Medaling: A rivals-to-lovers MM hockey romance

by Hailey Reaves

Two rivals. One room. Three weeks to ruin everything.

Liam Harris is Team USA's most intimidating enforcer — six-foot-three, granite-jawed...and so deep in the closet he's forgotten there's a door. He's at the Winter Olympics for one reason: gold. What he's not here for is Nicolas Arsenault.

Nic left the US for Quebec at sixteen and never looked back. He's bilingual, bisexual, and he's built his whole life around refusing to be anyone other than who he is. Liam hates him so much that six years ago he broke Nic's shoulder on the ice.

And now they're sharing a room in the Olympic village.

Nic's dual citizenship means he's taken a spot on the roster for the USA. Liam doesn't want him there. Nic's not thrilled either. But somewhere between the taut glances and the on-ice chemistry they can't deny, something happens that neither of them has a playbook for — making every stolen hour behind a locked door harder to walk away from.

But the Games have an expiration date. Liam's agent is circling. A journalist is closing in with a story threatening to out closeted players. And Nic has been here before: waiting for a man to choose him, watching the clock run out.

The countdown is real. And falling for each other might cost them everything they've spent their careers building.

Perfect for fans of Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry who want higher stakes, a slower burn, and an Olympic clock ticking down to zero.

Medaling is a standalone dual-POV, rivals-to-lovers MM hockey romance featuring forced proximity, a closeted athlete finding his courage, explicit open-door scenes, and a guaranteed HEA.

Genres: M M Romance, Sports, Hockey, Romance, Sports Romance, LGBT, Contemporary

290 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2026

Reviews

[Grace Btrs (semi ia - mostly overwhelmed) · Rating 3 out of 5]

🏂 So I am slumping so hard… but not as "hard" as these two were, I guess.

🎯 Premise & Expectations
I was genuinely excited for this book. It had a great premise that really plays on the ridiculously hilarious condom shortage incident in the latest Winter Olympics and includes some favourite tropes.
And it delivered for the most part… except this isn’t my personal preferred writing style, and I know the book could have done so much better in some aspects.
3.5⭐

✍️ Writing Style & Flow
When it comes to the writing, I am personally not a fan of third person for MM.
I find it a bit confusing, although I must admit that Hailey (Liz) did a wonderful job in that regard.
It still put me at a distance, however, and that wasn’t helped by some storytelling devices or the fact that we didn’t completely dive into several emotional arcs. We did just enough to deliver within these 277 pages.
The first few chapters were a bit frustrating and had me worried:
• a lot of POV (of both MCs) switches in the same chapter
• repetition of the same information from both POVs
• very descriptive sequencing of actions → which made it feel monotone
However, this improved considerably after those first chapters, and the storytelling found its groove and flow.
So if you find yourself stuck in the beginning, I’d say give it a chance.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Characters & Themes
Both MCs, Liam and Nic, had nice personalities — whether sunshine or grumpy. ☀️🌧️
I appreciated that they didn’t really have tragic backstories (just sad romantic ones).
Not every MM needs a devastating childhood, you know? And I liked that the author steered away from that and gave them more complex, adult things to deal with.
These aspects were interesting to explore because:
• they didn’t go the mainstream route
• no one had to drastically change who they are
• there was a lot of accountability
I also love how Liz can be political enough without being overwhelming:
• showing that politics are always present in the background
• acknowledging what being queer in sports (especially for men) actually means
• highlighting bisexual erasure in a very grounded way
It made the story feel like more than just visibility; it felt intentional.

🤔 Why Not a Higher Rating?
Now, with all this praise… why isn’t this rated higher (aside from my preference for a different writing style)?
Because the emotional arc wasn’t fully fleshed out.
We moved from one emotional milestone to another without it fully translating into anything beyond the physical relationship (which, to be fair, was hot hot 🔥).
Nothing felt premature, exactly…
I just wanted:
• more emotional growth
• more depth in those transitions
• more balance between emotional intimacy and physical intimacy
At times, things didn’t completely align with the characters and their personalities, which made some moments feel a bit off.

