Rachel Reid, author of “Heated Rivals,” is moving the pack forward with another hockey romance novel, “Unrivaled,” scheduled for release on September 29th.
The seventh installment of the Game Changers novel series continues the story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, the forbidden lovers further immortalized in HBO Max’s hit series Heated Rivals. Possible spoiler ahead: This pair of athletes are newlyweds, openly gay, and face public backlash while loving, living, and playing on the same hockey team.
According to the book’s synopsis, “They’re getting a lot of love from fans who are excited about them. However, some in the hockey world are still upset by the revelation of their relationship, and the backlash is growing, led by the popular hockey podcast Top Shelf and the #TakeBackHockey movement.”
The description goes on to say, “Ellya and Shane are finally able to stand together in the light, the way they’ve always wanted. And now they may face their biggest challenge yet.”
The book series began with the publication of Game Changer in 2018, but Shane and Elijah’s story has gained millions of fans in recent months thanks to the steamy Canadian TV adaptation Heated Rivalry, now available to stream on HBO Max. The show took off and was renewed for a second season in December, with stars Hudson Williams and Connor Story hitting the Golden Globes.
“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to continue their story in ‘Unrivaled,'” Reed told People magazine about Elijah and Shane. “I’m writing this for all Horanoff fans, new and old. I can’t express how much the love my characters have received over the years has meant to me. It was really fun writing these guys again and reacquainting myself with the entire cast of Game Changers.”
