You’ve watched Heated Rivalry (at least a couple of times). You’ve caught up on all the Season 2 news. And now, you’re planning to read the Heated Rivalry books in order.
Rachel Reid’s series, officially known as the Game Changers series in the book world, is actually pretty easy to figure out. Most of the books, aside from the most recent, have some degree of overlapping timelines. While you certainly could start off by reading Heated Rivalry and not miss too much, your best bet is to read them in their original publishing order.
So, without further ado, here are all the Heated Rivalry books in order for your TBR!
1. Game Changer
If you’re really going to read the Heated Rivalry books in order the “official” way, start with Scott and Kip’s story. It’s a little different than you might remember from TV, but the main beats are the same. Scott is a star hockey player who keeps his secrets under wraps. When his winning streak coincides with his pre-game smoothie ritual, he has to keep it going. And, of course, keep seeing (and falling for) Kip, the barista who soon goes from the cafe to Scott’s bed. But this is pro hockey, after all, and while Scott can’t let his personal life get out, Kip is tired of being a secret.
2. Heated Rivalry
The one and only! Shane and Ilya’s relationship serves as some of the main connective tissue through the whole Game Changers universe. Like with Scott and Kip, if you’ve watched the show, you already know the broad strokes. Spanning the evolution of their relationship over a long stretch of time, the book follows Shane and Ilya’s connection from prickly young rivals to secret hookups to a love that shakes both their lives to the very foundations. They’re also the only couple (so far) to get a full-fledged sequel, but we’ll get to that later!
3. Tough Guy
Although Tough Guy comes next for reading the Heated Rivalry books in order, it doesn’t appear to be the focus for the next TV season! This installment focuses on Ryan, a hockey star whose on-ice confidence hides deep insecurities. When he moves to a new city, he falls in with Fabian, an aspiring musician and an old high school acquaintance. Fabian becomes his guide to the city’s LGBTQ+ scene — among other things. But the stress of Ryan’s career has him wondering if he can really be happy while still playing the game.
4. Common Goal
If you paid attention to Season 1, you know we’ve already (briefly) met the leads of Book 4! Eric is a veteran goalie staring down the end of his career and a tentative readiness to explore his sexuality. The last thing he expects is a steamy connection with Kyle, a younger grad student. At first, their arrangement is pure friends-with-benefits and intense hookups. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow — not that they’re willing to admit it.
5. Role Model
When you pick up the next of the Heated Rivalry books in order, you might recognize a couple of characters from recent casting announcements! Season 2 will introduce Charlie Gillespie as Troy and Justice Smith as Harris, the leads of Book 5. Troy is a hockey star whose personal and professional life just keeps getting worse. When he’s traded in the wake of scandal, the last thing he wants to do is work on his image with peppy social media manager Harris. And yet, somehow, this grumpy/sunshine pair just works in a way that surprises them both.
6. The Long Game
Shane and Ilya take center stage again in The Long Game, set after all the other books (and set to be the main source for Season 2). They’ve been together for a decade, all the while pretending to be, at most, friendly rivals. Now, Ilya is starting to chafe at the secrecy, but Shane still fears what coming out would do to their careers. The status quo can’t last forever, though, and soon, they’ll have to decide what matters most and what they’re really willing to fight for.