Mistakes Were Made (Deluxe Edition)
Lucy Score
Another excellent Fiction for readers interested in this subject
Heated Rivalry
by Rachel Reid
A sharp, funny, very steamy enemies-to-lovers romance that follows two rival NHL stars through years of secret hookups, with real emotional payoff as their feelings outgrow the arrangement.
What It's About
Heated Rivalry is the second book in Rachel Reid's Game Changers series. It centers on Shane Hollander, the disciplined, image-conscious golden boy of Montreal hockey, and Ilya Rozanov, the brash Russian superstar who captains Boston. The league and the press treat them as the sport's defining rivalry. Behind closed doors, they have been sleeping together since their rookie years. The novel tracks that arrangement across a long stretch of their careers, jumping forward through seasons as casual encounters slowly become something neither of them planned for or can safely admit.
The book's appeal lies in the contrast between the two leads. Shane is anxious, controlled and painfully earnest. Ilya is teasing, reckless and far more guarded than his swagger suggests. Their banter is the engine of the story, and Reid lets the emotional stakes build gradually instead of rushing a confession. The hockey world is the backdrop rather than the focus, and the real tension comes from the cost of being closeted in professional sport, along with the family and cultural pressures each man carries.
Expect an explicit romance. The sex scenes are frequent and detailed, especially early on, and they do a lot of the character work. The tone balances humor, heat and real longing. It reads quickly, and as a genre romance it delivers the satisfying ending readers want. You can read it on its own without the first book.
Read this if you…
- love enemies-to-lovers and secret-relationship romance tropes
- want an explicit, banter-heavy M/M romance with emotional payoff
- enjoyed the TV adaptation or other sports romances and want the source material
Skip it if you…
- prefer closed-door or low-heat romance, since the sex is frequent and graphic
- want a plot-heavy sports novel with detailed hockey action
Key Ideas
- 1
Rivalry as cover and as foreplay
The public feud between Shane and Ilya is more than background. It gives them a socially acceptable way to be obsessed with each other. Reid uses the trash talk, the on-ice clashes and the media narrative to hide their connection and to fuel it, so every game carries a second layer of meaning only the two of them understand.
- 2
A slow burn hidden inside fast hookups
The physical relationship starts almost immediately, but the emotional one develops slowly. The time-skipping structure shows small shifts across years, like a lingering text, a moment of tenderness or a jealous reaction. That lets readers watch denial erode bit by bit, which makes the eventual reckoning feel earned rather than sudden.
- 3
The pressure of the closet in sports
Both men believe that being openly queer could end their careers or ruin their reputations. The novel takes that fear seriously without becoming grim. It looks at how secrecy shapes their choices, strains their relationship and forces each of them to decide what he is willing to risk for a real life together.
- 4
Opposites with hidden depths
Ilya's cocky persona hides a difficult family history and real loneliness. Shane's polished control masks anxiety and a strict need for routine. Much of the pleasure comes from each man seeing past the other's public image, and from the humor that comes from two very different temperaments colliding.
Limitations
Some readers find the first half leans so heavily on sex scenes that the plot and emotional development feel thin until later. The time jumps can make parts of the relationship feel summarized rather than lived. Ilya's accented, choppy English and the Russian characterization strike some readers as broad. Hockey fans looking for authentic game detail may find the sport mostly decorative. Secondary characters get limited space, and the external conflict resolves more neatly than real-world homophobia in sports might suggest, which is typical of the genre's hopeful approach.
Questions Readers Ask
- Do I need to read Game Changer first?
- No. Heated Rivalry works as a standalone with a different main couple. Characters and events from the first book show up briefly in the background, and readers who know Game Changer will catch those connections. Many readers start the series here because Shane and Ilya are its most popular couple.
- How spicy is Heated Rivalry?
- Very. It is an open-door romance with frequent, explicit sex scenes, particularly in the early chapters when the relationship is mostly physical. The heat stays high throughout, and the intimate scenes often carry the emotional development, so skimming them means missing some character work.
- Is there more of Shane and Ilya after this book?
- Yes. The Long Game, the sixth book in the series, returns to Shane and Ilya and follows their relationship after the events of Heated Rivalry. They also make brief appearances in other Game Changers books.
- Published
- 2024
- ISBN
- 9781335534637
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Category
- Fiction
Book details and cover from Google Books.
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