This blew me away!I loved this so much!I gotta tell you – I was leery. This is a new author to me and though I’m a huge hockey fan – I’m wary of people who don’t know their stuff. I also don’t really love books where the romance has already started before you start reading. But…First, the author knows her stuff! From World Juniors, to the Olympics, to the NHL and the major rivalries – she’s got it down! It took me a long time to figure out the nuances of the NHL system – it’s not a straightforward thing – and it’s definitely hard to explain – but she does it!Second, as I said yesterday, the fact that she re-names our current NHL teams just lets us fall into the already understood world of team rivalries and playoff pictures and beards! Well done!I will say that I’m not super in love with the fact that our MCs have off page sex with other people, but given the 8 year (?) time span, it’s rational and it’s not done in a way that is really all that bothersome to the romantic in me. But I do warn those of you who will hate that aspect.Ilya is bi-sexual and Shane isn’t (I think he’s actually demisexual but he doesn’t label himself that way.). In any case the two of them are hysterical as rivals and it carries to the bedroom for some very hot smexy times.I thought the way Shane handles his attraction to Ilya was one of the most “realistic” ways I’ve seen enemies to lovers handled. I’ve always thought that if a guy is struggling with his own sexuality to fall into bed with a guy (especially if he’s not drunk or has some other excuse) would be hard to do without some recriminations/shame etcetera.Ilya, too, did a fantastic job with his own feelings and in the end I just melted at the way these guys found a way to be together.I highly recommend this to fans of sports romance, hockey, enemies to lovers, Russian MCs (yum!), sweet HEAs and hot smexy times.5 stars

I liked this book much more than the first. The author's writing style seemed more mature and polished. Shane and Ilya had a lot of chemistry. Their eight-year affair and unresolved emotions made this book suspenseful, and paid off in the end. Their romance was sweet and sexy and emotionally intense, though there were many funny moments and banter too.

Thhis was the first book I’ve read by Rachel Reid, and I really enjoyed it. Sarcasm, heat, and hockey, who could ask for more? The chemistry was there from page one and 5e intense rivalry on and off the ice made this such a fun, keep you on your toes read.

Can’t wait to read more from this author.

4,5 stars

This is the second book in the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid. I haven't read the first book but I can honestly say this can be read as a stand-alone.

I'm not a fan of stories that span over many years, but here it worked for me. It starts in the present but then goes back to when the main characters met and their story is revealed slowly.

Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are enemies on the ice but they just can't keep the distance. The attraction is huge! In bed they are like fire. They work. They are everything the other isn't but it works for them.

I didn't expect so much hotness and I was glued to the pages. I've read this in one sitting and it's not a short book. I was invested into the story. I really couldn't put it down!

They were so young when they met, but over the years they changed. One thing never did. Their desire. And what is best than the forbidden relationship. First only sex, then each wanted more, even if they were afraid they can lose it all if the word got out they are together.

This story isn't light or super sweet, but it seems real, possible and very very sexy!
Really loved how Shane got Ilya to meet his parents.

"I have been with lots of women. That was not ... fake. But ... He looked at Shane, and Shane held his breath. I have only been in love with one person."

I am only sorry we don't get a HEA, only a HFN and to be honest I expected a different ending. Maybe their coming out, maybe an engagement. They deserved more after so many years of hiding... It's the only reason I'm not giving this one 5 stars. But I really enjoyed the writing and the hotness!
Highly recommend!

An ARC was kindly provided for me via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This review is posted on DirtyBooksObsession.

4.5 stars- Maddeningly slow burner that was oh so good

Wow, this was a book that's certain to leave a mark. Heated Rivalry is the second release in the Game Changers series by new author Rachel Reid. Though there's some overlap with secondary characters, I had no problem reading it as a standalone. A pseudo enemies-to-lovers romance, Heated Rivalry features two professional hockey stars who are constantly pitted against each other in public while hooking up behind closed doors. This was probably the most maddeningly slow burn romance I've read to date, but I loved all the angst interspersed with tender, swoonworthy moments.

The slow unfurling of feelings between Ilya and Shane made sense given how secretive their relationship had to remain and how few and far between their times together were, especially at the start. And though the halting progression in the romance drove me a little crazy with wanting to see these two together, I loved that the author used the time to build an undeniable, palpable chemistry between the men that I adored. I also loved seeing the men's personalities come out more and more and enjoyed the banter between them oh so much, especially at the end. Heated Rivalry ends with more of a happy-for-now conclusion vs an out and proud public declaration, but all those seemingly small moments Ilya and Shane shared built until my heart was fluttering and I was entirely satisfied. If you like your romances with a slow build, Heated Rivalry is one you won't want to miss.

