Book Blog #368: Tough Guy By Rachel Reid

Title: Tough Guy

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 312 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating:★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Ryan Price may be an enforcer, but off the ice he struggles with anxiety. Recently traded to the Toronto Guardians, he’s determined to make a fresh start in the city’s dynamic LGBTQ Village. The last thing he expects to stumble upon in his new neighborhood is a blast from his past in the fabulous form of Fabian Salah. Aspiring musician Fabian loathes hockey. But that doesn’t stop him from being attracted to a certain burly, ginger-bearded defenseman. He hasn’t forgotten the kiss they almost shared back in high school, and it’s clear the chemistry between them has only intensified. Fabian is more than happy to be Ryan’s guide to the gay scene in Toronto. Between dance clubs and art exhibits—and the most amazing sex—Ryan’s starting to feel something he hasn’t experienced in a long time: joy. But playing the role of the heavy on the ice has taken its toll on his body and mind, and a future with Fabian may mean hanging up his skates for good.

Review: 2 stars that maybeee can lean to 3 stars. It was a very mid read (in the truest sense of not hating it but not loving it), and I don't think I would have read this story if it wasn't part of the Game Changers series.

For readers who are only invested in the Ilya and Shane romance, there's nothing particularly relevant to their relationship in this book (their appearances in this book were brief and didn't progress their character nor relationship development).

Our male leads are Ryan (super side character in Heated Rivalry) and Fabian (new non-macho love interest):

Fabian:

- Outgoing, sex positive, high self-esteem

- Brings problems to an otherwise unproblematic relationship 

- Fatal flaw: projects his opinions onto others (just because you hate hockey doesn't mean you should emotionally manipulate players into quitting??)

He is clearly passionate about his craft (and a "starving artist") but should still check his privilege; not everyone can feel as comfortable as he is just quitting a stable job.

Ryan:

- The opposite of Fabian 

- Low self-esteem that will really bum you out

- Main source of turmoil: wants to orgasm

I started to sympathize with Ryan's struggles, but then some of them seemed to be pretty easily resolved. If the fix was so quickly and easily changed his attitude, was it really a struggle at all?

Loved as always how Rachel Reid made these characters feel distinct from the other Game Changers characters, but their chemistry wasn't really there (especially since Fabian is so strongly opinionated, doesn't make sense to me why he would feel such a strong connection to a hockey player, regardless of their history). 

While I did like how this book highlights hockey's enforcer role and how detrimental it is to the player in such a role (like football players, there's an actual higher risk of CTE due to the physical nature of the role), I otherwise didn't find Ryan and Fabian's love story worth reading about. 

Book Blog #367: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Heated Rivalry

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 372 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night. Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great. As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…

Review: I was more addicted to this more than Game Changers, but it doesn't quite hit the 4 star bar.

I'm going to assuming making some high level comparisons with the TV show and commentary on the actions during the smutty parts do NOT count as spoilers. If you think otherwise, skip this review.

I read this book soon after binging the TV show (after it was all over my social media feed despite never hearing about this series). I wanted to see a more verbose version of Shane and Ilya's story (plus I wanted to read the other books to figure out what happens after).

The Heated Rivalry book delivered in both of these areas; since there's third person POV switching (similar to Game Changers), the reader gets to hear more details on their inner turmoil that is more subtle in the TV show. That being said, the POV switching is more noticeable than in Game Changers, likely because the characters are in different locations most of the time. For Reid's writing style, I think it's a necessary component (and translates well to TV), despite still not being my favorite form of story telling. 

Another props to the writing (especially compared to Ali Hazelwood books where a lot of the same gendered main characters read similarly across books) is that the characters felt distinct: Ilya being the brash but well meaning, and Shane being innocent and neurodivergent (which was SHOWN rather than told, which is refreshing for a smutty romance).  

Not sure how much of this was influenced by watching the show; Reid should give major props to the actors/director who made these characters even more likable than I could have imagined them being. I was pleasantly surprised by how many scenes and their dialogue were lifted straight from the book to screen and overall translated well (unlike some books->movies coughColleen Hovercough). All in all, props to Reid for writing a solid book in the smutty romance genre. 

That being said, the common complaint between Game Changers and Heated rivalry is there's too much redundant sex. Of course for the sake of keeping down the total screen time, some of the sex scenes were consolidated in the show (and that already was a lot of sex!). I think the book could have made similar cuts, especially since them navigating the obstacles of their relationship are interesting on its own. 

Special shout out to Shane being at least briefly grossed out at the thought of kissing Ilya after Ilya was licking Shane's butthole. Loved Shane for being so relatable since there's is 0 mention of them doing any prep.

