AH I'm so excited to read the Long Game, the first three chapters have me foaming at the mouth for more. Heated Rivalry is one of my favorite books EVER, and I can't get enough of Ilya and Shane. Having been together now for more than a decade, they have settled into a stable relationship and the love that these two have for each other just leaps off the page. But the years of hiding have begun to take the a toll on them, and it's clear from the first three chapters that they long to be able to publicly show their love for each other.

The angst and banter is stronger than ever, and their dynamic is still as fun to read. I'm excited to see more from Ilya's perspective and get a deeper dive into the minds of one of my favorite book characters.

This is my first time experiencing either author and their writing before and I have to say I greatly enjoyed both! I love a good steamy romance and both of these delivered on that front. I can't wait to read the rest!

I was so excited to learn that a preview of The Long Game was available and it did not disappoint, especially getting to read from Ilya’s perspective. The beginning chapters were seamless and we picked right back up with Ilya and Shane’s journey. They are completely in love but it is also clear that Ilya and Shane will have to work for their happily ever after. April cannot come soon enough!

I was very intrigued by the opening chapters of Cait Nary’s Season’s Change. Olly and Benji were well developed characters and Cait drew the reader in immediately. I want to learn more about Olly’s struggles and am definitely rooting for his and Benji’s happily ever after.

If the first chapters are so captivating, I can't imagine what awaits us when we read the book! I am so in love with Rachel Reid's writing, I think The Long Game is going to exceed any expectations we have, thus giving Shane and Ilya the sequel they deserve! Very excited for it to arrive! And it is always a pleasure to be able to read authors, who had not been able to read before like Cait Nari!

I’m really looking forward to The Long Game! Can’t wait to revisit these characters and see them get their HEA!! I read the complete novel of Seasons Change and did enjoy it. Watching the characters realistically tackle and work through anxiety and come out on the other side was a nice addition to a fairly straightforward M/M sports romance. Would definitely recommend Cait Nary if you’re a Rachel Reid fan!

To preface this review, I have not read Heated Rivalry by Rachael Reid so I feel like I have some catching up to do to truly appreciate The Long Game, but it made me even more excited and desperate to read it! I love mlm hockey romances so much so when I saw this sampler I was VERY excited! Now as for Season's Change I finished reading the preview and I NEEDED to know what happened next. So I went and bought the book on kindle and I LOVED IT! I really loved the focus on mental health and having to work through internalized homophobia as well as the trauma from actual homophobia/hate crimes. I cannot wait for the second book in the series which is slated to be released later this year!

Like many other readers, I am eagerly awaiting The Long Game, part of the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid.
This Sampler features excerpts from both that book and Season's Change, which I've now read in its entirety and which serves as a great way to pass the time for readers feeling impatient for The Long Game.

The Long Game is a return to the lives of rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. The two fell in love over the course of many years in Heated Rivalry, the second book in the series. The greatest obstacle to their relationship was never resolved, however, and remains a heavy presence in The Long Game: the world at large thinks Shane and Ilya barely tolerate each other. Most people don't know about the men's sexuality, and even fewer know they are in a relationship with one another. From the sampler, it seems both of them are starting to feel the strain. While they're committed to each other and carrying out their plans for the future, another 10 years of keeping their love a secret suddenly seems like too long to wait. Reid has done a masterful job staying true to Shane and ilya's personalities. That fun-loving Ilya is getting frustrated underscores the real stress that comes from not living one's truth. Ilya's recurring dreams are a perfect expression of his changing opinion on their secret. Shane is his perfectionist, people-pleasing self and it's growing more obvious that this need is at odds with his desire to be with Ilya. I can't wait to find out the answers to some things that were hinted at in the last book, Role Model.
If their time at Shane's cabin in Heated Rivalry was the honeymoon phase, The Long Game shows that the honeymoon bubble has been popped How will these two make their love work in real life?
Season's Change
I love these characters a lot. They felt very authentic and the story feels organic. You are rooting for Benji and Olly, even when they get in their own way.
I appreciated that Benji had done a lot of work for his mental health but wasn’t perfect. His fears would reappear sometimes, but he was so active about identifying and working through them. It's especially great that he is so transparent about his mental health. He was such a perfect foil to Olly in that they weren’t total opposites, but they were so different in how they handled things. Grumpy/Sunshine is not quite the right trope in that Benji fights to be his own light., and sometimes that is hard work. His found family is a delightful way to underscore the idea of boundaries and creating your own happiness.
I wish there was a fuller explanation of what Ollie endured in Minnesota. It is often eluded to and so the reader has to create their own picture, which never quite feels complete.
I really wish there had been some more events after the resolution. There wasn’t enough of these two actually accepting their relationship and being together. It’s such a fight to get here through this very slow burn that I needed to see more of the HEA.
Fabulous writing!
Read after this: Winging It by Ashlyn Kane

