Tamika♥RBF MOOD♥'s Reviews > Dark & Dazzling

Alot more angst then I'm willing to read. Jeez, it was hard to wade through at times.
Hmmm.... This book was a lot to take in. Z and Connelly were two completely different guys from Ansel & Fitch. I like that they were different, but goodness I would have rather the romance to just have been the focal point. You have Azariah, who will never except a handout or help. Connelly is constantly helping out. It's a clash waiting to happen. For Azariah, he's never depended on anyone and will refuse help just to not look weak or needy. That's all Connelly knows. He is the person who will help until its not fair to him anymore. They don't call him Boy Scout for nothing. I wanted him to be a lot more selfish earlier in the story. He has so much on his shoulders that he's not living life to me.

It wasn't fall in love fest like book one. I wasn't immediately smitten with these two. It took time, and work for them to payoff. I think because the plot played such a heavier influence on these two, that it was barriers put up between the two. I hope you get what I meant. Connelly's job played a bigger role in who he was. All his life he's had to help out, and be the surrogate man in his family's life since his father passed, that it is no wonder he goes for the fixer upper guys. Every single one of his ex's needed help and after getting any form of help from Connelly they bounced. I don't know if Connelly liked it that way, but he wasn't able to ever see a future with anyone because of his loyalties elsewhere. I think the chemistry between these two were electric. I like that Azariah wasn't so passive when it came to Connelly. They just seem to mesh well with one another. Azariah is a hard nut to crack. When it actuality he isn't. He's used to be on his own, and to be so young he's super cynical when it comes to love. This is a man who's only form of love died when he was 12. His mother is the only person ever in his life to see him shine, accept him, and love him unequivocally.

"I'm a realist all the way. Reality is dark and gritty and completely fucked--up."

There was a few moments that Azariah completely pissed me off. I thought he was completely selfish, but I had a hard time staying angry because Connelly was super accepted. I think he accepted it shows more to his nurturing side as well. I do felt like the plot was a bit to much at times. I wish it could have been toned down so we got more time for these two to grown and love.

It was a really good story. I enjoyed seeing more of the Sassy Boyz and can't wait to read Lirim's book next. That boy is just asking to be held and protected. I liked these two together and yeah they haven't been together that long by the end of the book, but I can see these two together for a while. Their personality just meshes well together.