Grumpy Bear meets Sparkle Pants

Fitch Donovan is a serous, straight man who runs his family's construction company. When he celebrates his little sister's twenty-first birthday at a gay bar, he had no idea that it would challenge everything he knew about himself. A lap dance from on of the Sassy Boyz dancers, Ansel Becke, sets him on fire and gets under his skin. And Fitch seems to affect Ansel just as much. Ansel is a man who wears what he wants and acts how chooses with no ties to gender. He likes make up, heels, glitter, but also embraces his male parts and makes no apologies for it.

This is a new and confusing situation for both of them. Fitch has never been attracted to anyone as much as Ansel. He has lived a straight life and never been attracted to a man at all. He works in a male dominated profession where image can be an issue. Ansel's past has left him guarded, mistrusting, and a commitment-phobe. He does not truly love himself and copes with his past with poor choices and numbing his pain.

Ansel is a runner for self protection, but also thinks he needs to protect those around him. He is afraid to trust, believe, or hope that he deserves happiness or that someone will truly love him. Fitch has his own issues dealing with his new discoveries about himself and how being with Ansel could affect his life. He is a giver and has a tendency to push forward that just scares Ansel and makes him retreat. Fitch took his new desires and feelings in stride and sometimes I thought maybe he should be a bit more conflicted about it, but he was an easy character to like.

These two men never expected that they would change each other's lives. They have struggles, pain fears, passion, and hope. But they have a lot to overcome personally and with each other. These characters are intriguing, complex, and flawed. It was told in third person dual both points of view giving us understanding of their confusion and inner turmoil. 

It is a powerful story about tolerance, acceptance, and a need for self love and love of those you trust. My heart hurt for these guys especially Ansel when he was so raw and vulnerable. But at times I wanted to shake sense into him when he was self sabotaging or running. But I also felt for Fitch because he was earnest and had such a big heart. He became so accepting and open, but he could easily be hurt when Ansel pushed him away. This book is about embracing uniqueness and loving differences, as well as shedding toxic influences and holding onto hope. It illustrates the importance of taking a chance, living life, and being yourself no matter what others think. It was a journey for both of these men: Ansel needed to heal, take charge of his life, trust and believe he was worthy.  And for Fitch to start living and go after what he wants despite challenges. It was a beautiful coupling of apparent opposites that was very emotional, passionate, and intense. These two had serious chemistry that went from insta-lust to a deep want and need. 

The side characters of the Sassy Boyz--Tam, Z, and Lirim, Fitch's sister Meg and partner Tara, and Ansel's best friend Ange were fun, quirky, supportive, and protective. I am looking forward to Z's story, Dark and Dazzling, next in this series. The antagonists in this one made my skin crawl.

This was an engaging MM/GFY story that was written in a way that pulled me in and made me feel for the characters. Even though I do not typically read books with such flamboyant characters like Ansel, he won me over with his vibrant personality and broken spirit. And Fitch was sweet, sexy, and swoon-worthy. This was a funny, sexy, emotional start to a new series by Elizabeth Varlet and I look forward to learning more about each of the interesting, flashy Sassy Boyz. 

I was gifted a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

Elizabeth Varlet
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