They hated each other but they couldn't keep their hands off each other...

Not so much enemies to lovers but enemies AND lovers.... nothing better ( this stuff makes me swoon)

This book pushed all my buttons in the very best way.I absolutely loved it.


Fierce rivalry on the ice rink and even fiercer passion between the sheets.

Shane and Ilya are both 19 when come into the media spotlight.Not just because they're such promising young players but their hatred for each other becomes legendary.Wouldn't the world love to know the truth?? Starting in the present day the story then goes back seven years to when they both started hooking up.



HATE-SEX.....people!! And it was downright delicious. The sex scenes,and there's a lot of them,are scorching hot.The Author gets it just right here.You don't get pages and pages of long drawn out foreplay and preparation here....these boys get straight to it and it's pretty damn perfect.It's desperate sex at it's best.There's pushing against walls,throwing on the bed,dirty kisses,it's take-me-now,I'll beg if I have to stuff.....

*twirls*


I'm not normally a fan of sports romance but,again,the Author totally nailed the sports element.The ice hockey theme was,obviously,ever present but never got boring.Often with these stories you get a lot about rules,tactics,ect but I never felt that here-in fact I might have fallen in love with ice hockey a bit.


Ok,so it took a while for the feelings to come but I didn't care.It worked.I read this in 24 hours.These boys went everywhere with me,I couldn't put it down once I started and isn't that just the best thing?


I adored these two guys.I loved the writing.I honestly can't fault this.

Highly Recommended.

This book actually has 2 things I hate in my stories - separation and MC’s in the closet (who are famous). But it still scores 4 stars from me because I LOVED these guys!

Shane and Ilya are on rival hockey teams. What starts as enemies slowly turns into like and then love. I think the progress would’ve happened a lot more quickly if they had seen each other more often but they only hooked up when their teams played in each other’s cities. This happened until a bit over half way. Once they committed, it was fantastic.

Highly recommended

At first this book felt like a lot of exposition . . . except I found myself gobbling up the pages like 'a crazy fangirl flipping through all the gossip magazines and online columns' wanting to know more about Shane and Ilya. If these two men existed in our world, I would ship them.

Almost a decade following Shane and Ilya face off against each other. Two incredibly talented and competitive athletes, two men who shouldn't come together - because of the careers they have, different personalities, the rivalry built up around them - and yet the come together like puzzle pieces.

The one thing that really stays with me is that for all the conflict they have within themselves about what they're doing, they never take it out on each other. They don't ever purposely crush the other. It's refreshing to see, a lot of books use this device and sometimes it's unnecessary, just piling on drama when it's not needed. The tension, drama, angst of this book is there without either Shane or Ilya driving the proverbial knife into the other.

Quadruple points for Ilya's banter and sass. That had me laughing throughout.

Things two men will probably stay with me for awhile, it's a long journey, and the way they progress is very real and authentic.


I'll admit that the cover would not have caught my attention; but don't let it stop you from meeting these two guys. They're worth getting to know.

My first book from this author, but it won’t be my last. This story engaged me and kept me riveted with not only memorable characters, who happen to be sexy hockey players, but also men who grow from 18-year-old rookies looking for a quick hookup to mature all-stars who know each other better than anyone else in the world and become willing to risk their hearts for a chance at permanence.

Talk about slow burn! These two took forever to realize their instant lust attraction—which they perpetuated for several years—was more than they ever thought they could have. After all, pro hockey players didn’t come out. They didn’t settle down with one man. And they certainly didn’t leave their homeland—Russia in Ilya’s case—to find their HEA with the man who newscasters set up as an archrival.

