The fictional hockey rivals–turned-lovers that have taken the world by storm are getting a new novel.
Rachel Reid will revisit her popular characters Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov in Unrivaled, which is set for publication in the fall, publisher Harlequin announced in a news release.
Reid introduced Hollander, who plays for the Montreal Voyageurs, and Rozanov, a member of the Boston Bears, in Heated Rivalry, her 2019 book that was the second installment in her Game Changers series of romance novels. The novels have been adapted into a mega-popular Canadian television show, Heated Rivalry, with Hudson Williams playing Hollander and Connor Storrie as Rozanov. The show began streaming on HBO Max last November.
The characters returned in Reid’s 2022 novel, The Long Game, which revisits the rivals 10 years into their clandestine relationship.
In Unrivaled, Harlequin says, the couple have come out as gay and now play for the same team but are forced to deal with homophobic backlash to their relationship.
In an Instagram video recorded on Sunday and posted Monday, Reid said, “I’m coming at you from my misery hole here, which is a hotel room I have locked myself in to write in, and I can’t post this video until tomorrow, and you’ll see why, but it’s really, really, really, really surreal to be sitting here writing the next Ilya and Shane book while watching jokes about Ilya and Shane happen live on my television from Hollywood at the Golden Globes. It’s very weird.…I feel like I’m losing my mind. I hope you like the book.”
Unrivaled is slated for publication on Sept. 29.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
