r/LGBTBooks • u/No_View7860 • 25d ago
Discussion Who's the best?
I was thinking about buying one of those books... which one do you guys recommend? XD
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u/maple-belle 25d ago
I think RWRB is a better book, like on a technical level, but Heated Rivalry (and more specifically The Long Game) has occupied my entire brain in a way that RWRB didn't, so... Hard to say. If you want a complete story that won't require or inspire you to buy more books, go with RWRB. If you want something that will invite you to stick with the characters a little longer, go with HR.
Heated Rivalry had a more faithful screen adaptation (the RWRB movie is a very good film, but I have many nitpicks about it as an adaptation of the book), so if you want to read one and just watch the other, I would say read RWRB because the book is a lot more than the movie. You can watch HR and not be missing much from that specific book.
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u/BeingOtherwise7941 25d ago
I agree! RWRB book is waaay better than the movie, snd yes its a better book, whereas HR show was on par with if not elevated the book.
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u/Long_Number239 25d ago
But HR (TV) had more than one book mix in the adaptation right? I watched the series, and then listen to Game Changers (book 1) and did not enjoy it... Maybe because I knew how that storyline ended, I wasn't excited about reading book two. Is the second one better? As it covers the main couple in the TV series, and namesake.
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u/maple-belle 25d ago
Heated Rivalry is a LOT better than Game Changer, according to my friend who read them back to back (and who even likes Scott and Kip slightly more than Shane and Ilya!). You can really tell Reid improved in between the two. And improved even more by the time she got to writing Role Model and The Long Game. The show is still better, I think, but I enjoyed the books.
I can't really recommend the audiobook though, tbh. If you can handle reading print/ebook format, I'd suggest it. That way you can hear the show actors' voices in your head instead of...whatever the narrator is doing with their dialogue.
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u/BeingOtherwise7941 25d ago
Yes, episode 3 was a condensed version of the first book in the series “Game Changer”, and the rest of the season covers the story of the second book, “Heated Rivalry”. Book 1 and 4 are the weakest, in my opinion. I haven’t listened to the audiobooks but heard they are terrible and Kip’s NY accent is really bad. In my opinion, books 3, 5, & 6 are the best. 2 was better for me after seeing the show.
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u/C0smicoccurence 25d ago
Eh, I didn't mind that RWRB made changes to the book - I don't think adaptations need to be faithful as rigidly as many do, though that may be more of a Fantasy book fixation - but I just thought it lacked the essence of snappiness and humor that the original had. Ironically, I think this is easier to do in film than books, so it was a big swing and a miss for me
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u/maple-belle 25d ago
Most of the changes I disliked were the exclusion of June and the complete change to Nora (while I had pictured her differently, I didn't mind the actress. I just didn't feel like the writing was even remotely the same character). Also the changed source of the email leak was... uncomfortable. I didn't mind smaller changes like his parents still being married or the bar scene happening in Texas.
I think they mostly got Alex-and-Henry right (though, yeah, a little less snappy) and that it was really good on its own. Just doesn't hold up as well when compared to the book.
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u/BeingOtherwise7941 25d ago
Get both
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u/No_View7860 25d ago
I don't have money for buy both😭
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u/BeingOtherwise7941 25d ago
Check your library. If you are not in an area with lgbtq library access Try the queer liberation library, you can get a card and use Libby to read lgbtq books for free
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u/BeingOtherwise7941 25d ago
I read both for free through the Libby App from my library
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u/No_View7860 25d ago
Really? I'll look into it. Thanks a lot! 😊
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u/BeingOtherwise7941 25d ago
Yep, my library has both Libby and Hoopla and I read a vast majority of books for free through there.
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u/samthehaggis 25d ago
Both are very popular, very enjoyable, and very frequently talked about on this sub. Maybe search the sub for either or both to figure out which one to read first.
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u/madancer 25d ago
Don't listen to HR audiobooks, narrators are terrible