I've never been more excited to read a sampler in my life!
In German, we have this word "schnappatmung" which kinda translates to "gasping out loud" and let me tell you that that has been me ever since Rachel Reid said she was going to return to Shane and Ilya for a second time.
This sampler was already everything!! It gives you a pretty good picture of what's been going on for Shane and Ilya since we last saw them and I loved how we jumped right back into the things that I love about the Game Changer series - the tension, the banter, the laugh-out-loud moments that are followed by the anxiety of coming out when you're in love with your supposed nemesis. I cannot WAIT to finally get my hands on The Long Game. I mean, 10 years is one hell of a time to keep a relationship secret and I'm itching to find out how it all blows up (and ends with a HEA, of course!). Also, can I just say how much I missed Shane and Ilya's dynamic? No one does it like them, honestly.

As for Cait Nary, I was super intrigued by the first few chapters of Season's Change! Olly and Benji's relationship promises to be a good one judging from the way they both came across in this sampler. I'm looking forward to getting to know these charactrs more and especially Olly because his struggle definitely made me feel for him already! Let me just say I'm so so grateful that I already have the ARC because I know I'm going to devour it after this intriguing teaser.

I am very much looking forward to The Long Game, so I jumped at the chance to read this preview. I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint! Carina was very smart to include the first few chapters of Season’s Change as they are in the same vein. I ended up buying Season’s Change. While Cait Nary is not yet up to Rachel Reid’s level, her writing holds a lot of promise. I enjoyed Season’s Change and look forward to reading more from Ms. Nary in the future.

I'm so excited for The Long Game so of course I had to download this sampler! I enjoyed the introduction to both stories and I can't wait to read both of these!

Was already very thrilled to read both of these titles, but these advances somehow managed to double my excitement up. Specifically The Long Game, since Heated Rivalry has been one of my favorite books for almost two years. Can't wait to be able to read them completely soon.

I received both of these books as ARCs, so my reviews will be available under both of those titles. This was really fun to read, and I enjoyed both books very much!

I’ve already given my feedback on here for Season’s Change by Cait Nary (4 stars) so I’ll focus on The Long Game by Rachel Reid.

Heated Rivalry is my favorite book of all time. Full stop. I have read it 15 times. I made most of my Internet personality into screaming at people about how great Heated Rivalry is. It is impossible to love Shane and Ilya more than I do.

Or so I thought. Then I read the teaser, and I think this book will make me love them even more.

I can’t wait to make my entire Internet personality into screaming about how great Heated Rivalry AND The Long Game are.

The long Game
this was just a small sample of the first chapters of the second part in the story of Shane and Ilya. And the truth is that this book begins in a very promising way, now we will see them a little more mature and facing a secret relationship that is not so easy to maintain.
Season's change
I had not read a book by this author, but I liked the relationship between Olly and Benji, it will be very fun to have the whole story, the first chapters surprised me a lot, because I liked it more than I thought,

The Long Game by Rachel Reid

It is no exaggeration when I say this is my most anticipated read of 2022. Shane and Ilya have never strayed far for my thoughts since I first read Heated Rivalry in 2019 - nor the 4 times I’ve reread it since then.

The first three chapters of this much awaited sequel are packed with all the humor and character I expect from Reid and the Game Changers series, as especially Shane and Ilya.

I can’t wait for the full book.

Season’s Change by Cait Nary

There is very little I enjoy more than a good mm hockey romance, throw in veteran x rookie and opposites attract AND forced proximity and I. Am. Sold.

This first taste of Nary’s writing had a bit of everything I enjoy.

Opening with Olly’s POV, it was easy to get invested in his drive and passion for hockey, and to root for his success in his new team.

Benji’s fresh and wide-eyed wonder and desire to prove himself is so infectious and heartfelt.

I can easily see myself falling for these two and their story, and can’t wait to see how their relationship develops.

This was a great sampler. I've subsequently read Season's Change and thoroughly enjoyed it and am super excited for when The Long Game is actually released.
Thanks for the preview!

The Long Game is one of my most anticipated books for 2022 and the first few chapters did not disappoint! Ilya is one my favorite book characters and the relationship between him and Shane is still filled with just as much snark and banter as the first book. I can’t wait to see the character progression and for Ilya and Shane to finally get their HEA. Rachel Reid is so talented and April can’t get here soon enough!!

Loved the sampler from both of these books!

I'm so excited for The Long Game, it's my most anticipated novel of 2022. Already in these three chapters, there's so much angst and plenty of foreshadowing for the remainder of the novel. I can already see the differences Ilya and Shane have in outing their relationship to the world. This book is going to hurt and I'm SO ready for it!

Season's Change has me so intrigued ! From just these three chapters, I feel like this is the type of book that you want to read in one sitting because you can't help yourself. I'm already so invested in Olly and Benji! I'm very excited to continue reading this book, now that I have a full arc of it!

