Roisin
So while Heated Rivalry had less of a consistent plot and was mostly made up of snapshots of the protagonists' meetings through the years and really only got into having a proper plot in the last 30/40% of the book, The Long Game is much more plot-driven with the characters each having clear growth arcs and struggles and side characters who are fleshed out. This was less about the sex (though there was plenty of steamy scenes in it) than the previous book, what with Shane and Ilya already being in a loving and stable relationship. So for someone like me who isn't necessarily a fan of excessive spice and prefers a more cohesive plot-driven story, this should have been the obvious favorite and I will admit, it was better written than the previous book...but I think I actually prefer Heated Rivalry? There is an anxiety in the narrative of this book that made me not so eager to read this. So to compare the two, I finished Heated Rivalry in 24 hours but had to take long break while reading The Long game and so it took me much longer to finish the book. There is something about the unconventional story of rivals falling for each other and doing everything secretly that made Heated Rivalry so compelling. So even though I wasn't crazy about the format, I liked that book better.
The Long Game still felt like a reward, a consolation prize to see Ilya and Shane be loved and happy and finally end up where they belong and that was so cozy and sweet and by the end of the book I was giddy with happiness. I think it's worth a read. For Hollanov's sake, if nothing else!
So while Heated Rivalry had less of a consistent plot and was mostly made up of snapshots of the protagonists' meetings through the years and really only got into having a proper plot in the last 30/40% of the book, The Long Game is much more plot-driven with the characters each having clear growth arcs and struggles and side characters who are fleshed out. This was less about the sex (though there was plenty of steamy scenes in it) than the previous book, what with Shane and Ilya already being in a loving and stable relationship. So for someone like me who isn't necessarily a fan of excessive spice and prefers a more cohesive plot-driven story, this should have been the obvious favorite and I will admit, it was better written than the previous book...but I think I actually prefer Heated Rivalry? There is an anxiety in the narrative of this book that made me not so eager to read this. So to compare the two, I finished Heated Rivalry in 24 hours but had to take long break while reading The Long game and so it took me much longer to finish the book. There is something about the unconventional story of rivals falling for each other and doing everything secretly that made Heated Rivalry so compelling. So even though I wasn't crazy about the format, I liked that book better.
The Long Game still felt like a reward, a consolation prize to see Ilya and Shane be loved and happy and finally end up where they belong and that was so cozy and sweet and by the end of the book I was giddy with happiness. I think it's worth a read. For Hollanov's sake, if nothing else!