After years of texting, secretly meeting up after games in each other’s hometown, Ilya and Shane—Lily and Jane on each other’s cell contact list—finally face the fact that they aren’t just meeting to scratch an itch. They care deeply for each other and there’s a glimmer of hope for a future together if they plan it well. And since Shane is a planner…

From the beginning of this story, I was swept up in the rich characterizations, the excitement of pro hockey, and the secretive sexy banter and wish fulfillment. I enjoyed being with Shane as he matured and developed feelings for Ilya. And Shane was fortunate to have two supportive, interesting and loving parents—especially his mother who was a hoot with her knowledge of pro sports. Ilya, unfortunately, was not as blessed. An aging father who suffered from dementia, a demanding brother who constantly wanted money, and a stepmother who was zero in the nurturing department were all he had in his homeland and he got to the point where he dreaded going back to Russia in the off season. I adored Ilya with his accent, his sense of humor, and his ego—huge and well-deserved. And together, these two men were fantastic. By the end of the story, after they’d made their decision to be a couple, I couldn’t put the book down.

Every word, every page turn brought me closer to the end of the book, and I didn’t want to finish. I savored their time together, and I am hopeful we’ll see them again at some point in the future because I’m not ready to release them from my heart. Very highly recommended.

Heated Rivalry is the second book in the series, but thankfully it can be read as a standalone, because I never read the first book (or knew that it was a series).
This is an enemies to lovers romance and I really did like this one. The story was so different and I'm coming to love Rachel's writing style, it's very unique.

I also love a good sports-romance and Hockey is my weakness. Add in the fact that it's M/M romance, and I'm at an all-time high. The story spans a few years and I loved reading it. While they may be enemies on the ice, off the ice is a whole different story. It was very explosive.

The only thing was that I'm a romantic at heart and would've loved more of a HEA at the end and seeing more of them as a couple.

This was pretty good. I was a little eh about how much sex there was, and I wish there were more hockey but i liked their relationship a lot and I liked the Scott Hunter cameos. I hope we get more books in this series.

I had not cared much for the first book in the series but I saw so many glowing reviews of this one I decided to give this one a try. Turns out this author is not going to be for me.

It started really good. For the first 15% or so I thought this was going to be a great read. We meet Shane and Ilya in their current messed up situation and then it jumps back in time to them being teenage rookies and just meeting. Then I realized this was a pattern. They meet up, have sex, leave. Meet up, have sex, leave. It quickly went from unique to tedious. Finally around 60% or so we got caught up time wise to the current day. A few more things start to happen but they also drop back to the meet up, have sex, leave thing.

There was, in my opinion, an excessive amount of sex in this book. There were 15 sex scenes (I counted) and most of them are 5-7 pages long. They were the only way the author seemed to be able to show the guys were starting to care for each other. I don't like this technique at all. I think it's lazy writing and not at all what I want in a book. I want to see how the MC's are falling in love through their thoughts and actions outside the bedroom. By the 60% mark or so I literally could not read another sex scene. I just skimmed them.

I wasn't buying the overall plot. They hook up for 6 years without becoming friends at all? They never talk, know nothing about each other? Then we get to a place where they're both internally thinking that they care for each other. How? Why? They've never talked outside of sex. They know nothing about each other outside of their hockey stats and what they've seen on TV. The whole thing was odd to me.

I didn't really care for either MC. We don't get to know them well. Everything is surface level. Shane in particular bothered me. He comes across very weak and whiny.

If you're not a hockey fan this next part won't bother you but I am and it did. The teams the guys are on is a famous real life rivalry (the cities...the team names here are made up). I was ok with that. It's not a unique, it's the two teams most authors seem to go to (I am still waiting for a Kings/Ducks rivalry authors!!) but it's very real and it sets a good vibe. It would be crazy if two Habs and Boston players started an affair with each other. I really bought into that part of their shared history and the authenticity of it was great. It wasn't too far into it though that I realized the author was basing Shane on Sidney Crosby and Ilya on Alexander Ovechkin and that's where she lost me. It is a real life rivalry (which is probably mostly media hype) and there is a ton of Croby/Ove fanfic out there so apparently some people are fans of it but for me, no, just no. Like I just vomited a little in my mouth level of no. I hate everything about this pairing. Too much to even begin to address in a review.

The one thing I loved about this book is that they chose to not come out about their relationship. I know this is a complaint from some readers but I loved it. It's realistic. I absolutely loathe in sports books where one MC forces the other to come out to prove their love (which was one of my complaints about the first book in this series). I'm super glad the author handled this aspect the way she did.

