ARC Received from NetGalley for Honest Review

Book Rating: 4/5
Heat Rating: 5/5
Romance Rating: 4/5
Epilogue Rating: 1/5, the epilogue given, just felt like a chapter not a HEA.

That Prologue had me scared, had me thinking I walked into the middle of the a movie and missed the beginning. But thankfully Chapter 1 starts at the beginning LOL.

I really loved the natural drama that occurred in this book, no over the top crap.

The smexiness in this book was REALLY good, not mind blowing, but wasn’t disappointed. It seemed to be a little...repetitive?
Wish they experimented different things in the bedroom, cause it was a bit vanilla ESPECIALLY for the supposed bad boy Ilya.

But I can’t deny Ilya and Shane are ADORABLE together, they are definitely joined the memorable list.

This book actually could’ve been a 5/5 but I personally wasn’t thrilled with the ending, it’s HEA, not a HFN (don’t get me wrong)

I just wish they got a WELL DESERVED Epilogue or at least a bonus Epilogue.

The Epilogue’s just a ‘16 months’ later, even though what they got was ‘sympathetic nice’ ending, it should’ve been better. It really just felt like another chapter. Cause there is a lot of fast forwarding, which didn’t bother me.

I was hoping for a ‘Marriage/Wedding’ HEA, which I thought the Epilogue was going to be the ‘fast forward a few years’ kind, but nope not even close. Kinda leaves you a little disheartened.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author, I might read more.

Well, she's done it again. Heated Rivalry was as awesome as Game Changers. It had a bit of a different feel to it, as Shane and Ilya had a VERY unique situation. Right til the very end, their story was unlike any I've read before. So many conflicts, and in the beginning even within themselves. These two are competitive and combative, they talk a lot of smack, but they are both sincere and vulnerable. The banter is just everything! This was different than I was expecting. I knew it would be good, but it was better, with a fresh twist on mm romance.

Probably a 4.5.

My love for hockey romances is not hidden and I don’t miss any opportunity to read more of these books. When I read Game Changer last year, I found it very sweet and nice and while it wasn’t going to be a favorite, I still wanted to checkout what the author came up with next. And wow was I pleasantly surprised by this book. Heated Rivalry is a completely different kind of book and I enjoyed it far more than I expected to.

Shane and Ilya are pitted as rivals right from their teenage years, even before they are up for the draft and once they sign for arch rival teams, the publicity just keeps on. Both of them are amazing hockey players and their rivalry definitely brings out their best and they enjoy it. But their personalities off the ice can’t be more different - Shane is much more reserved, close to his family, sometimes unsure and confused and despite realizing that he is definitely not completely straight, can’t bring himself to utter the word gay. On the other hand, Ilya is cocky, confident, very charming, loves getting a rise out of Shane, while also dealing with family issues and knows that he maybe bisexual but logically, his only choice is to ultimately be with a woman. Whatever their issues with their sexualities, they can’t stop being with each other and though their encounters are quite sporadic, I loved their almost enemies with benefits relationship and it’s slow progression to something more. It takes a long time for them to realize that they are friends, they like talking to each other and spending time together and I thought this whole arc was done brilliantly. I absolutely loved how they fell in love and how they came to some decisions about their future.

I loved the way the author decided to tell this story. In the prologue itself, we realize that Shane and Ilya have been in a sexual relationship for around 6 years; then the author proceeds to tell us their story from the beginning - how they met, the heating up of their rivalry, the push and pull they feel towards each other and how it proceeds for almost a decade. This method of unraveling the story hooked me right from the start and I couldn’t put the book down. Because of their perceived relationship on the ice, all emotions and even the intimate scenes felt very very intense and heightened and I think that was definitely a reason why I loved this book much more than the previous installment. While it’s always awesome to see the endings of these romances to be about the players coming out publicly and being supported by their teams, I applaud the author for taking a very different route and staying true to the two characters. It’s a very realistic choice and while it may not feel like the usual HEA, there is never any doubt about whether Shane and Ilya will be together forever.

