Slick's review posted at Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews 
 4.5 stars 
 Even though I was kind of ambivalent about first book in this series, I was really looking forward to Sunset Park and Santino Hassell did not disappoint. I appreciated the complicated situations, the charismatic characters and their complex journey, but most of all I loved "seeing" both sides of the story something that didn't happen in the first book which had me questioning so much. 
 We met both Raymond and David in the first book and they formed a friendship when Raymond's brother who was also David's co-worker was in rehab. On the outside they seem a strange pair the big, gruff supposedly heterosexual Puerto Rican and the slight, sparkling WASP twink but somehow they became close friends with an odd little flirtation going on. The thing is that even before they became more there was this closeness between them that was so obvious and as they began to explore Raymond's bi-curiosity the intensity between them really showed. 
 Their relationship wasn't easy as neither man wanted to admit there was more to it than a friends with benefits situation. Raymond was still trying to figure out his sexuality and as he'd never had a romantic relationship before he really didn't understand how to think or act. Not to mention that Raymond is intensely private and although he wasn't ashamed of what he was doing with David, he didn't feel the need to talk about it or flaunt it. In all honesty I don't think he was trying to deny it; I really think he just didn't feel it was anyone's business. David still had contact with an ex that he had cheated on and who was still clingy. David was also insecure about Raymond and worried he was just experimenting and would leave him. My biggest issue is they didn't spend enough time talking about what they wanted from one another; instead they spent a lot of time making assumptions about what the other was thinking or feeling. (I'll be honest in saying I wanted to knock their heads together a couple of times and tell them to snap out of it.) So, yes it was a little on the angsty side for me, however I loved these two so much I chose to overlook that and see the good in them both and what they had together. 
 While Raymond and David are both about the same age (mid-twenties) they are at different points in their lives. David is a college graduate and holds a teaching position at a high school. While he's drowning in student load debt he is still successful. Raymond hasn't done much since high school and was coddled by his family but life got real for him in the last year when both his parents past away within months of each other and his brother ended up in rehab. He's working but not happy and is trying to figure out a plan for his life. I loved that David was very supportive of Raymond and celebrated his achievements and that Raymond understood David's fears and his need to not accept help from his parents but to make it on his own. Despite their different backgrounds and the different places they were in their lives there was something special about the way they connected to one another without judgment. 
 There is something special about the way Mr. Hassell draws you into his stories and the lives of his characters making the reader feel a part of their lives. Sunset Park left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling and I couldn't ask for more. 
 Review copy provided for an honest review.