Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Ozzy
SERIES: Such a Colorful Feeling #1
AUTHOR: Rowan Massey
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 374 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 10, 2019
BLURB:
Ozzy could ruin Jace’s life to buy his own freedom…or let himself fall in love and save Jace’s life instead.
Two dozen new types of recreational drugs were invented in the eighties. Now there’s no one left who isn’t a user. As a result, civilization is falling to its knees. The skies are polluted, having a job puts you in the minority, and public services like health care and police protection are for the rich.
In a town called Emporium, Ozzy works as a rent boy in a seedy club. When Jace, an overdosing teenager, is dropped at his feet, Ozzy sees an opportunity. His cruel pimp and mayor will let him cross the guarded borders of town and escape to a better life if Ozzy finds his own replacement. Jace, although he’s disabled, seems like a candidate.
But things won’t be that simple. Jace is sick and won’t last long. Under increasing pressure to save himself from his pimp, Ozzy races to save the life of the guy he’s not supposed to be falling for.
REVIEW:
Woo. I’m still trying to get my mind wrapped around this book. It’s a very dark one, and it can have triggers for some. Drugs, ODing, murder, gangs, pimps, prostitution, It’s a hard story to swallow. It’s a good one as far as the writing and such. Don’t get me wrong, but it is hard to wrap your head around some things.
In this story, Ozzy is basically being prostituted in order to survive. It’s a bad town to live in and one he hopes to escape at some point, but it’s a hard place to live too. Drugs are everywhere, and basically everyone is more or less an addict. They need it to survive the crap they live in. Ozzy needs it to get through a night of being used. One night he meets a young man that was thrown into a room he was in and he knew the guy was od’ing. He did everything he could to help the man survive and was thinking about using him to replace him so he could leave the business. But the more he got to know Jace, the more he realized he already knew him from something else that had happened. And he knew that he couldn’t do that to Jace. He was feeling things for Jace he never felt for another. But things in the Emporium were getting worse. People were dying, his business got blown up and even though they had found a way to help Jace, it seemed to be coming with a price. Ozzy was making mistakes trying to find a way out and everything seemed to be up in the air. Now it’s just a matter of if everything can work out. And in time.
When you’re in a situation where you feel there’s no way out, you feel numb as you do anything you can to survive. It’s not easy. It shuts you down in ways that you feel you will never break out of. When you meet someone who helps you break out of that box, it’s euphoric and scary at the same time. Especially when the situation around you is less than pleasing or satisfying. You do everything you can to survive and help those you can, but sometimes you have to close yourself off from the rest. It doesn’t make you better than anyone else, although it may come across that way. It’s just another way to cope and survive. I felt for the situation Ozzy was in. And Jace, when Ozzy found out the truth of what was up with him. I felt for all the people who had to suffer at the hands of the pimp trying to control everyone and everything. And it hurt that the rich people seemed not to care about anyone beneath them. Almost feels like the real world today. Definitely not far from the truth. It’s a harsh look at what’s going on in life. Even if this is a fictional story, it’s not far from our lives now. And I was joyous that they could find a way out. Even if it came with a price.
This is a very dark story. It’s good. The writing and all. But it’s a hard story to swallow. I hope you all enjoy it.
RATING: 
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