Saturday, March 16, 2019

Red Zone by T.S. McKinney & Shannon West










Blurb

From the outside, it looks as if college football quarterback Kingston Bentley has it all—good looks, athletic ability and a 4.0 average in his classes. But looks can be deceiving. Kingston is battling inner demons that are jeopardizing his safety and slowly driving him to more and more acts of desperation. Everywhere he looks, he’s got nothing but trouble, and when he loses his coveted first-string position on the football team, he goes back to the one thing he can count on—cutting himself to relieve the pressure and the emotional pain.

The new quarterback on the team, Memphis Sabine is the Coach’s son, and under enormous pressure of his own to lead his new team to the national championship. For that, he needs Kingston’s help, and they soon become an unbeatable force both on the field and off. But when Memphis discovers Kingston in the act of cutting himself, he uses his forceful nature and all he knows about being a Dom to take Kingston in hand and ensure his welfare. Kingston loves the pain, but he rebels against the idea of being Memphis’s sub. As Kingston begins his training, however, Memphis discovers just how fragile their relationship really is, and how desperately he needs to help Kingston deal with the secrets from his past.




Review 
My Rating - 5 Stars!

Damn! Red Zone is an amazing book, combining my avid love of college romance and athletes. I must note though that it's mostly about their issues and their relationship, not so much about their college or football life.

From the start, I knew I'd love this story. The subject matter is fantastic and this writing duo expertly weaves this tale. Kingston and Memphis are rivals for the same position on their college football team. When they are set up as new roommates, they are set off on a path they never expected. Both men are complex and nothing like they personify.

The couple explore BDSM and their limits of pain. It's fantastic the way that submission is used as a way to give up all one's worries. In this case, we have Kingston, who's weighed down by pressure, fear, and expectations. 

They also have to deal with insecurities, doubts, family issues, and more. The concept of self inflicting pain is a large theme, so skip this one if that is a trigger for you.

My only complaint is that I would have preferred a couple more sex scenes. I don't usually pay much attention to such a thing, but in this case, the sex scenes were important to the story, both to the men as individuals and as a couple. I love the way they're written, both emotional and tender, despite being BDSM pain-centered scenes. 

Red Zone's a riveting and compelling enemies to lovers. It's splendid in it's delivery, and fabulous in it's development. The characters are multi-layered and end up being remarkable together. In the end, it's a sweet and tender romance that hits all the marks for me, and I highly recommend it. I know it's one I'll be adding to my re-read list.



 


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