Role Model (Game Changers, #5) by Rachel Reid Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Game Changer, Heated Rivalry, Tough Guy, and Common Goal on my blog, now! Heated Rivalry is now streaming on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in select countries.

I really enjoyed seeing Troy's internal thoughts and how he was able to slowly start coming out of his shell after being traded to the Centaurs. You could clearly tell that he felt out of place after being uprooted from a team that he played with for years, and considering his supposed best friend ended up being a complete scumbag, his weariness to socialize with other people was understandable. Especially taking into account that Troy is closeted and recently out of a long term relationship, he does not know how anyone else would react to this information, even after Scott Hunter's major moment in Game Changer.

Major bonus points for Ilya being so present in this book - he is literally my favorite character in this series, so it was so nice to see him with Troy as they played on the Centaurs together. I was in desperate need of an Ilya fix after season one of Heated Rivalry concluded, and this was the perfect read to get more of him as I make my way towards The Long Game and patiently await season two. You could tell when he was talking to Shane, even when Shane was never even mentioned - Troy was constantly observing Ilya throughout the book, and he was certainly noticing a pattern with Ilya and his bursts of disappearing the second they had an off day.

There is a moment in this book where I literally started sobbing - most of these books are not "high stakes" in the sense that something tragically bad could happen to any of the characters, but I was genuinely fearing for multiple characters' lives at one point. You can literally feel the fear come off the page, and I have to stay this aspect of the book made the reality of what the characters were living through very prominent for the rest of the story. I genuinely think this is one of the main turning points for Troy in his own self reflection in deciding how he wants to see himself as a person and how he wants to live his life without hiding in the shadows any longer.

Harris was a great partner for Troy - while their interactions were a little rocky at first only due to Harris being weary of Troy for his past actions, it definitely blossomed into a great relationship. Their personalities, while not 100% the same, were compatible and I felt as though they were both able to learn a lot from one another, and understand that while their lives are very different from each other, they still had a common goal - pun intended - in mind. Considering Harris comes from a family who is very supportive of his sexuality and Troy comes from a rocky home life with a homophobic father and homophobic team members, it was interesting to see how they both went about their outlooks on life.

I hope Dallas Kent gets everything that is coming to him - I could not stand his little appearances throughout the other books and I am glad that Troy was able to put him in his place and believe those women. I think the addition of this storyline really emphasizes the NHL's past and current compliance with assault culture and is a great commentary on how these players are often believed over their victims in order for the league to keep making money. Which is an interesting factor given now the NHL is trying to monetize off of the success of Heated Rivalry when one could argue that the NHL and the commissioner are the biggest villains of the series. I only hope that the culture starts changing and allegations are taken more seriously.

I cannot wait to revisit Shane and Ilya in The Long Game, but I have to say this entire series has been such a joy to read so far. While there are moments that I have my own opinions on, Reid is able to create a universe where these players are able to have their happy endings and get the love they deserve.

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Common Goal (Game Changers, #4) by Rachel Reid Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Game Changer, Heated Rivalry, and Tough Guy on my blog, now! Heated Rivalry is now streaming on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in select countries.

Thank the stars... an age gap romance that does not have me reaching for my phone to call the police!! Am I starting to shake in my boots now that reading books has main characters a year younger than me? Absolutely. I am simply going to pretend that Kyle is actually a year old and move on with my day. Eric and Kyle are definitely one of my new favorite couples in this series, second to Shane and Ilya. I loved how aware Eric was of his feelings and the way that he viewed Kyle - he was always respectful and honestly was so much more open about his feelings than I expected from him. Kyle was so much fun and honestly refreshing to see after Tough Guy - I just felt like the previous book was lacking a more playful feel to it.

Scott Hunter and Ilya Rozanov making their constant appearances is something that I will never complain about - you can always count on Ilya to make fun of everyone in a fifteen foot vicinity and to have Scott Hunter fighting for his life. Seeing Kip and Scott's relationship develop from where it was in Game Changers to them being at such a big moment in their lives was so full-circle realization. Reid does a decent job calling back to the other characters, but I will say she definitely has a fondness for Scott and Ilya. Shane and Kip certainly make their own appearances but they do not take as much page space as their counterparts. 

