Reading order
Game Changers Books in Order
Follow all the couples in publication order, or start with Heated Rivalry for Shane and Ilya. Unrivaled is scheduled for June 1, 2027.
Quick answer
Start with Game Changer for the full series
- 1. Game Changer (2018)
- 2. Heated Rivalry (2019)
- 3. Tough Guy (2020)
- 4. Common Goal (2020)
- 5. Role Model (2021)
- 6. The Long Game (2022)
- 7. Unrivaled (upcoming June 1, 2027)
Six novels are published. For Shane and Ilya’s story, start with Heated Rivalry (book 2) and continue with The Long Game (book 6). Unrivaled is their upcoming third novel and book seven in the series.
I’ve read all six published novels. I’d start with Game Changer if you want to see how the players and their teams come into each other’s lives. If Shane and Ilya brought you here, Heated Rivalry is a natural first read. It tells you what you need to know about both men from the beginning.
The numbered series
What each Game Changers book is about
Book 1
Game Changer
2018
New York hockey captain Scott Hunter keeps returning to the shop where Kip Grady makes his smoothies. Once they start seeing each other, Scott wants to keep the relationship private as the playoffs approach. Kip has to decide how much of his life he’s willing to spend behind Scott’s apartment door.
Start here for the full series. Scott and Kip introduce the league through a relationship between a player and someone whose life is outside hockey.
Book 2
Heated Rivalry
2019
Montreal’s Shane Hollander and Boston’s Ilya Rozanov build their careers as rivals while meeting in secret. What starts as attraction becomes a relationship neither can keep treating as temporary.
You can start here for Shane and Ilya. The rivalry and the relationship have their own beginning, and The Long Game is the direct sequel.
Book 3
Tough Guy
2020
Hockey enforcer Ryan Price is traded to Toronto, where he reconnects with aspiring musician Fabian Salah. Fabian knew him before the job took such a toll, and the two get a chance to see who they are around each other now.
This book follows a new couple. The attention shifts to anxiety, the cost of being paid to fight, and the life Ryan might build away from the rink.
Book 4
Common Goal
2020
Veteran goalie Eric Bennett is nearing retirement and wants to start dating men. Graduate student Kyle Swift offers to help him find his footing, on the understanding that their arrangement can stay casual.
Eric’s New York hockey circle brings back familiar people. The romance has its own questions about age, experience, and what comes after a career on the ice.
Book 5
Role Model
2021
A trade to Ottawa gives Troy Barrett a chance to start over after a breakup and a public scandal. The team’s social media manager, Harris Drover, wants Troy to show a side of himself he usually keeps hidden.
Ilya is Troy’s teammate in Ottawa. This is the book I’d keep in the lineup if you want more of Ilya’s life around the team before The Long Game.
Book 6
The Long Game
2022
Shane and Ilya are still trying to fit a private relationship around their professional careers. The arrangements that once gave them time together are harder to live with now that they know how much they want from each other.
Read Heated Rivalry first. I found the sequel more emotionally complex because the men have to face what years of secrecy have cost them.
Book 7
Unrivaled
Upcoming · June 1, 2027
Rachel Reid’s seventh Game Changers novel is scheduled for June 1, 2027. It continues Shane and Ilya’s story after The Long Game.
This is the next book for Shane and Ilya. The six earlier novels are the books you can read as of November 2026.
The reading path for Shane and Ilya
Heated Rivalry covers the years when Shane and Ilya first get to know each other. The Long Game picks up the same relationship and asks what the two can expect from each other over time. I found those two books the most rewarding because each has room to change what the other means. Unrivaled is scheduled to pick up their story next.
Ilya has a supporting role in Role Model, where the story belongs to Troy and Harris. It’s a good stop before The Long Game if you want to see what Ilya is like as an Ottawa teammate.
My spoiler-free Heated Rivalry review · Nine queer sports romances like Heated Rivalry
Where the other couples fit
Scott and Kip, Ryan and Fabian, Eric and Kyle, and Troy and Harris each get a romance of their own. Players and teams recur, so reading straight through lets you recognize familiar people in a different role. The shared league also lets Reid show how a trade, an injury, or retirement can change what someone expects from hockey and a relationship.
Quick answers
Questions about the Game Changers reading order
Can I read Heated Rivalry before Game Changer?
Yes. Heated Rivalry starts Shane and Ilya’s story. Game Changer follows Scott and Kip and gives you more context for the league and recurring players.
What should I read after Heated Rivalry?
The Long Game is the direct sequel. For the whole series in publication order, Tough Guy is next and follows Ryan and Fabian.
How many Game Changers novels are out?
Six are published as of November 2026. The Long Game is book six, and the announced seventh book is Unrivaled.
When can I read Unrivaled?
Unrivaled is upcoming. Rachel Reid and Harlequin list June 1, 2027 as its scheduled release date.
Is Time to Shine part of Game Changers?
Time to Shine is a standalone Rachel Reid hockey romance about Landon Stackhouse and Casey Hicks. You can read it whenever you like.
Sources
Sources for this guide
The order follows Harlequin’s series list. Rachel Reid and Harlequin list June 1, 2027 for Unrivaled.