So...I gave this author two tries and neither worked for me. This writing style is just not my thing. Most of the other reviews of this book are positive though so you should probably check out some of them.

**ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

I will definitely be reading more Rachel Reid books! Holy...Wow!
Heated Rivalry is HOT, sexy, and sweet. It's romance, it's forbidden, it's taboo. It's hockey...okay, so it's two gorgeous hockey players. Heated Rivalry is relationship spanning years and becoming more. It's everything you want in a romance novel with the mouthwatering characters vying for a grip on their lives, this "thing", and each other.

I think my favorite part is that Ilya's point of view always sounded like a big Russian with a marginal grasp on English. It wasn't flowery. It was blunt and brutal like the man himself. She's point of view was intrinsically Shane. I loved feeling like them, seeing inside them.

This was my first Rachel Reid but it definitely will not be my only.

Heated Rivalry is a book that takes place over the course of many years. While technically a sequel to the first Game Changers book (of the same name) Heated Rivalry takes place before and after the events of the first book.

Just a quick warning for people: due to the many years the romance of Shane and Ilya span across, the pair are intimate with other people. While the book is never present in these moments, these other relationships and encounters are referenced heavily throughout the book. So if that’s not your thing, head’s up.

If you can stick around through these parts of the story, you are rewarded with a great story of these two characters coming together and working through their issues – towards their own happy ending.

I really enjoyed the characters of this book, Ilya is true to form from the first book of the series, coming off as cocky and arrogant. I absolutely love how much of an absolute arsehole Ilya is to everyone. Not only is he a shit-stirrer to other players, he is such a cocky jerk to Shane. While certainly these are character faults, I nonetheless loved him for them. Add to this the adorable and straight laced Shane, and you have interactions and scenes that are not only funny but sexually charged.

While initially I did find the timeline format of the book a little bit off putting, I really enjoyed seeing Iyla and Shane interact with each other over the years of their careers. As soon as I embraced the format of the book, I found myself flying through the novel.

The emotional vulnerabilities and slow burn nature of the pairs romance was expertly handled. The writing and pace of the story did not disappoint and I found myself very invested in the happiness of this couple. I loved Heated Rivalry and am really excited to read more from Rachel Reid.

Also, who knows, I may actually watch a hockey game!

Recommendations: Okay, so this book might not be for everyone but if you enjoyed Game Changers, then definitely give it a go. Also if you like the sound of Heated Rivalry, I would recommend reading Game Changers first, as not only do you meet Ilya in this book but the actions of this first book affect plot of the second.

Wow - what a fabulous story. Shane and Ilya started their hockey career at the same time but as bitter rivals. Fortunately the rivalry was not behind closed doors. Which lead them on a back and forth, give and take taboo relationship that neither can do without. But can the hockey community be open to the two of them in a relationship - can they both come out as gay hockey players? With beautifully written character and a storyline that had me hooked form the opening pages this was a wonderful book. The slow burn of their love affair made this book. This was my first book by Rachel Reid but it will not be my last.

I enjoyed Gamechanger, but I was on the fence about trying book two. The first was fun but pretty indistinguishable from every other sports romance with a closeted lead, and nothing about the writing or plotting stood out as original. I decided to read Heated Rivalry because the premise of rivals having hate sex throughout their careers that slowly develops into an actual relationship sounded awesome.

Again, I did enjoy this book, but there's a lack of oomph to these. I don't feel the characters' passion the way I do when I read a really good romance, so the end result is slightly bland. All the right things happen, but it just doesn't hit me emotionally.

Heated Rivalry is pretty good, cute and fluffy, and Shane's actually even half-Japanese/half-white, though there's not a lot about his diversity in the book. I probably won't read any more Rachel Reid, just because romance is so much about me connecting emotionally, and her books don't seem to do that for me.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than Game Changer. Heated Rivalry follows Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, two rival NHL players who have fierce competitive streaks but also have strong attraction to . one another. The story takes place over several years and shows the relationship between Shane and Ilya change from “hate” hook ups to something romantic and emotional.

