I absolutely loved the preview of The Long Game! There's not too much to say, as it's only a few chapters from the book, but I can't wait to read it! I'm crossing my fingers I get an ARC if they're available, and will definitely be getting a copy for myself when it comes out!

So excited for the full copies of both of these! Loved all five of Reid’s other books, and the first three chapters of The Long Game prove this one won’t be any different.

I pre-ordered The Long Game as soon as I saw it so it’s no surprise the first three chapters left me wanting more of Ilya and Shane. As usual, Ilya gets all the best lines. I’m looking forward to seeing how their story plays out.

Cait Nary’s Seasons Change does not pick up the threads of a continuing story but introduces Olly joining his new team in the off season. He’s rooming with Benji who is also new to the team. And as happens with a sampler, just as you’re wondering what’s going to happen it comes to an end.

A hockey romance sampler? Oh my! The first few chapters of both leave me wanting to read more! I'm intrigued by the premises.

This tiny glimpse into Shane and Ilya made my day. I read it three times. I want more moments with them, more laughter, more love. More everything. Cannot wait until April. Cannot. Wait. So release the rest! Ilya demands to be read!

The most delicious of teases! I fell in love with Shane and Ilya in HEATED RIVALRY and have been eagerly anticipating THE LONG GAME. Reading the first few chapters here was perfect—getting to revisit with Shane and Ilya and getting a taste of what's to come for them has only increased my excitement for it to release in April, and believe me when I say my excitement was already at an 11.

I've also been eagerly anticipating SEASON'S CHANGE by Cait Nary, and WOW, reading these first chapters left me absolutely yearning for more. I immediately cared about both Ollie and Benji, and was desperate to see what was going to happen next. Even though I knew it was just a sample, I definitely yelled "NOOOOO" out loud when I got to the last page. Thankfully, I was able to get the full book from Netgalley and it did not disappoint!

Going by the first three chapters, The Long Game is going to be excellent. I am so excited for the rest of Shane and Ilya's story and already love the taste of love, angst and humour in the preview. I have pre-ordered both a digital version and a *jumps around excitedly* print version! I really hope this signals that Carina would consider printing the author's previous books - especially Heated Rivalry.

I also enjoyed the Season's Change chapters and would definitely pick up the book to see where the story goes.

I was provided by NetGalley of an advance copy in exchange of an honest review.

This one was kinda of bland, I think that some of the stories can be really cool, but I couldn't find it enough to buy the full volumes. I'll wait for more reviews before deciding.

I enjoyed both samples of these books. There is a big group of stans who are loving the M/M hockey romance right now, and from what I read so far I think both these books will do well.

For me, I was more into the second book sampler Seasons Change. I liked the follow of that story more, and I’m excited to get to finish that one when it releases in February.

Overall both samples were enjoyable.

This sampler includes the first three chapters of two different books. Both were excellent and I will definitely purchase both books.

THE LONG GAME
Ever since Rachel Reid’s first book came out and I read the 1st chapter sample for Heated Rivalry at the end, I’ve been completely obsessed with Shane and Ilya. They are magical, top tier characters individually and together. So of course I found this chapter sampler to be the greatest thing ever. I love seeing them as an established couple!!! And I absolutely love the diversity of the camp coaches!!!!!!!! I’m especially SO excited to get to know the new characters!!!!! Seeing Shane and Ilya with Shane’s mom made them seem younger to me in the best way. The double date was wonderful. Overall this was perfection and even though it’ll break my heart to see Shane and Ilya struggle to deal with their love for each other while trying to maintain their secret and privacy and the conflict of Ilya being ready to tell the world while Shane isn’t, I cannot wait for this book ahhhh!!!!!


SEASON’S CHANGE
It’s hard to say much about this after reading THE LONG GAME snippet first since I’ve know Shane and Ilya for several years now and read their book a bunch of times (definitely a comfort read), whereas I don’t know much about these characters yet and we only got a few chapters. That being said, I’ve had this book preordered since before starting the SEASON’S CHANGE snippet, and after reading it I’m really looking forward to it being published! I’m very intrigued to see where the plot will take us and looking forward to learning more about Olly’s past and seeing him bond with and fall in love with Benji and get happier as he gets help. So far I like both of them as main characters, and I think the sunshine/grumpy roommate & teammates tropes will make for a really great book!!!

It was a game of do I download this sample or not? And I've been eager for any snippet of Ilya and Shane's story, so it won. And ugh, my heart. I need their story now especially after this sample.

You can tell how much it weighs on them to hide their relationship and it had a very solemn mood.

Gosh, I need to know what's going to happen. The Long Game is one of my highly anticipated releases for this year, I'm ready for it.

