Rosanov & Hollander

I’m pretty sure I know what’s on everyone’s mind.

Heated Rivalry, of course!

I had been aware of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series of books, but wasn’t particularly interested in them. I’m not quite sure why. When the TV series dropped at the end of last year, I even had HBO Max and I still wasn’t adding it to my queue. Then the SNL episode came out with host Connor Storrie, who plays Ilya Rozanov. My husband told me I

needed to watch the opening monologue because the Hughes brothers were on with Hilary Knight and Megan Keller. Our family is immersed in hockey at least six months of the year, and we had quite the discussions about the fallout of both of the Olympic gold medal teams, so relevant.

But do you want to know what struck me the most from the SNL monologue? Hilary and Megan confirmed they had watched Heated Rivalry, but the Hughes brothers had not, they were too busy. This in combination with Internet discussion saying that women everywhere loved the show, and it was a massive hit, gaining millions upon millions of viewers despite it being a Canadian made series with a low budget. Another clincher—it was about men, but actively anti-misogynist.

Okay. I was in. And I’ll tell you what, I couldn’t stop watching it. It’s quite spicy, not leaving much to the imagination, so those parts may not be for everyone, but I think I know the reason why people love it.

It is a forbidden love story set in the real contemporary world that works! I can’t say that it is the best forbidden love story ever told because, well, Romeo and Juliet, but hands down it is a winner in our modern world.

At the heart of the forbidden love trope is the human trait of defiance against restriction, which can often lead to a deeper longing for the thing that society, your family, your own moral code says you cannot have. I would go so far as to say that the general idea of The Forbidden is fundamental to the human condition.

Now take that shared feeling and combine it with what I think is the best part of the forbidden love trope—the author forcing us to confront societal norms. As readers and viewers, we are coerced into questioning ingrained beliefs, challenging the status quo, introspecting on our own perspectives, biases, and roles within society. By not only captivating our hearts, but also making us think deeply, the forbidden love trope deeply resonates.

The men’s professional hockey story world in Heated Rivalry is the perfect pressure-cooker. Interesting fact: as of 2025 there are zero active openly gay or bisexual players in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, PGA and ATP. While many have come out upon retirement, very few have come out while actively playing. The reasons: fear of backlash from fans or management, the "cult of masculinity" in locker rooms, and pressure from sponsors. As you can imagine, the believability of forbidden love between two male hockey players in the NHL is a slam dunk, or in hockey lingo, an own goal.

So stop what you’re reading or watching and go binge Heated Rivalry. You won’t regret it.