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Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series of hockey romances continues with Common Goal, the fourth book in the set and easily one of the best. It’s a gorgeous May/December romance between a silver-fox goalie close to retirement, and a bartender sixteen years his junior; it’s tender, funny, emotional and hot as hell – and don’t be surprised if it makes an appearance on my Best of 2020 list. I loved it.
New York Admirals Goalkeeper Eric Bennett is approaching his forty-first birthday and has reached the decision that this season will be his last. He’s in good shape and still playing well, but the career of a professional athlete is tough on the body and Eric wants to quit while he’s ahead and walk away while he can still walk! The trouble is that he doesn’t have much of an idea as to where he wants to go from here, and in addition to that, he’s struggling with being newly single following his divorce a year earlier from his wife of sixteen years, and with his sexual identity. He’s always known he’s attracted to men as well as women but had chosen to ignore that side of himself; he’d been happily married and had no reason to think about it. But now, with high-profile players like team captain Scott Hunter (Game Changer) openly out and proud and about to marry his fiancé, and other athletes being open about their sexuality, Eric is re-examining his choices. Facing a huge life change in terms of his career – and a lonely retirement – maybe it’s time to make another change and finally start to live as his truest self. But he’s been out of the dating game for such a long time, he isn’t sure how to go about dating anyone, let alone dating a man for the first time.
Grad student Kyle Swift is twenty-five and works as a bartender at The Kingfisher, a local gay bar that has grown in popularity since Scott Hunter started frequenting it. Kyle came to New York following an experience with an older, married man that left him badly burned and continues to haunt him, even seven years later. After that, he vowed to steer clear of older men, but they do it for him in a way most younger men don’t – and although he’s noticed Eric the few times he’s been into the bar with Scott, Kyle reminds himself that while Eric is exactly his type, he’s also exactly the type of man he shouldn’t allow himself to fall for any more.
On the night of Scott and Kip’s engagement party, Kyle’s resolve is tested when Eric actually initiates a conversation with him. The older man’s confidence is hard to resist, especially when it seems as though Eric might actually be flirting with him, and they chat for a while, discovering a mutual love of art and books and travel. By the end of the evening, Kyle is cursing a universe that has thrown this gorgeous, perfect and completely off limits man into his path, and Eric is wondering just how much of a mid-life crisis stereotype he’s become by even contemplating dating a man so much younger than he is.
What follows is a sexy, slow-burn romance (with an emphasis on the ‘burn’ because – phew! *fans self*) which starts out as Kyle offering to teach Eric a few things in a safe, non-judgmental way about the world of dating (and having “sexy times” with) men, but which ends up becoming so much more than ‘just’ a physical relationship. In fact, it’s clear to the reader very early on that there’s no ‘just’ about it when it comes to these two; they’re a perfect match on every level – intellectually and physically – but although they’re generally honest with each other, they’re both struggling with baggage and preconceptions that make it difficult for them to open up about how they really feel.
Both characters are genuine, good people who are extremely likeable and very well-drawn, and the chemistry between them is electric. Eric is – it seems to me – a pretty atypical sportsman hero; he’s got a degree in English from Harvard, he’s a connoisseur of fine art, and he’s well-travelled; I liked that he was so keen to fully embrace his bisexuality and really appreciated his quietly introspective manner and self-awareness. He knows that what he’s really looking for is companionship and someone to share his life with; not that the hot sex he’s having with Kyle isn’t all sorts of amazing, but Eric has never been one for casual sex. He wants more than that, but is concerned that his being so much older than Kyle is somehow unfair to him, thinking that Kyle really should be with someone closer to his own age. He’s also worried on his own account – a recent divorcé dating a pretty young thing is going to make him look like the worst kind of dirty old man.
