Game Changer: Now Streaming on Crave and HBO Max (Game Changers: Heated Rivalry Book Series 1)
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THE SERIES THAT INSPIRED HEATED RIVALRY • NOW A 1 STREAMING SHOW Enter the world of Game Changers, the series behind the epic enemies-to-lovers hockey romance Heated Rivalry, streaming on Crave in Canada and on HBO Max in the U.S. It all starts here with Scott and Kip’s steamy secret-relationship romance by New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Rachel Reid. New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter takes his pregame rituals very seriously. When a particular smoothie precedes Scott's breaking his on-ice slump, he’s desperate to recreate the magic…and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter. Kip Grady knew there was more to Scott’s frequent visits than blended fruit, but he never let himself imagine being invited back to Scott’s penthouse. Or kissed with reckless abandon—and more. What goes on between them is hot, incredible and frequent…but also only on Scott’s terms and always behind his closed apartment doors. Scott needs Kip in his life, but with playoff season approaching, the spotlight on him is suddenly brighter than ever. He can’t afford to do anything that might derail his career or the public’s image of what a hockey captain should be. Kip is ready to go all in with Scott—but how much longer will he have to remain a secret? Game ChangersBook 1: Game ChangerBook 2: Heated RivalryBook 3: Tough GuyBook 4: Common GoalBook 5: Role ModelBook 6: The Long GameBook 7: Unrivaled Need more Reid?! Check out these other standalones from your favorite MM hockey romance writer:Time to ShineThe Shots You Take Read more
Publisher : Carina Press
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : October 22, 2018
Language : English
File size : 824 KB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Paperback
This is the book that started it all and kicked off the Game Changers series, with Heated Rivalry being number two. For those coming to this series from the show, this book serves as the source material for Episode 3 and the end of Episode 5. I found this book to be an excellent rumination on the cost of fame and what it means to stay true to yourself. If you’ve seen Episode 3 of Heated Rivalry, you already know the basic premise. Kip is a smoothie shop barista who has been out and proud since he was 18. Scott, on the other hand, is a deeply closeted professional hockey player whose previous sexual encounters were limited to anonymous hookups—whatever he could find with random men in various European cities. Scott has known he was gay for just as long as Kip has, but he’s also known that it would never be accepted in his chosen profession. As a result, he’s never been on a real date, never had a relationship, and never even brought anyone back to his house. The fact that Scott—who is clearly a wonderful guy—has had to rely on fleeting, anonymous connections is genuinely heartbreaking. Kip, meanwhile, is dealing with something many millennials and older Gen Z college graduates understand all too well: discovering that the degree you pursued doesn’t match the job market by the time you graduate, leaving you stuck in a dead-end job. Kip has internalized his lack of professional success to the point that he questions whether he was ever worthy of his dreams in the first place. As someone who graduated into the Great Recession, I deeply identified with that struggle. What makes this story so compelling is the interplay between these two men as they navigate Scott’s desire to live authentically without completely upending his career and Kip’s determination to remain openly gay after nearly a decade out of the closet. I especially loved that each of them genuinely sees the other as the catch. There’s something incredibly tender about that mutual admiration. I also appreciated that both men are surrounded by strong support systems. Scott has loyal, caring friends, and Kip has wonderful friends and family who want nothing more than to see him thrive. Their relationship builds beautifully to the dramatic scene at the end of Episode Five, and the aftermath—where Kip is fully introduced into Scott’s world and accepted by the people who matter most—feels deeply earned. It’s a good book. You should read it.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2026 by Carlton Schaps
Format: Paperback
It features two unbelievably hot gay leading men. It features lots of flirting. And lots–I mean LOTS LOTS LOTS–of torrid gay sex. This novel (essentially episode 3, as well as brief parts of episodes 5 and 6, of HBO’s wildly popular Heated Rivalry series) tells the story of an unlikely romance between Kip, a hard-working server at a smoothie shop, and Scott Hunter, the dashing and wildly popular star of the New York Admirals, a fictional NHL team. They meet, they fall in love, complications ensue (Scott is a professional athlete and therefore closeted), but–and here’s perhaps the most fantastical part of the story–they resolve their issues and face obstacles together by talking about their feelings and being honest with each other. Whoa! My only criticism concerns the overwhelming number of sex scenes. After the first few, it began to seem like overkill. Constant detailed descriptions of what Kip and Scott do to each other in various stages of undress didn’t really propel the story forward very much. This is likely a case of “less is more.” I will certainly read the remaining six books in this series, but not right away. I gotta give my pulse a chance to slow down a bit before I dive into the next one.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2026 by James R. Gilligan
