The Red Zone by Meg Reading

 

 

Right, so this book here is the perfect mixture of smutty rom-com and I am not joking. At all.

It’s short and to the point meaning there is no straying away from the main topic, which is the love story of two enemies. The female lead, Mae Garten is a well-known model, and an absolute stunner according to both her and the male lead. The male lead, October Calhoun is a renowned football player.

The genres include enemies to lovers, opposites attract but also like attracts like, a smudge of past trauma maybe, and friends with benefits.

 

Mae and October are childhood enemies.

And I am not talking about I-don’t-like-my-next-door-neighbour-at-all kinda enemies. They hate, no LOATHE each other. And Mae does it with passion and dedication because of a certain childhood grudge. On top of that, she takes pride in annoying and troubling October. October for the most part is just retaliating but he still does his own bit of insulting and pranking and tomfoolery.

Not so much of a spoiler alert but I guess it’s still a spoiler alert I think, Mae has valid reasons for hating October which is revealed pretty early on in the novel but too late according to October.

Mae is at a struggling stage because of issues she has while running the modelling company she owns. But it’s not like she’s having money issues. It’s more of an image issue than money trouble. She is frustrated that her best friend who is almost like her sister is taking her arch nemesis’s side and just wildly angry that she has to share her living space with October of all people.

So when her friend brings up the possibility of a "hate fxck" as a joke, she’s revolted by the suggestion. At first. 

But then she goes all, ‘It’s not like I’m gonna fall in love with him or anything. Come on. Comeee on!!

Seriously?

Guys, how many main characters have we not seen fall into this Venus fly trap one-way trip fateful pit?

(None :p)

 

October meanwhile is super determined to wiggle out the reason for Mae hating on him so passionately. But when he does, he is devastated and realises that he can’t find it in him to hate on her anymore. Also unlike Mae, October started thinking of Mae as beautiful and attractive way before Mae even thought of him as human. He admits several times in his POV how attractive he finds her and how much he wishes he could ‘Do’ her. Compared to him, Mae’s is a recent development.

I think it could be part guilt and part longing on the part of October that makes him give in to Mae’s Idea. An idea he knows isn’t going to end well. (You have no idea how ‘badly’, my boy)

And that’s how they become FWB. And if you didn’t see that coming, my friend you…..need to read more smut cause that’s how each and every one of those MCs fall into the pit of Love.

What starts as contractual goes down the typical road of what we expected and along the way, stuff like trauma, past differences, present issues, and some other minor problems are dealt with.

Basically, the first part deals with their enmity and the pranks they play and the insults they throw at each other and the way they look at each other.

It’s cute and romantic and has got enough spice. And I haven’t read any like that ever. It’s either a rom-com or a smut. Never both together. So I say this was damn good. The plot was typical and everything goes just like a reader is used to. There’s no unexpected plot twist that you never saw coming. Just a sound story with a sound plot line. And with enough fluff and lemon.

The characters were solid original ones and the same goes for even side characters. So I give the characters 9/10. The smut gets a 9/10 and an 8/10 for the fluff. The plot gets a 7/10.

Overall, it was a good book to read. Especially for me since I was in a kind of slump. I mean you would know, since I haven’t posted any reviews after Fangirl. Red Zone brought me out of it, yayyy!

 

So definitely have fun reading this comfy delight, Lovers!