There's a new girl in town! And lemme tell you, she can come party at my pad any day. Z.A. Maxfield recently had her first release, Crossing Borders, with Loose Id which you can buy here.

Here's the blurbage:

Tristan's got issues; he knows he does. So when his most recent girlfriend dumps him via messenger, and he can't stop staring at the messenger's cock while he's breaking the news, Tristan figures it's about time he makes some changes. He formulates a foolproof plan to get himself someone who can show him what he's been missing -- until who should crash his little adventure but Officer Michael Truax, the man who gave him a really expensive ticket for boarding without a helmet back when he was in high school.

Michael has been trying to catch Tristan for years...to give him a second ticket. Suddenly he's faced with his 'Sparky', all grown up -- and looking to get laid. The habit of protecting him isn't gone completely, but the opportunity is too much to resist. He figures the kid must know what he's getting into, so he takes him home. There, they carry on a cautious dance, only to find out that neither is what the other expected, and that together, they're hot enough to melt glass.

Melt glass, indeed. I wish I could say I read this all in one sitting, but I didn't 'cause it is loooooong. Which just gets a woooooot, because I hate it when I'm reading along and just lovin' the story and oops, I look up and there's only ten pages left. This clocked in at over 200 pages so I settled in and just let myself be entertained.

And boy was I! Can I get a ka-ZAM?!?!?! (I think Maxfield definitely needs a "ka-ZAM in da house" graphic.)  'Cause I was freaking HOOTING with laughter. It's zany and it's crazy and it's just so much damn fun, I had this shit-eating grin on my face the whole time I read, earning me the weirdest looks from the flight attendants on my plane ride.

When I do recs or reviews, I hate spoiling things so I'm not going to run through the whole book, but here's some of my thoughts:

So we have Tristan who I'm totally claiming as my BFF. He's...scrappy. He's a fighter, and he's smart, and he'd be the type of guy I'd want on my side in a barroom brawl even though he'd be the type of guy who wouldn't be around for said barroom brawl in the first place. He's funny, he talks back, and he's ultimately a happy guy. What's not to love? I like angsty and tortured as much as the next gal, but there's something refreshing about a character who is ultimately okay with who he is. Oh, and get this...he's totally there for his family. I mean....mush time. How sweet is that, a guy who's a rock for his mom? Living at home to help out with his younger sibs while going to college, land of sleazy dorms and frat parties. Going to supervise his younger sis at a party just so she won't have to stay home when most guys his age would be passed out at Phi Kappa Psi's Jersey Jocks and Knee-high socks kegger blowout of the year. Did I say he was my BFF? 'Cause I think I'm in luuuuuurrve.

We like Mike. Officer Helmet's got that whole perfect man thang going' on. Kind of makes me wish I could mess up his pretty blond locks. He's hot, ripped, rich, has an awesome free spirited biker mom, became a cop to help people, and has a band of homeless people who he looks out for. His grandmother isn't mentioned in the book, but I'm sure he visits her often bringing little chocolates and flowers. He probably gives blood and reads to orphans now that I think about it. If he has one fault, it's that he's kind of...impulsive. He moves faaaaaaaaast when it comes to relationships. He sees what he wants and he goes after it, no looking back, just one big flying leap. And even as I shake my head at the kind of trouble that can get you into, I still admire that about him. Guess he is perfect after all. *g*

Ya know, there are a couple authors I consider to be the gods of funny, and ZAM should get ready for her trip to Mt Olympus because I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud so much while reading. Smiled, yes. Enjoyed being amused, yes. Hooted? Not really. Her zany sense of humor fits mine well.

So many comedic moments in this book, I don't even know where to start. Scratch that. Oh yes I do. Thanksgiving Dinner. The grace, enthusiastically given by Tristran's younger bro. Holy shite, just pure classic funnies. We've all met a little brother like that in our life, and it's just priceless. I think that will go down as one of my favorite M/M fiction paragraphs EVAH. I won't paste it here and spoil it, you just need to seriously read for yourself. There are so many of da funny, I can't possibly list them all because I don't think 200 pages will fit on my LJ.

And when the characters aren't makin' funny, they're makin' whoopee. The relations, the relations, between Michael and his Sparky are just plain HAWT. Lots of sexin' in this book, as befits a nineteen year old dude, since guys his age think of sex like every three seconds (as opposed to older guys who think of it like every six seconds, right?). And there is this funny thing...lots of graphic words in this read, but it's missing one certain one (think unlawful carnal knowledge). Not because it's not there, but because the characters whisper it in each other's ear so the reader can't hear.  I'd tsk and cry no fair, except it's so obvious what they're saying, and it just felt so...naughty. Illicit. I felt very much the voyeur, instead of along for the ride (hee) with these guys, I was peeping through a hole in the wall while they got it on regardless of the nosy reader trying to horn in. Talk about a new kink. Oooh-la-la.

My final point before I shut up so you can go read is a little more serious. I have this pet peeve see, although it never stops me from reading anything. I love May/December romances. But it's always the same. The older guy is all Oh no, he's so young he won't be happy with me, he should be out partying, experimenting, blah blah blah. Which is a legitimate insecurity, or at least I understand why someone would feel that way. But then you have the younger guy which is where the problem comes in for me b/c in most romances I've read he's always all oh don't be silly, I'm in LOVE, don't you trust me to know what I feel?

To which my response to that would be, no I f'n don't. For once I'd like to the see the young one go all hey maybe this won't work 'cause I'm not ready, I'm so young, this isn't what I planned, do I really want to see the same ugly mug over the breakfast table for the next fifty years? Love can still win out, but where the freak is the hesitation? Don't tell me someone that young can be so sure with no wavering. I say BULL to that. I want to see the hesitation, the uncertainty, the fear, the something. I even recently started my own novel to explore this since I was frustrated about it.

So I'll be thanking ZAM, yes indeedy I will. I love what she's done here, showing how very astute she is when it comes to characterization, and she filled a need of mine that I've been clamoring to fill.

So now that I've blathered on and on, I hope I've said something to convince you to pick this read up. You won't be sorry!

Buy Crossing Borders here. Visit the Loose Id website here. Check out ZA Maxfield's website here. And then read, read, read!