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prarthana_praveen's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Outing, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts
mspecht's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I just think they’re neat 😭😭😭😭
I cried, I laughed until I cried, I pterodactyl screeched, I threw the book across the couch many times.
There’s a line in HR where Ilya wants to smash burning campfire embers into his eyes bc he just feels too much when he looks at Shane and that’s how I felt reading this, which is my favorite kind of story.
I would fight the entire NHL with my bare hands for the Centaurs and Shane and especially precious angel baby Ilya 😤
Also the trophy room scene will be living in my head rent-free until the day I die BYYYEEEE
I cried, I laughed until I cried, I pterodactyl screeched, I threw the book across the couch many times.
There’s a line in HR where Ilya wants to smash burning campfire embers into his eyes bc he just feels too much when he looks at Shane and that’s how I felt reading this, which is my favorite kind of story.
I would fight the entire NHL with my bare hands for the Centaurs and Shane and especially precious angel baby Ilya 😤
Also the trophy room scene will be living in my head rent-free until the day I die BYYYEEEE
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Homophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder
calcifowl's review
emotional
funny
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, and Outing
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Suicide
a_modernstoryteller's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, and Outing
Moderate: Suicide
srm's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness and Outing
Minor: Alcohol, Suicide, Biphobia, and Homophobia
tabear's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Cursing, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Homophobia, Outing, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Transphobia
reesa16's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts
anintrovertrambles's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Outing
Moderate: Suicide
_isabel_'s review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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
Hello, second worst book hangover of the year. We meet again. (And, weirdly, another hockey romance is to blame)
(FYI, the first one was an ARC of "Rookie Mistake" and no, I will NOT stop taking nor recommending that UTTER GEM of a book, sorry not sorry.)
Anyway.
5 stars is definitely not enough to describe how much, how damn much, I adored this book, how much it made me feel. Start to finish, I loved every single page and every single word. I never wanted it to end, but the ending was SO perfect, so now I'm both devasted and unbelievably happy for Ilya and Shane's well-deserved, long-fought-for, HEA.
I loved "Heated Rivalry" with my whole heart, but "The Long Game"? It was everything I love and long for in a romance novel, and then more.
I've always thought that, regardless of HR very romantic, endgame-y and sweet conclusion, Ilya and Shane's story never felt 100% satisfying. So now, I'm really, REALLY glad I was kind of late to the "Game Changers" party when I started reading these books: waiting years would have been absolute torture.
Anyway, this was gorgeous. An utterly romantic, wonderfully I-am-sobbing-my-eyes-out, gut-wrenching, just *chef's kiss*, novel. It has steam and intimacy and friendship and banter and angst and heartache and the most epic conclusion you could ever wish for. PLUS, two MCs and a cast of wonderfully complex and lovable side characters that absolutely SHINE.
I mean, Shane does eventually shine and I was so proud of him by the end I wanted to scream, but he DID frustrate me a bit in the beginning. He's still endearingly grumpy and awkward and easily flustered and just, really sweet, but I wanted to kick him a bit (or a lot), aswell. But you can see and feel how much he just adores Ilya, so I was pretty much ready to forgive him as soon as he started acting better.
But speaking of Ilya.
Ilya Rozanov. God, I think he might have replaced someone in my "Top Ten Characters I Would Absolutely and Cheerfully Die For" list. He's something special. An utter snark king and so hilarious I literally cackled for hours after some bits, so sexy I melted MANY, many times, so lovable and caring and affectionate, and so heartbreakingly soft and sweet I wanted to hurl myself off a mountain.
Also, the way he was with the dogs? I SOBBED. This is such a tough book for Ilya, but I felt like Rachel Reid dealt with some of the most serious issues he has to go through with tact and care. Needless to say I wanted to hug him to death a couple of times, or twenty, throughout the entire book. I still want to do it now. I am so damn proud of him, and Shane, and how far they've both come.
The story flows like a dream, as RR's flawless storytelling, and the side characters? The whole Ottawa team deserve a medal. They are literally the best and if RR decides to write another book in this series, I sincerely hope it will be about one of them. Troy and Hazy and Bood and Shane's parents deserve a special mention for being awesome, whereas Shane's team can go and suck a lemon. Yuck, those idiots. Yes, even J.J. and Hayden.
