This book was reviewed in episode 169 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast. There is not text copy for the review as it is all in the audio program. You can access it at the link.

Update: Mar 19/22.
Sometimes you just have to be in the right head space to read a book, and clearly, that's the case for me with this one, because I tried reading this one again, and this time I loved it! In fact, I've binge read the whole series now, and it's one of my favourite hockey series. The issues I had with it the first time didn't bother me in the re-read, so I'm happy to say that sometimes, the second time around really is better.


Original Review:
I was really looking forward to reading this debut novel and loved the story idea. Unfortunately I found the main characters were written as if they were teenagers ,not adults, and didn't have the depth of feeling I was looking for. I understand this is a debut novel for the author and I hope she gets some positive critical feedback to improve. I think she has a good start here but her characters need to be more fully fleshed out. The way they think and act is not the way I expect someone in their twenties to be, and their reactions and relationship were too simplistic.

I literally want all the Rachel Reid books. I cannot get over how good this book was, and how much I loved the characters. They are all very flushed out and I really loved the story line. Not to mention the sexy times were perfect.

3.5 stars

after a slow, little instalove-y and even somewhat boring start, i actually really liked this one! there started being some actual plot and character development going on after the halfway mark, and the ending was super fucking cute. i was afraid i wasn't going to like this, because i don't like sports and i know absolutely nothing about hockey (i genuinely cannot name a single player or team), but turns out i didn't need to!

This was super cute and I loved it. Loved! I do wish I'd read it a long time ago and did my review right away because this was so good. I'm all of a sudden so anxious to have more books from this series because the characters are so great. And of course, I've read them all in a weird order now. Eh.

Despite being predictable, I mean it was easy to see where this was going, it was so good. Probably the only thing I don't like about this book is the name Kip... how is that a nickname for Christopher? I hate it.

Otherwise, I loved them. The journey is long and hard, but of course they get there and all is well and happy. I want more from these guys.

Too late to put a review.
But better late than never.

As I read the book, I remembered that I had already read it before. But I actually did not remember anything about it.
This book was just too sweet. Like both the characters were just feeling too much for each other very quickly.
Moreover, I don't enjoy the trope where one guy is forced to come out for another and the main conflict is based on that. Especially if the guy not coming out has a valid reason and had informed the other guy about his closeted situation.

However, if you enjoy the following, you'll love the book:
- Sports romance
- Big guy is verse
- Plenty of heat
- Cheesy low angst romance for the most part
- Great friends and team
- Cute meet cute
- Grand gesture at the end that was very adorable

Kip is a young, out college grad slinging health drinks while trying to find a job using his history degree. One day, uber-sexy Scott Hunter drops in to Kip’s smoothie shop for a recovery drink after a long run. Scott is a pro hockey player for the New York Admirals. He’s young, fit, and closeted—and having a terrible season on the ice. The same night after Kip and Scott meet, Scott gets a hat trick (three goals) and is the star of the game. So, he returns for another smoothie, couching his activity as “superstition.”

Kip is enamored with the sexy athlete and happy to help him any way he can. After the second time Scott’s game performance improves following smoothie time, Kip swaps shifts to ensure he’s working the mornings of future Admirals home games. And, Kip’s flirtations lead to Scott offering him tickets to a game for Kip and a friend. Kip’s getting more than a little infatuated, and not even realizing that Scott’s feelings are growing too.

Scott, being closeted, never dated any men in season—and always kept his sexual activity confined to anonymous hook-ups in far off destinations where he wouldn’t be recognized. For the first time in a while, though, he’s intrigued by a guy close to home: Kip.

Unexpectedly meeting at a social event, where Scott was helping to raise money for a worthy cause and Kip was hired waitstaff, brings these men back together following an Admirals road trip. It’s the right moment for Scott to dare—and Kip accepts the invitation Scott lays out. They talk and get to know one another and then the night gets steamy… and their second night together gets even steamier.

But, Scott isn’t willing to come out. Kip, on the other hand, is prepared to date Scott on the super down-low. They manage to keep it going for a few months, actually, getting closer and closer while life gets more and more complicated. Kip’s pals want him to go out and be the wild and free “single” guy they believe him to be, and Scott, well, he’s dealing with team nonsense and fear of discovery. It’s a tense situation that only gets more difficult to manage. I liked how real that felt, the disappointment and frustration of living a half-life with the person who completes you.

