Time to Shine by Rachel Reid: My Review
Time to Shine is the latest M/M hockey romance book from Rachel Reid. You may recognize her as the author of Heated Rivalry, one of the best hockey romances of all time M/M or otherwise.
My hopes were obviously sky high going into this read, and Rachel Reid did not disappoint! While I had a few issues that left me holding back all five stars, I really enjoyed reading this book and devoured it in a day.
Read on to find out why this is one you can’t miss!
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Time to Shine – Summary
A merry and bright hockey romance about finding your place, finding your people and finding your way back to the one you love the most.
For Landon Stackhouse, being called up from the Calgary farm team is exciting and terrifying, even if, as the backup goalie, he rarely leaves the bench. A quiet loner by nature, Landon knows he gives off strong “don’t talk to me” vibes. The only player who doesn’t seem to notice is Calgary’s superstar young winger, Casey Hicks.
Casey treats Landon like an old friend, even though they’ve only interacted briefly in the past. He’s endlessly charming and completely laid-back in a way that Landon absolutely can’t relate to. They couldn’t have less in common, but Landon needs a place to live that’s not a hotel room and Casey has just bought a massive house—and hates being alone.
As roommates, Casey refuses to be defeated by Landon’s one-word answers. As friends, Landon comes to notice a few things about Casey, like his wide, easy smile and sparkling green-blue eyes. Spending the holidays together only intensifies their bromance-turned-romance. But as the new year approaches, the countdown to the end of Landon’s time in Calgary is on.
Time to Shine – My Review
This is very Rachel Reid. By that I mean Time to Shine is a sports themed romance with very likable characters, a dash of humor, and a lot of heart. I really enjoyed reading this book and I think most people will also have a great time.
Time to Shine has a little bit of everything. Obviously it’s a sports romance, but we were also given grumpy/sunshine, hurt/comfort, and friends-to-lovers all from the same couple.
The couple in this story being comprised of Landon Stackhouse, a backup goalie, and Casey Hicks, a superstar forward. Both men play for the professional hockey team in Calgary.
I have to start by telling you about Landon Stackhouse (‘Stacks’ to Casey). If I saw Stacks walking towards a puddle, I would throw my body onto the puddle so that he didn’t get his feet wet. I would walk into a burning building to retrieve his toothbrush. Landon is officially one of my absolute favorite main characters of all time. As soon as I read this paragraph, I knew I was going to be a goner:
"Landon didn't particularly enjoy looking at himself. He didn't like being seen, and only truly felt comfortable when he was wearing fifty pounds of goalie gear. Outside of his shell, he was all limbs and sharp angles and vulnerable skin and bones. He had to talk to people, and think about things that weren't hockey. It was the worst."
Landon sort of reminds me of David Chapman from Taylor Fitzpatrick’s amazing Between the Teeth series. I see parts of Charlie Sutton from N.R. Walker’s stunning Red Dirt Heart series. Eli Jackson from Parker St. John’s epic Down Home series also comes to mind.
What I am trying to say is that Stacks reminds of the best combination of all of my absolute favorite characters. He is tall, dark, broody, quiet, heart broken, incredibly talented, and a total introvert and loner. After a loss in his family, he desperately needs to be loved and cherished and appreciated.
That’s where Casey Hick’s comes in!
Casey is a superstar on Calgary’s hockey team. While Landon rides the bench, Casey is a leading scorer for the team. He is as opposite to Landon as you can imagine. He is light and bubbly and loves to be surrounded by friends at all times. Casey is often told he is ‘too much’.
Casey immediately takes Landon under his wing. They actually end up being roommates and sharing Casey’s much too big house. This is a win-win for the boys as they both desperately need the company. This forced proximity is where the magic starts to slowly happen.
A little side note about Casey: he is portrayed as an extremely sexual human being. In the first half of the book, he has off-screen sex with many different men and women.
I think it’s pretty realistic to portray a young, single NHL player as very sexually active. Unfortunately, the main character of my M/M romance novel having sex with a lot of people who aren’t the other main character from the paring isn’t really my thing.
Especially when some of the other people are *grimaces* women. There is a particular scene between Casey and one of his hookups where his is kissing the girl and chit chatting with her about having sex again. In my M/M romance novel?! I think not.
This also left some concerns for me. A man who loves to have sex, frequently and with many different partners, all of the sudden settling down doesn’t feel like the most realistic journey. Even with Casey being as ridiculously sexually progressive as he was portrayed.
That being said, I did love the two of them together. Casey brought a light into Landon’s dark and hollow life. Landon brings a stability and strength and encouragement that Casey didn’t know he was missing. These two just work.
The dual POV in this book was much appreciated. As much as I love Landon, it was sometimes necessary to take a step away from the gloom and see things from Casey’s sparkly perspective.
I just really wish his perspective wasn’t full of him having sex with people other than Landon.
Overall, this is absolutely a book that you should check out! It has real and genuine characters that develop deep connections. The humor is on point, and the action, both on the ice and in the bedroom, was steaming.
Let me know what you thought of Time to Shine in the comments below!
Hey, I’m Heather!
I read M/M romance books exclusively, and I help other readers find their next great M/M romance read.