🏁 Should you read?
Overall, this was:
• engaging
• fun
• and thematically meaningful
…but it didn’t hit as deeply as it could have.
Still worth the read. 🥊

--
Pre-read:
So Liz Shipton is experimenting with MM and a pen name, and we get the pleasure of seeing that first hand and enjoy her humour?
Yes, please.

ARC received through author's newsletter.

[Gaby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate it here. There are so many things that make no sense in this book that I don’t even know where to begin or how to write this spoiler-free, so spoilers ahead.

I think the most important thing is that the cover is deceiving; it makes it out to be like Nic is Canadian and Liam is from the US and they are rivals and playing against each other, when this is absolutely not what happens. Nic was born in the US and lived there until he was 16, yes his parents are from Canada and he has dual citizenship, but at the time of the book he is 24 so really the majority of his life he lived in the US and yet, even though he went to the Olympics as a part of the American delegation he somehow still calls himself the Canadian ambassador to the cafeteria when there is a whole Canadian delegation.

Liam hates Nic; you would think that maybe he did something to him and that’s why, 6 years ago when they were both rookies, he broke his shoulder, but no, Liam was apparently just jealous of him because Nic has dual citizenship, speaks two languages and moved to a better development league when he was a teenager. And really, that’s the most absurd reason ever; just hate all Canadians then? And can I just repeat that he broke his shoulder for this and never apologized? And now I am expected to believe that this iconic moment in their careers 6 years ago was the beginning of their romance?

For reasons that are never explained, Nic is with the American hockey team instead of Canada, and so Liam is forced to room with him and *gasp* spend time together, 80% of which Liam acts like a huge dick, and Nic has the most cringey inner monologues ever. Somehow, I am supposed to believe that all this led to them being in love.

Special mention to the annoying reporter who decided to imply that because there were rumours of Nic being bisexual and he was rooming with Liam and playing decent hockey, this obviously meant they were smashing. 🤦🏻‍♀️

It was dumb and a waste of my time.

[Kiandra 🦋 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Immediately no

[Kailee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fine Olympic hockey MM romance. A bit shorter, easy to read in one setting.

Now here’s my problem:

I think marketing this as for fans of Heated Rivalry is maybe not the best move, as it is TOO similar to Heated Rivalry and almost reads like a fanfic. I marked about five sections in this 267 page book that felt literally lifted from the show/book. (One being bisexual and the other gay, one having autism, one speaking English and French and repeated jokes about how easy it is for him to learn languages, “probably, maybe”, a kiss in public then a “wtf are you doing”, “look at the view.”) Any of these alone wouldn’t really be an issue but all together it just felt too similar for me. I think some easy changes could be made to fix these issues, but as it stands I cannot get over feeling like it was just Re-heated rivalry.

It wasn’t bad. Still enjoyed it. Just wish it felt a little more original.

[Ariana Weldon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a VERY generous 3/5 and I may come to change that when I write up my full review shortly.
_____

Right, I've sat on it. This is 2.5/5 but GR doesn't allow for half ratings.
"Perfect for fans of Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry" and in fact it is so much like Heated Rivalry it almost reads like a fan fic more than anything else.
- One MC is gay, one is bisexual. - Which was also a little confusing since there is a mention of the gay MC having relationships and sex with men and women while finding both equally exhausting. (This is only to say that based on the phrasing of the specific paragraph this is mentioned in left some confusion when he expresses he's gay. I definitely thought we were having two bi-baddies in this.)
- The gay MC has autism.
- One MC is a French/English speaker that is Canadian. - Then also quips he speaks two and a half languages but later says he's trilingual.
- The shower room scene.

These didn't feel like nods to HR. Like I said, it just felt like fan fic in a lot of ways.

Now, I had FAR more issues than just that.

The history between these two characters is that Liam Harris broke Nicolas Arsenault's shoulder six years ago. You cannot possibly forget this. It is mentioned every other page basically.

Now this is expanded on much later but there's a scene where Nicolas is speaking to his friend and the friend, meant to be his best friend as well, says 'dislocate your shoulder.' This COULD be a small thing but since it's been harped on for nearly 100 pages by this point that Liam broke the guy's shoulder, and they're meant to be best friends, it just had me scrunching my face.

