Heated Rivalry Author Rachel Reid Announces New Book Sequel

Rachel Reid just made a major power play.

The author of Heated Rivalry, the book that inspired the popular HBO series starring Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov, has announced a continuation of the hockey players’ love story in her next book, Unrivaled.

Rachel shared with People magazine that she’s thrilled to continue the story with Unrivaled, which she’s dedicating to both longtime and new fans of the Hollanov series. She expressed how much she appreciates the years of support her characters have received and how much fun it was to write them and the entire Game Changers cast again.

The next book in the Game Changers series, coming in Fall 2026, will continue the love story of hockey stars Shane and Ilya. This time, we’ll see them navigating life as an openly married couple while playing on the same team – offering a fresh look at their relationship.

Everyone’s absolutely loving them, seriously! It’s amazing to see all the support. But honestly, some of the old guard in hockey are losing it over their relationship. There’s this awful podcast, Top Shelf, leading a really nasty campaign – #TakeBackHockey, can you believe it? – and the hate is just getting louder and louder. It’s so frustrating to watch, but we’re here for them no matter what!

According to the synopsis, Ilya and Shane are at last able to be openly together, something they’ve dreamed of for a long time. However, they may now be confronting their most difficult obstacle yet.

HBO has renewed the TV show, which is mostly based on the second book in the Game Changers series, for a second season. While details about the new season haven’t been released yet, the strong response to the first season suggests we’ll likely see more of the connection between the characters played by Hudson and Connor.

In fact, Hudson, 24, recently shared how he and his co-star navigated the show’s most heated scenes.

“Connor and I connected right away,” Hudson shared with Zuri Hall during an interview on Live from TopMob: Golden Globes 2026. “The challenge was then figuring out how to create a similar connection between Shane and Ilya.”

As a lifestyle expert, I always say chemistry doesn’t just happen on camera! To really make Shane and Ilya’s romance believable, my co-star and I intentionally spent a lot of time together off-set, getting to know each other. It was important because, honestly, our personalities are quite different from the characters we were playing!

Connor is very open with his emotions. Ilya has a strong, almost rugged personality, while Shane is more reserved and solid. It’s a funny contrast – we have this energetic, Slavic presence and then someone who’s just really grounded.

Honestly, seeing them together on screen just wrecked me in the best way. But it’s been even more amazing to hear that it’s helped so many people! So many LGBTQ+ athletes who were keeping things hidden reached out to the actors, saying the show gave them the courage to connect. It’s just… incredible to think this fictional love story is actually making a real difference in people’s lives.

Hudson shared that he’s been receiving messages from current professional athletes who are still hiding their sexual orientation. These athletes are reaching out anonymously, and Hudson mentioned that author Rachel also receives similar emails. He discussed this on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show, Radio Andy, on January 7th.

He explained that sometimes people reach out privately on Instagram, and those messages are the most impactful. They often express how the show is both enjoyable and celebratory, but also deeply relatable and emotionally resonant.

The stars of Heated Rivalry looked fantastic at the 2026 Golden Globes, with Hudson in a white Armani suit and Connor wearing black Saint Laurent. Keep scrolling to see more of the night’s best fashion moments…