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book notes
title: Common Goalauthor: Rachel Reid
series: Game Changers #4
published: 9.21.2020
publisher: Carina Press
Source: bought
genre(s): lgbtqia+, romance, sports
pages: 320
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | BookBub | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:
| series rating: the blurb
New York Admirals goalie Eric never thought his friends-with-benefits arrangement with much-younger Kyle would leave them both wanting more…
Veteran goaltender Eric Bennett has faced down some of the toughest shooters on the ice, but nothing prepared him for his latest challenge—life after hockey. It’s time to make some big changes, starting with finally dating men for the first time.
Graduate student Kyle Swift moved to New York nursing a broken heart. He’d sworn to find someone his own age to crush on (for once). Until he meets a gorgeous, distinguished silver fox hockey player. Despite their intense physical attraction, Kyle has no intention of getting emotionally involved. He’ll teach Eric a few tricks, have some mutually consensual fun, then walk away.
Eric is more than happy to learn anything Kyle brings to the table. And Kyle never expected their friends-with-benefits arrangement to leave him wanting more. Happily-ever-after might be staring them in the face, but it won’t happen if they’re too stubborn to come clean about their feelings.
Everything they both want is within reach… They just have to be brave enough to grab it.
a few notes
POV: 3rd person
setting: New York City, NY
keywords/phrases: hockey, homophobia, sexuality
tropes: happy ending, age gap, opposites attract
spice: 5/5
language: 5/5
mood reading: in the mood for a later-in-life coming-out story with beautiful romance.
bonus points: Scott and Kip! And Ilya!
my review
I’ve really enjoyed this series, and this book, too. But it was my least favorite. For me, the central issue of the book just wasn’t that deep. And that was the age difference between them. If it had been a dealbreaker issue for Kyle, from Kyle’s perspective, that would be an entirely different story. But this issue was solely Eric’s, and it was so drawn out. As much as I loved their dynamic, most of the time, it was just too much. 95% of the issues between them could have been solved by a singular conversation. Instead, Eric’s focus was entirely on his “advanced” age. While I still liked the book, it paled in comparison to the previous three, which all felt much deeper and emotional.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2026 Beyond the Bookends Reading Challenge
- 2026 Linz the Bookworm & Logophile Reading Challenge
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