Format: Paperback
DISCLAIMER: this is coming from someone who came from the show. I hope this review is organized well enough for anyone who comes across it! Relationship/story: I'm not a super big fan of love at first sight, and I feel like this leans towards that. They fall fast and for me, personally, at times it made it harder to care about their relationship. The pacing is a little better than the show in some aspects, in others I still kind of roll my eyes. I think it's a me issue, since this is one book. There's not much time to tell the story, some things will be rushed. Kip and Scott as separate characters were great. I wish they got some more time, and I'm glad I read the book, as it does add a lot to the characters! It's so nice to get to see what was going on through their heads. Kip especially, as he's the main character. Writing: Rachel Reid is a very good author. The book is super easy to read and it's fun. There were a few parts where dialogue felt unnatural, but over all, the way she writes flows so nicely. If choppy dialogue or writing bothers you, trust me, you're good here. Also I think she's pretty funny! One thing I didn't like was that, about halfway through, there's a very obvious change in pace when the main conflict sets in. It wasn't horrible, just noticeable. Spice: I don't know what it is, but I don't really enjoy the way the intimate scenes were done. That being said, I'm asexual and I know that many people watching the show enjoyed it in a very different way than I did. So I think this is entirely preference. Still, some of it felt awkward. I've read spicy scenes before in other things, I don't know what it was about this book that made me uncomfortable. I just skipped them. In the beginning, she more or less contains the scenes to a chapter of their own, which makes it easy. I'd skim through for dialogue or any important things to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I don't think I did. If you plan to skip the spicier scenes though, keep in mind that about halfway through they stop being contained to their own chapters and they do start containing some plot important pieces, so I wouldn't skip too much. I feel like I complained more than I meant to here- I think the book is funny and really almost all of the things that disappointed me was that we don't get more of Scott and kip. I know they'll probably show up in the future books, but I wish they had more time to fall in love and more space for their story. But again, you've got to fit it all into a book and not everyone would opt into reading a 72 chapter book about a closeted hockey player. I get it. I'm super excited for the next book if you read this please go ahead and get the book, it's so worth it.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2026 by Vanessa
Format: Audiobook
Overall rating: 3.5/5 Spice: 4/5 Narrator: 1/5 Cliffhanger: 0/5 I have listened to hundreds of audiobooks (my current lifestyle makes sitting down to read hard) and excluding DNFs, this is the worst narration I have ever listened to. I did, however, listen to the entire thing from beginning to end and I’ll do my best to separate the narration from the story and writing. Kip Grady is a 25 year-old from Brooklyn with a history degree from NYU working at a smoothie shop because what kind of job can you get with a BA in history? Into his smoothie shop walks hockey legend, Scott Hunter, who instantly falls for gorgeous snarky Kip. What fallows, from meet cute to committed relationship, is a straight-forward hallmark worthy romance between two cinnamon rolls. They are so sweet and the relationship would be disgustingly healthy if it weren’t for the fact that Scott is closeted and famous for a notoriously homophobic sport. I have to talk about the narration first. Kip’s accent is so bad. I stopped the book and researched where Kip was from 5 minutes into the book. Was he Scandinavian? From some obscure country? A mixture of things? When I found out it was supposed to be Brooklyn I was horrified. I’m from New York. My entire huge extended family is from New York and Jersey. The best I could find in Kip’s accent is a touch of Boston Thug. But before I came and bashed this here I had my husband listen (born and raised in NYC). His best guess was that the accent was Minnesotan. I told him it was Brooklyn and his exact quote was, “Have they ever heard a New York accent?” Have you, Mr. Thom? Have you? And it’s not just Kip’s accent. Every accent in the book is a mess. Then there is the fact that most of the New Yorkers don’t have them, including Kip’s parents. And Scott…the only word I can come up with to describe his voice is simpering. It was a caricature of a weak-willed person, which I can’t imagine the Captain of an NHL team would be. Doing my best to put all that aside, the first 2/3s of the book was…fine. I was bored a lot. Two cinnamon rolls together is great in real life but not super compelling in a book. You need a little dysfunction and there was remarkably little, all things considered. The spice was well written and there was a lot of it, but still, there is a reason this story only took 1 episode of the TV show. Then is the last third of the book it gets really good (ironically, that’s the part that didn’t make it into the “Heated Rivalry” TV show). The excitement of falling in love and having a secret relationship with a wonderful hot superstar wears off and Kip starts to spiral as he sees his life as a dirty secret laid out before him. Then it’s up to Scott to make some hard choices (in the middle of the Stanley Cup Finals). The character development in this last part is beautiful. For the tv fans, this is how these two characters get from the end of episode 3 to the end of episode 5 (all of which is off camera). Cautions: Lots and lots of gay spice (obviously). Homophobia. Violence, because Hockey. I can’t recommend the audio for this book. I probably would have switched to the e-book, but I didn’t love it enough to pay for both. I do recommend fans of the TV show read it, mainly for that last third that the show glosses over. It’s the best part of the book. For those coming here before watching “Heated Rivalry” (do those people exist post-2025?), I’d recommend it for people looking for a cozy and sweet, low interpersonal-drama gay romance.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2026 by stacy
