Rachel Reid

They have nothing in common—so why does Ryan feel most like himself whenever he’s with Fabian? Pro hockey star Ryan Price may be an enforcer, but off the ice he struggles with anxiety. Recently traded to the Toronto Guardians, he’s determined to make a fresh start in the city’s dynamic LGBTQ Village. The last thing he expects to stumble upon in his new neighborhood is a blast from his past in the fabulous form of Fabian Salah. Aspiring musician Fabian loathes hockey. But that doesn’t stop him from being attracted to a certain burly, ginger-bearded defenseman. He hasn’t forgotten the kiss they almost shared back in high school, and it’s clear the chemistry between them has only intensified. Fabian is more than happy to be Ryan’s guide to the gay scene in Toronto. Between dance clubs and art exhibits—and the most amazing sex—Ryan’s starting to feel something he hasn’t experienced in a long time: joy. But playing the role of the heavy on the ice has taken its toll on his body and mind, and a future with Fabian may mean hanging up his skates for good.

Tough Guy

aleksandra

3/5

Despite the rating, I was pretty excited to read the story about Ryan and Fabian. It has a lot of tropes I love, opposite attracts, gentle quiet giant/extroverted confident musician and second chance, but only when there is a good reason behind it. I really wish I could give it 4 stars or more, but I end up not being as connected to the story as I thought I would be. 

Ryan and Fabian’s relationship was really cute and real. They had known each other from the past when they were teenagers and their feelings, even in all the time that had passed, never really burned out. 


  
    "And what kind of guys are you into?” You. Exactly you. “Um.”
Ryan could not believe he was trying to
describe his perfect man to his perfect man."
  


I’m rarely say something about the smut, but here I have to say something about it. I mean, I know that not everyone will think this way, but I actually love the smutty scenes, they were finally realistic. They communicate in them and not everything always went how it supposed to, which I love, because sex is about experimenting and trying new things, even if they don't always worked out. The 'break up' at the end was unnecessary, but it was resolved fast, which I was thankful for.


  
    “I had this overwhelming feeling of relief. Like this was what I’d been waiting for. This was what was missing. You.” 

“That’s how I felt,” he said quietly. “Like I’d finally found you. I didn’t know I’d been looking but...I found you.”
  


Fabian’s friends, and especially Vanessa were one of the reasons why I like the book. I can only wish to have this type of friendship. 

This series is honestly amazing, not every book, but most of them even though I had only read 3 of them. I love how Rachel Reid made a series about hockey, but somehow manage to make every book different and unique in its own way.

Sheena

A meh read and it wasn't intriguing enough to really draw me in. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad because I was initially pulled towards this because of the unique bland of main characters: an out and in the open gay sports athlete and an androgyny musician. It was just a bland mix of nothing and I'm skipping out from reading the rest of the novel. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

First reviewed at The Queer Bookish.

The Queer’s Review

I will go down with this series.

Seriously, I love it so much it’s ridiculous. And every time I read one of its books for the first time, I think it possibly can’t be better than the one before – and then it somehow ends up being exactly that.

At least my favourite character from Game Changers hasn’t changed (yet?). And even better he even has a guest appearance! But you’re probably not that interested in this little tidbit so I’ll stay quiet about him for now and start gushing about Ryan.

Because seriously… This huge-rough-on-the-outside-but-so-very-gentle-on-the-inside-red-teddy-bear has taken my reader’s heart within a few sentences.

I really don’t want him to suffer but I enjoy his anxiety so much because how often is anxiety portrayed realistically? I don’t wanna know how many times I’ve rambled to some “victim” about how anxiety isn’t some cutesey little character trait for fuck’s sake!

Also, how often is a seen by society as a manly man™ guy allowed to be anxious? And not only that but struggle with getting off (I use “struggle” because he tries again and again on his own so it seems to be something he would really like to achieve instead of not caring about it at all).

And his body issues. There is just so much to love about Ryan aside from his character – because he is in no way a manly man™ guy even though he appears that way to outsiders.

There is so much romance and talking between happening between Ryan and Fabian that I really enjoyed being able to come with them on their journey to finally fall in love with each other. Again in a way.

Bookish Thoughts

I just know that I will come with them again very soon because while I will yell again and again about how important Ryan’s portrayal is to me, I had so much fun reading Tough Guy.

Smirking while using public transportation and not caring manly man™ guy about it fun. And my favourite has a small part, too!

Disclaimer
I received a free copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

Sahi K

Definitely more of a 3.5.

Heated Rivalry was one of my favorite romances of 2019 and I loved it so much that I read it more than once :) So, when I found that there was going to be another book in the series, I was very very excited and so glad when I received the ARC.

The author’s writing style is very easy to read and once I start, I just don’t wanna put it down despite whatever I’m feeling. Because I thought Game Changer was an okay read but Heated Rivalry was excellent, I didn’t exactly know what to expect from this book, but this turned out to be a good one too. There were quite a few moments which were heartbreaking and touching and made me very emotional - there may have been tears involved. I also thought the author did a good job of representing the difficulty of being a professional sportsperson while also suffering from mental health issues - the stigma attached to it, undue pressure to conform to certain masculine stereotypes which don’t include talking about mental health, playing through pain and maybe even getting addicted to the pain medication - I truly didn’t expect so much commentary on such important issues from a romance novel and I think that’s great.

We only met Ryan very briefly in Heated Rivalry, so I wasn’t sure if I would like him as a main character, but I almost fell in love with him instantly. He is an enforcer on the ice, a big intimidating presence but in reality, he hates flying, has severe anxiety and panic attacks, is in therapy and is very very awkward and shy. He is such a sweetheart and even though I’m probably a foot and a half shorter than him, I wanted to give him a hug and protect him. It was heartbreaking to see him struggle with not finding anymore joy in his sport, and also unable to talk about his feelings and issues, but still try very hard to overcome them all. He deserves the world.

I can’t say I liked Fabian a lot. I initially loved that he was very considerate towards Ryan and his shy nature, slowly trying to get him out of his shell. But as the book gradually went on, I just couldn’t get past his hatred of hockey and not trying to understand Ryan’s perspective at all. I understand he had baggage of his own from his unsupportive parents, but I thought it was unfair to judge Ryan because of that. While there were so many beautiful moments between them, Fabian’s insensitive behavior really made me forget about them. Thankfully, the conflict between them was predictable and was resolved nicely, but it went on longer than I liked.

I really liked the friend group in this book. Fabian’s three best friends are a delight, always teasing and being over the top but also giving solid advice even when he wasn’t ready to listen to them. Ryan on the other hand has never had friends because of constantly being traded, so it was heartwarming to see him make a close friend on the team in Wyatt. He was such an understanding and caring friend and I absolutely loved their conversations, and the time they spent teaching hockey to kids. And last but not the least, I was so happy to see the extremely short cameos of Ilya and Shane. It’s such a nice feeling to see them be happy and do good with their foundation. 

To conclude, this was a nice romantic read but also a bit darker in tone and definitely more angsty. But just keep in mind that it’s very different from the previous books in the series. It’s also great to see some good mental health rep and discourse in a sports romance. If you like reading love stories where the hero is a gentle giant, this one is perfect. While I didn’t always like the love interest, Ryan was an absolutely wonderful MC and I would totally recommend this book just to get to know him better. And I have no clue if the author has started writing the next book, but I know it’s rest of Ilya and Shane’s story and I’m already extremely excited for it.

Tough Guy

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