Adding that in alongside the denim that became sweats in the middle of a fondling scene, the shirts that were flung off 'approximately four feet inside' of entering their house but then are flung across the room when they get to the bedroom, and the jeans that came off but then suddenly respawned back on Nicolas before they get down to business, and being skin to skin but then also taking off their jeans (again), I was floating in a sea of inconsistencies.
Seriously, these are the quotes:

They made it approximately four feet inside before their shirts were on the floor.

Nic moved backward onto it as Liam crawled on top of him, pulling at his clothes while they went. When both shirts had been removed and flung across the room...

This is the same page! It's the same scene!

He got Liam's jeans off and then his own and they were skin to skin....

Nic's c**k went stiff in record time inside his jeans.

Those would be the jeans he had gotten off btw. Because there are like four small paragraphs between these sentences.
Followed by:

Nic stripped the rest of the their clothes off without hurry. Jeans.

Those respawning jeans again!

This is before I even comment on the bruised ribs that just apparently aren't a problem after like three days. (Or the fact that the GR synopsis doesn't match the characters in this book. I did check Amazon just in case things changed between the ARC I have and the final version. Final version available lists the character list I had so, I remain perplexed and in my sea of inconsistencies. My inconsisten-sea.)

Nicolas' character was also just insanely annoying. Like he was feeling overwhelmed with everything and instead of considering that maybe his roommate is also feeling overwhelmed at his first Olympics, he goes with wondering 'if it was all the foreigners that made Harris so stiff.' So....racist was somehow an easier jump than equally overwhelmed???
I need to warm up for these mental gymnastics.

The line 'stupid little poutine-eating mouth' did make me laugh.

I think Liz is an incredibly funny person. I haven't picked up her works under her own name as of yet but I've been looking forward to getting them off my TBR and into my hands.
This....did not hit anything especially positive for me.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Hockey and read a lot m/m hockey romances and it's not easy to write something unique.
This story's setting is the Olympics and not some random Olympics but in Italy 🇮🇹 🏒❄️
America against Canada for gold? Ring any bells?
There are strong heated rivalry vibes (reads like a HR fanfiction? Is that bad? Use the momentum?)
There are sweet moments, it's entertaining, sexy and heartfelt. I spent a nice afternoon reading and enjoying an Olympic throwback.
P.S: extra points for creative use of gold medals 😂

[Alexa]

DNF @ 52%. Y’all this was SO BORING. Are the rivals in the room with us bc they sure as shit weren’t in room 14 😩 not convinced anyone was except two sacks of plain flour good lord, the scenery was more interesting than these two

This books other fatal flaw? Continuity errors. So many of them.

[theshadyivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🫦🫦🫦

I have a confession — it was the cover and the enemies-to-lovers vibes that got me. Hook, line and sinker. 😏🖤

This is the story of Nic and Liam, rivals since an accident that almost destroyed Nic's career as a professional hockey player. The tension between them is electric from the very first page, and I was completely hooked.

What I loved most was how slowly we got to know these two. They reveal themselves layer by layer, and by the time you think you have them figured out, they surprise you all over again. 🖤
And can we talk about Medaling for a second? Best new word creation I have encountered in a long time. Absolutely iconic. 😂

Go read this if you love slow-burning rivals who can't escape each other, the kind of forced proximity that makes your heart race, and characters with enough depth to keep you thinking long after the last page. 🏒🖤

🏒 Hockey Player
🥅 Roommates to Lovers
🏒 Forced Proximity
🥅 Secret Relationship
🏒 Mental Health Rep
🥅 Enemies to Lovers

119/26

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, any author writing enemies to lovers hockey fic in the year of our lord 2026, and in perpetuity, takes on the professional hazard of being compared to Heated Rivalry. It is what it is, we're all still coming down from our collective HR psychosis, and while this a great time to capitalize on it, you're also going to suffer in the comparison. Sorry, I don't make the rules.