The age-gap isn’t so much of an issue for Kyle; he has a history of falling for the wrong men, usually older men who only see him as a fun time, and part of him thinks he’s not good enough for a sophisticated, cultured man like Eric. His outgoing nature is the perfect counterpoint to Eric’s more cautious one, and the author does a great job of developing their relationship out of the bedroom – where they clearly have a lot in common and enjoy each other’s company as equals – as well as in it – where Kyle takes the lead and Eric is only too happy to let him. But Kyle’s doubts are as difficult to overcome as Eric’s, and unless one of them can find the courage to risk laying his heart on the line, they might end up missing out on the best thing ever to happen to either of them.
If I have a complaint about Common Goal, it’s that perhaps the age-gap hand-wringing goes on a little too long, and the lack of communication that piled up was frustrating, but in the end, they were only minor irritants. Reader favourites Ilya and Shane make cameo appearances – mostly Ilya who, of course, steals pretty much every scene he’s in, with his wicked sense of humour and arseholic-but-impossible-to-dislike personality – and we also get to see Scott and Kip finally tie the knot. Rachel Reid’s writing is accomplished and direct, the dialogue is sharp, and the sex scenes, besides being superbly written, are integral to the character and relationship development rather than being there for the sake of it. If you’re following the Game Changers series then you definitely won’t want to miss Common Goal; it’s warm and tender and charming (and, did I mention hella sexy?) and I finished it with a happy sigh and a fond smile on my face. Definitely one for the DIK shelf.
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Grade: A-
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 26/09/20
Publication Date: 09/2020
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Related Reviews
Just finished Common Goal. First, let me take a moment to appreciate Caz’s well-written review. (Example of excellent summarization: paragraphs 2 and 3 of the review.)
I wavered between a B and a B-. If I ignore the author’s cheap SJW shot at the police, it’s a B.
WHAT I LIKED
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
But perhaps in Nova Scotia, the police are different and actually help no one.
Maybe Canadian police *are* bad, I don’t know.
It’s SO good.
Reid is always reliable for wonderful hockey romances, glad this is just as good as the others I’ve tried by her!
I’m going to voice a teeny bit of dissent to this discussion. First, though, my thanks to AAR and its readers for introducing me to this wonderful series! I was eagerly awaiting Common Goal and stayed up late reading it on release day. I knew AAR would review the book and I have been waiting to see what everyone thought!
My favorite part of the book was the characters, especially Kyle who I already liked from his appearance in Game Changer. I liked that Eric and Kyle were shown to be a good match due to common interests. I think Kyle was a very mature 25 year old. I would agree that the sensuality rating veered towards hot rather than warm. I am relatively new in reading male-male romances and it was interesting to me to see this take of the experienced main character initiating the virgin trope.
There were a few things I didn’t like as well as the previous books in the series. One was that there was more time spent on the growth of their physical relationship as opposed to scenes of the characters interacting outside of the bedroom. Another was that the angst about their age gap went on a little too long. Then, after this was resolved, I felt there was too little time shown where the characters were in a relationship. I mean, I understand that the whole book is about the development of their relationship but I like to see scenes after the characters commit to being in a relationship, including how there is more emotional connection during lovemaking. In Common Ground, it was only in the epilogue that we saw Eric and Kyle as a couple and that epilogue had another focus in that it showed Scott and Kip’s wedding. I think Heated Rivalry is so far the best of this series and what I really liked about that book is Part 4 where Shane and Ilya are at Shane’s house and the emotional part of their relationship is portrayed. I would have liked to see that in Common Ground as I loved these characters. I guess what I wanted to see was more of their romance but maybe this is just me. Did anyone else feel this way?
My personal mark of a really good book or movie is when I wake up the next morning, am I still thinking about it? I did still think about this book! I would give it a B+ and Rachel Reid will still be an auto-buy for me. I’m looking forward to Shane and Ilya’s part 2 book eagerly!
…there was more time spent on the growth of their physical relationship as opposed to scenes of the characters interacting outside of the bedroom
But really good sex scenes – and these are really good – also advance the development of the relationship, and I didn’t feel the book was at all lacking on that score. And because the relationship was so well developed, I was happy with the way it played out. Another favourite of mine this year – Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material – that really DID end a bit abruptly and could have used another chapter. I didn’t feel that way after finishing this one.
