Reviews with content warning for Dementia - 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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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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sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

After recently finishing listening to ROLE MODEL, I decided to re-listen to HEATED RIVALRY by Rachel Reid. This is book 2 in The Game Changers series.

I just love Ilya and Shane's enemies to lovers story so much. They spend so much time physically apart both because of secret relationship, and as hockey players on opposing teams, they are there for each other as much as possible. Be it by text, phone call, video calls, and those rare times that they can physically be in the same place.

There is so much caretaking in this book. It really comes through when Ilya offers to make Shane a quick meal after one of their interludes. Shane notices that without being asked, Ilya got Shane a ginger ale, while he got himself a Coke. This scene just gave me all warm and cozy.

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menomica's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

Jesus fuck oh my god. I really didn't think I was going to like this book because I don't like celebrity romance or hockey/sports romance but oh my god this book??????

I get the hype. 100% get why it's so popular. I'm not like a literary nerd so I lack the vocabulary to properly articulate this, but: Heated Rivalry reminds me of the A03 fics I read AND I MEAN THAT IN THE BEST POSIBLE WAY. Lures you in with incredible hot sex, then hits you with the hurt/comfort, angst, sweet characters.

Could you call the storyline trite? Sure, why not, if you wanna be a party-pooper. Is the writing/narrative groundbreaking in anyway? Not really. But things don't need to be technically good to enjoyable.

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bookedinsideout's review against another edition

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5.0

04/21/2022: Preparing for The Long Game’s release in a few days… the crafting of this with the prologue and the reveal and then getting to see the progression of their relationship is perfection, and I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next.

08/01/2021: I listened to the audiobook and giggled throughout the whole thing because their teasing is just perfection, along with some Canadian jabs thrown in (Regina, Ottawa, McGill). This is the perfect book. They're enemies because they're rivals, but there's a respect there and it never verges into meanness, which is why I think it works so well for me. Other than the outside factors keeping them publicly apart, there's very little angst, making it a thoroughly enjoyable comfort read.

09/29/2020:
Ilya kissed his dumb mouth and swallowed his stupid little sighs and felt his annoying fingers in his hair. He pulled back so he could look at his horrible face with its ridiculous freckles. Fuck.

I loved everything about this hockey romance: the way it spanned years, secret meet-ups, All-Star games, off-season at the cottage, two hockey-loving and supportive parents… and it was just so fun to watch Shane and Ilya navigate their true enemies-to-lovers story.

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