Once Upon a Twilight!: Book Review: Down By Contact by Santino Hassell

Down By Contact
The Barons #2
Author: Santino Hassell
Reading Level: Mature Adult
Genres: M/M Romance | Sports | LGBTQ Romance
Released: January 16th 2018
Review Source: InterMix

Two rival football players begin a game with higher stakes than the Super Bowl in this steamy romance from the author of Illegal Contact.

Simeon Boudreaux, the New York Barons’ golden-armed quarterback, is blessed with irresistible New Orleans charm and a face to melt your mama’s heart. He’s universally adored by fans and the media. Coming out as gay in solidarity with his teammate hasn’t harmed his reputation in the least—except for some social media taunting from rival linebacker Adrián Bravo.

Though they were once teammates, Adrián views Simeon as a traitor and the number-one name on the New Jersey Predators’ shit list. When animosity between the two NFL players reaches a boiling point on the field, culminating in a dirty fist fight, they’re both benched for six games and sentenced to joint community service teaching sullen, Brooklyn teens how to play ball.

At first, they can barely stand to be in the same room, but running the camp forces them to shape up. With no choice but to work together, Simeon realizes Adrián is more than his alpha-jerk persona, and Adrián begins to question why he’s always had such strong feelings for the gorgeous QB…

Down by Contact is the sequel to Illegal Contact which I was able to read both books, back to back. I'm not sure which of the two books, I like more. This is a great thing, usually the sophomore book in a series, always comes up short. Not in the case of Down by Contact. So not only did I walk away with 2 great reads, but I was introduced to Santino Hassell's writing. This is an author to have on your radar.

I guess I should have started with that this book(s), will not be for everyone. The series is male/male romance, so definitely not your typical read. So if you can swoon over two sexy males, getting hot with each other, and I mean HOT then you don't want to miss out on reading this series. Hassell does not hold back and paints a real clear picture of what is happening in his books.

In this installment, we are gifted with Simeon Boudreaux story. We got pieces of him in Illegal Contact, but nothing like being the center of your story. Simeon is the sexy QB that is on every one's radar. We find out in Illegal Contact, that he was finally outed as being gay when he made the mistake one night out at a club to trust the people he was having way to much fun with. So in this book, Simeon has been accepted by his teammates, just not the case with the rival team. There is one specific player from rival team, that has made it very public, his distaste in Simeon. That would be Adrian, the linebacker for the Predators. Funny thing is, they both used to be teammates before Simeon was traded to Barons. So game day arrives, it ends up in a fight and those two have been suspended and must not worked together at a youth center coaching some kids.

What's great about this book is that it isn't all about football, you'd be shocked to read how sweet some parts can be. Just cause they are meat heads on a football field, doesn't mean they can't be teddy bears off. How will working together for several weeks impact the relationship between Simeon and Adrian while on suspension? Will it end up turning into something worse, that not even their agents can save them from? Or will this be something great for both of them and no kid will go unharmed? Only way to find out, is grabbing your copies today. I highly suggest to read in order, just so you know who Simeon's friends are and plus, you want to read Gavin's story. That's another sexy beast right there.