This was an enjoyable read.
Kip was a very engaging character, young and charming, and a little adrift in his professional life. He has a degree in History, but hadn't really done anything with it so far, and is kind of stuck in his job as a smoothie barista. I could relate a lot to his sense of being in limbo, and his insecurity of what direction to take his life into. Especially because all his friends seemed very successful and sure of themselves, I could relate a lot to all his insecurities about his future.

So Kip is a little stuck when he meets Scott Hunter, the big hockey star of the local team. Scott has been closeted all his life and is currently playing a really shitty season because living a life of lies and constant hiding is getting to him. They instantly fall in lust, and through some coincidences and repeated visits to the Smoothie bar, they start dating.

Stories about relationships between one closeted person and one out person can be very tricky, because there is such an imbalance there, and very quickly there is pressure on one party: either to hide, or to come out, neither which is healthy to do when it's not your own choice and moment.

Game Changer was no different, and while in some ways their relationship developed beautifully, this aspect really hurt. Tears were involved. I felt for both Scott and Kip a lot, and while there wasn't a good way out of their situation, the way it all exploded let me a little dissatisfied. Mostly I think because the relationship developed so rapidly, that the emotions that were being professed didn't really feel earned or real at that point. Especially Scott stayed somewhat of a cypher throughout the whole book - I know real hockey players often lack somewhat of a personality beyond hockey too, but in a book that's annoying - and we never learn much about him except that he's hot, a hockey player, closeted and how much he loved his mom. There were a couple of moments where I didn't understand why Kip loved him so much.

On top of that, Kip, because of his insecurities, stayed silent too long in my opinion, which created a Big Conflict mostly because of the lack of any talking at all, and then when it all came to head, it had already progressed too far. This is my least favorite way to get to the big conflict because I always feel like it could have been solved by simply talking with each other, which I expect people who are in love to do.

I did really like how Kip's friends called Kip out on this, and I really loved the last part of the book. The final scenes, even though it's a Hockey Romance cliche, made me tear up all over again. And I loved Scott's motivations that finally made him decide for himself. Kip might have been the Game Changer in Scott's life, but I think Scott is set out to be the Game Changer in the hockey world, and I really love that.

Anyway, I'm a sucker for hockey romance, and while sometimes there could have been a little more hockey for my tastes, and occasionally it felt a little too... clean and proper to be my kind of hockey story, it pushed all my buttons eventually.

Do you like hockey? Do you like romances featuring a gorgeous, kind, sweet, and lonely millionaire hockey player falling in love with a gorgeous, sweet, smart, and funny “regular” guy? Do you like a lot (and I mean a lot) of insanely hot sex? Do you love stories where one character is in the closet, but could decide to possibly throw his entire career away all for LOVE?

Kip Grady has a degree in history, but works in a smoothie shop while he contemplates just what he’s going to do with his life. He’s pretty directionless and knows he wants more, but doesn’t have a solid plan to get it. When Scott Hunter, the captain of the New York Admirals, comes into Straw+Berry and Kip whips him up a smoothie, Kip whips himself into a bit of an obsession with Scott.

Luckily, Scott keeps returning and the two begin to chat and quickly come together. The sex in this is hot and plentiful (maybe too plentiful?) with Scott and Kip barely coming up for air in the first half of the book. They have chemistry, and a definite emotional connection, but Scott is unwilling to come out and Kip, who at first goes along with being with Scott in private only, begins to feel like a dirty secret.

There’s a little miscommunication in Game Changer, but it didn’t feel like the author was trying to manufacture angst. It made sense that Kip wouldn’t initially push for the two to make a big announcement at the beginning of their relationship, and it made even more sense that he would eventually tire of being kept secret and having to, in a way, be pushed back into the closet.

I really enjoyed Game Changer. I liked the dual POV, and reading about how Scott and Kip dealt with a burgeoning relationship that was being kept firmly in the closet. I got sucked into it quickly and especially loved the secondary characters in this, thoroughly enjoying the humor Scott’s teammates and Kip’s best friends provide in the story. Plus there’s a great, sigh-inducing, happy ending.

