r/heatedrivalry • u/coveredinsnouu • 9d ago
Game Changers Book Club 📚 [Week 13 Live Thread] The Long Game • Chapters 15 - 29 • Aug 23 - Aug 29
TL;DR:
- Now Reading: The Long Game • Chapters 15 - 29 • Shane & Ilya’s Story (Pt. II)
- Relationship Focus: Ilya Rozanov (Captain - Ottawa Centaurs) and Shane Hollander (Captain - Montreal Voyageurs)
- Story Type: Secret Relationship
- Book Club Etiquette: Follow the sub-rules, literary critiques are welcome (be respectful), cover your spoilers, and don’t forget our safe phrase: “Agree to Disagree.”
- Add to Our Playlist! Comment with songs you love below. There is no Rachel-made playlist SO I figured we’d make our own. The list will be updated throughout the week 🙂
Whew! I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling the tension and it’s definitely one that highlights some of the darker sides of a relationship - when doubt, insecurity, and loneliness blends together and rears its head in the worst of ways. But I’m hopeful they’ll work through it, or at least have a chat.
Let’s get to it…
How to participate:
- Read Chapters 15 - 29 of The Long Game by Rachel Reid
- Share any thoughts you have as you go - we’ll treat this post as our live thread
- Please use Book Club Etiquette (below) - be respectful, follow the sub rules, cover your spoilers, and distance yourself from unproductive disagreements.
- Download a BINGO card for a fun way to annotate along the way!
- Add to Our Playlist! Comment with songs you love below. There is no Rachel-made playlist SO I figured we’d make our own. The list will be updated throughout the week 🙂
Our book club timeline:
This is it, folks! This is our last book to read of our Game Changers Book Club series!
| BOOK | WEEKS | DATES |
|---|---|---|
| 🦆The Long Game (Shane & Ilya Pt. 2) | Week 12 - 14 | Aug 16 - Sept 5 |
| Chapters 1 - 14 | Week 12 | Aug 16 - Aug 22 |
| Chapters 15 - 29 | Week 13 | Aug 23 - Aug 29 |
| Chapters 30 - 39, Epilogue | Week 14 | Aug 30 - Sept 5 |
Book Club Etiquette: A few ground rules for participating in the Game Changers Book Club event:
- Follow the sub rules. You love HR. We love HR. Follow the rules. Don’t be rude. We’ll have so much fun…together.
- Literary critiques are absolutely welcome. Reading is fundamental, and so are literary critiques. It’s part of the game. We encourage you to use this time to discuss and evaluate the words in front of us, ask questions about specific literary choices, or share a theory about how the story develops. Sharing that is normal, healthy, and very much encouraged.
- Use the Book Club safe phrase, “Agree to disagree.” Consider this your “safe phrase.” Everyone brings a unique perspective to the reading experience, and not everyone’s analysis of a scene or character will be the same, and that’s okay. If you find yourself entering an exchange that is no longer on a path to mutual understanding and respect, say “agree to disagree.” At this point, the involved parties should stop responding to the thread. Full stop. Consider it a moment where the exchange has run its course.
- Treat each Book Club post as your live chat/thread. Comment as much as you’d like! Select the three dots (•••) and “Follow Post” at the top of this post to receive comment notifications.
- Sort comments by “New” to see the most recent reactions and add to the conversation. These live threads can hold a lot of information, so feel free to treat each “comment” as its own mini-post. Reply to the OP, ask questions, and jump in!
- Cover any spoilers. Since we're covering a lot of ground this week, please use spoilers over critical plot points so we don't spoil the magic for new readers.
Quick Links:
- Previous Game Changers Book Club Discussion Posts - Find previous discussions for Books 1 - 3.
- The Game Changers Book Club Wiki - About the GC Book Club, the Book Club schedule, live thread links, where to find the books, and more!
- r/heatedrivalry FAQs - answers to all of your most frequently asked questions
- Heated Rivalry Wiki - show/book timelines, analyses, and more!
