‘Heated Rivalry’ craze hits KC: Rave parties and hundreds on library wait lists
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Libraries report long hold lists: nearly 500 wait at Mid‑Continent for book.
- HBO Max adaptation fuels fandom: watch parties, raves and themed events proliferate.
- Show drives crossover interest; publisher interest and season two announced.
If she hadn’t flown to Florida on Thursday, Aimee Gromowsky would have been dancing Friday night at the scheduled “Heated Rivalry” rave at Woody’s KC.
The midtown LGBTQ+ bar promoted the party on Instagram with clips from HBO Max’s viral sports romance series about two closeted male professional hockey rivals — a Canadian and Russian — who keep their relationship a secret over several seasons.
Furtive footsies. Hotel romps. Oh, that steamy sexting.
If you haven’t heard the buzz about “Heated Rivalry” in the last couple of months, take a seat in the sin bin.
The six-episode series is based on a 2019 sports-romance book by Canadian author Rachel Reid, the second of six books in her popular “Game Changers” hockey-themed gay romance series.
Kansas City is plugged into the viral phenomenon, both the book and TV adaptation. Local libraries, literally, cannot keep “Heated Rivalry” on the shelves.
On Friday nearly 500 people were waiting for a physical copy to read in the Mid-Continent Public Library system, where the wait will be at least 10 weeks. All 38 copies of the book in the Johnson County Library network were in use, with 317 people waiting.
Since the TV show premiered in late November, interest in the book has risen steadily at the Kansas City Public Library, too, where new holds have been averaging 1 or 2 a day for weeks, library officials reported.
Under the Cover in Union Hill, which promotes itself as the city’s first romance bookshop, declared “Heated Rivalry” the 2025 book of the year.
“From TikTok to group chats to brunch tables and beyond, ‘Heated Rivalry’ fans — many of them straight women — are gushing over the show with a frenetic enthusiasm that makes you wonder if it’s laced with something other than hot gay sex,” Cosmopolitan declared last month.
In hockey terms, “Heated Rivalry” has scored a hat trick, attracting fans of the romance genre, of sports and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Gromowsky joined the Kansas City fandom on New Year’s Eve when she signed up for HBO Max and binged the series. The sixth and final episode aired in late December.
Chatter about the show flooded her Instagram feed, where she is building a name for herself as “The Lovely Lez.” (She’s also an attorney.)
“I get a lot of lesbian comedians and lesbian content, and to some extent gay content, so it somehow fed into my feed of, ‘Oh my gosh!’” she said.
“I started watching the reaction videos to something that happens in episode five. So I was getting all those fed up to me on Instagram. I didn’t have HBO Max. I didn’t read the book. I’m not a romance person.
“But it is like this really nice love story and, you know, beautiful people ... and just all the good stuff.”
The show made instant stars of lead actors Hudson Williams (Shane) and Connor Storrie (Ilya), who presented at the Golden Globes. They took the stage to Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.”
On Thursday HBO Max announced the duo will be official torch bearers during the upcoming Olympic Torch Relay for the Winter Olympics in Europe.
So go ahead and assume you’ll hear the words “heated rivalry” spoken over and again during the Olympics, which begin Feb. 6 in Milano Cortina, Italy.
The phrase is now steeped in naked cheek.
The KU Alumni Association used it to hype the upcoming duel on ice between the University of Kansas and University of Missouri hockey teams.
“Did someone say Heated Rivalry? KU Men’s club hockey team plays Mizzou on January 31 …” the alumni group posted on its social media.
Gromowsky is a bit reluctant to reveal how many times she’s watched the show since New Year’s Eve. Does she count all those times she keeps it on while cooking?
Before she found out about the party at Woody’s, she hopped on Instagram and nearly begged someone to have a “Heated Rivalry” party in Kansas City. The show’s soundtrack — a 34-track set of original music by Canadian singer-songwriter Peter Peter — has inspired dance parties across the country, where scenes from the show are projected on walls and partiers show up in hockey sweaters.
That’s “jerseys,” for you non-Canadians.
“Hey Kansas City queers. When are we getting our Heated Rivalry dance party? Our dance class? Our watch party?” Gromowsky said. “Come on Kansas City queers. Let’s step up. I need to feel this collective joy in Kansas City.”
