Rivals By RJ Scott
and V.L. Locey
Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM
Tropes: Sports, Hockey, Olympics
Released: January 28, 2022
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Series: Harrisburg Railers, Book 11
Length: 35,000 words
Cover Design: http://meredithrussell.co.uk/
Playing for their country in the Winter Olympics is the highest of all honors, but when family members are pitted as rivals and a dark specter from the past turns up in Beijing, tensions run high, and abruptly, it’s not all about the hockey.
Jared is torn—assistant coach for Team Canada, with Ryker on the team; he bleeds red and white and wears the maple leaf with pride. Only Ten is now a rival, and not only that, but the country they’re all playing in frowns on his marriage and keeps him and Ten apart. Jared wants to win gold for his country and his son, but he’d be so proud if Ten were to win. He’s confused and concerned, but when a face from their past turns up to play, he’s furious.
Being picked for Team USA is one of the things Tennant dreamed of when he was a little boy. All of his other aspirations have come true through hard work, determination, and pure talent. Now he’s about to represent his country in front of the world, and the pressure is starting to build. He’s also just come face-to-face with a hated rival from a dark period in his past. Add in the burden of squaring off against his husband and stepson, and Ten is feeling the pressure to be perfect.
Family becomes rivals—but love always wins.
Note: This is not a standalone story and can only really be enjoyed as part of the series.
RAILERS AS A SERIES
Books 1 – 10 are in KU, Rivals will be joining them 4 Feb.
- Changing Lines (Railers 1) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-ChangingLines
- First Season (Railers 2) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-FirstSeason
- Deep Edge (Railers 3) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-DeepEdge
- Poke Check (Railers 4) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-PokeCheck
- Last Defense (Railers 5) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-LastDefense
- Goal Line (Railers 6) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-GoalLine
- Neutral Zone (Railers 7) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-NeutralZone
- Hat Trick (Railers 8) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-HatTrick
- Save the Date (Railers 9) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-SaveDate
- Baby Makes Three (Railers 10) – https://rjscott.co.uk/Read-BabyMakesThree
- Rivals (Railers 11) – http://www.rjscott.co.uk/read-rivals
SERIES DETAILS
Harrisburg Railers – in the reading order of all the hockey romance books;
- Changing Lines (Railers 1) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-ChangingLines
- First Season (Railers 2) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-FirstSeason
- Deep Edge (Railers 3) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-DeepEdge
- Poke Check (Railers 4) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-PokeCheck
- Last Defense (Railers 5) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-LastDefense
- Goal Line (Railers 6) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-GoalLine
- Ryker (Owatonna 1) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-Ryker
- Neutral Zone (Railers 7) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-NeutralZone
- Hat Trick (Railers 8) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-HatTrick
- Scott (Owatonna 2) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-Scott
- Save the Date (Railers 9) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-SaveDate
- Benoit (Owatonna 3) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-Benoit
- Coast to Coast (Raptors 1) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-Coast2Coast
- Across the Pond (Raptors 2) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-AcrossThePond
- Christmas Lights (Owatonna 4) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-ChristmasLights
- Shadow and Light (Raptors 3) – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-ShadowLight
- Sugar and Ice (Raptors 4) – https://rjscott.co.uk/Read-SugarIce
- School and Rock (Raptors 5) – https://rjscott.co.uk/Read-SchoolRock
- Baby Makes Three (Railers 10) – https://rjscott.co.uk/Read-BabyMakesThree
- Valentine’s Hearts (Owatonna 5) – rjscott.co.uk/read-valentine
- Lost in Boston (Free prequel novella) (Boston Rebels 0) – https://rjscott.co.uk/LIB_Master
- Top Shelf (Boston Rebels 1) – https://rjscott.co.uk/read-topshelf
- Back Check (Boston Rebels 2) – https://rjscott.co.uk/read-backcheck
- Desert Dreams (Owatonna 6) – https://rjscott.co.uk/read-desertdreams
- Snowed (Boston Rebels 3) – https://rjscott.co.uk/read-snowed
- Rivals (Railers 11) – http://www.rjscott.co.uk/read-rivals
- Royal Lines (Boston Rebels 4) – Coming May 2022
Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003
OMG! So, so good!
