Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Long Game by Rachel Reid

The sequel to Heated Rivalry is finally here! It's been ten years, of secrets, of being rival in the public eye but partners in private. Longing stares and secret kisses have been their routine for as long as they've been together. But the secrecy is starting to weight on them, they don't want to hide their feelings anymore.

This is very much a sequel, so If you haven't read Heated Rivalry, which is a travesty because it's an amazing novel, you should go read it before this one.

CW: Homophobia (specifically in sports.), toxic work environment, plane troubles (no injuries or death), death of a parent (past), depression.

This book was the perfect conclusion to their love story. It kept the high heat of the first book, but added very sweet and tender moments, showing the strength and care of their relationship. How they nurture it, but also how difficult a long-term relationship is, especially when social media and the "public" is involved. I loved how they supported each other. I loved how depression was represented in the book, how even if they were pro mental-health it was still difficult, but the person did seek help. I loved how it didn't solve everything, it was a journey. All in all, it was beautiful and I truly enjoyed it.

Thank you @harlequinbooks and @rachelreidwrites for gifting me a free advanced reader's copy via @netgalley . As always, all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Although I’ve pretty much loved every book so far in the Game Changers series, I know that I’m not alone in being totally enamored with Shane and Ilya. Ever since they were introduced in Heated Rivalry (the second book in the series) I’ve spent the rest of the series wanting more than just the glimpses and teases that readers have been taunted with in the other books. We may have had to wait a while for The Long Game, but Rachel Reid definitely made it worth it.

Just because the book gave Shane and Ilya the HEA that they so deserved, that doesn’t mean that the author took it easy on them. My heart broke for both of them more than once during The Long Game. Ilya was battling inner demons along with self doubt and Shane was terrified that he was going to lose everything he’d worked his entire career for, but even through that fear, he couldn’t imagine anything worse than losing Ilya. There was no easy solution, but something had to give because living the secret was taking a toll on both of them.

Shane and Ilya are definitely the premier couple in this series. They are adorable together and I love the banter between them. There’s a side to both of them that no one else sees, except for a select few. The supporting characters that surround them are great too and those good ones more than make up for the jerks – and there were plenty of them.

Even though The Long Game was the perfect HEA for Shane and Ilya, I’m still hoping that we haven’t seen the last of them. ❤

The Long Game is a fabulous addition to the Game Changers series. I love this Rachel Reid romance where we get more of Shane and Ilya from Heated Rivalry.

If you follow sports, you know how tough it is to be an out and proud professional hockey player. This beautiful story perfectly conveys the reasons to sometimes stay closeted, while also tugging at your heartstrings with the unfairness of it all.

Shane and Ilya have been together for ten years. And they're still hiding their love from the world. Their connection is solid and strong, and is well worth the read.

This is a romance full of hockey, rivalries, sneaking around, and a whole lot of emotion. The chemistry and passion jumps off the pages. And the ups and downs, including the pain of being apart during the season, are felt throughout.

The writing is great, with a compelling storyline and charming characters. Both men are fully brought to life making it easy to fall in love with them; especially Ilya. You just have to love the Russian player.


The Long Game is a wonderful addition to the Game Changers series. I adore every moment of this Rachel Reid romance and highly recommend it when you're in the mood for a sports romance.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
THE LONG GAME is the sixth installment in the Game Changers series. It absolutely cannot be read as a standalone or out of series order, paralleling events in all the previous novels, as well as being the sequel to HEATED RIVALRY.

Hands down, Ilya Rozanov is my all-time favorite character. A big, lazy cat, paw batting at anyone who comes close. Playful. Taunting. Hunting. Teasing. But he keeps his claws sheathed.

My favorite scene-stealer during the entirety of the series, stole the show from Shane during their novel as well. Forever drawing the best and worst out of past and future narrators. A biting dig in his broken English meant to inspire, what it inspired is up to the person who received the comment, even if they take it in a different way than Ilya meant—Ilya likes it that way, being purposefully misunderstood, cryptic and baiting.

Ilya Rozanov has a heart of gold, even if he doesn't reveal it often. Empathetic and sympathetic, caring and kind, the type of leader that draws the best out of his failing team. More so, Ilya is the type of person who pushes others to make changes, then allows them to take the credit.

All the way back to when they were minor children, fighting tooth and nail to be the best of the best, Ilya and Shane have been drawn to one another. Their rivalry is legendary. Their connection is soul deep. Their romance spans a decade. As they sit back and watch player after player reach for their happily ever after. Waiting like a patient cat has nothing to do with cowardice – Shane and Ilya are legendary, fearing they would not receive the same reaction as their fellow hockey players.

Shane believes they're on the same page, living a life in secret. With the backing of his family, his closest friends, even a few of his teammates, Shane has a comfortable life with a full support system to shelter him from the lonely stretches without Ilya.

Then there is Ilya, who only has Shane. Alone in this world. Making sacrifices to be near Shane, seeing Shane's family as his only family. Set apart from his team. Unable to make friends when he's hiding such a large secret. Ilya feels isolated and alone, a terrifying place to be when depression is etched on his DNA.

I was terrified the entire time I was reading, fearing the worst. Some petty miscommunication that derails their strong relationship. But Reid did not do us dirty like that. Ilya and Shane do each other proud, Reid does her readers proud, giving us tooth decaying sweetness, heart-clenching emotion, lip-splitting humor, smothering us beneath a mountain of feels.

This series tops my favorite, and not just in M/M Romance or in the sports subgenre. Reread worthy. THE LONG GAME was utterly satisfying, pure perfection. I can't recommend it enough. I look forward to Ilya stealing more scenes in future installments (fingers crossed the series never ends).