Format: Kindle
I have to be honest, I had not heard of this author or series until season 1 of Heated Rivalry debuted last December and clips started popping up on my Facebook feed. I was hooked. As much as I love Shane & Ilya I'd be lying if I didn't say Scott & Kip's story hooked a little deeper. So when I researched the book series and found book 1, Game Changer, was actually Scott & Kip's story, I immediately 1-clicked it and knew I'd be reading it. I'll admit I didn't think it would take 4 months to find time but here we are. As I said, Scott & Kip's part of the series was my favorite, and as I've only had the opportunity to read book 1 so far, I can safely say the same carried over to the books. I'm open to that changing when I have a chance to read further so time will tell there. Not sure what it is about Scott & Kip that pulled me in more but whatever it was, I was hooked. To be honest, I am not much of a hockey person. I watch it during the Olympics, keep tabs on our local college women's team but that's about it, not that I don't like it, I just don't seek it out but I do seem to enjoy the occasional work of LGBTQ romantic fiction in the hockey world. As I write this I'm having a hard time separating the Scott/Kip book from the Scott/Kip episode but IMO, I think the writers stayed pretty close to the original work. Sure there are differences, time constraints and all but no huge gaps or noticeable differences that took me out of the story as I read it. Scott and Kip have amazing chemistry and their fears are expressed wonderfully to the reader, from each other takes a little time but hurdles need to be reached or you would have a very short pamphlet instead of a novel. I look forward to reading Shane and Ilya's story as I do the others in the series. Rachel Reid is a new author to me and for some that can be scary, an adrenaline rush they don't want but it just adds to the whole overall first-time experience IMO. Definitely an author to go on my author-to-watch list.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2026 by padme35
Format: Kindle
Probably rounding up to 4.5 stars Had to shorten some, full review posted elsewhere **SPOILERS** I re-read/re-listen about once per year. So since the Heated Rivalry tv series is about to be released, and I’ve rated but never reviewed the books, I figured I’d do my re-read now!! The cover - I have to talk about this first. I am someone who LOATHES cartoon covers. I won’t even read a blurb for a book if the cover is a cartoon. Hopefully this trend passes. This book series was just fine as it was. Pastel colors & cutesy images do not go with hockey for me. Hockey is hard hitting, it’s gritty (no pun intended, best mascot ever! 🧡), and if you’ve ever smelled hockey equipment, it’s dirty!! I loved the dark backgrounds, and of course, the sexy men. But I don’t NEED model covers. Just give me the black/grey backgrounds and real images of skates/sticks/pucks and the other items being talked about in each book. Like a smoothie, for example!! Or blueberries, or a museum!! Add in my autism & OCD, and I can’t for the life of me fathom why only half the series was released with the model covers. Who wants mismatched books?! The audiobook - I have to mention it. When I first read a book, I’m physical read only. But when I re-read, I flip back and forth between reading & listening. The accent used for Kip is just about unbearable. I cannot get on board with it. The hockey - as a lifelong hockey/sports fan who stumbled into sports romance books (who prefers the spice to romance ratio to lean heavily towards the spice), I have a hard time with hockey romance books. There are some that get EVERYTHING WRONG about the hockey. Rachel Reid’s books aren’t that, and it’s one of the reasons I like this series. But that doesn’t mean everything is right either. I know things are sometimes done for story purposes, but it makes it hard to enjoy the book. Again, I really don’t care much about the HEA. I care if the hockey is correct!! Book things, most that I love: - As a Philadelphia season ticket holder for 17 seasons, and someone who doesn’t love teams from NY, I smiled big with that 6-2 loss for the Admirals! 🤗 - Zullo 🤬➡️🤣 Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy! - I only rolled my eyes at Kip’s reaction to Scott’s blocked shot bruise 50 or so times. Isn’t he a history major? Wars, natural disasters, etc. Why is he acting like a frozen piece of rubber and a bruise, no dripping blood or missing teeth, are the worst things on the planet? He might need to date a basketball player. 🙄 - Trade deadline - oooh the scaries are legit as a fan! 