She needn’t worry about missing the party at Woody’s. At least three more “Heated Rivalry” events are coming to Kansas City and Lawrence. The Record Bar’s dance party will feature songs from the show “alongside timeless gay anthems.”
It’s on Valentine’s Day, of course.
‘Men at their top physical form’
“It’s one of the best adaptations of a book I’ve ever seen,” Liz Rudell declared of HBO’s adaptation.
You’d have to work hard to find a bigger “Heated Rivalry” fan in Kansas City than this Mid-Continent Public Library librarian who works at the Withers branch in Liberty.
She read “Heated Rivalry” back in 2022, three years after it debuted as a self/indie published book. Social media chatter attracted a traditional publisher, and then HBO turned it into must-see TV.
“Not to be too much of a fan girl, the book was originally an e-book,” said Rudell. “I’m the one who requested the paperbacks be purchased for the library because I (said), ‘Eventually this is going to blow up. I don’t know when, but we better be prepared.’
“It’s been awesome to live in this world. As soon as all the praise (for the show) started coming in, it brought me so much joy because I loved the book so much. And you’re always a little scared that the show is not going to do as well and people are not going to love it as much as you do.
“It’s awesome because it’s something I personally loved for a long time.”
Rudell said all the best moments of the book are in the show. “And I don’t think you have to read the book to love the show,” she said.
“But it has the same heart and it really seems like the creator of the show and the lead actors care about the source material and care about the fans, and it just does a great job of following that.
“There are literal parts in the show that are directly pulled from the book and it was great because that doesn’t always happen. Not to be like the romance creepy girl, but it was kind of like the director of ‘Dune’ talked about how he kept a copy (of the book) on set and he would read it like a bible.
“I don’t know if they did that for ‘Heated Rivalry,’ but I wouldn’t be surprised because it so closely follows the book and brings to life these characters in just the perfect way.”
She pointed out that Storrie, who plays Russian player Ilya Rozanov, is from Texas yet perfected a Russian accent and even delivers an emotional speech in Russian in one episode.
“There’s just a lot of care that was taken with the show that I think book fans really appreciate,” she said. “It’s like a love letter to the book. But then people who haven’t read the book watch the show and it’s just a really fun show that has a lot of heart in it but also has men at their top physical form, which is great.”
Rudell said mostly women appear to be reading the book and watching the show.
“For sure, for sure, like all of my women set of friends across the sexual spectrum and otherwise are into it,” Gromowsky said.
That’s not to say men aren’t watching, too. “I think the hockey portion will pull you in, but the relationship will make you stay,” said Rudell..
“Some of the male friends I have in my life who have watched it, they didn’t read the book, they’re not even romance people. But they watched it because maybe their girlfriend asked them to or, ‘I have to see what this is all about.’ And then by the end they’re just as big a fan of Ilya and Shane as the rest of us are.”
The main characters “are star-crossed lovers, they’re Romeo and Juliet in a different world,” said Rudell. “I think that story will never die, so that also pulls people in.
“I feel like that dichotomy between ... they’re these big massive players who are very masculine and there’s a level of violence to hockey, but then in the same respects they’re also kind and gentle and thoughtful, sensitive men. I think there’s something that’s really special about that, that I think a lot of women, maybe in the books and more people in the show, kind of gravitate towards.
“I think kind of the softer elements of men have become more and more popular to show and discuss in books and movies. And I think that’s something that this bridges the gap between high masculine behavior and looks and aesthetics, and also that sensitivity we’re kind of noticing in a lot of male characters, especially in romance.
“Kind of the macho, masculine leading character isn’t as popular as more of the sensitive, maybe quieter but respectful, male characters that we’ve seen. And that’s just leveled up in something like ‘Heated Rivalry.’”
Some of Rudell’s friends have turned watching the show into a couple’s activity.
“I have friends and their partners who have watched the show together,” Rudell said. “I would say there’s a lot more queer people watching the show as opposed to reading the book because the show was created by Jacob Tierney, and he has kind of a long history of telling queer stories and he’s queer himself.
“So I think more people were interested in the show because he was at the helm and is a queer man so he can add a level of authenticity to the story that, even though Rachel Reid wrote a great story, she’s not a queer man.
“And I think by watching the show and really loving it, people are going back to the book series and enjoying it as well. I think they’re leaning more into the fact that it’s a safe space for queer people to join and have fun and celebrate this very popular queer show.”
