I picked this out because of the recent hype around the Heated Rivalry show that is all the rage. This is the first book in that series.  I feel like I have to give a serious smut warning because the book is essentially a series of explicit sex scene interspersed with an incredibly sweet plot line.  Both main characters are just adorable and the supporting characters, also adorable. Set at the confluence of the homophobic world of professional hockey and the casual acceptance of gay culture in NYC, this was just a lot of fun to read. Light, heartwarming, full of kindness and hot sex, it has to get a recommend.

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Recommend.  

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This is the book that inspired the ultra-popular tv series, which I have now seen as well and I have to say the hype is justified.  A couple separate and apart from Game Changer, the tension in this book and the evolution of the relationship over time made for a total page-turner. I really enjoyed this story of rival professional hockey players hooking up and then getting hooked on each other in a world in which a future seems impossible to even imagine.  

Highly recommend.

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The rest of this series is a bit of hit or miss, but the series as a whole is definitely highly recommended.

Tough Guy builds on tangential characters from the earlier book and addresses mental health and sexual dysfunction in a compassionate and interesting way.  Ryan's struggle with his enforcer role plays out with a lot of compassion here. 

Recommend.

I think Common Goal is the weakest of the storylines.  As with Tough Guy, we see previously tangential characters expanded with their own story.  I just didn't find the relationship tension here to be as compelling as the other stories.

Not not recommended.

Role Model returns to what this series does best in terms of exploring the toxic masculinity and rigid heteronormality in professional sports like men's hockey. Here, that is specifically in the context of sexual assault and the consequences for stepping out of the box to support survivors.  The romance is fun and flirty and having Ilya and Shane's story continuing to unfold in the background is an added draw.

Highly recommend.

The direct sequel to Heated Rivalry, The Long Game continues Ilya and Shane's romance as they navigate the complexity of their situation. I love the tensions that build and resolve and the evolution of Ilya's character to where he is all in is such a heartwarming story arc.  This storyline is definitely the backbone of the series and I couldn't stop reading.  I can't wait for the next instalment, Unrivaled, to come out in June 2027!

​Highly recommend. 

The premise of the book was interesting enough, but the execution was kind of dark and broody.  A golem and a jinni find each other living parallel lives from Syria to New York, navigating a life of otherness, interspersed with kindness from strangers they befriend and lovers they become entangled with in various ways. I did appreciate the historical depiction at the end of the 1800's in those locations.  Overarching themes of loneliness and trying to connect when your very nature seems to disallow for connection make this a melancholic,  intellectual read. In some ways, the ways in which the golem, in particular, avoided abuse of lovely people who protected her and her secret was heartwarming, but the overall mood of the book left a sad haze over me that I couldn't shake and didn't love. But I for sure can see how folks who love this type of fantasy could love this tale.

Not recommended.

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Often when a book gets this much hype, I find it doesn't live up, but Reid came through again and I loved this book.  I was completely sucked in, stayed up much to late to finish it. In fact, 4 minutes from the end, which was a thrilling ending, my phone ran out of battery and I was left in wicked suspense while I recharged it in the middle of the night to find out what happened. 

This book is like The Hidden Figures meets Erich Segal's Love Story meets Lessons in Chemistry. The backdrop of working at NASA in the 1980's sets the stage for a relatively nuanced portrayal of the many ways that women adjusted to make their way in that workforce.  I loved the character development, the love story, the family relationships, and the way in which the plot unfolded with flashbacks. I often do not like when a book starts with a harrowing scene and then leaves you hanging while it backs up to fill in what is happening, but this book used that structure better than almost any book I can remember and it kept me engaged, not just in the that scene unfolding, but in the back stories as well. I can definitely see why so many people thought this was their favorite book of 2025 and, for once, I am going to join the crowd on this one.  

What a great start to my reading year!

​Recommend.

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1.  Atmosphere 
2. The Golem & the Jinni 
3. Everything is Tuberculosis 
4. Wild Dark Shore 
5. When I Was the Greatest 
6. The Girl Who Fell From The Sky
7. Theo of Golden
8. A Woman of No Importance 
9. Margo's Got Money Troubles
10. Romantic Comedy 
11. The Reformatory 
12. The River is Waiting  
13. The Berry Pickers 
14. A Fever In The Heartland 
15. Great Big Beautiful Life
16. Why We Sleep 
17. Everything is a Story 
18. September House  
19. I Who Have Never Known Men 
20. The Correspondent 
21. Seeking Fortune Elsewhere
22. Bright Young Women 
23. The Oligarch's Daughter
24. Forgiveness
25. Best Offer Wins 
26. The Turnglass
27. The True True Story
28. The Guncle 
29. All the Pretty Horses 
30. Cowboy Apocalypse
31. Hoover: An Extraordinary Life
32. Growing Papaya Trees
33. Like a Mother 
34. This is How It Always Is 
35. The Stationary Shop​
36. A Psalm for the Wild Built 
37. The Bear 
38. All You Could Ever Know
39. Between the Mountain and the Sky
40. Water Moon 
41. Weyward 
42. The Glass Castle 
43. Tilt 
44. My Friends
45. I'll Have What He Is Having
46. The Woman in Suite 11
47. The Book of Love
48. 100 Years of Lenny and Margot
49. The Quiet Librarian
50. Body Work

Extras
X1. Game Changer
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