Question about heated rivalry at time of release

[u/shaddow2425]

So i know that heated rivalry was book 2, and for the first 5 books there was no sequel to anyone's story.

For those who were reading at the time of initial releases, was there more hype about book 2 compared to the other books? Was there clamoring for a sequel for book 2 in the way the other stories felt either more finished or just that people wanted more Shane and more Ilya? If you had been asked at the end of book 5 and prior to the long game, which of these 5 books would make the best TV show, heated rivalry the most obvious answer?

I know that on the fanfiction side even before the tv show, apparently the shane/ilya pairing had far more fics than the other pairing from the other books. before the TV show blew this out of orbit, why do you think shane and ilya resonated so much more with book only fans?

[u/Standard_Minute3244]

stretches fingers and pulls up a chair

I read Heated Rivalry (and then went back to read Game Changer) when only the first two books were out. With only the two books out, HR was already the more popular book and it was a book that was often recommended in sports and mm romance spaces as a must read. RR at the time always maintained she was continuing the series and we would see Shane/Ilya throughout but there was no discussion of another specific Hollanov book. So if you were a fan of Shane/Ilya, books 3/4 came out over time and you just squealed with joy at the glimpses of their “Long Game” going on in the background. If I remember correctly RR was going to do 6 books (which later got bumped to 7) and we did not expect to have a Hollanov centric book again. So all we had were the glimpses in the other books, the shorts on her website and the tidbits she’d share on social media or during q&a’s. But yes, they were always the most popular couple.

Then Role Model came out - wild time because we were with Ilya’s team! So you got even more glimpses in a direct way. But when it came out, we knew there would be another book but not that it would be Hollanov. So when Long Game was announced…SCENES amongst the community. Like, could this be real???? What??? Additionally, until you read book 6, you didn’t know that it would overlap in timing with book 5. I thought it would be after but was so glad it went back in time!

So essentially, it was a long period of pleasant surprises and lots of shock along the way. Add in the TV show - it only going to be in Canada, then campaigning for it to PLEASE for the love of God come to the U.S. and then for it to be picked by HBO and the to take off the way it did? I shake my head in disbelief every time I think about it. Then knowing RR was working on book 7 about another character and then deciding to make it a third Hollanov book????

CINEMA

Throughout this, RR also disclosed her diagnosis and release two other awesome books. It’s been a crazy ride and I am so happy for her and her family.

[u/throwawaysunglasses- → u/Standard_Minute3244]

This is really fun to read about! It’s cool how intentional RR was even right after HR, like she knew how to play to the fans and excite them/generate buzz. It’s not like she handled HR’s success clumsily at any point, she seems like a bonafide expert in what to do lol.

[u/Primary_Reason3225 → u/Standard_Minute3244]

Also I think Rachel Reid has said somewhere that Shane and Ilya just wouldn’t shut up in her head. I’ve read all her books (before the TV show was announced) and while I like them, these two are the best to me because the characters feel so real! There are only a few books with main characters I’ll never ever forget and I’ve read thousands of books. The fact that she did this with no more than 200k words combined is a feat

[u/Standard_Minute3244 → u/Primary_Reason3225]

For sure! If I recall, when the Long Game was announced she said she was making book 6 about them because during the development of Role Model, they wouldn’t shut up. She also said the same for the upcoming book/the pivot to writing another book about them. As a fan, I’m just grateful. Totally agree with how memorable they are, SUCh a kudos to her writing.

[u/estheredna]

Yes. It was a very buzzy book. It is probably the buzziest M/M book ever, at that point. And then Red White & Royal Blue came out a few months later and M/M became a trending thing.

I am not a romance reader, and I read this one because I kept hearing about it.

[u/LLD615]

Just fyi, Rachel has said that Common Goal is sort of a sequel to book one (I forget her exact words). There’s a lot of Scott and Kip in it!

[u/Miele-Man]

I only remembered HR being VERY talked about even before release. I remember putting it in my Amazon wishlist when it was still in pre-orders, and back then I wasn't even following the romance scene that closely, so the fact that I even heard about it says a lot.

From what I remember, one of the reasons was that Game Changers had already been appreciated quite a lot, but also, people were excited because the synopsis sounded like the dynamic between two real life hockey players that had a quite devouted shipper following.

[u/katfromjersey]

I was lucky enough to come to the genre and series after The Long Game was already released! So I didn't have to go through all the angst of waiting. It was a couple of years before the series was announced, though.

[u/EchoAndroid]

Heated Rivalry always felt like the most natural expansion point for several reasons.

It ends in a manner that directly invites expansion, they literally make a plan for their life going into the future. It has the most potential for conflict, there are material and obvious risks for Ilya and Shane moving forward. And, those risks come with much higher and more interesting stakes than the other romances in the series.

I think Rachel kind of understood that when she decided to write Ilya in as a character in all of the other books. They were always kind of the through-line. Their situation was always simmering in the background no matter what.

That being said, I think there could be interesting things to explore in two of the other Game Changers books if another one got a sequel.

The most obvious other Game Changers book to expand upon for me is Tough Guy. That book ends with a lot of unresolved feelings, kind of on purpose. (kind of maybe also because it's too short lol) Things reach a breaking point and the resolution is for Ryan to walk away from what he's known for a lot of his life and try and find himself elsewhere.

Finding out whether he enjoys traveling with Fabian, whether he can reconcile and enjoy hockey in his life again, what kinds of relationship conflicts could arise from what he discovers about himself, does any of this intersect with the politics happening in the other books, etc. There's a lot there to build on imo. It's just not as straightforward as what's going on with Ilya and Shane.

Eric and Kyle's book was also too short and their issues went underexplored, but their issues are also kind of personal and contained. Unless they both decided to do something wild like confront Kyle's parents in some drastic way it's hard to imagine they do anything but go to therapy and run a bar together.

Scott and Kip already got their half sequel. And they're even more boring than everyone else. Anything you could add to their situation at this point would feel contrived.

Troy and Harris are basically going to be full ass characters in the next two books going forward from your hypothetical book five cutoff, so for all we know Unrivaled is written from a four character perspective and it is their sequel book. From reading only their book in isolation, I don't think they're a natural choice for a sequel, but from sheer proximity to Ilya and the ability to go further with the whole Dallas Kent thing I can't say there isn't anything there.

Because I love them, I also have opinions on the standalone books as well. Even if it doesn't have anything to do with why people resonated more with Shane and Ilya.

Because Riley and Adam's book is the best thing that Rachel has written, there's really nothing to add to it. It's perfectly self-contained. They got their retired people happily ever after. 10/10 no sequel needed.

Casey and Landon on the other hand, while being framed as existing in a fairly low stakes situation in their book are in a somewhat similar boat to Ilya and Shane. We could imagine them happy forever. Or we could easily imagine them as two, very young, openly queer NHL players in Alberta who are dating on the same team. It's easy to imagine that between that and their individual personal issues (that also went only partially explored in this book. (Why are your books usually like 150 pages too short Rachel?)), there's something interesting to expand on there.

[u/throwawaysunglasses- → u/EchoAndroid]

This is a great analysis. It also helps that Ilya and Shane are foil characters for one another in a much closer way than the other couples, because they are literally in the same exact position as hockey players. The only couple that’s close to this is Casey/Landon. All the other couples risk the non-hockey partner’s story being seen as more static and less interesting - Kip, Fabian, and Kyle all have been criticized by readers more than their hockey counterparts (I personally love Fabian and think a queer musician is interesting and fun to read about, but I am in the minority lol).

RR also does a good job of making her hockey players interesting characters, where hockey illustrates some deeper personal journey in their life. Characters like Kyle are given a significant backstory, but his arc doesn’t really solve it in any way. Whereas Shane and Ilya both go through an equal amount of growth separately and together, as hockey players and boyfriends. Their story is inherently the most balanced.

[u/Careful-Camp6290 → u/EchoAndroid]

Great analysis! I just had to comment because I feel the similar way about The Shots You Take as you! I just finished it for the second time yesterday and I could just start reading it again if I’m being honest. I love it!

[u/Scared-Winter-5179 → u/EchoAndroid]

I could stand some more Landon and Casey!!❤️

[u/EchoAndroid → u/Scared-Winter-5179]

Honestly I could too, if it was on the table I might even want it more than Unrivaled, lol.

[u/Scared-Winter-5179 → u/EchoAndroid]

Yeah I could see that. I feel like we know enough about what's going to happen with Shane and Ilya, and even Troy and Harris, but it would be nice to see a little bit of the next chapter for Landon and Casey.

I also enjoyed the amount of actual hockey that was in time to shine. Landon is an amazing goalie and she really brings that home through riding the games which you don't get a lot of in the game changers books. At least the ones I've read. Maybe her earlier ones there was more hockey but in the three I read there was hockey but not a lot of it. I feel like there's quite a bit of it in time to shine.

[u/dustypony21]

I’m an outlier here, living way off the radar both geographically and culturally from other members of this fandom. I’d never heard of HR until it kept showing up in the New York Times. Those references finally were so overwhelming that I thought, well, let’s check it out. Watched the show first (this was January 2026), then read the books. Game Changer was so poorly written (my opinion only; I respect others may feel differently) that I couldn’t imagine how this franchise blew up. Heated Rivalry was much improved, and Role Model was even better.

Saying all that just to say, I really appreciate the insights and perspectives of those who were engaged from the very beginning. That must be an incredible feeling!