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the sixth book in the series – and I have loved them all! I highly recommend that you read them in order – at the very least you should read HEATED RIVALRY where these two delicious men first come together. We see them ten years after they first get together, and can only hope that they finally get to be together all the time.

I find both the guys engaging, but Ilya is my favourite because he is the one who has given up a huge amount to be close to Shane. He is a good leader and gets the chance to bring his team up thanks to some new heart being injected into the club. He is so patient and calm when Shane is doing so well, and yet he chose love over everything. He has also become important to Shane's family, and I loved that he gained a family as well as a lover, as he completely deserved one.

I keep thinking of lovely bits, dramatic bits, and hurtful bits, and I really don't think I should share any of it, as you need to get the full goodness of it straight from the book. I cannot recommend it enough – and if you have time to read HEATED RIVALRY first, you will get the very best of stories all in one go. Enjoy!


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆☆
I was thrilled to be back with Ilya and Shane, my favorite couple, from the Game Changers series. It is 10 years since the men met and they are now together in a committed relationship that only a very select few people know about.

Ilya has changed teams and moved to Canada to be closer to Shane, but with them both playing hockey at different clubs, finding time to be together during the hockey season is a struggle and it is starting to be an issue, Both men want to be together more and Ilya in particular is struggling with keeping his love for Shane a secret. Their journey in this story has some ups and downs but their love for each other never wavers.

I enjoyed spending time with the men both in and outside the rink. They are more than just hockey players. I particularly loved exploring Ilya’s mental health issues and what it is like to be a sportsman who went from playing from one of the top teams to one of the bottom teams. Part of the timeline for THE LONG GAME runs concurrently with other books in this series, so I was familiar with a few of the events that took place. I really liked seeing Ilya’s friendship with Harris and Troy from Ilya’s point of view and seeing how the aeroplane troubles affected Ilya and Shane.

I wallowed in THE LONG GAME. I loved everything about it. There are good times as well as bad times. I laughed, I cried, and I was completely swept up in the romance. I just couldn’t get enough of Shane and Ilya and writing this review is making me want to go back and read their story right from the very beginning. A huge thank you to Rachel Reid for giving us more time with Shane and Ilya. They are one of my favorite romance couples ever!

Unfortunately, I had three main issues with this book–Shane is a dick for most of it; the homophobia and bullying are overwhelming; and I hated the catalyst for Shane and Ilya finally coming out. The insufficient repercussions for awful behavior and the lack of support from allies shifted the tone of the book, so I found it distressing compared to the rest of the series.

For many readers, any Ilya and Shane is better than none, and I appreciated getting to spend a little more time with them. Ultimately, it was too heart-wrenching for my taste, but hardcore Heated Rivalry fans who love intense angst might enjoy this. For me, The Long Game is the only book in the Game Changers series that won’t be a reread.

Janine, Sirius and I were all so excited to read The Long Game and eager to talk about it once we did so we decided to review it together. Please note there will be series spoilers for prior books. Heated Rivalry is essential prior reading but Role Model is also recommended to get all the background to best enjoy this one. ~ Kaetrin

CW: depression and mental illness, reference to a prior suicide, homophobia

fairly generic naked torso cover - a taller white man stands behind another white man (who is slightly more tanned). The taller man has his hands on the shorter man's abs. The shorter man has one hand near a pocket of his jeans and the other is beneath one of the other man's hands. There are some strung up lights in the background. There is nothing about hockey in the cover really.

Kaetrin: At the end of Heated Rivalry, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander had come out as friends publicly and started a charity together – something they both felt passionate about but also something which gave them an excuse to be seen together publicly. They had also exchanged “I love yous” and decided to be together but to keep their romantic connection extremely private. Ilya had moved to Ottawa, to be closer to Shane (about two hours away in Montreal) and hopes one day to become a Canadian citizen. Very few people know about them – Shane’s parents, Shane’s friends Rose and Hayden – and they plan to keep it that way until the pair retire from professional hockey which they both hope will be a long time into the future. It is a HEA but it felt not quite complete because they were so restricted.

Janine: I felt Heated Rivalry had an extraordinarily satisfying ending. It honored the high stakes of the star-crossed lovers conflict and represented a commitment that was unusually romantic because it required so much sacrifice. I loved that Heated Rivalry’s ending wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns and before reading The Long Game, I feared the second book would mar that for me. I can’t say anything about how the book ends but I was very happy with it overall.

Sirius: I was very worried too! I was so worried that what we would get to witness in this book would be Shane and Ilya breaking up with very little reason for doing so, then making up just to make sure they will get their happy ending. I should have trusted the author more.

Kaetrin: The Long Game picks up three years later. The hiding is wearing on both men but especially Ilya. They spend wonderful summers together, largely at Shane’s house on the lake but once the season starts they have to work hard to carve out time to connect.

Some of the timeline of The Long Game overlaps with that of Role Model so readers will know some of the major beats already – I admit that there was one in particular I could not wait to reach, but the start of The Long Game occurs even before Troy Barrett joins the Ottawa Centaurs.

Janine: I got so impatient I did a search for “Troy” to see when he would show up. Knowing that helped me relax and enjoy everything that came before.

Kaetrin: There are sections from both main characters but the book is mainly from Ilya’s perspective. At least that was my perception but maybe it was influenced by how much Ilya jumps off the page. He steals every scene he’s in. Shane is still paranoid about being outed publicly; Ilya cares less about it and the more time that passes, the more he struggles with the hiding and the distance.

Janine: I don’t think it’s just your perception. Books on writing say that there is always one character who is most central, even among central characters. In Heated Rivalry that’s Shane and in The Long Game it’s definitely Ilya.