The only thing I didn’t like was the ARC formatting. I’m definitely going have to pick this up when it releases to read again because the ARC copy I have was so badly formatted it was almost unreadable and it did affect my final rating because I was constantly having to go back and re-read whole paragraphs and pages again to figure out who was speaking or what was happening.

That aside, I really enjoyed this and I hope it turns into a series. Please, oh please, let it be a certain hockey player’s story next!

Didn't love it but didn't hate it either. Frankly, I'm over the 'closet athlete falls in love' trope being used ad nauseam and the book felt a bit too cliched for my liking. The writing itself was good though and I'd be interested in seeing more by this author.

I know I may be the odd one out here but this one just was not for me. There are conditions for me to enjoy reading, I like the build up of the relationship, therefore insta-love is a NO for me. This story had the two MC’s going from just looking at each other to love to quickly for my taste. The writing was a bit to campy for me, I like a fee-good story but IMO this one was too repetitive with the “I love you’s “ and no build sex scenes - by 40.% I was skimming them as they felt redundant.

I was happy for the ending, but I just felt that the characters did not fit who they actually were. I am sure this will be the book for many people just not my thing.

What an amazing book. I loved seeing the story from both POV, and really getting a sense of how both Scott and Kip are feeling. They couldn’t just handle normal new couple stresses, they had to deal with Scott being a closeted NHL player. And he couldn’t be just any ole professional player, he had to be the team captain of the New York team. Scott and Kip have a lot to deal with, but their story feels genuine and really makes you sympathize for all professional athletes that struggle with hiding daily. I loved this book and look forward to more from Rachel.

*2.5 stars*

I almost rounded up with this one because the ending was 1000% better than the first half, but I remembered how much I didn't enjoy the first 50% of the story and I couldn't do it.

Look, I think a ton of people are going to love this one. It's a cute story about a closeted hockey player (automatic bonus points because HOCKEY) and his smoothie-making love interest. There is a lot of sex (more on that later), and I know the story will find its fan base. However, this wasn't the kind of story I typically enjoy.

I have certain requirements when it comes to my romances, and it's really important for me to have a slow burn. If the book is exceptionally good, I can do a quickie and insta-love at first meeting, but that's like a once-a-year exception for me.

Game Changer had such a rapid turn from meeting to love that my head was spinning. I really don't like when we get hook-ups and lovey dovey stuff in the first portion of the story, and it was just too fast for me to feel like any of it was real.

Plus, those non-stop sex scenes. I actually skimmed all of them after the first two because constant sex without that sexual tension build-up does nearly nothing for me. It was excessive for my tastes, and I just wasn't into it at all.

The first part of the story felt superficial, repetitive, and formulaic to me. However, after the 50% mark things started to turn around.

I honestly was happy at the sappy last 25% of the story. I'm a romance reader, so gestures of romance make my heart happy. Though I still don't believe that someone with as much on the line as Scott would move so fast after just a few months of dating, the last portion of the story was much better for me and nearly bumped my rating to 3-stars.

I'm sure this book will do really well, and I'm happy for the author for getting her first book out there (no small thing!), but I don't think I'm the audience for this kind of story, hockey MC aside. Though I'd tune back in if the author went with an enemies-to-lovers or slow-burn theme for her next book in the series...

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Game Changer was an easy, quick read. I was immediately drawn into the story and absolutely loved Scott and Kip together. I loved watching them build their relationship and as an added bonus it was a hockey romance. Definitely check it out!

I'm on the fence about how I really feel about this book. It has a cute beginning and end. But I honestly didn't like Scott very much - he was just way too selfish for me and that kind of ruined a lot of the book. He took and took from Kip and never gave much back once they were outside of his apartment.

