“Reid’s hockey-themed Game Changers series continues on its red-hot winning streak.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review for Common Goal 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 … 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?
Game Changers
Book 1: Game Changer
Book 2: Heated Rivalry
Book 3: Tough Guy
Book 4: Common Goal
Book 5: Role Model
more
I’m not a huge sport romance fan and know nothing about hockey but I really enjoyed Game Changer and am reading the second – Heated Rivalry – right now!
Game Changer is book one in the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid. I’ve been reading this series all out of order. First, I read book two, then skipped to book five. Now I went back to book one. This is Kip and Scott’s book and I loved it so much!!
Scott Hunter is twenty eight years old and plays professional hockey for the New York Admirals. He is team captain, huge and full of muscles, insanely good looking, and secretly gay. He’s known this about himself since he was a teenager. But about the same time he began to realize that hockey was something more to him, a possible career. And that’s just how it turned out. There has never been a gay man come out in the sport of hockey. In fact, their taunts on the ice included plenty of taunts regarding sexuality. So Scott lived his life in complete secrecy. He had no family, only his friends on his team. No one knew, and he was so lonely. To the outside world, he had it all. But behind closed doors, he had nothing.
Scott was in a slump on the ice. Nothing seemed to go right. On this particular morning, while on a morning run, he decided to stop in to a smoothie shop for a smoothie. That’s the morning his life was forever changed.
Kip Grady is twenty five years old and works at Straw + Berry smoothie shop. Did Kip think he’d be twenty five with a college degree in history, working at a smoothie shop and living with his parents? No he did not. But he hasn’t been able to find work in his field and he has a heap of student loans to pay. Kip is also a gay man that lives his life out in the open, with a loving and accepting family and friends. The morning Scott Hunter walked into the shop, all Kip saw was a gorgeous man who stole his ability to speak! It wasn’t until later that he realized who he was. Much to his surprise, Scott showed up again, and then again! And it seems that the blueberry kale smoothies might just be improving Scott’s luck on the ice! Or, maybe it has something to do with Kip?!
This is kind of an insta-lust story. These two were intensely attracted to each other. Neither really had much skill at flirting so they were so cute. And let me tell you that those initial sparks between them turned into fireworks. They…were…HOT!!! Kip just can’t understand what someone like Scott would see in him. And Scott sees Kip as everything that has been missing from his life. The only rule is, that no one can know. Their blooming relationship can be behind the doors of Scott’s penthouse apartment and no where else. For a while, the newness of their relationship and the added thrill of a secret was enough. But as Scott and his team approached the playoffs, and his life got much busier, the isolation became harder to take. Is this a life Kip is willing to live just to be with Scott? Or were they always destined to just be a fling? With no hope for forever?
I loved this book! I love this series! Since I have been reading the series out of order, I did know one thing that was going to happen at the end and I was afraid it would take away from the whole moment for me but it didn’t at all. It was still just as wonderful. And the epilogue was so fantastic. Such a great series. Since I’ve already read book two, Heated Rivalry, Shane and Ilya’s book, next I’ll be reading book three, Tough Guy, Ryan Price’s book. I can’t wait.
This was a cute read! I loved how Kip and Hunter/Scott met. It was sweet and then the story just continued that way. Narration was very good. The story flowed well, and I really enjoyed it. Just a sweet story about an NHL hockey player in the closet who finds love at a smoothie shop!
Really enjoyable mix of hockey and love. Read the series.
3.5 stars
Tough Guy brings us a gentle giant in hockey pads. Ryan Price is the intimidating giant of a man whose job is to beat up the opposition. His job is to fight and win and with his strength and training it isn’t hard. What’s hard is living with himself after!
This sweet, sensitive man is miserable, lonely, and in need of some serious TLC. I would volunteer but Ryan and I bat for the same team. (He isn’t interested in what I have to offer…sigh) A chance meeting with an old friend and former crush has this story hearing up. Friends to lovers…formerly unrequited…take your pick of ways to describe the sweet reunion for these two men.
It seems even the tough guy has a soft spot!
Game Changer It’s predictable in the good kind of way where it’s more interesting to learn the how of it than the what. But. The first half of this book was not good. It was entirely too sappy and Kip and Scott fell in love so fast it was ridiculous. As a reader, I wasn’t the least bit convinced they were actually in love so much as I was convinced that they were in love with the idea of love. Both of them were lonely and more or less wallowing in self-pity when they met. And the next thing they did were to declare their love for each other. Okay. I might be exaggerating a teeny tiny bit, but still. In the first half of the book, you got the sense that Scott got attached to Kip only because he was desperately lonely as a closeted star athlete. While Kip liked Scott so much because he was starstruck and flattered that someone famous would be into him. And I can’t imagine that that’s the feeling Reid was aiming for when she wrote it.
But, I’m glad I persevered and read the whole thing because the second part is really good. This is the part where the problems start cropping up. The first honeymoon phase is behind them and the strain of having to hide the relationship is starting to take it’s toll on Kip. There’s anguish and heartache, miscommunication and misunderstandings. All threatening to destroy what they have. So, I loved this part. There was so much emotion and I was totally engrossed in the story in the end. However, I was hoping for some scorching hot and abandoned fornication but the steamy parts were actually pretty lame. Sure, there were lots and lots of humping going on but quality is more important that quantity, and in my opinion Reid didn’t manage in capturing any sort of mood.