This book works excellently as a standalone, so if sweet saccharine love stories are not your jam, you should definitely check this book out. However, the events in Game Changer play a significant role in the choices the two characters make for their future and I loved how the author integrated the two storylines. This is a wonderful slow burn and intense rivals to lovers romance that takes place over a decade and I completely fell in love. I highly recommend this book to all sports romance lovers and can’t wait to see if there will be another book in this series.

HEATED RIVALRY by Rachel Reid is an amazing fun read! I couldn't put it down! I loved the interaction between the characters. The hockey scenes were so true to life, I felt like I was right there watching the face off. The romance was crazy and the way they felt for each other. The pressure, intensity and laugh out loud moments! A five 🌟 read for sure!

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes because it creates great tension and UST. Heated Rivalry does this very well. It’s an excellent read and I loved the contrasts between Ilya and Shane and how their backgrounds further enhanced the story.

Thank you Harlequin - Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. I finished it within a couple hours of starting it.
I loved the years these 2 spent with each other.

Mare~Slitsread

Heated Rivalry is the companion sequel to Reid's Game Changer. To say these two books are polar opposites in how the romance is developed is an understatement. And I do mean that in the most positive way possible.

What's better than a good old rivals to lovers romance? One where they're already in it. Sort of. There's a prologue at the beginning that shows Ilya and Shane are already in a sort of physical relationship. The story then goes back to Ilya and Shane's rookie year and we find out that it's been going on since then. The first part of the book basically fills you in on everything, their rivalry, their place in the league, how they ended up where they are. I loved seeing it. I loved seeing how they ended up where they were in the prologue and how they later grew from there.

There were the typical tropes of m/m hockey romance, understandably there to reflect real life. It also took place when Game Changer would've taken place as well, which did impact the story eventually. I think that was a good idea on Reid's part when it did affect Ilya and Shane's own romance.

I liked both Ilya and Shane a lot. Ilya is a cocky, charmer sort of character while Shane is pretty intense at times.

Ilya is from Russia, so there is some semblance of (low key?) denial of being bi, especially since he knows he can't be open there. He also has a disconnect with his family, especially his father. He's not close to his brother either and his mother died when he was pretty young.

Shane is the opposite in that respect, he's close with his parents. On the more sexuality side of things, he's kind of in some denial about being gay. He'd been with women in the past but he'd never felt as strongly to anyone as he did to Ilya. It's kind of one of those compulsory heterosexuality cases where he didn't really think about it, only to later realise he was gay.

*rubs hands* Okay, now onto the important bit: the romance. I loved the romance. I found these two had a lot of chemistry. From the start there was that tension that always makes rivals to lovers one of my favourite things. I also didn't expect to see that they were already together (sort of). That kind of made it better because it made their relationship and romance more interesting. They had this hate that mostly stemmed from being intense rivals, while they were having a physical relationship behind the scenes.

And it had a random favourite trope of mine: switching from calling the other their surname to their first name. Anything with names is always one of my favourite things.

I wouldn't say I liked this more than Game Changer but I can say that I will definitely be looking out for more by Reid. If you love rivals to lovers romances, definitely pick this one up.

I loved this sports romance featuring two top hockey rivals who slowly come to realize their growing feelings/attraction for each other. Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov could not be any more different, and they both have a lot to lose if their developing relationship and personal lives become public. I totally enjoyed their story, as I did "Game Changer", the first book in the series. I am so looking forward to what comes next from Rachel Reid!

3.5 stars (rounded to 4 stars)

I enjoyed this story. I loved the characters, Illya and Shane; they were so well developed and fleshed out. We got a sense of how they were feeling and experiencing everything. Their slow-burn romance was great!

The only criticism I had was that Part One and Part Two dragged a bit if both parts had been trimmed down and merged it would've made the story even better!

This book I would recommend for anyone that loves a smutty, sports, hate-to-love, romance.

(I kindly recieved a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Loved this follow up to Rachel's previous book! She did a great job bringing both characters to life and creating plausible motivations for their behavior. I enjoyed the progression of time as they both grew up from rookies to experiences pros and thought the resolution was well done.