A true depiction of hockey
“Heated Rivalry” debuted the same year as the popular gay romance novel, “Red White & Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston, which Amazon turned into a movie in 2023, Rudell said.
“And it kinda had similar elements, in that it was a queer story and it had kind of a rivalry, or an enemies-to-lovers appeal — the enemies-to-lovers trope is really popular in romance right now,” she said.
“So I think people read ‘Red White & Royal Blue’ and were looking for (similar) books. The biggest difference, though, is that ‘Red White & Royal Blue’ is about the fictional world of a president’s son and the prince of England. That doesn’t have anything to do with sports. This one is about hockey.
“And hockey, while not the biggest sport in the United States, is actually the most prolific sport in the romance genre for all types of couples … straight couples, queer couples.”
As a sports fan, Rudell appreciates how accurately “Heated Rivalry” depicts the hockey world — the long seasons, intensity of play, the ruggedness, strength and speed of the players.
“You can tell the author, Rachel Reid, is a huge hockey fan,” she said. “I think sometimes in romance books, especially sports romance, authors use the sport as kind of a prop to tell the larger story.
“If I want a romance, I’ll read a romance. But if there’s a sports element, I want to be in that world as well. And I think that’s why this particular book ... captured so many people. Because it balances both.
“It has all the tropes that people love — the rivals, the lovers, enemies-slash-lovers — it’s kind of around this time when a lot of queer stories are starting to become mainstream.
“There’s so much genuine affection and care for the sport itself. I think that’s why I loved it. I think you can see that maybe those early fans, that’s why they loved it so much. And then it kinda grew from there.”
The Taylor Swift effect
Earlier this month, National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters he binge-watched “Heated Rivalry” in one night.
His review?
“It was very well done. I think it’s a wonderful story. The content, particularly for young people, might be a little spicy. And so you have to balance that out in terms of how you embrace it,” Bettman said.
“I thought the storyline was very compelling and a lot of fun, because I could see where they were picking at things that we had in the past, whether it was (Olympics) in Sochi or the All-Star Game in Tampa. It was very well done.”
The lovers in “Heated Rivalry” keep their relationship secret because they fear backlash from their teams and fans. In real life, the NHL’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community has notably been anything but smooth.
Even so, Rudell and others wonder whether interest in “Heated Rivalry” will bring new fans to the sport the way Taylor Swift’s romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce attracted new female fans to football.
“The show came out kind of at the beginning-ish of the hockey season, so I think people will also, because they like the hockey part, they’re going to watch hockey if they have access to it,” she said. “Not to always bring it back to her, but I have to — we’re from Kansas City — it’s kind of the Taylor Swift effect.
“I’m a huge American football fan and when she started coming to the games you just had these waves of young girls and women get interested in the sport because they wanted to see what she was doing, what she was wearing and her story with Travis Kelce.
“But then so many of those people started getting into the game and they stuck around.
“I love sports, but women loving sports, it’s not always happening. So watching all these women finally realize they can be fans of these male-dominated sports industries is great.
“And I think a lot of women especially are turning to women’s hockey, too. They’re kinda taking their love for ‘Heated Rivalry’ and then thinking, ‘OK, what can I support?’ And then they’re going towards women’s hockey, which I think is great.”
Gromowsky went to the website of Kansas City’s own professional hockey team, the Mavericks of the ECHL minor league, and didn’t find any events tied to “Heated Rivalry.”
The Star confirmed the local pro team does not have anything like that planned. The team declined to comment for this story.
Last month HBO Max and Crave, the Canadian streaming network that produces “Heated Rivalry,” announced a second season for the show. “The game’s not over,” they teased on Instagram.
There are few details — no release date was revealed — but the next season will reportedly be based on the sixth book in Reid’s series, which details the next chapter in Shane and Ilya’s story after 10 years of secret, sexy romance.
In the meantime, “Like I said, hockey, as a romance subgenre, is a massively popular subcategory, and there’s tons of books that I think people would want to get into next,” said Rudell.
“Specifically, I think a lot of people will be drawn to ‘Him’ by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen because it’s kind of a similar dynamic: It’s a queer story about two male hockey players. And I think people will start seeing that go up in popularity because they’ll want something that’s kind of similar.
“But I just think hockey romance in general will tide people over.”
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