Book Tour & Review: Down for the Count by S. Marie & Victor Rahl

 

Title: Down for the Count
Authors: S. Marie, Victor Rahl
Release Date: January 8, 2024

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚.

My dreams of going Pro are at my fingertips. But in one moment, one hit, those dreams come crashing down around me.

The money, the fame, the life I wanted to give my mother. All gone.

Once I was Kingston “The King” Reyes. Women and men had chanted my name. Worshiped me. Now I work as a postal worker by day…and at night, I crawl into the dark, seedy underbelly of sin. An illegal underground fight club, where I still reign with my fists, but where every fight could be my last.

The “Brothers,” Dutch and Dom, hold my leash while they pay for my mother’s cancer treatments. I’m their puppet, their boy toy for wealthy women and power. You don’t cross them unless you want to end up on the bottom of a river.

Corrupt darkness coats my skin, marks my bones. I don’t see any light or hope, until on my route, I meet a pint-sized, mute, little girl, who seems to look right through me. She sees past the bruises and scars, while I can hear beyond her silence.

Yet it is her mother, Sawyer, I should run from. Sexy, feisty, and smart, Sawyer’s darkness draws me in. Challenges me.

𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣. 
𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩. 
𝙉𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 . . .

https://mybook.to/DownForTheCount
https://www.amazon.com/Down-Count-S-Marie/dp/B0CQHWG14F/

Goodreads: 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199052094-down-for-the-count

Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost from the publisher/author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I am leaving a voluntary review and all opinions are my own. 

This is one of those books that affects you so completely that it stays with you after you finish the last page. 

S. Marie is an author that I am familiar with and she always brings me to my knees with her gritty and compelling stories. The addition of Victor Rahl to this story excited me and I felt that they complimented each other in the writing. The writing style felt so seamless and I couldn't read the pages fast enough. I loved the layers to the plot and the execution of the story. The world was so vivid that I was sucked right into the world. 

The complexity of these characters really stood out from the start. Sawyer and Kingston are alike in a lot of ways underneath the surface. I loved all the parallels. Both main characters were vibrant and distinct. They were both relatable and I was able to form an instant connection with them. Hadley was a darling. The character development was excellent and it drove the story perfectly. It was so easy to fall irrevocably for these characters. 

This was a forbidden romance that was oh-so-good. I loved the dynamic that Kingston and Sawyer had with one another. They had chemistry for days. I loved their relationship and I loved the spice. I love the single mom trope, especially when paired with a bad boy trope. 

Overall, this was an intense story that will definitely leave you down for the count. This is one of those books that you just can't put down. If you like dark and gritty stories with plenty of emotion, this is your book. Memorable characters, a compelling plotline, and a hot romance made this one a knockout for me. 

S. Marie

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR S. Marie lives in the PNW with her dog Cooper, traveling and writing stories that are full of spice, angst, and emotional damage.

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Victor Rahl

Meet Victor Rahl, the Spanish-born athlete and model who conquered the wrestling world in his homeland before making his mark in the USA. You might recognize him from Love Island USA Season 5, where he joined the OG cast for an unforgettable summer in Fiji.

But Victor's talents don't end there. He's become a sensation in the world of romance novels, thanks to TikTok, where he not only reads these novels but also supports women. In just a few months, he's graced the covers of over 20 romance novels, making him a sought-after book model.

Off-camera, Victor is a passionate traveler who loves immersing himself in different cultures and adores all kinds of animals.