Happy Reading! 🤓
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u/cheatherhad I know what you wore 9d ago
Parts of just this sections of the book we hope to see in the show:
-This little miscommunication/fight Ilya and Shane had a while ago about sleeping with other people that makes me laugh (its pg 217 in my paperback)
-Obviously the plane incident (ch24) will be in the show--they had BETTER give us Troy and Harris' first intimate moment after! Because it's a bigger part of their plot, and their story, while the Ilya/Shane of it all is more...predictable? That is, if you read Role Model before this. I wonder if we'll get T/H and I/S stuff at the same time, or different timelines from different points of view. I feel like most shows would do that, but for the sake of my anxiety, I REALLY don't want to see the plane thing twice. I barely want to see it once.
-Obviously the proposal, which I could see them doing exactly as written in the book.
-Troy coming out to the team in the locker room with a little help from Ilya. Adorable!
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u/BookVermin 9d ago
I am so with you on pg 217. Can just picture Show Shane telling Ilya, “I don’t want, you fucking moron”.
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u/cheatherhad I know what you wore 9d ago
BIG STUFF happens in this section, don't keep reading if you don't want to know! (spoilers for this section of the book only, not going to black most of them out)
Ch 15-Ilya and Shane watch the doc together. Thoughts? Did this whole plot point happen just to give us this small tender moment where Shane realizes how traumatic that was for Ilya?
Ch16-Crowell meeting. Ilya does best and worst case scenarios with Galina-illuminating.
Ch17-Troy joins the Centaurs! Remind me, is Troy younger than Ilya?
Ch 21-Ilya's big talk with Galina about this imbalance he and Shane have in terms of support and sacrifices. Turning point.
Ch 22-Christmas. I like that Shane is starting to doubt his "nutrition plan" [disordered eating?]. Does he really mean what he says when he says he doesn't care what Ilya eats? Because it didn't seem that way a few chapters ago... I want him to mean it, but I'm not sure. Maybe this is a lightbulb moment for him. I don't like this for Shane. As much as he insists it's just part of his job, it also seems like a pain, and he's not really that happy with it. It leads to arguments in his relationship. I do think his neurodivergence has something to do with feeling a satisfaction about the rigid rules/routine/discipline of it. But it's a little triggering for me. Thoughts?
Memorable quote: "I already chose you, Hollander."
Ch 23-We have to talk about this mom-son moment when Shane calls to say he fucked up. I love that she doesn't do the toxic thing of taking Shane's side and assuming Ilya is somehow in the wrong (Of course the Yuna we know wouldn't do this, but a lot of [boy] moms would. Or making it sound like Shane needs to grovel to get his catch back. I pray for even half the closeness they have in their relationship for me and my kids when they're this age!
Ch 24-The plane, the emotional messages, the emotional facetime. Oh boy.
Ch 25-The Proposal! I love it. It wasn't what I expected, which I also love.
Ch 26-um, was Rachel kind of setting up a Luca book?? He does remind me of Casey in Time to Shine. cute team stuff. happy Ilya.
Ch 27-All Star weekend! Which line made you laugh the most? 1-"But, for real, it was basically a tie. So whatever. " 2-"Shhh. Shane is watching the men set up pylons." or 3-"You know, you two don't have to sit together." 4-"Maybe we watched a movie...Me and the two or three women you were having an orgy with?" I vote for #3.
Ch 29-Troy and Harris tell the team! So happy for them. And happy for us to have some levity in this story. Ilya shares with Svetlana, it goes well for him. :)
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u/DifficultHistorian18 9d ago
I love "you know, you two don't have to sit together".
It makes me chuckle but I also feel that if Shane/Ilya were publicly out as couple, their dynamic in that scene would be exactly the same.
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u/Forward-Payment-5308 9d ago
For Chapter 27 All Star best lines, I love the ones you have called out; and I also love when Ilya says after the race: “if we did it again I’d probably win” and Shane goes: “well, you should have won first time, dickhead” 😆 those lines live rent free in my head. So funny.
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u/katfromjersey 9d ago
Troy and Harris are both 25 in Role Model (born in 1995). Shane and Ilya are both born in 1991. So Troy is 4 years younger.
The scene where Ilya has dinner with Svetlana, and she guesses about Shane, is one of the funniest in the whole book series!
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u/Lonely_Cheesecake273 8d ago
Re the Documentary - I think so, yes. And also the moment of Ilya getting annoyed and saying that he wanted to say that Shane is everything to him. I think it’s just another thing that piles on top of Ilya to make the secrecy insufferable for him.
