Title: Role Model
Author: Rachel Reid
Series: Game Changers #5
Pages: 353
I went into this book not expecting to like it since Troy has been an asshole in this series. But, this ended up being really good and I was hooked to Troy’s story and how he was turning his life around for the better.
Troy has his whole life changed in a matter of days. His boyfriend breaks up with him, he finds out his friend is a rapist, called him out in public for it, and got traded to a different team. He is now part of Ottawa’s team and Ilya is now his captain. While he is initially angry and upset about everything that happened, once he realizes how great the people on this team are, we really see Troy start to open up and become his true self.
I really loved the character growth in this one. Troy really changes as he realizes he is in a safe place with safe teammates. He goes from an angry and hurt man who used insults as a shield, to a sweet guy who finally is able to admit to the world he is gay. I did feel a little bad for Harris at the beginning of this because Troy was so hot and cold with their feelings, but I really loved how Harris supported him and let him set his own pace for coming out.
Harris and Troy’s relationship was adorable. I loved every minute of it. The awkwardness at the beginning as they are both crushing on each other so hard was ‘chefs kiss’ perfect. I really enjoyed the pace of their relationship and that it wasn’t all right away. Troy needed to work through his issues and I was glad to see that happening with Harris supporting him. I would have liked to have seen Troy go to a therapist after everything he went through, but I think he did a good job on his own.
One of my favorite things about this was how supportive and great the team was. It really felt like a found family that truly cared about each other. Illya was a fantastic captain and I loved how supportive he was of Troy throughout the book. Also, he comes out to Troy to show him he is a safe person to talk to, which is really surprising!
Overall, this was surprisingly fantastic for a guy I didn’t like in the previous books. I look forward to reading the next one because I want to see what is going on between Ilya and Shane, even if I struggled a bit with their book.
TW: homomisia; misogyny; rape discussed; bullying; toxic masculinity; toxic parent; on page airplane trouble and emergency landing; coming out;
Goodreads | The StoryGraph | Amazon | Bookshop
Previous books and reviews for the series:
Red-Haired Ash Reads 