Ramblings and some books

First of all, thank you, everyone, for following, especially my dear Aigoo whose blog is absolutely awesome! I can't believe I just started this blog and I've already begun to procrastinate. I'm such a lazy bum! You must excuse me, but I'm sure that you, book lovers out there, must understand how hard it is to find any willpower to do anything but read. It's what happened in my case too.

What books caught my eye? Oh, gosh, where to start from? Lets's see, the books I read last week:
- Paris A to Z by Marie Sexton
 - Left of center by Zathyn Priest
 - Blood moon and Hunter's Moon by MJ O'Shea
 - Static by L.A. Witt
Hmm... I feel like I've forgotten something ...

Books I read this week:
- Allergies by T.A. Chase
- By any other name by Tia Fielding
- The Oasis by A.J. Lewellyn
- Double Feature by Kerry Aislinn
- Boken by Kathleen Hayes

So, I'll start with the beginning.  WARNING: major subjectiveness, spoilers and a long, looooong post! try not to fall asleep, people (or, if you do, please be discreet about it)!

Paris A to Z

Blurb: 
Sequel to The Letter Z Zach Mitchell and his lover Angelo Green are headed to Paris (along with their Coda friends Matt and Jared) to attend Jon and Cole's wedding. Matt will have to face Jared's former lover, and Angelo will have to spend an entire week with Zach's ex-boyfriend. Between Matt's jealousy and Angelo's temper, Zach thinks they'll be lucky to get through the week without one of the grooms being punched. But Zach soon realizes he should worry less about Angelo and more about himself. Facing the bittersweet memories of his past and his own guilt over breaking Jon's heart is harder than expected, but Zach will have to find a way to leave his past behind if he's to have any hope of the future he wants with Angelo.

What I liked: 
- apart from being written by Marie Sexton? Well... That pretty much says it all! But, OK, for those who are newbies to the genre or haven't touched a book written by amazing Marie Sexton ( which, quite frankly, it's really hard to believe), I'll point out a few things that I most liked about this book:
- being a lover of this specific series, I loved the fact that all the characters were brought together in this book, emphasizing their unique personality traits and making me fall in love all over again with all of them. 
- the book felt pretty much like a closure, giving me quite a nostalgic feeling, but somehow this increased the atmosphere and deepened the connection between reader and characters; for me, it was definitely a plus.
- the emotions between the MCs are so real! Marie Sexton is a master at showing emotions as opposed to many authors who describe them rather then showing them. She really makes you feel whatever happens between the two lovers and makes you feel part f the story rather than simply a "third wheel".
- and last, but not least ( actually maybe the best part) : the ending. the ending was absolutely Perfect!


What I didn't like:
- did I mention she's one of the best MM authors ever? Not one single thing. Paris A to Z is flawless!

Left of Center


Blurb:
When self-confessed player Brand Faulkner arranges to meet three different Goth guys over the course of one weekend, he isn’t expecting to meet someone like ‘Enigma’. Enigma isn’t like anyone Brandon’s met before. He’s unpredictable, volatile and… well, downright weird! To make matters worse, the gorgeous Enigma isn’t at all impressed with Brandon and is unafraid to crush the man’s ego at every opportunity. For the first time in his life, Brandon has to work hard to win the guy. Will Brandon agree to Enigma’s left of center, bizarre requests, or is the player about to get played?

What I liked:
- there is so much more to the plot than what the blurb reveals; this read is full of surprises and the plot is absolutely awesome!
- Zathyn Priest's unmistakable sense of humor!
- adorable characters and crazy situations.   


What I didn't like:
- I'd like to say nothing, but the cover could have been better. Boots make me think of BDSM ,which, hey, probably fits the MC's sadistic personality, but still, it's may turn off possible buyers and it would be an absolute pity because THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!

