Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: The End Zone
SERIES: Atlanta Lightning Book 2
AUTHOR: Riley Hart
NARRATOR: Benjamin Charles, Iggy Toma
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 8 hours and 28 minutes
RELEASE DATE: August 2, 2021
BLURB:
Jeremy
Seeing my best friend West happy with his fiancé opened my eyes to things I’ve been missing in my own marriage. My divorce, which was amicable, followed. Strangely, at West’s wedding, I find myself confiding in Darren, the straight, confirmed bachelor and star quarterback of the Atlanta Lightning. Darren is a full-steam-ahead kind of guy, and one talk leads to hanging out, swapping phone numbers, and pranking West and Anson while they’re on their honeymoon. When I head back to California, I expect our chats to end, but I couldn’t be more wrong.
Darren
I still can’t say how it happened, how a random decision to strike up a conversation with Jeremy turned into…whatever this is. All I know is, months later, my days aren’t complete until we tell each other good night. Whether it’s on our calls or when he flies to Atlanta, we talk about everything, lying awake together half the night. Jeremy’s got me feeling…different. If it was just my newly discovered bisexuality, that’d be one thing. I’m not one to stress about being into a man for the first time. It’s the other stuff, the way he makes my pulse race and my heart swell, that’s throwing me for a loop.
I didn’t think I was made for relationships; I thought something inside me was broken, but I want it all with him. Except, it feels like as soon as we make it past one obstacle, there’s an even bigger one waiting for us. We just have to keep our heads in the game and our eyes on the prize to make it to the end zone, before one last tackle takes us down for good.
REVIEW:
I read the blurb for Ms. Hart’s The End Zone and admit I had a concern it would be a repeat of the fantastic The Endgame. The very early parts of the book added some confusion and consternation to that concern. This Jeremy and Darren were not the Jeremy and Darren I met in The Endgame. The bro-speak, puerile banter, and juvenile antics did not fit with how I read and understood them.
But just as these feelings set in, Ms. Hart turned the tables on me. Like shaking a snowglobe, she shook up all the pieces of these fascinating men and as they filtered back down, the pieces slid into place showing me a couple that fit together effortlessly and seamlessly. Jeremy and Darren’s banter and antics made sense. It was given context, as was their developing relationship. What I initially missed became patently obvious – these two very opposite men belong together, like Ying and Yang. Further, Ms. Hart used her writing prowess to allay my concerns about an Endgame redo. For sure, there’s no do-over here. Jeremy and Darren’s romance is fresh and new, and absolutely magnificent.
Jeremy is an endearingly complex character with many, often seemingly contradictory, facets of his personality. We see this intelligent, confident, poised, caring man at his most vulnerable. He’s recently divorced and suffering in silence because he doesn’t want to spoil Anson and West’s wedding. In that place of hurt and loneliness, Jeremy opens up to Darren. Darren’s surprising and funny. Maybe he could be a good friend. Ironically, Jeremy, perhaps unintentionally, shows himself to Darren because he doesn’t see any more coming from it. Darren presents no risk. It’s that guilelessness that pulls them to each other and then, before they realize it, in too deep to deny their mutual attraction and attachment.
Darren is the most unexpected part of The End Zone. He is just drool-worthy, total swoon, beautiful inside and out. I didn’t expect this Darren – and apparently, neither did Jeremy. Darren is so much more than his swagger and his game. He consistently demonstrates honesty, steadfast devotion and loyalty, and absolute refusal to be anything but his authentic self. One of the great joys of this book is experiencing Jeremy’s wonder over Darren as the full breadth of who Darren is, is revealed. It’s not that Darren was secreting his true self away. Quite the opposite in fact. He’s fully transparent to his friends, loved ones, and even the world at large. But, ironically, his larger-than-life personality easily overshadows the subtle but crucial aspects of who he is. His true self is hidden in plain sight.
Iggy Toma is back to narrate The End Zone, but this time, he’s not alone. Ms. Hart employs a new-to-me narrator, Benjamin Charles, to voice Darren, while Mr. Toma narrates Jeremy. In Jeremy, Mr. Toma delivers his usual consistent, emotionally invested vocal performance. He masterfully portrays Jeremy’s sarcasm and jaded commentary, which is particularly prevalent in the early parts of the book. Mr. Toma gives Jeremy a voice that sits in his middle register, at times conveying fear and frustration, with a sluggish delivery reflective of the lack of energy that accompanies Jeremy’s dejectedness and loneliness. But then Mr. Toma kicks the energy level and pacing up as Jeremy’s mood and outlook shift across the book, reflecting the upturn in Jeremy’s attitude, and the hopefulness and strength he finds in Darren.
Mr. Charles provides excellent narration for Darren. He adeptly captures his personality with his deep resonant, bass tone and gruff, growly, potent delivery. Mr. Charles impressed me with his engagement and thoughtful translation of Darren’s emotions through his voice. He uses effective pacing, delivery, and intonations to deliver a “Darren” consistent with Ms. Riley’s portrayal. However, the audiobook is told through dual narration, not duet narration. As such, each narrator voices all the characters in chapters told from their character’s POV. While Mr. Charles does a terrific job with Darren, his other characters lack that same expression. We don’t get the necessary vocal dynamics or distinction between characters and his feminine characters, for the most part, sound masculine. That being said, Mr. Charles clearly has prodigious skill so it’s just a matter of time before he fully inhabits his potential as a narrator.
The End Zone rivaled The Endgame, which I didn’t think would be possible. Jeremy and Darren’s story plays out much differently than what you might expect, and did so in riveting fashion. Mr. Toma and Mr. Charles’ euphonious tones definitely add to the experience, immersing the listener further into this sweet, engrossing, romantic sports romance.
RATING: 
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