That said, I actually really did enjoy this book that definitely did read a bit like HR fan fic. It's a forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine kind of story about two young Team USA players who have a checkered history with each other, now playing on the same Olympic team in Italy. Nic is actually more Canadian than American, but he is drafted onto the US team because he was born there and he ends up in the same room as Liam, a kind of glowering defenseman who broke his shoulder in a game six years prior. Quiet, asocial (autistic) Liam is an enigma to the friendly, outgoing Nic, who deep down is kind of a lovergirl. Nic is immediately attracted to Liam and spends a bit of time flirting and sussing him out. After a very specific shower scene (*ahem*), these two get physical even while understanding that this is a Bad Idea. They spend the 3 weeks of the Games in a sexy push-pull situation that I really enjoyed.

Even though this books gets 0/10 for originality, I think it was really well written, with a depth and humour that I appreciated. Both Nic and Liam are compelling characters written pretty compassionately, and their chemistry feels natural and effortless. I wish the ending (their cottage scene, if you will) was a bit more fleshed out and we got a bit more of them outside of the confines of their tiny Olympic Village room. But otherwise I don't have a huge amount of complaints with this book. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the series.

[R. Small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the Winter Olympics setting and all the tension that came from Nic and Liam being forced to share a room after years of resenting each other… I lovedddd seeing their relationship going from hostileeeee to undeniable attraction… this one wasn’t quite five stars… but it was emotional, spicy, and incredibly easy to binge… and definitely gave off heated rivalry vibes

[Meri · Rating 1 out of 5]

This felt like a watered-down version of Heated Rivalry, but without the depth or emotional payoff.

Loved the rivals-to-lovers setup with the Olympics and forced proximity, and I thought it had potential, but the execution was just horrible. The conflict between the two lacked real depth. We’re told they’ve been rivals for years, but there’s barely any convincing backstory to support it. It ends up feeling shallow.

One of the characters being autistic could have added an interesting layer, but it was handled in a very surface-level way. There’s no nuance or subtlety, everything is spelled out so directly that it leaves nothing for the reader to interpret. The writing overall feels overly simplified, with little subtext or emotional depth. It honestly reads like it’s been heavily AI-assisted, especially in the dialogue and sentence structure.

I understand this is a shorter romance, so I wasn’t expecting heavy world-building or complex plotting. But even within that format, there’s room for stronger character work and more believable emotional progression. I’ve seen MM romances handle similar themes with far more care, which just made this one kind of disappointing.

I barely made it to the end.

[Marta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I don’t enjoy stories built on misunderstandings and lack of communication — and there’s a lot of that here. The characters are together, and then suddenly they’re not - likę in one paragraf- > lets have sex. Ok Cool. No wait we cant, oh Ok cool. and it’s not really clear why. It’s simply frustrating.


Something about the writing just doesn’t feel quite right. When I read the paragraphs, I can’t tell who is doing what. I keep mixing up the characters — one moment this one pushed him, then it was the other one; this one was sad, then the other one was sad. I don’t know, it’s just confusing

[Anne Gituku · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was absolutely ATROCIOUS. The writing felt clumsy, repetitive, and poorly structured, making it difficult to stay engaged. The dialogue sounded unnatural, the pacing dragged, and the characters lacked believable development. What could have been an interesting idea was buried under weak execution and awkward prose. I wanted to like this book I really did, but the characters had the depth of cardboard cutouts

[Diya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was fun, but it had issues. The theme and characters felt way too much like _Heated Rivalry_, even though the plot was completely different.

Trope list:

*📚 Tropes & Vibes 📚*
✧ Gay×Bi
✧ Hockey Rivals → Lovers
✧ Austim Rep 🌵
✧ Insta-Lust → Insta-Love
✧ HFN [Happy For Now]

The characters were almost carbon copies: Liam Harris came off as Shane but grouchier and grumpier. Nic was like Ilya but more sunshine and less of an asshole. Naomi honestly felt creepy.

Plot-wise, it’s set in the Olympic Village instead of the NHL, so that part was fresh. But the pacing was odd — marketed as insta-burn yet also slow burn. Didn’t really commit to either.

