Ahh, I've missed stories like this. It's been a while since I've managed to get my hands on some truly naughty, twisted, smutty fiction that doesn't pull its punches when it comes to BDSM fantasies (but also doesn't go so overboard in off-putting ways). The sex is raunchy, the boys are horny, the Doms are masterful, and the kinks are kinky. What's not to like?
What may be surprising is that -- having read five books into the series -- there's actually a lot going on here, narratively and character-wise, besides just the (steamy, perverse, memorable) sex games. This is a story about sex games (and I'm certainly very glad of that) but it's also a story about prejudices, resentments, and growing up in a toxic high school backdrop. Kevin the nerd and Wade the jock seem like generic stock characters at a glance, but their experiences and sentiments of a homophobic football town come across very genuine and discerningly-depicted. Particularly Kevin; I don't usually go for characters that are very overtly emotional about things, but something about this setting, this story, and these events just makes this character click for me.
My biggest fear right now...really, a fear I always have for every "edgy," hardcore series I read...is that this is the point where it's gonna start...well, pulling its punches. The story has led young jock Wade into this wonderfully debauched status of hapless sex slave to a shrewd merciless coach, but it's what we readers have been wanting all this time, right? And my fear is that it's just gonna start winding down from here on out. 'Cause that's the story, right? Seeing how the poor boy gets out of this "mess"? I can't imagine that this series is gonna end without Kevin and Wade ending up in some sort of loving idyllic Dom-sub romance (and hey, ain't nothin' wrong with that) and that's not gonna happen with Coach Davis still lording over Wade. But I just can't help but root for Coach Davis and his schemes and domination, here. That's just the way I'm wired! I want more scenes from here on out like that marvelously twisted, sadistic motel room scene, not less.
I mean, hey, I've been very much entertained by this series and I'm sure I'll stay tickled no matter how it turns out...but, as much as I appreciate the character work and social musings of the story, at the end of the day it is still a smutty fantasy about a high school jock getting blackmailed into sex servitude and I just hope it continues to be as smutty and fantastic and no-holds-barred about it as it has been instead of going for any, well, "vanilla" resolutions to its conflicts. (and hey, ain't nothin' wrong with that)