I am a huge fan of all of the hockey books written by the dynamic writing duo of RJ Scott and V.L. Locey and I LOVED this book. Not only is Rivals a new story for Jared and Ten but we also get to visit with several other characters from their various hockey series.
The 2022 Winter Olympics puts Jared and Ten in an unusual situation. Jared is one of the coaches for Canada, Ryker is playing for Canada and Ten is playing for the USA team. This creates certain challenges for Jared and Ten. Not only are they rooting for rival teams, they aren’t allowed to room with each other at the Olympics. Due to China’s opposition to LGBTQ couples, they have to be very careful to even spend any quality time together. Despite all of the challenges, they do manage to spend a bit of sexy time with each other.
The story was exciting and had me on tenterhooks much of the time as we went through the various game matchups leading to the final showdown. I really didn’t know how things would go until the final game was played and the winner was revealed.
Ryker had a moment with his dad that showed he is very grounded and wiser than you might think for his age. When Ten and Bryan have to confront a demon from their past, I loved the way the authors wrote this part of the story. It showed the kind of man that Ten is and I loved how he handled things. (Sorry for being cryptic but I don’t want to give too much away.)
I really can’t say enough good things about this book. You might think that after this many Railer books, and related hockey series, that the stories would be getting stale or repetitive. This isn’t even a little bit true; the authors continue to deliver quality stories and I hope they never stop.
♥♥♥♥♥
O Factor: Spicy
*Note: Moving to KU on February 4th.
I woke the following morning feeling as I’d been dragged through a sewer by my feet, face down in the muck, forehead bouncing off the slimy troughs filled with sludge.
Which was a typical morning after a massive headache. Add in jet lag and yeah, I was shit-faced and not in that fun been-partying-all-night-with-my-bros kind of way.
The room was dark, thank all the gods. The only sound was of someone nearby humming and strumming on an acoustic guitar. Sitting up was done in increments. There was a slight wave of nausea and a little dizziness, also typical of a postdrome. The plucking and soft singing stopped at my groan. Inhaling deeply to counter the stomach lurch, I breathed in lavender. It was… nice.
“Morning,” Colorado whispered from a vague point by the windows. In the corner. Maybe on the floor? Fuck. This was so not what I needed today. The aftereffects of a crashing headache usually lingered for a full day after the migraine itself, and left me feeling exhausted and mentally fogged. Just the place I wanted my head to be on the day of my arrival. Go me. Ugh. “I had some ginger tea sent up. My grandmother swears by it for any kind of headaches. Also, she said to rub some lavender into your pulse points so I kind of did that when you were sleeping. Nothing beyond your wrists though, my dude.”
“Oh, uhm…” I lifted my left wrist to my nose. Yep, the smell of lavender wafted from my skin. “Thanks.”
“Totally my pleasure.”
Moving like a geriatric patient, I eased my bare feet to the floor. Had I undressed before crawling under the covers yesterday?
“In case you’re wondering, I took off your shoes and socks, great sneakers by the way, and tucked you in.”
I blinked into the darkness, the memories of yesterday slowing arriving. “I threw up on you. Oh shit, Colorado, I am so sorry.”
RJ SCOTT, author of M/M romance.
Writing love stories with a happy ever after – cowboys, heroes, family, hockey, single dads, bodyguards
USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott has written over one hundred romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.
She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.
Amazon | BingeBooks | BookBub | Email | Facebook Reader Group | Facebook Author Page | Facebook MM Hockey Romance Group | Goodreads | Instagram | MeWe | Newsletter | Pinterest | TikTok | Twitter | Website | YouTube
V.L. LOCEY loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.)
She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.
When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.
Amazon | Blog | Bookbub | Email | Facebook Author Page | Facebook Group Page | Facebook MM Hockey Romance Group | Goodreads | Instagram | Newsletter | Pinterest | Twitter | Website
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