The writing style was different, with short POVs that made it feel choppy. The emotional impact was weaker too. The characters go from closed-off to suddenly trauma-dumping their hardships, and it felt forced instead of earned.

Would I say it’s as good as _Heated Rivalry_? No.
Would I say it’s okay-ish and fun for a one-time read?
Yes.

Overall, it could’ve been better if the author hadn’t relied so much on _Heated Rivalry_ character blueprints and instead focused on building real emotional connection.

Still, if you’re curious, it’s worth reading once.

“You!” Liam yelled, and pummeled the side of Nic’s head. Just that.
One word, barely audible over the noise. “You!”
“You fucking psycho!” Nic yelled back, grinning even wider than he was. “You didn’t even look!“

Yeah chemistry was there but writing not so much.

[Jine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this! I’m a sucker for an enemies to lovers forced proximity type situation!
Nic and Liam have past history 6 years ago Liam dislocated Nics shoulder in a hockey game so when they realized they were both living in the same room in the Olympic village things got tense! Nic is bisexual and Liam is gay but Nic doesn’t know that Nic originally wanted to get with Liam as a payback but eventually realized that he just wanted to understand him
They start fooling around but have to be careful because a reporter is sniffing around and she already put Nics name in a article
They both realize this was something more they shared
Emotions like when Liam told Nic he was autistic which made some things fit in place for Nic which is also why Liam is scared of being out
When Nic decides to come out officially in a article Liam is scared but Nic never ever presses him to come out too
Things I loved was when they kept saying it was the last time and they went into overtime
How Liam opened up more and they shared their secrets
The airport scene killed me like I legit cried so much!
The chair lift scene was 🔥
But what I loved most of all was when Liam visited Nic in Montreal it reminded me of Shane and Ilya at the cottage they just got to be themselves with no worries and more importantly they discussed their future together’

[Alana H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Characters were great, I liked the progression of the relationship. The enemies-to-lovers trope didn't feel forced or unrealistic. I found myself really rooting for Nic and Liam. The conflict felt real and nothing was just magically solved in the end, even with the characters ending up together.

I saw another review point out there are a lot of similarities to Heated Rivalry that seem a little too similar, and I tend to agree. A bisexual, bilingual player with a gay, autistic player. The airport pickup and the 2 week stay at Nic's place in Montreal felt very reminiscent to The Cottage. And even the ending, they aren't publicly out as a couple, but are discussing Liam signing in Montreal with Nic and maybe one day they can be together openly. Definitely a lot of similarities, but I think that might be why I enjoyed it so much. The ending felt realistic. Nothing was perfectly wrapped up in a neat little bow.

Worth the read for sure and I'll definitely keep going with this series when the next book comes out.

[laureneliza]

Look, there is a lot of m/m hockey romance on KU and a lot of it I have DNFed or not even started because I also don't do dark romance and that seems to be a popular subgenre.

This one I didn't immediately put down after a few pages, so it was better written than some, but then there were several weird word or phrase choices that left an odd taste in my mouth. The forced proximity of them rooming together slightly offsets the fact they've only known each other for a few weeks, but the shoulder injury was made to be a huge thing then just... Accepted. Another odd choice. There were a few funny lines, a few sweet lines, and a few hot lines, but it all adds up to just okay.

[Princessofbookishkingdoms]

Dnf @ 20%

I didn‘t like the book at all. For me it was poorly written. The sentences felt totally cut off and the Story didn’t come across as a coherent narrative. I found the extremly short POVs rather distracting, sometimes the same random fact was repeated three times.
I also didn’t warm up with the characters and they kinda felt shallow.
The Book is really short and in the part I read absolutly nothing happend.
The story sounded promising, but the execution wasn‘t well done.

[Banana · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 ⭐️
Que esté ambientado en los juegos me ha gustado mucho pero se ha quedado como corto, no se.
Como que le falta algo para que acabe de sentirse una novela y no otra cosa.
Me hubiera gustado más ver interacciones con los secundarios (Louis y Emma) y Riley me ha dado mucha curiosidad.
Pero todo es como muy rápido y sin explicación entonces por esa parte no me ha gustado tanto, le doy el aprobado justo y creo que si que me leeré el siguiente, aunque sea de age gap.

