The latest example of Heated Rivalry’s impact has made it all the way to the New York City mayor’s office.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents stay home during a Sunday conference as snow continued to fall heavily across the city. One of his suggestions for passing the time? Reading Heated Rivalry, naturally.
“The snow is coming down heavily across our city, and I can think of no better excuse for New Yorkers to say home, take a long nap or take advantage of our public library’s offer of free access to Heated Rivalry on e-book or audiobook for anyone with a library card,” he said during the press conference, met with smiles and laughs from the team behind him.
The New York Public Library announced Saturday (Jan. 24) that anyone with a library card would have access to download any of the books from author Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, a string of six connection queer hockey romance novels. The library is offering the instant access through Feb. 14 — a game changer for any patron who’s experienced the agony of waiting for a recently popular book to come off hold at the library.
Instantly cozy up with the viral “Heated Rivalry” romance novel!
Now through February 14, download any of the six books in the “Game Changers” series immediately on audiobook or e-reader. All you need is an NYPL library card.
Tap to heat up your weekend:… pic.twitter.com/n4zkWrReKs
— NY Public Library (@nypl) January 24, 2026
Heated Rivalry is the second book in the Game Changers series, serving as the source material for the hit Crave-HBO Max series starring Hudson Williams as Canadian hockey player Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as Russian hockey player Ilya Rozanov. The Long Game, the sixth book in the series, also follows Williams and Storrie’s characters and their relationship, along with the recently announced seventh book, Unrivaled.
Heated Rivalry has served as the breakout series for both Williams and Storrie, who have quickly risen to Hollywood IT boy status in the two months since the show premeried. The pair are currently in Italy, having served as torchbearers for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
