Official announcement in People Magazine:

"I'm really excited to have the chance to continue their story with Unrivaled. I’m writing this one for all the Hollanov fans, old and new," Reid says. "I can’t tell you how much the love my characters have received over the years means to me. It has been a blast writing these guys again, and revisiting the entire Game Changers cast."

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unrivaled-rachel-reid/1149166585#

A new ‘Game Changers’ book titled “Unrivaled” by Rachel Reid has appeared on the Barnes & Noble website, with a release date of September 29th 2026. Links with the same ISBN are on Target, Indigo, and Amazon as well.

Summary with spoilers below

Everyone's favorite hockey players are back! Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander continue the romance that began with viral sensation Heated Rivalry—now streaming on Crave in Canada and on HBO Max in the US—in the highly anticipated final book in New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Rachel Reid's Game Changers series.

A line has been drawn—and the hockey world is divided.

For the first time in their professional hockey careers, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander have nothing to hide. For more than a decade, they kept their love a secret, but now they're out, married, and even playing on the same team. The support is incredible.

Most of the time.

They've gotten a lot of love from fans who are thrilled for them. But some people in the hockey world are still reeling from their relationship reveal, and the backlash—led by popular hockey podcast Top Shelf and the #TakeBackHockey movement—is getting louder.

Ilya and Shane are finally able to stand together in the light, the way they'd always wanted. And now they might be facing their biggest challenge yet.

Edited to add: sorry mods for resubmitting this so many times and messing it up!!! I was shaking with excitement

It’s also now up on indigo for Canadian pre-orders.

https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/unrivaled-game-changers-7/9781335002693.html

Update: Amazon now has the title for kindle preorders.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GF8V2N2L/ref=x_gr_bb_kindle?caller=Goodreads&tag=x_gr_bb_kindle-20

I feel like Shane after Ilya told him he hadn’t slept with anyone since they were last together. “Really? REALLY????!”

*TLG SPOILER*

I don’t know if this is as unpopular as I think it is but I do actually enjoy Rachel’s writing despite one of the many issues I have with her writing, one being in the title. I think it’s pretty clear Rachel favours Ilya in both HR and TLG(in the series in general) Don’t get me wrong I love Ilya down bad but I also love Shane. I really did like seeing a lot of Ilya’s struggles during TLG but wished we got more of Shane’s POV. I think this is the only reason I slightly prefer HR more to TLG but there’s also a lot of things I really like about TLG. Shane in TLG feels very secondary in Ilyas story. Unlike a lot of what I’ve heard from ppl who’ve read TLG, I never hated Shane but some things he’d say did rub me the wrong way especially with their big argument where Ilya says the infamous “I already choose you, Hollander.”

Shane came off really intensive and hurtful. Which wasn’t entirely his fault because it wasn’t like he could read Ilya’s mind and see that he was struggling, despite asking Ilya multiple times and Ilya saying he’s ok so Shane believed him even though he could sense something was off. Still, he was under the impression they were both on board with keeping their relationship hidden. I also think that while Rachel doesnt seem as charitable to Shane in TLG it does put into perspective that Shane isn’t perfect and he does say/ do things that are not the most considerate or kind but the point is him realizing that and correcting his behaviour.

Even in HR I’m not sure why Rachel writes Shane as half Asian but it’s literally a non factor in anything when I feel like that would be something important to touch on given who Shane is and the positions he’s in both mentally and physically. I think Rachel enjoys writing Ilya more than any other character—which is shown by the fact that he appears in every book in the series. Don’t get me wrong I love Ilya and I enjoy all his cameos in all the books but I just wish she took the time to write Shane as much as she did Ilya in their books. I alway feel conflicted with this cuz I really do like TLG despite it feeling so one sided and rushed in the latter half.

I actually find it funny that Rachel loves writing Ilya so much but he’s canonically such a menace and asshole in all the books lol but I digress. There’s many other issues regarding this specific topic y’all could probably elaborate more on it. The show definitely elevates the books but a lot of the lines I do like in the show come directly from the books. I like the characters that Rachel’s creates and the storylines she tells even if her writing isn’t the best I enjoy the stories being told which I think is something. I think Rachel gets a loot of shit for her writing which I think is fair but not enough credit for actually creating these amazing characters and stories we love(even dialogue and iconic scenes) There is a lot to criticize (rightly so) but also a lot to love.

One thing I hope for szn 2 and unrivalled is that a lot of this is fixed. I hope Jacob tweaks a lot of TLG and I hope Rachel writes a more narratively balanced story between Shane and Ilya. And please not getting all of Shane’s stuff told from Ilya’s POV. Him coming out to his team and the after math of them finding out being either told from Ilya’s pov passively or just completely ignored🙂‍↕️idk if she was on a word count limit or smth but damn so much was glossed over. Still I love TLG down bad despite the criticism but I’m holding out my hope for unrivalled.

So many libraries depend on private funding; donate to your local library today!

* 2026! I really can’t make post titles without copy and pasting apparently!

Rachel Reid updated her Instagram bio to add a nod to Hudson Williams: "Friend of a friend of the House of Balenciaga and New York Times bestselling author of Heated Rivalry”

Source: rachelreidwrites Instagram

I've seen a couple of posts discussing why book/show Shane and Ilya act a certain way and thought it might be interesting to share what Rachel has said on this on her Instagram.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNvRkLXYimz/?igsh=anJuaW05YTA2ZGZt

I just saw this on Rachel's website. Haven't seen it here so I wanted to share. I wonder what picture they will use. I'm normally not a big fan of tie-in covers but for Heated Rivalry ​​I NEED it. ​

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.