In Heated Rivalry Shane was also the most vulnerable. He was less confident, less experienced and secure in his sexuality, and more sensitive. It was easier for Ilya to hide his queerness in plain sight—since he was bisexual, he had the option of marrying happily without jeopardizing his hockey career. That wasn’t a possibility for Shane so he needed Ilya more than Ilya seemed to need him. That equalized when Ilya decided to transfer to Ottawa so he could be near Shane.

The Long Game reverses that power dynamic. Shane is now out as gay to his teammates and has some level of acceptance for who he is, while Ilya (to protect their secret) still has to live a lie. Shane has the support of friends, as Ilya doesn’t, and is still playing for Montreal, a top-tier team (Ottawa is a big step down for Ilya in that way). Shane has citizenship and Ilya doesn’t (as an immigrant I really appreciated that deportation was one of Ilya’s fears). And Shane has his loving parents nearby. They are loving to Ilya too but if he and Shane were to break up, Ilya would lose them. Naturally Ilya is the more vulnerable one.

This role reversal allows Reid to avoid a re-tread and explore new facets of Shane and Ilya. The passage of time adds depth too. Ilya is now softer, more tender and more generous under his snarky exterior, while Shane feels his responsibility to his team even more keenly and is surer of himself in some ways (though as uptight as ever in others).

Kaetrin: Ilya doesn’t resent Shane but he has no one unconnected to Shane who knows the truth. He used to be a party animal, now he lives very quietly. He is losing his enjoyment of hockey (his team is terrible) and he’s desperately lonely for both emotional connection and physical touch. Ilya is a very tactile person and the separation from Shane is even harder on him than Shane. Added to that, Ilya has a history of depression in his family (his mother died by suicide) and he is beginning to fear that he is depressed himself and worries if he could possibly face the same end as his mother. As wide open about so many things as Ilya is, he doesn’t speak to Shane about these things for the most part. Both men often complain about not being able to spend enough time together, but those extra things, Ilya keeps mostly to himself.

There’s a sense of dread as the book continues, as the reader wonders if this tension will split the pair up.

It’s a romance novel so we all know they end up together but I was really worried they’d break up and I so much didn’t want that to happen.

Janine: Reid handles that building tension so well. Even when things get rocky and communication and attention start to break down, she never lets us forget how much love there still is underneath all that.

Sirius:

Spoiler: Show

Kaetrin: Later on in the book that thing I was waiting for (which I first read about in Role Model) happens and it is, pardon the pun, a game changer. Lots of things happen as a result and it leads to a whole new set of anticipations and tensions. So cleverly plotted!

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that a large part of the story is the pair coming out publicly as in love. I won’t give away how that affects their careers or how it happens but that thing that was missing from their HEA in Heated Rivalry is the main point of the The Long Game. How can they be together in the light?

Janine: Going into The Long Game I expected the book’s main focus to be on Ilya and Shane getting outed ahead of their timeline, so I was surprised (in a good way) that it was structured around something deeper—the interplay between their relationship and Ilya’s struggle with depression. Not “How can they be together in the light?” (the answer to that has always been obvious IMO) but “How can they make the relationship healthy and safe for both of them?” A big part of that was the question of whether their relationship could be safe if it stayed secret.

Sirius: I agree with this and I also very much appreciated how hard it was for Ilya to ask for help.

Spoiler: Show

Kaetrin: That’s all of a piece to me. Being “together in the light” encompasses all of that for me. I saw the depression storyline as an important component of the book but for me the structure was about how they could be together publicly.

I loved Heated Rivalry but there was that tiny bit which was unfinished to me. Maybe I had a sense of the strain it would put on them to have to keep hiding – and The Long Game both showed that strain and completed that missing piece. I wouldn’t say that the books are a duology. Heated Rivalry is a complete story. But I think the HEA is complete now and, for me at least, it wasn’t, quite, at the end of the first book no matter how much I loved it.

While I took a slightly different view to you, Janine, about the importance of the mental illness storyline in the structure of the book I did think the representation was especially well done.

Spoiler: Show

Janine: The depression representation was amazingly good. So many details resonated with my experience. Not just the melancholy, but also the fatigue depression brings on. How smiling for other people can sharpen the sadness inside. How difficult depression can make it to open up to anyone. The way the need for human connection hurts because it is accompanied by a feeling of isolation and unbridgeable distance. The fragility of the heart and the distorted thinking, including the loss of self-worth. Even the need for simple touch resonated with me.

Spoiler: Show

Sirius: As an aside, how good was the way author handled inclusion of some Russian comments in the book? It is always a challenge I would imagine to show that the character/ characters speak another language than English – you don’t want to spend half of the page writing in foreign language, but you want to keep that balance and I thought it was done very well. Occasionally Ilya says something tender in Russian (and occasionally Shane can even respond :)), but several times she just noted that the characters spoke in Russian while we were reading the English dialogue and to me it just made sense and it probably minimized the chances of handling the language incorrectly.

Kaetrin: I agree – although you would obviously understand the Russian text and I didn’t. I did enjoy the way Ilya gave Shane funny and unusual pet names.

Spoiler: Show

Kaetrin: The beginning of the book had me impatient and nervous as I worried that things were going to fall apart for my favourite couple in the Game Changers series. The tension, in hindsight, is delicious and tight as a bowstring. On first read at least, I did not appreciate it as much but I see now that I was supposed to feel that way.

I like Shane but Ilya steals the show for me most of the time. He is such a lovable jerk. I adore him.

…Ilya took a peek and saw the handsome man laughing with Shane about something. And then the fucker placed a hand on Shane’s arm.

