Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Heated Rivalry

Well, this certainly lived up to the hype (possibly surpassed) for me! I found Game Changer just OK but had heard so many good reviews about Book 2 and the absolute hotness that is Ilya & Shane...I am in love.

After reading the two books, I find her writing definitely tilts smut > story, but Shane & Ilya hooked me in right from the prologue. The fact that this book spans YEARS is absolutely captivating (unlike the 1/2 season of instalove we got with Scott & Kip - not that their story wasn't cute!), and getting to see Shane & Ilya's growing "rivaly" from their first foray in Juniors through their current NHL career was a really smart narrative. It really sells the uneasy infatuation they have with each other and we get to peel back the onion alongside both of them as they grow more and more in love with one another.

While it is a standalone, I liked how it tied into Game Changer with the little tidbits that popped up, like the playoffs, awards night, and Book 1 spoiler

the impact of Scott coming out

. It's not a typical romantic HEA ending, but I'm so excited that Shane & Ilya's relationship gets a second entry with The Long Game.

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antonique_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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frantic_vampire's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Y’all. This book. It just about broke my heart. I loved the secrets, the pining, the rivals/enemies to lovers, the emotions. It just…this book has everything that you could ever need in a romance book.

I absolutely adored Shane and Ilya. They may not have started their relationship with the intention of catching feelings or ever falling in love, but damn did they. And when they fell, they fell hard. The there was something so vulnerable about the way this story was told. From the time that they first met all the way through to finally admitting their feelings. It was just amazing.

Honestly this book just about gutted me. It was so emotional with these characters clashing and catching feelings and almost breaking up that I just wanted to scream. I was just so fucking invested in them that I almost cried when they finally figured their shit out. If it’s not super clear, I loved these two stubborn assholes with my whole heart and I can’t wait to see where their story ends up. Heated Rivalry is getting a solid five stars.

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anil's review against another edition

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emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Listen. Not to accuse anyone of anything here. And honestly *I* find it a GOOD thing. But. The Sid/Ovi vibes are strong. Sure a number of facts don't match up but COME ON!

I wanna call it the perfect enemies to lovers but that would actually be short changing the complexity of their relationship from the start. It is incredibly intense and beautiful and so sad sometimes and 100% worth your time.

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