Canadians can’t get enough ‘Heated Rivalry’: Newly-announced sequel is Indigo’s biggest romance pre-order

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Canadians and hockey go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, the country’s favourite winter sport has unexpectedly been launched back into the pop culture spotlight with the blockbuster success of Canadian author Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry  book turned TV show.

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The queer romance follows hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov as they transform from on-ice rivals to behind-the-scenes lovers over the course of their high-profile careers. Heated Rivalry, the second book in the Game Changers series, was recently adapted for television on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the U.S., and has promptly taken the internet (and readers) by storm.

Queer romance sales are booming

Indigo reports that it has sold nearly 50,000 copies of Reid’s books since the series first aired in November 2025, and sales for Heated Rivalry alone are up 5,805 per cent compared to before the show aired. 

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“We have seen an incredible trickle down effect from the booming success of the Heated Rivalry book series and show. Searches for queer love stories have never been higher,” says Kaitlynd Carmichael, romance print category manager at Indigo.

“It’s been so exciting to see the passion this community has for the series, and it’s especially special to see readers rally behind a Canadian author. Indigo is proud to continue championing Heated Rivalry, celebrating its fans and supporting Reid’s success across this series and her other titles.”

What’s next for Heated Rivalry fans

Those eagerly anticipating what comes next for Hollander and Rozanov won’t have to wait very long — the Heated Rivalry TV show has already been renewed for a second season, and Unrivaled, Reid’s next installment in the book series, was just released for pre-order. 

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Though it’s not officially available until September, Unrivaled has already become Indigo’s biggest romance pre-order ever. Based on the first day of pre-order sales figures, Indigo notes that the book has the potential to have Indigo’s highest book sales of 2026. Carmichael notes that in addition to the show’s popularity, that’s likely due to the overall surge in popularity of the queer sports romance subgenre. 

“In romance, we often see readers discover a subgenre they love and then dive into every book that fits within it. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed booms in dark romance, cowboy romance and cozy romance,” says Carmichael. “My hunch is that we’re now at the start of another major trend: queer sports romance. While this category has been popular for over a decade, this is the first time it’s breaking into the mainstream and doing the numbers it is currently doing.” 

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If you’re on the hunt for more queer steamy reads from Canadian authors, check out a list of recommendations below. 

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