There was no good reason for Ilya to skate down the ice with one of the pucks and fire it at the glass behind Shane’s head, but he did it anyway. He could hear Shane scream, and Ilya laughed when he whipped around, eyes flashing with fury.

“Asshole!” Shane yelled.

Ilya gestured with his stick toward the children on the ice and shook his head. “Language, Hollander.”

Things were tense between them for the rest of the day. Ilya couldn’t even apologize because Shane wouldn’t talk to him. Not that he felt like apologizing; he just wanted Shane to stop being mad about it.

And Ilya wanted to stop feeling embarrassed about doing it. It had been immature and petty and unprofessional. He still didn’t want to apologize, though.

Janine: I love Ilya too. I felt Shane was a little retconned early in the book. He was so lovable, kind, and caring in Heated Rivalry and here he starts out oblivious to some of what Ilya is going through.

Spoiler: Show

These things didn’t seem in character, especially the last. As the book progressed, he returned to being the lovable Shane of Heated Rivalry but the early retconning made me a bit disappointed in him at first.

Ilya also seemed to have changed almost too much from the cocky, arrogant boy he once was but I was able to believe it more with him because of his illness.

Sirius: I agree with you that Shane was a bit oblivious at the beginning, but I was not annoyed with him even then. Ilya was not communicating and he was not a mind reader. I do not blame Ilya for that at all, mind you, his reasons for not telling Shane everything made perfect sense, but I was not annoyed with Shane either. In other words to me they both acted as real human beings which is the best compliment I can give really, where characterization is concerned.

Janine: That’s a great point and as I reread the book I came to feel that way to a large degree. That was 90% of it, but I did feel there was some obliviousness that went beyond that.

Kaetrin: I think Ilya had changed as a result of having to hide and be so reliant on Shane for any emotional support and connection for three years. It made sense to me he’d be more vulnerable as a result.

Janine: Yes, though I had to readjust, the change in Ilya made sense to me for those reasons too. I wouldn’t apply the word retconning to Ilya’s characterization, only to Shane’s, and even there it was minor.

Kaetrin: I also loved the way Shane’s parents basically adopt Ilya, how he spends time with them in Ottawa without Shane.

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I was rooting for this couple the whole way through the book. I wanted the full fairy tale for them. Possibly if I knew more about hockey some things would have been more obvious to me than they were (just how significant Ilya and Shane’s rival status actually is for example) but everything I know about hockey I have learned from romance novels.

Janine:

Spoiler: Show

Sirius: I used to watch hockey when I was younger (and a lot of soccer when I was younger too and I still watch soccer when I can, but also significantly less. These days tennis occupies most of my sports watching time :)), but I miss team sports and very much appreciate the portrayal of their sporting rivalry. I don’t think the book needed more descriptions of actual hockey, but I still would have loved more if that makes sense.

Kaetrin: As much as I enjoyed The Long Game, here were a few things I queried though. I didn’t understand quite what happened with the Commissioner – for me there was a missing link in the chain and I don’t think it had anything to do with me not knowing much about the sport. I expected more to happen and it kind of fizzled. And I thought there was a little too much sex, particularly in the first half of the book. The couple were already together so I didn’t need the ongoing proof of their sexual compatibility. I was far more interested in their emotional journey. That said, there were sex scenes that did drive the story forward (the one in the trophy room was fantastic) and I didn’t hate the ones I thought were not needed – it’s just that I felt that some were delaying the meat of the story I was hungry for.

Janine: The commissioner is a stock villain, unfortunately.

Kaetrin: Oh I don’t know, I think he rang pretty true!

Janine: I just meant that he was flat. I found nothing about him surprising or three-dimensional.

I am going to disagree on the sex scenes. For me every single one felt necessary. The early ones showed how Ilya’s need for security in Shane’s love was met (though far from sufficiently) through sex. Sex was in some ways the main way it was met (to the degree that it was) before that power differential started really balancing.

Even while he was disregarding some of Ilya’s emotional needs in other contexts, Shane was focused on them in bed. I’m not sure I would have forgiven Shane if I hadn’t seen how generous and trusting he was with Ilya in bed, how committed he was to giving Ilya whatever Ilya wanted or asked for—and these were often things that required Shane to put himself in a vulnerable position. Ilya usually had control and power there and that balanced out his vulnerability in other contexts to an extent. Sex was also the part of the relationship that always worked; it was rock solid even when everything else was precarious, and that was very important to the story too.

Then, too, I’m not sure I would have bought this as Ilya and Shane’s relationship if there hadn’t been a fair amount of sex because their connection was rooted in sex from its beginnings in Heated Rivalry. It was their love language for years and to a large degree still is throughout The Long Game.

Sirius: I agree with you Janine, once again. Funnily I loved Heated Rivalry despite myself because there was SO much sex, but as you said their connection was rooted in their sexual explorations and that’s how their love grew. It made sense to me, and in this book I did not feel that there was too much sex at all. It was just perfect and every single scene felt necessary and felt part of the development of their relationship.

Janine: My main criticism is that the early section set before and during the summer camps feels slow. Also, Shane’s cultural identity is largely ignored.

I enjoyed several side characters: Ilya’s teammates Troy, Wyatt, Bood, and Luca, Shane’s teammate Hayden and his family, Ilya’s kid neighbors, Shane’s parents (a scene between Ilya and Shane’s dad was just gorgeous).

Spoiler: Show

Sirius: I loved the side characters and I loved Ilya’s teammates, but I also did think that Ilya’s team was too good to be true. I did not complain much, but it did feel too good to be true to me.

