Shane et Ilya sont deux hockeyeurs rivaux, le genre de rivalité dont la presse et les fans raffolent. Ils sont constamment en compétition l'un contre l'autre, c'est à qui sera marquera le plus de buts, qui remportera le plus de victoires ... Bref, c'est une compétition acharnée, marquée par une très forte animosité et une détestation mutuelle. Seulement, une fois que les patins sont rangés, lorsqu'ils sont dans la même ville après un match l'un contre l'autre, s'ils continuent à se mesurer, c'est à l'horizontale que se passent leurs passes d'armes, et quelles passes d'armes !

On suit leur histoire sur de longues années, ce que j'ai vraiment beaucoup apprécié. Dans le fond, ils sont très seuls tous les deux, et ils n'ont ces moments-là que quelques fois par an, et à chaque fois, le temps est compté. Ils ne baissent jamais leur garde, et ne s'autorisent jamais à aller au-delà d'une séance de galipettes musclées ... Pourtant, au fil du temps, on voit que ça se fissure, et qu'ils finissent par en vouloir plus, mais alors, comment l'accepter ? Et comment le dire (ou le faire comprendre) à l'autre ? Comment s'autoriser à faire preuve de tendresse, de complicité, voire d'un peu de douceur ? J'ai beaucoup aimé ces moments de tension qui arrivent parfois, et dans ces moments-là, mon ventre s'est noué pour eux, parce que ça m'a fait de la peine de les voir si malheureux, et si butés.

Shane et Ilya m'ont vraiment plu, et je trouve ça original de sortir du schéma habituel où le coming-out est l'enjeu principal du livre, comme c'est quasiment toujours le cas dans ce type de romance.

J'ai peut-être moins aimé la partie plus 'rose bonbon' de la dernière partie, j'ai surtout préféré les suivre à travers leurs rencontres clandestines durant toutes ces années, à guetter le petit signe, la petite faille qui nous montre qu'ils ont beau jouer les indifférents, dans le fond, ils tiennent vraiment à l'autre ...

Si le 1er tome était mignon comme tout, celui-ci est quand même plus rude, et c'est justement ce qui m'a plu, tout comme le fait de voir leur relation évoluer sur un laps de temps aussi long. Un très bon moment de lecture donc !

Rivals/enemies to friends to more. Excellent pacing and just generally enjoyable in all ways. The characters were all realistic and enjoyable and there was a great balance of plot and smut.

*~~*ARC kindly provided to me for an honest review *~~*

- Review to come

Review originally posted on my blog with added content on Mikku-chan / A world full of words

I really enjoyed this book about two rival hockey players that hook up when they are drafted and continue an on and off thing throughout most of their career. There is a lot of enjoyable sexual tension between the two and it was difficult to put down. There were funny moments and tender moments and gives hope that maybe more star athletes will feel comfortable enough to come out in the coming years. Will definitely check out more of Rachel Reid's titles.

I loved this book!!!! Enemies to lovers has to be my favorite trope and when it’s done right, like it was done here, I feel so giddy! I didn’t want this book to end and that feeling hasn’t happened to me in such a long time.

I read the first Game Changers book and I enjoyed it but this book had a totally different feel. Shane and Ilya have been secretly hooking up for years. They are on different NHL teams and have one of the biggest rivalries in hockey. The book is set up in parts and in the first part we see how these two met and started meeting secretly. Over the course of the book we see each man struggle with their feelings, on and off the ice. It spans years and that made it more realistic. They had something, a spark, from the start but it slowly burned until it was a raging inferno.

I appreciated that there wasn’t a huge scandal and that the guys were able to control their situation. It was very different than the first book in that way. There was no huge coming out in public and it suited this story perfectly.

I hope Ms Reid has another book for this series in the works because I cannot get enough of her hockey men! She pens a beautiful love story that was a slow burn in its own way. Declarations of love weren’t thrown around and we saw the conflict each man had accepting their feelings for someone they should have hated. I especially loved how they respected each other’s playing and how they were proud of each other, Shane especially being proud of Ilya. We don’t get a scene with Ilya showing his feelings of joy at Shane winning but we know he is.

You do not have to read the first book in this series, this book stands alone, but I recommend you read that book also. I look forward to more from Rachel Reid!

**ARC provided through Netgalley

I'm a huge fan of sports romance and MM so when they're combined I always jump at the chance to read it. This is the first time I've read anything from Rachel Reid and I was pleasantly surprised with it. This doesn't make it in my top 5 of mm sports romance but it was good and I loved the similarities of Syd and Ovie. If those two were living in an alternate universe.

At times there was more sex than substance and it did feel like it got dragged out for a bit. As well as when feeling were finally revealed it got a bit too mushy, but I still did like it

I did love the banter between Shane and Ilya.

Shane rolled his eyes. "You sweet talk all your sex partners like this?" "I'm very charming."

I thought Ilya's accent was written well and I did like his back story. I also loved Shane's super supportive family. I liked the premise of the book sure there were some elements that didn't do it for me, but I did still like it. And now I regret not reading Game Changer, which I'm in the middle of doing right now. I did like the fact that Game Changer wasn't needed to understand this story.