I cannot wait for these books to come out! They were brilliant by releasing this teaser-- everyone is going to want to snap them up in April! This teaser is for two stories. For The Long Game, this looks like it's going to be a sweet romance. I couldn't peel my eyes from the page, and look forward to seeing Shane's growth hopefully into being more comfortable as a hockey-playing gay man (who I hope as a wonderful, much-deserved HEA)! As for Seasons Change, there also looks like some room for serious character growth, namely Olly seeking mental help (which I enjoy seeing in books- it needs to be talked about more). I'm also excited to get to know Benji better! All in all I really enjoyed this sampler and hope to read more soon! It really leaves you wanting more.

The first couple chapters of this book are epic and I absolutely cannot wait to read the rest of the book!

I went into these short samplers very familiar with one author and unfamiliar with the other and now I’m even more excited for The Long Game and i will be reading anything Cait Nary comes out with.

I adored this sampler so much. I can't wait to read the full books, especially The long game. 5 glowing stars

The Long Game by Rachel Reid is my most anticipated release for 2022. Shane and Ilya were beautifully drawn characters in Heated Rivalry and I am excited for this story which deals with the challenges in their relationship going forward. The first three chapters were incredible and did not disappoint. The wait for April will be long! Already pre-ordered both the digital and paperback version.

Caitlin Nary is a new to me author and the sample included was great. Will definitely check out the full version following its wide release.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the advance preview!

Two new hockey books! These quick glimpses are just the sweetest bit of what are sure to be two amazing books. Like many others I loved Heated Rivalry and Shane & Ilya are two of my favorite characters so finally getting to revisit them is such a treat! Cait Nary is a new to ne author and just from this sample I think I’m going to be interested in more!!!!

This was such a tease!! I absolutely cannot wait for the long game. Shane and Ilya have completely owned me since their first appearance and Heated Rivalry is my absolute fave romance I always go back to resd! Excited to see their story continue in The Long Game

I have been looking forward to some more hockeyromance and these two did not disappoint.

Rachel Reids Heated Rivalry was one of my first hockeyromance and I've been hooked ever since. I have hoped for a sequel ever since as Ilya is my favorite character in this universe. He is both snarky and loving. Can't wait for the rest of this book because these chapters made the wait even worse!

Cait's book looked really good and can't wait to read the rest as it came out today :)

Looks like the long game is worth the wait!!!

The Long game by Rachel Reid

Heated rivalry was the first Game Changers book that I read. I generally have read a lot of books through my local library and there was an audiobook version of the hockey series. I was hooked reading heated rivalry with the compelling dynamic between the lead characters Shane and Ilya.
10 years along the line the two are still together in hiding and still playing hockey. The story starts with some soft domestic romance of the two in Shane's cottage in the woods. They seem to be living a blissful summer. As we lead into them working at the summer camp, seen in the other Game Changers books, we get to reunite with some other characters such as Ryan and Fabian. That you are happily together. Ryan is working with Shane and Ilya at the camp for teaching kids hockey and mental health awareness.
Only a few chapters of this book were available to me and I am once again hooked and excited to continue reading this story. I'd love to figure out what the future holds for Ilya and Shane and how they will make their happily ever after happen. They both are learning to show each other love and not just behind closed doors anymore. Ilya clearly wants to be out and open to the world and isn't worried about the backlash but Shane is still afraid of what being gay and a hockey player truly means.
It's really interesting so far to see the interactions with the other characters seeing Shane meet a very open and flamboyant gay character like Fabian. And then the other side is interesting to see Ilya dealing with the death of his parents and his connection to Shane and Shane's family and his concerns with losing that new family.
All in all I'm really excited to read the rest of this story and can't wait for it to come out.

Seasons change by Cait Nary
Olly and Benji are hockey camp roommates with very different personalities and are also at different points in their career. Benji is personable and charismatic with a sister he would fight for even though she doesn't know how to fight for herself. Olly is dealing with some serious trust issues and bad insomnia after the fallout of his last team finding out he was gay. Though the new hockey team doesn't know and neither does his new roommate Benji, Olly is still having a hard time relaxing around his new team.
The story has a lot of potential and I enjoy the difference between the two characters' personalities but at this point I can't quite see how this story is going to play out. Nor.how the two will connect, maybe opposites attract/friends to lovers? Olly is dealing with trauma and really needs to seek out some professional help but seems to be very against looking weak or as he says it "crazy". This is definitely an outdated term so I'm hoping that he will learn that seeing a therapist doesn't mean weakness. Benji seems like an all-around great guy and I'm interested in getting a little bit more dimensions with his character as the store moves along.
I'm excited to read this story in the future as the preview doesn't show any potential romance between the two characters but we all know where it's going. I'm also excited to see how this author deals with the personal struggle of Olly and him dealing with his sexuality and teammates. And with the personal journey of Benji with his family.
One quick criticism from me is the use of acronyms without previously using the full terminology at some point in the story. That would be a good addition as I'm not so up to date on sports terms despite reading sports books.