Review: Game Changer by Rachel Reid

University graduate Kip Grady is stuck in a go nowhere job making smoothies. Underemployed and living with his parents, his prospects are looking grim. He is having no luck finding a job he is degree qualified for, further study is too expensive and most of his friends have moved on to bigger and better things. But he can make a good smoothie ... which is fortunate as professional ice hockey player Scott Hunter's pregame ritual involves buying a smoothie from Kip. Scott's life is all about ice hockey, and he has no family and no friends outside of his team. Then something unexpected happens when Kip and Scott get to know each other. Not only does each have something the other is searching for, but the attraction between them is undeniable. 

The first book in a series that has recently been developed into the phenomenally successful Heated Rivalry television series, Game Changer is an enjoyable story of an unlikely romance that changes both Kip and Scott's lives for the better. The themes of what it means for a professional sportsperson to come out on their own terms makes for interesting reading. There are some scenes which are, to put it mildly, scorching. My only real complaint is that the author does not allow enough time for the attraction and tension between the two characters to build, nor is the reader left to wonder when and how something might happen--instead things move to the bedroom by page 51. I've found recently that a lot of romance novels are swapping scenes filled with romantic tension for explicit ones. Truthfully, I think this stops the novel and writing from reaching its fullest potential, and stifles the creativity of the author. That said, Kip and Scott were a fun pair to read about and it is a story of a romance that changes both of their lives for the better.

Recommended. 

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