If you're a fan of the show, definitely give this book a read! It's fast (finished in only a couple of days) and easy read (and ended up rewatching parts of the show as I read to simulate listening to an audiobook). 

Book Blog #366: Game Changer by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Game Changer

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 380 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Scott Hunter knows a good thing when he sees it. So, when a smoothie made by juice bar barista Kip Grady precedes Scott breaking his on-ice slump, he’s desperate to recreate the magic...and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter. Kip knew there was more to Scott’s frequent visits than blended fruit, but he never let himself imagine being invited back to Scott’s penthouse. Or kissed with reckless abandon, nevermind touched everywhere all at once. When it happens it’s red-hot, incredible and frequent, but also only on Scott’s terms and always behind his closed apartment doors. Scott needs Kip in his life, but with playoff season approaching, the spotlight on him is suddenly brighter than ever. He can’t afford to do anything that might derail his career…like introducing the world to his boyfriend. Kip is ready to go all-in with Scott—but how much longer will he have to remain a secret?

Review: Read this book hot off watching (and being obsessed with) the Crave TV show Heated Rivalry. 

This book was way better than I expected (and of course I expected it to be a smut-forward hockey romance that I already saw in episode 3 of the TV). Not sure if I just wasn't into the actors chemistry, or Scott x Kip's story is too might of a tangent off of Ilya x Shane's love story, but I thought episode 3 was boring. But even though I knew what was going to happen, I was addicted to reading the extra details that come through in the book.

I was actually pretty impressed on how true to the story the show was to the book, considering that one episode was able to tell the ENTIRE story from this almost 400 page book. Which leads to me my first complaint; Game Changers didn't need to be as long as it was. They could have cut out 1/3 of the page count (which, yes would including cutting out some of the sex scenes) and still have packed the same punch romantically and plot-wise. 

What I really appreciate about this book is the focus on the closeted gay struggle, especially in the NHL. As someone who just binged a bunch of Ali Hazelwood books (read: heterosexual romance that follows a similar formula), it was incredibly refreshing to read a romance book that highlights a real-world problem.

This was almost a four star read! Definitely go in with the expectations that this will be a smutty gay romance, but if that's what you're looking for, this would be the book for you.

Book Blog #365: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

 

Title: Deep End

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 464 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Review: I've read two Ali Hazelwood before this, but this is my intro to her contemporary romance writing (which I heard was better than her paranormal romance).

It wasn't. 

One of the characters in this book kept saying that Scarlett's kinks are "so Fifty Shades!" (since she's into the dom/sub aspect of BDSM). This essentially set the stage for the rest of the book; it felt like a watered down Fifty Shades of Grey. There was a lot of smut, but it actually wasn't that kinky and a bit boring, honestly. I thought that they would explore more of the kinks they supposedly shared, but it was mostly just him telling her what to do and her crying because she liked it so much. 

There's no depth in the relationship between the two main characters. It's fine to have two characters bond over shared kinks, but it's hard to call this true romance when they don't seem to do much together except want to have sex, and all their emotions seems to be based off the greatness of their sex lives. The dom/sub kink seemed to be their whole personality, the defining feature who makes them who they are. I would have preferred more nuance to their characters.

And of course I was constantly frustrated with the plot because most of the problems fall under the poor communication trope! These characters will just choose to not talk to each other for long stretches of time, another character wants to withhold information about a breakup and keep up the facade of being a couple (oh what could go wrong?)... 

Usually with this trashy, smutty romance books, it'll be at least a fast read. However, this was not the case for Deep End; had to really push through the beginning half especially when it felt like very little of anything was happening. 

I would not recommend this book.

Book Blog #364: Mate by Ali Hazelwood

 

Title: Mate

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 457 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her. As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe. But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…

Review: Not as good as Bride, unfortunately. It has the same addictive quality, but not as much. 

Bride already had its flaws, and Mate fixes some of these but introduces others. Serena and Koen actually spend more time together compared to Misery and Lowe (so the former's relationship feels more authentic). 

At the same time, Koen is a problematic male protagonist that makes me not want to root in the Serena x Koen situationship. He seemed blunt and cocky, but his confidence and charisma was still likable in Bride. But in Mate, his sarcasm and attitude toward Serena was super off-putting. It felt like the only reason why he cared about her at all is because she's his mate (rather than caring about her as a person). There's also the big age difference, which sometimes could be a non-issue, but Koen's (unlike Lowe's) Alpha personality came off as infantilizing (especially when Serena is new to all things Were). 

A lot of the problems the characters encounter come from character withholding information from each other.  Pretty tired of this poor communication trope and made me frustrated with Serena especially.

This could have been a three star read like Bride, but since I didn't love the Serena and Koen relationship as much as Misery and Lowe, I'm deducting a star. I'd only recommend reading this is if you already loved Bride.