5/5

I'm quite intrigued in the second book in this sample, The characters are opposities, which is a trope that I love. I'll be adding this one to my TBR.

Like many reviewers I got this sampler for the Long Game, but was pleased to also get a teaser to a debut. Disclaimer, I don't know shit about hockey so I do not judge on anything realistic.

The Long Game: I stumbled upon Heated Rivalry awhile ago and it was such a surprise but so good! Rachel created some truly special characters, and I couldn't wait to have a chance to read them again. We ended the last book with them in a committed relationship, out to a small group, with a short term solution to being together and a lot of uncertainty in the future. We've gotten short scenes, featuring mostly Illya, in Rachel's other books, and I am so ready to see Shane and Illya together again. In these chapters the conflicts are laid out pretty quickly, Shane is still really scared of coming out and Illya is having insecurities that Shane cares enough to want to truly be out and together. These do seem like realistic strains in a closeted relationship, even if it stresses me out to see them upset! It has only made me more excited to see them get to be open to the whole world, even if we have to have some conflict on the way.

Season's Change: We start out following Olly, an apparently veteran player even though he's only played a couple seasons. He's recently changed teams due to an alluded trauma at his old team, and he's having a hard time letting himself trust his teammates and his own abilities. He's definitely a different type of "grump" and I like knowing why he has these feelings and it feels more realistic. Then we meet his new flatmate Benji, a new played who's still in the happy-go-lucky new to professional hockey phase. He seems sweet, if a little underdeveloped, and I can immediately see why they would be good for each other. Coming after Rachel's chapters, the dialogue and characters are not quite as strong, but it's a promising start for a debut.

Frühling 2022: hockey romances zum Verlieben

Als großer Fan von hockey romances und vor allem auch m/m hockey romances, ist der Frühling 2022 eine spannende Zeit. Denn es erscheinen gleich zwei hockey romances, die vielen Leser:innen gut gefallen sollten.

The Long Game - Rachel Reid

Endlich bekommen Shane und Ilya aus „Heated Rivalry“ ein richtiges Ende. Seitdem das Buch im Herbst 2021 angekündigt wurde, habe ich praktisch die Tage gezählt, da ich die gesamte Game Changers Reihe von Rachel Reid liebe und ich nicht genug von ihr bekommen kann.

Nun hatte ich die Gelegenheit die ersten drei Kapitel des Liebesromans zu lesen und wow, sie versprechen eine intensive Geschichte, die einen auf eine emotionale Achterbahnfahrt mitnehmen wird. Es sieht so aus, als wird der Weg zum endgültigen Happy End ein steiniger werden. Beim Lesen wird mir das Buch bestimmt das Herz brechen, nur um es danach wieder zusammen zu setzen.

„The Long Game“ ist auch nach dem Lesen der ersten drei Kapitel immer noch das Buch 2022, auf das ich mich am meisten freue. Ich kann sein Erscheinen nicht erwarten.

Wenn ihr die Reihe noch nicht kennt, empfehle ich mit „Game Changer“, dem ersten Teil, zu beginnen. So verpasst man nichts und das Buch ist zugleich sehr lesenswert und unterhaltsam.

Season’s Change - Cait Nary

Das Buch von Cait Nary habe ich bereits als Rezensionsexemplar gelesen und für gut befunden. Die Liebesgeschichte ist intensiv, es gibt komplexe Charaktere und ein schönes Happy End. Also all das, was ich an Liebesromanen schätze.

Das Buch ist das erste der Autorin, das ich gelesen habe und ich plane auch ihr nächstes Buch zu lesen. Denn als Leser:in von sports romances wisst ihr bestimmt nur zu gut, dass Liebesromane dieser Art nicht immer vielschichtige Charaktere und interessante Geschichten zu bieten haben. Da freut man sich über Bücher wie „Season’s Change“.

Für das Buch gibt es daher eine klare Leseempfehlung von mir, auch wenn der Roman nicht ganz an meine Lieblings des Genres heranreicht.

A little teaser of two forthcoming MM hockey romances.

The Long Game is the much awaited sequel to Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry. HR has a deeply passionate fan-base who are VERY committed to Shane and Ilya (who were left in a good but tenuous place at the end of HR -- solidly together and in love but still hiding both their sexualities and their relationship), so to say that anticipation is running high is an understatement. These first three teaser chapters are promising: the teasing rapport between Ilya and Shane is intact, their bond and love for each other is very clear but (thankfully) there are no puppy eyes, "I love you most, no I love YOU most" drippy dialogue that often takes over when couples finally get together, and that can be eye-rolling and deadly dull to read. Reid is laying the groundwork for the main tension or conflict in the book - if and when Shane and Ilya go public with their relationship. The blurb makes it seem clear cut, like Ilya is the one keen to go public and Shane is the one resisting; the teaser chapters nuance this somewhat, as Ilya seems more comfortable owning their relationship to a slighter wider circle of people, but still is reticent to get further out of the closet. So it will be interesting to see how this develops. Lovely to see Ryan and Fabian again, and to integrate them into Ilya and Shane's story as accidental secret-keepers and a kind of gay support group. Shane is Shane-ing hard in these chapters, which is fun; while Ilya's been a constant presence in the books since HR, and especially Role Model, we've actually seen very little Shane, so it's good to get a reminder of his somewhat neurotic side. All in all, a promising start for a book that has very big shoes to fill.