Scott & Kip have an adorable 'meet cute' story. Kip works at a smoothie shop and Scott comes in one day after a run and gets a blueberry smoothie. Scott is a closeted gay NHL player and one of the most popular ones at that. Kip is definitely not closeted, but he also has no clue who Scott is. Scott finds Kip hot, but his blushing self finds it hard to flirt with the guy. Scott keeps coming back to the smoothie shop just to see Kip and keep up with his 'good luck' routine. Kip is a recent college grad who lives at home with his parents and takes on the occasional waiter job for events. It's during one of these events that Scott and Kip meet up once again and Scott takes Kip home. It wasn't entirely believable that someone who was that scared of people finding out he was gay would just pick up a guy he's only known for a short amount of time, but okay, whatever. It was certainly a hot night for them. They had a lot of sex in this book, so much so that I think it took away from what was probably an actual love story thrown in there that I can't seem to remember much of the day after finishing the book.

They continue to see each other for weeks, eventually saying "I love you" and yet, Scott still keeps Kip hidden. This goes on until the end of the hockey season and I just felt terrible for Kip and thought he deserved more. I honestly couldn't fault him for kind of breaking things off with Scott when he saw that Scott wasn't going to change anytime soon and Kip had already distanced himself from his friends and family, which wasn't healthy.

But Scott gets a clue and makes things right in an amazingly adorable way that left me smiling, so I can't hate him too much for how he chooses to come out.

The book was predictable, but still an enjoyable read as long as you don't get too frustrated with Scott's inaction.

Game Changer was a really good M/M Ice Hockey romance. Scott and Kip story was very believable. Kip was already OUT of the closet and proud of it but Scott ,a big shot ice hockey player was still closeted. They were absolutely HOT together. The pace and the writing of the book was great. And very good characterization of the issue at hand.There are plenty of sexyness between the sheets to keep you Hot and Heavy. This was my first Rachel Reid book and bring on the next one.
This review is all my own. Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for this ARC.

Game Changer is an enjoyable story with clever, authentic characters. A realistic plot. Looking forward to reading more from Rachel Reid.

Mignonne, sexy et sympa, cette romance de Rachel Reid m'a fait passer un agréable moment de lecture !

Voilà donc l'histoire de Scott Hunter, hockey superstar des New York Admirals, occasionnellement modèle pour Hugo Boss et Gillette ; et de Kip Grady, qui bosse actuellement dans un bar à smoothies, en attendant de trouve le job de ses rêves, bien que ses diplômes universitaires en histoire soient pour le moment insuffisants. Leur rencontre est adorable et super mignonne, la façon dont ils se tournent autour sans avoir l'air, car forcément, Scott n'a jamais parlé à personne de sa vie amoureuse, et vu sa notoriété, et le milieu très masculin dans lequel il évolue, pas facile dans ces conditions-là de révéler son homosexualité !

Comme dans pas mal de romances avec un hockeyeur, le héros serait évidemment le tout premier à faire son coming-out, du coup, sa relation avec Kip doit rester secrète. Mais pour ce dernier, cela n'est pas une chose facile à gérer ... Pas plus que le fait d'être en couple (tout court) avec un mec célèbre, et surtout riche.

On retrouve les classiques rebondissements de ce type d'histoire, quelques scènes de matchs (trop courtes à mon goût), et beaucoup de sexe ! Car Scott et Kip sont chauds comme la braise et ils doivent avoir des liens de parenté avec les lapins Duracell, car ils ne s'arrêtent JAMAIS !

Une lecture légère et sympa donc, bien bien sucrée (je confesse, j'ai fait une overdose de 'I love you' et je suis passée à deux doigts de me faire une fracture des orbites à force de rouler des yeux ...), mais j'ai globalement bien aimé.

J'espère que l'auteur écrira une suite, car parmi les personnages secondaires, certains ont du potentiel !

So glad my GoodReads homie, J, told me about this one.