Janine: Yes! I felt exactly the same way about them when I read Role Model, so I was more prepared for it this time.

I keep meaning to mention how much I liked the dialogue. It’s so much fun and almost always phrased in a “young guy” way.

Kaetrin: There were times in the book where I was angry with Shane and desperately sad for Ilya, where Ilya and his pain broke my heart. I had all the feels reading The Long Game. And for a book about an existing couple that’s pretty special.

Janine: Feels are fun but not always enough by themselves to make me love a book. But The Long Game was not only filled with yearning, it also had more depth and dimension than any of Reid’s earlier books IMO. Going in, I feared a mostly exterior conflict would make the book predictable and a mostly internal-to-the-relationship conflict might lessen my faith in Ilya and Shane’s commitment to each other and in their future happiness. I was wrong on both counts. The conflict was at least as much between them as external, but though I had a couple moments of being angry at Shane, the book ended up strengthening my faith in their partnership. Yes, their relationship was tested, but it passed that test. I closed the book seeing them as even better to and for each other than I had before because of that.

Kaetrin: I had high expectations for The Long Game and for the most part they were met. It’s always a worry when a much-anticipated book comes out. Can it live up to expectations? In this case it very much did.

What grade are you giving The Long Game Janine & Sirius?

Sirius: A, definitely.

Janine: I just finished my fourth read of The Long Game, and I’ve read Heated Rivalry two more times recently, too (The Long Game enriches it so much). I’m giving this book a straight A.

Kaetrin: Well that’s the trifecta. It’s an A from me also.

It was lovely to see Shane and Ilya back again especially more settled than their previous book left them. I truly adored 90% of this story and the character development but the one thing that caused me to take off one star was a pretty significant plot plot related to their coming out. I was really hoping that it wouldn’t go the forced outing angle. Besides that minor hiccup, it was great to see Ilya and Shane develop as people, hockey players, and a couple and I love them more than when they were introduced.

Oh how I adored the continuation of Shane and Ilya’s story. These two were one of my first MM reads and I was so happy to have more of them.

Ten years of hiding, ten years of stolen moments and ten years of waiting for the right time are taking their toll.

I loved the emotions on this one, the angst, the pain and the beautiful love story. Definitely recommend.

The Long Game is at the top of my most anticipated books list for 2022 and I absolutely adored every second of it! Rachel Reid really delivers an absolutely satisfying conclusion to Shane and Ilya's story. I laughed, I cried, I swooned, and I definitely had to fan myself dramatically. I could not love this book more.

I am not going to lie, I have loved every second of the Game Changers series, but from the jump, Heated Rivalry stole the series AND most of our hearts. If one good thing came out of this shit show of a pandemic it was Rachel Reid having the inspiration to give us such an epic conclusion to Shane and Ilya's story. It was just so much closure that we needed (and it wasn't all smooth sailing getting there) that it has you nearly crying such happy tears as you finish the last page.

Shane and Ilya have to both separately and together overcome some major hurdles but the path forward was always together. There are some pretty deep emotions and subjects (i.e. depression) that are worked through on both sides and a fair bit of frustration (as we waited for Shane to get his head out of his arse sometimes), but I never questioned the level of commitment Shane and Ilya had for one another. I honestly felt like I worked through some things as I was reading. And the scene with the plane incident (portrayed in a previous book, I think it was Ryan's book - Tough Guy)- my lawd, ya'll- tears, so many tears!

If you haven't read the whole series, which you absolutely should but if you haven't, you must read Heated Rivalry prior to this book. Also, the audio versions are really good, so you should check those out as well (except Game Changer, I have issues with one of the narrator's accents, but that's just me) if you have a chance.

Honestly, I really can't say enough good things about The Long Game. It was worth every second of my sleepless night as I stayed up binging the whole book in one sitting. I really hope this series continues, but if not, this was a huge high note to end it on. You should run, don't walk, to pick up a copy if you haven't already done so.

*I had the absolute privilege of getting an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley and I could not be more grateful. All thoughts and comments are my own.*

Heated Rivalry remains one of my favorite books of all time, so when I heard Ilya and Shane were getting another book I was both excited and somewhat apprehensive. I don't typically read continuations and prefer my romances to be one-and-done (that includes bonus epilogues - they're just not my jam for some reason). So while I have LOVED the little glimpses into Shane and Ilya's happily ever after we get in some of the other books in the Game Changers series, I was a little worried about what an entire second book about them would hold.

The Long Game took me until about the 30% mark to get into it, but then I didn't put it down until I'd finished it. I tell you, I ugly cried - and more than once. My heart has always been 100% Ilya's (and sure, Shane is okay too), and seeing him laid so bare, watching him struggle with his demons, I was just sobbing and wishing I could give him the biggest, squashiest hugs. And still, even through his darkest moments, he retains that ILYA-ness that we can't help but love about him - the effortless charm, the swagger, the Han Solo-esque self-confidence. *dreamy sigh* As for Shane... mostly I just wanted to punch him in his face. *shrug* Oops.

Their love story is just... epic. I reread Heated Rivalry on a regular basis (at least once a year) and now I'm going to have to read The Long Game right after as well. All the feels.

This is the sixth book in the Game Changers series. While you don't need to read all the books before reading this one (I somehow still haven't read book 1? somehow?), you DO definitely need to read book 2, Heated Rivalry, before this one. Also, this book runs somewhat concurrently with some of the other books in the series (which Ilya makes little appearances in, and I DIE), especially book 5, Role Model. There are definite spoilers for Role Model in this book, as well as some minor spoilers for some of the other books inasmuch as the characters from them serve as secondary characters in this one.