We get to see some really, really familiar and welcome faces and I'm pretty convinced I would kill for a whole story, short or otherwise, of the queer hockey-adjacent couples interacting with each other and just being happy and maybe kicking some bigoted ass.
Anyway, I was very, very satisfied with everything that happened in this book and with Ilya and Shane fantastic love story. Those last few chapters made my heart explode.
I think I might have underlined the whole thing and I kinda want to do a re-read now? God, somebody save me from the agony that this book hangover will be. "The Long Game" was absolutely everything, romance and found family and banter at its best, a whack-over-the-head-with-a-shovel-loaded-with-feels in book form. I loved it to bits.
(FYI, the first one was an ARC of "Rookie Mistake" and no, I will NOT stop taking nor recommending that UTTER GEM of a book, sorry not sorry.)
Anyway.
5 stars is definitely not enough to describe how much, how damn much, I adored this book, how much it made me feel. Start to finish, I loved every single page and every single word. I never wanted it to end, but the ending was SO perfect, so now I'm both devasted and unbelievably happy for Ilya and Shane's well-deserved, long-fought-for, HEA.
I loved "Heated Rivalry" with my whole heart, but "The Long Game"? It was everything I love and long for in a romance novel, and then more.
I've always thought that, regardless of HR very romantic, endgame-y and sweet conclusion, Ilya and Shane's story never felt 100% satisfying. So now, I'm really, REALLY glad I was kind of late to the "Game Changers" party when I started reading these books: waiting years would have been absolute torture.
Anyway, this was gorgeous. An utterly romantic, wonderfully I-am-sobbing-my-eyes-out, gut-wrenching, just *chef's kiss*, novel. It has steam and intimacy and friendship and banter and angst and heartache and the most epic conclusion you could ever wish for. PLUS, two MCs and a cast of wonderfully complex and lovable side characters that absolutely SHINE.
I mean, Shane does eventually shine and I was so proud of him by the end I wanted to scream, but he DID frustrate me a bit in the beginning. He's still endearingly grumpy and awkward and easily flustered and just, really sweet, but I wanted to kick him a bit (or a lot), aswell. But you can see and feel how much he just adores Ilya, so I was pretty much ready to forgive him as soon as he started acting better.
But speaking of Ilya.
Ilya Rozanov. God, I think he might have replaced someone in my "Top Ten Characters I Would Absolutely and Cheerfully Die For" list. He's something special. An utter snark king and so hilarious I literally cackled for hours after some bits, so sexy I melted MANY, many times, so lovable and caring and affectionate, and so heartbreakingly soft and sweet I wanted to hurl myself off a mountain.
Also, the way he was with the dogs? I SOBBED. This is such a tough book for Ilya, but I felt like Rachel Reid dealt with some of the most serious issues he has to go through with tact and care. Needless to say I wanted to hug him to death a couple of times, or twenty, throughout the entire book. I still want to do it now. I am so damn proud of him, and Shane, and how far they've both come.
The story flows like a dream, as RR's flawless storytelling, and the side characters? The whole Ottawa team deserve a medal. They are literally the best and if RR decides to write another book in this series, I sincerely hope it will be about one of them. Troy and Hazy and Bood and Shane's parents deserve a special mention for being awesome, whereas Shane's team can go and suck a lemon. Yuck, those idiots. Yes, even J.J. and Hayden.
We get to see some really, really familiar and welcome faces and I'm pretty convinced I would kill for a whole story, short or otherwise, of the queer hockey-adjacent couples interacting with each other and just being happy and maybe kicking some bigoted ass.
Anyway, I was very, very satisfied with everything that happened in this book and with Ilya and Shane fantastic love story. Those last few chapters made my heart explode.
I think I might have underlined the whole thing and I kinda want to do a re-read now? God, somebody save me from the agony that this book hangover will be. "The Long Game" was absolutely everything, romance and found family and banter at its best, a whack-over-the-head-with-a-shovel-loaded-with-feels in book form. I loved it to bits.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide
readingtotravel's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
One of my favorite series, a favorite couples! I love Shane and Ilya so much and am so happy Rachel Reid gave us more of their story. Honestly, I hope she circles back to them again and maybe gives them and the other couples some short stories. Reid truly knows who to create loveable characters and delivers HEAs that make all the tension and turmoil worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing and Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts