Several Authors - Kegs and Dorms anthology

The best time of a young man's life is when he hits the college scene. From figuring out the best way to meet guys on campus to testing untried limits, the men of Kegs and Dorms take university life and turn it upside-down. In Kiernan Kelly's "Secui Domus", clever Aidan thinks he has a solution for solving campus housing problems, and all he needs is a little help from his friends -- including the delicious Bobby Hatcher, who might just carry a torch for Aidan.
Stephanie Vaughan's "Another Believer" takes a look at the train ride of a lifetime in which two college-bound strangers find they have a chemistry that can't be denied. Tory Temple's "What It's All About", a rip-roaring adventure through Rush Week, tells the story of Max, who's out, proud, and confused. Last but not least, Jane Davitt's "Reading Between the Lines" tells the story of Seth and Gabe, the odd-couple-from-hell roommates who are either going to kill each other or fall in love, and it's anybody's guess as to which'll come first.

Comment: The last m/m book of the challenge and, obviously, of the year.
I decided to pick an anthology because it's different enough from a common book that would be a better "surprise" and because, well, I hadn't read any this year.
I chose Kegs and Dorms, edited by Jennifer B. because I had it in my TBR list for a long time and to be honest I'd rather go through something I had in waiting than to spend money in something more appropriate like with the christmas theme.
So, the only valid reason is the fact I had it already.
This anthology has 4 stories, all about the world of students, each one with a different aproach. Of them all, none was wow, but one of them I liked a bit more, and I read it faster too, because it was more interesting, I guess.
I've had read things by three of the authors and curiously enough, the one I preferred is by the one I didn't know, funny this.

So, in a few lines, here are the stories and my comment:

"Secui Domus" by Kiernan Kelly
This is the first story and it's very original. When the dorm where the characters used to be has problemas they are on their own, so Aiden has the idea of doing a strip show to finance a new place. With this comes the issue of the dean, who isn't very happy with Aiden's idea. The thing is, the dean used to have a relationship with the owner that has his gay bar near campus. hen there's the issua of finding people to participate in the strip...
The storyline is original yes, but I didn't find the end that interesting, it was predictable because of the way things went, although the author has points for putting on the redemption line in there. It was a nice story but it's not wow and to me it didn't really made an impression.

"Another Believer" by Stephanie Vaughn
In this one we meet two young students who start talking in a train. After some misunderstandings they see they have a lot in common and decide to finish the trip together.
I liked this one, the chemestry was obvious and I was very curious to know more about them and their personalities. I think it ends with a certain sense of hope because sometimes even what is unexpected can be good.

"Reading between the Lines" by Jane Davitt
My favourite of the lot and the only one by an unknown author to me.
I like the theme of hate turning to love and when they realize they're roomates, Seth and Gabe don't get along that much. But Seth is very curious about Gabe and the fact he seems to be hooking up with some of Seth's exs.
When they're together spaks fly and I liked to see them taking their relationship to the next level. Sometimes Gabe didn't look very approachable and I confess it made me a bit annoyed with him, but in the end his reasons made sense and I was happy to see him with Seth.

"What It's All About" by Tory Temple
This story is about Max, a young student who's gay and out but he hasn't met someone that makes his head spin, until Devin. However, Devin isn't very reliable and seems to be playing around a lot. Still, they hook up sometimes but there's never any serious conversation of what they're doing, which makes Max very confused.
I enjoyed the story but everytime things were looking up, Devin would act strangely, not showing up for dates, making excuses, even saying to Max college isn't about dating seriously.
I found exhausting this cat and mouse game and what saved this story for me was Max's standup at the end, when he tells Devin waht he really feels and goes away.
Of course I predicted Devin would come to him and try a relationship, but the best part of really Max telling him he was tired of being with him and then nothing.
It wasn't the one I preferred but it has some issues that left me thinking.

All in all, a good anthology. I'm aware I don't read that many and I could be missing some interesting things out there...I'll try to read more next year.
This one I read relatively fast and it had an appealing theme, so I recommend it.
And this is the conclusion of my participation in the challenge...I'll post soon the main ideas about this experience.

Tory Temple - Keeping Karma

Alexander Myers and his twin sister Tabitha were born with the incredible ability to "hear" the thoughts of animals. Alex has managed to keep this a secret and has actually used it to his advantage for his job, working in an emergency animal care clinic and volunteering at the animal shelter. But when he meets Dylan Travers, a local animal control officer, it becomes harder and harder to keep his own secret. At the same time, he's worried about how Dylan will react if Alex shares his ability. What will happen when Dylan finally discovers what Alex can do?

Comment: Sweet. This is the adjective I use to describe in one word this novel by Tory Temple.

This wasn't the first book by the author that I've read so I was familiar to the writting style, but I was surprised to see such a sweet story.

Alex is a guy who understands what the animals are thinking. For a moment I thought what a cool power to have, but yes the headaches part isn't so funny. Still, Alex has managed to live pretty well and is, obviously, studying to work with animals. Dylan is somehow of a mystery. The reader doesn't get to know him that well, especially because everything happens from Alex's POV, even tough the book isn't in the 1st person. Dylan also works with animals, in a way, so, professionally, they match. Plus there's attraction between them which helps. I liked some scenes, like the breakfast one and all the scenes with Alex's pets. I have a cat, I wish sometimes I knew what he is thinking. Made me giggle, yes they did.

There's just two things that could've make this story better: first, more story! It's way too short, plus with this plot I'm sure more conflict would appear besides Alex's fear of telling Dylan about his power. Second, as the story is on the short side, perhaps a bit less sex scenes - not that those weren't hot and interetsing *grins* - but in the end there isn't a perfect balance between the sex scenes and the rest, which gives a rushed feeling to some point. However, this isn't that clear, perhaps it's more of a personal issue than something wrong with the book itself.

My favourite part of the story is the dialogue. I like it a lot, it's funny, believable, Alex is cute because he blushes after some innuendo talk and I can actually imagine him doing it.

Both Alex and Dylan have character. We don't see Dylan's POV as I've said, but we know he is a trustworthy person, as is Alex, through their actions. Not everyhting has to be said and the reader can see things the way one wants. I lked that, the suggestion without prejudice in the words.

I enjoyed the book a lot. Their relationship developps fast but smoothly, it doesn't seem stressful or anything.

All in all, a great read.

I think it was a good way to start the challenge.