The original version of this newsletter was sent out on Tuesday, February 24.
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Hello, fellow bookworms!
In some exciting news, the Carpinteria Writers Group is once again partnering with the Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center to host the Third Annual Carpinteria Festival of Books! They are issuing a call to authors for those who want to participate at the festival on Sunday, April 12. (Registration deadline is April 3.) All genres and self-published works are welcome!
This week, Richelle Boyd brings the newsletter a much-needed dose of current pop culture. If you’ve been living under a rock, you might be unaware of the popular TV show Heated Rivalry, a sexy, tension-filled show about rival hockey players. If you like your fiction romantic, queer, and full of spice, Richelle’s got you covered. Keep reading for her take on the book series behind the show!
Happy reading!
—Tessa, allbooked@independent.com
In case you missed my TV review about it or the reel I made for the Independent’s social media (@sbindependent on all platforms), I have gained a slight obsession with Heated Rivalry. Like a good portion of the fanbase, I grew up reading what the internet now knows as MLM stories on websites such as Wattpad and Archive of Our Own, so when I found out that my new favorite TV show was based on a book series, I immediately bought the series Game Changers. I cheated the system a bit, as admittedly, I have only read the two books that feature Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, but other book readers and fans of the show suggested reading it this way — and who am I to doubt the whims and wishes of fangirls on the World Wide Web? And I have to forewarn: There are spoilers for Heated Rivalry in this review!
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (2019)
Though it’s the second book in the Game Changers series, Heated Rivalry actually kicks off the gay hockey universe and hauls us readers back to 2008, when main characters Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov first meet. They are both up-and-coming hockey stars, set to be the biggest players in the league and the only ones with enough skill, natural talent, and drive to beat the other. But in their early interactions with each other, something else is undeniable: their attraction to each other. Prepare yourself for a lot of descriptive, steamy gay sex — Shane and Ilya start out hot and ready for each other almost immediately. The love affair is just supposed to be one hookup with a rival because they’re both just that hot, but it’s pretty clear after the first time they get together, they can’t get enough of each other.
The beauty of this book — and, really, this series — is the yearning and longing each character has for the other. Even when Shane and Ilya are miles away from one another, trying to focus on their games and hockey skills, they can’t help but think about the other.
It leads to them planning another late-night hookup, and as the years go on, (that’s right, years) the hookups aren’t so random and they start to get together more frequently, causing feelings to slip into the mix. What author Rachel Reid explores best in this series is the homophobia that surrounds professional sports and athletes; to this day, there are very few openly gay professional athletes in male sports. This is one of the biggest reasons Shane and Ilya fight their relationship so fervently — alongside the fact that they are supposed to hate each other. Another added layer is the danger of the time, not only in the world as a whole (when queer people were not as accepted), but especially for Ilya, who is from Russia and often has to travel back and forth from home, where it was even more dangerous for queer people.
Even with this framework in mind, the relationship between Shane and Ilya continues. For what is considered a “spicy” romance, the novel truly does explore the hardships, depth, and beauty of queer love. You can help but yearn alongside these two as they fight against and eventually try to fight for the love they can have together. Through every challenge and distance added to their plate, Ilya and Share return to each other again and again over the course of a decade. It’s a quiet and beautiful love story between two people who can’t stand to be apart.
The Long Game by Rachel Reid (2022)
Post–Heated Rivalry, Shane and Ilya have finally started their foundation together and are spending the summers together in their Canadian cottage. While the first book explored the challenges of being together and accepting their love, Shane and Ilya face a new uphill battle in The Long Game. Summers are nice, but they aren’t long enough, and the time apart — even though Shane and Ilya are just a few hours apart — is more draining now that the two are in a loving and committed relationship. Don’t worry; this book has the same spice as the first one as far as loving sex between the two men goes, but this book really dives into emotions.
Not only does this book have the same humor and passion between Shane and Ilya that we see in Heated Rivalry, but there is so much added intensity and emotional range in this book. More so than the first book, Reid really does a deep dive into Ilya and the struggles he faces (Trigger warning: depression). Readers learn in the first book that Ilya’s mother passed away after a battle with depression, and in this book, Ilya experiences this as well.
