Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Tough Guy

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Tough Guy by Rachel Reid

17 reviews

littlewishling's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring 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

I loved the exploration of anxiety in this. It felt true to life. I also adored Fabian’s friends because they reminded me of mine.

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cluckieduck's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-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

3.5

I found the first half more enjoyable. The latter half felt a bit rushed and would have benefited from some fleshing out. It seemed spackled together to get to a quick HEA. This has been the quickest read of the series for me, so even just a few more chapters would have helped cement their relationship for me. Heated Rivalry is a hard act to follow, and this is almost like a palate cleanser.

That being said, the MCs were both great. Ryan, my anxious, burly bear - I have never related with a hockey player more. And the way Fabian approached Ryan’s anxiety and low self-confidence was lovely. It’s a very sweet story.

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piperclover's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

This was so sweet, angsty, and wonderful. I love Ryan so much. This is just all around the sweetest story with the most adorable sex scenes.

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aromarrie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

never before could i have imagined giving this book the high rating that it really does deserve, but i just absolutely adored ryan & fabian’s povs…so much. the exploration of mental health, sex, and the burdening issues playing as intense of a sport as hockey is was very heavy, but it portrayed these two characters in a way that made me love them both; fabian in all his queerness and creativity in music, and ryan, who’s always been pushed to only use his fists on the ice in order to be deemed useful, but who’s so incredibly gentle and doesn’t care for any of the violence in hockey, who shows how much fun it could really be without that violence as we see him help some kids in this book who love just getting to play with each other.

i admit this high rating didn’t come into play until after a relatively sobering reveal that occurs regarding a certain NHL player, but i just appreciated so much how much depth there was that the author was exploring here about the sport. i loved that as distant as it felt to both ryan & fabian (who has some prejudices towards hockey due to a lot of the bad experiences he’s associated with it growing up), it was in a way where it didn’t show the camaraderie it brings among fans & teammates as we usually see in some hockey stories, but mainly the isolation it can bring to those pushed to the side or branded as some pariah.

this book was just really well-written, and again, i really loved ryan & fabian, and all of fabian’s friends, and ryan’s friend, wyatt—there were some really good people in this book, and we even got to see ilya!! maybe he & ryan could have the friendship that i desired for ilya in the last book, but we’ll see :’) this was a good reading experience, that’s all for now.

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frantic_vampire's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Well, there goes another hockey romance that almost made me cry! I really, really loved this book. I don’t know how this series keeps getting better with each book, but it does.

I’m having a hard time finding words that aren’t just happy and excited unintelligible screaming to describe my feelings for this one. I loved Ryan and all of his anxiety and mental health issues, his fear of flying, and that he finally decided to fight for himself. He felt so real and my heart just ached for him. I also loved Fabian and how comfortable he was with his sexuality and how confident he was, and how open he was with literally everyone. And I loved them together! They seem like they wouldn’t go together, but they fit so well! And the fact that they found each other after 13 years apart just sends me to a whole other level.

Honestly it’s getting hard to pick just one book from this series as a top favorite. I loved Tough Guy so much and I just want more! This one is getting a solid five stars. I would also highly recommend reading the series if you haven’t already!

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marysbookinit's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

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allingoodtime's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

These two…my goodness. These two. I am so in love with Ryan and Fabian. On their own, they are both sweet and wonderful people. Together they are warmth and joy. Something I’ve quickly discovered about this author is she is able to pull all of the emotions from me.

This story is, first and foremost, a beautiful romance. There is so much more to it, though. Ryan breaks my heart. He is not happy but doesn’t really know what to do about it, he’s just going through the motions of his life. No drive to change things, but knowing there is something wrong about how things are going. His anxiety issues were so real and so well written. From the seemingly little things that can set him spiraling to the big issues that have to do with his job as an NHL enforcer, Ryan is a well-rounded and thought-out character.

The issues Fabian has to deal with are different, but no less important than Ryan’s issues. Fabian is very comfortable in his skin, and has long ago come to terms with who he is and how his family reacts to who he is as opposed to who they wish he was. But his hockey loving family has left a bitter taste in his mouth about the sport and those that play the sport. When Fabian and Ryan reconnect after years, Fabian’s challenge is to find that balance between supporting Ryan and expressing any concerns about Ryan’s job without letting his own bias about said job to sneak into the mix.

As well as the romance in this story, the friendships are top notch. Fabians core group of friends are hilarious and supportive. Ryan makes an unexpected friend on his new team and their conversations are fun and touching and bring a lot to the story.

Watching these two deal with their insecurities and find their way to realizing their wants and dreams and reactions to things are distinctly them, not wrong or abnormal. Just uniquely them. I am in love with this couple. I am in love with this series.

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