Customer Reviews
I couldn’t put this book down. I loved this story! This was the perfect enemies to lovers romance. And I loved how the story had me falling in love with the main characters as they fell in love with each other!! I can’t wait to read more of Ilya & Shane!
started off really slow i was almost tempted not to finish it but it was soo worth it they’re are soo cute and portrays how hard it truly is to be open you know
Heated Rivalry is a spicy MM hockey romance, the second book in the Game Changers series. Japanese-Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov are rivals on the ice and captains of rival NHL teams. Wholesome family-friendly Shane and cocky playboy Ilya could not be more different, and their rivalry is legendary in the hockey world. But what the rest of the world don’t know is that they have been secretly hooking up since before they even in the NHL. Now after all these years of discrete casual rendezvous, both men come to realize what they feel may no longer be as casual.This book is everything BookTok promised it to be, and I was not disappointed. This was so freaking good and I absolutely loved it. While this is the second book in the series, you do not have to read the first book (I didn’t) and don’t need to know anything about hockey (I don’t) to enjoy this book. This was just sizzling hot and the spice was just so well done, well written, and never feels repetitive even though there is so much of it. The book is very sex forward and Shane and Ilya’s connection is purely sexual in the beginning.Shane and Ilya are just two complete, well rounded characters that just feel so real and raw and authentic, and we see them fall in love in between all that hooking up. We follow them and their on-the-ice rivalry for SIX YEARS starting when they were just NHL prospects in the junior league until all the way to being the best hockey players in the NHL. The chemistry, the banter, and the rivalry all just serve to make their rivals-to-lovers forbidden romance all the more steamy. I was completely hooked reading this book, and I’m pretty sure I had tears in my eyes because these two were so in love and wouldn’t admit it to themselves and to each other.Heated Rivalry is just plain fantastic.
I love this book. I wasn't familiar with M/M hockey romance, or this genre, but I have a feeling Rachel Reid set the bar very high. After reading this I read the other six she's written all within a month, and went back to read this again since I couldn't get enough of Ilya and Shane. Her character development is great, and you really fall in love with these characters - highly recommend the second Shane and Ilya book The Long Game as well. Can't wait for the TV series!
I was pleasantly surprised to like this book as much as, if not more than, the first book in the series. I was worried at first. Kip and Scott’s story started off very cute and got stressful as it went on, whereas Ilya and Shane’s book started off stressful. I was scared it was going to be stressful and sad all the way through, but it got SO adorable.In terms of characters, I think Ilya and Shane actually had much better chemistry. Despite their shared career, they have very different personalities and it was magic seeing them come together. On the other hand, Kip and Scott had different careers but very similar personalities, making their relationship sweet but not as interesting.Can’t wait to see more from Ilya and Shane in later books.
