#rachel-reid

#rachel-reid

Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid says the raunchy TV adaptation of her hit book series success has helped her fight with Parkinson's disease. The 45-year-old novelist cited the steamy hockey romance's popularity in helping her access better care more than two years following her diagnosis. Parkinson's disease, which can be inherited, is a neurological condition caused by a reduction of dopamine in the brain, leading to a plethora of physical and psychological problems such as memory loss, violent tremors, and motor-function issues. Reid opened up about her struggle with Parkinson's while speaking to Today earlier this month, revealing that she had been diagnosed in August 2023.

"Heated Rivalry," a steamy hockey romance, has become a hit series for Crave and HBO. It's based on Rachel Reid's novel by the same name. Fans of the show or the novel can read other queer love stories set against a sports backdrop. If you're anything like me, your first thought when you heard Netflix was trying to buy Warner Bros. was probably, "What's going to happen to my beloved 'Heated Rivalry'?"

A very real hockey season is underway, but this year, fictional action on and off the ice is garnering fans. Heated Rivalry follows the secret, seasons-long romance between professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, beginning as rookies. The series, now streaming on Crave and HBO Max, is based on the Game Changers books by Rachel Reid. As a romance lover, I already had the show on my watchlist. But a colleague mentioned something that immediately launched it to the top: The books, this person said, are purportedly inspired by real-life rivals Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and our very own Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin.

Based on the beloved novels of the same name from author Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry charts the on-and-off court relationship between a pair of professional Major League Hockey players. On the ice, Montreal Meterors star Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storie) of the Boston Raiders are sworn enemies, but off of it, they're bashing their hockey sticks together in a different way (sorry).