-It read quick
-Adorable couple
-Swoon-worthy
-Sports romance
-Closeted star hockey player for falls for regular Joe
-Banter
-Plenty of steam
-A touch of heartbreak
-Feel good vibe
-No OTT drama

*It's a little insta-lovish but I didn't mind- it reeled me right in.

Think of it as NR Walker meets Lily Morton style of writing.

Rachel Reid is an author I'll be looking out for in the future. Fingers crossed a certain Russian gets a book next!

4 Solid Stars!

3.75 stars.

Game Changer was an overall cute read. I love Hockey, M/M and romance so when you turn that into a book, it's what I call heaven. It was my first by Rachel and I'm glad I gave it a try. Though it's not my favorite I did enjoy it and liked the characters as well as the secondary ones. I liked that there was little to no angst. Sometimes that's exactly the type of book I'm looking for. Scott and Kip were the cutest ever when they were together.

The few reasons why I didn't give it 5 stars was because I felt like there was *almost* too much sex in this book and not enough talking. Also the fact that a lot of the problems could've went away like Scott's inability to come out, Kip getting angry not telling Scott some important information and running away had they just communicated better.

But overall I'd recommend this and I would continue to read more books by this author in the future

One of the best Ice Hockey sports romances I've read in a while. I absolutely adored this one with Kip and Scott and their chemistry was off the page volcanic hot.

Not too much messing about with miscommunication, a great bunch of secondary characters and a fabulous public kiss which really put the awwww factor into their relationship all added up to make this a real pleasure to read.

Game Changer is a perfect sports romance!

I was obsessed with watching sports when I was younger, and now I just love to read about athletes falling in love.

In Game Changer, Scott is the captain of his hockey team, and thus is a star in NYC. What no one knows is that Scott has been living in the closet all the years, not even allowing himself hook ups during the season, or in the United States, as he's afraid of being recognized.

Then one day he decides to buy a smoothie, and meets the intriguing smoothie shop employee, Kip. For once in his life, Scott is smitten, hard, and can't resist taking some chances with Kip.

I absolutely love everything about this book! It has it all - hot hockey guy, fun yet awkward normal guy, hiding in the closet, resentment about being hidden away, and having to choose to come out or lose the love of his life.

It also contains some wonderful and important side characters, along with some fun humor. It is well written, absolutely gripping and amazingly emotional. The author does a wonderful job of handling the closeted athlete with accuracy and genuineness.

I highly recommend Game Changer to anyone who loves a good sports romance and I look forward to reading the next book in this series by Rachel Reid!

*~~*ARC kindly provided to me for an honest review *~~*

- Review to come

Review originally posted on my blog with added content on Mikku-chan / A world full of words

Game Changer follows the typical trope of m/m hockey romances where the hockey player is closeted. Also as usual, it takes its own twist on the relationship. Scott isn't out to anyone, and has been closeted for years, and is afraid that coming out would affect his reputation due to the NHL's homophobia. He's never been in a relationship but has had sex with men when he'd been abroad. This changes when he meets Kip.

Kip is working at a smoothie shop and is struggling to find a job in his field. When he meets Scott while working there, he assumes he's straight but he quickly finds out that that is not the case.

Game Changer is less about two characters getting together and more about navigating their complicated relationship. Kip understands why Scott is in the closet, and for the most part that doesn't cause difficulties. A lot of the book follows them falling in love, spending some distance apart due to Scott's travel, Kip sorting out his professional life, and Scott trying to figure out if he's ready to come out. 

The book is really good at making you root for them to work out and for Scott to get to the point he feels comfortable coming out. Their relationship was so sweet and I was so happy reading about them. You understood the conflict that came up, even if you didn't completely agree with how things were handled. 

Game Changer has for sure become one of my favourite romances.

Look, I love hockey romances & a great opposites attract story. Unfortunately, this book is neither.

Scott Hunter is a superstar hockey player for a fictional NYC NHL team; he's also gay. He's managed to keep his sexuality a secret from friends and fellow players - and the public - by repressing his desires until the off-season, when he travels abroad to countries where he won't be recognized & can be himself. He's careful to keep his sexuality a secret and he's managed to remain in the closet despite his very public persona.

