Deathball

Deathball #1

by W.H. Lockwood, T.J. Rose

Intimidate. Annihilate. Survive.
Welcome to Deathball

ROBIN

They ripped me from my home.

They put me in these chains.

And now they expect me to fight other men to the death for their entertainment.

Bruised, battered, enslaved, and then I meet him—Marco, the reigning champion with blood on his hands and secrets in his eyes. Terrifying, unpredictable, an impossible beauty in the barren wastelands, Marco's twice as vicious as the sport itself.

So why is he obsessed with me, training me harder than the other men, pushing me to my limits? And why does every brutal lesson only draw me closer to the one man I should fear most of all?

MARCO

Five years I've been their weapon. Five years of victory, of survival, of telling myself one more season, and I'll finally earn my freedom, make it home.

Then they bring me Robin—beautiful, golden-haired, obstinately fierce, and smelling like the sunshine of my homeland—and suddenly I'm fighting a war on two fronts. In the arena, I have to forge him into a killer. In the shadows, I'm falling for the rival who could destroy everything I've worked for.

Because the one man I'm desperate to protect is also the one I'm destined to murder in the arena, in front of thousands of cheering Deathball fans.

When they’ve taken everything, maybe love is the only rebellion left.

Deathball is a high-stakes, life or death, post-apocalyptic MM dark sports romance packed with blood, sweat, spice, and swoony, angsty, heart-wrenching love against all odds.

Genres: Dark, Science Fiction, Sports, Fantasy, Adult

Kindle Edition

Expected publication May 21, 2026

About the author

Author of the Endymion College series, W. H. Lockwood writes gothic romance, MM action-romance, historical fiction, dark academia and cosy horror.

Raised on a diet of teen horror books and Pepsi, only willing to leave her den to attend chess club at public school, W.H. Lockwood started writing at a young age and has kept this passion throughout her life.

Always a voracious reader, she obtained an undergraduate degree in literary studies from a gorgeous sandstone university, following that with a masters in publishing and editing, then a masters in astronomy, thus uniting her two great loves of the arts and science, leaving her utterly unqualified to cope with the real world.

These days, W.H. Lockwood can often be found aimlessly wandering the coffee shops and bookstores of the beautiful city she calls home.

Reviews

[Jordy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, these silly little men are *toxicccccccc* and truthfully, I’m here for it. Deathball is •dark• and yes I mean DARK. But this world Lockwood and TJ built makes you forget all the darkness, and where to find the light! The fights in the arena held back nothing, there was plenty of blood, guts, and gore. The fights being themed, added such a great flare to the battles, even if some put em in *silly little costumes.* I ate this book up, I couldn’t put it down. Marco & Robin truly are the definition of toxic, but TRUST they redefine it by •all• means necessary the higher the stakes got. The side characters were so well created and each of them had their own intense personalities that weren’t bland, and just used as filler, and the other fighters were built in such a way that MADE you actually hate them, and I mean hateeeee them -or love em-! You gotta watch out for the ones who’s names start with J (we ignore mine 😉) I truly accepted the fate of how the book was going to end, and it ended up going a different route catching me off guard! (Not in a bad way!) I don’t want to give off too much info or spoilers so I’ll leave it at that! This book was Brutal, Bloody, and built on FAFO.i can’t wait to see the story the next one takes off with a certain *couple* 😬😬 oh, and one last thing, a little *Birdie* says you’ll love this book 1000000%!

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beta-read for the authors. Review to come closer to release.