Review: Fugly by K.Z. Snow
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 28, 2010
This is a story I didn't read in its series order since I was too eager to find out about that awesome cover and didn't have the patience to read all the previous books. Actually in this case it's not exactly like reading the last pages of a book to know how the story will end because Fugly is a spin off of the original series, The Chronicles of Jackson Spey, that is, by the way, a mixed between hetero, bisexual and gay romance. The main character, for what I gathered, the wizard Jackson Spey, is only a supporting characters in the first stories, to then become the main character with his lover Adin in Obsessed, InDescent and To Be Where You Are. And in Fugly he is the initiator of the events that will forever change the life of three gay friends, Jake, Fallon and Todd, the Hunt Club.As a friend of them, David, will try to explain to Jackson, the trio is not so shallow as they at first appear, but truth be told it's really hard to see the good in them. Todd is probably the easiest, the classical misfit in high school who tried with all his own to change, to become the one to choose and not the one waiting to be picked; his chosen career doesn't help, he is an embalmer and so it has plenty of bad vibes from people around him. Fallon is apparently the most superficial, but from what I gathered he had his dreams of being a dancer badly destroyed, and so he is now surviving with a second choice career that is not exactly helping him in feeling good. Last Jake, the most classical in his trying to be always perfect, always at the top, always the best, as a proof to his parents who disowned him when he came out. Three different drama, same output: attacking before being attacked, shielding their hearts against any possible emotional involvment, going after the vain crowd who doesn't really care who you are but more what you are.Only that one night Jackson Spey is there and not only that, the Hunt Club picks his husband Adin as target for their hunting party of the night. And Jackson doesn't like them poaching in his territory and above he doesn't like their attitude. Or maybe he reads behind their shields and their unspoken desire to be accepted for who they are. In a way or the other, the morning after the trio awakes horribly disfigured by a rash on their face. Now they will have a taste of their own medicine, and they will be able to discern between who really loves them and who instead was there only for the ride.In a novella length story, K.Z. Snow manages to convey a wonderful story. It has drama, it has magick, but above all it has romance and love. All three men are nicely developed and also their prospect partners have their own background. It was almost an impossible task to achieve, but K.Z. Snow passes it with full score.