Heated Rivalry (Game Changers, #2) by Rachel Reid Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Game Changer on my blog, now! Heated Rivalry premieres on November 28, 2025 - only on Crave.

Oh I ate this up so bad... some of my new favorite boys. Obviously I wanted to read this before the show premieres later this month, and now I wish I could wipe my memory and read it all over again. I have been seeing some "arguments" online with some people stating this book was porn without plot, but the plot in this book is so extremely vital to Shane and Ilya's individual struggles and their relationship. That being said, the smut was well written and tasteful as their relationship develops. We see two newly drafted teenagers enter the world of professional hockey while trying to figure themselves out and navigate this rivalry that has been thrust upon them, all while engaging in one of the most complex secret relationships I have seen.

When I heard I had to brace myself when reading the prologue, I could not imagine what Reid had in store for us - when I tell you my jaw dropped. There was no holding back with this book, and it is certainly a leg up on Game Changer. I will say that the timeline of this story was a touch hard to keep track of, but once you get the hang of the way the book flows, it becomes much easier to follow. Typically I am not a major fan of text message usage in books, but I found myself loving Shane and Ilya's conversations - you could really get a sense of their own personalities and humor even when they were not together.

Ilya's storyline felt like he was going through the horrors every two seconds, meanwhile Shane was trying to tell himself he was not gay even though he was literally sleeping with Ilya every chance they could get. Shane's story felt more lighthearted in my opinion - you could tell that he was going to be surrounded by supportive family members, while Ilya's story had me clutching my seat waiting for the next blow. Both experienced some major battles but they were basically there for each other the entire time, even when they would hold back on telling the other something that made them more vulnerable.

I really enjoyed getting to know these characters and from what I hear, this is certainly not the last we will see of them. Their relationship was more intriguing than Scott and Kip's, and while I would not consider this a true "rivals to lovers" trope, I can say that I can see how their "rivalry" made the relationship development more interesting. There was a more significant amount of depth to both characters in this book compared to the first and I was glad to see that Reid was able to create some more complex characters. I already placed a Libby hold for the next book in this interconnected series and I am excited to see where it leads readers with the new couple.

You can add Heated Rivalry on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Game Changer (Game Changers, #1) by Rachel Reid Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Heated Rivalry premieres on November 28, 2025 - only on Crave.

I will be completely honest and say that I started this series solely because Heated Rivalry begins streaming soon and I have heard nothing but great things about that book - I wanted to read it before watching the show, and I am very pro-read the interconnected stand-alones in order. I have not read a hockey romance in some time and was excited to get back into them, especially considering the weather is getting colder. Scott Hunter's pre-game ritual of a smoothie has led him to Kip Grady, the kind juice bar barista that captured his eye and led him down a road of a secret romance. Scott's frequent visits become an excitement for Kip, and their friendship blossoms into an attraction that neither can avoid.

However, Scott seems to be the one making all of the rules and has Kip over on his own terms, leading to Kip feeling somewhat isolated from his "old" life and like a secret in the dark. As he spends more time thinking about what he wants and what his future holds career-wise, Scott is focused on playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup. Their different goals seems to cause a rift on the relationship but more so with Kip's perspective, and as playoffs come even closer, Kip is set to make up his mind on what he needs. Sure, Scott is not out to the world, but with Kip being out, he feels as though he is a second thought to Scott when it comes to hockey and what to focus on. I can definitely see both sides - Scott wanting to wait until playoffs are over in order to not overshadow the games, and Kip wanting to be able to go out with his boyfriends without Scott having to hide from the public eye.

Kip and Scott's friends definitely provided them support in different ways - Kip was able to at least confide in a friend regarding his relationship, whereas Scott had to keep everything to himself. You can certainly see how badly Scott wanted to share about his personal life, but also understand why he was keeping that part of him to himself and Kip. It hurt to see Kip go through so much and seemingly alone - you could tell that it was eating him up inside that he would be spending all of his time waiting for Scott to come back from games or practices, and yet barely get to see him when he did get home - not to mention the fact that Kip was not going to any hockey team functions with Scott as his partner - he had to watch from home.

This was definitely a good start to the series, and you can clearly tell where the next installment is headed considering the number of times a certain Russian player was mentioned throughout the book. There are things that I would have changed, but overall the book read well and there was a decent balance of inner turmoil, lightheartedness, and smut. I already have Heated Rivalry on loan from Libby, and cannot wait to see what Shane and Ilya's story has in store.

You can add Game Changer on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Blackthorn by J.T. Geissinger ARC Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised. Blackthorn was published by Bramble on November 4, 2025 and is now available at select retailers.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and Bramble for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. Maven returns to her hometown with the impression she and her daughter, Bea, will only be there to lay part of the past to rest - literally. Life has an unexpected turn when her grandmother's body disappears into thin air and a past love is determined to reenter her life without taking no for an answer. With immediate guilt being placed on the Croft family - the Blackthorn's rival for generations - we see Maven dive deeper to find out the truth as Ronan, her past mistake, continues to insert himself into her life. I really enjoyed the gothic feel to this dark romance, as it was eerie and haunted the plot as we follow Maven and Ronan deeper into their lives. You could sense the uneasiness coming off the page, and considering the contents of this book, it certainly was not the only thing to cause readers to be put out of place.

I have not read a book for a very long time in which the main character had a child - it is honestly kind of jarring to see, as I am used to them having children in the epilogue or towards the very end of the book. That being said, the age of this child is clearly integral to the plot of the book, and Bea's presence was necessary for a number of plot devices. While she did not take on much of a "leading" role, she was still supplying a decent amount of drive when it came to Maven's story. Even though her presence was more so in compliment of Maven's plot, Bea was still important to moving the plot along in order to showcase Maven's determination, along with her ability to keep things hidden.

When I first looked at the trigger warnings, my first thought was how in the world are these going to come up in this story - I quickly discovered that the author was willing to go down taboo roads in this gothic dark romance. At first, readers would think that the "freak factor" would need to be upped tenfold after only reading the first third of the book, but let me tell you - it gets sent into the stratosphere towards the halfway mark and just continues to have the reader's jaw drop. As someone who feels as though they have read everything that falls under taboo, this book certainly had some firsts for me. It definitely takes a minute to dive into the freakiness, but Geissinger does not hold back once that portion is uncovered.

This was honestly a pretty decent combination of genres - you have the dark romance, enemies-to-lovers aspect at the forefront, accompanied by this supernatural and gothic aura that enhances the romance while creating this haunting nature over the story. Maven and Ronan's relationship is much more complicated than anyone could have imagined and as readers see their story unfold, they are presented with conflicting realizations and are left on the edge of their seat.

You can add Blackthorn on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!