If you haven't read Heated Rivalry yet, please go do so right now! And if you loved Heated Rivalry, then buckle up, because you're going to love this ride.

"I am with you. Safe in your heart."

Would y'all accept a review in the form of tears because I can’t put into words how this book made me feel. Shane and Ilya have carved out a chamber of my heart and when characters feel that special you want to see them happy, fulfilled, and growing in all aspects of their lives. Rachel Reid delivers that and more in The Long Game.

In so many ways this is Ilya's book. He finally has Shane, who he’s loved for so long, but the moves he’s made to be with him have left Ilya isolated. Reid sensitively portrays his mental health struggles, and I loved how his journey toward seeking help was made in relatable fits and starts. He goes through moments of intense vulnerability and emerges on the other side with a better sense of self.

One of the most special parts of this book is the way that Ilya and Shane each reach a point of being openly, unabashedly proud of who they are as queer men and as a couple. You can practically feel Ilya vibrating with joy every time he gets to say the word bisexual out loud, and one of my favorite moments comes in the form of Shane making it clear that he chooses Ilya. Shane has always been so careful and his journey is about learning to take that leap and recognize the faith Ilya has had in them all along.

This book is a stunning culmination of community in the Game Changers universe. Reid has connected characters over the course of the series to create a network of support and found family—as well as a reminder of how even one person being brave enough to show the world who they are can create a ripple effect that changes so many lives.

I cannot overstate how much I cried reading this—from joy, from love, from pride. What else is there to say? 20/10 stars, no notes (especially since a very romantic moment near the end happens in July so I get to pretend it happens on the 11th, my birthday).

I liked Heated Rivalry, but I loved this continuation of Ilya and Shane’s story.

It certainly matches the previous book in terms of steam. The pattern of Ilya and Shane falling into bed (among other locations) at almost every opportunity continues through this second novel. There’s enough heat for a 5-alarm fire. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

For me, though, what made the story shine is the way it dives much more deeply into their emotions and the complexities of their romance. The strain of hiding a long-term relationship puts a lot of stress on them both, but it’s particularly hard for Ilya, who is also struggling with depression. Their love is never in doubt, but I appreciated the way Ilya and Shane really had to fight through everything to be together. That made their happy ending all the sweeter, I think.

As a bonus for Game Changers fans, characters from most of the other titles in the series show up at times to interact with Ilya and Shane. It was nice to get glimpses of them as the story unfolded.

This felt to me like a possible ending point for the series, so I’m wondering if the author will be moving on to something new for her next book. Whatever it is, I’ll definitely be reading!

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Note: As this book is both a sequel and the finale to a long-running series, there will be spoilers for earlier books in this review.

Rachel Reid’s The Long Game is the final book in her Game Changers series of romances set in the world of professional hockey – and, most importantly, the long and eagerly awaited conclusion of the epic love story between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov begun in the second book, Heated Rivalry. If you, like me, are a fan, you’re going to need no encouragement from me to rush to buy this one as soon as it’s available, so I suppose what you really want to know is – does The Long Game deliver everything we’ve been waiting for? I’m pleased to be able to give an unequivocal “yes” in answer; Rachel Reid has done herself, her readers and these two much loved characters proud with a story that brings Shane and Ilya’s romance to a wonderfully romantic and emotionally satisfying conclusion while not shying away from showing that their journey has been far from easy and their HEA is hard won.

Heated Rivalry charted the progression of the relationship between rival hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, whose on-the-ice animosity translated into an explosive sexual attraction off of it. Over the course of seven years, their relationship slowly morphed from one based on mutual lust and convenience, hooking up whenever they happened to be in the same place at the same time, to one based on deep affection, understanding and love. At the end of the book, Shane and Ilya have decided to keep their relationship under wraps for the moment; coming out as queer is going to be difficult enough given the homophobia surrounding professional sports, but for two players whose intense rivalry has become legendary to own up to being in a relationship with each other… well, that’s going to need some really careful handling when they decide to go public. As a way of trying to show that their animosity isn’t quite as strong as the media paints it, they start a mental health charity in memory of – and named after – Ilya’s mother, who suffered from depression and took her own life when Ilya was just twelve, and together, they run summer hockey camps for kids as one method of fundraising. This at least means they get to spend a bit of time together each summer away from the media spotlight, even if they can’t be open about what they are to each other quite yet. Also, Ilya decided to move from the top-flight team he was playing for in Boston to the Ottawa Centaurs, the least successful team in the NHL, to be nearer to Shane’s base in Montreal so they’d be able to spend a little time together during the gruelling hockey season.

By the time The Long Game opens, Shane and Ilya have been together for almost ten years (if you count the ‘hook-up’ years) – and Ilya is finding the hiding and secrecy and the loneliness of long periods apart increasingly hard to manage. He and Shane are as deeply in love and committed to each other as ever, but with Shane at the top of his game and playing for the best team in the league, Ilya is beginning to fear that perhaps they’re going to have to wait another ten years before they can truly begin making a life together. After all, they’re only twenty-nine, and realistically could be looking at another decade before retirement. That’s not to say that Shane likes the situation either, and it’s absolutely clear that he loves Ilya with all his heart, but he’s in a very different place, both professionally and personally, and is able to face the prospect of ten more years of sneaking around more easily than Ilya is. Except of course, they don’t really talk about it much because during the hockey season they get so little time together that neither of them wants to ‘spoil’ those stolen moments by bringing up the huge elephant in the room.

