Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Hotter than Hot
SERIES: Suntastic Fun Book 2
AUTHOR: Ariella Zoelle
PUBLISHER: Sarayashi Publishing
LENGTH: 81 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 17, 2021
BLURB:
Baxley has been teasing Callahan for years about wanting to be with him. When Callahan finds out his best friend is actually serious about being with him, his curiosity gets the better of him. Why should being straight stop him from having fun with his sexy best friend?
Callahan
Baxley is a lot of things: an awesome friend, a relentlessly shameless flirt, a little too attractive, and way too tempting when I’m straight. All of his heated teasing is starting to get to me, making me wonder if maybe indulging my curiosity might be worth blurring the boundaries of our friendship for a night. But what if it’s so good that I want a repeat experience?
He promises me an experience that’s hotter than hot, but am I ready to discover that I like what he’s offering me?
Baxley
When everything about Callahan lights my insides up like a fireworks finale on the Fourth of July, I knew from the moment I first saw him that he was the one for me. The only thing stopping me from making him mine is that he’s straight. But that excuse goes out the window when he kisses me, like he’s been dying for a taste of me for years.
If he’s ready to take a chance on me for one night, can I make him fall in love with me forever?
Hotter Than Hot is the second and final book in the Suntastic Fun duet. This novella features a friends to lovers, bisexual awakening, no angst romance. If you love cute sweetness, sexy fun, and scorching-hot banter that will make you laugh and swoon, you’ll adore this satisfying HEA without cliffhangers. Each book can be read as a standalone but is best enjoyed in order.
Hotter Than Hot was originally published as Turn Up the Heat for the Boys of Summer M/M giveaway. A new epilogue has been added for publication.
REVIEW:
Ariella Zoelle’s Hotter than Hot follows on the heels of It Might Be Hot, rounding out this duet about four friends pairing off and falling in love under the hot summer sun. Like the first book, Hotter than Hot borders on short story length. It’s only 81 pages, yet, regrettably, I feel even that is too long for the story told here.
In It Might Be Hot, Alessandro and his straight best friend Lachlan went from BFF status to not just lovers, but full-on boyfriend, love of my life, HEA status over the course of twenty-four hours. The male leads here in Hotter than Hot, Baxley and his straight best friend Callahan, follow a similar relationship trajectory in an even less convincing way. Baxley’s been obnoxiously flirting/teasing/goading Callahan for three years with promises of amazing sex that only he can deliver. Callahan, who is straight and has always identified as such, inexplicably and quite suddenly decides, F*ck it, let’s go for it. All because Baxley finally admits that he’s been celibate for three years and not at all the playboy he’s led Callahan to believe.
It’s a bizarre turn of events and the ensuing inconsistencies in the dialogue and narrative compound it. (For example, even after Baxley convinces Callahan he’s not a playboy, Callahan still seems to consider him a playboy and says as much.) The story doesn’t have plot or character development either so it’s difficult to orient ourselves in the face of Baxley and Callahan’s (especially Callahan’s) behavior.
Hotter than Hot is sex, talking about sex, and more sex. Rinse. Repeat. In the first book, it was pretty much the same formula, although Alessandro and Lachlan had demonstrable chemistry. Here, though, Ms. Zoelle veers into the land of the clinical in many of the sexual discussions and encounters, stripping any potential chemistry between Baxley and Callahan away. Emotional engagement is lacking as well. The more “heartfelt” encounters were trivialized by silly exchanges between Baxter and Callahan along the lines of (NB: this is a paraphrase): C: Wow, is sex always that amazing? B: It is if you’re in love with the person. C: Oh, then I must love you.
Ms. Zoelle has written some very enjoyable, sweet, fluffy stories that have a sexy edge to them. Read any of her Good Bad Idea stories for some light, not too deep, fluffy M/M romances. My impression, though, is that with the Suntastic Fun duet, Ms. Zoelle is trying her hand at more heavily sex-laden content, maybe to break from the Good Bad Idea series mold. The problem, at least for me, is that the things I enjoy in her stories seem to have been sacrificed in order to make the content hot hot hot. As such, Hotter than Hot didn’t work for me. It’s a very short read, though, so if you like hot, sex-filled content without a lot of extraneous detail, feel free to give it a try and judge for yourself.
RATING: 
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