Synopsis:
Nothing interferes with Shane Hollander’s game—definitely not the sexy rival he loves to hate.
Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.
Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.
As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…
Review:
I’ve been putting off writing this review because I genuinely don’t know what to say. I absolutely adored Heated Rivalry. It’s probably up there as one of my favourite reads of 2025 – which I definitely was not expecting. I decided to read the book because the show wasn’t available in the UK yet and the hundreds of clips of it online were making me desperate to watch it. At the time of writing this review the show still isn’t available in the UK, but it should be coming soon (pun intended).
Now I know what you’re (maybe) thinking, “you only loved this book because it has a lot of spicy scenes”. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I loved Heated Rivalry because of the yearning. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know I’m not fussed by spicy scenes – I could take them or leave them. I don’t get offended by them but I also don’t care when a book is a clean romance.
All of that is just to say you could take all of the spice from this book and it would still make me ridiculously happy. Ok, so there isn’t a whole lot of plot going on, but you can say the same for most romance books. The whole point is to see the relationship develop between the main characters. Heated Rivalry is not only rivals to lovers (which I love) but also forbidden romance (kinda), which I also love. The tension surrounding not wanting to get caught but also being so into each other that you take risks is just *chef’s kiss*. What began as lust slowly, across eight years, turned into real feelings.
I could tell from watching clips online that I’d adore Ilya and I wasn’t wrong. I wouldn’t say I loved him straightaway in the book, but he grew on me very quickly. It would be hard to determine who fell first or harder but Ilya was definitely better at announcing his feelings “‘I have been with lots of women. That was not… fake. But…’ He looked at Shane, and Shane held his breath. ‘I have only been in love with one person.’” He tried to kill me with that one. I was literally sat smiling like an idiot at 1am reading this part. I almost never stay up so late to finish a book but that just shows how much I enjoyed Heated Rivalry.
I don’t want to spoil too much for anyone who has read Heated Rivalry or seen the show, but I think we can all agree that the cottage was the best part of the book. My favourite section in particular is:
“Shane seemed very excited about the burgers. He had followed a recipe online. Ilya took a sip of his beer. ‘Why the fuck are you making eight burgers?” he asked. ‘That’s how many the recipe was for!’
‘You can’t do math? Cut it in half?’
‘Leave me alone.’ Instead, Ilya stood directly behind Shane and draped an arm across his chest. He kissed him behind the ear. ‘No’, he murmured.”
Loverboy Ilya really came out at the cottage (pun not intended) and I was living for it. I just know this episode of the show will be the end of me.
This review has been all over the place but that’s what happens when I’m so into a book I can’t put it down to take notes. I’ve started making highlights on my Kindle while I read (late to the party, I know) so I can remember parts I want to talk about without fully interrupting myself. Basically, expect to see me using quotes more often in reviews.
I am planning to read the other books in this series at some point. I currently have Game Changer downloaded and plan to read it sometime during February (which is when this review will be posted).
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