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A review by accidentalra
Time to Shine by Rachel Reid
5.0
Apparently, I’m a sucker for opposites-attract hockey romances. Part of me thinks I should maybe try watching an actual hockey game one of these days, but a bigger part of me knows I’d really just prefer to curl up with more books like Rachel Reid’s Time to Shine.
There is so much to love about this novel, which follows Landon and Casey as they battle their individual demons and grow closer during Landon’s call-up as Calgary’s backup goalie. For two heroes who couldn’t be more different, their growing friendship, attraction, and (ultimately) love was a delight to read—believable, well-paced, and just so satisfying. I seriously loved watching Casey’s character develop; although he didn’t navigate the kind of trauma-based healing Landon did, he did reassess his ‘dumb jock’ self-image and learn what he’d be willing to sacrifice for an all-in kind of love. These two characters really did bring out the best and most genuine sides of each other, and I couldn’t help but cheer for them from start to finish.
I also want to say that I loved, loved, loved how the characters grow together despite their very different experiences of sexuality. We see early on that Casey has a very strong sex drive while Landon seems to be somewhere on the acespec. For the record, the world of romance needs more swoony ace- and demi- MCs, and authors need to take note of how well Reid wrote Landon—he’s relatable and swoony without being hyper-sexual and I, for one, am here for it. This is for sure the thing that tipped my review from four stars to five.
I cannot wait for more people to read this novel because, quite frankly, I want to talk about it. So, put it on your TBR list, and then catch me at the coffee shop so we can rehash all the things to love about Time to Shine.
[I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.]
There is so much to love about this novel, which follows Landon and Casey as they battle their individual demons and grow closer during Landon’s call-up as Calgary’s backup goalie. For two heroes who couldn’t be more different, their growing friendship, attraction, and (ultimately) love was a delight to read—believable, well-paced, and just so satisfying. I seriously loved watching Casey’s character develop; although he didn’t navigate the kind of trauma-based healing Landon did, he did reassess his ‘dumb jock’ self-image and learn what he’d be willing to sacrifice for an all-in kind of love. These two characters really did bring out the best and most genuine sides of each other, and I couldn’t help but cheer for them from start to finish.
I also want to say that I loved, loved, loved how the characters grow together despite their very different experiences of sexuality. We see early on that Casey has a very strong sex drive while Landon seems to be somewhere on the acespec. For the record, the world of romance needs more swoony ace- and demi- MCs, and authors need to take note of how well Reid wrote Landon—he’s relatable and swoony without being hyper-sexual and I, for one, am here for it. This is for sure the thing that tipped my review from four stars to five.
I cannot wait for more people to read this novel because, quite frankly, I want to talk about it. So, put it on your TBR list, and then catch me at the coffee shop so we can rehash all the things to love about Time to Shine.
[I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.]