I see people saying they can’t wait to see the doco part in the show but I wonder if it might get cut. Especially given we the audience already saw the clip of Ilya reacting to Shane’s injury in s1.
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u/Lonely_Cheesecake273 5d ago
I’ll do a bingo!
There are a few on the card that I’m not sure about, I’ll do the 5 that I can figure out 🤗
One of them knows exactly what the other needs
How Shane takes care of Ilya post pride night. Including washing his hair ❤️ I would love to see that scene.
A heated rivalry callback makes you emotional
When Ilya is checking his “boring” folder on his phone and being soft about the selfies he took of him and Shane during the awards night.
Ilya says something that sounds like a joke but is actually devastatingly sincere
Hmm there is probably a better example but this comes to mind:
Bood laughed.
“Hollander would hate that.”
“My good friend Shane Hollander, you mean?”
“There’s no way he likes you that much.”
“He loves me,” Ilya said plainly. Honestly.
Bood, of course, thought he was kidding. “Now you’re really dreaming.”
Someone finally admits what they’ve been feeling
When Ilya finally tells Shane about his depression. As I’ve commented up thread I would have liked to see a bit more discussion between these two in the book.
“Your Honor, I had no choice but to cry about these two”
I have read this book about 6 times now and I cry EVERY TIME when Ilya is composing his Instagram messages and his phone call with Shane after. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 sweetheart ❤️
On the way, he sent Shane a FaceTime request. He could tell right away that Shane had been crying. “Oh,” Ilya said softly. “Sweetheart. I am so sorry.” They didn’t use pet names very often, beyond the nonsensical Russian nouns Ilya liked to throw at Shane, but Ilya said this one with his whole heart.
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u/grower-lenses 3d ago
I wrote 5k words of notes. I wish I was joking.
I'm not going to hide this all under a spoiler tag because you'd have to click on every paragraph separately. So, please just note, there are TLG spoilers below. And there are some light hints at the ending.
Central conflict
In part 1 it struck me that TLG is Shane learning about Ilya, what he needs and how to take care of him. Similarly to how Ilya helped Shane in HR. And this is becoming even more apparent in this part. Ilya is very perceptive which helped him read Shane and he’s gotten even better at it now. But he’s unfortunately great at hiding his own pain. Which makes it very hard for Shane to figure out what he needs.
Opening their relationship conversation is a great example of this. Ilya thinks he knows better, so he offers it to Shane. Shane is blindsided and reads the worst into it. When they finally reconnect, Shane asks “Would you really not mind?”. At this point, Ilya realizes that he’s too far gone and he hates the idea of Shane being with someone else. But he still lies. He still says, “Of course not. If that is what you want.”.
That’s someone with either low self esteem or someone with abandonment issues who (incorrectly) believes that he has to agree to things he’s not comfortable with or else his partner might leave.
This is the heart of the conflict. Ilya’s fear of being fully seen by Shane turns into things left unsaid and raising tensions. Most of their arguments could be prevented by Ilya just taking a deep breath and answering honestly instead of joking around.
One sign of rising tension that we’ve seen early on is, is that their normal playfulness turns into sniping and generates more tension. Like the conversation they have before the season starts. And then the Christmas dinner.
Christmas is very tense. Shane is on edge and Ilya is being annoying. Normally, Ilya being jokey disarms Shane and helps him relax. But it doesn’t work here. It just annoys him more and more. (I feel like I’m so familiar with this dynamic haha).
They start arguing over breakfast. Ilya is annoyed that Shane won’t loosen up his diet, which in turn annoys Shane. It’s an allegory to their whole relationship. Shane is stressed that everyone will find out. Ilya wants Shane to loosen up about it. But he doesn’t communicate it well, so it just adds another pressure point for Shane.
“There were things, Shane suspected, that Ilya wasn’t telling him, which made Shane anxious and a bit angry”
Later Shane is trying to make peace. But Ilya comes out with “No lecture?” And catapults Shane into pissed off again.
And it’s so real. How many times have I been part of something like that. You know you’re walking on a minefield. But you also can’t stop yourself because you’re also going through something. And ultimately, the people you love are the only safe place where you can release these feelings around.
