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If there is one thing that we all love, it’s a bit of spice in our television. Just to add a bit of heat to all the drama unfolding before us. That’s why Bridgerton is coming back for its fourth season later this month, and that is why everyone is still talking about Heated Rivalry. The series about two gay hockey players having an intense, secret affair was one of the most talked-about shows of 2025, but no one is more surprised to see it adapted for the screen than the author.

Rachel Reid was so unsure about her “sexually explicit queer romance novels” being accepted by the mainstream that she initially published them anonymously online, disguising them as fan fiction. “I thought they were unadaptable,” Reid said in a recent interview. Even when HBO Max began making the TV version of Heated Rivalry, Reid didn’t have much hope that they would remain faithful to the original. Again, she was pleasantly surprised. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an adaptation this loyal before.”

Heated Rivalry made it to the screen with very few changes to the story or characters from Rachel Reid's Game Changers series, which has probably been a big part of its growing popularity. Rachel Reid didn’t think she’d ever see the day, but it has helped her shift books and expand her fanbase – particularly among men. “Now, with the show, we’ve gained a much wider and more diverse fanbase of – yeah – a lot of men, which is really exciting.”

Heated Rivalry, with all the intense sports drama and smut, is currently streaming on HBO Max. A second season is in the works.

Just like yourself, the Popverse staff spends a whole lot of time with our respective noses in respective books. It's why we've come up with stuff like:

• The hottest upcoming fiction
• Queer romance to add to your reading list
• A genre fiction literary column called If It Bleeds, We Read

...and a whole lot more. Join our metaphorical library, won't you? There are no late fees and you can be as loud as you want, so long as the people you live with are OK with it.