BookCon 2026: 'Heat Rivalry' author Rachel Reid on navigating the internet and maintaining normalcy

On April 12, I attended the PWHL game at TD Garden in Boston between the Boston Fleet and the Montreal Victoire. The Heated Rivalry effect was inescapable. It was an opportunity for hockey fans to turn out their favorite merch — someone in my row excitedly ran toward the crowd cameras to show off her 'I'm coming to the cottage' T-shirt. Heated Rivalry actor Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova was in the crowd, and the cheers that ensued when she appeared on the screen made you think one of the teams had scored a goal. And when the Heated Rivalry look-a-like contest winners shared a kiss on the jumbotron while t.A.T.u's "All the Things She Said" played, it caused the 17,000-person crowd to collectively lose their minds. Since HBO Max's Heated Rivalry premiered in November 2025, actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, as well as their characters Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, have become household names. But so has Rachel Reid. The author of Heated Rivalry and the Game Changer series, of which it's a part, has always had a loyal fan base, but now that the show is a global hit, it reaches far beyond the scope of the show and books. BookCon 2026 marked the first big event for Reid since th