This is the second book in the Game Changers series. It is a MM contemporary hockey romance. It is the first book for me by this author and I must say it was wonderful and probably won’t be my last. In the story the author develops the characters from young boys to adult men and weaves a story of rivalry and developing friendship. The characters are funny and lovable and as the reader I was routing for them to succeed. The pace was wonderful, I had a hard time putting the book down. As I did not read the first book, this can be read as a stand-alone.

I really enjoyed this story by Rachel Reid and have downloaded book one to get Scott's story and more of this world! These two hot hockey players have been pitted against each other since their teens and the dislike for each other is deep seeded indeed. Shane and Ilya have a LOT more in common than anyone knows but the climate in the NHL world makes it nearly impossible for anything to ever happen between them...besides... they hate each other. This story encompasses years of hidden passion and so much more. As big a jerk as Ilya is...I found myself falling for him a little too!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novel!

Title: Heated Rivalry
Author: Rachel Reid
Rating: 3 stars
Trigger/content warnings: the death of family members, mention of suicide (in the past), a family member with dementia, MCs with multiple other partners throughout the novel, homophobic slurs,

While I was completely hooked and finished this in one sitting, I did have some problems with this. I am definitely in the minority though, all I have read are glowing reviews for this book so it's probably a "me not you" situation!

If you're not a fan of MCs/love interests having sex or in relationships with other people throughout a novel, then just be mindful going into this one. One of my bookish pet peeves in romance books is when the MCs have relationships with other people, so I wasn't a fan of that aspect but I sort of understood as this book does span about 6/7 years.

This book has a lot of sex scenes, which is absolutely fine, but when it comes at the expense of the relationship development, that's when it's a bit of a problem for me personally.

I felt like the book handled the bisexual rep pretty poorly with phrases along the lines of: "I'm at least half gay" or "f*ck that was really gay" and how Ilya, our bisexual character, constantly went on and on about all the women he has had sex with, he brands himself as a "ladies man" and when Shane comes out as gay to him, his response is "I'm not gay. And I can't be...anything close to it." He has had flings with men in the past, but they are hardly mentioned. Towards the end he identifies as bi, it just felt very messy to me. Maybe I am just reading too much into it.

To be honest, I didn't really like how the sex scenes were handled at the beginning. Shane was constantly saying how much he hated it, how he felt so humiliated, so guilty and shameful. I began to feel sorry for him.

I found myself constantly frowning throughout the novel at the things the characters said or done.

One thing I did really like was the fact that the two MCs didn't really feel that pressured to "come out" they wanted their privacy, they wanted to go at their own pace, which I really liked seeing.

I'm gutted I didn't enjoy this as much as I was expecting, but I will definitely be trying out this authors work again in the future!

Overall, I am very glad I had the chance to read and review this book. If this sounds like something you would like to read, I would definitely recommend giving it a go. I seem to be in the minority with my opinion on this one!

First things first, this book needs a trigger warning for Canadian hockey fans! This book should have been a DNF on principle. You see, the author writes about Canada losing to Russia in the World Junior Hockey Championship. How dare she! It’s unacceptable especially considering the unfortunate events of new years eve (Canada lost to Russia in the World Junior Hockey tournament for real). Talk about pouring salt into an open wound!

But gay hockey romances aren’t exactly easy to come by so I kept reading. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that. Which leaves me really torn about how to review this book. You see, on one hand, I loved it. On the other hand, the hockey fan in me is not impressed.

Let’s start at the beginning. The first chapter takes us to Regina, Saskatchewan. Regina is one of my favorite cities in the world and it’s NEVER mentioned in books. I’m not sure why that is. Regina is unofficially known as “the city that rhymes with fun” you’ll get it in a minute if that’s not the perfect setting for a romance novel I don’t know what is.

So I’m just going to take a moment to dwell on the irony of the first time I see the Regina in a book it’s an MM romance novel. Gay guys just aren’t interested in the sort of fun the city rhymes with. You get it now, don’t you? 😉

All that aside, I do have a bit of a soft spot for hockey players. Ilya was exactly what I imagine when I think of brooding Russian hockey players. I totally read all of his dialogue with a Russian accent, it was great. Seriously, it’s not often an author can depict an accent without getting repetitive, annoying, and occasionally offensive so this was a lovely surprise.

