Books, Boots and Bakeries

When talking about Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, there’s one book that stands out above the rest: Heated Rivalry. And let’s be real—Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are the heart of this series. They’re the couple everyone remembers, the one that set the bar impossibly high for every hockey romance that followed.

But what makes them so unforgettable? Why, years after reading, do we still come back to them, craving just one more moment in their world?

For me, it’s Ilya Rozanov. The absolute king of snark and self-destruction, wrapped up in a package of raw talent and unexpected vulnerability. Ilya is that character who sneaks up on you—one minute, he’s mouthing off and making everyone around him roll their eyes, and the next, he’s dropping a moment of such emotional honesty that it knocks the breath out of you. And Shane? The perfect foil. So serious, so focused, so damn good at everything, except when it comes to resisting Ilya. Together, they are magic.

There’s something about their dynamic that just works. The slow burn stretched over literal years, the clandestine meetings, the tension that never truly fades even when they finally admit what they are to each other. Heated Rivalry nailed the enemies-to-lovers trope in a way that few books ever have—because they never stop challenging each other, even when they’re together. It’s love that feels real, messy, and hard-earned.

As the first book in the series, The Long Game, was the gift we didn’t know we needed. We got to see Shane and Ilyua them not just as two players tangled in a secret affair but as a couple learning how to exist in the real world. Years later, they remain the gold standard. That’s the reason I compare every new hockey romance to theirs. The reason Ilya’s one-liners live rent-free in my head. The reason I still desperately want Rachel Reid to give us yet another bonus epilogue, or a Christmas novella, or just any excuse to check in with them one more time.

Its the one book in the series that I still have with an abs cover. For me, Shane and Ilya aren’t just a Game Changers series couple—they are the couple. And honestly? I don’t see anyone dethroning them anytime soon.