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R. Nassor may spend more time with books, tea, and ceramic mugs than recommended by professionals but it hasn’t failed her so far. Nassor has a MA in English Literature from Georgetown University, where she looked at the way medieval and early modern literature reappear in fantasy books today. She’s been writing about romance, fantasy, science fiction, and pop culture for quite a while, starting at Book Riot in 2020. She’s also written for Tor.com. You can follow her on Tiktok and contact her through her website.
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Queer hockey romance is all the rage this holiday season, and we have Rachel Reid, Jacob Tierney, and the brilliant cast, crew, and team behind Heated Rivalry to thank for it.
Heated Rivalry follows rival hockey players, Canada’s Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russia’s Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), over their secret eight-year sexual and romantic relationship. As they discover who they can be together, their world is changed by close friends, family, and queer role models—notably Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.)—who show them what’s possible. Produced by Bell Media’s Crave, written and directed by Jacob Tierney, and adapted from the first two books of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series (Game Changer and Heated Rivalry), this very queer Canadian show has captured the hearts of millions of viewers.
Why We All Love Heated Rivalry
When I first heard that one of my favorite queer book series was going to be adapted for TV, I was cautiously optimistic, but thought it was impossible to do Reid’s books justice. Then the trailer dropped, and I knew we were in trouble because it was obvious that the show would be devastatingly good. The kind of unimaginably good that would break the internet. Luckily, between the write-in campaign and perhaps general media buzz, HBO became an international distributor for the show in select countries, including the U.S. Since then, every episode has been a masterpiece.
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Heated Rivalry works because everyone involved in the show respects romance readers, queer people, and women. Oftentimes, Tierney adapts the book scene by scene, making welcome creative changes that only highlight the emotional core of the source material. Every actor involved brought their sincerity, dedication, and talent to the show. Finally, Reid is one of the best in the romance game. She understands character, world-building, and story on an almost genetic level. Together, they are able to adapt a show that loves hockey, even as it recognizes its harmful flaws from its handling of sexual assault cases to the lack of racial diversity in the sport to its homophobic roots. Although the MHL is a legally distinct imaginary hockey league,