Eric exploring his sexuality with Kyle was such a fun read - you can tell that while he was nervous to "learn" with Kyle, he was very much comfortable with who he was and was happy and willing to try new things. Kyle was the perfect teacher for Eric, and it was honestly sweet to see how attentive they were to each other and how focused Kyle was on making sure Eric felt safe enough to explore things with him. Their communication throughout the book was pretty solid, but obviously there were moments where they struggled to convey their true feelings towards one another, which definitely lead them down a more rocky road towards the end.

Readers will appreciate the friendship aspect between Eric and Kyle in this book - while they are a more friends-with-benefits moment, you can clearly see how much they care for one another after meeting and getting to know each other. Watching them grow as individuals, open up to one another about their past relationships, and discover new things with each other made their relationship all the more authentic.

I cannot wait to see what is in store in Role Model, and considering we have concluded season one of Heated Rivalry, I will definitely be needing my hockey yaoi fix as we patiently await season two. This series as a whole has been so enjoyable, and if you are looking to find your way into some true hockey romance, there is no better time than now to dive into the Game Changers series.

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Neon Gods (Dark Olympus, #1) by Katee Robert Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Stone Heart on my blog, now!

In an attempt to continue on with series that I have not seen through, Neon Gods finally had me intrigued enough to crack it open. I honestly do not know what I was expecting, especially since I was well aware these are interconnected stand alones, but good lord why does it feel like this series literally makes no sense. The world-building should be much more concise, considering you do not need to read the prequel novella in order to read the series. I just cannot seem to be fine with hearing Greek gods talk about trust funds, jobs, and the mortal world. I still find it odd that people can "become" one of the Thirteen and that they are just not set in stone like the original mythology calls for.

Persephone, girl... I need you to LOCK IN and fight back against your mother. The woman set you up with a known wife killer and you do not seem to be nearly as angry as any rational person would be. Totally understandable response to high tail it out of that situation because your life definitely depended on it, but perhaps you should be more vocal about your displeasure towards her. I am glad that her sisters sided with her and did not try to make her see that marriage through. She spends nearly the entire book just going on and on regarding how she just needs to make it to her next birthday so she can get her trust fund and leave... like girl I think you have much bigger problems than just leaving home to deal with.

Hades is broody and moody and honestly a more refreshing take on him than what I have seen in other retellings. He is honestly the most rational of everyone in this book and actually thinks about his actions before doing anything, which is more than what I can say for the rest of the characters. However, it still feels as though the author was holding back on expanding on who he was as a character. Sure, we get his background in bits and pieces throughout the book, but there was never a point where I felt as though I knew his character in its entirety. I would have loved to see some more fleshed out chapters focusing on him rather than reading about Persephone begging him for a thousand sexual favors at every waking moment.

This is some of the worst dialogue I have ever read. I literally wish I could wash my eyes out after reading the nonsense that Persephone would say to Hades. You are an adult, please, for the love of god, speak like one!! The writing honestly feels juvenile, which is strange considering the subject matter is anything but so. Do not even get me started on the smut... it was below average and read like a bad nightmare. The author attempts to dive into a BDSM aspect but falls so incredibly flat it becomes unbearable at times. I totally understand that this series is just "dark romance with Greek mythology" but I fear it does not even resemble the structure of a dark romance novel.

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This Man (This Man, #1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I wish I could get every minute I spent reading this book back. The premise of this book reminded me subtly of Fifty Shades of Grey only in the slightest, but good grief Jesse Ward is hands down one of the most ridiculous male leads I have ever come across. He is a man child and a whiny little boy when he does not get exactly what he wants. And when what he wants is Ava to basically never leave his sight, you can only imagine how out of control he becomes. Jesse basically is terrorizing the town whenever Ava has to go to work, sees her friends, or literally just tries to go to the office to do her job. His hobbies are literally stalking and mild breaking and entering in order to have eyes on her at all times. Get a grip!!

That being said, Ava is basically no better than Jesse, but in a different regard. She is setting feminism back decades every minute she spends with Jesse. Yes, she does have her moments where she tries to hold her ground and give him a reality check, but it literally never works and always ends up with her crying, fleeing the scene, or having Jesse barge in like a caveman at her place of work or her apartment. I wanted so badly for her to actually grow a spine at some point, and just when you would think she was about to, all of her progress would go out the window. I found myself rolling my eyes at nearly everything she did - she became unbearable towards the end. What grown woman acts this way?

