I borrowed Rhys Ford‘s Fish Stick Fridays through Hoopla.
Description from Goodreads:
Deacon Reid was born bad to the bone with no intention of changing. A lifetime of law-bending and living on the edge suited him just fine—until his baby sister died and he found himself raising her little girl.
Staring down a family history of bad decisions and reaped consequences, Deacon cashes in everything he owns, purchases an auto shop in Half Moon Bay, and takes his niece, Zig, far away from the drug dens and murderous streets they grew up on. Zig deserves a better life than what he had, and Deacon is determined to give it to her.
Lang Harris is stunned when Zig, a little girl in combat boots and a purple tutu blows into his bookstore, and then he’s left speechless when her uncle, Deacon Reid walks in, hot on her heels. Lang always played it safe but Deacon tempts him to step over the line… just a little bit.
More than a little bit. And Lang is willing to be tempted.
Unfortunately, Zig isn’t the only bit of chaos dropped into Half Moon Bay. Violence and death strikes leaving Deacon scrambling to fight off a killer before he loses not only Zig but Lang too.
Review:
As a general rule contemporary romance, be it het or queer, is not my favorite genre. I’m often just this side of bored with them. I keep trying to love them and often slide by with an “it was ok.” That’s how I felt about Fish Stick Friday. I’d read some of Ford’s fantasy romance and enjoyed it a lot, I’d hoped for better results here. Oh well.
I liked Lang and Deacon. But the story is basically insta-lust, leading to instant relationship and insta-love and moving in together in a matter of a few months. All this while there are murderers and arsonists on the loose. I simply couldn’t suspend my disbelief far enough to believe it. I also didn’t feel either character was well drawn or fleshed out.
Zig however was wonderful. She was colorful and engaging and cute. She made up for a lot in this book. As did the bit of diversity present in the cast.
All in all, an ok read for me.