[allmy_booklovers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still thinking

So the beginning and hate on for Canada obviously bugged me

There were moments where I’m like do you know hockey.

I finished it

🏒🏒🏒 - they played hockey games, it was the Olympics,

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Mallie Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Liam and Nic are both great characters.

I appreciate how realistic this was.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why on Earth does the description and cover make it seem like they’re not both on Team USA? The concept of a self-defining Canadian hockey player playing for the US is so weird that I couldn’t get over it the whole book.

[Karin Mallard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received an ARC copy of this book by the author in return for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I've never read this author before, or watched Heated Rivalry, or read any other hockey romance book ever. That being said:

What this book has going for it:

CUTE main characters. Very sweet guys that are easy to root for. Loved them both.
Setting. What's not to love about the Alps and the Olympics?
Pace. This story doesn't get bogged down on any one thing. Makes for a quick, enjoyable read.
Intimate scenes are great. Just the way I like them. Not too, too graphic. Nice blend of emotional and physical connection. Hot in a good way and even though a LOT of sex was packed into a small time frame, the author knows when to spread it over the pages and when to make it tidy and fast. I'd be thinking, "ok, too soon, not ready for another intense scene" and then it would be wrapped up in a paragraph and, yep, just right, thank you.
This book is just cozy. Lots of good vibes here.

What may be lacking:
I say may be lacking because, let's be honest, this book doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. Quick, steamy romance. And when I am in the mood for that, this is the kind of title to pick up. I can't criticize something for it's lack of depth when it didn't promise or advertise any depth, yes?

This book is surface level stuff. Characters have hints of backstories that are mentioned but not explored. Every piece of this book is skittering along the surface (that's what makes it fast and fun). But if you wanted something a little more intense (I was thinking we were looking forward to a confrontation with an ex at some point and I was SO looking forward to a protective Liam and then that just... didn't happen) this is not the book for that.

The side characters exist but they do that thing where they only seem to exist to support the leads. They don't have much of their own life, or again, it's not explored. And they seem WAY too fixated on the main characters and helping them through their issues. Is it a problem? Not really? Again, this is fast read, so there's not a ton of time to go side questing, but it does make the side characters very flat - scenery in a school play kind of characters.

The stakes. There really aren't any. The big thing that I thought could be a conflict or a problem rolled over and gave up so quickly that it never was anything. There were No Issues in here. I saw that someone else thought this work read like fanfiction, and this is where I'd have to agree. AGAIN, this doesn't have to be a problem. I've read tons of things where I don't really want anything but character connection and when that's what I'm after, trying to have a larger plot really does just get in the way and I Don't Care. In fact, I'll give kudos to the author for having the Olympics in the background but it was so in the background of the character connection that I'm glad it didn't get a ton of screen time because all I wanted was the boys being adorable and tender to each other. I think it takes a bit of talent to make a huge thing like the OLYMPICS seem like it should stay quietly in the background of what's really important here - the boys getting to know each other.

All in all, this was a lovely, little read. The writing is smooth, the characters are enjoyable, the intimate scenes are just right. I'd rank this as a palette cleanser book - sweet and satisfying.

[Ash [Ginggercakes] · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW: sexual content, outing

He’d spent two weeks learning the shape of Nic Arsenault so deeply that the knowledge lives in his hands now. And what the fuck did that mean?

I fear this review is going to come off harsher than it is, because I did enjoy reading this book but there was too much left unsaid for me to give it any more than 3 stars, and that seems to be pushing it. The writing was fine but not consistent, this ARC definitely needed a final check for continuity and sentence structure errors. Overall it came off as a bit too messy for a final draft. There were times I laughed out loud, perhaps more often than I should have, and at times the sentence structure felt too loose to take anything very seriously — even the serious bits.

Nic had wondered at the time if this was the Olympics or some kind of sports orgy. He still wasn’t totally sure.