Hi Caz, I completely agree that sex scenes can show the development of the relationship. It is a romance novel cliche where books with multiple sex scenes show a more emotional connection developing until it is “making love” rather than just having sex. But it’s a cliche I like! I think Lily Morton does this particularly well. It’s just that I didn’t feel this is what was portrayed in Common Ground. Eric and Kyle didn’t reveal deeper feelings and commit to each other until the very last chapter and there was no making love sex scene. The epilogue was nice but it was more the characters alluding to the time they had spent together in the previous 6 months rather than the reader being shown these scenes. Don’t get me wrong – I did really like this book. I just wanted a little more!
And I do agree with you about Boyfriend Material – that is a book in desperate need of another chapter or an epilogue!
Finished Common Goal this week and I really liked it. But I have to quibble with the score: Heated Rivalry is the better book, IMHO.
Reid convinced me that Kyle and Eric are perfect for one another in Common Goal. They will have a great life together. Eric is a fully mature character (in all the best ways and it is lovely to read). He has professional success, money, family support, etc. And he’s clearly a wonderful, thoughtful guy who is going to give Kyle every opportunity to fulfill his potential – which makes for a wonderful HEA.
Heated Rivalry stands out for me because the two MCs are such fierce competitors and equals, and the sparks just fly along their particular relationship path because of it.
I know scoring is subjective and I’m splitting hairs here (B+ vs A-). The series is as a whole is a fun read. It just feels important to put it on the record that – at least for me – HR is the better book. :-)
I love Heated Rivalry – don’t get me wrong. I just couldn’t buy that Shane & Ilya were able to keep things a secret for SEVEN YEARS!! Everything else about it works, and with hindsight, perhaps I should have given it an A- instead of a B+ (I do recall that I dithered as to which to give!) If Dabney wants to upgrade HR to an A-, I certainly won’t argue.
I have to say I’m really enjoying how Reid shuffles the timeline over the course of/within each book. Common Goal clearly takes place during those seven years. I need to go back and reread Heated Rivalry to see if Reid left us any breadcrumbs about the later books/characters.
I don’t think there’s much overlap. Scott Hunter winning the Stanley Cup and coming out happened at the end of HR. The epilogue is then 16 months later. Common Goal starts about two years after Scott and Kip began dating during that Stanley Cup season.
I think that HR is way better than the others in the series and I’m interested that the successful secrecy troubled you. I actually thought it was a relief because in two other m/m hockey books I read, the couple was forced out during a health crisis, in one case a game injury. I thought that’s where things were headed when Shane was injured in front of Ilya, and I like that she didn’t take that route. I think if people can’t imagine something they don’t see it, and I was happy to get away from cliches of a couple being found out or even an unplanned reveal like in GC.
Do you think Reid’s upcoming Shane/Ilya book The Long Game will be about Shane having to retire due to having sustained a head injury that never 100% healed, or out of fear of further head injury? I thought so, as soon as I read HR and then found out that book #6 is again about Shane/Ilya.
We’ve been told that it would be complicated for their careers if the couple revealed that they were together. An early retirement of one of them, due to health concerns, would resolve the problem pretty handily, I think.
Brain injury in pro athletes (especially among boxers and American-football players) has been a topic of interest in recent years. So while it may not be the subject of The Long Game, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be.
I’m thinking it might be down – at least in part – to the fall out from “the plane incident” in Role Model – it brought home to Ilya that life’s too short and he doesn’t want to keep their lives on hold any longer.
Oh, I had forgotten about that! Yes, that was a wake-up call for Ilya.
