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 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. ( )

A meh read and it wasn't intriguing enough to really draw me in. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad because I was initially pulled towards this because of the unique bland of main characters: an out and in the open gay sports athlete and an androgyny musician. It was just a bland mix of nothing and I'm skipping out from reading the rest of the novel. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

( )

Definitely more of a 3.5.

Heated Rivalry was one of my favorite romances of 2019 and I loved it so much that I read it more than once :) So, when I found that there was going to be another book in the series, I was very very excited and so glad when I received the ARC.

The author’s writing style is very easy to read and once I start, I just don’t wanna put it down despite whatever I’m feeling. Because I thought Game Changer was an okay read but Heated Rivalry was excellent, I didn’t exactly know what to expect from this book, but this turned out to be a good one too. There were quite a few moments which were heartbreaking and touching and made me very emotional - there may have been tears involved. I also thought the author did a good job of representing the difficulty of being a professional sportsperson while also suffering from mental health issues - the stigma attached to it, undue pressure to conform to certain masculine stereotypes which don’t include talking about mental health, playing through pain and maybe even getting addicted to the pain medication - I truly didn’t expect so much commentary on such important issues from a romance novel and I think that’s great.

We only met Ryan very briefly in Heated Rivalry, so I wasn’t sure if I would like him as a main character, but I almost fell in love with him instantly. He is an enforcer on the ice, a big intimidating presence but in reality, he hates flying, has severe anxiety and panic attacks, is in therapy and is very very awkward and shy. He is such a sweetheart and even though I’m probably a foot and a half shorter than him, I wanted to give him a hug and protect him. It was heartbreaking to see him struggle with not finding anymore joy in his sport, and also unable to talk about his feelings and issues, but still try very hard to overcome them all. He deserves the world.

I can’t say I liked Fabian a lot. I initially loved that he was very considerate towards Ryan and his shy nature, slowly trying to get him out of his shell. But as the book gradually went on, I just couldn’t get past his hatred of hockey and not trying to understand Ryan’s perspective at all. I understand he had baggage of his own from his unsupportive parents, but I thought it was unfair to judge Ryan because of that. While there were so many beautiful moments between them, Fabian’s insensitive behavior really made me forget about them. Thankfully, the conflict between them was predictable and was resolved nicely, but it went on longer than I liked.

I really liked the friend group in this book. Fabian’s three best friends are a delight, always teasing and being over the top but also giving solid advice even when he wasn’t ready to listen to them. Ryan on the other hand has never had friends because of constantly being traded, so it was heartwarming to see him make a close friend on the team in Wyatt. He was such an understanding and caring friend and I absolutely loved their conversations, and the time they spent teaching hockey to kids. And last but not the least, I was so happy to see the extremely short cameos of Ilya and Shane. It’s such a nice feeling to see them be happy and do good with their foundation.

To conclude, this was a nice romantic read but also a bit darker in tone and definitely more angsty. But just keep in mind that it’s very different from the previous books in the series. It’s also great to see some good mental health rep and discourse in a sports romance. If you like reading love stories where the hero is a gentle giant, this one is perfect. While I didn’t always like the love interest, Ryan was an absolutely wonderful MC and I would totally recommend this book just to get to know him better. And I have no clue if the author has started writing the next book, but I know it’s rest of Ilya and Shane’s story and I’m already extremely excited for it. ( )

This was so well done and gorgeous. I loved that Ryan and Fabian were so perfect for each other. Ryan’s mental health was a big part of this, and I thought it was handled well but wished there was even more healing shown. ( )

I liked this one.

Book 2 will forever be my favourite book ever. I went into this one with zero expectations and tried really hard not to compare it to book 2. I think i succeeded.

This is the story of Ryan the hockey enforcer and Fabian the aspiring Indie Musician. It is some sort of second chance thingy/the one that got away thingy.

I liked both characters, Ryan is a giant teddy bear, he struggles with anxiety, i wanted to hold him and wrap him in a warm blanket. Fabian is the complete opposite of Ryan, He is femme, confident out and proud, who loves to wear eyeliner, lipstick and lace. Me likey him alot.

So why only 3?

The writing is good and the story flowed so well. This one deals with some I felt like the beginning dragged, it only picked up for me at around 40%. The MCs spent too much time in their head. I also missed the hockey in this one. I like Fabian and his friends but they took away some page time. I found myself zoning out then i had to go back and read again to see what i missed. Ugh!!

The relationship between Ryan and Fabian was just ok, it didn't give me butterflies, there was something missing, huh? Maybe some intense chemistry and hot, hot sex? Or maybe it was the build up. Ryan and Wyatt on the other hand! Made me all tingly, their conversations were what gave me butterflies. Those two got mad bromance chemistry.

Overall, it was an ok cute story, the writing was good, the characters likable enough. Oh! and we got Ilya and Shane cameo. Me is good.

ARC kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ( )