Reviewed by Jess

TITLE: Game Changer

SERIES: Game Changer #1

AUTHOR: Rachel Reid

PUBLISHER: Carina Press

LENGTH: 334 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 22, 2018

BLURB:

New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter takes his pregame rituals very seriously. In this case, it’s not just a lucky smoothie he’s craving—it’s the man who made it.

Pro hockey star Scott Hunter knows a good thing when he sees it. So, when a smoothie made by juice bar barista Kip Grady precedes Scott breaking his on-ice slump, he’s desperate to recreate the magic…and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter.

Kip knew there was more to Scott’s frequent visits than blended fruit, but he never let himself imagine being invited back to Scott’s penthouse. Or kissed with reckless abandon, never mind touched everywhere all at once. When it happens it’s red-hot, incredible and frequent, but also only on Scott’s terms and always behind his closed apartment doors.

Scott needs Kip in his life, but with playoff season approaching, the spotlight on him is suddenly brighter than ever. He can’t afford to do anything that might derail his career…like introducing the world to his boyfriend. Kip is ready to go all-in with Scott—but how much longer will he have to remain a secret?

REVIEW:

From the blurb alone, I wasn’t expecting this book to be quite as serious as it ended up being. The first half is pretty light—a lot of flirting, a lot of heat. Two men meeting under unexpected circumstances and finding their happiness. But the second half makes us wonder how Scott, a mega-famous hockey player, and Kip, a job-seeking post-grad who still lives with his parents, could possibly work as a couple. You’ll get sucked into their story very quickly.

There’s an imbalance in Kip and Scott’s relationship from the start, but it’s very well-written. These are two men in very different spots in their lives—Scott is at the top of his field in a job he’s worked incredibly hard for, and Kip is a post-grad just getting his foot in the door and slaving away at a minimum-wage job. They know this about each other right away, so the tension comes from their own hang-ups, not from each other. It’s not hard to be critical of Scott when he asks Kip to keep their relationship a secret for a while, but I also don’t think Kip was ever a doormat. He agreed, and when the agreement became too difficult, he was honest about his feelings. Their relationship had a lot of rocky moments, but they all supported the main plot—a romance that burns too strong to keep hidden for long.

I’ve read a few hockey romances in the past year or so, and they all approach homophobia in the professional hockey industry differently. Some stories acknowledge that coming out would be impossible, others choose a fantasy world where homophobia in sports doesn’t exist. This book crosses the two ideas, which really works. The last half of the book edges more into a coming-out narrative than a romance, which was a sometimes-clunky genre shift, but it gave Scott a chance to shine as a character once Kip got a satisfying arc.

This one is definitely a page-turner. It’s sweet, fun, romantic, and sexy, and at its core, it is just a enjoyable story. I recommend it to both romance and sports fans alike.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Carina Press

Amazon