I loved the slightly forbidden nature of Ilya and Shane’s relationship. Secrets are kind of hot, aren’t they? I’m sure the mere danger of being caught as well as the personal and professional risks to both made their relationship that much more passionate and intense.

But with that said, I felt more invested in the relationship than the characters. I desperately wanted the relationship to work, but I didn’t feel especially connected to either of my book-boyfriends. It’s not necessarily a bad thing and I suspect it’s what the author intended. It’s just different than I’m used to.

This might be an issue with my expectations. I fell in love with Scott and Kip in Game Changer (the first book in the series)

Generally, I find romance novels tend to focus on the characters, this one focused on the relationship. To be honest, I’m not sure if it worked for me. But I think there is likely a whole group of romance readers who want to read about relationships more so than they want to read about the people in them.

Overall, Heated Rivalry was a great play on the reliable enemies to lovers trope. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sports romances.

4 Stars!

So much angst!

I'm not a huge fan of angst that lasts throughout the majority of the book. I really hate it when the characters don't get it together until the book is almost over. I don't enjoy going back and forth from the past to the now. So with this book having all of that it really shouldn't have worked for me... Yet it did.

I liked seeing how it began and how the relationship developed throughout their teens into their late 20's. It gives the reader a chance to get to know the characters better. It gave us a chance to see them fall in love. To watch as they went from enemies, to hooking up, to finally falling in love.

I loved how shy yet bold Shane was. I loved how Ilya brought out a side of Shane he tried so hard to keep hidden. That he made it OK for Shane to be himself. I loved that Shane made Ilya feel vulnerable. That he got Ilya to take down some of his walls and to confide in him because Ilya is very much alone and honestly, lonely. Where Shane comes from two parents who are loving and supportive, Ilya comes from one who only calls when they need money. Shane gets praised by his parents for his hard work on the ice. Ilya's father calls to tell him what he could have done better and what an embarrassment he is to their country. So obviously these guys come from very different backgrounds yet they are the perfect match for one another.

The ending was really what made this book for me. I liked how it wasn't your perfect wrapped up HEA. I mean it was a HEA ending, just not your conventional one. It was theirs. One they planned and one they were making a reality.

Happy reading dolls! xx

I would rate this 4.5 stars.

Although this is a follow-up to Game Changer, this can be read as a standalone. In fact, most of this takes place before book one and then catches up to that timeline, so you could read them in either order. Scott from book one has a brief appearance.

Shane Hollander is on the Montreal ice hockey team and Ilya Rozanov is on their historic rival team of Boston. The author gives the reader a glimpse at what their relationship is like, and then flashes back to when they first met eight years ago. Each interaction over the following seven years is highlighted, showing the personal rivalry both on and off the ice in dual POV. But having hot, steamy encounters for so many years draws them closer. Their status and similar positions in the hockey world make for a strange connection that no one else could really understand. This is an enemies to lovers story and they are not romantic or a couple for the majority of the book, so if it will bother you that they have sex (off page) with other people, this might not be the book for you. While Shane has to confront the fact that he's gay, Ilya has to confront that even though he's bisexual, he only really wants Shane anymore. When their dynamic shifts in a way that frightens them both, they have to decide if this is worth their careers.

I loved these guys from start to finish. I loved when they were enemeies, loved how they strangely became friends, and I loved them as a couple. This was a hot, entertaining erotic romance. I also found it a bit more realistic and evenly written than the first book. I was fine with how it ended, although some might not like the practicality.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.5 stars
🔥🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 4.5

A passionate enemies and lovers tale!

I loved this story and there is so much heat, passion and feelings I was hooked from the start.

I felt that this was different from the usual enemies to lovers trope as Shame and Ilya are “enemies” on the ice and in the media but not really enemies of the ice or to each other. While they annoy and frustrate each other, there are feelings and passion there right from the start that for me overruled the enemies side of things for me.

