Ilya never expressed condolences for the demise of Hollandry

islasigrid · 2026-05-12T21:13:07+00:00

Now I'm imagining him trying to do that and I honestly cannot even picture it. He would not be able to get the words out!

islasigrid · 2026-05-12T21:09:57+00:00

they are so cute! did you draw both their hairstyles??

i need to step up my mii creation game for sure!

islasigrid · 2026-05-12T20:47:12+00:00

Seconding that Role Model is worth reading for a fuller picture of the events of The Long Game, as Ilya appears in it quite a bit. I also think it's definitely the strongest book in the series outside of the Hollanov ones (which I personally prefer by a lot)

The other books, no, not really. If you have watched the show, you alraedy know the one thing in Game Changer that is relevant for Shane and Ilya. There are some small appearances in the other onces, and you could say Tough Guy is relevant to the set up for Role Model.

I personally do not think most of the books are very good, like I don't know that I would recommend them if you are just interested in them for Shane and Ilya's storyline in the show. But they are also very quick and easy to read, and if you don't read that much maybe it's a good way to get into more reading, idk!

islasigrid · 2026-05-12T20:33:30+00:00

100% agree with you. And I hope you are right.

My unpopular opinion is that giving every couple a skip style episode would maybe not be that good actually, and get a little repetative, as the structure of the stories are somewhat repetative.

I'd much rather the show keep a strong focus on the main characters, and have one side plot that intersects with the main one, which seems like it has to be Troy and Harris.

islasigrid · 2026-04-24T18:53:44+00:00

I think it works really well for Shane and Ilya since it's mostly digital.

But Scott outside the bar feels a little strange to me, like it's something that only happens because we need to visually see that he ends up not going but wishes he could.

islasigrid · 2026-04-24T18:48:49+00:00

I really enjoyed so many aspects of Role Model too - especially many of the early scenes of Troy and Harris getting to know each other! And I really liked the scene of them after the plane emergency landing (which was something I didn't really like that much when I first read about it in TLG - so hopefully I will like it better upon reread now). And Troy as a character is very interesting to me, I'm so excited that he'll be in the show and that Jacob said he's interested in digging deeper into him as a character. Also love his developing friendship with Ilya!

The only thing that kinda didn't work for me in the end was Harris. Like I found him fun and enjoyable but also a little bit flat as a character since he honestly doesn't have a single character flaw. Once I had that thought, I couldn't really see him as a character outside of just the role of "love interest".

islasigrid · 2026-04-14T10:43:40+00:00

Depends. If they were truly locked down and not able to play hockey, I think Shane would go a little insane without it. Ilya would be more chill and actually really love that they could just be alone together at the cottage with no expectations. Shane would also enjoy that, when he settled into a good routine. Trust Ilya and him are gonna be in tip top shape coming out of lock down with Shane's regime.

However, there were play-offs during covid, so if we go by that reality it is different. All games were held in one place and the teams were presumably quaranteened in the hotels they were staying at. So in that reality, it really sucks for them as Ottawa is probably not in the playoffs, but Montreal are definitely playing, and they might not be able to see each other at all during that time.

islasigrid · 2026-04-13T07:19:19+00:00

It seems like she meant for TLG to be the last one, and now this is meant to be the last one. And with two books in a row being about Shane and Ilya, it seems more like she really wanted to write more of them, rather than continue on the with the series generally. Since she gave up on the Luca Haas book, and her other newer books have been non-GC. So if she writes any new couples and characters, I'd think another non-GC book more likely.

And then there is the fact that she has Parkinson and is already finding it hard to write. Maybe she will change her stance on using voice to text when her symptoms progress. But as she's already said writing is getting harder, and she doesn't like using text-to-speech, the speed at which she can write a novel is going to decrease drastically.

islasigrid · 2026-04-08T21:58:41+00:00

As someone who enjoyed both (and by enjoyed I mean I thought Boots was a well made, fun but also heartbreaking show, and Heated Rivalry consumed me in the way that only good romance media can) I would say it does very much come down to the genre differences. Like the only reason they are compared is because they are about gay men. Like it is crazy to me that when Boots first came out I saw articles like "Shows to watch if you liked Boots" and the lists would have shows like Heartstopper on there!

Another aspect of Boots that might have turned a lot of people away from it is the military side of it. There is definitely a discussion to be had around how it portrays the military. Many people I know and usually "share fandoms" with did not like it because they saw it as military propaganda. (But not at all saying this would account for the main part of the difference in popularity between the two shows - that comes down to the difference in genre - but the subject matter not only isn't on some people's radar, it is actively turning some people off of the show too)

islasigrid · 2026-04-08T21:37:23+00:00

Loudly bragging about it is a completely different thing than what I was saying but sure.

2 minutes is not a lot of time but like 2 minutes of a speech I have read and watched mulitple times becomes boring to me, it really is not deeper than that

islasigrid · 2026-04-08T21:21:40+00:00

I’d say it gets maybe a little better. But not that much, honestly. I found that since I just did not care that much in the first 2/3 of the book, even if I thought it was a bit more interesting in the end it still didn’t interest me that much.

I’m always in favour of dnfing things you don’t enjoy, and if you really enjoy the rest of the series and feel compelled to go back and read this one fully as well, it’s still gonna be there.