This book showed me that adulting is overrated, ; as I certainly proved it , by completely avoiding everything that didn't involve me sitting on my favorite reading chair and devouring Heated Rivalry in one sitting.

An entertaining , delightful, passionate and super sexy coming of age , sports story about two talented and competitive hockey players, from different teams , that become adults on the limelight , while sharing a deep connection and need that goes beyond a simple sexual attraction .

I enjoyed reading about Ilya and Shane journey to HEA ; from two 17 year old rookies to 25 year old superstar millionaire athletes. Two very likeable and charismatic heroes with off the charts chemistry that got me squirming and a little breathless. With a soul-stirring vulnerabilities , slow burn approach to love , candid at times and snarky at others this romance tale was skillfully tackle and I pleasure to read.

This is my first book by Rachel Reid and I it definitely, won't be my last .


**ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**









I just reviewed Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid. #HeatedRivalry #NetGalley

This is Shane and Ilya story. And oh boy what a story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked the way Rachel Reid delved into the characters involment through the years. The pace of the story was flawless. And it's jam pack with Hot sex scenes. Not to everyone liking but I loved it. I did find Ilya a dxxk at the beginning and Shane was way to soft. And midway through the book the shift in their relationship was nice to see and a lot more enjoyable to read. Hopefully there is more stories to come in this series.
I am voluntarily giving my opinion on this ARC. Thanks the publisher and netgalley.

They hated each other but they couldn't keep their hands off each other...

Not so much enemies to lovers but enemies AND lovers.... nothing better ( this stuff makes me swoon)

This book pushed all my buttons in the very best way.I absolutely loved it.


Fierce rivalry on the ice rink and even fiercer passion between the sheets.

Shane and Ilya are both 19 when come into the media spotlight.Not just because they're such promising young players but their hatred for each other becomes legendary.Wouldn't the world love to know the truth?? Starting in the present day the story then goes back seven years to when they both started hooking up.



HATE-SEX.....people!! And it was downright delicious. The sex scenes,and there's a lot of them,are scorching hot.The Author gets it just right here.You don't get pages and pages of long drawn out foreplay and preparation here....these boys get straight to it and it's pretty damn perfect.It's desperate sex at it's best.There's pushing against walls,throwing on the bed,dirty kisses,it's take-me-now,I'll beg if I have to stuff.....

*twirls*


I'm not normally a fan of sports romance but,again,the Author totally nailed the sports element.The ice hockey theme was,obviously,ever present but never got boring.Often with these stories you get a lot about rules,tactics,ect but I never felt that here-in fact I might have fallen in love with ice hockey a bit.


Ok,so it took a while for the feelings to come but I didn't care.It worked.I read this in 24 hours.These boys went everywhere with me,I couldn't put it down once I started and isn't that just the best thing?


I adored these two guys.I loved the writing.I honestly can't fault this.

Highly Recommended.

This book actually has 2 things I hate in my stories - separation and MC’s in the closet (who are famous). But it still scores 4 stars from me because I LOVED these guys!

Shane and Ilya are on rival hockey teams. What starts as enemies slowly turns into like and then love. I think the progress would’ve happened a lot more quickly if they had seen each other more often but they only hooked up when their teams played in each other’s cities. This happened until a bit over half way. Once they committed, it was fantastic.

Highly recommended

At first this book felt like a lot of exposition . . . except I found myself gobbling up the pages like 'a crazy fangirl flipping through all the gossip magazines and online columns' wanting to know more about Shane and Ilya. If these two men existed in our world, I would ship them.

Almost a decade following Shane and Ilya face off against each other. Two incredibly talented and competitive athletes, two men who shouldn't come together - because of the careers they have, different personalities, the rivalry built up around them - and yet the come together like puzzle pieces.

The one thing that really stays with me is that for all the conflict they have within themselves about what they're doing, they never take it out on each other. They don't ever purposely crush the other. It's refreshing to see, a lot of books use this device and sometimes it's unnecessary, just piling on drama when it's not needed. The tension, drama, angst of this book is there without either Shane or Ilya driving the proverbial knife into the other.

Quadruple points for Ilya's banter and sass. That had me laughing throughout.

Things two men will probably stay with me for awhile, it's a long journey, and the way they progress is very real and authentic.


I'll admit that the cover would not have caught my attention; but don't let it stop you from meeting these two guys. They're worth getting to know.

I had forgotten that I had read another book by this author until the end of this book when the characters of the other book appeared in this one. I truly enjoyed this and the previous one, this author knows how to truly engage you as a reader. These characters were fresh and real not just regurgitated standard characters. I especially liked the meeting the parents scene.

