CrabbyPatty's Reviews > Dark & Dazzling

Sigh ... what a hot mess of a book. I realize I'm probably in the minority here at Goodreads, but honestly? It was a major let-down from the first book in the series Fierce & Fabulous which I thought was all kinds of sexy and .... well, fierce ... and okay, fabulous.

Detective Connelly Reid is out (but doesn't seem to be terribly proud) and has a nickname of "Boy Scout" at the precinct, while Azariah "Z" Hayes calls him "Hot Fudge" because he orders a hot fudge sundae everyday at Sal's Place where Z works as a waiter. Z along with Ansel, Tam and Liram, comprise the Sassy Boyz who perform at the gay club Vibe. Z 's byword is "pride" and he's not big on asking for help.

Z and Connelly figure prominently in a plot that has a bit of everything -- sexy dancing to (view spoiler)[ dealing drugs, porn shoots, arrests, unsolved mysteries, consensual / non-consensual rape, the Greek Mafia, spousal abuse and MORE (hide spoiler)] ... except romance. Connelly and Z have sex - sizzling hot sex - but compared to the relationship between Fitch and Ansel in Fierce & Fabulous it was difficult to get the attraction between Connelly and Z.

But beyond that, I just could not get past the PURPLE prose in this book -as purple as Z's take-no-prisoners purple stiletto boots:

Z's eyes are not dark, they are ONYX

it's not just a kiss, it's a "life-giving kiss that had the power to heal all of Z’s scars, even the ones he’d been carrying around since childhood."

It's not sex, it's love, and "when love hit you like a freight train and destiny held you by the balls it was stupid to resist."

Connelly tastes good, no ...

"... the guy tasted divine. What the hell was that? Peaches? Damn it all to hell, now he’d never be able to eat the fruit without thinking of Connelly. If he was giving up one of his favorite foods for the rest of his life, the night better be fucking worth it." and "Z vowed to give up every fucking fruit known to man—if only the night would last forever."

It appears the next book may be about Liram, and BTW two new minor characters have been introduced to the Sassy Boyz group - Hop and Jae. I'm hoping the next book is not as dark (darkly purple?), and just a bit more fabulous!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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