I literally cannot express it enough on how much this book gave me a migraine. Jesse keeps far too many secrets and Ava does not seem to have the motivation to even uncover them. For crying out loud, she does not even know how old Jesse is!! Like girl, if the man you are sleeping with will not even tell you his age, you need to be running across state lines, not running into his bed. I was literally losing brain cells while reading this book - there was not a redeemable quality of this story that I could find - even the side characters would not get involved in Ava and Jesse's drama. Jesse's friends low key are just as evil as he is because what do you mean you literally instigate so many situations where you know he will freak out on Ava? Ava's friend is relatively fine in the sense she kind of just hangs around - I will give her props for giving Ava a place to live though.

The smut scenes were... something. I have read better material written by a 13-year-old on Wattpad. We seriously need to be reevaluating the content of books that are being published because how in the world did anyone ever think that this was readable content? The writing is not nearly at the caliber it should be and the plot is mind-numbing. Now if you see me reading the rest of the series in the future... mind your business. I like to see series through to give a cohesive opinion.

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Soul to Possess (The Artmaker Trilogy, #1) by E.M. Adams Review

This reviews contains very minor spoilers - no major plot points are revealed.

A Stuff Your Kindle Day hates to see me coming, and this dark romance was one of many more recent downloads. Considering the first two installments of this trilogy were available for free, I knew I had to at least explore what this author had in store for their readers. When Gennie sees an ad in the newspaper of a man who is looking for a wife, she decides she has nothing to lose and sends him a letter. She did not expect to receive one in return, and thus Gennie and Marvin's letter conversation is born as they reveal more about one another. With Marvin sending her means to come to him, Gennie embarks on a journey to meet the man she may very well marry, but fate has other plans as she ends up hundreds of miles away from Marvin and in the hands of a murderous stranger who is intrigued by her innocence.

Atticus is no stranger to commanding control and getting what he wants - when Gennie stumbles upon his door in the middle of horrendous weather after being dropped off at the wrong stop, he knows exactly what he needs to do to keep her there forever. He basically spoon feeds her little bits of information screaming that he is dangerous, yet Gennie does not take the bait. Sure, she is definitely on edge and is not viewing him as trustworthy right from the start, but she certainly does not have the best survival instincts. That being said, if I was trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with a hot guy sending off major red flags, I would probably do anything I could to make sure I make it out of there alive. The man is a murderer for crying out loud and he certainly is not trying hard at all to hide it.

While this first installment is short, the author really gets straight to the point and does not waste time once Atticus and Gennie's paths cross. We are able to see the "relationship" between Marvin and Gennie grow and expand as they converse through their letters, then see the drastic change in tone once Gennie passes through into Atticus' door. I enjoyed the change in writing style choice as well - showing readers the letters between Marvin and Gennie definitely gives a much more impactful experience to the reader as they are able to get to know Marvin without ever meeting him or seeing his internal dialogue like what we get with Gennie.

I will admit that this book has me intrigued and I will at minimum continue on to the second installment, which is already downloaded on my Kindle and calling to me. The plot definitely has my attention and I am interested to see how the author takes this story and in what capacity - the initial build up took a little too much page space for me so hopefully that will not be a problem in the second book. If you are on the hunt for a short and more psychological approach on a dark romance, this may be your next read.

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Tough Guy (Game Changers, #3) by Rachel Reid Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Game Changer and Heated Rivalry on my blog, now! Heated Rivalry is now streaming on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in select countries.

Ryan and Fabian's relationship was certainly... interesting. On one hand, you have hockey star Ryan who has been playing in the league for years and on the other hand, you have musician Fabian who hates hockey. I think their personalities definitely complimented one another, but they also brought out things in each other that were not being explored when they were not together. I really enjoyed how Reid explored Ryan's anxiety throughout the book and did not shy away from the struggles he faced and how it impacted his daily life and his hockey career. Ryan's chapters were definitely the most compelling to me as a reader - it felt as though his character had more care taken in developing his internal development. While Fabian did have development as well, I just could not find myself leaning towards his story. He was not as likable as Ryan in my eyes, and I found him constantly stating how much he hated hockey while literally dating a hockey player becoming increasingly annoying.