I loved the change in the relationship between Ilya and Shane, especially how gradually feelings developed beyond sexual attraction. They are always shown to be hated rivals, between their contrasting personalities and the deep-seated rivalry between their hockey teams, but as they get to know each other and do more together than hook up, they have a chance to go beyond their rivalry.

Ilya and Shane are very different people and have very different backgrounds, but the more time they spend together the more they open up and trust, and I loved watching that. I also especially loved their conversations about their future, even though they both feel the need to remain closeted (or at least hiding their relationship) until they retire from hockey. I definitely got warm-fuzzies when they confessed their love for each other.

This really has a nice Hate-To-Love arc set in a hockey romance, and I definitely would recommend.

This is one of the books I wish I could read again for the first time

I love stories that span over many years of the characters' lives. They feel more real, wholesome and well developed. "Heated Rivalry" takes us through about a decade in Shane's and Ilya's lives and it gave so much depth to the story and the characters.

The book is split in four parts and it slowly takes us through the phases of their relationship, from the early days when it was more hate than anything else, all the way to present day when all that has unexpectedly changed to love and a playful competitiveness that doesn't seem in any hurry to go anywhere.

As we follow them through many seasons of their NHL careers and through personal life events we get to really know them and connect with them. We see their relationship with each other change without them realising until it's too late to do anything about it but move forward.

I fell in love with this book and with the MCs, both of them. I read the book in a little more than a day and I still wanted more. The solution they found was realistic and exactly what I wanted for them. It was sweet to see their excitement when they managed to find a way to live their life together and keep their careers at the same time.

Shane and Ilya where so different from each other and that's what made this story even more captivating. At first, they didn't even like each other but still there was something that was pulling them together. As their feelings started to grow, we got to see them thinking about the other's annoying trates with fondness and teasing each other about them.

The idea for this book was great and I loved every part of it. It wasn't overly angsty, it was mostly sweet and funny. As the years passed they started to be jealous about who the other was spending time with when they weren't together but there was really no reason for it. When they finally gave in and accepted their feelings it was glorious and there was no going back. Once they were in they went all the way and never looked back.

I was eagerly anticipating "Heated Rivalry" from the first time I read the blurb and it didn't disappoint. I'm always happy to read about hockey players and the fact that this took place over many years made it even better.

5 amazingly awesome stars!




*An ARC of this book was kindly provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *

4 stars

Heated Rivalry is the second book in the series and can definitely be read as a standalone. This is your enemies to lovers romance and while I don't read many of them, I really did like this one. The story was so different and I'm coming to love Rachel's writing style, it's very unique.

Hockey is my weakness. Add in the fact that it's M/M romance, and I'm at an all time high. The story spans a few years and I loved reading it. While they may be enemies on the ice, off the ice is a whole different story. It was very explosive.

The only thing was that I'm a romantic at heart and would've loved more of a HEA at the end and seeing more of them as a couple.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series Game Changer I mean who doesn't love a good gay "sports" romance ?? And hey...we are talking hockey here !!

But I've got to be honest and say that this second book, outshined the first one by miles ... for me that is. I absolutely loved this book and I fell head over heels in love with Ilya Rozanov...

This one has one of my favorite tropes... "enemies to lovers" Boy, do these two know how to have some awesome "hate/angry sex"!! My ovaries damn near exploded. I remember saying that the first book in the series could have done with a smidge less sex...but that was definitely NOT how I felt about this one... The first book was also much sweeter even though I think this one was more romantic... I hope I am still making sense :P

This story starts in the present and then takes us back about 7 years. Normally I really don't like it when a book takes me back in time, but with this one...I thankfully gobbled every bit of new info up and begged for more.

Shane and Ilya have been enemies on the ice for years and....lovers in bed. But how do you spent years being intimate with someone and not catch feels... The world may think they hate each other, and they both play their parts...but deep inside, ...they know better.

