A review by blackheartbooks
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Shane and Ilya both started their rookie year in the NHL together but are playing for feuding teams. Poised as rivals from the beginning, both young men quickly realize that there's something more beneath the surface. Now, after eight years of hate sex, whispered confessions, and reluctant admissions, both men are considering ending their relationship and moving on. But can they turn their backs on the history between them, even as its abundantly clear they can never be out to the world?

Well, what's not to love? I immediately need more of the asshole & the golden child trope. You know I love me some stickball gays. And quite frankly, I don't even know what to do with myself while I wait for the sequel to come out in April.

This book is god tier level for books about pining. If that's your thing, believe me, your heart will be hurting in the best way before you can even say Stanley Cup. I like the dimensions of this novel as well, how it's told mostly through flashbacks leading abruptly to the present, how Shane and Ilya give themselves over to each other one reluctant piece at a time, how the eight-year relationship shapes their lives over the course of their exciting careers playing for rival teams. The emotional depth in this book is precisely what I look for with my sports gays, and possibly it's right up there with the resonance of the third book in the AFTG trilogy that is so beloved to me. 
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