Rachel Reid has revealed that she sometimes wishes Heated Rivalry had been the first installment in her bestselling Game Changers series, especially after the novel became a worldwide phenomenon.

The author discussed the evolution of the series during a September 29 launch event and panel for the deluxe hardcover edition of Heated Rivalry at Town Hall in New York City.

Rachel Reid Knew Heated Rivalry Could Be Bigger

Reid launched the interconnected sports romance series in 2018 with Game Changer. However, it was the second book, Heated Rivalry, that became the breakout hit.

The novel follows rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov and later became the basis for the hit Crave TV series of the same name.

Looking back, Reid said she already had a feeling that Heated Rivalry would attract more attention than the first book.

“Before Game Changer came out, I said, ‘I’m excited about my first book, but I’m really excited about this,’” Reid recalled during the panel.

“I think I knew that Heated Rivalry would probably be more popular. Sometimes I wish that that was the first book, just to come out of the gates with it, but I think the way the series ended up working, it works pretty well the way it is.”

Shane and Ilya’s Story Wasn’t Finished

Although Heated Rivalry was only the second book in the series, Reid knew there was more to explore in Shane and Ilya’s relationship.

The pair later returned as the focus of The Long Game, which was published in 2022. Their story will continue again in Reid’s upcoming novel Unrivaled, scheduled for release on June 1, 2027.

Reid explained that Ilya gradually began appearing in other books in the series, almost like a recurring character.

“I started writing more books in the series where Ilya just started showing up. I liked having him as this kind of Nick Fury showing up,” she said.

Eventually, Reid decided she wanted to return to Shane and Ilya and continue their story.

“I thought I really would like to go back to Shane and Ilya and continue their story,” she said.

Getting that opportunity was unusual, however, because it meant pitching her publisher on a sequel to the second book several installments later.

“I was really grateful to get that chance, because it’s very weird to pitch your publisher on a sequel to book two in book six of a series. It’s a mess, I know that.”

The TV Adaptation Changed Reid’s Writing Experience

Reid also opened up about how the success of the Heated Rivalry TV series has affected her writing process.

Before the adaptation became a major hit, she said she felt as though she was writing largely on her own, without much outside pressure.

“Before, it felt like I was just alone writing them and nobody cared,” Reid explained. “I didn’t feel any outside pressure at all, and I didn’t have a lot of things to think about.”

Now, however, the experience feels very different.

Reid has remained enthusiastic about the television adaptation and said she was thrilled to see how audiences responded to it.

“For one thing, it was immensely satisfying because I knew how good the show was,” she said during an appearance on Good Morning America on September 30.

“I didn’t know how people would feel about it. So it felt amazing, knowing how hard everybody worked on it, what a great job everybody did and then for it to get the love and the rave reviews that it did.”

Season 2 Will Include Changes From the Books

The Heated Rivalry television series is set to return for its second season in spring 2027, and Reid said viewers can expect some differences from the novels.

One scene she is particularly excited about involves Shane coming out to his team.

That moment did not appear in the books because Reid did not feel it was necessary to the story when she originally wrote them.

“Obviously, if I knew it was going to become something so big in the series, I might have included it!” she said.

Reid added that she believes the scene is important and is looking forward to seeing it on screen.

“There’s lots of stuff that will be a little different from the books that I think people will like,” she teased.

Source: Compiled from various sources