Author Rachel Reid on what the next ‘Heated Rivalry’ book will be about and tuning out the mania

As “Heated Rivalry” author Rachel Reid writes the latest instalment in the love story that served as the basis for the hit television series, she’s trying to strike a delicate balance.

There’s real-world inspiration to be found in how quickly her life changed following the Crave series’ debut in November, but she’s also trying to ignore the show’s existence. 

“‘I’m trying really hard not to think about the show versions of the characters while I’m writing this,” she said on a video call Thursday. 

“I’m pretending there’s no show, because if I start thinking that way, I start thinking about the possibility of what I’m writing being filmed, then I think about real people having to say and do these things, and then I’m just not going to be able to do it.”

Reid had planned to finish writing “Unrivaled,” the seventh book in the “Game Changers” series and third to follow hockey rivals-turned-lovers Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, before the show aired.

Unfortunately, she didn’t quite make it. 

Now, she’s inundated with images of real-life interpretations of the characters that for many years existed only in her mind.

Response to the show — which was carried by HBO Max in the U.S. — has been rabid, with stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie becoming overnight Hollywood sensations, appearing on late night talk shows and presenting at the Golden Globes.

It can be distracting to see her creations everywhere she looks, Reid said, but it’s not all bad.

“I think having my life change very quickly and be weird in a lot of ways kind of helped write parts of this book. It’s good to have that information,” she said. 

“One of the themes in the book is about how their lives change very, very quickly.”

PRESSURES OF COMING OUT

After more than a decade of loving each other in secret, “Unrivaled” picks up with Shane and Ilya having publicly announced that they’re together.

“Suddenly, they’re out, everybody knows about them, they’re married. They are together all the time: they work together, they travel together and they live together.” 

The pressure that comes with that will be the focus of the third book in their love story.

Readers were first introduced to Shane and Ilya’s relationship in “Heated Rivalry,” the second book in the “Game Changers” series, in which the pair must deal with their own fears about being in a same-sex relationship as professional hockey players. 

That book serves as the basis for Season 1 of the Crave show, which was also carried by HBO Max and aired its finale on Boxing Day.

Shane and Ilya are again the focus in the sixth book, “The Long Game,” in which they face pressure from the league to keep their romance a secret.

That’s where Reid had planned to conclude their story, but she said at about this time last year, she started to think more about the characters — possibly because the “Heated Rivalry” TV series was in development.

She decided there was more of their relationship to explore.

“When I was approaching this one, I was thinking like how as they get closer together, the conflict becomes more external and bigger,” she said. 

REAL-LIFE LGBTQ+ ISSUES IN SPORT

A lifelong hockey fan, Reid said she found easy inspiration in real-world reactions to LGBTQ+ issues in the sport.

“If you look at any post about a Pride night in the NHL…if you read the comments underneath, you’re going to see some of the worst things you’ve ever seen in your life,” she said.

But the reactions to Shane and Ilya’s love wouldn’t all be negative, she added. There would be supporters — but even well-meaning fans can strain a relationship. 

“Some of that would be in a more parasocial way,” she said, referring to the phenomenon in which people feel they have a close relationship with public figures they’ve never met.

“There’s so many things that would go on, I think, if this was a real scenario and that’s what I wanted to dive into. But, you know, without making it too heavy.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.