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A review by alecashlark
The Long Game by Rachel Reid
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A beautiful, heartwarming story about two men fighting the enormity of their feelings for each other to keep their relationship a secret, The Long Game tests the limits of a reader’s capacity to contain so much love. Sequel to Heated Rivalry, it lives up to hard-core fans’ expectations and delivers so much more.
*This is a completely spoiler-free review.
The writing is so good. It’s concise and quick and smooth. But the best thing about it are the dialogues. The ones here are some of the best I’ve ever read. They’re sharp and fluid and so on point. It’s like the story could be written in screenplay format, just the dialogues and the occasional three-liner narrations, and you wouldn’t mind at all.
It’s just so satisfying to be on a journey with Shane and Ilya again. And what a ride it has been. You get to see them in different lights and discover new depths to their character. You get to witness them develop in many aspects, both apart and together, and how those developments affected the hard-won, memorable evolution of their relationship. You also get delicious tidbits from characters of the previous books and also new characters that you might have to look out for in the next ones.
The romance just fills you up with love and makes you feel so many strong emotions. It’s already profound and intense all in itself, but the thing is: when you read a story about characters that you already care about on a deeper level, you are more emotionally invested and you root for them so much harder. And that amplifies the effect of the book on you, your reactions and feelings, that sometimes it gets too much to contain, but always in a good way.
I don’t want to reveal anything at all, so I won’t talk much about the plot. It’s definitely not a walk in the park, but there is no unnecessary drama or far-fetched plot devices. You have to work for the ending, but it’s worth it because it’s so rewarding once you get there. You’ll have the happily-ever-after plus the other things that you’ve always wanted for Shane and Ilya.
There are readers who simply love Shane and Ilya so much you will read this book regardless of what advance readers say. And if I have not gotten an ARC I’d be one of you. But there are readers who also love Shane and Ilya but doubt that those two have any more to offer you story-wise and worry that this book will ruin them for you. I’m here to tell you to please throw away your doubts and worries and read this book because you’re definitely going to love it.
The ARC was provided by Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 26 April 2022.
*This is a completely spoiler-free review.
The writing is so good. It’s concise and quick and smooth. But the best thing about it are the dialogues. The ones here are some of the best I’ve ever read. They’re sharp and fluid and so on point. It’s like the story could be written in screenplay format, just the dialogues and the occasional three-liner narrations, and you wouldn’t mind at all.
It’s just so satisfying to be on a journey with Shane and Ilya again. And what a ride it has been. You get to see them in different lights and discover new depths to their character. You get to witness them develop in many aspects, both apart and together, and how those developments affected the hard-won, memorable evolution of their relationship. You also get delicious tidbits from characters of the previous books and also new characters that you might have to look out for in the next ones.
The romance just fills you up with love and makes you feel so many strong emotions. It’s already profound and intense all in itself, but the thing is: when you read a story about characters that you already care about on a deeper level, you are more emotionally invested and you root for them so much harder. And that amplifies the effect of the book on you, your reactions and feelings, that sometimes it gets too much to contain, but always in a good way.
I don’t want to reveal anything at all, so I won’t talk much about the plot. It’s definitely not a walk in the park, but there is no unnecessary drama or far-fetched plot devices. You have to work for the ending, but it’s worth it because it’s so rewarding once you get there. You’ll have the happily-ever-after plus the other things that you’ve always wanted for Shane and Ilya.
There are readers who simply love Shane and Ilya so much you will read this book regardless of what advance readers say. And if I have not gotten an ARC I’d be one of you. But there are readers who also love Shane and Ilya but doubt that those two have any more to offer you story-wise and worry that this book will ruin them for you. I’m here to tell you to please throw away your doubts and worries and read this book because you’re definitely going to love it.
The ARC was provided by Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date: 26 April 2022.