Then there was the extreme over-abundance of I love yous. Game Changer is, without a doubt, the book with the most ILUs I have ever read. And I’ve read plenty. They were all over the place, all the time. Less is more is a saying for a reason. As it were, it felt like each repetitive ILU in there just diluted the meaning of the word. Talk about devaluation.
So all in all, if I had to rate this book on a five star scale, I’d give the first part a weak two and the last part a four which gives an overall of a weak three. The excessive copulation would have been a redeeming element if it had been any good, but to me it felt most like drawn-out acrobatics. Or maybe I’m just picky. Either way. The second half proves that Reid actually knows how to write an engaging story, so despite my overall rating I’m not giving up on her yet. Maybe Heated Rivalry, the sequel to Game Changer, which is another hockey romance, will be better.
For full review: https://reflectionsofaswedishgirl.blog.se/
I do lovey a hockey romance and this one from Rachel Reid clicked all the boxes, go read this one then read Heated Rivalry, both fabulous books.
I loved this story. It was sweet. The guys were fantastic characters. I liked the backstory and totally fell in love with both Scott and Kip. And let me just say there are some FANTASTIC side characters too…I can’t wait for more to this series. YES! This series is definitely on my auto buy list!
I highly recommend it.
Game Changer is well-written and the characters are interesting. I was impressed that even the secondary characters are engaging and often witty and fun. Considering its length, I was surprised that the story is fairly low on angst. However, I finished this one with a middle of the road feeling. I didn’t dislike it, but it didn’t leave a big lasting impression either. With Scott being so closeted, I would’ve expected at least some angst about starting a relationship with Kip, but these guys go from zero to sixty really fast, which leaves a lot of lag time in the story with quite a lot of steamy time. Now, I’ve got nothing against steamy goodness, and these guys can’t keep their hands off each other, but after so much, it becomes repetitive and starts to seem like so much filler. We do finally get some angst as Kip wants more from the relationship, but again, it’s fairly low level and it’s pretty obvious how it will all play out. It is primarily a feel-good read, but I felt like it needed to be tightened up some. A little less time between the sheets and a little more spent on relationship building could’ve made a big difference.
For me, this was an entertaining read for the most part, but there’s really nothing to set it apart from any other book like it. It runs the standard formula of a closeted sports figure meeting Mr Out and Proud. There are no hiccups that we don’t see coming, including the sweet and hopeful conclusion. All in all, it’s a solid story and I’ll be interested to see how this author’s work grows with future books.
I love sports romances especially hockey and I love finding new authors so this book was a win win for me and it did not disappoint it was a great read.
A hockey player hiding in the closet afraid to be the first macho hockey player to announce he is gay but that’s all about to change when he falls for the love of his life, what starts off as a secret affair turns into a true love story when feelings take over. Kip and Scott had an instant attraction but agreed to hide their relationship because of Scott’s career hockey needed to come first but like all secrets they start to take their toll and it’s all comes to a head. Will Scott finally tell his team and the world that he is in love with a man……
This author has given us a beautifully written love story and she delt with all the issues of being a gay sportsman with compassion . This was a love story but it was also a journey for two guys I really connected with, I felt their pain and I felt their love and I can’t wait for more in the Game Changers Series and ore from Rachel Reid. Great job great read.
Scott Hunter is a star hockey player-captain of his team, and gay. But the closeted man is so unhappy. His team is having a good season, but Scott is just tired. His secret is exhausting. One day he stops into a shop for a smoothie. The drink is wonderful, but the man behind the counter is what catches Scott’s eyes! Scott goes onto having a great game! He attributes that to the smoothie he got that afternoon! Athletes are superstitious! Looks like there will be more smoothies in his future-and maybe more sightings of the cute guy behind the counter!
Kip Grady has a degree in history but the jobs just aren’t currently out there. He has been working at a smoothie shop to make ends meet. Things change drastically when celebrity athlete Scott Hunter walks in the door! Kip is gay and proud so he is shocked when Scott gives him hints that he is interested in Kip. He becomes obsessed with Scott, as the hockey player needs his smoothie fix prior to home games! Can he really believe Scott Hunter is interested in plain ole Kip??
Scott and Kip have some seriously hot chemistry. What starts off as a way to blow off steam turns into something neither man really expected. They are explosive! Things are going along wonderfully…until they weren’t. The problems begin when Scott has no intention of letting the world in on his little secret. Kip is happy to be around Scott, but is starting to resent being little more than a toy thing when he is in town. I felt Kip’s frustration. It seemed like Kip was doing all the giving up and Scott just went about his busy normal life. Instead of talking things out though, he bolts. Scott has a lot to work through.
I have to say this was a really great book to dive into. I am a huge hockey fan and this deals with the subject of no known NHL players are publicly gay. The weight of this secret and what it means are paramount. Yes, there is a ton of sex in this one, but I think it lends itself to Scott being so closed off . He just wanted whatever he could have with them once he found someone he could trust in. Scott is scared though. Scared of the reactions to his closest friends and teammates, and eventually the world. Kip understands what’s at stake and I give him a lot of credit for giving Scott a huge buffer. Scott knew what he wanted. He now had to figure out how to eventually get there.
The secondary characters played a major role within this book and they did their jobs just right! We understood them and why they are friends with Kip and Scott. This book had the possibility to gloss over everything and just end everything with a bow. That wasn’t done here! The author took the time to write a real ending-romance and all-to the delight of this reader!! I loved these characters and I knew things just needed to be sorted out in the right time.
Now I am looking forward to reading about a god-like Finn and burly Russian! They seem to have stories that need telling and I want to get my grubby little hands on those!! Very well done debut!