Rachel Reid (1) (1980–)

If you loved the TV adaptation, it was extremely faithful to this well-written love story, so you’ll likely enjoy this just as much.

I’ve mentioned in many reviews that an overabundance of sex scenes isn’t my favorite thing. It’s not about being a prude, it’s that too often excessive sex scenes end up feeling like filler, like the author doesn’t know what else to do to stretch out their story so let’s get naked. Again. And again. And again. For me, that just gets old and boring, show more fast.

Fortunately, here, at least half of the sex scenes felt like they were actually advancing story, showing growth in the characters and/or growth in their relationship, so I had less of a problem with the extremely high frequency of them than I generally do, though admittedly, I do still think there were more than necessary, I’m always going to crave more variety in the types of scenes on offer throughout a novel, that’s just my preference as a reader.

I loved Shane for his sweet sincerity, and Ilya for his snarky comments and thinly-veiled vulnerability, and I loved them together. The arc of their relationship was so well done, gradually and believably progressing from lust to love. Too many romance novels I’ve read in recent years have such a forced quality to them, but here, their chemistry is so natural, off-the-charts strong, where sparks fly just from the tiniest brush of elbows at a press conference table and where something as everyday simple as eating tuna melts together feels achingly romantic. show less

We’ve long since dropped the façade that we don’t read spicy queer fiction (and it’s no secret that our teen years were a deep dive into the recesses of fanfiction.net, the precursor to AO3), but Game Changer is the first book in the genre that we went out and paid cash money to read when the craving for romance hit us. After the inevitable bingewatch of Heated Rivalry (gotta support Canadian tv content!) and Hudson Williams real life hyperfixation (gotta support the hometown high show more school chaos gremlin lol!) it only took a little bit of nudging from my equally obsessed book club members and a mass purchase of the series by my bff for me to decide to also jump onboard the spicy hockey romance team. Okay, so we’re a bandwagon jumper, so sue us. At least the first novel is about Kip and Scott, who were my favourites in the series (veteran Canadian talent, the sweetest love story, and if you didn’t cry when they kiss after the Stanley Cup win you’re heartless), so it was incredibly easy to dive straight into this book. Less than 24 hours later I closed the covers on a very happy couple, and will admit that I’m fully hooked on the series. While I’m sure most people came here for the spicy content (of which there is *plenty*), what I loved about the story is that underneath all the fucking (Tucker look away!!!) is a really well developed cast of characters with legitimate emotional depth and a narrative that explores some really challenging themes. I’m sure that most male sports have a certain level of homophobia in their culture, but hockey is one that seems particularly prone to problematic toxic male behaviour, and Rachel Reid does not shy away from getting into this as a major grounding theme as Kip and Scott fall in love. While she is definitely playing with archetypes (who can resist the star NHL player as a lead character lol), the story uses them to explore themes about coming out, wealth disparity, friendship, and career struggles with surprising depth and realism. I guess that’s partially what makes these types of novels so popular; we may have come for the happily ever after, but we leave with a better understanding of relationships and maybe some general human empathy. Whether hockey players irl are still homophobic jerks is another matter, and requires further study - lol - but maybe, just maybe, having stories like these hitting the bestseller lists and topping the cultural consciousness will have a positive ripple effect. And now, on to more romance on the ice with Ilya Rosanov and Shane Hollander (yay)! show less

I'm doing some housekeeping on my library thing account - I see I haven't made any comments about Ryan and Fabian!

Of course I loved their story - the contrast between the giant bearded hockey player and the elf-like musician Fabian is integral to the scene set by this novel. Including the irony of Fabian being the confident individualist, and Ryan being the anxiety ridden misfit.

It shows both men as way more complex than appearances allow. The best thing is, they both discover something show more wonderful, in fact, the best thing in their lives, and that thing makes them brave and true, and bigger than they were before. It's a beautiful story.

How does Rachel Reid do it?!!!

Thank you for everyone's comments below - they really are great. It floors me that everyone has Book 2 on a pedestal – SO DO I! It's in a league of its own but that doesn't detract from this one or any of the others. Game Changer, Common Goal and Role Model are also wonderful. I've just reread Common Goal ... and wow.

Feb 2026 - read this again ... just in case this is the next story in season 2 of Heated Rivalry on HBO Max. Absolutely looking forward to any of the stories next, but since this is next in line (book #3), why not do Ryan and Fabian's story. I confess I believed this was the weakest of the six (at the time I read it over two years ago), in the Game Changer series, but I was wrong! It's marvellous and would make great TV, especially blended in with Ilya and Shane's second book (book #6, The Long Game), since I LOVED when the four of them go out to dinner during one of the hockey camps (book #6).

Very few authors in this genre write such satisfying books as Rachel Reid's fairly small collection of M/M novels (I think it is 10 to date). Some of the novels written by NR Walker, Marley Valentine, Keira Andrews, Jay Hogan, Saxon James/Elle Kennedy, Eden Finley, Nyra K, CE Ricci - and I've only read the two best known novels by Renae Kaye and Kaje Harper - are up there. But EVERY Reid book is SPECIAL, a cut above. show less

The Publisher Says: New York Admirals goalie Eric never thought his friends-with-benefits arrangement with much-younger Kyle would leave them both wanting more…

Veteran goaltender Eric Bennett has faced down some of the toughest shooters on the ice, but nothing prepared him for his latest challenge—life after hockey. It’s time to make some big changes, starting with finally dating men for the first time.

Graduate student Kyle Swift moved to New York nursing a broken heart. He’d sworn show more to find someone his own age to crush on (for once). Until he meets a gorgeous, distinguished silver fox hockey player. Despite their intense physical attraction, Kyle has no intention of getting emotionally involved. He’ll teach Eric a few tricks, have some mutually consensual fun, then walk away.

Eric is more than happy to learn anything Kyle brings to the table. And Kyle never expected their friends-with-benefits arrangement to leave him wanting more. Happily-ever-after might be staring them in the face, but it won’t happen if they’re too stubborn to come clean about their feelings.

Everything they both want is within reach… They just have to be brave enough to grab it.

My Review: Twelve instances of the heinous putridity of the w-verb. I wish to christ y'all straight ladies would stop perpetuating a symptom of eye disease or neurological disorder as "cute." It is not. (And fine Connor Storrie for doing it on the show!)

This one spoke to me moreso than any other in the series. My Young Gentleman Caller and I are parted now, after eight years, but age gap was not the reason...Chat psychosis knows no age I'm sad to say. I so deeply felt Eric's excitement at finding someone he could *connect* with, could relate to and share the far more frequently experienced pleasures of conversation, common interests, and that addictive buzz of companionship, that make sexual relationships with loved ones so deeply satisfying and affirming.

Kyle and Eric getting their happy ending was...soothing...but I had to get through a lot of jealous loathing to get there. Of course them being fictional made it so much easier to do. (It says here.) I'll just say that strangled sobs and ragey outbursts no doubt make Old Stuff, my repugnant roomie, that much gladder I'm leaving this facility next week. show less