Heated Rivalry Author Rachel Reid Announces New Game Changers Book Unrivaled — See the Cover! (People Exclusive)
Reid's new novel meets hockey rivals-turned-lovers Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov in completely new territory
Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid is returning to the steamy romance between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov with Unrivaled
The sequel meets the hockey rivals-turned-lovers in a new phase of their life and love: they're out, married and finally playing on the same team
From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Reid comes Unrivaled, a continuation of the steamy romance between heartthrob hockey players Ilya Rosanov and Shane Hollander. Reid's characters — already beloved by fans of her bestselling series — recently amassed a rabid fan base with a new series adaptation of the second novel in the Game Changers series, Heated Rivalry, starring Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams.
Set to debut Fall 2026, Unrivaled meets Ilya and Shane on completely new territory: they're out, married and even playing on the same team. And the public reaction to their love has been mostly supportive.
"They’ve gotten a lot of love from fans who are thrilled for them," the book's synopsis reads. "But some people in the hockey world are still reeling from their relationship reveal, and the backlash — led by popular hockey podcast Top Shelf and the #TakeBackHockey movement — is getting louder."
"Ilya and Shane are finally able to stand together in the light, the way they’d always wanted," the synopsis adds. "And now they might be facing their biggest challenge yet."
Reid tells PEOPLE the immense love for Ilya, Shane and Heated Rivalry this past year has been a thrill to experience.
"I'm really excited to have the chance to continue their story with Unrivaled. I’m writing this one for all the Hollanov fans, old and new," Reid says. "I can’t tell you how much the love my characters have received over the years means to me. It has been a blast writing these guys again, and revisiting the entire Game Changers cast."
The Heated Rivalry screen adaptation took the world by storm in late November 2025, as fans saw Shane and Ilya onscreen as fierce opponents during their teenage years. As their romance heats up over their years dominating the professional hockey scene, each athlete reckons with his background, sexuality, fame, success and feelings for the other.
The smash-hit show was renewed for a second season on Dec. 12, two weeks before the first season's finale, "The Cottage," debuted on HBO on Dec. 27.
Unrivaled is set to debut on Sept. 29 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.
Yuna and David having watched their autistic son be so isolated all of his adult life and never having a happy relationship or close friends who understand his anxiety and then finding out that the man they’ve spent a decade hating on his behalf can casually talk him down from a panic attack in less than a minute
lesbian heated rivalry wouldn’t be in hockey because there are already many out queer women in hockey due to the fact that hockey is viewed as a men’s sport. the whole reason hockey is captivating for mlm is because it is a toxically masculine sport and the idea of having out queer men in that sport is surprising (requiring them to stay closeted/have situationships/etc), whereas it is not nearly as surprising for queer women. therefore, lesbian heated rivalry would actually occur in a setting like ballet, gymnastics, or some other stereotypically feminine sport (that has toxic feminine standards) where queer women are not as visible. in this essay i will
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guy who is stuck in a timeloop but is too socially anxious to bring it up to anybody or change their routine just in case it turns out they're mistaken. like yeah you're pretty sure that it's been november 3rd for two weeks now but idk maybe that's the depression talking. it's fine.
IM ANTI-PEDOPHILE
IM ANTI-MAP
IM ANTI-KINDERGENDER OR WHATEVER THE FUCK IT IS
PUT ME ON THE ANTI MASTERLISTS!!!!
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people are literally so boring a male character will kill 10000 people and steal candy from babies and theyll be like omg thats my king! but a female character is rude once and theyre like i hope she dies violently