Professionally, both Scott and Kip are doing great—Scott’s team is rolling through the playoffs, and Kip’s considering a museum educator job, or even grad school, but they can’t share their personal joy and it’s stifling. Too stifling.

I really got pulled into the feels of this one. Scott and Kip are such sweet characters. They have so much private joy and the juxtaposition in their public lives is all the more cutting, in return. Their mutual loneliness, amidst the people they know and love, is crushing—and more than Kip can take after a while. After he’s already fallen hard and sure for the superstar athlete who can’t live his truth.

It’s a happy ending, though, as Scott realizes that he’s more than the commodity others have made him, and his personal happiness has value, too. I liked the quiet personal coming out, and the more spectacular professional coming out was just as emotionally rewarding. Also, lots and lots of steamy sexytimes. These guys are borderline insatiable. The ending leaves open another window back into this world, with different closeted player in the hockey league finding love.

A wonderful book that marries Romance and Hockey - when a professional hockey player starts making a comeback, he assumes it's because of the shakes that a certain smoothie maker has been creating for him...which leads to a lot of visits to the smoothie shop! As these two opposites fall in love unexpectedly, they both have an opportunity to try new things and spread their wings. This is a sweet and loving read from a really exciting new author.

This wasn't my favorite unfortunately! I'm not sure if it has something to do with my current reading slump, but I had a hard time connection with any of the characters.

A bit too insta-love, and I was expecting more of a dramatic climax, but the guys are cute and their story mostly sweet.

This review is long overdue!

Okay, a short background on how I was reminded of this book. I've just recently read Heated Rivalry, the sequel to this book and I absolutely loved it! I then knew that I already finished reading this. I just can't remember when and how I got my copy. Few thinking and research later, I came to netgalley. Hello there, Game Changer - so this is where you've been hiding all along. And if you are a galley reader who’s receiving free e-copies of books, then you know how important it is to show some gratitude for the free books you receive.

This review is not possible without rereading about Kip and Scott. I'm reminded again of how hot they were together. Sweet as a smoothie and steamy as a newly brewed coffee! (wow, did that actually just rhyme?)

If you've been reading my recent reviews, then you know how I feel about closet cases. I.Dont.Like. characters who can’t fight for who they really are. Unless, they have good reasons like Scott’s. I myself wouldn’t mess up the chance to reach my dreams with an announcement like, “Hey, I’m gay, and I enjoy the bar baristas juice” So, I think Scott’s hiding is somehow forgivable. Especially after he did what he did: earning a hockey award and dropping the G bomb right after. That right there, is how you come out!

But I couldn’t say I enjoyed seeing Kip’s penance (well, both of them.) I felt Kip during those days when he’s being kept like a dirty little secret. I mean, why am I a famous hockey player’s lover and can’t brag about it? Like, can’t I slap the fact on people’s faces that this pair of ass right here is being worshipped by a famous hockey player? Well, timing. As painful as it is.

I like how this brings out the angst I always look for (speaking of angst, you should read Heated Rivalry too. I call that 'the fairy godfather of anxiety'.) There are times when I fear the outcome of Kip and Scott’s relationship to Scott’s career, because ain’t that the reason for the hiding in the first place? But it’s also the hiding that’s making me hate the relationship. Because if it only includes fifty percent good fuck and fifty percent sneaking around, then what is it?

But like how most fairy tales end, everything turns out just fine. In this particular case, really really fayyynnnn.

After reading the second book of the series recently (which I loved), and not making the connection that Game Changer is the first book in the same series until the very end, I decided to give Game Changer another chance. I actually dnf-ed Game Changer the first time. Back then I wasn't exactly sure why, but during my second read I figured out the why. It was too sweet and too fast for me and I hated the constant sex scenes. I started skipping them, both times. I usually love all ice hockey stories, because I'm just a sucker for them, but I think in this instance it was a "it's me, not you"-type of situation. The later half of the book was better than the first half though and the second time around I actually finished it, that does count for something, right?

Rating: 2 stars

A lovely romance, Kip and Scott were perfect together, Wonderful side characters, highly recommended.

I was not able to finish this one. It wasn't a bad book. But it was not for me. I just was never able to get into it the way I hoped.

From what I did read. The characters were fairly good. They had good chemistry though.