Season's Change by Cait Nary - Based on these teaser chapters, this book is going to be great and is going to go hard at the feels. Olly is a veteran player (although it seems "veteran" here refers to only 3-4 seasons; he's still quite young), and he is coming off a traumatic experience with his previous team that is somewhat explained but not fully laid out in the teaser chapters. Benji is a rookie, a sweet, determined, generous, big yummy cinnamon bun. They are assigned to share an apartment when they turn up for pre-season training, so that's the set-up. The teaser chapters are basically just character-building, establishing the dynamic for the story and the relationship, and they do a really good job. I'm already invested in Olly and Benji, is what I'm saying.

One thing that is a bit distracting is what level these hockey teams are supposed to be. It is stated repeatedly that the league they play for is the North American Hockey Association, which, ok, that does not exist. But is the fictional North American Hockey Association supposed to be the equivalent of the real-life NHL, that is, the top league? Or is it supposed to be one of the lower leagues? I assume it's supposed to be the NHL equivalent, since there are references to some of the other players having swanky houses and cars and WAGs that are Instagram influencers. But on the other hand, Olly is supposed to have been playing in this league for a few years, and he has a nice car but was sharing an apartment when he played for his former team, and has almost no other possessions. And it makes sense that players would get put in a shared apartment during the pre-season when they don't know if they'll make the roster, but once they're on the team, wouldn't they get their own place with their big NHL money (in other words, how does the premise of shared apartment stay believable once Benji and Olly are both signed)? This is a quibble, but it would be useful with an author's note in the beginning to situate us in terms of the hockey world the book is taking place in.

But pedantry aside, this book looks great. Just pre-ordered so, mission accomplished teaser chapters.

I am super excited for these, but especially for The Long Game! Heated Rivalry was a surprise when I first read it, and I'm so happy that we get to see more into Ilya & Shane's relationship. These can't come soon enough!

Heated Rivalry is my favourite m/my hockey romance and the Long Game is one of my highly anticipated reads of this year! I re-read HR before this sample, which was a great teaser for what's to come in the Long Game! I'm 100% looking forward to this release!

Really enjoyed this sampler. Not going to lie I bought this sampler to get the first 3 chapters of Long Game. They do not disappoint. There is the perfect balance of angst, tension, humour and of course Iyla and Shane shenanigans. I am now really intrigued to see what is going to happen next. I was already invested in their story from Heated Rivalry and am now so excited to read the full book. April 26th cannot come soon enough. I know I will love it as I have with rest of the series. Rachel Reid is an awesome author with characters and storyline that you will fall in love with and has now become one of my favourite authors. I am sure I will read and enjoy anything she releases in the future. I am so excited that we can get a paperback copy of Long Game! I have always been quite disappointed that rest of the series is only available in EBook format. I hope I will be able to have the whole set in my bookcase at some point.
Season’s Change by Cait Nary- Interesting start and I really like the characters and plot so far and am looking forward to reading the rest when it is released.

I loved both these previews.
I have read the whole Game Changers series (a few times over now), and am excited for The Long Game. Getting a little taste was both exquisite and torture. I want more! It sets up the story so well. It is the perfect amount of information/set up and still feels like we are moving along and getting a distinct feel for how this story will might be (not in an obvious plot points way, but rather the tone and feelings. All the good stuff!). I cannot wait to read the rest!
Cait's story was completely new to me and I immediately pre-ordered it after reading the synopsis. Absolutely sold!! And then I read those first 4 chapters and am in love with these characters and already feel invested in their story and well being and I love that this doesn't feel like it'll be a "brush things under a rug" type of book. Based on just these first few pieces, I am excited to see if my suspicions are correct and cannot wait to read the rest!

*Reviewing the preview of The Long Game by Rachel Reid because I have an ARC for Season's Change by Cait Nary.

After reading the 3 chapter sample, I am even more excited for this book. Even that preview was just <u>so emotional</u>, and it was so great to see them still being themselves, but in different circumstances. Even though I'm a little sad because it will mean the story is done, I can't wait to see Shane and Ilya get their HEA.
Also, can we have the rest of the series in paperback too?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the preview.