Troy's redemption arc in Role Model felt healing, and I was happy that his character was given a chance to change and do better, A good message for these times, and this is a great addition to the series! I also enjoyed all the appearances from characters from the other books.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

This was part of a series but can be read as a standalone. Which was perfect for me since I don’t remember a character named Troy in the earlier books. The story was about an closeted hockey player Troy who was just traded to a “lessor “ team ( in his opinion), lost his boyfriend to another guy and lost his best friend in a span of two week's. Harris was the team’s social media manager who Troy falls for. The romance and friendship between the guys was adorable and sweet. I also loved how Harris was so patient and loving towards Troy and his coming out the way he wanted in the end. Overall, it was definitely a slow burn romance book which I appreciated and I liked the overall setting of the book. I’m looking forward to the possibility of her next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This honest my be my favorite hockey series, I was so pumped to get an ARC. Thank you, thank you!

TW: toxic masculinity, homophobia, mentions of sexual assault and rape cultures, toxic relationship with a parent, incident while flying that could be triggering to some, chronic heart condition

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/m sports romance
-grump/sunshine
-friends to lovers
-close-proximity
-a bit of an obsession with apples
-flirting through coffee and food
-slooow burn
-lots of glimpses of past favorites from the series

I wouldn't say this book was heavy, but it handles some heavy topics. Troy is definitely dealing with a redemption arc. Masking/hiding his sexuality for a long time having grown up in a toxic environment. He dealt with it poorly and did some terrible things and he has to reckon with it at the beginning of this book. Ultimately this is a journey of acceptance with himself, and I appreciated that the book gave the opportunity to apologize. He was not perfect and definitely not a perfect character but this book gave a fuller picture of him.

But oof this book was tropey goodness. I loved the grumpy/sunshine bits. How gruff Troy was, how much Harris wanted him to connect with the team, how hard he tried. The little things Troy did as he fell for Harris. I enjoyed each one. And that Ilya was acting as their Russian hockey matchmaker. The easter egg payoff in this one. While these books are standalone, maximum payoff especially because events happen in order, I would recommend reading the series in order. This was a great, tender, love story about two insecure people who find acceptance in each other. I couldn't put it down and am already dying for the next installment in the series.

I have to give a shout out to Ilya, who I may have screamed about at every appearance. I just need more of him in my life, I loved each and every time we saw him.

Rating: 4
Steam: 3.5

Was habe ich mich gefreut, als ich ein Rezensionsexemplar von “Role Model” bekommen habe. Das Buch ist mit das, worauf ich mich 2021 am meisten gefreut habe. Denn die ersten vier Bücher der Game Changers - Reihe haben mir unglaublich gut gefallen und ich war gespannt zu sehen, ob Rachel Reid mich davon überzeugen können würde, dass Troy eine zweite Chance verdient hat.

Als ich das Buch dann endlich auf meinem iPad hatte, habe ich mich zunächst gar nicht an es herangetraut. Ich hatte Angst enttäuscht zu werden und konnte meine enormen Erwartungen nur schwer in den Griff bekommen.

Nachdem ich das Buch nun gelesen habe, kann ich erleichtert feststellen, dass auch “Role Model” eine tolle und intensive Liebesgeschichte beinhaltet, die mich in ihrem Verlauf emotional packen konnte.

Troy ist als Charakter wirklich faszinierend. Zunächst wusste ich nicht genau, wie ich ihn einschätzen sollte. Hat er sich wirklich zum Guten verändert bzw. ist aufrichtig daran interessiert, an sich zu arbeiten? Ist seine Veränderung glaubwürdig und kann ich ihn ins Herz schließen?

Fragen wie diese beschäftigten mich intensiv. Nach und nach war ich bereit Troy eine ernsthafte Chance zu geben und am Ende des Buches fand ich es berührend zu sehen, wie glücklich er war und dass er endlich zu sich selbst stehen konnte.