I will definitely read more from this author.

Fantastic enemies to lovers M/M erotica I thoroughly enjoyed. This is book 2 in the series, which I didn't know until I was half way through, but the books stands on its own perfectly. The characters are compelling, the sex is hot, the romance is touching, but the truly pleasant surprise is how often I laughed out loud. This book is an absolute delight.

Heated Rivalry, which can be read as a standalone, is very different from the first book in the series. It's edgier and has bitter undertones, while the first book was all sweetness.

This is a true enemies-to-lovers story in that the two MCs are huge rivals on the ice while fucking each other's brains out off the ice. Their torrid affair is super hush-hush.

The story spans several years. There is some angst, a lot of smokin' sexy times, and a strong HFN.

I loved both MCs and the secondary characters.

I was a little disappointed with the ending, mostly because the MCs remain in the closet and only a few people know that they're a couple. I'm not saying this isn't realistic for two professional hockey players, but I prefer more gooey HEAs.

I love Rachel Reid's writing style and am looking forward to the next Game Changers book.

As many know, hockey romances are all the rage. That said, they tend to be very heteronormative. So the discovery of Heated Rivalry was very exciting. I haven't read book one, and it looks like it ties in slightly, but all it did is made me want to read book one. One of the things I loved about it was that the two guys who end up falling in love are also bitter rivals. Though that's more because the media pitted them against each other than anything else. The characters felt really authentic, and I loved watching their multi-year relationship develop. I loved that they'd known each other, and even been together, for a while before finally realizes just what they were feeling for each other.

Rachel Reid has done it again!
I was completely invested in the relationship between Ilya and Shane. No Spoilers here but...... They really were made well for each other.

The only downfall is I want more!! I want to see when certain events that are discussed happened and I just want more time with these characters.

And I demand a full scene where Ilya is teaching Shane Russian 😍

I can't wait for the next book from this author, her romances are flawless! And sexy to the core.

Thank you! Netgalley for letting me read this early and of course opinions are my own.

Steamy, emotional, and alluring!

In this second novel in the Game Changers series, Heated Rivalry, Reid gives us a sweet and spicy, enemies-to-more romance that highlights the struggles and hardships of falling in love with someone of the same sex when you’re a professional athlete.

The prose is tender and titillating. The characters are bold, driven, and charming. And the plot is a sultry, push-pull tale full of sexual innuendoes, red-hot chemistry, flirty banter, familial drama, friendship, competition, support, acceptance, love and hockey.

Overall, Heated Rivalry is a smoldering, tantalizing novel that reminds us that sometimes you have to follow your heart regardless of the consequences and is a fabulous addition to a series that is, undoubtedly, quickly becoming one of my all-time favourites.

My first book from this author, and I enjoyed it. A sexy hockey romance, which is definitely something I alwats love!

My first 5* MM tale of 2019. And, possibly one of the most romantic books I've read in the last 46 years.

I discovered Rachel Reid last year when I was having a book drought, and ended up knowing that she was one of the best discoveries I'd made all year. I'd ignored Game Changer for a while because the blurb wasn't the most exciting, but ended up loving the tale - and suspecting that Ilya would be getting his tale next. I'm so glad that he and Shane did. This has ended up being one of the most romantic books that I've read since I first started reading 46 years ago.

I expected there to be rivalry. I expected there to be snark. I expected there to be hot sex, possibly hate-sex. I expected clandestine encounters. I expected lies and subterfuge and secret-keeping. I got all of the former, in spades. I. Did. Not. Expect. The. Utterly. Brilliant. Romantic. Sweet. Sexy. Heartwarming.Tale. That. Rachel. Reid. Delivered. This has gone on to cement her as an autobuy, and yes, there are hints of whose book we can expect next, and I am so glad that there will be at least one more after that, as the way this tale ends? I need to see how Ilya and Shane's lives pan out, with their plans, their hopes, their dreams.

I can't detail this book, or I'd spoiler it, and it's far too good for that. But, let's just say that when it starts, around the time that Game Changer ends, the guys have already been in it for the long game. And, as time goes on, it's clear that they're both feeling more than just being f-buds, and I for one totally believed in them. I loved the way that RR told their tale, how their relationship changed over time, and what they began to mean to each other. I loved how we got both guys' thoughts and saw their feelings. Yes, their professions and the sport, and the country in which Ilya lived and played, meant that they had to be hidden and under everyone's radar, friends, family, press and teammates. And, RR told their love story in such a believable, romantic, sweet and yet non-sappy way, that I adored it. I totally did not expect the romantic element and I didn't expect that both guys would be such decent, sweet types with dreams of a future consisting of love, happiness and a family.

This is my first 5* read of 2019, and I expect that I'll have at least one more from RR before the year's out. Let's hope that there's a lot more of these guys as the series goes on, as I haven't had enough of them.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Carina Press, for my reading pleasure.

OMG THIS WAS SO AWESOME! Totally loved this enemies to lovers, "we're just fuck-buddies" - "OMG noo we caught feelings" romance! Funny and cute and too much for my heart to handle.

Review to follow soon!