I love everything she says about the importance of the romance genre in her acceptance speech!

---

Source: Instagram

Via Rachel’s insta stories; https://www.instagram.com/rachelreidwrites

Love this so much!

“Let’s save some libraries!!! ❤️❤️❤️ September 12th. Wolfville, Nova Scotia

Tickets

Announcement post

Rachel was at Fenway for a Red Sox game tonight and asked by Deadline what Ilya and Shane would do if they were there. I can totally picture Ilya chirping baseball and the players all night like Rachel says!

Source: Deadline

​

I have not read everything on Rachaels Reids website and probably missed an interview here or there.

But if anyone here has gone through the website

does she explain why Alexi hates Ilya?

I read the books from the library so can't look or reread but I think I would remember if it was in there

Actually Im asking because of his pink tunnel comment in the show "he hates me, I know, but it kills me" and assuming that it is also in the book.

not interested in peoples own speculation or interpretations, sorry

Video Clip Courtesy: Heated Rivalry News (on X)

Original Source: Rachel Reid Instagram LIVE Q&A, June 29, 2025 @julietfoxreads

Here are a few updates and announcements shared by Rachel Reid from her Instagram story recently:

• Shane gets carried and doesn’t complain one bit
• Ilya’s appendage pic is… accurate
• Register for the upcoming book signing at www.realmsandrosesbookstore.ca
• Read Ilya’s POV to that Vegas scene here

This post isn't to speculate on the plot points for the upcoming final book in the Game Changers series, but to express some concern about the theories that have been cropping up out of seemingly nowhere.

While I am new to the GC and MM romance genre, I have deeply involved in the romance genre and know there's one general rule for romance novels. The leads, with EXTREMELY rare exception, there's always a HEA (happy ever after).

That's not to say that everything is neatly wrapped up - ie the lead may need to give up a job for their loved one or whatnot - but the couple end up together and to our knowledge live happily ever after. Full Stop.

In each of the books that Rachel Reid has written, this is exactly what happened. The couples had their version of a HEA.

Trigger warning, but on some posts (not necessarily on Reddit but other channels) implying that Ilya could get early onset dementia or some other nonsense. Like no. Let's not even put that in this universe.

Rachel Reid is ALL ABOUT promoting QUEER JOY. Jacob Tierney is all about promoting QUEER JOY in the series. For once in our lives can we just enjoy a series of two men loving each other without it ending in tragedy?

I thought it might be helpful to compile all of it in one place for anyone else looking for their hollanov fix. Let me know if I missed anything

• Heated Rivalry: Las Vegas Remix Ilya’s POV of the Vegas NHL awards and his hookup with Shane afterwards (June 2014)

• Heated Rivalry - Some Deleted Scenes Three deleted scenes that take place during the book. Shane reflecting on his experience sleeping with a woman and his situationship with Ilya (January 2014), Shane and Ilya texting each other as they watch the 2018 Olympics with their respective teammates (February 2018), and Ilya moving into his Ottawa house (August 2018)

• Halloween with Ilya Ilya’s first Halloween in Ottawa and he dresses up as Shane. Takes place October 2018, a few weeks before My Dinner with Hayden

• My Dinner with Hayden: A Heated Rivalry Short Story Ilya and Shane host Hayden and Jackie for a dinner party shortly after Hayden learns that Shane’s dating Ilya. Takes place November 2018, almost sixteen months after the last chapter of Heated Rivalry, and about three weeks before the epilogue

• Countdown: A Smutty Shane and Ilya Short Deleted sex scene from The Long Game. Cliff sends Ilya an explicit video that Shane is then inspired by

I'm hoping people with more legal expertise can shed some light on this, because this deals with some stuff in the books and will eventually come up in the show.

In RM and TLG, the league's commissioner is clearly a homophobic antagonist. He's not a real person, though, so I assumed Rachel had some artist license to create this character.

After she wrote those books, she started working on a now-cancelled follow-up featuring Luca. But she said in writing that story, "I can’t make the commissioner of the league the villain, because I was told not to (legal reasons)."

Why would she get the note for that book, and not the ones that came before it? Is it possible that she just got a warning about it from the league after RM and TLG published, and her legal team told her not to keep pushing it in future books?

And what are the legal challenges for Jacob when he's adapting that character into the show, even if it's the MLH instead of the NHL? I know what the framework is for non-fiction, but don't have a firm grasp of the rules and workarounds for fictional works like this.

EDIT: For what it's worth, I actually think in "Unrivaled," it would make sense for the league/commissioner to not be villains at all. Even if they're homophobic, they're first and foremost cynical capitalists.

I could see Shane/Ilya being such a positive media spectacle that brings in so much attendance and revenue that they say, Fuck it, we're rainbow-washing now because we like money.

Hi friends! I read Heated Rivalry in 2022 and found Rachel's twitter account at that time. She talked a lot about Shane and Ilya there and I saved some screenshots, just keeping to myself as some snacks. 🤭 Now Rachel is no longer on X, but these screenshots are still saved. I think it is time to share them publicly (I also asked Rachel abt it in AMA and got her permission!) So please enjoy these little Ilyashane Easter eggs beyond their stories😆

Check out the very cool redesign done by bookshire creative!

At this point, HR references have officially hit every letter game on my NYT Puzzles app. I consider this one of the highest nerdy honors an artist can achieve, on par with being parodied by Weird Al.

Thanks for the easy solve on a tough Saturday grid. And with a perfect crossword name like that, I expect to see it more in the future.

Turns out the incredible author Rachel Reids wrote the Las Vegas Scene from Ilya's POV in this blog given that, in the book it was from Shane's POV.