Gut gefallen hat mir, dass Troy nicht komplett zu einem anderen Menschen wurde, sondern bestimmte Charakterzüge erhalten blieben. Ein dauernd lächelnder, immer freundlicher und positiver Troy wäre absolut unglaubwürdig gewesen.

Einige Aspekte von Troys Geschichte, z.B. das Verhältnis zu seinem Vater und zu Dallas Kent, hätten vielleicht etwas mehr an Beachtung verdient gehabt. Generell fand ich die Balance zwischen Troys Leben bzw. Wandel und der Liebesgeschichte aber gut getroffen.

Harris ist ein Charakter, den man einfach in sein Herz schließen muss, er ist so wunderbar sonnig und offen. So eine Person im Leben zu haben, ist viel Wert. Troy und er machen als Paar überraschend viel Sinn und die Entwicklung ihrer Beziehung war sehr schön.

Darüber hinaus gibt es viele unterhaltsame Szenen mit Ilya, anderen Charakteren der Reihe und Troys Mitspielern.

Das Buch reicht in meinen Augen nicht ganz an “Heated Rivalry” und “Tough Guy” heran, ist aber trotzdem sehr gut und eine würdige Fortführung der Reihe. 🖤🖤🖤🖤1/4

Für wen?

Wer einen Liebesroman sucht, in dem ein Charakter, der sich in der Vergangenheit wie ein riesiges Arschloch verhalten hat, eine Chance für einen Neuanfang bekommt und dabei die große Liebe seines Lebens findet und zusätzlich endlich lernt zu sich selbst zu stehen, der ist bei “Role Model” richtig.

Man kann das Buch ohne Vorwissen lesen, wird dann aber in Bezug auf Charaktere wie Ilya und Ryan ziemlich ahnungslos sein. Die Liebesgeschichte zwischen Troy und Harris funktioniert aber auch ohne Vorwissen gut. Ich empfehle die Bücher in der vorgegebenen Reihenfolge zu lesen.

So… yeah… I stayed up in to the wee hours the day I got this to read it in one sitting.
Reid’s latest brings together Troy Barrett traded to the worst team in the league after a huge scandal and a devastating break-up. Closeted and up to this point hidden in plain sight beside a loud homophobic linemate Troy has been afraid a long time. But Ottawa isn’t a safer and more welcoming place than he expected—especially team social media manager Harris Drover. A lot of this story is really Troy trying wrap his head around the fact that he is finally in a safe space to be himself, to grow, and to love. Also, Ilya being a strong Captain (but still Ilya), apples, and puppies. This was sweet and lovely and happily lacked the late act fight/calamity/misunderstanding.

I really liked this book??! I think this book is now my second favorite of the series. We have hockey! Dogs! Spa day! Anxiety! An apple farm! And the relationship between Troy and Harris is SO RIDICULOUSLY CUTE. There’s also really not any big third act break up anything between them in this book and I love that for us.

This book is definitely still a bit dark in places. This book IS angsty. There’s also a few things that I want to point out that were kind of…let’s just say, weird, moments in the story for me, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that I want to re-read this book and can’t wait to get the audiobook if it’s Cooper North narrating again!

Trigger warnings include mentions of rape and sexual assault, people not believing the victims, homomisia, misogyny, emotional abuse, and near death experience from a plane malfunction. I do not recommend reading this book right before a flight or during a flight if you experience any anxiety at all over flying.

We’ve met Troy Barrett before. He was an all-star forward on the Toronto Raptors team, but after calling out his (now former) best friend Dallas Kent a rapist during practice and a video of the incident going viral, Troy gets traded to one of the worst teams in the NHL - the Ottawa Centaurs. Troy believes the women sharing their stories online about Dallas, but seeing nobody else feel the same way and only defending Dallas instead of condemning the man has Troy angry. He doesn’t regret what he said, but he’s in a weird place of losing his friend and his team all in one week, among other things, and now he’s going to play for a team that almost never wins games. Even if all-star fan fave Ilya is the team captain.