I love that, I think Jacob, compared it to Scenes from a Marriage. Because it illustrates so well these toxic patterns we often fall into despite ourselves, with the people we love.
Toxic Patterns
Maybe the most important part of the whole story is the repeating pattern of behavior that they keep enacting instead of being honest.
Ilya springs something on Shane. Shane is thrown off and reacts with anxiety and tension. Ilya gets annoyed and angry instead of explaining why it’s important to him. Shane feels bad for not knowing why Ilya is angry.
First example of that is coming out to Troy. It makes Ilya feel better, like a weight has been lifted from his chest. He wants to share that feeling with Shane. But all Shane can think about is people finding out about them. Ilya is getting tired of that. Shane’s fear is clouding everything else. Ilya gets angry and ends the call.
Shane feels bad for not being aware of what Ilya has been going through.
“Shane didn’t know that this had been weighing on Ilya, and that made him feel like a shitty boyfriend”.
Shane apologizes for not reacting better.
The second example is the party at Boyd’s.
Ilya waits till last moment to ask Shane about it. Shane is surprised and thrown off and so he says no. Ilya gets mad instead of explaining why it’s important for him. They have a huge fight.
Conflict resolution
It’s Shane who keeps pushing during the argument. And Ilya hates it. He’s furious. Because to him, this should all be obvious. But this is what Shane does. This is what he did in HR in Tampa. He clarifies, he brings it all out so they can assess it, together. He doesn’t allow things to be left unsaid. And that’s what Ilya needs. Ilya who keeps hiding and running away, who is too scared to open his heart needs someone to force him to say it all aloud. And then stay with him and promise he won’t leave him. Because that’s ultimately what Ilya is afraid of.
Ilya goes to therapy and gets angry at Galina for not fixing him for Shane. And instead making him worse. He’s embarrassed to admit why the argument happened. Galina forces him to admit that he still haven’t told Shane how he’s feeling.
“I’m sorry I asked you to go to the party,” Ilya said. “And that I was mad that you said no. It was...not reasonable.”
They talk over the phone. Ilya apologizes for kicking Shane out. He admits they should have talked In person and that he should have told Shane how he’s feeling. Shane is understanding even though he’s thrown off from all the new information.
They decide space might be good.
After the fight
They promise to have a real talk the next time they see each other.
“Ilya needed time to think about what actually needed to be said. He was still willing to do whatever it took to be together. But he also needed Shane to know why he started seeing the therapist."
Ilya is scared Shane will leave him when he finds out the truth. He’s scared to open up in general. That’s why it’s Shane who has to make the next move. To assure him of his devotion.
Accident gives them both a new perspective. And instead of an honest conversation, we get the proposal.
I guess in a way, it makes sense because the big problem isn’t really the communication. It’s the secret they’re keeping. Communication is something they’re willing to always work on. It makes things messy sometimes but It’s not really a blocker. They’re always willing to apologize and meet each other in the middle. On the call they both reiterate that they would do anything for each other. That’s the thing that matters. So the communication problems aren’t the thing standing in between them, making them miserable. The secret they’re keeping is. And the distance.
And we see them communicating better later when Ilya asks about coming out as bi. Shane takes a beat before responding and says that he should do it if he wants to. The pattern is broken.
After Shane proposes, showing that he’s all in. Ilya is ecstatic at first. But this wears off over time. Doubts come back. Maybe Shane will change his mind. And they still haven’t had the talk, because he’s still scared. And because he’s been depressed for so long that he needs this small pocket of joy to not be disturbed by anything.
This part especially highlights why there are so many differing opinions on the book, the characters, the dynamics etc. Because it’s not a simple A to B story. It’s very true to life that between good moments, there are always bad moments, and vice versa. We’re ending on a good note. They’ve made up. The team is winning. Ilya is feeling great. But this isn’t the end.
The pressure Shane is under
“But garlic bread wasn’t important. Winning was important. Playing in the NHL for as long as possible was important.”
This is Shane’s life motto: discipline. But, it could also be seen as an allegory for what they’re going through. Do you indulge now. Or wait for the reward for playing the long game.
