Game Changer

(by Rachel Reid)

I haven’t watched the Heated Rivalry show at all, but I was looking for a fun February read and this definitely delivered. At the start of the book we meet Kip, who’s working at a juice bar making smoothies (though he’d rather be doing something that actually uses his history degree). One day a super-hot guy orders a smoothie and leaves a big tip: it’s Scott Hunter, a star hockey player, though Kip doesn’t realize that at first. Stopping by for a smoothie quickly becomes part of Scott’s pre-game routine, but hm, maybe the smoothies aren’t the only reason he keeps coming back. A whirlwind romance between Scott and Kip ensues, but it’s complicated by the fact that Scott is closeted, and Kip doesn’t know how long he can tolerate being someone’s secret boyfriend. Oh, and Scott’s team is in the playoffs, which means there’s extra pressure and potentially a lot of extra publicity. Scott is on the road a bunch, but he’s still in the city enough for the book to have lots of spicy bedroom scenes, and the times when he’s away are an opportunity for Kip to school him on how to have a good time with someone when you’re not in the same place. I don’t know if I will watch the show or not—it might depend on how I feel about the next book— but this was such a fun introduction to the series.