I mean, I was going to have to review this eventually, right? The Heated Rivalry TV show, in only six episodes, has become a phenomenon beyond words, especially with my friends and family, and you know what? I’m happy about that. I really like the show too. I would give the first season 4 stars out of 5. I don’t think it’s perfect, but if a bunch of people worldwide are going to swoon over a show that celebrates gay men and is situated primarily in my home country, then I’m glad the show’s pretty decent.
As for the book? My friend lent me the sequel, The Long Game, but I wanted to read the original first to get a feel for Rachel Reid’s writing style, so I sought it out. And I realized pretty quickly, that this is one of those stories where the discussion is more important than any rating I could ever give. The book has ups and downs, and how much you like it will really depend on what you’re personally looking for.
So, this story has become so well-known in the last few years that I don’t really have to give a description. Shane Hollander, Asian-Canadian from Ottawa, and Ilya Rosanov, Russian from Moscow, both the best hockey players in the NHL, end up in a secret love affair over several years. I can already hear you saying, “Yadda yadda, yeah, move on, Will!” You bet!
The book’s prologue has an incredibly intimate makeout scene between these two right off the bat, so safe to say, this is not a subtle read. And then we get a flashback to when Shane and Ilya first meet, as 19-year-olds in 2008. Then before we’ve even caught our breath from the steamy opening, they are at it for the first time, and neither of them go at it timidly. And just like the show, this story is told in sequences, between months or even years at a time, of moments in their lives where they stumble upon each other and then sneak away to a hotel room or personal penthouse. Here’s the big thing, no pun intended (what did this book turn me into???) – The show is quite like the book, except the show actually takes its time a little bit between makeout sessions. In the book, not so much, and at the start, they take up just about everything.
I don’t usually read books like this. Scroll through my other reviews for one single second and you’ll see I mostly read from the young adult section. This is by far the book with the heaviest making out I’ve ever picked up, and there’s a reason I generally look elsewhere from this kind of romance, LGBTQ+ or not. The best love stories for me, are ones that take their time to really show how two people complete each other. How they lift each other up, support themselves, sort through their grievances, and are there for one another. Dialogue, you know? Then, if and when there’s a makeout or kissing scene, I can really cherish it. But for about the first half of Heated Rivalry (and not just in the book, but in the show too), it’s just makeout after makeout with a feeling of lust instead of love, and the situations outside of their “sessions” fade into each other too, because pretty much every time they get together, one of them first thinks this is the day where they have to actually talk, and break it up. Then they kiss, and all those feelings fade, and then they part ways without really talking at all. It starts off not really as a book you read for a story, but a book you could pick up maybe once a day and read a chapter in the evening to get enticed. The record starts skipping pretty fast. I know I sound unromantic talking like this, but as I’ve said in a previous review from a book of this genre, no one is horny all the time. One of the best parts about making out with someone is the special moment – after a rough day, or a long time not seeing someone, or feeling lost and lonely, right there is your significant other, and you are able to feel safe and loved and appreciated in their arms. While it’s true Shane and Ilya have long stretches of time where they don’t see each other, it’s not like that for us readers. …I got bored.
But then the book eventually shifts its gears, just a little. Shane and Ilya finally start talking to each other like real people, and there are a few more times where the book finally takes some breaths. The second half is much better than the first half. When I first started the show, whenever Ilya had his temper tantrums and didn’t treat Shane well, I did not ship them at all. There’s some of that in this book too, but nowhere near as much, and when they actually started showing how much they truly meant to one another, Ilya’s prior toxicity evaporated.
Here are the last negative things I will say, and these are also in the show; even if it’s reasonable to assume Shane and Ilya wouldn’t have many opportunities to meet up due to being on different NHL teams, this is the sort of story that feels jarring to have gone on for over seven years. Three is plenty. A significant part of this book takes place between November 2016 and the start of 2017, and it feels a bit like a cop-out to not at all mention the feeling of dread many homosexual and transgender people felt at that time of uncertainty for their human rights, and have continued to feel long after.
But back to what is good. Even if there’s an overload of sex scenes, Rachel Reid admittedly writes them very well. Let’s face it – lots of people, married or not, love doing this. And when the two of them finally break down barriers they set up for themselves in order to be open and understanding, it produces smiles. The Scott-and-Kip scene, in book or television format, will always make me happy. And even though there are many other homosexual couples in media that I like more, I do actually ship the two of them, even if I didn’t at first. I would rather read about them having more conversations – but I do ship them.
So, let’s wrap this up with the grade. I like the show better. Au contraire, if you want to get down to the nitty-gritty details of the two men making the beast, you’ll probably like the book better. For me, the show actually cut down some of the sex scenes and made more room to be about their plights, and combining Scott and Kip’s story and their own conflicts was something I think the show did great. I think the book satisfied whatever taste for intense makeouts I had in the back of my head, so I’m not in a hurry to read more for a while. I’m used to reading LGBTQ+ couples that do a lot more talking and communication, my favourites being Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper, Alek and Ethan from One Man Guy, Mei and Gabu from One Stormy Night, Jeremy and Evan from The Language of Seabirds, Alex and Donovan from Lockdown, and Tristan and Vothe from The Black Witch. Oh, and Audrey and Lucy from Pride & Prejudice & Pittsburgh. I’m going to check out The Long Game before I have to give my friend’s copy back. I’m sort of looking forward to it. I can handle more makeout scenes in due time, and if the second half of Heated Rivalry is any indication of what’s in store, okay. But – and this line may just be the death of me – the first half of the one and only Heated Rivalry was too overstuffed to pass the recommendation line.
My grade: 2 and a half stars out of 5
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