My first book from this author, but it won’t be my last. This story engaged me and kept me riveted with not only memorable characters, who happen to be sexy hockey players, but also men who grow from 18-year-old rookies looking for a quick hookup to mature all-stars who know each other better than anyone else in the world and become willing to risk their hearts for a chance at permanence.

Talk about slow burn! These two took forever to realize their instant lust attraction—which they perpetuated for several years—was more than they ever thought they could have. After all, pro hockey players didn’t come out. They didn’t settle down with one man. And they certainly didn’t leave their homeland—Russia in Ilya’s case—to find their HEA with the man who newscasters set up as an archrival.

After years of texting, secretly meeting up after games in each other’s hometown, Ilya and Shane—Lily and Jane on each other’s cell contact list—finally face the fact that they aren’t just meeting to scratch an itch. They care deeply for each other and there’s a glimmer of hope for a future together if they plan it well. And since Shane is a planner…

From the beginning of this story, I was swept up in the rich characterizations, the excitement of pro hockey, and the secretive sexy banter and wish fulfillment. I enjoyed being with Shane as he matured and developed feelings for Ilya. And Shane was fortunate to have two supportive, interesting and loving parents—especially his mother who was a hoot with her knowledge of pro sports. Ilya, unfortunately, was not as blessed. An aging father who suffered from dementia, a demanding brother who constantly wanted money, and a stepmother who was zero in the nurturing department were all he had in his homeland and he got to the point where he dreaded going back to Russia in the off season. I adored Ilya with his accent, his sense of humor, and his ego—huge and well-deserved. And together, these two men were fantastic. By the end of the story, after they’d made their decision to be a couple, I couldn’t put the book down.

Every word, every page turn brought me closer to the end of the book, and I didn’t want to finish. I savored their time together, and I am hopeful we’ll see them again at some point in the future because I’m not ready to release them from my heart. Very highly recommended.

Heated Rivalry is the second book in the series, but thankfully it can be read as a standalone, because I never read the first book (or knew that it was a series).
This is an enemies to lovers romance and I really did like this one. The story was so different and I'm coming to love Rachel's writing style, it's very unique.

I also love a good sports-romance and Hockey is my weakness. Add in the fact that it's M/M romance, and I'm at an all-time high. The story spans a few years and I loved reading it. While they may be enemies on the ice, off the ice is a whole different story. It was very explosive.

The only thing was that I'm a romantic at heart and would've loved more of a HEA at the end and seeing more of them as a couple.

4.5 Stars!

Sports reads are one of my favorite genre's. Add in a little enemies to lovers and I am one happy gal. I thought this was a great addition to the series.

While I found the first half a bit slow and repetitive, I was never bored. I think the build up of their relationship was important, but I just wanted them to hurry up and get to the part where Ilya and Shane were just a hook-up for each other.

No unnecessary drama which is always a plus. Great chemistry, some good banter, and plenty of steam, this was definitely a winner and a recommended read.

This was pretty good. I was a little eh about how much sex there was, and I wish there were more hockey but i liked their relationship a lot and I liked the Scott Hunter cameos. I hope we get more books in this series.

I had not cared much for the first book in the series but I saw so many glowing reviews of this one I decided to give this one a try. Turns out this author is not going to be for me.

It started really good. For the first 15% or so I thought this was going to be a great read. We meet Shane and Ilya in their current messed up situation and then it jumps back in time to them being teenage rookies and just meeting. Then I realized this was a pattern. They meet up, have sex, leave. Meet up, have sex, leave. It quickly went from unique to tedious. Finally around 60% or so we got caught up time wise to the current day. A few more things start to happen but they also drop back to the meet up, have sex, leave thing.

There was, in my opinion, an excessive amount of sex in this book. There were 15 sex scenes (I counted) and most of them are 5-7 pages long. They were the only way the author seemed to be able to show the guys were starting to care for each other. I don't like this technique at all. I think it's lazy writing and not at all what I want in a book. I want to see how the MC's are falling in love through their thoughts and actions outside the bedroom. By the 60% mark or so I literally could not read another sex scene. I just skimmed them.

I wasn't buying the overall plot. They hook up for 6 years without becoming friends at all? They never talk, know nothing about each other? Then we get to a place where they're both internally thinking that they care for each other. How? Why? They've never talked outside of sex. They know nothing about each other outside of their hockey stats and what they've seen on TV. The whole thing was odd to me.

I didn't really care for either MC. We don't get to know them well. Everything is surface level. Shane in particular bothered me. He comes across very weak and whiny.