Ryan's journey with his anxiety was the most captivating plot of this book. Since Reid makes it clear from the beginning that Ryan is out, there were no undertones of him being in the closet or hiding his relationship from the public for the sake of his career. This meant that we were able to explore new avenues with his character and see how even though Ryan is a "tough guy," he still had a lot going on in his life that was outside the world of hockey. Fabian was sympathetic towards Ryan's anxiety, but it still seemed that Fabian wanted Ryan to quit playing hockey every single chapter, which I felt fed into his anxiety even more.

Fabian has reasoning for not liking hockey players, but I found it odd that he basically let it fester his whole life and then when he finally is dating a hockey player. he spends the majority of his time thinking about how he wants Ryan to quit or watching Ryan's games and wondering why he would play. There were a few times in the book where Fabian was watching a game on television and thinking "why would Ryan be this violent during the game?" which I found absurd because it is literally hockey... they fight every two seconds during a game. I found myself becoming more agitated with Fabian as the book went on because of this, and truly tried to like him more, but just could not find it within my to want to take his side.

I really enjoyed the little Shane and Ilya crumbs in the book - while they were only mentioned a few times and made a guest appearance briefly, it was nice to see how they were being perceived by other hockey players. Ilya's one-liners are still a hit in my eyes and he truly is a hilarious character, even when he is not trying to be.

I think I was expecting a lot more out of this book than what was given, and was hoping Fabian and Ryan's relationship would be as enticing as Scott and Kip's or Shane and Ilya's relationships. Instead, I honestly found myself wanting Ryan to stop dating Fabian multiple times during the book - I did not think in the beginning and middle of their relationship that Fabian was the right man for Ryan. I am glad they both were able to be more vulnerable with each other and have their own growth, but would have loved if Fabian's character was not always on a mission to have Ryan literally quit his career because of his hatred towards hockey players. 

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The Sunshine Court (All for the Game, #4) by Nora Sakavic Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of The Raven King and The King's Men on my blog, now! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

I would actually lay down my life for Jean Moreau and I am not even joking. This boy deserves nothing but sunshine - literally and figuratively - and I want him to live in peace and never have to look over his shoulder ever again in his life. His responses remind me so much of Andrew and Neil's when confronting the trauma they have endured. Reading bits and pieces about him throughout the first three books and considering the horrors he went through in The King's Men, I knew that I would be in for a tough read when Nora announced his and Jeremy Knox's trilogy installment for the series. Jean's internal monologue is gut-wrenching and at times literally nauseating to read about the way he speaks about himself and how he blames himself for the years of abuse.

I would personally like to thank Nora for giving us multiple perspectives - seeing Jean and Jeremy's internal thoughts truly made their introduction and development so much deeper as we were able to actively follow along on Jeremy's end as he digested everything Jean revealed to him, as well as follow Jean as he slowly works his way through understanding that what the Ravens - mostly Riko and Grayson - put him through, was horrendous. Their development is very much sunshine and grump, and that is putting "grump" on Jean very loosely as he is more so sheltered and does not understand what was done to him is not normal. He is basically forced to leave an environment that he only remembers, and while it was incredibly toxic, it is the only thing he knows.

Jeremy's entire character is like if you put a ray of sunshine in a jar and walked it around town. I am in love with this kind little soul and would also lay down my life for him as much as I would for Jean. The way he does not overly push Jean into revealing what he has been through but also does not hold back on explaining to him that what he experienced is not normal is fantastic character establishment. I loved the way we could see Jeremy work with what he was given and make sure that he was able to create some sort of balance between having Jean still continue with his "normal" but also try to move on and create a life of his own.

Reading everything that Jean had to go through at the Nest... my stomach was in knots. It was so sick and twisted - every single time something was uncovered or Jean accidentally let something slip, my heart dropped and I just wanted to give him a hug. I desperately need him, Neil, and Andrew to heal emotionally together, but I know their personalities would never allow that to happen. At least Neil and Andrew are able to lean on each other, and hopefully Jean will be able to lean on Jeremy once he opens up more.

You can pry this series out of my cold, dead hands. I will read whatever Nora publishes with enthusiasm and hope that she will never leave this series alone. I obviously will be continuing on with the next installment and can only hope that my dear Jean and Jeremy see some peace - even if it is only for a minute.

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