The King's Men

I stick by my initial assesment that this series is basically a sports anime on stereoids. It just has that feeling. And then the mafia and the deep trauma is the stereoids. Like it's just so dramatic.
And it's gay. Oh... it's gay. Canonically gay, unlike sports anime where you just want them to be gay. I'm sorry, I know I'm talking too much about the sport anime similarity, but it's just so fitting. IT'S SO GODDAMN DRAMATIC.
I love all of the characters, except probably Kevin, but I'm comforted by the fact that none of the characters really like Kevin either and I am therefore not alone in this opinion, lmao. He's a very important chracters, but he's super annoying so I'm like ‘whatever, dude' when he's around.
So I love romance, and this series is like the first real slow burn I've read in years. Literal years! I don't think I've read a slow burn since I was an avid fanfic reader. It's really been a good while. I forgot how they're both infuriating and endlessly satisfying. Although, this relationship doesn't give as much fluff as us romance lovers may be used to because trauma is a thing and it messes people up real bad, but like stilllllllllllll it's so goooooooooooooood.
I knew going into this series that there HAD to be gay romance, it was basically the selling point for me to get into the books at all. But I was generally concerned if I had played myself and been lured by what was simply fan-wishing and not actually canon because the first book gave me NOTHING. And I had re-assess everything from that point on and be like “is the slow burn that slow or is it simply never coming???” and the fact that this was a real book and not a fanfic with the specific goal of getting two people together by the end. I simply didn't know (I really try to not know a whole lot about the books I read before reading.) It came, though, and I was not disappointed (high five!)
I wanna point out, though, that this series is heavy, stressful, traumatic, and dramatic. Do not go in lightly, and be aware of trigger warnings. Abuse, sexual assault, torture, a variety of mental issues are all a very big part of the story, and I would advise anyone for whom this might be a trigger to consult other readers before going into it to assess if it is too much. The books do not take anything lightly and some things are quite graphic, which you should be aware of.
That being said, holy fucking shit I loved this to bits.
The series is best on a whole, I honestly don't know if I would have continued with enough interest after the first book if I did not know that what I was really there for was coming later, especially if I would have needed to wait a year or two for the next book. I would have been satisfied with the story at that point and not needed more if I didn't know there would be more than more.
The series overall is fucking fantastic. Don't let your lack of care for sports get in the way of reading. It's too good for that. It is a made-up sport, so no one knows anything when they first read, and while you might be confused in the first book, by the third you know it.
Cannot recommend it enough. (But remember the warnings!) You might need a thing for the dramatic to truly appreciate it xD