Ok, so.. this was just a preview. The first half was Long Game a book that I was expecting for a looong time. Ilya and Shane are my all-time favorite couple ever and these few chapter just let me more and more ansious to read the entire book!
Now, about the second half, Cait Nary was a new name for me. Usually, hockeys romances are a win for me, so I’m already expect quite a lot, mainly because the preview of the book was combined with one of my favorite serie.
I’m really excited for read the entire books, both of them!

5* for both books based on the preview chapters. I'll edit it again when I finish the whole book (AND I WILL DEFINITELY FINISH IT LOL).

Glad I was introduced to Cait Nary through this and I can't wait to find out more about Benji and Olly. Their opposite personalities and coping mechanisms would make for an interesting albeit maybe complicated relationship. The course of true love never did run smooth and I think they'll have a relationship which is deep and hard fought. Although it makes me wonder whether it would be easier to hide a relationship with a teammate or an archrival, which brings me to Rachel Reid's The Long Game (TLG).

I can't wait for TLG this April; counting down the days until I'm back with one of my all time favourite couple. I've read Heated Rivalry multiple times since there's just something that happens when Ilya and Shane are together -- on paper or on top of each other -- and this sample was no different. From the first three chapters, their predicament was explained and flowed nicely without going into boring details which is a talent Rachel has. From the teaser, Ilya and Shane's are still competitive, more so with each other and I'm hoping we get a hockey game/face off scene in the book. The decade long secret is taking a toll on Ilya mentally - I didn't see it from Shane's side from the teaser but I'm sure it'll be shown somewhere in the book. I'm looking forward to seeing them adjust from being so secretive, analysing everything they say to having the freedom to do what they want once they're out in the open.

I generally don't like sequels - I read them with apprehension and as experience has taught me, there's a lot of inconsistencies from the first book. This is mainly to do with characters acting COMPLETELY out of character and leaving me dumfounded. Rachel's confirmation to a sequel for Heated Rivalry brought a "Yes, more Ilya and Shane" and also "leave them alone and don't ruin it". From this, I can say they matured (?) but their essence remained and I can't wait to read what happens to them.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/147244451-gemma-g

I haven't read either of these authors before but I'm such a sucker for a steamy sports romance and both of these look really good. I enjoyed the writing and the connection between the characters: I can't wait to get to know them more!

THE LONG GAME (By Rachel Reid) - 5 stars

I was smiling all through while reading the first three pages of The Long Game yesterday. It made my morning. Ilya was being Ilya (obnoxious and funny but deeply caring), Shane was being Shane (a cute worrier), and they’re both still so in love! And we got to see them hang out with another great couple, Ryan and Fabian. I loved that bit so much! I’m very grateful to NetGalley and the author and publishers for making this available to me.

SEASON’S CHANGE (By Cail Nary) - 3.5 stars

I didn’t know anything about this book beforehand. Olly is interesting and seems to be keeping a personal secret that’s torturing him and could potentially destroy his career. The start is a bit slow but it promises to pick up as the plot unfolds.

Phenomenal start to a hockey romance. The sample of Season’s Change by Cait Nary has me absolutely hooked. The first few chapters of a book aren’t make or break for whether I’ll continue reading, but they are usually the difference between a 3 and 5 star book.

From the first few sentences, there is a tension and almost an air of mystery that is incredibly compelling. The pain and frustration coming from Olly is palpable and I need to know where it’s coming from. The end of the sample gives you the beginning of the story and leaves you wanting the whole picture.

I’m going to immediately pick this book up and I can’t wait to read it.

Review of the full text of The Long Game submitted separately.

