I would die for Casey and Landon. Let’s just get that out of the way. They are the best. It was so fun watching them fall in love. They are as opposite as two humans can be. Casey is outgoing, confident, and honestly a bit much for most people; Landon is quiet, contained, and barely registers on anyone’s radar. They are both so incredibly sweet, and both have secrets they feel they need to hide. Watching them learn to be vulnerable with one another in ways they never have with anyone else is wonderful. I also love how readily Casey and Landon accommodate one another’s needs and preferences. The communication between them is amazing. 

This book takes a step away from Reid’s Game Changers series but still brings us everything we love about her previous books. Time to Shine is magic. It hit all the emotional sweet spots. I giggled and smiled and squeed and cried tears. It was heart wrenching and heart warming. 

One of the things I love most about this book is that the homophobic toxicity of professional sports is missing here. Casey is allowed to be himself and is accepted and supported by his entire team. His sexuality is a non-issue. And Landon is only just discovering and coming to terms with his own sexuality. Casey helped him navigate it - and a few other things - beautifully. And they are both supported by their families without question.

Rachel Reid has this amazing ability to create characters that feel so real that they could walk right off the page. Even the side characters have depth to them and a degree of realism but collectively they’re so wonderful that reading them feels like a warm hug. 

Reid gives us the best of both worlds with her hockey romances: the writing, characters and story are all compelling and the hockey elements are pitch perfect. She gets the culture and game specifics just right - the big things and the little things. No one writes hockey like Rachel Reid. (I also love how Reid really leans into the whole “goalies are weird” stereotype. Landon has one specific idiosyncrasy that we see a few times and it’s definitely weird. 😂  But it’s also very endearing.)