If you're not a hockey fan this next part won't bother you but I am and it did. The teams the guys are on is a famous real life rivalry (the cities...the team names here are made up). I was ok with that. It's not a unique, it's the two teams most authors seem to go to (I am still waiting for a Kings/Ducks rivalry authors!!) but it's very real and it sets a good vibe. It would be crazy if two Habs and Boston players started an affair with each other. I really bought into that part of their shared history and the authenticity of it was great. It wasn't too far into it though that I realized the author was basing Shane on Sidney Crosby and Ilya on Alexander Ovechkin and that's where she lost me. It is a real life rivalry (which is probably mostly media hype) and there is a ton of Croby/Ove fanfic out there so apparently some people are fans of it but for me, no, just no. Like I just vomited a little in my mouth level of no. I hate everything about this pairing. Too much to even begin to address in a review.

The one thing I loved about this book is that they chose to not come out about their relationship. I know this is a complaint from some readers but I loved it. It's realistic. I absolutely loathe in sports books where one MC forces the other to come out to prove their love (which was one of my complaints about the first book in this series). I'm super glad the author handled this aspect the way she did.

So...I gave this author two tries and neither worked for me. This writing style is just not my thing. Most of the other reviews of this book are positive though so you should probably check out some of them.

**ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

I will definitely be reading more Rachel Reid books! Holy...Wow!
Heated Rivalry is HOT, sexy, and sweet. It's romance, it's forbidden, it's taboo. It's hockey...okay, so it's two gorgeous hockey players. Heated Rivalry is relationship spanning years and becoming more. It's everything you want in a romance novel with the mouthwatering characters vying for a grip on their lives, this "thing", and each other.

I think my favorite part is that Ilya's point of view always sounded like a big Russian with a marginal grasp on English. It wasn't flowery. It was blunt and brutal like the man himself. She's point of view was intrinsically Shane. I loved feeling like them, seeing inside them.

This was my first Rachel Reid but it definitely will not be my only.

Heated Rivalry is a book that takes place over the course of many years. While technically a sequel to the first Game Changers book (of the same name) Heated Rivalry takes place before and after the events of the first book.

Just a quick warning for people: due to the many years the romance of Shane and Ilya span across, the pair are intimate with other people. While the book is never present in these moments, these other relationships and encounters are referenced heavily throughout the book. So if that’s not your thing, head’s up.

If you can stick around through these parts of the story, you are rewarded with a great story of these two characters coming together and working through their issues – towards their own happy ending.

I really enjoyed the characters of this book, Ilya is true to form from the first book of the series, coming off as cocky and arrogant. I absolutely love how much of an absolute arsehole Ilya is to everyone. Not only is he a shit-stirrer to other players, he is such a cocky jerk to Shane. While certainly these are character faults, I nonetheless loved him for them. Add to this the adorable and straight laced Shane, and you have interactions and scenes that are not only funny but sexually charged.

While initially I did find the timeline format of the book a little bit off putting, I really enjoyed seeing Iyla and Shane interact with each other over the years of their careers. As soon as I embraced the format of the book, I found myself flying through the novel.

The emotional vulnerabilities and slow burn nature of the pairs romance was expertly handled. The writing and pace of the story did not disappoint and I found myself very invested in the happiness of this couple. I loved Heated Rivalry and am really excited to read more from Rachel Reid.

Also, who knows, I may actually watch a hockey game!

Recommendations: Okay, so this book might not be for everyone but if you enjoyed Game Changers, then definitely give it a go. Also if you like the sound of Heated Rivalry, I would recommend reading Game Changers first, as not only do you meet Ilya in this book but the actions of this first book affect plot of the second.

Wow - what a fabulous story. Shane and Ilya started their hockey career at the same time but as bitter rivals. Fortunately the rivalry was not behind closed doors. Which lead them on a back and forth, give and take taboo relationship that neither can do without. But can the hockey community be open to the two of them in a relationship - can they both come out as gay hockey players? With beautifully written character and a storyline that had me hooked form the opening pages this was a wonderful book. The slow burn of their love affair made this book. This was my first book by Rachel Reid but it will not be my last.

I enjoyed Gamechanger, but I was on the fence about trying book two. The first was fun but pretty indistinguishable from every other sports romance with a closeted lead, and nothing about the writing or plotting stood out as original. I decided to read Heated Rivalry because the premise of rivals having hate sex throughout their careers that slowly develops into an actual relationship sounded awesome.

Again, I did enjoy this book, but there's a lack of oomph to these. I don't feel the characters' passion the way I do when I read a really good romance, so the end result is slightly bland. All the right things happen, but it just doesn't hit me emotionally.

Heated Rivalry is pretty good, cute and fluffy, and Shane's actually even half-Japanese/half-white, though there's not a lot about his diversity in the book. I probably won't read any more Rachel Reid, just because romance is so much about me connecting emotionally, and her books don't seem to do that for me.