What can I say that hasn’t been said about “The long game” excerpt? Ilya and Shane are everything. Very few sequels manage to be as good as the first book but this one will be one of them. Can’t wait for the book. And April is sooo far aaawayy. 😭
“Season’s change” by Cait Nary is good. I’ve read the whole book. I don’t know if it’s a debut -it’s a new-to -me author but I liked it . I liked Olly and Benji and I loved the slow burn. I’ll leave the rest of the review on the book’s page.

Definitely left me wanting more. This has been one of the best M/M series I’ve ever read. I love the writing style and how we also get to tap into other characters and see where we left off with them as well. Cannot wait to read the whole book

The Long Game teaser chapters are perfection!!! I cannot wait for April and will be re-reading Heated Rivalry immediately.

Cait Nary is new to me but I enjoyed the first few chapters of Season’s Change. They didn’t grab me in the same way (which would be impossible as I’ve been counting down the days for The Long Game!) but I’m curious to see how the rest of the story builds.

Ooooh Boy. This sampler is a teaser for The Long Game by Rachel Reid (pub 4/26/22) and Season's Change by Cait Nary (pub 2/1/22). I downloaded this sampler on a Sunday and I reread The Long Game chapters (no joke) every day for the following week. I am like a mouse grabbing at every crumb I can get. The Long Game is the sequel to Heated Rivalry where we meet professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. I cannot get enough of Shane and Ilya. If these first three chapters of the Long Game are any indication of what the book will be like, then hats off to Rachel Reid. The book opens 2 years after the end of Heated Rivalry. They are still at the top of their game. Its summer and their charity hockey camps are successfully running for the second year. What I am loving so far is the banter, the good natured teasing, and the glimpse of these two navigating their relationship like any normal couple (except they are not normal b/c you know, professional hockey players). I can't help but LOVE Ilya and his cocky responses to Shane's generally uptight personality. What I am especially so happy about is Rachel isn't making this be over the top sappy. These two guys love each other a lot (they have been together in secret for 10 years - clearly they are committed) but they definitely have some big issues to overcome - coming out to the NHL for one - and I can't wait to see how it all plays out. This is absolutely my most anticipated book of 2022.

These are two very much anticipated books I've been keeping an eye on for some time- so to get to preview both? I could hardly contain my excitement.

The Long Game- swoon! As a huge fan of all things Rachel Reid, ESPECIALLY Shane and Ilya's story from Rachel's book, "Heated Rivalry", I was ecstatic to preview "The Long Game". Needless to say, Rachel did not disappoint. Rachel not only captured the playful and flirtatious banter that we all know and love from Heated Rivalry, but dove into the deeper side of Shane and Ilya's relationship to give the reader a glimpse of the struggle the two characters face in the pressure they face in keeping their relationship, and love, in the dark. I think it's safe to say that April's release date cannot come soon enough.

Similarly, I absolutely fell in love with the characters in Cait Nary's book, Season's Change. totally on the opposite end of the spectrum, Olly and Benji's quiet attraction and love for each other left me wanting more of their story. While Olly struggles with anxiety, Benji grounds him beautifully and with a sweet simplicity that made me fall in love with his character. The is a slow-burn romance that the author nailed perfectly- just enough flirtation and heat throughout the story to leave the reader cheering for the characters when they finally do take that next step (the first kiss....ahh!).

honestly so excited for this book, because i adored hr. while i hate to see my babies in pain, i am confident that rachel will give us the hea they deserve. although, i am a bit worried about the ending, because i cant stand to see any strings not-tied-up, and i also can't stand to see shane unable to empathize with ilya in some ways. for me, i am so worried about this book tainting their love story for me. for some days now i have just been obsessively reading the reviews on goodreads, netgalley, etc to make sure i won't bawl my eyes out at this. things are looking promising!!! so excited to finally be able to read this good god have mercy on my heart.

I cannot wait to read TLG! These first three chapters were amazing and only kept me wishing for more!

I'm sure much doesn't need to be said about the highly anticipated sequel to Heated Rivalry. The first few chapters were great and full of all the things that made the first book beloved. Can't wait for the full-length book!

Season's Change by Cait Nary is very different in tone even if it's another MM hockey book and looks to be the start of a new series. The first few chapters were enough to hook me and I quickly went ahead and read the whole book. It is full of angst and a very satisfying slowest of slow burns. You have two idiots who are fully in love and yet need to do a lot of work to be able to see it. This overall felt very different from other hockey romances and I look forward to what comes next in the series.