring thunderstorm uproots a tree in Madison Square Park, unearthing a crate with human remains inside, the best Cold Case detective is assigned the job. And when a death mask, like those prominent during the Victorian era, is found with the body, Larkin requests assistance from the Forensic Artists Unit and receives it in the form of Detective Ira Doyle, his polar opposite in every way.
Factual reasoning and facial reconstruction puts Larkin and Doyle on a trail of old homicide cases and a murderer obsessed with casting his victims’ likeness in death. Include some unapologetic flirting from Doyle, and this case just may end up killing Everett Larkin.
A Veiled & Hallowed Eve (Soulbound #7) by Hailey Turner
Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: A Veiled & Hallowed Eve
SERIES: Soulbound #7
AUTHOR: Hailey Turner
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 485 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 1, 2021
BLURB:
Death is the last lover you will ever know.
SOA Special Agent Patrick Collins has lived a life full of lies, and it has finally caught up with him. There’s no denying his past any longer, not after giving up the truth to save himself from a murder charge. But truth alone can’t set Patrick free, and time is running out to stop the Dominion Sect from turning his father into a god.
Jonothon de Vere knows survival isn’t a guarantee, but he’s desperate to keep Patrick safe, even as hope slips through his fingers. With the future unknown, Jono will follow Patrick wherever he goes, even to Salem, where a family reunion reveals a bitter secret that was never going to stay buried.
With New York City under control of their god pack, Patrick and Jono must fall back on every alliance they’ve brokered to fill the front lines of a war coming directly to the city streets. The veil is always thinnest on Samhain, and what awaits them on the other side is the stuff of nightmares. For when it tears, all hell will break loose, and the gods will be summoned to face a reckoning the world isn’t ready for.
The stakes have never been higher, failure has never been so deadly, and the Fates have never been kind to heroes. Patrick knows that better than anyone—because everything has a price, every debt always comes due, and it’s finally time for Patrick to pay his.