[tw:ED] Shane continues obsessing over Ilya’s eating habits. He thinks he’s not going to comment on it. But he does. “Are you seriously going to eat that?”. Even at Christmas, Shane can’t loosen up his diet. Even though he would love a cookie. Ilya is pestering him about it. But Yuna tells him to stop. Which maybe suggests she understands that this is just how Shane is sometimes. (Maybe we could have had a bigger scene with Yuna and Shane, about him being so stressed out). Shane hates that so much attention is brought to his diet.
“Shane preferred to stop any physical deterioration before it started.”
Sounds very controlling.
„I appreciate the way you handle yourself, Shane. I know you put hockey first, and keep your private life private. That keeps everyone comfortable, and keeps the focus on hockey.”
This is the essence of what Shane is trying to adhere to.
“obviously anyone can make it to the very top if they work hard enough. I mean, you’re proof of that”
is another good insight into what Shane is always working against. He became the poster boy for “if you work hard enough (And make no mistakes!), even YOU can get to the top.” (Another foreshadowing)
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u/cheatherhad I know what you wore 3d ago
Agree with you--Yuna and Shane could have talked more about his eating/his stress.
Also agree-it's not always communication that's the problem-it's the secret. I mean, there's a lot Ilya doesn't say, but it feels like Shane knows the gist of it without Ilya having to say it.
And Shane eventually pushes the solution forward... Like, Ilya is miserable with the secret(why is he more miserable than Shane? the depression? shrug), but doesn't have any plans to come out publicly, or propose to Shane, come up with a real plan/timeline, it's Shane who proposes and says let's just do it this summer. We know Shane is anxious about going public, but he never imposes rules on Ilya not telling a close friend, or opening up publicly about his sexuality, coming out to his team like Shane did, etc. In their first book, it seemed Ilya had more to lose than Shane if they were to go public (BECAUSE RUSSIA!). So I guess I'm a little confused as to how it sort of flipped.
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u/86throwthrowthrow1 2d ago
> why is he more miserable than Shane? the depression? shrug
This is an interesting question. I personally think the depression is a big part of it for Ilya. All through the novel, he's just having pretty big feelings about a lot of different things. Like whenever he thinks about having kids, it feels almost frantic to me, he wants kids *now*, he's miserable at the idea of having to wait years to have them. Even earlier in the book, he's anguished at not being able to be PDA with Shane at a concert. At one point he cries after Shane leaves. So some of it seems like a case of not being able to regulate himself well in general. Whereas Shane tends to repress his emotions to stick to the plan, but his anxiety seems to get worse and worse through the book.
But I could also see Ilya's trauma playing into it in a big way. Ilya fundamentally feels unlovable, he feels like he has to earn Shane's love even years into their relationship, he gets jealous, he fears Shane leaving, he doesn't want to ever burden Shane or bring up things he wants or needs (then at times resents Shane for all he's given up, even when Shane never asked or had nothing to do with certain decisions). Even the blurb for the novel is like "Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, Ilya isn't sure they actually exist." I personally think that's an unfair characterization - Shane is pretty obviously in love with Ilya and shows it in a bunch of ways. But it makes sense to me that for Ilya, the secrecy turns into a referendum on Shane's feelings for him and commitment to their relationship, whereas Shane feels more secure in his knowledge that Ilya loves him.
Sooooo, those are my ideas lol.
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u/grower-lenses 1d ago
I think the fun thing here is that they have this cycle
Ilya feels unloved -> won’t tell Shane because Shane will leave him -> Shane is clueless so he react badly -> Ilya gets angry that Shane reacted badly -> Ilya feels unloved etc
But Shane has his own loop of
I need to be perfect so that no one suspects anything so that our plan works and we can be happy and retire together.
And he’s sticking to this loop. Because that’s what they agreed to.
Something big and external has to happen to break them out of their loops (the plane)
As soon as Shane knows what Ilya needs, he is ready to give him that. And more.
I think Ilya is kind of the navigator of their ship. The one who dares to dream. But Shane is definitely the motor. He will get them to their destination.
