AimeeKim

Holy crap, that was HOT!! >__< Damn!

A simple but lovely and heartwrenching story.
And oh gosh, good thing I read the chapter notes beforehand or else I would be gutted and ragey for reading this. Onto the next one.

Five freakin stars!!
Okay, maybe a little enthusiastic, more like 4.5 stars rounded up but I enjoyed the heck out of this one! Intriguing and creepy plot, well-rounded characters, plus sexual tension which definitely delivered like OMG guys...!! >.< Sorry this isn't really coherent but this was a pick-me-up I needed in the midst of college stress and this was just pure pleasure to read and immerse myself in for a couple hours. And at such a bargain price, all the more reason I LOVED this. Where is the sequel?!! >__<

Done. Wow, I stayed up until 3am to finish this. I have class in 4 hours!!

I'm tired, I'll write something later, but I loved this very much.

***
4.5 stars~
M/M shifter books generally disappoint me. Either they're too short, badly written, or too focused on sex. Don't get me started on the whole 'Mine' thing.
The only shifter book I could stand to reread was Blacque/Bleu.

But Winter Wolf blew me away! :D
It's completely unique in tone and story than most, if any, typical MM shifter books I've come across. You'd think the story would be boring considering the closed setting-the whole story takes place in the wilds where Axton lives as a recluse. But no, the isolated setting as well as the beautiful descriptions was what helped pull me into the story. I was 100% completely absorbed from start to finish.

This is the perfect example of a very slow burn romance. There's no sex until after the 80% mark and trust me-it was so worth it.
I fell in love with Axton in all his endearing skittishness and the glimpses of the sad truth behind his isolation. And I loved how his submissiveness was dealt with more subtlety and didn't became an overwhelming or defining characteristic compared to those other shifter books...
It's not all slow-going though, things build up to a crescendo and there was a moment when I was struck completely shocked and horrified at what one of the MCs does.

Quite honestly, this has to be my favorite m/m shifter book up to date and I just cannot wait for any sequels to come! If you like shifter books at all, you just can't miss out on this!
***
9/2/13
Re-read in preparation for book 2!!

Not as amazing as the first book, plus I put this down for several weeks because I got really bored in the beginning. However, still a first rate MM fantasy series and now am eager to finish the 3rd book so I can read the epilogue that comes after it, which I hear finally delivers on the smexy times x)

Suffering from withdrawals already.

I might find time for a fuller review later, but solid 4 stars for now, mainly for the second half when it starts picking up. I will say that this might've been 5 stars if Lisa had just disappeared for the entirety of this book. :|

Prequel to [b:Clown'd|17622466|Clown'd (XXX'd, #1)|K.A. Merikan|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1363562011s/17622466.jpg|24590287], which I verrry much enjoyed. I actually liked this a little less, but this was still a treat, seeing how they first met. And of course, K.A. Merikan delivers on the raunchiness. ;o So take heed of the warning tags. Wouldn't mind seeing more of these two's naughty adventures.
3.5 rounded up~

Prequel to [b:Clown'd|17622466|Clown'd (XXX'd, #1)|K.A. Merikan|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1363562011s/17622466.jpg|24590287], which I verrry much enjoyed. I actually liked this a little less, but this was still a treat, seeing how they first met. And of course, K.A. Merikan delivers on the raunchiness. ;o So take heed of the warning tags. Wouldn't mind seeing more of these two's naughty adventures.
3.5 rounded up~

I like the new cover for the edition I have much better than the two headless torsos. Doesn't really match the tone of the story. :S
Anyways, another great Lanyon, one of his stronger ones-I actually didn't mind the shorter length since I wanted a quick read. I swear I will never get tired of his character dynamics no matter how similar they all are.

Just a slightly random side note: I couldn't stop feeling a bit irked when I stumbled across someone's review deciding to write off the entire MM genre and you see that they've only tried 4-5 of those really cheap/free erotica shorts with the really cheesy covers or titles. I mean, I can find tons of weird porny stories for MF too (tree-man sex...o.o) but -obviously- I know those stories aren't meant to be taken seriously or as a representation of the entire genre. There are some really amazing writers (especially for YA!) and just like for MF romances, you need to try to look for them....It just...grrr. >:| Didn't mean for this to turn into a mini rant. But that incident is what made me have an urge to console myself with some Lanyon stories I've been saving.

Not worth the hype, average and uninspiring characters (I still don't know what Four looks like at all). No new surprises in the plot. I wasn't impressed by the whole "brainwashing a zombie army of soldiers" to do your evil bidding concept, not something I haven't seen before. At least it allowed some action to finally occur though. The MC seems to be a knock off of Katniss. Still, it was mindless and entertaining enough for a few hours, so 2.7 rounded up. Stick with the Hunger Games.

Isn't this supposed to come out today? :(

Whoa, I am digging the new cover. :O But...February 2014??