His sections are heart-wrenching and vulnerable, providing a clearer view of the stubborn Russian who is secretly soft. Shane has ups and downs in this book — self-absorbed beyond reproach in this book and adding misunderstandings to situations — but he does love Ilya more than anything, and that shines through. I admittedly tore through both of these books as they are easy reads, and if you’ve got the Heated Rivalry bug like I have, it might inspire you to pick up the rest of the series and fill in your time until season two of the TV show.
If you’re like me and plan to read the entire series, here is how I am reading the rest of the books after this (and what was suggested to me via BookTok): Game Changer (2018), featuring the dreaming Scott and Kip, who shake up the hockey world; Tough Guy (2020), featuring Ryan Price, who makes appearances in Heated Rivalry and The Long Game; Common Goal (2020), featuring Long Game goalie Eric Bennett; and Role Model (2021), which features Long Game social media manager Harris Drover. Though I doubt there is so much overlap in the real world, it’s fun to see the mix of characters grow and develop throughout each book.
—Richelle Boyd
FROM OUR PAGES
We’ve had some great author visits and interviews recently, so don’t miss out. Here is some of our book-related coverage from the last two weeks! Read all this and more at Independent.com.
“Santa Barbara Author Patrice Karst to Release New Book, God Made Easy” by Tiana Molony
“Rod Lathim Speaks His Truth in New Memoir” by Meaghan Clark Tiernan
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS
Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.
Book Talk & Signing: Dale Zurwaski, The Travel Bitch: Bouncing Across the Globe on a Bipolar High
Thursday, February 26, 6 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books
Godmothers Gather: Faith Freed, DIY Spirituality: Chart Your Own Sacred Path
Thursday, February 26, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Godmothers Grow: The Storytellers Club
Friday, February 27, 4 p.m. | Godmothers
Storytime at the Sea Center
Saturday, February 28, 10:30 a.m. | S.B. Museum of Natural History Sea Center
Godmothers Gather: Father Greg Boyle & Tom Vozzo
Saturday, February 28, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Chaucer’s Storytime: Taran Collis, Dinosaurs Do Yoga Too
Sunday, March 1, 3 p.m | Chaucer’s Books
Godmothers Gather: Oliver James, Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) to Read on TikTok
Sunday, March 1, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Compline with Story and Sound
Sunday, March 1, 7 p.m | Trinity Episcopal Church
Fiction Book Club: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Tuesday, March 3, 5:30 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Social Justice Book Club
Wednesday, March 4, 5:30 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Book Talk & Signing: Kathleen Lockyer, Wild Inside: How Nature Protects Your Child’s Mental Health and Restores Yours
Wednesday, March 4, 6 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books
Godmothers Gather: Patrice Karst, God Made Easy
Thursday, March 5, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Sánta Barbara Mission Archive-Library Open House
Saturday, March 7, 9:30 a.m. | Sánta Barbara Mission Archive-Library
Storytime at the Sea Center
Sunday, March 7, 10:30 a.m. | S.B. Museum of Natural History Sea Center
UCSB Reads Book Discussion: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Parallel Stories: Maggie Nelson: “The Slicks: On Sylvia Plath and Taylor Swift”
Sunday, March 8, 2:30 p.m. | S.B. Museum of Art
SBMM Book Club
Monday, March 9, 10 a.m. | S.B. Maritime Museum
S.B. SPOTLIGHT
We at the Independent get many books sent to us by area authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that are either written by a Santa Barbara author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!
The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us.
Single at Heart: The Power, Freedom, and Heart-Filling Joy of Single Life by Bella DePaulo, PhD
If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “S.B. Spotlight.”
Book Reviews Courtesy of CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS*
Thanks to the generous contributions of David Starkey, Brian Tanguay and their team of reviewers at California Review of Books, we are able to provide a steady stream of book reviews via our content partnership. Recent reviews at Independent.com include:
Railsong: A Novel by Rahul Bhattacharya; review by Brian Tanguay
*At the present time, all of the Independent’s book reviews are provided in collaboration with California Review of Books (calirb.com).
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