I really enjoyed the journey of their ‘relationship’ and I liked how Rachel approached this and used a timeline style of writing. I loved that it went on for 8+ years and that their feelings grew stronger over time. I liked Rachel’s approach to the NHL world and these players as people. The story follows the hockey seasons and various games but doesn’t bog the story down and as someone who knows next to nothing about hockey, the story came across very balanced.

Now there is so much heat in this book, it’s on FIRE! The chemistry between Shane and Ilya is fantastic and you can feel that chemistry spark at every encounter. I really enjoyed Shane’s progressive self-discovery and eventual acceptance of what he likes and who he is. When he finally accepts his sexuality you can feel the change in the character as Rachel’s writing is so prudent and empathetic. I loved Rachel’s detailed, free-flowing writing style and look forward to reading her other stories. I didn’t realize this was the second book in the series and look forward to going back and reading Scott’s story!

All in all, this is a fantastic enemy to lovers/friends to lovers/coming out/ gay for you story! So much passion, chemistry, and emotions, I loved it!

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I hadnt read the first book in this series but that didnt matter as this is a great stand alone as well
I dont read many romance stories and even less about ice hockey so the combination was new for me but I enjoyed it,loved the main characters and loved the style of writing and will definetley read more by this author

I loved this book. The flow and outline of Heated Rivalry worked. Shane and Ilya aren't your typical leading men. They each had flaws but overall their chemistry was evident from the beginning.
There may be some elements that readers may not want to read in a love story but it's handled in a honest way.

There were a few times I had a lump in my throat as I wasn't sure where these two were heading but they couldn't and wouldn't give up each other.

While it''s one of my favorite reads of the year I was hoping for another chapter or an epilogue. I don't want to leave these men.

Wow! Heated Rivalry was all that and a bag of chips!! I loved Rachel Reid's debut, Game Changer, but I totally loved Heated Rivalry! The book is written over a long span of over a decade, much differently than Game Changer-where we first met Ilya Rozanov. It is not required reading for this spectacular book to be enjoyed, but you will want to!!

Ilya Rozanov, what a complex character!! He is a cocky hockey player who fans love to have on their team, and love to hate if playing against him! The story starts with Rozanov meeting Hollander in the junior finals right before they go pro.

Shane Hollander-straight laced, above board, always nice and sweet... you know the type. The league crafts a huge rivalry between these two players-the good and the bad!! It's all for show and ratings of course. Both guys play their part, for sure, but it is not what their relationship actually is.

Both players are at the top of their game, eventually captains of their respective teams, and are super competitive with each other. I loved all the smack talking and the constant ribbing they give each other. On the ice-its the show, because behind closed doors, they can not get enough of each other. I loved their laughing and joking throughout the whole book!

Both characters are truly likeable! Ilya for being confident in being bisexual, and Shane for just discovering his likeness for men. Ilya never made Shane feel bad for his lack of experience and I felt his girl best friend, Rose, was a positive influence too. Both had a lot of pressure with their notoriety they had to contend with.

Throughout the story, we are building their crafted rivalry on the ice, and their hot as hell chemistry, off the ice. I enjoyed seeing their relationship build from a friends to benefits to so much more! They truly like being around each other, and if they can play hockey too-well, so much the better! They were so funny at times I just burst out laughing! And they also were so sweet and sexy together too....awwww!!!

I love a good sports romance and if it's hockey? I'm in! I loved how flirtatious they were in their rivalry! I know...so much fun! But seriously, I loved how they were together. It is a shame that you can not love the one you want without so many complex ramifications! I liked how they created a way to connect when hockey was no longer the number one thing in their lives. I definitely would like to have a revisit down the road and catch up with these two loveable characters!

I wholeheartedly recommend Rachel Reid and Heated Rivalry! Be prepared for all the boxes to be checked with this one!

This book includes several of my favourite tropes - the ice Hockey boys!! So good. Plus a Russian and a Canadian! That combo always works a treat. Both characters have flaws and fail to communicate (without it being jokey and blokey), but their obvious love for each other is explored beautifully.

Another favourite is the flashback style. We are taken through the relationship over a number of years, so we see the friendship and the relationship develop organically.