Mixed feelings. The first quarter of this was absolutely amazing. But once we switched to C.J.'s POV so many little niggles began popping up and I didn't know what to think anymore. Why was C.J. the one having to go through and watch the videos when he was just some techie? Other issues: 1) The repeated ominous warnings from C.J.'s friends and family about not getting too close to Anderson before he suffers an inevitable breakdown from his experiences became very annoying. If that was supposed to be foreshadowing, very poor foreshadowing it was because it just made these characters come off as intrusive. 2) C.J.'s inappropriate dreams about Alpha and well, the weak character of C.J. himself. 3) The not so believable epic romance between C.J. and Anderson as well as Anderson's changes in personality. I really liked Anderson but as the story went on I didn't feel like I knew him anymore...and I never believed in the all consuming love that C.J. and Anderson had for each other. I think this was a really original idea with a really great beginning but the rest of the story fell apart for me. Ultimately, I feel a little disappointed but I also remember how emotionally invested I became in Anderson and his fellow holograms. Amy Lane is a brilliant writer and despite the problems I ended up having with this, I still recommend any fans of Amy Lane or sci-fi to not miss out on this experience and give it a try.

Don't ask me why I read this. I mean, there's pregnant -male- bunnies. But. Bunny shifters are so cuteee *_* Their twitchy little noses....I actually got lost in youtube videos of bunnies in the middle of reading this. Anyways, I'd like to give this 4 stars because of the cute concept of a bunny with a dragon shifter, but the execution was more like 2 stars. It didn't feel very edited. Writing felt amateur-ish. But it was mostly enjoyable, mindless fluff. So 3 stars.

Grr, so close to 5 stars...:S

Anyways, this was an enthralling read, not your typical vampire story. These vampires are actually scary for once, specifically Sebastian. Expect some torture scenes, where the author is not afraid to shy away from details. For me, I like the horror. Bring on the blood and guts :D Only in books though.

What I enjoyed the most was Ban and Nicholas. This isn't a spoiler if you read the whole blurb, but just in case, I always love reading about the whole soulmates and reincarnation trope so that's why I loved unraveling the backstories of Ban and Serafino. I also really liked Martha and it is so rare for me to like any female character portrayed in MM stories (or MF stories too, come to think of it, since I left that genre). HOWEVER, that is also why the ending brought this down to 4 stars for me even though I realllly wanted to give it 5. I liked that she viewed herself as asexual for the entire book so I didn't like learning how Ban and Martha decided to have children, even if it took them 30 years to reach that decision and they did it only for the sake of continuing their bloodline. Maybe if it was someone else besides Martha it wouldn't have bothered me. It really just bugged me :/ BUT that was really my only niggle for the entire story and besides that one aspect, I really loved the rest of the ending finally seeing Ban's reunion with the reincarnated Nicholas after so many years . I wasn't ready for it to end!

So, an entertaining and hugely enjoyable read for me, one I would recommend giving a try if you're in the mood for some vampires. :[

Just jotting down some thoughts: This book took me by surprise with how involved I got. Reminiscent to [b:Kushiel's Dart|153008|Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Trilogy, #1)|Jacqueline Carey|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328168291s/153008.jpg|2990010] in some ways, which is my all time favorite MF epic fantasy trilogy. I bought this book on a whim, the cover was eye-catching (sucker for tattoos) and I only briefly skimmed the blurb. But I thought $2.51 for a full length novel was a damn good bargain so I didn't see the harm in buying.

I have to say I really loved the concept in this story, a world where certain people are selected by highly valued tattoo artists to become their work of arts, becoming one of the "adorned" who nobles pay to put them on display at lavish parties. This book is all about Etan's journey, as he transforms from the suddenly orphaned and desperate 19 year old country boy he is at the beginning of the book. He is a vastly changed man at the end. A great part of this is due to the slow burning romance between him and his master Tallisk. The romance is not the main focus for half of the story and while I did root for them to be together, I wasn't totally sold on the fact that they were "in love". We don't really get to see them get to -know- each other, it seemed mostly like obsession with his artwork on Tallisk's part especially considering the fact that he fell in love with his last Adorned dude and gratitude and youthful infatuation on Etan's part. I also could have used a lot more explanation on the history of this world (the different races, why the last war happened, where the Blooded came from). BUT. I easily overlooked these factors because I was very much enjoying the rest of the story. And without giving away anything, by the end after what they each went through...I was rooting hard for both of them together. I got more than a little teary-eyed. So I became sold on their romance eventually.

A lot happens to Etan in one year so there is lots that helped keep my interest throughout, with the escalating tensions among the relationships and in the city as Etan navigates his way through the center of society he finds himself landing in, political schemes, the intricate tattoo descriptions, romance. Simply put, this book was a pleasure to read from start to finish and I was panicking when I was getting so close to the end. Recommended to go ahead and get this if you're curious and in the mood for light fantasy, plus it's definitely worth more than the price. :)

~4.5 stars~