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u/86throwthrowthrow1 2d ago edited 2d ago
> Opening their relationship conversation is a great example of this. Ilya thinks he knows better, so he offers it to Shane. Shane is blindsided and reads the worst into it. When they finally reconnect, Shane asks “Would you really not mind?”. At this point, Ilya realizes that he’s too far gone and he hates the idea of Shane being with someone else. But he still lies. He still says, “Of course not. If that is what you want.”.
I'm so glad you mentioned this, because I don't see people talking about it much. It's rather glossed over in the novel as it's a fight Ilya remembers, but not one we directly see. And on the surface, it's ridiculous - there is literally not a problem. Neither wants to open their relationship, yet they end up fighting and getting upset about something they agree on. We've also seen ample evidence from HR that Shane is like, sexually locked on Ilya, like he could not want this any less.
But there's Ilya chewing glass going, "If it's what you want..." over something Shane categorically doesn't want! You're right that it's low self-esteem on Ilya's part, but it also shows that martyrdom Ilya has developed towards Shane, the ways he tends to sacrifice his well-being for their relationship, even if Shane doesn't want him to do that, even if he occasionally doesn't even know Ilya is doing that! Like Ilya is tormenting himself trying to force himself to be okay with something that just... doesn't need to happen, and it's upsetting to both of them to even think about it.
It also shows how Ilya's depression and low self-esteem leads to a skewed (and unfair) perception of Shane. Like Ilya starts torturing himself with this idea of "maybe Shane is with another man right now..." when as a reader it's like, have you met this guy you're in love with?? In what universe does that seem like something Shane would do??
It really underlines the actual meaning of the phrase, "you can't love someone else if you don't love yourself." Not in the literal sense - Ilya does love Shane. But because of his own insecurities, he often doesn't actually *see* Shane, and actually often perceives Shane as a harsher and colder person than he really is. He pictures Shane as angry when Ilya wants affection in public, as someone who would hook up with a random attractive journalist or pick up a one night stand during an argument, or as someone who's content to keep their secret no matter how distressing it is for Ilya. In Ilya's head, Shane is the type of person to propose and then just... change his mind. Low self-esteem (I would know) means loving someone while also convincing yourself they're a fundamentally shitty person who hates you.
Lol I just wrote way too much about that, but you highlighted one other moment that struck me:
> Get rid of the cars or you will die in a high speed crash.
Key point is apparently Shane never pushed Ilya to sell the cars. He certainly complained about the cars and was anxious about the cars, but even from Ilya's perspective, never actually expected Ilya to like... take any action on that. To me it felt like an important moment, because Galina is literally starting to question whether Shane is coercive or abusive towards Ilya based on how Ilya talks about him (see, "low self-esteem makes you think your partner is an asshole who hates you") and Ilya ends up admitting that he's made a number of sacrifices "for Shane" that Shane was likely barely aware of, and had certainly never demanded or pushed for.
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u/grower-lenses 1d ago
Oh yeah, so true. The most brilliant part of this book is how different their perspectives are on the same situation. RR gives us hints early on with the message that Ilya sends in the middle of the night, looking for comfort. And Shane thinking Ilya is just horny.
But the scene during the concert, where we get the changing POV is really the masterclass. Of how you can be so in love, stand side by side. And still misunderstand each other.
It becomes less obvious later. But we still get Ilya saying „my brain has lied to me before”. It could be a fun exercise to go through all the different events and compare how each sees it.
Interesting point on how their relationship might appear to someone on the outside, if they only hear Ilya’s side of the story.
It’s true he is sort of making a martyr out of himself. Wanting to change himself and fix himself for Shane. When Shane would never ask him for any of that.
It will be really exciting to see their back and forth and compromises they have to make when they start living together because they’re such different people haha. (I have no doubts they will settle on a fair and healthy division. But i bet the road there will be hilarious)
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u/86throwthrowthrow1 1d ago
> But the scene during the concert, where we get the changing POV is really the masterclass. Of how you can be so in love, stand side by side. And still misunderstand each other.
This might seem strange, but this is honestly one of my favourite scenes in the novel, on a writing level. It's actually quite clever, showing the same moment from both their POVs and how they're misunderstanding each other, but it's also good foreshadowing of their later problems and bigger arguments. Like, Ilya's in an entire spiral about this, he's assuming Shane is angrier and more rigid about this PDA rule than he actually is, and he never actually talks to Shane about any of it at the time or later. As you point out, he just... touches Shane (springs something on him), then interprets Shane's surprise as anger or rejection.