It's also Hot!! Way Hot! Very steamy and loving, if that's your thing.

While there are obstacles along the way, most are overcome easily. I never felt manipulated.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher Carina Press for advancing me a copy. Due out March 25.

An intriguing and seriously sexy M/M contemporary hockey romance that I thoroughly enjoyed! On the ice they are fierce rivals. In private they have a decade long arrangement of hooking up whenever they were in the same city. With both of their careers on the line keeping the relationship a secret is a must. This may have worked for a while but now their feelings have grown and something needs to change. Will they ever be able to have it all?

This is a great read and definitely one I would recommend.

Excellent story of finding love...no matter who it is with! The story of Hockey Players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, span over 10 years. You take the journey of each man and self-discovery. I really enjoyed this book so much.

Rachel Reid melts the ice with HEATED RIVALRY, the second book in the Game Changer series. Captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, Shane Hollander, and Boston Bears captain, Ilya Rozanov, are rivals. They both share a secret that could alter their lives. This contemporary sports romance is suitable for adult audiences.

I really liked Shane’s and Ilya’s characters. Their rivalry kept reminding me of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. The media has always played them against each other since the World Junior Hockey Championships and Draft. Shane is a humble, serious, and a good role model. He has an awesome family. Ilya is pretty much Shane’s opposite. He is arrogant and obnoxious. Ilya does not have a great family life. Both characters are lovable in their own ways. Their competition makes them better players.

I enjoyed the plot. There were interesting twists. The story was believable and heartwarming. This is the first book that I have read by Rachel Reid. I enjoyed her writing style. HEATED RIVALRY was skillfully-written and executed. I want to go back and read book one, GAME CHANGER. I could follow this book with no problem having not read the first book. However, Scott Hunter from book one is referenced in this novel, and I want to read his story. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

It is always such a treat to find a talented new author. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started Heated Rivalry. To my delight this book delivered. Shane an incredibly talented pro Canadian Hockey player meets Ilya a gifted and arrogant player from Russia. They clash on the ice and their competitiveness tends to stoke the fire of sexual desire. They start to randomly meet up secretly. Neither man is invested in this relationship since it's only fun and to release some tension right?
Life is complicated and over the years they realize this arrangement is far from simple. At first Ilya annoyed me but by the end of the book he redeemed himself. Shane is sweet and patient and his family is wonderful. The entire story was almost perfect because life just always isn't. I felt the ending was realistic and even though I do not follow hockey I really enjoyed how knowledgeable Ms Reid was on the topic.
After I finished I rushed to see what else she has written and purchased her first book. That is my testimonial to a great read, purchasing more work from the author. Posted to Goodreads and will share with Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Thanks for this endearing adventure.

I loved this book! OMG, the emotions coming off these guys is off the charts!

Shane and Ilya just became another favorite couple and I don’t have many of those. I could reread this book immediately!!

I adored their banter...how they were such rivals yet couldn’t stop their attraction! The angry internal dialogue while hooking up was hilarious.

“Holy shit. Shane had to get out of here. He wondered if he could possibly smash through the tile wall of the shower room and escape that way. Anything would be preferable to facing Rozanov again.”

“You think I’m an asshole,” Rozanov said. “You are an asshole.”

This guy was determined to one-up him at every turn.

And, oh god, Ilya could see the war going on in Hollander’s head.

Then...Shane’s parents are freakin awesome....

His father stood up. “Would anyone like a beer? I could use a beer.”
“Yes,” said Ilya.
“Definitely,” said Shane.
“Is that the strongest thing we have?” asked his mom. 😁

I just loved everything about this book!

If you like enemies to lovers, hilarious banter, and strong emotions check this one out.

I’ll be checking out book 1 in this series and look forward to reading more from this author!

If you like hockey romances look no further!
What a brilliant book! Heated Rivalry was highly enjoyable :)
I had a lot of fun getting to know Shane and Ilya. Their romance was LOVELY!
Highly Recommended!

FYI: “Heated Rivalry” is the second in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone.

