Book Review – Preppy Part Two by T.M. Frazier

Preppy Part Two: The Life and Death of Samuel Clearwater

Gritty Contemporary Romance. Does NOT stand alone.

OMG, T.M. Frazier blew me away with Preppy Part Two: The Life and Death of Samuel Clearwater. I have loved this entire series, but this is my favorite so far. Please be aware, this book does not stand alone at all. In fact, to be fully appreciated, I think you need to read ALL the books that came before it, including All the Rage. If you haven’t read Preppy book 1, I may give something away in this review. As much as I try to be spoiler free, it’s impossible to review the second book without referring a bit to the first. There are no spoilers for this book though.

“When faced with the fucking end of my life, I spit in the Reaper’s face. Because my name is Samuel Clearwater, and I take orders from no one. Not even death.”

Preppy is back. Or is he? Is he the same Preppy he was before he “died”? I don’t think anyone can be. Preppy was tortured in horrible ways. Ways that will break most anyone else. He survived, but he came back a changed man, with a big surprise.

“I heard you were dead. They had a funeral for you and everything you know,” I said.
“I was never really a rule follower.”
You were never a law follower either but I never expected you to not listen to the laws of nature. You know. Life and death and all that. Most people don’t come back from that.”
“I’m not most people.”
“That I know.”

A lot has happened since Preppy sent Dre away. She didn’t have the easiest time of it either, and her father basically went broke paying for her rehab. But Dre is healed and whole and most importantly, clean. She is back in town to sell her grandmother’s house to help her father, but also for closure. But there was no closure, in fact that door was busted WIDE open when she found Preppy alive.

“My wife was home.”

Preppy lost so much of what made him Preppy, and it just broke my heart. He sees how the world went on without him. King has a bunch of kids, Bear is about to have one. Life went on without him. King’s whole family, complete with kids, lives in his home (no smoking joints in the house!). Preppy is broken. He can’t take all the sound and light, he’s thin and a bit frail, and worst of all, people are keeping stuff from him. But if there is one thing he realized while he was gone, it’s that Dre is IT for him.

“Because YOU are what has kept me alive all these months. Kept me WANTING to be alive.”

I loved the depth of character growth and emotion in this book. It was about both Dre and Preppy finding themselves and their place in the world and hopefully, their place together.

“You silence the world when it’s too fucking loud. You make me feel less broken.”

Preppy Part 2 has way less violence than other books in this series and I think it has a lot more emotion and hope. And even though Preppy’s snark has dulled a bit, we can see parts of him firing back to life.

“If my cock wants to fuck you in a church then who the fuck am I to argue?
I’ll take it as a sign from God that I should fuck you right here and now.”

But it wasn’t about the sex or violence this time. It’s about them each growing and changing. In fact, we visit with all the previous characters, and we really see how they all evolved. But we also see that Dre and Preppy are meant to be.

I read Preppy in one sitting. I think it’s been a year since I did that last. It was that good. At one point I thought T.M. Frazier could end the series right where it was and I would have been thrilled, and felt like I missed nothing. I even thought she might have tricked us by telling us there are three. Silly me, I should have known the Evil Ginger just couldn’t let them all be happy. But there really is so much more to learn, and I for one, can’t wait for more.

“Hey, Doc?” he asked, searching my eyes. His laugh quieted and his smile fell.
My stomach flipped. “Yeah?”
“This time… I’m gonna keep you.”

Likes:

Unputdownable fast read.
So much character growth.
It had way more emotion than previous books.
It doesn’t suffer from the transition syndrome most book twos have.
Visiting with all of the previous characters.
Seeing how much Dre has grown and changed, and the role reversal it caused in many ways.
Watching Preppy get his mojo back. “Now tell me what happens when someone stands in the way of us taking what’s ours?” “We fucking kill ‘em’”
Just when you get complacent, BAM. Never get too comfy with a T.M. Frazier book!
Bo. (Read it and see).
The strong role of family, which doesn’t always mean blood family.

Dislikes:

There was a lot of all the other books in this, and I had a little trouble remembering some details. I kind of wish I reread all the books before this. But my memory sucks more than most so you all probably won’t have this issue.

The Down & Dirty:

Preppy Part two is my favorite T.M. Frazier book to date, and that’s saying a lot. It focuses a little less on the crimes and the wars and the sex and much more on relationships, growth and family. It shows every character’s growth and changes. Preppy was much more subdued in this installment, and even though he had been my favorite character, and I love his silly, crazy antics, I loved him in a different way during Preppy Part two. Seeing him vulnerable and noble and loving and hurting and confused just made me love him even more. I loved how Dre was now the one saving him, because she has grown and healed so much. King and Bear both play important roles in this installment, as do Ray and Thia. We even get a visit from Rage and another cameo or two. T.M. Frazier could have dropped the cliffy ending and ended the series right here and I would have been very happy with it. But honestly, I am so glad she didn’t, because I wasn’t more. No I NEED more. Hurry up Part Three!