I picked up Game Changer on a whim, but my expectations weren't that high, because, aside from Katherine Locke's series, I haven't been impressed with the quality of Carina Press' offerings. The writing's a bit basic and the book runs a bit long, but I did like this one. I will say, though, that I have absolutely read this exact story before. It's way too similar to Bowen and Kennedy's Him and Us.

That said, Scott and Kip are pretty dang cute, and I always appreciate a book that defies stereotypes. Scott Hunter, badass hockey player, doesn't fall into the alpha stereotype at all. He's generally super chill, and he's such a sweet guy.

I'll probably try the second book in the series, but I would like to see a wee bit more originality. Romance as a genre is all about predictable but this did feel like I'd read the book before rather than familiar and expected in the good way.

Kip is a young, out college grad slinging health drinks while trying to find a job using his history degree. One day, uber-sexy Scott Hunter drops in to Kip’s smoothie shop for a recovery drink after a long run. Scott is a pro hockey player for the New York Admirals. He’s young, fit, and closeted—and having a terrible season on the ice. The same night after Kip and Scott meet, Scott gets a hat trick (three goals) and is the star of the game. So, he returns for another smoothie, couching his activity as “superstition.”

Kip is enamored with the sexy athlete and happy to help him any way he can. After the second time Scott’s game performance improves following smoothie time, Kip swaps shifts to ensure he’s working the mornings of future Admirals home games. And, Kip’s flirtations lead to Scott offering him tickets to a game for Kip and a friend. Kip’s getting more than a little infatuated, and not even realizing that Scott’s feelings are growing too.

Scott, being closeted, never dated any men in season—and always kept his sexual activity confined to anonymous hook-ups in far off destinations where he wouldn’t be recognized. For the first time in a while, though, he’s intrigued by a guy close to home: Kip.

Unexpectedly meeting at a social event, where Scott was helping to raise money for a worthy cause and Kip was hired waitstaff, brings these men back together following an Admirals road trip. It’s the right moment for Scott to dare—and Kip accepts the invitation Scott lays out. They talk and get to know one another and then the night gets steamy… and their second night together gets even steamier.

But, Scott isn’t willing to come out. Kip, on the other hand, is prepared to date Scott on the super down-low. They manage to keep it going for a few months, actually, getting closer and closer while life gets more and more complicated. Kip’s pals want him to go out and be the wild and free “single” guy they believe him to be, and Scott, well, he’s dealing with team nonsense and fear of discovery. It’s a tense situation that only gets more difficult to manage. I liked how real that felt, the disappointment and frustration of living a half-life with the person who completes you.

Professionally, both Scott and Kip are doing great—Scott’s team is rolling through the playoffs, and Kip’s considering a museum educator job, or even grad school, but they can’t share their personal joy and it’s stifling. Too stifling.

I really got pulled into the feels of this one. Scott and Kip are such sweet characters. They have so much private joy and the juxtaposition in their public lives is all the more cutting, in return. Their mutual loneliness, amidst the people they know and love, is crushing—and more than Kip can take after a while. After he’s already fallen hard and sure for the superstar athlete who can’t live his truth.

It’s a happy ending, though, as Scott realizes that he’s more than the commodity others have made him, and his personal happiness has value, too. I liked the quiet personal coming out, and the more spectacular professional coming out was just as emotionally rewarding. Also, lots and lots of steamy sexytimes. These guys are borderline insatiable. The ending leaves open another window back into this world, with different closeted player in the hockey league finding love.

This didn’t start off very well. There wasn’t much conflict and anything else happening except for the couple having a lot of great sex. It was sappy like a Lifetime movie and naughty like an EL James novel. I almost didn’t finish it, but it was so easy to read, albeit corny, that I kept at it. Fortunately, it got better towards the end.

After about the halfway mark, Kip starts having doubts about where their relationship (which went from dirty sex to declarations of love pretty quickly—also, parentheses is apparently the author’s thing) is going and how long he can stand being Scott’s secret. Kip’s worries cause Scott to have insecurities about their relationship as well. And that’s basically the main conflict in the novel.

Like most m/m sports romances, it’s about when and how the superstar gay athlete is going to come out to the world because he fell in love and doesn’t want to hide who he is anymore. The only suspense is how Scott is going to come out and what the consequences will be for his career. Since this novel is guaranteed to have a happy ending, it’s to be expected that Scott and Noah won’t have to hide their love forever and all that.