😬 So much empathy for the players. - The friends! Elena, Carter, Maria, and others. I always enjoy books where the group of friends is a solid group, great chemistry, witty banter, etc! When what people are supposed to have in real life transfers to pages, I love it!! And some of my favorite quotes from this book come from Kip & Maria convos!! - Matti Jalo 😍 - The excitement over a birthday patty melt was a little odd. That’s just a regular every day menu item. But I’m fully on board with the milkshake!! - The Kingfisher 🍻 - Ok so for real about Kip & Scott - obviously, they’re great. They set the tone for the series. But it’s a difficult relationship throughout the book. I see both sides. Scott has every right to come out in his way, when he’s ready. No question. And it’s scary being in the public eye, being an athlete, etc. But Kip is being forced to be a shut in. It sucks. He can choose to not, of course, by not dating Scott. He’s lonely, but not alone. Which is so much worse. He’s miserable. There’s a financial power imbalance - even if Scott doesn’t see it that way. Big moments that aren’t celebrated together, with your person. Scott goes through something at the gala, and again on Kip’s birthday. He tries to make up for it with the museum, but then says “we shouldn’t have gone!”. I know he’s going through stuff, but he’s being awful to his boyfriend. The 1st round playoff win, and Kip is once again alone. I’m second hand angry. At both of them. Kip, go home!! Go out!! Just go!! I felt so proud when he finally stands up for himself!! And also when Scott finally stands up for EVERYONE!! I really do grow to love Scott, but him not even being able to say the word g__ is maddening! Bro, do you know where your tongue was last night? You’re an NHL Captain, not a choir mistress!! The internalized “you know what” is crazy!! Obviously, Rachel’s writing brings him full circle and it’s beautiful!! - Ilya 🥰 - Kyle!! - Kip’s Dad! - Continuity issue? Kip tells Scott he gave notice at Straw + Berry “yesterday. As soon as I was offered the job.” (At Kingfisher). But he just went there that afternoon. - Coach Murdock 👍🏻 - How could I not add THAT KISS?! 😘But um, when Scott gets home, where’s the Cup? - The Epilogue!!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2025 by Christie Martin
Format: Kindle
Can we just collectively gather around & give Scott & Kip hugs please? I love them! Scott absolutely breaks my heart because his closeted life has been so lonely & caused him such emotional pain. He’s never been able to keep people close to him & for a person without a family of his own, it’s devastating to read. And then Kip, who lives in an out-&-proud world, has fallen in love with this guy, the perfect guy for him, but he can’t tell anyone about it since he’s kinda forced into a closeted life too, hidden away from society in a secret bubble with Scott. Both of them deserve to love each other out loud, without shame. And while this part of their story is hard, it’s a stark reminder about the reality many queer people are forced to navigate. I loved how Rachel tackled this because she really fleshed it out from all possible angles, which made it feel real. But while part of this story is sad & angsty, the majority of it is truly beautiful. The way these men carve out small, safe places for their love to grow, is amazing & will have you clutching your heart & adoring these characters. And the side characters? OMG, they’re nothing short of spectacular too. Allies through & through... it’s awesome. Alright, I’m keeping this review strictly to the bookish content (I’ll probably make a TV-related post to continue to gush about how much I loved the show), but it would be remiss of me to exclude it entirely since it was the driving factor of me picking up this book & this series. I’d never heard of the author or the series until the teaser for the show dropped & then I literally dropped everything to read the series & watch the show congruently. Narrowing an entire book down to a single episode (& change) is a challenging feat, but Jacob (the showrunner) does it well. He represents Scott & Kip in a great way on screen. But, this book has so much more backstory. I’ve seen some people online, who haven’t read the books, ask questions about their relationship that are easily explained in the books. The big moments? Those are included in the show. But the extra moments that really show the depth of their relationship? We find those within the pages of this story. I highly recommend anyone who loved episode 3, dive into this book. It’s beautiful.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2026 by @EnchantingReads_RosyReviews
Format: Kindle
As someone obsessed with the Heated Rivalry show, obviously I had to dive into the book series, and Game Changer was...good. Not life-altering, but definitely an entertaining start to the Game Changers series. Scott and Kip were both easy to root for, and I liked them pretty equally. Scott’s struggles with the pressure of his career and Kip’s willingness to love someone who couldn’t fully claim him yet made the secret relationship genuinely emotional rather than just frustrating. I absolutely cried more than once toward the end. One of my favorite parts was getting access to their inner thoughts in a way the show just can’t fully deliver. Seeing more of their vulnerabilities and feelings added depth, and there were definitely scenes that had me thinking, "I really wish we’d gotten this on screen.” Now...the dialogue style? It drove me a little nuts. The constant clipped sentences with no subject took me out more than once. Maybe that’s just a me thing, but I kept stopping to wonder if people actually talk like that. That said, the spice was absolutely doing its job, and there is A LOT of it. Overall, this one didn’t completely wow me, but it kept me invested, made me emotional, and absolutely did its job of getting me excited for book two. If you’re here because you loved the show and want more time with these characters, it’s definitely worth the read.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2026 by Kristina