“Fuck. This was really gay,” (Reid).
Shane Hollander’s whole life is hockey. He is famous for his skill, dedicated to the sport, and now that he’s the captain of the Montreal Voyageurs he’ll make sure not to jeopardize that, especially not by the captain of the Boston Bears, Ilya Rosanov. Ilya is just as talented and can’t be beat, except by Shane. The two have made a career out of their rivalry for each other, but once the last goal has been scored and the skates are off the two find themselves secretly hooking up. But they can’t let anyone know, coming out would ruin both of their careers, and none of what they’re doing is serious anyways. Until they start to develop feelings for each other which only makes things more complicated.
I watched the gay hockey show so naturally I had to go back and read the gay hockey book. I knew about Heated Rivalry and it’s small but mighty fanbase before the show came out but really had no interest in the book series until watching the show. Sport fiction and smut are just not genres I read very widely from, but the show was fun and the love for these characters started from this book, so I had to give it a try. Shout-out to my library for purchasing extra copies on Libby to mitigate the holds queue for the physical books!
Honestly, this was a fun book. I was surprised to see how faithful the show is as an adaption to the book. It’s a pretty simple story, there’s nothing too deep going on, but Reid does an excellent job making readers feel for their characters. Shane and Ilya are both fun to follow and it’s nice to see their differences and watch their relationship develop from something explicitly physical to tender feelings for one another. The explicit parts are quite explicit, and as someone who doesn’t read from that genre it was a bit surprising for me, but hey, you learn something new everyday. Now I know a bit more about a genre I’d never read before.
I don’t know if I’ll read the entire Game Changers series (we’ll see what happens when season 2 comes out) but I’m glad I read this. It was a fun, easy read and something that just made me feel happy while reading it, and sometimes that what you really need from a book (especially when you read as many sad and scary things as I do).
Publication: March 25 2019
Publisher: Carina Press
Pages: 372 pages (Libby)
Source: Libby
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Erotica, Canadian, Queer
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤.75
Summary:
Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.
Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.
As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…
Sarah O'Connor 