I liked the characters but the depth of their connection was lacking because there isn’t enough information. There is hardly any inner character work (there’s some inner turmoil but it comes off more as noise rather than insight), there isn’t any detail about their past connections (other than vague mentions of Pittsburgh). There is minimal information about their personal histories and Nic has definitely been to therapy, but that wasn’t enough to support the story emotionally. For the entirety of this book readers just have to accept everything at face value which doesn’t really work for romance.

Being invisible was starting to feel less like he was protecting himself and more like he was hurting them both.

Too much telling and not showing lead to a disappointing romance that was mostly spice and little substance. I would go so far as to say that there was more hockey than character building, which is fine but its not really what I wanted. The characters obviously have chemistry so I know that some people will enjoy this book at face value and have no issues with it I just don’t think it checked enough boxes for me despite the fact that I did enjoy reading it.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Medaling by Hailey Reaves
A review by Miss Majesty Divine

Short synopsis:
Nic and Liam are both professional hockey players with similar backgrounds, but Nic managed to escape his small-town life in the United States and build a career in Canada, eventually landing on a Canadian team, something Liam seems to resent on a level he may not even fully understand. At the start of the story, both men are playing for Team USA in the Winter Olympics and are forced to share a room for the month they are in the Olympic Village.

Their shared history resurfaces when it becomes clear that Liam once hospitalized Nic and nearly ended his career during a move that was legal in the game, but ethically questionable. Both men carry a deep resentment toward each other. As time passes and circumstance forces them into close quarters, that tension begins to shift. They slowly realize what they have always felt may have been far more complicated than simple professional jealousy.

Review:
This is a wonderfully written romance set against the backdrop of the Olympic Village and the Alpine mountains. The descriptions of the opening ceremonies, the mounting tension of sudden-death hockey, and the emotional atmosphere of international competition make the story feel vivid and cinematic.

Nic and Liam are richly defined characters, and Hailey Reaves gives both men real depth on the page. Their strengths and flaws are fully visible, which makes their emotional journey feel honest. In a sport culture that is often steeped in sexism and homophobia, these two characters are pushed to the edge of what feels emotionally possible as they learn how difficult it is to be vulnerable with someone they have been conditioned not to trust.

That growing trust is beautifully contrasted against a society examining them under a microscope, waiting for any detail to exploit for the next media cycle. At its heart, this is a classic romance that celebrates the intricacies of queer joy, the right to privacy for public figures, and the slow evolution of both social attitudes and sports culture.

Highly recommended.

[Sarah Fairbairn · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received an ARC of Medaling from the author in exchange for an honest review*

I’ve had Heated Rivalry pop up on my suggested shows to watch, and seen Racheal Reid’s Game Changers series on my local book store’s shelves, they’ve peaked my interest but I haven’t as yet partaken in consuming either. I wouldn’t say I’m an avid hockey fan, but I have throughly enjoyed every game I’ve ever watched, never mind that the majority of those games have included the women’s ice hockey team my cousin plays for. The point is I do find ice hockey to be an entertaining high action sport. So when the call out for reviews on this Medaling ARC came to my inbox stating “a steamy MM rivals-to-lovers hockey romance for fans of Heated Rivalry”, even though It’s been quite a few years since I’ve read and reviewed an ARC, I have read other books by this author (under a different pen name) over the years and loved them, so how could I not give Medaling a go.

This story was everything I expected and more. It has gay rep, bisexual rep, and autistic rep. There’s Olympic gold to be won, homophobia in the NHL (and professional sports in general) to face, and love to find in a beautiful place. There’s examples of reporters outting athletes without their permission and the shit show that social media can be. And yes, there’s some time spent on the ice as well as in the sheets.
The sex is steamy. The romance is heart warming. With the POV switching back and forth between the two Team USA main characters, one gruff guarded and in the closet, the other a bilingual bisexual social butterfly.
The animosity between them melting away into something much hotter when they are forced to room together in the Italian Olympic village.

To some up I found this to be a funny, charming, heart warming and exciting M/M romance. And I can assure you that you don’t have to give a damn about hockey to enjoy reading it.

