Common Goal: A Gay Sports Romance (Game Changers Book 4)

Finally a happy ending for Kyle
What a cute read with LOTS of sexual tension and spicy scenes. I absolutely adored Kyle in book one, and was high key sad for him when he was (understandably, agreeably) shut down by Kip. Getting to see him find love was EVERYTHING. He’s such a fun, witty, hilarious character. Between Kyle’s smart mouth and the few sprinkled-in Ilya cameos, there were SEVERAL moments in this book that had me full on belly laughing. [spoilers below]Eric was interesting; I never would have suspected he would be a main character option, but it was endearing reading about his struggles with aging, divorce, and retiring. Refreshing, even, considering many Adult romance novels don’t choose main characters who are in that stage of life.There are a few reasons why this isn’t my one of favorite books in all the Game Changers series. I started to get frustrated by Eric’s determination that the age difference was too large of a roadblock, but his sudden change of heart right at the end was a bit of a whiplash. I would’ve preferred if his conflict hadn’t lasted as long but instead we got to see him work through that insecurity in a slower, more believable way. The way it happened made it feel a bit like a rushed which had me worried for Kyle. Kyle deserved a much bigger apology, IMO.In a matchup like Eric and Kyle, most people would pin Eric as the top since he’s taller, older, and more muscular, but in this book, Kyle took on a more dominant role and it was refreshing to see those stereotypes challenged. I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get to see Kyle actually fully top Eric. I absolutely LOVED that Kyle was the figurative top in that he was the one in control and calling the shots, but it would’ve been interesting to see Eric explore his feelings on being fully topped by a man.So yeah, there were a few things I would’ve changed, but I really enjoyed the read!

five stars!
This is one of the best of a wonderful series. Yes of course Shane and Ilya are in a league of their own, but I think Common Goal is underrated. It’s going on my “worthy of a reread” shelf, the highest compliment I can give a book. It was funny and sweet and charming, with the perfect amount of spice. I highly recommend!

I absolutely love any books by Rachel Reid.Common Goal is definitely in my top 3.I love both characters so much.I’m glad this book exploded the whole toxic environment of the hockey league in more details.

First I apologize for any english mistake I might make and ask for your tolerance as it is not my language. I’m afraid I don’t share everyone’s enthusiasm here. Rachel Reid is definitely a great writer but that book seemed to me like a remake version of Heated Rivalry. Yes the characters are different and so is their relationship but the pattern is exactly the same : sex with no strings attached. And an “impossible love”. It’s the same “I’m in love but I can’t admit to you or acknowledge it myself” / “I want it but it’s impossible”/ “pattern. It felt real with Ilya and Shane, especially since they kind of fall for each other almost immediately and the story is stretched over years but the drama here over the age gap here does not work too well. And the characters are much more smooth and predictable. There is no doubt where the story is going. And seriously some of the lines and phrases seemed to have been transposed from one book to the other. They use exactly the same words and expressions, even their train of thoughts is also almost exactly the same, it really bothered me. Another thing that bothered me was that the story has a very slow to start and is totally rushed at the end. Now, the sex scenes did not appeal to me, as I’m not a fan of bondage and dominant/submissive sex, but that’s just personal, I understand why the author wanted to go there, at least that was something different and unique to this book. I might also like to mention that not all gay people call each other “baby”or “sweetheart” and love art and meet in gay bars. I was glad Heated Rivalry abstained from that. However I liked the depth of the characters and their personal stories, both of them had an endearing side. It was also nice reading from Scott and Kip, I wasn’t a great fan of their story but I like them both in this book. I think they were exactly at their place like every other secondary character. I’m also glad that Shane and especially Ilya remained true to themselves in this book. I’ll probably read Rachel’s next book but I really hope that the characters will not become sterotypes of themselves and that their relationship will not be turned into a farce. Please don’t let Shane and Ilya become this annoying couple we all know that keeps arguing in public and reconcile in bed (as was suggested at the end of tough guy). I think the challenge to continue their story will be extremely difficult, keep the intensity without falling into a caricature.

Ein erneut sehr gelungenes Buch von dieser Autorin mit vielen Charakteren aus den anderen Büchern. Es war sehr unterhaltsam und kurzweilig . Gerne immer mehr davon .