Blood Moon


Blurb:

There’s something different about Noah….Zack Parker met his best friend Noah at his lake cabin when they were only five years old. He realized he felt more than friendship for him by the time they were in junior high school. One fateful night when they were eighteen Zack couldn’t take it anymore. Fueled by love and lust and need, he finally kissed Noah like he’d wanted to for years…and Noah kissed him back, returning every drop of Zack’s passion.The next morning, Noah ended their friendship for what Zack believed was forever.Now twenty-one, Zack resents being dragged by his guilt-tripping mother every summer back to the lake cabin where every leaf and rock and turn in the road reminds him of Noah and the love he felt for him three long years before. He hates being reminded of what he lost and more than anything he wants his best friend back.But this year things are different.Noah has returned, apologetic and more gorgeous than ever. Amazingly, he seems to want Zack as much as Zack wants him. He’s sweet and attentive, sexy enough to make Zack’s thighs quiver, but there’s something not quite right…What secret is Noah hiding?

What I liked:
- the contemporary urban setting.
- the author's style (pretty romantic and dreamy - I don't really know how to describe a style, but it's what the book made me feel like).


What I didn't like:
- didn't really fall in love with the MCs.
- the plot felt a bit weak; it felt like the plot was there just as an excuse to get the MCs together as opposed to bringing them together naturally.

Hunter's Moon


Blurb:
Miles craves adventure. Freedom from his monotonous routine; but he's started to believe that perhaps adventure isn’t in his stars—until a late night encounter makes him wonder if the creatures he creates in his stories could possibly be real.

PC is a wolf. A lycan since birth, he’s spent the first twenty-four years of his life trying to be the exact opposite of what everyone expects of him. He hunts supernatural troublemakers, hangs out with vampires, and refuses to settle down—even if his respectable parents and the stuffy lycan council want him to. One confusing night, his body responds, turning into his wolf form and hurling him into the darkness to save a stranger.

Pulled together by a physical force stronger than either can resist, PC and Miles must learn to live with each other because separation, even for just minutes, means extreme pain. Miles finds himself falling for the unpredictable lycan, his strange friends, and their nightly adventures but his reluctant lover is determined to find a way to break the bond between them.

Together, they are drawn into a mystery involving werewolves, the lycan council, bad vampires and a whole lot of dead humans. Finding the truth at the bottom of it might just be the hunt of PC's life--especially if he wants to keep Miles alive.

What I liked:
- the author definitely got me with this book; it was so much better constructed, the plot was more solid and that great urban mixed with paranormal background made me really fall in love with the book.
- the emotions felt real and the  sex scenes... oh, Lord! I really felt those butterflies that only great connection between characters and readers can create.
- great, adorable three-dimensional characters!


What I didn't like:
- I didn't really like the whole bonding/ mating thing. It gets on my nerves really, but somehow MJ O'Shea made it work out so it wasn't as annoying as in other shifter books. 




Static


Blurb:
Damon Bryce is worried sick when he doesn’t hear from his girlfriend after she visits her estranged parents, but when he checks up on her, he’s in for the shock of his life: She’s a shifter, part of a small percentage of the population who can shift genders at will. Thanks to her parents, though, she’s been forcibly given an implant that leaves her static—unable to shift—and male.

Alex Nichols desperately wants the implant removed, but getting it out isn’t nearly as easy as putting it in. The surgery is expensive and dangerous. Left in, the implant carries its own set of risks, with the potential to cripple or even kill him. On top of that, he’s carefully kept his identity a secret from more people in his life than just Damon, and his parents aren’t the only ones appalled by shifters.

Stripped of half his identity and facing serious physical effects and social ramifications, Alex needs Damon more than ever, but he doesn’t see how their relationship can get through this unscathed.

Especially if Alex is a static male permanently.


 What I liked:
- the idea of this book is extremely interesting - a world where there are static people and people who can shift from one gender to another. This totally caught my attention.
- the emotional roller coaster the MCs have to face is described in a great way. The story's pace is slow and concentrates on the characters' feelings, which is something that other readers hated, but I found suitable for this kind of plot.


What I didn't like:
- I didn't really feel a strong connection between the two MCs until the end of the story. It only got interesting in the last couple of chapters - a pity really because I believe this author has a great talent at writing love/ sex scene.
- the whole asking advice from friends scene got boring after it got repeated 3 or 4 times in row (for God's sake! make him check the net the second time or ask his mother or something [in Damon's case]...)



To be continued...