*** RELEASE BLITZ, EXCERPT, REVIEW & GIVEAWAY *** The Bad Ones by Stylo Fantôme

Happy Release Day to Stylo Fantome and her new book THE BAD ONES! Enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card too - good luck! #ConnedIntoBeingBad

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Love isn't always bright and shiny.

Sometimes, it's dirty and wrong, buried six feet deep in a secret place where only wild things dare to go. Hidden behind a big black curtain that covers things no one should ever see.

Sometimes it happens between two people who should never be allowed to come together. One who is a match, and the other who just happens to be gasoline.

One strike is all it takes to burn the whole world down, and that's exactly what they plan on doing.

Even if it kills them.

warning: this book contains graphic sex, extremely brutal violence, bad language, and people repeatedly and knowingly breaking the law.

Con finally unlocked the doors and she hefted herself into the massive vehicle. They sat in silence for a while, their breath fogging up the glass. Then he opened his mouth. “Did he touch you?” Dulcie knew he wasn't asking about the homeless man. “Not in any way that counts,” she replied, turning to look at him. His hands had moved to grip the steering wheel. “So he has touched you.” “Jared was just an experiment, I wanted to see if -” “You let him fucking touch you.” “You fucking left me!” she was suddenly screaming. He didn't even flinch, just gripped the steering wheel harder. “You fucking left me in this fucking town, without a goddamn goodbye! Without a goddamn word! God, you have no idea what it's been like. That fucking camera, all those drawings. And there's all these people, and talking, and feeling this way, and all the blackness, and I don't even know what's wrong with me, and nothing. You come back, and it's like nothing to you. Oh hey, Dulcie. Where's your sketchbook, Dulcie. Come to a party, Dulcie. Let me just fuck this chick in the woods, Dulcie. So you know what? Yeah, he fucking touched me. I let him fucking touch me. And I hated every minute of it, and I would pretend it was you, and I would hate you, and I would hate myself, and I just let it happen.” Con lunged across the seat, and absurdly, her first thought was “wow, he's really fast” before his fingers wrapped around her throat. She wasn't fazed, though, and she pushed right back, slapping him across the face. This only caused him to clench both hands around her neck and he yanked her forward, dragging her to him so their faces were only inches apart. “Stupid little Dulcie,” he whispered, his breath hot against her lips. She held onto his wrists and glared at him, but didn't try to pull away. His fingers got tighter. “So scared of the big bad wolf.” “I'm not … scared of you,” she managed to gasp out, but then his grip grew so tight he completely cut off her oxygen. “Of course you aren't scared of me. I'm not the wolf. You are.” So that's what was hiding behind the curtain. I wish you'd told me sooner, Con. We could've reveled in our darkness together. It felt like a weight was lifted off her back. She'd been pretending for so long, and she hadn't even realized it. Had conditioned herself to do it. It was easier to believe Con was the darkness, and she was simply drawn to it. Basking in his wake. But it was all a lie – she was every bit as dark as him. They were the same animal. She'd just been better at deceiving herself. And now they'd evolved into something else, into a new, higher being. Her lungs were throbbing, screaming for oxygen. She could feel her pulse pounding behind her face. Her mouth was open, but she couldn't make a sound. Black spots danced in front of her eyes, yet still they stared at each other. Recognizing each other, maybe for the first time ever. Maybe for the last time. What a way to die, looking into the face of this beautiful boy. What a gift.

My Review 

There are some you love and then there are the ones that you just can't fully put your adoration for into words. That was The Bad Ones. From the moment I opened this book and started Con and Dulcie's journey, I was absolutely gobsmacked at where the story started, where it twisted and turned, and where it ended up. I fell in love with Stylo when she gave me Satan in Jameson Kane but I am officially head over heals in love with her dark and twisted mind after Con and Dulcie revealed and reveled in their beautiful darkness.

Dulcie is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks that is just trying to get by unnoticed. She wants to draw and take pictures and get out the trailer she shares with her absentee mother and her twisted older brother. In her junior year of high school, she's doing her best to fly under the radar until she is literally run over by the school's golden boy, Constantine. Con is really good at keeping up a public facade. As the son of the Mayor, star quarterback and all around small town darling, he has to because if he let his true face show, nothing would be safe. What begins under the tree that day unlocks something dark and hidden in both of them. If they're not careful, the match they unwittingly lit that day will become a flame that devours everything and everyone in its path. 

After their initial interaction that first day, Dulcie is left with a startling realization and yet it seems to her that Con is oblivious. Over time she tries to put him out of her mind but he's impossible to completely erase. Eventually they cross paths once again and that night their lives become forever entangled. The next day though Con is gone to university leaving Dulcie to finish high school all on her own. When she doesn't hear from him again for years, she does her best to move on all the while battling the darkness on her own. Three years later Con is back and their lives once again become entangled and the darkness that started all those years ago becomes utter destruction. 

Con and Dulcie are wickedly destructive and I could not help but become as enmeshed in their growing darkness as they were with each other. I loved the way that Stylo began their journey. I was not expecting to begin at a high school but it worked. I could literally feel the crazy building. I was flipping pages trying to figure out where the story was going and how these two were going to be redeemed. But after every page I read, I came to the realization that I didn't even really want these two redeemed. They were perfect in their destruction. And while I'm not sure what that says about me, I found myself drawn to their dastardly deeds and wanting more. When Con and Dulcie's story came to a close, Stylo proved her genius once again in the most magnificently, twisted way. 

This book is not for the faint of heart. This book is not for those who want hearts and flowers. This book is for those who revel in the darkest parts of humanity. This book brought out the best parts of my little black soul in all its depraved glory. And I loved it.

Reviewed by Paige 

★★☆ 5 "Beautiful Darkness" Stars ☆★★ 

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Crazy woman living in an undisclosed location in Alaska (where the need for a creative mind is a necessity!), I have been writing since ..., forever? Yeah, that sounds about right. I have been told that I remind people of Lucille Ball - I also see shades of Jennifer Saunders, and Denis Leary. So basically, I laugh a lot, I'm clumsy a lot, and I say the F-word A LOT.

I like dogs more than I like most people, and I don't trust anyone who doesn't drink. No, I do not live in an igloo, and no, the sun does not set for six months out of the year, there's your Alaska lesson for the day. I have mermaid hair - both a curse and a blessing - and most of the time I talk so fast, even I can't understand me.

Yeah. I think that about sums me up.

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Stylo Fantome's THE BAD ONES Release Day Blitz