Heated Rivalry author announces new book slated for September release

Rachel Reid will publish Unrivaled, the seventh Game Changer novel, on Sept. 29, 2026; it revisits hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as newlyweds playing on the same team.

Rachel Reid has announced a new instalment in her Game Changer series, to be published by Harlequin on Sept. 29, 2026. The novel, titled Unrivaled, follows characters introduced earlier in the series and continues the author’s focus on queer relationships set around hockey. Heated Rivalry began as book two in the series and has since been adapted for television. That adaptation has attracted wider attention for the books and the series' characters. Key details: - Unrivaled is the seventh book in Rachel Reid’s Game Changer series and is scheduled for release on Sept. 29, 2026. - The novel revisits Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, who are now depicted as newlyweds and playing for the same team. - Heated Rivalry was adapted into a Crave Original Series directed by Jacob Tierney. - The adaptation was reported as Crave’s most successful Original Series to date, and its lead actors presented at the 2026 Golden Globes. - The Game Changers series has sold more than 1.3 million copies in North America and a second season of the show has been confirmed. - In Canada, Heated Rivalry was longlisted for Canada Reads 2026 and topped Bookmanager’s weekly bestseller list. Summary: Unrivaled's announcement extends a commercially successful and widely noticed franchise that centers queer relationships within a hockey setting. The book’s release on Sept. 29, 2026 is the next key date, while the TV adaptation’s success and a confirmed second season have kept the series in the cultural conversation.