This post has affiliate links to the steamy series you need to read and watch like yesterday.
What Is Heated Rivalry And Why Is It So Popular?
Heated Rivalry is one novel in a series of six queer romances by Rachel Reid about hockey players. I read the whole series a while back and enjoyed them, but when I heard a television adaptation was in the works, I was skeptical. I assumed it would involve Hallmark movie levels of acting and production quality, snow that looked fake, and stilted, awkward acting with zero chemistry between the romantic leads.
Boy, was I wrong. (But I do recommend you read the books, if you can get a hold of them.)
The six episode series roughly covers the first two books in the Game Changers series, mostly the second book, Heated Rivalry. The main characters are Shane Hollander, a serious Canadian player, and Ilya, a brash and rude Russian who plays for an opposing team. The series starts before they are drafted into the major leagues, and takes place over several years.
As the title indicates, these two players are ostensibly rivals on the ice, but off the ice, their secret relationship is very different.
And very spicy, so do not watch when the kids are around.
But still, why would you, as a woman, want to watch a romance between two men who play a sport, you, as a New Orleanian, probably know little to nothing about?
Because it’s a beautiful love story.
Because it’s a story we don’t get to see often on screen.
Because the women on the show are strong, smart, and not in any way caricatures.
Because you will be moved to tears.
Because the production is shockingly good. The acting is top-notch, the attention to detail is outstanding, and the chemistry between the two leads is off the charts. (And the snow looks real.)
Because it will introduce you to some great new music.
Because there are a lot of fun memes out there.
Give it a shot (no pun intended), and if you aren’t looking up sun-drenched lakefront Canadian cottages on Airbnb by the end of the last episode, I’ll buy you a case of ginger ale.
Heated Rivalry airs on HBO Max. And again, if you like to read, do that, too!
