‘Heated Rivalry’ Fans Are Rightfully Freaking Out Over This ‘Game Changers’ Book News

Warning: Passionate rivalry And The long game spoilers ahead.

Big news for Passionate rivalry the fans! It looks like Rachel Reid is releasing a second sequel to Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov’s love story.

For those who don’t know, Reid is the author of Game changers, a queer romance book series centered around professional hockey players. Even if there were six books to choose from, Passionate rivalry creator Jacob Tierney adapted the second novel in the hit Crave Original series, which follows two rival hockey players who fall in love over the course of a decade.

Tierney has already confirmed that the second season will move directly into the sixth book in the series, The long gamein order to stay true to the central love story of the series. Now that Shane (Hudson Williams) and Ilya (Connor Storrie) have found their next step at the cabin, fans can expect to see them navigate their secret relationship much closer after Ilya leaves the Boston Raiders to play for a Canadian team.

Fans widely predicted Tierney would split The long game in two seasons to do justice to the heavier themes and because, frankly, they are hoping for at least three seasons of their new favorite series! Although Tierney can give other Game changers Coupled with the treatment of Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie GK) in season two, he made it clear that he intended to “keep the show spiritually the same.”

Well, he’s about to have even more material to work with. On January 10, fans discovered a Barnes & Noble ad for a seventh Game changers novel scheduled for release on September 29, 2026. Okay, this is where you stop reading if you don’t want to know what happens in The long game.

According to the Barnes & Noble listing, the seventh book is titled Unrivaled and will resume after Ilya and Shane’s wedding. Unfortunately, not everyone in the hockey world is ready for the couple to play on the same team, literally or figuratively. Here is the full description:

A line has been drawn and the hockey world is divided.

For the first time in their professional hockey careers, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander have nothing to hide. For over a decade, they kept their love a secret, but now they’re dating, married and even play on the same team. The support is incredible.

Most often.

They have received a lot of love from fans who are thrilled for them. But some people in the hockey world are still reeling from the revelation of their relationship, and the backlash, led by the popular hockey podcast Top Shelf and the #TakeBackHockey movement, is growing louder.

Ilya and Shane are finally able to stand together in the light, like they always wanted. And now they could face their biggest challenge yet.