[Allison Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this more and did try to see it as a stand alone story on it's own merits. The problem was I kept falling into comparisions with HR and just couldn't help it - which is 100% on me the reader not on the author ** however the book is literaly marketed to fans of HR... so.

My first little grumble is the blurb of my copy didn't match the characters inside so for a moment I was lost on who I reading about. Obviously it's a small error but one that could be fixed?

The setting - the Olympic villiage setting was fine... the games were fine. It didn't really make a lot of difference to me as we really only went from the room (14) to the cafeteria, to the bar to the area...

I don't mind a third person story - this one was decent, though there were a few times the POV seemed to change within a chapter and it took a few lines of reading to work out 'whose head I was supposed to be in'. I also found they tended to repeat a lot of the same thoughts throughout which added to the inabity to tell who was taking lead.

The characters themselves were fine - We have Liam (Shane) Austistic and concerned about coming out and Nic (Ilya) the bi-sexual, bi-lingual who is going to announce his orientation.

I didn't really understand the newspaper reporter - I mean, I understood the purpose of her - to push the exposure narrative, but she wasn't really even a side character and I wasn't invested in her or the plot line. The forced proximity and tenuous history didn't feel captivating enough for me to believe they would fall in love. I could see a twist to the story of them simply having a fun Olympic adventure...

The dialogue at times was sweet and there were some nice interactions but adding more depth to the rivals to lovers trope would have been more interesting as I didn't get the rivals vibe at all.

If you're a lover of HR you'll probably enjoy this :D

I, sadly, also wasn't convinced that the two mmcs had any chemstry either.

[Hira Chaudhary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do a lot of this book, I felt like this was a decent three star read because these two idiots kept doing the sex and never talking about all the deep things they needed to get out in the open. When they finally talked about Liam breaking Nic’s shoulder six years ago, Liam didn’t apologize and that was good enough and I wasn’t sure if it actually was. I wanted to see these two talk about their exes and their lives and everything between them.

When things take a turn into real feelings, they do finally start sharing things, but in such small and short conversations, despite the fact that they were both feeling such big feelings. I died over them circling each other and never really knowing what to do or say. I died over how deep they both suddenly found themselves and how they didn’t want their little bubble in Room 14 to come to an end.

Nic choosing to come out and face what would come was so great and I died over Liam thinking he might want to follow, and even though he was afraid, not wanting to end things with Nic even though Nic said it because he wanted to protect Liam from the fallout. I loved finding out Liam was autistic and how Nic finally put the pieces of his personality together and I died over Liam being all, you thought my autism was hot? and how others had seen it as an issue and Nic saw it as something that attracted him to Liam.

These two were so great and few on member the course of the book. They started out as sexual tension with some underlying real feelings neither of them knew the origins of, and I loved what they grew into and how they became some real and deep, something built for forever. This was another great Olympics hockey romance, such a fun time in the village <3

[Marie MARIONETTE · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have:
- Liam who is the broody, not smiling, a scar on his eyebrows NHL players.
- Nic another NHL player who is friendly and approachable with anyone

They’ve been both selected to be part of the USA Olympic team and have to room together for 3 weeks

But they have history: 6 years ago, Liam slammed hard enough into Nic and got the later’s shoulder injured.

What else we learn:
- Nic is not hiding the fact he is bi but he is not really out either
- Liam is closeted and has no plan on coming out anytime soon
- Liam barely communicates but in the ice, they have insane chemistry
- Their tension becomes quickly enough a sexual tension and they end up going for it
- They start to have feelings and starts to protect each other in & out the ice
- They are both kind of scarfed by a past relationship
- Liam is actually autistic
- When a journalist decides to write something about how the NHL is not actually supporting enough queers players, Nic wants to come out but knows people will then watch his every movements & that will exposed Liam.

Anyway they decide to stay together in secret, and the ending is a kind of open ending.
Liam is at Nic’s place in Montreal. Nic asks him if one day he could imagine himself living in Montreal; Liam says in the future yes. So they are both happy together, they both said they want this forever. But as a reader, that’s where it stops. Them happy together in secret.