How To Read ‘Heated Rivalry’ & All Of Rachel Reid's ‘Game Changers’ Books In Order
Everyone is freaking the PUCK out about these hockey players.
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Heard the good word about Heated Rivalry, the incredibly spicy new Canadian series streaming on Crave and HBO Max? The already popular series is based on a popular hockey smut series from author Rachel Reid collectively called Game Changers. Since the epic romance of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander (Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, respectively, on the show) is not the first book in the series, here's what you need to know about how to read the Game Changers books in order.
I say hockey smut with my full chest, by the way, because that's how Reid describes them on her official website. These books and the characters therein are also, as she says, cute! What is it about hockey that has people this captivated and invested in the romantic lives of the players? Is it a fire and ice thing? Is it the fighting? Whatever it is, Reid has managed to fit all kinds of different dynamics and romance tropes in the rink.
The first book in Reid's series concerns a character we've only spent a few key moments with on the television series: Scott Hunter, played by François Arnaud. As we will likely soon learn, he falls in love with a barista at a juice bar. What is Kip Brady, played by Robbie G.K. on the show, putting in those smoothies?! We may find out sooner rather than later.
The central pairing in the second book appears to be Reid's favorite and is the central focus of the television adaptation. The on-ice rivalry between Ilya Rozanov, Russian captain of a Boston pro hockey team, and Canadian hometown hero Shane Hollander makes them both media darlings. Little does the press know what goes on behind closed doors...
The third book, like the first, steps ever so slightly outside of the rink. It's about a played named Ryan Price who discovers feelings for an old flame and violin player named Fabian Salah. The musician not only hates hockey, but pushes against stereotypical gender conventions at every turn. He and Ryan are somewhat of an unlikely pair, but that's what makes it fun!
Eric Bennett, a retired goalie, also finds love outside of his chosen sport and former career. He meets a grad student named Kyle Swift who has sworn off older men like him. Just when you say you're out, you know? (Remember, "retired athlete" means Eric is like... 40. Older, sure, but hardly a senior citizen.) They try to keep each other at arm's distance, strictly friends with benefits. Good luck with that!
The fifth book is about a player called Troy Barrett's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. He's in the middle of a scandal, a breakup, and got traded to a team that keeps losing. Enter Harris Drover, a social media manager tasked with sprucing up Troy's image online. So many hockey grumps in this series, and finally a real burst of sunshine.
The final book (so far) returns to the Ilya and Shane well to conclude their story (so far). Let's not get into the details of the long-awaited sequel, however. It might spoil the series!
Overtime Content:
- "Merry Christmas Scott and Kip," a free short story set after Book One.
- "My Dinner With Hayden," a free short story set after Book Two.
There are also two other standalone romance novels written by Reid that are not in this series officially but also happen to also be about gay hockey players: Time To Shine and the latest, The Shots You Take. Surely that's enough reading to keep you busy until the next episode, right? Maybe you'll even learn enough about hockey to surprise your nearest and dearest when the Winter Olympics roll around. Maybe.
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