Book Review: Fremont Rosenbloom: Party Assassin for Hire by Michael Bast

Fans of James Dashner and Richard Paul Evans will love Fremont Rosenbloom’s crazy adventures!

At first, you won’t like Fremont Rosenbloom. What he does for a living is rather detestable. Let’s say you have an ex-husband getting remarried, or perhaps your slave driver boss’ son’s birthday is coming up. If you want the occasion to be remembered, you call Fremont. Ruining special occasions is his specialty, in fact you could say it is his art. But please withhold judgment. Fremont has a story.

You see, Fremont’s dad abandoned him. He left in the dead of night, not to be seen again. As a parting gift, Fremont’s father left him a motivational voice mail on their answering machine, reassuring Fremont it wasn’t his fault he was being left behind. He also left him the deed to their small house, and enough money to make it to his eighteenth birthday. Fremont’s father asked him to consider it a ‘great adventure’. As you might imagine, Fremont started to spiral.

He latched onto his crusty next door neighbor Modesto, a gambling addict with a pension for the black jack tables. Modesto wasn’t much, but he was the closest thing to a grandfather Fremont could muster. He became family.

With Modesto’s help, Fremont’s money soon evaporated. Bills became due, and his adopted grandfather Modesto, was going to lose his house. Fremont couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone again. Fremont stepped up. After school he began working at the local pizza shop, but it wasn’t enough. No one was willing to pay a sixteen year old what he needed to keep Modesto and himself afloat.
It was at around the same time, he discovered he had a knack, and flair for elaborate schemes. He saw a business opportunity, and he jumped at it. He became a ‘party assassin’ for hire. But as you can imagine, this brought on a whole new set of problems.

Some people have a knack for throwing events. Fremont Rosenbloom has a knack for ruining them. Want a very public revenge on someone, that involves complete embarrassment? Fremont is your man! I thought it was clever that Michael Bast mentions the fact that his main character is a little rough around the edges. Truth be told, it’s not easy to like Fremont at first. Trust me though, he’ll grow on you. I honestly couldn’t believe how much depth there ended up being in this story. Color me impressed!

In fact, the family aspect of this book was really what struck me. While Fremont’s parents are no longer in the picture, this story builds a new kind of family for him. One that, in fact, he at first doesn’t even notice exists. I love stories like this. Where a character builds their own tight knit group of people who genuinely care for them. Between Addy and Modesto, Fremont was definitely covered in the love department. Oh sure, it was a little crass at times (manly bonding and all that) but the love was there just the same.

I think my favorite part was watching Fremont grow as a character. It’s extremely important to me that the protagonist I’m following gains some insight. Michael Bast delivered on this. I watched as Fremont grew and learned, cheering him on every step of the way. He definitely didn’t always make the best decisions, but don’t we all have those moments? I was happy to see that he was genuine. A bit flawed, but with a heart of gold underneath it all.

While this book could use a quick polish in the editing department, I definitely think that it’s worthy of a four star rating! If you’re looking for something that steps a bit out of the box, and has likable characters, then this is for you.

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.