Everything you should know about Rachel Reid’s Game Changers books that inspired Heated Rivalry

If, like me, you binged Heated Rivalry in one day and was desperate for more, then you really need to read the Game Changers books – especially as season two of the show won’t be out until 2027.

The show, which originally aired in Canada on Crave before becoming a global sensation, is based on the second book in Rachel Reid‘s Game Changers series, also called Heated Rivalry. It also includes the plot of the first book, Game Changer, as a side-storyline.

There are currently six books in the series, with the seventh due for release next year after Reid delayed it because of her health.

I get it. A six-book series is a lot to commit to. The show was done so perfectly, can the book even live up to that?

Well, I’ve read the whole series (so far) and am here to answer your questions.

What is the Game Changers novel series?

Game Changers is a novel series written by Canadian author Rachel Reid, published by Carina Press. The books all follow queer hockey players, dealing with their relationships and lives on and off the rink.

The first book, Game Changer, was published in 2018. It follows star hockey player Scott Hunter and barista Kip Grady.

Heated Rivalry followed in 2019. The book, which eventually spawned the TV series, takes a look at the secret relationship of rival players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.

A year later, in 2020, Reid published Tough Guy. This time, the book follows hockey player Ryan Price and his reunion with his teenage crush, musician Fabian Salah, which eventually evolves into a romance.

Common Goal came next, also in 2020. The book follows hockey player Eric Bennett who, after the end of his marriage, decides to explore his attraction to men and dates younger bartender Kyle Swift.

The following year saw the release of Role Model. In the book, hockey pro Troy Barrett finds himself dealing with the end of a secret relationship with a famous actor, before finding love with his team’s social media manager Harris Drover.

The Long Game is the latest to be released in the series so far, coming out in 2022. It is a sequel to Heated Rivalry and follows Shane and Ilya struggling to keep their relationship going strong while also being at the top of their game.

Should you read the Game Changers books in order?

Originally, I had planned to only read Heated Rivalry, but, upon the series’ print release in January of this year, I changed my mind.

I started with Game Changer and then read them in the order they were published – and I’d recommend you do the same.

If you’ve watched the show, then you will know much of what happens in Game Changer and Heated Rivalry, including the romantic twist in Game Changer that also acts as a big plot point in Heated Rivalry.

With that in mind, if you do choose to only read (or start with) Heated Rivalry, then you won’t really get any spoilers that you won’t be expecting.

However reading them in order means you get the full story.

Characters from each book are mentioned throughout the series (Ilya pops up in every single one in some way) and the cameos are always fun, especially if you’ve already read their story in a previous book.

Aside from that, though, you’re seriously missing out on some incredible character development and romance outside of Shane and Ilya if you just read Heated Rivalry.

Are the books as spicy as the TV show?

The TV show’s spicy scenes helped in it becoming a viral hit on social media, with actors Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams, François Arnaud and Robbie GK regularly getting their kits off on-screen.

And yes. The books are absolutely as spicy as the TV show – even more so, it turns out, as written words can be much more graphic than what a television series can be. Rachel Reid’s descriptions of male anatomy and sex can only be described as an art form.

At times (in Game Changer especially) it is a little uncomfortable and cringeworthy, however in most of the books the spicy moments aren’t the focus. Instead, the character development and romance is key – and those parts genuinely often had me in tears, or laughing.

Is the TV series a faithful adaptation of the book?

Yes. I was actually blown away by how closely Jacob Tierney’s show followed the plot of the book.

I usually read the book before I watch the show or movie, but the physical copies of the books weren’t published in the UK until after the show came out over here, so this time I couldn’t (well, I could, but I wanted to watch the show as soon as possible!).

I’ve been let down so many times by television or movie adaptations of books, but I can wholeheartedly say that both the book and TV versions of Heated Rivalry are brilliant.

Of course, there are some slight differences between the book and TV show, but overall it’s a very faithful adaptation.

Will there be another book in the Game Changers series?

Yes! Rachel Reid confirmed after the TV show debuted that she was working on a seventh Game Changers series, titled Unrivaled. She had previously said The Long Game was the final book in the series, but changed her mind after seeing how much fans loved Shane and Ilya.

Like The Long Game, it will follow Shane and Ilya. Not to give any spoilers for what will inevitably make up season two (and hopefully three!) of the show, but Unrivaled will see how the couple navigate the next steps of their relationship, and how it affects their hockey careers.

It was initially due for release on 29 September, 2026. However, in February 2026 its release was pushed back to June 2027.

Author Rachel Reid cited “the time demands of sudden fame and the worsening symptoms of Parkinson’s disease”.

The seventh book in the series has been in the works for years, and Reid originally announced she’d scrapped it in February 2025.

She was initially writing it about Luca Haas, one of Ilya’s teammates from The Long Game. However she decided to scrap it for a number of reasons, including the fact Luca would be the fourth out queer player on his team, and she felt he was too young (he is 21) for her to write about – especially when it came to the spicier scenes.

Has Rachel Reid written any other books?

Rachel Reid has published two more hockey romance stories since The Long Game.

Time to Shine was released in 2023, while The Shots You Take came out in 2025. However they are not part of the Game Changers series.

She also wrote a short story – My Dinner with Hayden – and published it on her blog in 2019. It is now included in the print version of Heated Rivalry, as it sees Shane and Ilya go for dinner at Shane’s teammate Hayden Pike’s house.

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