Rachel Reid has just made a monumental power move. Indeed, the author behind the "Heated Rivalry" saga—whose book was adapted into the hit HBO series, starring Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov—has announced that the love story of these fictional hockey players will continue both on and off the ice in her upcoming book, "Unrivaled."
"I'm absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to continue their story with 'Unrivaled'," Rachel told People in an interview published on Jan. 12. "I'm writing this one for all the Hollanov fans, old and new. I can't express how much the love my characters have received over the years means to me. It's been a blast writing these guys again and revisiting the entire Game Changers cast."
The seventh book in the Game Changers series will further explore the steamy romance between pro hockey players Shane and Ilya. Expected to release in Fall 2026, this newest installment will follow the NHL couple in a whole new light: out, married, and playing on the same team.
"They've received a lot of love from fans who are thrilled for them," reads the book's synopsis. "But some people in the hockey world are still reeling from their relationship reveal, and the backlash—led by popular hockey podcast Top Shelf and the #TakeBackHockey movement—is getting louder."
"Ilya and Shane are finally able to stand together in the light, the way they'd always wanted," adds the synopsis. "And now they might be facing their biggest challenge yet."
While the TV show—which is largely based off of the second book in the Game Changers series—was recently renewed for season two on HBO, it hasn't yet been revealed what the next on-screen chapter will look like. However, if the show's passionate first season is any indication, fans are sure to see even more chemistry between Hudson and Connor's characters.
In fact, Hudson, 24, recently shared how he and his co-star navigated the show's most heated scenes. "Connor and I had chemistry instantly," Hudson told Zuri Hall in an exclusive interview on Live from E: Golden Globes 2026. "But then we had to find a way to get Shane and Ilya to have chemistry."
To foster their on-screen romance, the pair made sure to spend plenty of time together when the cameras weren't rolling to deepen Shane and Ilya's connection, since, according to Hudson, their personalities are "different than our own, for sure."
"Connor is very expressive. Ilya is kind of like this Slavic rock," continued the 24-year-old, who presented alongside Connor, 25, during the awards ceremony. "Then Shane is also like a dense brick. So, you have the Slavic rock and the dense brick."
And though the show's depiction of a queer love story has touched the hearts of many, it has also enabled many closeted LGBTQ+ athletes to reach out to the show's actors.
"The people who reach out, somewhat anonymously, who are like, 'I'm a professional player still, and I'm still in the closet,'" Hudson said in a Jan. 7 clip from his appearance on Andy Cohen's SiriusXM show Radio Andy. "They're [also] reaching out to Rachel, our author, who will then kind of relay these lovely anonymous emails."
He added, "Sometimes they're just reaching out privately through Instagram, and those ones are the ones that really just kind of hit you and go, 'Oh, so this is a fun show, and it's celebratory, but also sometimes it's just hitting people right in the nerve.'"
