In the Zone

The 6th Man Series, Book 3

De: Rosie P. Burke

Narrado por: Louise Cooksey

Spencer Lawrence: One stupid play nearly cost my team their shot at the cup in the Spring Upshot Tournament back in March. It did cost me the rest of my season. Possibly my shot at next year’s draft. It’s the summer before my senior year and my last chance to get professional teams looking at me as a real contender. Coach has it in his head that some upstart trainer is my ticket back to the game; and while she seems to know her job, I have to resist. There’s no way I can jeopardize my one shot to get away from my past.

Ryleigh Simpson: I have a dream: to be the best in the world of professional sports athletic training. My biggest hurdle? I’m a woman. And while women are making a name for themselves in the arena of professional sports, it seems like this is one space we can’t get our foot in the door to. That is until the head coach for Franklin University’s Men’s basketball team asks me to rehab his star forward. This is my one chance to prove I can do the job as well as, if not better than, any guy out there.

The only problem? Spencer Lawrence isn’t sold on me. That’s fine. He doesn’t have to like me for me to do my job. But after spending weeks working out the issues with his ankle, I realize there’s more to the athlete than meets the eye. Although… it’s not a bad view from where I’m sitting. I’m starting to realize I might want more. More time. More touches. More… him.

As the summer comes to an end, will I bench myself?…Or are we In the Zone?

The 6th Man Series is a new adult romance that focuses on life as a college student. Topics will be appropriate to that age group; subjects may be sensitive so please heed the Heads Up at the start of each book!

©2024, 2025 Rosie P. Burke (P)2025 Rosie P. Burke

Tremendous!

The Franklin University Hawks are a basketball team that is flush with talent and expectations of success in having their players go high in the first rounds of the NBA draft. Spencer Lawrence is a star as a junior and it seems his star is on the rise until he sustains a stress fracture of the ankle and his hopes for the coming season are dimming. Ryleigh Simpson is the athletic trainer who intends to get him back on his feet and in top shape for next year's basketball season. Spencer is insistent that he start his rehab and stunned that he's going to be under the ministrations of the most beautiful woman in the world. He's had a serious crush on Ryleigh and she's had her eye on him, too, but they have a way of getting under each other's skin. When they decide that it's worth having a relationship with an end date, they both face a whole new level of stress and indecision about the parameters of what they expect will happen when it comes time to split. Rather than allowing them to relax and enjoy a relationship with term limits, the "unknown" of what will happen when it's over is messing with their minds, and their inner thoughts reflect the fact that they're still college students. In The Zone is a tremendous story with a slight sense of melancholy, a different feel as Ms. Burke addresses some tougher subjects that are handled with grace. Body image, toxic family, and single-minded focus on basketball are balanced out well by an amazing found family. I appreciate that the author injected body size into the story in a natural way, rather than hitting the reader over the head to make a point. This is the 3rd book in the Sixth Man series and I highly recommend it.
The narration by Louise Cooksey is extremely well done. Her dynamic, clear voice perfectly portrayed the characters, bringing them to life and giving each their own voice and personality.

A swoon- worthy romance

I adored this book; it was fun, flirty with some spice.

Spencer and Ryleigh completely stole my heart. The chemistry between them was good, and the way Spencer pined for Ryleigh 😘 chef’s kiss 😘 was the perfect blend of heartfelt and swoon-worthy. Ryleigh was such a relatable FMC. I loved thst she stayed true to herself even while navigating her feelings. It was great watching her open up to Spencer again made their journey feel so real.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet Listen

I enjoyed this story and the development of the characters and relationship. I didn't realize this was the 3rd in the series and while it does stand alone I do wish I had read the 2nd one first but it's definitely not necessary. Narration was done well and really brought the characters to life.