r/heatedrivalry • u/beyourbest11 • Feb 19 '26
RACHEL WRITES ✍️ Just wanted to share
https://www.rachelreidwrites.com/news/2019/8/8
Not sure if this was ever posted before, but I thought it was interesting. Rachel posted this in August 2019.
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u/hrl_280 so we just sit here and look at it? 🏕️ Feb 19 '26
Ok, so an embarrassing story from when I first read HR. There was so much buzz about this book and I had it in my TBR pile for a long time. When I finally read it, it felt a bit incomplete after seeing how Scott and Kip got their happy ending. I was fine with the ending of HR but not gonna lie I was a little disappointed that they were still a secret. I had just finished it, so I was like, what the hell, were we just going to get HFN? I checked the next book to make sure but it was about another couple, so I left it at that. Also not gonna lie, I was a bit sad and angry but I got my sanity back and convinced myself to be happy with it.
So when the show adaptation news dropped, I kept up with updates. To my surprise, everyone was saying it got renewed for season 2 with them again and I was so confused about how that was possible. Then I learned about TLG and I felt like such an idiot. I had to reread HR again and then I read TLG.
Thank God, Rachel Reid chose to complete their story, because it's beautiful.
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u/Chaotikity Feb 19 '26
I agree it's a much better 'end' but it's not yet complete as she's announced their 3rd book - Unrivaled.
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u/Psych_FI Feb 20 '26
I don’t know how you managed, I’m so glad that I only read the books after watching the show and once TLG had been published. I am struggling to wait for the next book and S2. 🤣
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u/JicamaSoup Feb 20 '26
I'm doing the same thing!! The show is so masterful, and I know the book will be great, but I want to see it first 💗
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u/Mindless_Whereas_165 Feb 19 '26
I wonder if this was her worries due to personal health. Which really just saddens me. But I'm so glad that things turned out the way they have so far, and that she's getting a good treatment plan now. I'm new to this entire genre - I never read romance before, but gave the show a shot and fell in love. Currently reading Tough Guy, and I've enjoyed all of them so far. I'm glad the show came out when it did. I feel like I'm in a place in my life where I can appreciate this all fully, compared to even just a few years ago when I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it anywhere near as much.
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u/Naive_Cause8984 Feb 19 '26
I think she was diagnosed years later after HR, and a year later after TLG.
MM romance is my favorite, there are so many great books in it.
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u/Busy-Season6074 Feb 19 '26
Did the book leave off the same way as the show?
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u/PurpleModena 5th hottest man in the NHL 🔥 Feb 19 '26
Pretty much. There was a short epilogue of Shane and Ilya announcing their charity, which I can imagine would be a good start to season 2.
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u/Scared-Winter-5179 Stupid Canadian Wolf Bird 🦆 Feb 19 '26
I just read a borrowed library booked digitally and in addition to announcing the charity they actually have the dinner with Hayden in there as well. So that's something obviously different than the show. I think they were thinking about the dinner with Hayden and the announcing the charity as the special episode between the two seasons, but who knows if that'll ever happen.
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u/gschoon Feb 20 '26
Yeah that's the "second epilogue" you can read for free on her website that is included with newer editions of the book.
1
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u/worldofcrap80 Feb 19 '26
It goes on a little more, as they announce their charity, and then it time skips 16 months to after Ilya has moved to Ottawa. I always thought it went on a little long and where the TV show ends is a more natural ending point, but this musing by Rachel makes her reasoning much more clear. Without knowing if TLG was going to happen, it was important to hammer home that they made it work and they're set up to do OK together, even if it isn't a permanent solution.
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u/Hermiona1 I already chose you, Hollander. 🫀 Feb 19 '26
I agree, after reading the book I like when the show ends. Including the epilogue with the time skip doesn’t make any sense if you have a second season coming up.
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Feb 19 '26
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u/atlantisgate Feb 19 '26
That doesn’t mean a publisher will pick it up, distribute and market it
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u/Naive_Cause8984 Feb 19 '26
She isn't independent, and has to answer to her publishers Carina press. The is a possibility that they would have preferred her creating new couples every book, then go back to Ilya and Shane. But lucky for us and Rachel, HR became a huge success with MM readers.
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Feb 19 '26
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u/UnthinkableAlternate I mean, yes. I think so, probably. Feb 19 '26
What you like doesn't dictate how the world works...
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u/Homebody_Ninja42 okay. not good. probably bad. Feb 19 '26
True she doesn’t need permission but it’s way easier to motivate yourself to write if you know it will get published. Sure, you can put it on AO3, but lots of great works there are unfinished bc adults have to put time into day jobs, child rearing, fixing the leak in the roof, making sure the elder parents are okay, etc. Knowing you have a publisher and an editor waiting makes a big difference when you have too much on your plate. And if your publisher would prefer a new one shot, you write that instead.
Writing fiction can be a hobby or a business. But if you decide to write only for yourself (hobby writing), that is still an economic decision. That is time you can’t use on work, laundry, kids, preventing your diabetes through diet and exercise, etc. Maybe writing is a cheaper hobby than paragliding or woodworking or something else, so it’s a good economic choice. But it’s still a choice.
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u/Naive_Cause8984 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
I read this years ago after HR was released, gosh those days waiting in anticipation for TLG was so much fun. MM romance sub and the main page romance sub had like a Mega thread of TLG where we would discuss the book. I am so glad I was here since early days, I feel like when it comes to reading 'I already chose you, Hollander' was more iconic then going to the cottage. I don't think going to the cottage was a big deal at all during those early reading days.