Because of the nature of the job, and a little because Ottawa handles things a little bit differently than everyone else, the social media manager for Ottawa is really friendly with all the guys on the hockey team. Harris Drover is 25, the same age as Troy, and just a really friendly guy. Harris is out and proud, and the Ottawa hockey players don’t seem to mind. Troy doesn’t know how to handle that at all.

So! There’s a lot going on this book. I think this book starts off with a very anxious Troy. He feels even more anxious as a character than Ryan Price from book 3, Tough Guy. Troy’s entire world has turned upside down and he knows he’s made a lot of enemies on the ice over the years. He has a reputation and it’s not a nice one. Add to the fact that people would rather side with Dallas Kent? Even if Troy is one of the best players in the league, it’s not enough for the league to stand behind and he’s left feeling adrift.

I like Harris. I feel like there’s nothing to NOT like about Harris. He’s talkative and loud, and just really good for Troy? He’s so sweet and I love him!!! And Troy’s really good for Harris too because he doesn’t treat Harris like he’s fragile. Also, any time Harris manages to make Troy smile for real just makes my heart melt!!!


***MAYBE SOME SPOILERS***

I think the one surprising thing about Harris that I wasn’t expecting coming into this book is that he was born with a heart condition and has had surgery for it. There’s a surgery scar on his chest that he sometimes feels self conscious about. That’s all well and fine. HOWEVER. I think the way this book goes about informing readers about Harris and his heart condition was really strange? It only lasts a couple of pages, but the way the book mentions his scars made me initially think that Harris was trans. But no, he’s not. It wasn’t until a few pages later that we learn that the scars came from heart surgery and not because he had top surgery. So, I don’t know. The whole way this was handled and how Harris’s scars continued to be handled in the book just seemed a bit strange.

The inclusion of a puppy named Chiron for the Ottawa team is fun. But initially, the puppy was said to be training and going to test to be a therapy dog. I think in a way it was a missed opportunity in the story that the puppy wasn’t trained into a therapy dog? For a lot of this book, I think Troy would’ve benefitted from having a therapy dog. It all turns out well in the end for Troy and Chiron, but seeing Troy being so anxious about so many things just makes me feel like he needed a hug. Or a therapy dog. But Chiron is cute and I hope we seen him again in the next book!

Which kind of leads me to speculate WHAT is going to be in book six! I want to say I read on the author’s Twitter that the next book is going to be about Ilya and Shane again, and the author said that the timeline will overlap with this book? I feel like I kind of know what’s going to happen? Because let’s talk about THE PLANE RIDE FROM HELL. Don’t worry, I’m going to circle back to Ilya and Shane because this is relevant.

So, what happens is that the hockey team is traveling to Florida for a game and gets a very, very scary experience where the plane almost plummets and everyone could’ve died??? It’s a near death experience for these guys. It’s very out of the blue and there was ZERO warning about this when I started the book, so I hate it. The tv show LOST has scarred me from planes forever and yes, I still do fly, but I get a lot of anxiety because of it and this book decides to derail the feel good feels that was happening so far by throwing this into the story! The players all start to feel anxious about flying back to Canada after their games in Florida and I’m surprised that nobody mentioned seeing a therapist or something after that? I know these guys are all hockey players, but it was a big event and they should all talk about it.

Which brings me back to Ilya and Shane. I really think they’re going to come out in the next book. It seems like the near fatal plane crash affected Ilya a LOT and he disappears after they get back to Ottawa and I think it’s to be with Shane. The hints Ilya gives makes it sound like he won’t be a secret with Shane forever. But I wonder if they’ll have a fight or breakup over this at first because if I remember correctly, Shane was very clearly not about that coming out life last we saw him. He was still terrified of someone finding out he’s gay. But I think that Troy’s story in this really inspires Ilya by the end and maybe that’ll inspire Shane too even more than Scott’s coming out did. And anyways, I think no one will be happier for everything to be out in the open than Shane’s teammate Hayden Pike.

