Title: Bounty of Love
Series: Love Series
Author: Scotty Cade
Genre: GLBT Contemporary
Length: Novel
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (August 21, 2011)
ISBN: 978-1613720950
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Artemis
From the Publisher: The night before his wedding, Zander Walsh, his parents, and his husband-to-be are all shot when they return home and interrupt a mysterious robbery in progress. After three weeks in a coma, Zander wakes up to find out he is the only survivor, and his perfect life falls apart in an instant.
Hunky FBI Agent Jake Elliot is investigating the case, and he eventually apprehends the killer—who soon escapes. Following six months of searching, Zander and Jake realize they’re being stonewalled by the FBI… and that they have slowly formed an unbreakable bond that is beginning to turn into much more.
Once they embark on a journey to apprehend the killer for the second time, they’ll discover that one terrible night was much more than just an interrupted robbery. Can big business and politics cover up the truth, or will Zander and Jake’s quest to unravel the mystery be the end of their newfound love and their lives?
About the Author: Scotty Cade left Corporate America and twenty-five years of marketing and public relations behind to buy an inn & restaurant on the island of Martha’s Vineyard with his partner of fourteen years.
He started writing stories as soon as he could read, but only recently for publication. When not at the inn, you can find him on the bow of his boat writing male/male romance novels with his Shetland sheepdog Mavis at his side. Being from the South and a lover of commitment and fidelity, most of his characters find their way to long, healthy relationships, however long it takes them to get there. He believes that in the end, the boy should always get the boy.
Scotty and his partner are avid boaters and live aboard their boat, spending the summers on Martha’s Vineyard and winters in Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA.
My Review: I knew, just from the publisher’s brief summary of the story, that Zander’s fiancé and parents were going to die…I just didn’t realize that I would come to love them so much in the first chapter before that fatal event. Honestly, by page 20 I was crying and wanted to throttle the author for introducing such wonderful characters only to have them die so early in the story! However, all was eventually forgiven once Jake was introduced and I started getting into the actual story!
FBI Agent Jake Elliot is in charge of investigating the murders of Zander’s fiancé and parents. At the beginning, he just does what his superiors tell him to do but certain things start to raise some internal alarm bells and he joins forces with Zander to uncover the REAL truth. That truth involves politics, cover ups and betrayal! Eventually, the mystery will send to the Alaskan wilderness in search of their prime suspect.
Now, there is certainly a lot of plot in this story but not too much actual mystery. Not to give away any spoilers here but you sort of know who the bad guy(s) are the whole time (or at least suspect….). The real story is following along as Jake and Zander figure it out for themselves.
The author did a really good job of allowing Zander to grieve his fiancé’s death before introducing Jake as a romantic interest. The development of their relationship was very realistic, very romantic, and at the end very hot. Most of the time the writing was very smooth and overall all the conversations and interactions seems fairly natural. There are a couple of ‘otherworldly’ events involving ghosts and omens and such that I could have done without but I am not a fan of paranormal romances so maybe that is just my own personal prejudice!
Bounty of Love is part of a series by this author. The other 2 books (Wings of Love and Treasure of Love) take place AFTER this one. While a few of the characters are the same, they are all stand alone books.
Overall, a pretty good book…pros would be that it really touches the emotions and the characters are well-developed. Cons for me are probably the fact that the bad guys are not kept a mystery to the reader and the bits of paranormal sequences in the story line. Great romance, steamy and well placed sex scenes, and a pretty nice read!