So, I have to give an extra sappy star for how Scott came out to the world with a romantic grand gesture. All their friends were great and likable and funny at times. Rozanov, Scott’s rival on the ice, was a scene-stealer at times and their back and forth was funny too. Unsurprisingly, Ilya gets a starring role in the next book, which looks to have an enemies to lovers theme. I’ll probably check it out.

I had read Heated Rivalry first then realized it was book 2. Then had the fortunate realization that I also had Game Changer on my kindle and hadn't reviewed it yet. Unfortunate because I had dropped the ball on reviewing this in a timely manner but a boon for finding it on my kindle and getting to read it now.

First off being Canadian I feel a kinship with Rachel, so that's a bonus. This series starts with Scott Hunter who is one of NHL"s favorite but he has a big secret and the moment he meets Kip Grady at a local smoothie.

Kip is a lovable guy from his friends and family.

"I propose a toast. To Kip! A guy you want to hate because he's so handsome but you can't because he's goddamn charming,"

And his charm gets noticed from Scott, but is it worth the risk for Scott to lose everything? I liked the chemistry of Kip and Scott together and I felt for their struggles. However, Kip's self doubt got a bit tiring at times.

I thought it was cute but I have to admit once the I love you's happened it got a bit mushy with the I love youitis.

Even though this isn't one of my favorites in the MM sports romance genre, it has intrigued me enough to continue with this series and this author.

Game Changer by Rachel Reid marks the first time I have read anything by this author, but it certainly won’t be the last. While there were a few rough spots in this novel, I truly enjoyed the way this author gave me a good handle on how both of her characters thought through the tangled web their lives quickly became.

Scott Hunter is as deep in the closet as one can get. His entire life has been focused on being supportive and reliable—first to his mother, then to his team, and then to the many fans and sponsors who put their money down on products he endorses. There is a ton of pressure on this professional hockey player, and much of it comes from the fact that he has denied his real self for far too long. Then he meets Kip, the sweet, friendly smoothie maker who gives Scott more than a simple energy boost in the form of a blueberry smoothie. Scott is smitten and Kip is nearly head-over-heels in lust.

As the two begin clandestinely dating, life becomes more and more aggravating, particularly since theirs is a relationship that exists only behind closed doors. Kip promises Scott he can handle it, but when the puck really hits the ice, Kip may feel the need to skate away while Scott remains trapped in a penalty box of his own making.

All silly hockey allusions aside, this story was actually quite good. I felt for both of these men and wanted nothing more than to see them get a happy ever after. However, the daunting and fearful task before Scott—to come out or potentially lose Kip—is huge and not easily navigated. Rachel Reid takes her time to develop this idea and while I understood the need for a slow-developing story, there were times when Scott’s indecision and reasoning were pretty aggravating. Seventy-five percent into this story, I really had to dub Kip a saint for putting his own life on hold just to be with Scott.

Besides the sheer length of time it took for Scott to basically move forward with his life and pursue his own happiness, as opposed to everyone else’s taking main stage, I also had some trouble with how long Kip had remained not only in his parent’s home but in a dead end job. He was a smart guy, and the fact that he lived on the edge of poverty seemed a bit much. Since I assume he wasn’t paying rent, I felt he could and should have taken the time to decide on a future that would make him happy, and yet he was so adrift throughout most of the novel. In many ways it felt as though both Kip and Scott enjoyed the misery they were both enduring, and it took a relationship with each other to wake them up.

However, despite that there were some really lovely moments in this story that stood out for me. I enjoyed their secret dates and the times where they actually talked and connected emotionally even though there was way too much sex to interrupt those fleeting encounters. In many ways I felt this novel would have really been served by a second good edit, toning down the sex, pushing Scott and Kip toward more decisive moments. Perhaps allowing them to really find a way to move forward together rather than forcing the issue and thrusting the burden of saving the relationship onto Scott and having him shoulder it on his own.

Game Changer has an awful lot going for it, but it needed some slimming down and some meatier emotional moments that did not include sex. I think that Rachel Reid is a talented writer, and I look forward to reading more from her. This novel has some really good bones but just needed a bit more story to hold them together.

Reviewed by Sammy

I love hockey books. This one was not what I was expecting from a typical hockey book. It was sugar sweet.