Ilya doesn’t overwhelm with his presence in this book and feels like a proper secondary character that lets Troy take the spotlight whenever they have a scene together. I think there’s just the right amount of Ilya in this book (and he is actually in this a lot!!) and he still gets to stir up trouble with literally everyone so that’s fun.

We only got the start of a good run with Ottawa’s hockey team in this book and does this mean they’ll wind up winning the Stanley Cup???! FINGERS CROSSED BECAUSE I LOVE THIS TEAM! All the players seem really awesome. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a team win a Stanley Cup in this series, so I’m ready.

The hockey was really fun in this book. The first half of the book has SO MUCH HOCKEY. I will say the back half of this book unfortunately doesn’t have as much, but considering one of the MCs is a top hockey player and the other manages the team’s social media accounts, I think there’s still a lot of hockey life embedded in the story and I still enjoyed it.

This book doesn’t really address the relationship dynamics between Troy and Harris. Everyone on the team seems really chill about it and I’m fine without workplace drama when this book has quite a bit of other things going on, but I can see if some of the jokey comments Troy and Harris have about the dynamics of their relationship might grind some gears.

The only really baffling thing I’ve noticed in this series where hockey is concerned is that almost nobody has agents for some reason. Like, WHY doesn’t everyone have an agent?? Scott was the only one who had a few actual conversations with his agent and I would imagine with all the changes with Troy’s life and public image (was he dropped from sponsors? did he gain sponsors?), his agent would have something to say.

Which leads me to DALLAS FUCKING KENT. He’s an asshole. All he deserves is prison. He’s been the clear villain in the series and this book doesn’t really go into detail about anything the women are saying he did, but I think it’s enough. The book doesn’t present this as a grey area. We’ve seen this kind of stuff play out in real life, and I think this book does do a good job of not trying to go and list all details of his transgressions? We don’t need that. Troy’s reaction is enough for us to know what side is the right one.

The Dallas Kent storyline does take up a lot of the book and plays into the decisions the characters make, but I don’t feel like it necessarily overwhelms it. However, I do question whether anyone else feels like the reactions of the other characters praising Troy for calling out Dallas Kent was weird though? And also, just everything with what Troy was doing on his Instagram account and mentioning he was donating money to the appropriate charities, and even this book being called “Role Model”. Like, he calls out his best friend and is obviously trying to educate himself and be a better person, and that’s great! But it almost feels like they’re putting a different hockey player on a pedestal, even if it’s for doing the right thing is weird. I don’t know. I’m probably not explaining my feelings on that properly. It all just felt iffy. However, I will say that I liked the ending and how that storyline kind of wrapped up. I wonder if we’ll see more of what happens next to Dallas Kent in the next book, or at least some very permanent closure from all of it.

I know I’m just reading an ARC at this point, but I think for a book about sexual assault and rape as major topics, there should be an inclusion by the author about charities and organizations to support. And maybe a bit longer author’s note addressing all this since the author’s acknowledgement section felt pretty inadequate.

On a happier note, I think it was fun seeing characters from past books again. I loved how they were all weaved into the story and it never felt forced. I do think it’s funny how I keep forgetting that Scott is the oldest of the 20-something players. Hearing that Troy’s hero is Scott??? I love that!

***END OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS***

I really liked this book and it’s definitely my second favorite in this series, only second to my faves Scott and Kip from book one. I know everyone says their fave book is Heated Rivalry, but I haven’t warmed up to their story yet so I’ll give Ilya and Shane another chance in the next book!

I’m SUPER excited to listen to the audiobook for this one (and then re-read this book over and over again). I think it is only a damn shame that the publisher refuses to print these books so everyone can have a chance to own physical copies of this series!!! Why are you holding out on us, Carina Press??

I definitely cried reading this book because the ending was great and emotions are HIGH. Troy and Harris are just so sickeningly sweet and I love them a lot!!! I’m happy that Harris has a loving family and Troy has at least one awesome parent, and that Troy has a chance at finding some REAL friends with the Ottawa team. I’m just really happy Troy and Harris found each other and I can’t wait to see more of them in future books!