Editor's note: This interview was recorded prior to Rachel Reid's announcement delaying her upcoming novel Unrivaled to June 1, 2027 due to worsening Parkinson's disease symptoms (via Instagram video).
Rachel Reid tells Out that her upcoming novel Unrivaled — a sequel novel for Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov's love story told in the Heated Rivalry and The Long Game books — is set to continue Shane's arc as "the main character of these three books."
When considering the various reviews that regard the Heated Rivalry novel as "Shane's book" and The Long Game novel as "Ilya's book," and specifically asked if she sees either one of them as the protagonist of Unrivaled, Reid makes the case as to why this has been Shane's story all along.
"I do think that the three books, as a trilogy, it's Shane who has like the hero's arc," Reid says. "I think, even in The Long Game, it's Shane. As much as the book focuses on Ilya, Shane is the one with that arc, and I do think that continues into this one [Unrivaled]. I do think Shane sort of is the main character of these three books. It's pretty even, I think, in this one, because it's really about them as a unit. They're not apart very much. It's probably a little more even than the other ones. But, ultimately, Shane is our hero."
Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander on Heated Rivalry.Crave Canada/HBO Max
As the author responsible for bringing Shane and Ilya to life when they first meet at age 17 in Heated Rivalry through both being 29 when The Long Game ends, Reid is excited to write about these characters entering their 30s in Unrivaled. The writer confirms that the upcoming novel "picks up right where The Long Game left off, so they're only 30" when the book begins.
"I mean, hockey players are like… 30, in hockey years, is a lot older than 30 for most people," Reid says. "Like, that's getting old for a hockey player. So, yeah, it's been fun kind of writing them — especially Shane, having to face the fact that he's not going to be playing hockey forever. You know, his body's gonna start to not do what it used to do."
The writer goes on, "I think having them at an age where maybe they're starting to think about the future, beyond hockey, and their lives together, is nice. It's a very different vibe from writing them in their teens and early 20s, much like anyone's thinking about different things, usually, when they're into their 30s."
Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander on Heated Rivalry. Crave Canava/HBO Max
Unrivaled is the seventh installment in Reid's overall Game Changers book series that also explores other love stories between characters like Scott Hunter and Kip Grady — played by actors François Arnaud and Robbie G.K., respectively, on the Heated Rivalry TV show — besides pairs such as Ryan and Fabian, Eric and Kyle, Troy and Harris.
"A line has been drawn — and the hockey world is divided," the official synopsis for Unrivaled reads. "For the first time in their professional hockey careers, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander have nothing to hide. For more than a decade, they kept their love a secret, but now they're out, married, and even playing on the same team. The support is incredible. Most of the time."
Unrivaled is available for preorders on Harlequin, Indigo, Amazon, and everywhere else books are sold.
