Role Model

Well this was a very squee worthy read, and I loved it. The romance between Troy and Harris was a lovely gradual build that worked so well for the story, and I really appreciated the fact that they didn’t need to come apart in order to prove their love like so many romances tend to do. I loved Troy’s work to be a better person, and the hockey league side story made me think a lot about sports and the problems within them.

Harris had hockey cards shoved in the frame of his mirror. Even the bedside lamp had a Centaurs branded shade.
"I was a bit of a fan."
"I'm a little concerned. This feels like you might have lured me up here to add to your collection."

Troy Barrett is not having a good time. After a very public confrontation with his (ex-)best friend, his girlfriend left him, he was traded to the worst team in the league, and is constantly bashed in the news for his choices. Playing hockey in relative anonymity is the only thing on his priority list. Increasing his social media presence is definitely not something he wants to add to it.

Harris Drover would ideally give Troy a wide berth, but his job as the team's social media manager won't allow for that. show more Besides, if he's honest, it's not like he minds the eye candy. Sure, they had a rocky start, but a decent latte can go a long way towards mending bridges. It might even lead them towards friendship, or mo... well, Harris' fantasies have a tendency to run off on tangents.

I've been feeling alternately giddy and exasperated by the whole Game Changers fandom hype. Yes, Ilya and Shane's chemistry is through the roof, but the number of minor fandom epiphanies I kept stumbling over on Threads (by Insta) was starting to get to me. Let's be clear, I am judgemental as hell and proudly so, but I've been known to jump to conclusions once or twice... or 63984 times.

Troy and Harris make an adorable couple, they've got significant chemistry, and I truly hope to see their awkward antics in season two of the TV series. It also helps that I'm very much Troy coded, complete with first inserting foot-in-mouth, then offering several profuse apologies. And then, of course, there's the iconic moment where he finds the perfect Christmas gift: you would not believe how much I overthink gift-giving too.

That said, I also kiiinda preferred the build-up and the banter to the actual sex scenes. And that's coming from someone who most definitely reads these types of scenes with the clear expectation of eventual spice. I will riot if I'm made to sit through them and then get a closed-door scene at the end.

Plus, the ending felt a bit on the nose, too. I'm cynical enough that seeing a conveniently complete happy ending will make me suspicious. There's no pleasing everyone, and if you somehow do, there are probably still 50 pages left for the plot to twist itself into a tragic outcome.

Score: 3/5 stars

A cute spicy romance, perfect for fans of redemption stories, newcomers to the (sub)genre, and especially for readers wary about gender roles in queer romance. show less

CW: mentions of past rape/sexual assault, disbelieving of victim’s accusations, mentions of homophobic slurs

I just waited one day after receiving this arc to finish it in a single sitting, because I couldn’t resist. And this was despite me not reading contemporaries at all during this pandemic - but how could I not pick up the next in my favorite hockey romance series when I knew it would make me smile.

This series has given me a lot of joy in the past and it was nothing this time around. Once I started reading, I just couldn’t put it down. It was funny, sweet, entertaining, even if slightly anxious at the beginning. I breezed through the whole thing, laughed and cried, and felt delighted at being in this world again. I won’t show more say the book was perfect though, but I guess I understood the choices the author made in her writing - she mentions she wrote the complete thing during the pandemic and I think thats why the bad things in this book are mostly at the periphery and seem inconsequential despite being very important issues. However, I did like that the author touched on toxic masculinity in the sporting world and also how teams and fans often rally behind the players when they are accused of misconduct, particularly by women; and it’s the victims who get slandered instead. It’s such an awful issue, but the author only touched lightly on it, which may feel performative for some readers.

However, the characters make up for any shortcomings because they are amazing. Troy is not easy to like immediately because we have seen him be an asshole before but also seen him be slightly conflicted, so I started off the book feeling contradictory about him. But I could quickly sympathize because he lost his love, his team, his fans, everything in a few days for finally standing up for the right thing after being wrong for a very long time. I was glad to see him realize his mistakes and be a better ally. He was well supported by Harris who is the sweetest ball of sunshine, and I loved the environment that he created for all the players of the team. They made for a great couple and I was so happy to see their level of understanding each other.

The best part of this series has always been the side characters and it was lovely to see some very supportive family members here who were delighted to see their sons find their perfect partner. But my heart is with all the past characters showing, right from the first book. It may not have been my favorite, but Scott Hunter has now become a lynchpin around whom this series revolves because he is the ultimate inspiration for most of the players and I so admire him for it. It was nice to see all the couples and realize they are doing well. But ofcourse, my love for Ilya will always remain special, and it was awesome to see him be a great leader and supportive friend, though I did miss Shane a lot.

To conclude, this was a super fun new installment in my favorite romance series and I’m glad the author was able to write such a sweet story during these hard times. You can’t give it a miss if you’ve read the previous books, and you should totally start from the beginning if you wanna try a highly entertaining and lovable sports romance series. Now I can just wait for The Long Game because Ilya and Shane will always be special and I can’t wait to read more of their story. show less

Compared to the previous books, this was a lot slower burn. No one was having uncontrollable urges in the first chapter and the main characters actually got to know each other before falling in love and acting on their lust. The conflict was mainly about Troy's growth as a human being, and everything was in proportion. I also love the fact that there was very minimal miscommunication between the main characters.

Also, Ilya made a reappearance and I really liked him in this book. Also also, bonus points for the puppy.

Now, obviously this was a fantasy take on the hockey world. The bit about the league's attitude to sexual assault felt accurate, but the resolution and overall acceptance of gay players is the bit that's just not realistic at show more all in the current environment (unfortunately). However, who the hell reads m/m romance books for realism (especially when it's written by straight women?) The acceptance and the warm and fuzzies is what I'd like to see in the real world, so until it's the reality, I'll settle for reading about it in books. show less

Liked this one more than some others of the series. Fun couple, loved Troy's story and watching the hockey culture evolve! I also love how lovey-dovey this one got near the end, adorable.

Glad to see one of this book showing these tough hockey players supporting victims of sexual assault. Also glad justice was served and that everyone showed their support 💃

I literally love that Ilya is in every book, he's such a fun character and watching him change throughout is so interesting. I kinda can't wait to see what happens in the show now XD

I will say, Harris as a character was cute, but it went way too far for me with the "my family runs a cider mill and I buy apple scented shampoo and I only drink my family's apple cider and I constantly show more bring up apples for no reason" stuff. Like Rachel, we get it. The dude loves apples. Such a weird thing for his character to revolve around 💀 It was kinda...a lot.

It felt very silly and stupid in a book about a hockey player being ostracized for speaking out about a rapist teammate.Like huh? Very strange juxtaposition.

I'm so excited to read The Long Game next, also just realized that it's nearly 500 pages 👀👀 show less

A wonderful redemption arc.
Not enough consequences for bad people-- here's hoping for more karmic and legal justice in later books.

Also, my head-cannon is that Ilya is the only character with functioning gaydar in this series and spends everyone else's stories ensuring they get together with other people so they will not even look at quietly out Shane.

I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction, but I picked up this book on vacation and thought it looked fun. It is fun! The two leads are very good together, and I liked the fact that Troy is actively trying to become a better person. The hockey team is very fun, and I liked the peek into the work world of the support staff.

Since this is part of a larger series featuring different characters, i thought Reid handled the cameos very well. They were present, but not overbearing. Sweet romance with some heavy sex scenes.