I really fell in love with Ilya and Shane, though I loved Ilya a tad more...I really have a thing for Russian hockey players

I can't wait to see what this author has in store for us next !!

I highly recommend this series ;)

An ARC was kindly provided to me, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews are posted on WendysWyckedWords

This was such an angsty wonderful read! I really felt the push and pull between Shane and Ilya. I loved that their story spanned so long. The game of hockey was depicted well, as well as the rabid fan base in some areas. I liked this so much, I went and bought the first book of the series,but this one completely stands on its own. Great read and I am looking forward to more!

Well, she's done it again. Heated Rivalry was as awesome as Game Changers. It had a bit of a different feel to it, as Shane and Ilya had a VERY unique situation. Right til the very end, their story was unlike any I've read before. So many conflicts, and in the beginning even within themselves. These two are competitive and combative, they talk a lot of smack, but they are both sincere and vulnerable. The banter is just everything! This was different than I was expecting. I knew it would be good, but it was better, with a fresh twist on mm romance.

Probably a 4.5.

My love for hockey romances is not hidden and I don’t miss any opportunity to read more of these books. When I read Game Changer last year, I found it very sweet and nice and while it wasn’t going to be a favorite, I still wanted to checkout what the author came up with next. And wow was I pleasantly surprised by this book. Heated Rivalry is a completely different kind of book and I enjoyed it far more than I expected to.

Shane and Ilya are pitted as rivals right from their teenage years, even before they are up for the draft and once they sign for arch rival teams, the publicity just keeps on. Both of them are amazing hockey players and their rivalry definitely brings out their best and they enjoy it. But their personalities off the ice can’t be more different - Shane is much more reserved, close to his family, sometimes unsure and confused and despite realizing that he is definitely not completely straight, can’t bring himself to utter the word gay. On the other hand, Ilya is cocky, confident, very charming, loves getting a rise out of Shane, while also dealing with family issues and knows that he maybe bisexual but logically, his only choice is to ultimately be with a woman. Whatever their issues with their sexualities, they can’t stop being with each other and though their encounters are quite sporadic, I loved their almost enemies with benefits relationship and it’s slow progression to something more. It takes a long time for them to realize that they are friends, they like talking to each other and spending time together and I thought this whole arc was done brilliantly. I absolutely loved how they fell in love and how they came to some decisions about their future.

I loved the way the author decided to tell this story. In the prologue itself, we realize that Shane and Ilya have been in a sexual relationship for around 6 years; then the author proceeds to tell us their story from the beginning - how they met, the heating up of their rivalry, the push and pull they feel towards each other and how it proceeds for almost a decade. This method of unraveling the story hooked me right from the start and I couldn’t put the book down. Because of their perceived relationship on the ice, all emotions and even the intimate scenes felt very very intense and heightened and I think that was definitely a reason why I loved this book much more than the previous installment. While it’s always awesome to see the endings of these romances to be about the players coming out publicly and being supported by their teams, I applaud the author for taking a very different route and staying true to the two characters. It’s a very realistic choice and while it may not feel like the usual HEA, there is never any doubt about whether Shane and Ilya will be together forever.

This book works excellently as a standalone, so if sweet saccharine love stories are not your jam, you should definitely check this book out. However, the events in Game Changer play a significant role in the choices the two characters make for their future and I loved how the author integrated the two storylines. This is a wonderful slow burn and intense rivals to lovers romance that takes place over a decade and I completely fell in love. I highly recommend this book to all sports romance lovers and can’t wait to see if there will be another book in this series.

HEATED RIVALRY by Rachel Reid is an amazing fun read! I couldn't put it down! I loved the interaction between the characters. The hockey scenes were so true to life, I felt like I was right there watching the face off. The romance was crazy and the way they felt for each other. The pressure, intensity and laugh out loud moments! A five 🌟 read for sure!

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes because it creates great tension and UST. Heated Rivalry does this very well. It’s an excellent read and I loved the contrasts between Ilya and Shane and how their backgrounds further enhanced the story.

Thank you Harlequin - Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC!