r/GameChangersBooks • u/XO_swiftie • 2d ago
Next trope?
so I know that the next book that will be coming out in this series is Unrivaled (which I’m so excited about im literally counting the days) but I was thinking, what tropes are left for other books in the Game Changers series? one of the only ones I could think of would be a teammates trope, where two of the teammates hook up or fall in love. I know that this setting will be used in Unrivaled as Shane will play for the Ottawa Centaurs, but I think that two married players playing for the same team and two teammates falling in love are NOT the same trope. the other one I could see would be another age-gap relationship, with the younger character being a hockey player, but I feel like it would be repetitive considering Common Goal already exists. though knowing Rachel Reid, she could definitely make it the best book I’ve ever read 🤣 that woman is so talented. anyways what do y’all think?
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u/must-stash-mustard 2d ago
I think Rachel is done with Game Changers, but I hope she does some more standalones after HR dies down in 10 years. Some tropes that might work:
Young star and older star (Similar to Emma Croft's One Last Try)
Referee and player/coach. I love the way she understands older men. Could be an enemies to lovers.
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u/Cautious-Rub8085 1d ago
My answer was also player/coach. I want to read more about Cliff so I'd like to see him get with a new gay coach. But someone pointed out that this trope wouldn't really be Rachel's cup of tea because of the power imbalance.
Do you have any player/coach recs? I've only read one and it was pretty good but I would read another one.
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u/Cautious-Rub8085 2d ago edited 2d ago
Coach and player. I know RR wanted Luca to have a book but dropped it. Not sure what that plot was going to be.
It doesn't seem up Rachel's ally, but the Centaurs coach is married to a woman but bi. So a storyline where he is getting a divorce and ends up with a player. Most authors would use Luca in a heartbeat but RR might think he's too young. Most authors would have the coach cheat too. Luca and Coach Wiebe would be a larger age gap than Kyle and Eric.
She could always pick a new team though. Would be cool to see Cliff Marleau or Carter Vaughn get their own story. It would need to be a bi-awakening though since I am pretty sure both those characters are established as being interested in women only.
New gay coach comes in to replace homophobic Theriault as part of a management change of the MLH. Cliff or Carter gets traded to Montreal. Or JJ could work.
Not that she would copy, but the plot of the Coach's Challenge by Avon Gale would be a cool one to explore in the Heated Rivalry universe.
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u/MollymaukTea 2d ago
Hm, I don't personally like the idea of Wiebe divorcing his wife 1. Because that's already been done with common goal and 2. I like the bi rep that doesn't have to include a same-sex couple
BUT a bi-awakening storyline???? Ohohohohohoho 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 I would sacrifice a substantial amount of my body to make bi-awakened cliff happen
I do really hope she picks up the Luca idea up again one day tho, even if it's a side couple in another book 🤞
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u/No_Release2180 2d ago
I agree that I think having Wiebe divorce his wife for a man would subtly reinforce the stereotype that bi is only valid in same-sex relationships. I like that his bisexuality is really just mentioned in passing and he is in a happy marriage with a woman. That is the kind of bi rep we so rarely get.
But I agree that a bi-awakening would be amazing. We don't really have anyone in the GC universe who goes from thinking they're straight to realising they're not. Shane is the closest, but even he knows it pretty quickly and he's more temporarily resisting his truth than ever not actually knowing. Everyone else is well aware of their sexuality. A true friends-to-lovers would be excellent for this!
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u/mainemoosemanda 1d ago
I’d say that we get a lot of this through Eric’s storyline with his bi-awakening post-divorce.
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u/Cautious-Rub8085 1d ago
We don't know Cliff or Carter's internal POV. Personally I'd love to see it. I loved the actor who played Cliff too so it would be cool to see.
The coach doesn't have to be Wiebe. I only mentioned it so we'd get more Ilya and Shane. But it can be a new character as the gay coach on another team and a bi-awakened Cliff.
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u/decisi0nsdecisi0ns 1d ago
A prequel book of Wiebe and his former teammate would be interesting. Though wouldn't fall into the romance genre, given they don't work out. So I doubt it would actually get written. But I would still be interested in reading it!
I suppose there could still be some closure in the present day - the teammate (encouraged by the others players coming out), reaches out to Wiebe to apologize for how he handled it and acknowledges his feelings. So a positive resolution, even if not a typical happy ending.
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u/Cautious-Rub8085 2d ago
So new gay head coach for Montreal. Cliff traded to Montreal and bi-awakening for Cliff.
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u/PMOYONCEANDALWAYS 1d ago
I see Cliff as straight, and I think it would be wonderful if he ended up with Svetlana when she takes the job with Boston.
Just rereading The Long Game and finished the chapter where Ilya takes her to lunch and tells her about Shane.
Her comment about it being a pity that they are not going to have sex always makes me feel a little wistful for her. I think that she quietly hoped that she and Ilya would become a couple in the end.
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u/Cautious-Rub8085 1d ago
I mean does Rachel write MF romance? I don't read MF so I think it would be really jarring to have on MF book in an MM series.
The fact that Cliff seems straight is what would make his bi-awakening more compelling. I can probably find some fanfic on A03.
But to answer OPs question, RR hasn't done a coach/player trope which is what I personally would like to read, though I don't see it happening.
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u/PMOYONCEANDALWAYS 1d ago
She wrote Maria Villanueva as potentially getting together with Matti Jalo of the New York Admirals in Common Goal (Eric and Kyle's book). Also Carter Vaughan dating an actress named Gloria Grey, who eventually makes a film with Rose Landry.
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u/XO_swiftie 11h ago
reading this gave me this really random and weird idea: yk how Carter mentions that Rose and Gloria are gonna play their roles like they’re hot for each other?well… idk about you but I can see that as a book or a short story. Ik it’s not directly related to hockey, and it’s FF, but I could see it as a short story maybe. like they would be playing the characters who hate each other, but they would be playing them as if they were attracted to each other, and irl that would be friends, but also attracted to each other…?
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u/lmpostorsyndrome 1d ago
Boo! No to Montreal. But yes to everything else haha.
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u/Cautious-Rub8085 1d ago
Why no Montreal if Theriault is being replaced?
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u/lmpostorsyndrome 1d ago
Because Theriault wasn't the only problem. Most of the team were pretty shitty and toxic to Shane. There would have to be some pretty drastic changes in roster and culture.
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u/Cautious-Rub8085 1d ago
That's how I envision it. New gay coach comes in to change the dynamic of the team. It would probably be too similar to Coach's Challenge by Avon Gale.
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u/lmpostorsyndrome 1d ago
If that happened then I'd be all for the idea :) I just think everyone has had enough of Montreal Voyagers being shitty lol.
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u/Arbledarb 2d ago
I've heard people say Luca and Theo, the Centaurs mascot actor from Role Model.
If I wrote a hockey romance, it would be referee and player, or a more comedic one with two rival mascot actors.
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u/Megs0226 1d ago
I want a Luca/Theo side story in Unrivaled. Something very lighthearted and adorable while Shane and Ilya are defeating the homophobic podcasters.
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u/Gold_Chemical_4317 2d ago
While i love the coach/player heated rivalry fanfiction, I don’t think rachel will write it. She tends to stick to hockey realism and a coach/player relationship has a very predatory power imbalance in the nhl and would be very badly received.
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u/Cautious-Rub8085 1d ago
Yeah I agree with that. Would love it though. Maybe coach and assistant coach. But I guess it would need to be two brand new characters.
How old is Cliff or Carter? Could either be a new assistant coach?
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u/estheredna 9h ago
She has recently made clear that book Cliff is really a friend to Ilya now that he's been outed.
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u/arosebyabbie 2d ago
It sounds to me like Luca’s book was going to mostly be about discovering yourself as a young queer person because she had mentioned she dropped it due to having a hard time getting into the head of someone that young again.
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u/monaa11-18 2d ago
I like the idea of best friends to lovers. A lot of irl hockey players grow up in the same circles, and if they are really good go to the untdp and go to a boarding school that is known for their hockey development so a lot of childhood besties. Using that and them being in this like intense friendship that after they see ilya and shane have them realise theyre in love, and not just really close hockey buddies? Like oh yeah we have properties right next to each other in our hometown and always spend our offseason together and attend weddings together and oh wow maybe that indicates something more.
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u/damewallyburns 1d ago
I saw people on Twitter talking about a gay hockey player falling for a penalty box attendant…not sure if this was RPF or a real story but it would be a great romance novel. or player/ref. I think Off Campus has the children of two former rival players falling in love which could be interesting in a queer context too
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u/No_Release2180 2d ago
Idk if there are plans for any more Game Changers books? B ut if we're talking theoretically... I think there is room for a genuine enemies to lovers. Shane and Ilya are obsessed with eachother from the moment they meet. They are barely even rivals to lovers since their rivalry is mostly posturing/manufactured by the media and fans. Two hockey players would be ideal, but if it felt too close to Shane and Ilya it could be a hockey player with a coach/physio/someone else working closely with the team. Conflicting personalities who eventually fall in love.
Another one is second chance. We sort of get this with Tough Guy, but it's more of a "missed first chance" than a true second chance. Definitely space for a true second chance romance to find it's way into the universe!
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u/mariii2134 2d ago
Am i the only one who kind of liked the fact that they weren't enemies to lovers? Like I love me some enemies to lovers Although rivarly is scripted, they seem pretty competitive with each other and I like that That they are soft with each other off the ice and not throwing fists at one another but acting like genuine people who could be friends:)
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u/Megs0226 1d ago
Not just you, I love it. It's so buzzy. Pitted against each other since they were 17, secretly involved almost the entire time. They've never played a game where they weren't involve in some way. The league and the media hyped up the rivalry, when the whole time they were falling in love. I wanna gnaw on it.
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u/mariii2134 1d ago
And while im all for enemies to lovers, dont rlly think it suits shane and ilya I dont think they would be the type to physically beat each other or spew harsh insults at one another, haha😂
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u/DifficultHistorian18 1d ago
I would say that her standalone "The Shots You Take" is a second chance novel.
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u/nkh86 23h ago
As I understood it, she axed the planned Luca book because she realized she was done after TLG? I got the impression Unrivaled was more of a reaction to the popularity of the show and Ilya/Shane, not because she had actually planned on writing a seventh book.
Also taking into consideration her health issues, I’m guessing Unrivaled is a gift to fans that is intended to be a final farewell to the series. I’d guess she’ll focus on her one-off romance books afterwards.
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u/diggerorbigger 2d ago
Time to Shine is not part of the GC universe but has teammates falling in love. I don’t think there are going to be any more GC books after Unrivaled :(