For Shane and Ilya, the Heated Rivalry books go in this order: Heated Rivalry, then The Long Game. Their next book, Unrivaled, comes out June 1, 2027. There are also four other couples worth knowing in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series. I’ve included the full order below, along with a shorter route for readers following the TV leads.
The names do make this unnecessarily confusing. Game Changer, without an “s,” is the first novel. Game Changers is the series. Heated Rivalry is book two, although it gives the television show its name. In Harlequin’s reading order, Scott and Kip come first. Shane and Ilya take over next; their sequel waits until book six.
‘Game Changers’ Series Reading Order, With Years and Couples
These are the original publication years, rather than dates for later paperback or audio editions. The first six books are available. Number seven is still forthcoming. I’ve kept the table to names and starting premises, with a spoiler warning before the Unrivaled synopsis farther down.
| # | Title | Year | Couple | Who they are |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Game Changer | 2018 | Scott Hunter and Kip Grady | New York Admirals captain and a smoothie bar worker |
| 2 | Heated Rivalry | 2019 | Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov | Rival stars for Montreal and Boston |
| 3 | Tough Guy | 2020 | Ryan Price and Fabian Salah | Enforcer traded to Toronto and a musician |
| 4 | Common Goal | 2020 | Eric Bennett and Kyle Swift | Veteran goalie and a graduate student |
| 5 | Role Model | 2021 | Troy Barrett and Harris Drover | Traded player and a team social media manager |
| 6 | The Long Game | 2022 | Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov | The rivals, a decade into their secret |
| 7 | Unrivaled | Due June 1, 2027 | Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov | Shane and Ilya’s third novel |
I recommend publication order if you want the whole cast. It gives Scott and Kip, Ryan and Fabian, Eric and Kyle, and Troy and Harris their own space. Jumping from book two to book six is a perfectly workable choice, though. You’re choosing whose romance to follow, not sitting an exam.
Every ‘Game Changers’ Novel, Book by Book
‘Game Changer’ (2018): Scott Hunter and Kip Grady
Scott Hunter keeps going back to the smoothie shop. He’s the New York Admirals captain, and Kip Grady’s drinks have become part of his pregame routine. There’s rather more to the attraction than a lucky smoothie. In Game Changer, Scott wants their developing relationship kept private. Kip has to decide what that leaves him with.
This is the Scott and Kip story, for anyone arriving from the show. François Arnaud and Robbie G.K. play them onscreen. Gayety’s report on their season-two return follows the adaptation side.
‘Heated Rivalry’ (2019): Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov
Shane Hollander plays for Montreal; Ilya Rozanov plays for Boston. The rivalry would be easier to maintain if they could stop sleeping together. Heated Rivalry starts with that wonderfully awkward problem, then lets the private relationship become something neither man can dismiss. This is where their story begins. Having watched them on television doesn’t move you to the sequel in the reading order.
‘Tough Guy’ (2020): Ryan Price and Fabian Salah
Ryan Price works as a hockey enforcer and struggles with anxiety away from the rink. A trade to Toronto brings him back into Fabian Salah’s life in Tough Guy. They knew each other in high school. Fabian is now a musician who hates hockey, a pointed contrast with the sport that dominates Ryan’s working life.
‘Common Goal’ (2020): Eric Bennett and Kyle Swift
Eric Bennett is approaching the end of his career in goal and beginning to date men. Kyle Swift is a younger graduate student who also tends bar. Their arrangement in Common Goal is supposed to stay casual. Between that plan and the age difference, you can see where the complications might arrive. If you’re sorting the two 2020 books, put this one after Tough Guy.
‘Role Model’ (2021): Troy Barrett and Harris Drover
Harris Drover has a team’s social media presence to run. Troy Barrett would prefer not to participate. Troy arrives following a trade, a scandal and a breakup, while Harris is openly gay and considerably sunnier about things. Role Model puts the pair together in that workplace. It’s the fifth novel, immediately before the series returns to Shane and Ilya.
‘The Long Game’ (2022): Shane and Ilya, a Decade In
Read Heated Rivalry before this sequel. By The Long Game, Shane and Ilya have spent ten years keeping their relationship secret. Ten years is a long time to arrange a life around what other people mustn’t see. Ilya wants that to change; Shane remains afraid of the cost to his career.
