Book Corner Reviews

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…


One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

This book is approximately 66,000 words

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⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

*I received the ARC on NetGalley (ages ago 🙂 )*

I’ve reread Heated Rivalry several times and yet, I have been staring at the empty site trying to figure out how to write at least something resembling a proper review.

I love this book so much. The love-hate relationship between Shane and Ilya, the competitiveness, the jokes… Ilya is just an amazing character (and is also a Russian character not named Mikhail, as so many of them are). He is snarky, sometimes annoying, but inside he’s often just a giant marshmallow that cannot admit that.

Reading about him dealing with his family, their “expectations” and asking for money all the time? Several of his internal monologues just melted my heart and just… I just wanted to hug him for half of the story. Sometimes wrap him in a blanket. And yeah, maybe lightly punch some other times 😀

And Shane is SUCH a contrast to Ilya. The all around goody-two-shoes, the “boring” one. I loved their rivalry so so much and Shane was sometimes so vulnerable. Both when it came to sex and his insecurity for a while, and emotions.

These two guys really needed to be locked in a room, pushed together and told TO TALK ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS because they really really needed that communication. Thank god for the cottage part and Shane’s parents I guess?

I have so so many quotes marked and it was so funny and heart warming and melting and I could just flail about the book for several paragraphs but I just love it so much and I just want more Ilya and Shane because their dynamic is just amazing.

I also loved the fact that while they realised they were in love (and their rivalry made it hard to be public with it), they didn’t come out. Ilya went out in a gay bar with Scott Hunter in previous books, but neither Shane nor Ilya come out publicly with announcements or anything. They just announce their friendship and that’s that.

Also some parts with Shane’s mother were so hilarious but I don’t want to spoil that part (in case anyone hasn’t read the book yet 😀 ) ❤

The book has a great reputation about being awesome and it is totally deserved! ❤