Common Sense Media Review
By Victoria Quistgaard
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Enemies to endearing lovers in smutty gay hockey romance.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
HEATED RIVALRY follows Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as they face off in a constant battle for who's the best hockey player. But the night after being drafted into the NHL as rookies, they find themselves alone in the gym together and discover that they have more in common than being star hockey players. On the ice, they fight for the win; in the bedroom, they both win.
Is It Any Good?
A rivalry for the ages, a secret affair, and sarcasm abound in this sweet and exciting love story. Heated Rivalry lives up to its name and its predecessor as the Game Changers series continues. Enemies-to-lovers may be a popular romance trope, but Rachel Reid does a fantastic job of blending desire, competition, and authenticity. Readers will fall for the characters as they fall for each other. It contains extremely explicit sex scenes, so if older teens are not interested in such content, they may wish to read milder hockey romance like The Darling Devils series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about self-acceptance of sexuality as shown in Heated Rivalry. Shane thinks that he might be gay but continues to date women anyway. How do his experiences with women turn out? Why do you think it took Shane so long to stop dating women?
In men's sports, and hockey in particular, being gay is still stigmatized, despite society as a whole growing more accepting. How does this stigma affect Shane's and Ilya's relationship? Do you think mens' sports should work on being more accepting? Why or why not?
This book has very explicit sex scenes and was written for adults. Why are some teens interested in reading this story? Was the sex ever too much for you? What do you do when you come across scenes you don't really want to read or see?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Romance
- Topics : Sports ( Hockey )
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Carina Press
- Publication date : April 18, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 18
- Number of pages : 368
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : August 11, 2026
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