Great writing, off-the-wall chemistry between characters, flirty, funny, edgy. I hadn't read the first in the series but now I have to go find it because I loved this book. I loved the rivalry between Ilya and Shane. This will be a fun book to recommend.

I loooooved Heated Rivalry, and thanks to Rachel Reid, I'm on a total book high right now.

I have a weakness for hockey players and hockey romances, so I felt compelled to try another book in Rachel Reid's hockey series even though I didn't love Game Changer. And I'm SO glad I did because Heated Rivalry gave me all the feels.

Though the book has lots of sex in it, it's still a romance-first story, even though that romance is slow burn and takes a long time to get there. I loved seeing these two through the years, and I loved their love/hate dynamic. There was a chemistry there from the start, but the rivalry and competitiveness kept these two from anything but angry sex for a long time.

I thought the story was decent at first, but then I became seriously obsessed. I couldn't put the story down all day, and I read it straight through in less than 24 hours, even at over 300 pages long. The sex was fast and swift but the feelings build and build over time, so much so that I had tears in my eyes by the end. You need to be a very patient reader because it takes these guys FOREVER to admit their feelings for each other. They are enemies-with-benefits for the majority of the story.

However, if you like hockey romances, half-Asian guys with freckles, and tall, surly bisexual Russians, Heated Rivalry is SO worth your while.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Hmmm. I’m trying to sort out my feelings on this one.

I admit, I almost DNF this one throughout part one. I couldn’t get past how insecure Shane was and how he got embarrassed ALL. THE. TIME. Over and over again it was “Shane was mortified.” “Shane was humiliated.” “Shane blushed with embarrassment.” He’s an amazing hockey player, shouldn’t he have some self confidence? It was honestly to the point where I questioned whether he would ever be successful as an adult in the NHL. Drove me crazy.

Which leads me to the repetition. I felt like a lot of the chapters were just regurgitations of previous chapters. “Here’s my hotel number” insert sex here. Two chapters later, “here’s my hotel number” insert more sex here. Where is the story line? Where is the deeper connection these two characters are supposed to feel? To me, this book and their connection was about almost nothing else other than sex.

This book takes place over the span of 6 or 7 years and I feel like the characters didn’t grow at all. They never seemed to mature and they never seemed to grow more confident in each other which was very much represented in their ridiculous “solution” to their issue. They could just man up and own it.

The book did get better as it went on, but it still was lacking in the story department. And that epilogue? Talk about leaving your readers hanging. This is not a cliffhanger, but in my opinion it does not wrap up. I’m left wanting more. I’m not sure if more was left out to make the book shorter but I could have done with less of the hotel number/sex combo in order to have the ending this book deserved. Ultimately this is why I’m giving this book 2 stars instead of 3.

Unfortunately, I do not think I recommend this book. It’s not even so much that I would tell someone NOT to read it, it’s just more so that I’m left unsatisfied and I would hate for someone else to feel that way.

Oh this book is utterly delicious, I absolutely love enemies to lovers and this one takes that trope and runs with it in a brilliant way.

Not only is the narrative style itself unusual - the story starts with a Prologue in the present time and then takes the reader seven years in the past to tell the epic romance of two ice hockey rivals - but the enemies to lovers element is twisted from an incendiary sexual attraction into a deep and abiding love.

I even wasn't in the slightest bit bothered by the fact that at the end of this book both MCs are still in the closet with only a very few people knowing they're a couple.

I know my lovely friend Dani described the end as a strong HFN, but for me this was an utterly convincing HEA, just one with a hidden element for now.

I really enjoyed book one in this series, this could be read as a standalone, there's very little overlapping, but you'd miss out on another great read.

Rachel Reid is rapidly becoming one of my favourite sports romance writers, she manages to pitch the pace perfectly between the playing ice hockey element and the romance.

And oh boy were these two on fire, their sexual chemistry is off the charts. There's so much more than just that though and I loved how their friendship and relationship developed in tandem.

More please!

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.