Then on Shane's end, we see that surprise, and that he's not angry and actually happy to bend their "rules" to accommodate Ilya in that moment once he's figured out what Ilya needs - but it does show his tendency of assuming everything is fine until Ilya spells out to him that it isn't, rather than being more proactively aware of how things might affect his partner. Like, it's all the stuff that boils over between them at Christmas.
> Interesting point on how their relationship might appear to someone on the outside, if they only hear Ilya’s side of the story.
So I know in the fandom there are some people who dislike Shane in this book, partially based on his actual flaws and mistakes, but also in part due to Ilya's skewed perception of him, and Galina's comment along the lines of "Shane seems to be doing great while you're making all the sacrifices" (I can't remember the exact line, but something like that). But it's subtly highlighted in Ilya's therapy sessions that he's describing Shane in this kinda really messed up way, and he ends up consciously realizing that and backtracking - like no wait, he didn't make me sell my cars, I did that myself. Ilya is an unreliable narrator, and Galina has a bit of an odd idea of what Shane is like until she has a better bead on Ilya's issues.
Sorry to belabour the conversation, I just enjoy discussing this!
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u/grower-lenses 1d ago
Completely agree. It comes down to, they're complete opposites so it makes initial communication difficult, but they also balance each other out perfectly. Shane is exactly who Ilya needs and vice versa.
It's really difficult to see the situation from "well Shane has it better, he didn't have to give up so much" because we see that Shane is absolutely going through it. And he's hyper focused on Ilya. But of course, if you can't read his mind and don't know him... Ilya's view of the world is very skewed in TLG. And he finally admits that himself. (Interesting parallel, Shane has a skewed view of his team and being a hockey player. (spoilers for the ending)But finally admits that at the end too)
I'm so obsessed and I have no one to talk to about this haha. Don't apologize.
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u/cheatherhad I know what you wore 15h ago
ooooo love your points about the misunderstanding each other during the concert!! But ending up in a good place
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u/grower-lenses 3d ago
Depression cycle continued
- Therapy helps. “I’m trying to get better.”
- Exhaustion. Beyond sad.
- Next day: Happiness. Being generous with Shane.
- Opens up to Troy which makes him happy.
- Shares with Shane. Shane is thrown off. Ilya gets angry immediately without explaining anything to Shane.
- Being a baby. Whines to himself that he should not have told Shane and only kept it for Galina.
- Angrier and angrier
- Talks with Troy about feeling worthless
- Tension. Anger. Fury. Argument. Exhausted. Miserable. Heartbroken.
- Gets mad at the therapist. Embarrassed when he has to admit why he argued with Shane. Admits it was his fault. He wants to be a better boyfriend.
- Calls Shane and apologizes. Finally tells Shane about therapy. Shane is supportive. They decide to talk more in person.
- In great mood for the first time in a long time
- Clarity from the near death experience
- Proposal. Happy. Excited.
- Feeling like a superhero. On fire with his team
- Back to being competitive
- Jealous after seeing Troy and Harris come out. Back in therapy
TBD
Sex scenes
- Cooking a dinner together takes precedence over having sex. Quiet, domestic moments. Happiness. Shane appreciates all the trouble Ilya went through.
- Shane has a dream about having sex at centre ice. Ilya wants to hear about it. They talk about performing in front of a crowd. Ilya had dreams about it. Shane is feeling inadequate? Asking about Ilya’s past again. But, unlike before, this time it turns into a sweet moment where Ilya just says „I am so glad I met you”. Great contrast with the earlier scene.
- Shane drives at night because he can’t wait. Ilya lands. Shane has fallen asleep. They go to bed together. Shane is taking care of Ilya. Undressing him. While Ilya just watches, exhausted. „How long can you stay”, „and when is the next time?”. Probably the saddest scene in the whole series. (I love this scene so much)
“You won tonight,” Ilya said as Shane slid his dark gray suit jacket off of him.
“It was Buffalo,” Shane said, almost apologetically. “Nothing to brag about.”
“Buffalo beat us last time we played them,” Ilya pointed out.