I think it’s fair to say that Ilya Rozanov has probably become the series’ stand-out, most-beloved character, and while Heated Rivalry felt like it was (mostly) ‘Shane’s book’, The Long Game definitely feels like Ilya’s. He’s larger-than-life, always ready with a snarky comeback and doesn’t much care what others think of him – he’s got a reputation as a bit of an arsehole, although those closest to him know he’s a truly good person underneath it all, that behind the smart mouth and sardonic attitude lies a man with a heart of gold who feels things very deeply. He’s still the Ilya we know and love, but in this book, we get to see a much softer, more vulnerable side of him that we’ve only briefly glimpsed before, and it tugs at the heartstrings to watch him face up to the fact that he’s not doing so well, realising just how much he’s put into keeping the relationship going and wondering just how much he has left to give. Shane, too, is trying to do his best to balance the personal and the professional, but his fear of losing everything he’s worked so hard for blinds him to the toll the secrets and lies are taking on the man he loves. In the end, both men will have to face some hard truths and make some serious adjustments if they’re going to make it in the long run.

If you’ve been following the series, then you’ll already know that the timeline of The Long Game overlaps somewhat with that of Role Model, so we get to see Ilya’s reaction to Troy’s arrival and a little of their developing friendship from Ilya’s PoV (and yes, The Plane Incident, too). I also liked the way Ms. Reid contrasts the two teams – the Montreal Voyagers may be the best team in the league, but when it comes to management styles and interpersonal skills, they’re crap – dictatorial and overbearing – while at Ottowa, the opposite is true; their manager is a decent guy who treats his players like human beings and fosters a sense of team spirit and camaraderie that, while it may not bring the big wins, nonetheless makes for a much more positive environment.

I don’t want to say much more and risk spoiling the book, so I’ll end by saying that the author does a wonderful job here with relationship and character development while also making sure that Shane and Ilya remain very much ‘them’ – Ilya, cocky yet endearing, Shane adorably modest and just a bit of a stickler – and in presenting the challenges they’re facing in a realistic way. The Long Game is full of genuine poignancy and emotion – from the deepest love and affection to heartache, and everything in between – charming moments of domesticity, scorching sex scenes, and the humour, good-natured competitiveness and snarky banter we’ve all come to love. It delivers everything I wanted for Shane and Ilya and more, and is an early contender for my Best of 2022 list. Thanks, Rachel, for giving these boys the fantastic send-off they so richly deserve.

"Someone might notice my heart eyes." "Your what?" "Heart eyes. Hayden said I look at you with heart eyes." "Yes. Was probably true. I look at you and I am just..." Ilya opened and closed his fist several times in front of his chest. "My heart goes crazy, you know?" Shane's own heart started going a little crazy. "You should see a doctor about that." Ilya grinned and shook his head. "Is just being in love, I think."

You guys. My heart is so full right now. This beautiful, beautiful book. Rachel Reid didn’t just give us a happily ever after. She gave us a happily ever after and a half. I loved it so much that words can't do it justice. But I’ll try.

I joke that my bias would make me rate this five stars no matter what. My love for Ilya and Shane runs deep. But I’d like to think I’d be able to admit if it wasn’t perfect. Or at least give it four stars if that was the case.

But it doesn’t matter because I think it fully deserves the five stars. I was a tiny bit nervous going in to it. For one, I thought Heated Rivalry ended perfectly. For me it wasn’t a happily for now. It was a happily ever after. Sure I didn’t know what would happen but I knew Ilya and Shane would stay together. Secondly, book three aside and, to an extent book five, I simply haven’t cared too much for the other books in the series. And for me, none of them came close to Heated Rivalry. But I was only worried a little. Somehow I think I knew Rachel Reid would do right by Ilya and Shane. And she really did.

So who would have known, going into Heated Rivalry that Ilya would be the one wanting to take things public and be together in the open? Not me. And I was a goner for pining, reluctantly mushy Ilya. I love what a secret sweetheart he is in general.

"I know, moya lyubov." Shane grinned. "I know that one." "Ah," Ilya said in mock despair," then you know my secret." "That you love me?" "That I am very mushy inside."

I wanted to be upset with Shane for not moving at the same pace as Ilya but I actually wasn't. His fears and anxieties were deep and he was struggling too. I felt some frustration but a lot of sympathy for him and his journey was so moving.

"I choose you, Ilya. I promise I will always, always choose you."

Another thing I want to note is I really liked how the issue of mental health was handled here. My heart broke for Ilya struggling with his depression. What I liked was how it wasn't magically fixed. Because from experience I can tell you it doesn't work that way. Yes he had issues going on in his life and resolving those did help him to an extent. But it was clear that his depression was something he was going to have to work on, possibly for the rest of his life. And that's ok!

You didn't think I was going to leave out how damn HOT this book was did you? It was. It definitely did not suffer in that department. Like AT ALL. For me, so many of the steamy scenes were intensified in this book because of the love involved. So many tiny, tender moments mixed in with the sizzle. Heated Rivalry had some of that but not as much because they weren't in love through the whole book. So this was good in a different way.

Ilya laughed, and kissed behind Shane's ear. "We do not talk about these freckles on the back of your neck enough." "I'm not-" Shane's breath hitched as Ilya increased the speed of his strokes. "I'm not too familiar with them." "They are just here. A little group of them." Ilya's lips brushed the base of Shane's neck, making Shane shiver. "Adorable."

Finally the ending. I won't spoil anything but like I said at the beginning, it was a happily ever after and a half. My heart felt so full. I longed to go find a meadow to go twirl around in. Sadly, my life is not a Disney movie so this couldn't happen. But because I'm a little nuts, it was happening in my head. I feel sad my time with Ilya and Shane is over. My wish is that Rachel Reid will just give us little snippets every so often of them being adorable. But if she doesn't, I'll just reread the heck out of this one and Heated Rivalry. In fact, I'm going to reread this one soon. Writing this review and seeing everyone read it has me dying to jump in again.