Holy hockey, this is an amazingly fun read. It’s enemies-to-lovers with loads (and loads, literally) of sizzling hot hate sex and hot hockey action and it’s all tied up in a helluva sweet slow-burn love story. Shane and Ilya first meet when they are 17 at the World Junior Hockey Championships and begin their sexual tension-fueled rivalry:

“Are you getting tired of second place?” Rozanov smirked.
“I’m winning this game,” Shane growled.
“There is not an ‘I’ in team, right?
“There’s an ‘I’ in ‘suck my dick.'”
Rozanov raised an eyebrow as they bend for the faceoff.

Starting their NHL rookie year, Rozanov and Hollander meet up in hotel rooms when their teams play one another during the season, or during the odd event like the NHL All Star game. And it’s all so deliciously twisted – two hockey rivals on the ice, who have hot dirty no-holds-barred sex and then go their separate ways.

Maybe, when they had started seven years ago, they hadn’t expected their lives, their famous rivalry, to get to the point it was at now. Maybe they should have stopped by now. But, despite the wrongness of it, this was comfortable. This was familiar. And it was as close to safe as either of them were going to get. That’s all it was.

But over the years, things are no longer as clear-cut as they used to be. Rachel Reid does an amazing job balancing Shane and Ilya’s combustible chemistry with this tender tendril of love that gently grows. The two men start confiding in one another and we learn more about Ilya’s childhood and family relationships, which is all kinds of heart-breaking.

The plot is so well-constructed and every scene feels just right as Shane and Ilya fall in love and start wondering if their relationship maybe does have a future. I love the juxtaposition between the omigawd steamy sex and the romance that blindsides both men, and the pacing of the story is tight (it really didn’t feel like there were over 300 pages in this book – I could have easily read another 100 pages or more) as we are carried along to an ending that is not quite a HEA, but is perfect for Shane and Ilya at this point in their lives. 5 stars for “Heated Rivalry” and a Recommended Read.

Shane lives and breathes hockey. It’s all he’s ever wanted until he meets Ilya. The egotistical, self satisfied, glorious Russian bad boy, captain of a rival team. Their story encompasses several years and is full of hockey players behaving badly.... or nicely, depending on your point of view.

The book is broke up into encounters Shane and Ilya have over a period of years starting at the beginnings of their hockey careers. The progression of their relationship is shown in small snippets of time when they happen to be in the same place. I enjoyed them falling in love. The doubts, paranoia, and stress that it brought them, deepened their feelings rather than pushing them apart.

I don’t understand hockey at all but hey, Ilya is a Russian, And I apparently find them very hot. This wasn’t an overly dramatic story. A few bits of angst but overall it was very enjoyable.

OMG. I LOVED this story! Full of emotion, plenty of enemies-to-lovers goodness and hate-sex that turns to so much more, these are two guys you are just rooting for to be together and make it to that HEA. The writing was wonderful, the chemistry between the 2 MCs intense and just YUM, and I couldn't stop reading this one!

Shane and Ilya are at the very top of their game - hockey. They first meet at junior championships, and then again as rookies, and then have to regularly play against each other since they are drafted to two teams that hate each other. Their heated rivalry on the ice is even hotter when they are in private together. And through the years, their hook-ups start to become more, until the emotions are so overwhelming, each of them are terrified of wanting more when their careers are on the line.

I LOVE that this book spanned such a long amount of time, yet it didn't feel rushed or that we were missing something. In fact, I love that it was written this way and that we got to see them through the years. Shane and Ilya first meet when they are teenagers, and this book spans the almost ten years that they are together. I love how things gradually change for them, how despite their careers taking off and navigating their daily lives in two separate countries, that they could come back to each other so easily when they did see each other.

I was rooting for them to make it and not get dragged down with major angst. And although there is angst here, it's more personal, not professional - which I liked. I just adored Ilya, how brash and tough he was on the outside, but really just wanting to be loved. His family was awful, and his fears over being a bisexual Russian hockey player were real.

I LOVED the epilogue, I love how they were taking control of navigating their personal and professional lives, and I TOTALLY want another long epilogue with these two!

Fans of hockey romance and enemies-to-lovers - I think you will love this one!

I received an arc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.