Common Goal

Rachel Reid's Game Changers series has built a dedicated readership and earned a streaming adaptation on Crave and HBO Max, and Common Goal represents the series at its emotional core — a slow-burn romance between aging goaltender Eric Bennett and the much younger Kyle Swift that deals honestly with vulnerability, identity, and what life looks like after a long career ends. The character work is genuine, and the age-gap dynamic is handled with care. Penny needs to be straightforward here, though: this book contains male-male sexual content rated at the maximum heat level, including BDSM elements. It is not appropriate for children, teens, or readers seeking faith-family-safe content, and it falls outside what this site typically recommends. Adult readers in the LGBTQ+ romance genre who already know the series will find it a strong entry. Everyone else should know clearly what it contains before picking it up.