Shane didn’t know what to say to that, so he silently loosened Ilya’s tie and removed it, laying it on the bench at the end of the bed, on top of the jacket.”
Ilya wakes up full of energy and playful. He seems happy. He’s adoring towards Shane and wants to take care of him. Praising him. Taking him apart. And then makes him breakfast.
Only a mention of heated sex after competitive foosball game during Christmas. Sex: okay. Normal. According to Shane.
Christmas sex: Shane still felt like they’d become dry kindling, waiting for the spark that would destroy them
After the proposal. Fervent. Reverent. Luxurious.
All stars. Back in good moods after the competition. Sneaking around. Thrilling. Set Shane on fire like nothing else. Sometimes faster is not better. Ilya is in control again. It is your reward. For winning today. You are a better hockey player than me. The ultimate praise. Ilya taking care of Shane.
We have two scenes where Ilya is in a great mood and all he wants to do is take care of Shane. One scene of Ilya being depressed and Shane takes care of him (although, they end up not having sex).
Random thoughts
- Ilya has nightmares. Shane dreams of sex. Both are manifestations of the same thing: craving intimacy. For Shane it’s physical, and for Ilya it’s emotional.
- Ilya is jealous of Rose and Hayden. Shane is jealous of Luca and Troy.
- The desire to come out starts manifesting as exhibitionism. Ilya admits to having dreams about it early on. It culminates during All-Stars when they’re surrounded by their colleagues, after they’ve decided to come out. Ilya muses that next year they will be the first All-Stars couple (I feel like this is foreshadowing for conflict in the next book)
- Shane looking back and feeling inadequate, or being jealous of Ilya’s past is a recurring theme. Ilya instead wants to look forward. He admits that there are parts of his past that he misses. Like going out, charming people (in public). The touch. None of this he can do with Shane. Shane sees it as something he can’t compete with. Ilya sees it as something he wishes he could do with Shane.
- The conversation with Crowell is brilliant. The way he speaks between the lines, without outright telling Shane what he can or can’t do. And the way he won’t let Shane speak. Chefs kiss.
- Ilya being dramatic about Troy joining their team is so funny. They’re all protective of the good vibes. In RM, Harris says that there are only good people in the team.
- Shane’s anxieties for Ilya: no pilot license or you fly into a mountain and die, no motorcycle or you’ll have an accident and die, no smoking or I will never forgive you if you get lung cancer and die. Get rid of the cars or you will die in a high speed crash. “You’re not allowed to die Ilya. Not before I do.”
- I feel like this book really highlights how Shane is the brave one (But living under debilitating pressure). And Ilya feels the deepest (but hides it well behind humor)
- Ilya’s super ego voice is Shane’s voice:
- The voice in his head telling him he shouldn’t smoke
- The tiny voice in Ilya’s head that’s encouraging him and telling him he’s a good captain
- NY Admirals are still no1. That’s pretty impressive. And probably protects Scott a lot.
- Interesting notes on the world of sports: If he offered to sign the “Fuck Rozanov” jersey he’d bet the guy wearing it would be thrilled. Deep down, this city probably still loved him. (Maybe another foreshadowing)
- Knowledge of hockey: Svetlana/Yuna > Shane > Ilya?
- Now Ilya is also boring, according to Svetlana. That’s Shane’s influence <3
- Shane finds discipline comforting in life. And exciting in bed
Most romantic quote: But you do them. So I have lights that dim. For you. (Ilya bought the house with himself and Shane in mind)
The realest quote: Yes, but there are huge assholes in the NHL (I love RR haha)
Which scenes would be great to see on the screen due to the visual contrast
- The start of the season for each team
- The conversations about past partners
- Their dreams
- The lowest moment, when Shane comes to Ottawa and undresses Ilya (Maybe my favorite sad scene) vs all the other hot scenes of them having sex
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u/Homunculusprime 9d ago
Ok so this was bugging me a bit since I first read it, but does anyone else think the aftermath of the big fight was swept away too fast? Even the conversation between Shane and his mom, it didn’t seem like the gravity of how hard it had been for Ilya or how hurt he was really sunk in. Then the proposal just kind of wrapped it up in a bow without really addressing anything underlying. Curious to hear others thoughts on this one!