Loving Literatures

In the fourth book of the Game Changers series, Common Goal focuses on part-time Kingfisher bartender and part-time graduate student, Kyle, and full-time New York Admirals NHL player, Eric. Kyle finds himself needing a distraction from being infatuated with his recently engaged best friend, Kip, and Eric needs some push to pursue other relationship experiences as a recent divorcee and soon-to-be retired hockey player, in desperate need for other hobbies. Kyle volunteers to be Eric’s wingman, showing Eric how to establish a proper relationship with a man (experimenting with romantic gestures/intimacy), a world Eric is entirely new to. Is it possible to be a wingman with no feelings attached? I’m sure Kyle thought that at first, but it didn’t end up that way…

Despite the age gap between the two being “scandalous” or “bothersome” to people, I hadn’t imagined it that way — maybe it was just my way of reading the book, but I didn’t see them as a red flag, as they were both full-grown men, much like each other in maturity and ways of living. I genuinely thought they were close in age until the age gap was mentioned; and it still didn’t change the way I read the book.

This book took me a long time to finish. It wasn’t because it was a long book, particularly, pretty normal book length for Reid, but the momentum was slow. I understand that a lot of people like the slow burn, but it was SLOW; it took twenty chapters for both men to realize they were in love with the other, and both characters struggle to display their feelings, but it took a long time to build the courage to admit even the smallest feelings. And a chapter following for them to fight, then another chapter to forgive each other, and then THE END (*sorry, kind of spoilers?*) The pacing was incredibly off; I had to put the book down for a week or two before finishing it this morning. The ending felt rushed, suddenly they talk about traveling the world, travel abroad, and then the book ended.

It was nice to read the epilogue being Scott and Kip’s wedding, but it all felt so fast/rushed. Was there a drafting and publishing deadline on Reid’s part that came sooner than anticipated?

**I appreciated the little sprinkles of Hollanov in this book — tehehe, it makes me excited to continue the series before the second season of Heated Rivalry comes out.

Of the books I have read so far from this series, this one is probably my least favorite, but there were still moments of enjoyment, especially the little domestic moments before they realized they couldn’t live without each other.