You are not alone on this Manjari! I have not yet read this particular title (although it’s on by TBR), but in general, I find that I prefer titles/authors/series that find a way include at least some of the lovely messiness of coupledom. If the age difference is such a big thing in keeping this couple apart, why not explore what will have to be at least *some* bumps in the road as these guys go on? They can’t completely share *every* interest. There’s a (cultural) generation between these characters . . . how will these two experience them, and what, if anything will they do about them? I’m not looking for, or expecting, couple-destroying differences. But there is plenty of fodder there for continued character development and plot. And BTW – the Thomas Elkin series by N.R. Walker does a great job of exactly this (May-December romance) although it takes three different books to do so.
I think that’s why HEATED RIVALRY is the best book in the Game Changer series: it covers ten years in the relationship between two hockey players and you see the entire decade’s worth of emotional growth in their lives (both together and separately). There’s plenty of sex in HEATED RIVALRY but each scene reveals a new element in the relationship between Shane & Ilya.
I think it’s that structure that gives Heated Rivalry its impact and makes it so special.
I am not a sports fan, but your review is definitely pushing me toward adding this one to the never-ending TBR list.
And Caz, you have awarded a “hot” rating? Be still my heart! The sexy times must be dynamite!
Also, I’d just like to add that I am pleasantly surprised bisexual romances are starting to become a “thing.” And I’m pleased to see it working in both directions. In Common Goal, we have a divorcee who was married to a woman and is now in a relationship with a man. And in the Harlequin title In Service of Love, we have a man widowed by the death of his husband who is now in a relationship with a woman. Too often, bisexuality is regarded as a form of indecisiveness or an excuse to hide behind something more comfortable than homosexuality. You know, as though there aren’t any people out there who enjoy relations with members of both sexes. So, yes. It’s nice to see more nuanced explorations of this phenomenon in romance.
If you’d like to read some very good bi & poly representation, I’d recommend two books (by the same writer, writing under two different names): FULL MOUNTIE by Ainsley Booth and ALL THAT THEY DESIRE by Zoe York. Both books feature totally bi heroes with full acceptance and awareness that men can be attracted to both men and women.
The sexy times must be dynamite!
Finished it earlier this week and, like you, I loved it! I would recommend to anyone new to the Game Changer series that it’s best to read the books in order because characters do recur through the books (like Ilya & Shane and Scott & Kip in this one) and it’s always fun to try to decide which background characters are being set-up for future romances. @WendyF: I wasn’t aware that Troy was going to be in the next book—although it seemed obvious that he was going to be an important character in a future book. Who will he be partnered with? I think Reid is preparing buff bartender Aram for future coupledom. I’m not on social media and don’t follow Reid, so have no clue how many books she’s mapped out, but I’m really curious about hot, apparently-straight, Finnish player, Matti. Are he and Maria being set-up for a poly/menage situation?
AFAIK, she’s signed up for two more after this (including the further adventures of Shane and Ilya!).
@DDD: Rachel Reid has written about it on the blog section of her website. The next book will be called Role Model with Troy Barrett (sorry, got that wrong!) and a new character as the MCs. Troy has been traded to Ottawa and the club’s media manager is the other MC. Ryan and Fabian from Tough Guy are going to be in it. Yay, I love Fabian!
Book 6 is due to be a sequel for Shane and Ilya. She hasn’t mentioned any more books after that.
I loved this too, Caz, and your review totally reflects what I thought about it. In fact, I’m finding it hard to say something that you haven’t already written above!
I enjoyed seeing the relationship grow between these two engaging MCs and thought that it was written really well.
My only quibble was the same as yours as this is not one of my favourite tropes but, when I thought about it, I decided that is probably how they would have acted in real life, with their back stories.
I loved all the familiar characters making appearances – especially Ilya who continues in his role of catalyst throughout the series.
I guess we’ll find out what Troy Bennett wanted to talk to Scott about in the next book, as he is one of the MCs. I’m looking forward to that, but I’m looking forward even more to Book 6 which is to be a continuation of Shane and Ilya’s story!
Well, it’s nice to know I’ve covered all the bases ;) This one’s up there with Heated Rivalry and like you I’m not-so-patiently waiting for the continuation of Shane and Ilya’s story.