Rachel Reid Shares Exciting Updates on Her New Book and What Fans Can Expect
After a recent adjustment to its publication timeline, Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid has provided an update on the upcoming installment in the Game Changers series, titled Unrivaled, which continues the story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.
In a Q&A with Entertainment Weekly, Reid revealed that she has been diligently working on the sequel for about a year and expressed satisfaction with the draft’s progress. “I’m very happy with it,” she said. “I was working on it secretly right up until January, when it was announced. I’m giving myself some time over the next few months to really focus on that and make it as good as it can possibly be before it goes to my editor, because it’s really important.”
Reid emphasized the significance of this particular book, noting, “I feel like more than any other book I’ve written, this one needs to be really good. I hope I’m giving people what they want out of this.” She also indicated that she is still making pivotal decisions about the plot, mentioning that certain sections have undergone multiple rewrites.
Unrivaled serves as a direct sequel to The Long Game, the sixth book in the series that inspired the ongoing second season of the Crave Canada show adaptation. The new book will follow Shane and Ilya after their wedding as they navigate their relationship publicly for the first time, having transitioned from a decade-long rivalry to coexisting teammates. The couple faces both support and criticism from the public.
“Unrivaled is really where the world’s gonna judge them, right? ‘Cause now they’re on the same team, it’s in people’s faces,” Reid stated. “There’s gonna be people that are extremely excited and supportive of it — some of it in maybe a parasocial way, which isn’t at all based on reality. And there will also be the other side: just blatantly homophobic and bigoted and terrible.”
Reid highlighted that the book will explore the complexities of a relationship intertwined with professional life. “Even though they had their happy ending, it’s a complicated happy ending, and there’s still a lot of things that they’re gonna have to deal with. That’s why I decided to write the book — because I felt like there’s still more story to tell,” she concluded.
As for the television adaptation, which is expected to return to HBO Max in April 2027, creator Jacob Tierney has hinted that the new season will delve into much more serious themes, stating at BookCon that while there will still be “lots of flirting, and lots of sex,” the narrative will shift away from lighter adolescent tropes.