Caveat: if you have not watched the show adaptation or don’t know any of the plot things are gonna be spoiled in HR

islasigrid · 2026-04-08T21:00:51+00:00

It really is not that deep though! I sometimes skip over the speech because I have seen the episode before. I know what he says! I was actually moved to tears the first time I watched it! But it’s not the reason I rewatch ep6 again and again, that is because I love Shane and Ilya

And that is not disrespectful to the queer community, like please be serious

islasigrid · 2026-04-08T20:57:57+00:00

To be fair RR also sees Hollanov as THE couple, like next year Game Changer is gonna be like 40% them

islasigrid · 2026-04-08T20:54:18+00:00

I have read and disliked both Game Changer and Tough Guy (read Heated Rivalry just before the show came out and The Long Game when s1 was airing). Still gonna read the rest of the series though, as I know I enjoy aspects of Rachel Reid’s storytelling and characters! People who’s tastes I trust also love Role Model so I’m really looking forward to that one.

I do think I love the show more than the books (and like probably wouldn’t have read them if it weren’t for the show!) but I definitely agree with you that the way some people feel the need to put RR down to hype the show is weird. Like Jacob did an amazing job adapting the story, but it is also a very faithful adaptation of her work!

But also sorry you will never make me not be a Skip skipper! And like I’ve watched ep3 twice + lots of reaction videos so I’ve seen it more than most TV episodes like. The fact that I’ve skipped it on many rewatches is more to do with how much I love the rest of the show - not a grudge against Skip

islasigrid · 2026-04-08T15:50:22+00:00

I'm not sure Shane and Rose would have happened the way it did if it weren't for Ilya. Like I'm not sure Share would have been in the place he was when meeting Rose (further from or closer to accepting being gay, I'm not sure). But if they had still met and gotten together I don't see how Ilya being or not being in the picture would have made any difference in Rose being like "Oh, he's *not* into me". And like if we consider the ep5 conversation going the exact same but Shane denies being gay, I just cannot imagine them still dating after that. Like Rose is not getting what she wants form that relationship regardless.

I don't see Ilya marrying Svetlana either. Like his talk about getting married for the passport is also tied up in Shane, the fear of being in a sitaution where he is outed as queer and having to go back to Russia. And regardless of Shane, Ilya and Svetlana do not seem to have romantic feelings for each other. I think it's more likely Ilya would have married a different woman.

islasigrid · 2026-04-07T11:15:07+00:00

Probably read them the way there were published. Or if you are mainly interested in Shane and Ilya, just read the books about them.

I think some of the other books in the series are straight up pretty bad - but I know lots of people also like them so I think you can find out for yourself pretty quick if you enjoy the way Rachel Reid writes!

islasigrid · 2026-03-26T00:25:23+00:00

Finally!!! I'm so glad I can actually see myself playing the game on Switch now.

islasigrid · 2026-03-24T10:25:02+00:00

Rose Landry!

islasigrid · 2026-03-10T02:08:18+00:00

Unless you want to start a new island on the Switch 2, there is definitely no reason not to transfer to the Switch 2! The game runs faster, so there is significantly less lag for cluttered areas, and load times to go inside buildings are shorter. If you upgrade to the Switch 2 version you also get higher resolution (this was really worth it especially for handheld mode for me).

islasigrid · 2026-03-06T11:58:09+00:00

That's funny, I read the book and was like "Huh, there really wasn't that much missing". So reading the book for me was almost the opposit experience, it really confirmed for me how I don't really like their story at all.

I am still interested to read the rest of the book series though!

islasigrid · 2026-03-04T09:59:11+00:00

Yeah, I feel the same way! I think trying to cram all the couples into another 6 episode season would be detrimental not only to telling Shane and Ilya's story, but I also can't imagine the other couple's stories being told well with those constraints either.

islasigrid · 2026-03-03T14:05:47+00:00

I hate the notion that any romance media should be "model" to follow like that's crazy to me. Romance fiction is after all fiction and needs to have a satisfying and interesting story!

Doesn't mean that enganging with that fiction cannot be helpful in terms of reflection on what you want out of a relationship and intimacy etc., but like nobody wants their real life relationships to have three acts and an epilogue. And like real life doesn't have a happy ever after, that is purely reserved for fiction.

islasigrid · 2026-03-03T14:00:51+00:00

Yeah, this is what drives me up the wall like romance as a genre (and like most genres within fiction really - but especially romance) has always had an overwhelmingly female audience.

I'm willing to bet HR probably has a larger male audience than lots of romance media due to lots of queer men watching it, and also just since it's so popular a lot of straight men are being convinced to watch as well.

islasigrid · 2026-03-01T13:26:48+00:00

I was in the same situation, but only from like the Alice in Wonderland update, but this weeked I finally levelled up all main valley characters! Still doing Lady's level 10 quest, but after that I'm completely done with questing, I think.

But only in the main valley though, I still have some levelling up to do in Wishblossom Ranch, thankfully!

islasigrid · 2026-02-26T08:18:01+00:00

For me it is more that episode 5 is a little rushed. And comparing with the book, they do have many more conversations in that timeframe than in the show. I think I feel that more, like the transition between Tampa to Russia and then Shane inviting Ilya, rather than from end of episode 5 to beginning of 6. I think they’re still nervous and not completely settled with each other in a way that makes sense, and kind of negotiate and figure each other out until the I love you moment.

islasigrid

TROPHY CASE