Reading Only the Shane and Ilya Books
If you’re buying specifically for Shane and Ilya, you need Heated Rivalry and The Long Game now. Add Unrivaled when it arrives. The series numbers are two, six and seven, which is why a numerical jump between their books isn’t a missing installment.
For Scott and Kip, choose Game Changer. For all the couples, use the complete table. I’d avoid browsing character discussions before deciding how much you want spoiled. Even a question about who appears together can give away another romance. The pressure of loving someone privately while living a public life also connects this series with Red, White & Royal Blue.
When Is ‘Unrivaled’ Coming Out?
Spoiler note: The next paragraph discusses the publisher’s premise, which reveals the outcome of The Long Game.
Shane and Ilya are married, publicly out and playing for the same team in Harlequin’s Unrivaled synopsis. Their supporters haven’t disappeared, but neither has the hostility. A hockey podcast, Top Shelf, and the #TakeBackHockey movement help drive a backlash. This is their third novel and the seventh Game Changers book. The publisher hasn’t labeled it a series finale, so I’m not calling it one.
I checked Reid’s website and Harlequin on November 5, 2026. Both give June 1, 2027 as the publication date. If a preorder page gives you something else, check its edition and compare it with those current listings. Older announcements can linger after a date changes.
‘Heated Rivalry’ Season Two: Cast and Release Window
The television schedule is separate. Crave’s announcement gives spring 2027 for season two, without an exact premiere day. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie return as Shane and Ilya. Daniel Diemer joins as Ryan Price, alongside Shaheen Jafargholi as Fabian Salah.
Yes, those last two are the Tough Guy couple. Their casting is a useful warning against matching each TV season to exactly one novel. June 1 belongs to the new book’s calendar; it isn’t an announced television date. Gayety’s gay movies guide has more queer screen stories once you’ve sorted this particular reading list.
Where Do ‘Time to Shine’ and ‘The Shots You Take’ Fit?
Keep Time to Shine off the Game Changers checklist. Reid is especially explicit about this novel: it has its own fictional hockey universe.
Harlequin identifies The Shots You Take as a standalone Rachel Reid novel. Both books are options for another read, rather than missing chapters of Shane and Ilya’s relationship.
Why Do the Covers and Publication Dates Differ?
A search can turn up photographic covers, illustrated covers and different publication dates for the same title. Before counting another book, check the name. Reid’s edition FAQ explains how the series moved to larger trade paperbacks with illustrated covers. Those editions replace packaging, not the reading order.
A 2026 deluxe Heated Rivalry therefore still goes in the second slot. The original novel came out in 2019. If you already own it, read the edition description before buying it again. A different cover may be exactly what a collector wants; it won’t supply the next part of the plot.
How Explicit the ‘Game Changers’ Novels Get
These are adult romances with explicit sex scenes. The illustrated covers don’t turn them into books for younger readers. If you’re choosing a gift, the publisher’s description and sample are better guides than the jacket art. For other adult queer romances, there’s more to browse in Gayety’s book coverage.
‘Heated Rivalry’ Books FAQ: Order, ‘Unrivaled’ and Season 2
How many ‘Heated Rivalry’ books are there?
Rachel Reid has published six Game Changers novels. Two of them, Heated Rivalry (2019) and The Long Game (2022), follow Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. A third Shane and Ilya book, Unrivaled, is scheduled for June 1, 2027.
Do you have to read ‘Game Changer’ before ‘Heated Rivalry’?
No. You can begin with Heated Rivalry for Shane and Ilya’s story, then read The Long Game. Game Changer follows Scott and Kip. Publication order is useful if you want all the couples and their connections.
When does ‘Unrivaled’ by Rachel Reid come out?
June 1, 2027, according to Rachel Reid and Harlequin. It is the seventh Game Changers novel and the third Shane and Ilya book.
What is confirmed for ‘Heated Rivalry’ season two?
Season two continues the Game Changers adaptation, with Shane and Ilya returning and Tough Guy’s Ryan Price and Fabian Salah joining the cast. Crave has announced spring 2027; it has not set an exact day in that announcement.
Are the ‘Heated Rivalry’ books explicit?
Yes. The Game Changers books are adult romances from Carina Press, a Harlequin imprint, with explicit on-page sex scenes. They’re written for adult readers, not teens.