Kip Grady is hot, lives at home, works at a smoothie store, and is gay. THAT'S IT FOLKS - FOR REAL. He spends his free time hanging out with his tight knit, successful and accomplished group of friends - who try to encourage him to pursue an actual career related to his major, and hooking up when the mood strikes. When the story opens, he's at work, hungover, when a super hottie walks in the door and asks him for a smoothie. After another customer tells him who his mysterious customer (and great tipper) was - NHL hockey super star Scott Hunter - Kip can't stop thinking about him. And when he stops in the next day and asks for the same smoothie, Kip tries and flails/fails to subtly flirt with him. Something about Scott makes him think he might be gay BASED ON ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER EVIDENCE...and that the attraction might be mutual.

Fast forward two weeks or so. Kip's picking up some extra money working as a server at a charity event when he spots Scott. Scott is thrilled to see his smoothie maker again (who he can't stop fantasizing about) and after Kip seems receptive to getting together, invites him for a burger after he's off the clock. They have zero chemistry, this is the first time they've spent any time together, and Scott - A SUPER FAMOUS AND RICH AND SECRETLY GAY PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE invites A TOTAL STRANGER out for dinner and 'might' reveal his sexuality to him. Okay. Totally normal.

Forget the dinner (they do) - these two are so hot for each other they mutually decide to leave and head to Scott's instead. SPOILER ALERT: Scott asks Kip to fuck him. Kip fucks Scott. O.M.G. this book is so ridiculous. From kissing to fucking in the span of approximately 3 paragraphs. IT'S NOT HOT OR SEXY OR EROTIC OR ANY OF THOSE SEXY TYPE THINGS. It's. B.O.R.I.N.G. and super random and ridiculous.

We're supposed to simply accept: <blockquote>1. That Scott, A SUPER FAMOUS CLOSETED ATHLETE, is ready to break all his rules AND RISK HIS HOCKEY FUTURE to pick up a virtual stranger and reveal he's gay. And that he asks Kip - THE MAN WHO HAS MADE HIM THREE SMOOTHIES - to fuck him without any concerns the guy might have ulterior motives.

2. That Kip, who appears to be fairly intelligent - despite his lack of career ambitions or the fact that he lives at home and sponges off his apparently awesome parents, wouldn't assume LIKE ANY OTHER PERSON, that since their entire relationship is predicated on him preparing three berry smoothies, it's just a hook-up/one-night stand. Because professional athletes always fall in love with people they: don't know anything about & pick-up at smoothie bars.

3. That after three smoothies and a horny hook-up, these two are meant to be.</blockquote>Give me a break. Nothing about this pairing rings true or real.

The premise - that a super hot, famous and rich professional <u>closeted</u> athlete could or would fall for a smoothie barrista (he knows absolutely nothing about) based on 3 SUPER CASUAL AND BRIEF interactions at the counter is ludicrous. The writing is similarly terrible, the characters are two-dimensional and boring, and nothing about this story makes any sense. I cringed from start to...

Well, I'm not going to finish it. I DNF'D this one. #sorrynotsorry

This M/M sports romance is appealing, charming, and filled with likable characters, both primary and secondary. It's the story of an extremely famous and closeted professional hockey player who meets the man of his dreams working behind the counter of a smoothie shop. How Scott and Kip get to know each other and slowly resolve their differences is an extremely fun read, and the ending is over-the-top romantic and fun. Here's hoping we see some of the supporting characters in future novels.

I love a good sports romance and Game Changer definitely was one. 
Story wise it wasn't anything new (closeted star athlete meets and falls in love with the man of his dreams and has to decide if he should come out) but it doesn't have to be. It's a struggle for every individual person and if the characters are as lovely and sweet as these boys I really don't mind reading something that might not be unique. I absolutely adored Scott and Kip and the author did a great job with their character development. There are also a range of great side characters.