Electronic downloads of Heated Rivalry, the second novel in author Rachel Reid’s six-book Game Changer romance series, surged after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani name-dropped the book while addressing the public during a major winter storm on Sunday.
As the storm battered the East Coast and dumped at least 11 inches of snow on New York City, Mamdani urged residents to stay home to avoid endangering themselves and to prevent interference with city sanitation crews clearing the streets. He also offered suggestions for how New Yorkers might spend their time indoors.
“The snow is coming down heavily across our city, and I can think of no better excuse for New Yorkers to stay home, take a long nap, or take advantage of our public library’s offer of free access to Heated Rivalry on e-book or audiobook for anyone with a library card,” he said.
Heated Rivalry tells the story of two closeted gay professional hockey players on rival teams who engage in a years-long secret affair. The novel inspired a TV adaptation that blends elements from across the six-book Game Changer series and stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie.
Following the TV series’ premiere on HBO, The Cut reported in early December that the novel had sold out at most bookstores and that all copies available through the New York Public Library system had been checked out.
As reported by The New York Times, the New York Public Library previously had a waiting list of roughly 3,000 people for a limited number of e-book copies. But on Saturday, as the storm approached, the library made unlimited e-book copies of the Game Changer series available through its app. The unlimited downloads will remain available through Valentine’s Day, February 14.
“This idea hits a number of different notes,” Brian Bannon, the public library system’s chief librarian, told the Times. “It is freezing cold outside, there is a snowy quality to the books with the hockey theme, so stay inside and read.”
Lizzie Tribone, a library spokeswoman, said that after the NYPL app made unlimited copies available, nearly all 3,000 patrons on the waiting list downloaded the e-book. Mamdani’s endorsement then prompted thousands of additional New Yorkers to download the titles.
Tribone said that following Mamdani’s January 25 news conference, downloads of Heated Rivalry surged by 529%, with 86% occurring that same day.
As reported by Gay City News, the trend continued for two additional days, with Heated Rivalry downloaded more than 6,000 times between January 25 and January 27. Interest in the book also boosted downloads across the entire Game Changer series, which surpassed 17,000 total downloads during that period.
A seventh book in the series, Unrivaled, is expected to be released in 2026.
Bannon said that roughly 2,000 people applied for library cards over the stormy weekend — about twice the usual number. The New York Public Library system serves Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island — though Queens and Brooklyn operate separate systems — and is open to anyone who lives, works, attends school, or pays property taxes in New York State.
Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said the mayor has not read the book or watched the series, but is “very excited to see so much enthusiasm about using the resources of the public library.”
Tribone said the library expects downloads of Heated Rivalry and other Game Changer titles to continue rising, driven both by the novel’s popularity and the library’s limited-time availability campaign.
Forecasters are also predicting another major winter storm next weekend, which could send even more New Yorkers back indoors — and back to the library app.
The New York Police Department has increased its security presence at New York University after the school received multiple emails containing bomb threats, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and other bigoted messages.
On January 22, shortly after 7 a.m., NYU announced that two emails had threatened violence at separate on-campus locations. One email contained a bomb threat targeting Palladium Residence Hall, while the other "included a threat to space within the Silver Center," home to the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, reports Gay City News.
Brock McGillis, the first openly gay professional hockey player, told PinkNews that he "wholeheartedly" disagrees with the idea that HBO’s Heated Rivalry will encourage more hockey players to come out.
McGillis, 42, played in the Ontario Hockey League and United Hockey League during a nine-year professional career from 2001 to 2010 and came out publicly in 2016. While he now advocates for greater LGBTQ inclusion in hockey, McGillis said the series -- which has drawn attention for its steamy gay sex scenes -- is just as likely to keep gay players closeted.
The hit HBO Max series Heated Rivalry is drawing more online search interest than many real-life NHL stars, underscoring the show’s breakout popularity beyond traditional hockey audiences.
According to Cyd Zeigler of Outsports, Google Trends data from the past 30 days reveals that searches for the show’s fictional romantic leads, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, consistently outpaced searches for several prominent NHL players throughout most of December.
More strikingly, searches for "Heated Rivalry" briefly surpassed searches for "NHL" itself in late December, coinciding with the release of the Season 1 finale.
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