Thank you for coming to my gushing Ilya and Shane TED Talk.

Ilya laughed. “I love you so much it sucks.” Shane beamed at him. “That’s too bad, because this is as good as it’s going to get.” “No,” Ilya said fondly. “I don’t think it is.”

One of my favorite couples! I loved the Long Game and reconnecting with Shane and Ilya. There love isn't perfect but it works for this couple. What I loved most about them is they were also willing to fight for each other.
There were a few tears shed while reading but in the end the commitment that these two had made it impossible to set the book down.

I received a copy of the book for a honest review.

I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for the conclusion to this story. Not nearly as long as Ilya, but it felt like an eternity. I loved these two men and how their competitive drives fed one another, and while to the outside world they seemed to be nothing more than fierce competitors, it was only rivaled by the love and affection they felt for one another in private.

Ilya was my favorite. With a dry sense of humor, an unwavering sense of loyalty, and a world of pain and longing he held beneath the surface, there was nothing about him not to love. His mental struggles with depression didn’t make him weaker. Quite the contrary. They made him real. And I felt the frustration he held that he couldn’t shout his love from the rooftops. I felt sorrow for him wrestling with his demons, but knew that he needed to confront this aspect of his life.

Shane, on the other hand, frustrated me. While I adored him and the amount of blood, sweat and tears he put into being the best at his craft, I found that he focused on the rest of the world too much. Sometimes, he put everyone else above the need that Ilya had for their relationship to be acknowledged. He was dedicated and driven and the perfect picture of control to balance out Ilya’s more reckless persona. But I wanted him to loosen up and be the man he was behind closed doors, even when he was in the light of day.

In the end, however, I simply loved this story. I loved getting to see players and their partners that I hadn’t seen in a long time, and getting to see them through other people’s eyes. But most of all, I loved seeing Ilya and Shane get the ending that they deserved.

This is the sixth book in the Game Changers hockey series. I really loved this book, it was a great finish to Shane and Ilya’s story. The characters were wonderful and extremely developed. The emotional level in this book was high and the author did a great job with this. The pace does make it hard to put down. I hope it is not the end to the series.

Just wow.

The Long Game by Rachel Reid is the sixth and last in her Game Changers m/m hockey series. That said, it stands alone beautifully. I read it without having read the rest of the series (they’re on my TBR, I promise!) and loved it completely.

Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been rivals since they met more than a decade ago, and that led the way to a heated attraction and then to a secret relationship.

Rachel Reid’s writing is terrific—I loved her characters and their friendships and connections. Ilya and Shane feel very well-drawn, and they have a lot going on, much as people tend to. I feel they and the other characters have been written with warmth and affection, and that made me enjoy the read all the more.

The Long Game has been a long time coming for these two—they have spent years hiding their real selves from the world, and struggle to determine how to navigate revealing themselves. They find hard truths about those closest to them and are reminded what is truly important.

I absolutely loved The Long Game and plan to reread it soon, perhaps after catching up with the prior books in the series!

Who has been waiting since the end of book 2 to see Shane and Ilya's happily ever after? We fell in love with these guys in Heated Rivalry and then got glimpses of them for the next 3 books, just whetting our appetites. And this is our payoff.

Something I really loved was the overlap between this book and the one just prior, Role Model. It was fun realizing that book 6 was happening while book 5 was happening. Well, book 5 would have ended about halfway through book 6. But still. Nicely done.

Ilya is still Ilya, but in this book he is vulnerable. Like with a capital V. He is hiding from everyone- especially Shane- that depression has creeped in. Even though he is terrified of ending up like his mother, he also doesn't believe he would end up like his mother. And wow, the portrayal of his depression and how he goes about hiding it and faking it are so SO spot on. It broke my heart.

Their differing personalities are so evident in this installment. Ilya, the tough guy, the jokester who lets everything roll off his back because his ego is the size of Canada is just done. He wants his happily every after. He wants to tell the world how much he loves Shane. He has the confidence to say "if you don't like it too bad". But Shane isn't there. He just wants to play hockey and win more Cups and not be the poster boy for being an out hockey player. Obviously there are others, but that only means he has seen the scrutiny on them since they came out. He is willing to tough out their original plan of waiting. Ilya isn't happy with that, but he is also quiet about it.

Their journey includes fights and disagreements and dipping their toes in safe waters of hanging out as a couple when it is safe and of course hockey and a commissioner who gives Shane some veiled threats. And then Shane and Ilya some not so veiled threats.

But they do get their happily ever after and I kind of loved it. A lot. And while their story is, by romance book standards, complete, I would love more. Even as background characters supporting new main characters. I want to see them playing hockey as out players. I want to see them become dads.

I'm not ready to let them go.

It was like coming home to a loving, but hidden hideaway when I read the opening lines of The Long Game. Even with the changing world, more out players, more acceptance, both Shane and Ilya are living double lives as lovers and rivals - and Rachel Reid doesn't let us forget where they've come from or just how far they have to go to come out of the closet and into the light...

Their relationship is still explosive and hot! You feel like you're being drawn into the inferno, but as much as they love each other and express it, they don't actually talk out their relationship... and Rachel Reid draws out all the emotions - the strain, the tension, the passion, the love, the fear, the jealousy... and with Dual POV and cameos from so many other couples from the series and side characters, weaves a story that just keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say - read or re-read Heated Rivalry before you start The Long Game and enjoy getting to know Ilya and Shane so much more as they grow their relationship... Oh, and clear your schedule because you won't want to put this book down until you've read every word....