‘Heated Rivalry’ sparks Atlantans to connect over queer romance novels
On a February Sunday, some 30 earnest patrons battled windy weather to gather inside the cozy and quaint All the Tropes Bookstore in Kirkwood.
“Did anyone have any interest in hockey before this?” Madison Coleman, the bookstore’s social media manager curiously probed the crowd, many sporting hockey T-shirts and jerseys.
“As a sport or as a genre of romance?” one attendee responded, immediately causing bursts of laughter. Most raised their hands for the latter option. All were there to discuss and bond over “Heated Rivalry,” the novel-turned-Canadian TV series-turned cultural phenomenon that was also the topic of All the Tropes’ book club.
The packed event is just one measure of how some metro Atlantans find connection and belonging by reading queer romance novels — only made stronger by the recent “Heated Rivalry” fandom.
“I’m obsessed with everything about (’Heated Rivalry’) and the fact that you all are here to share this obsession with me means a lot … This is actually one of the biggest book clubs we’ve hosted in-store together,” Coleman said during the event.
From niche to mainstream
“Heated Rivalry” instantly scored with TV viewers last November. HBO Max acquired the show, an original from Canadian streamer Crave, and aired its six-episode first season. Based on Rachel Reid’s 2019 queer romance novel of the same name, the series follows hockey foes/secret lovers Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.
The series, which concluded its first season in December, has averaged more than 10 million U.S. viewers per episode since its debut, becoming HBO Max’s most-watched acquired scripted show. “Heated Rivalry” was swiftly renewed for a second season.
And its two stars? Overnight celebrities, with the addictive followings to match. Since the show aired, Connor Storrie (Rozanov) and Hudson Williams (Hollander) have presented at the Golden Globes and served as official torchbearers for this year’s Winter Olympics.
But Jordan Fischer was a “Heated Rivalry” fanatic before the monstrous fame.
“Prior to this, it was kind of like a niche thing, like queer romance in general is pretty niche,” the East Lake resident noted.
The 39-year-old data analyst leads All the Tropes’ queer romance book club. She also has a Bookstagram (under the name Juliet Fox) where she’s built a community for fans (including more than 24,000 followers) of queer romance novels.
While running a marathon last spring, Fischer listened to the “Heated Rivalry” audiobook. She became so enthralled by the story, about “men vulnerable in a very masculine sport,” that she hosted a group read and a virtual Q&A with author Rachel Reid on her Bookstagram, well before most of the world was introduced to “Heated Rivalry.” She also attended the Toronto and Montreal premieres of the show.
“I love yearning,” Fischer said. “I love pining. Everybody talks about that with respect to ‘Heated Rivalry’ because it’s just like years of them wanting each other and not being able to have each other. I like a trope I call ‘idiots to lovers’ where the reader recognizes that they’re in love with each other, but they’re pretending that they’re not. I think that’s fun. There’s a lot of little things that I love about it that everyone now kind of sees.”
‘Our own kind of mini culture’
Kira Apple is a co-facilitator of a queer romance book club with Charis Books & More in Decatur, aka the South’s oldest independent feminist bookstore. The club of roughly nine people started five years ago and meets monthly via Zoom.
Apple, 41, describes the group as a “meet-cute” that has sparked strong friendships. The club read “Heated Rivalry” two years ago, and it’s still a constant source of conversation.
She said the some of the appeal of queer romance novels lies in its grappling with big feelings that often “challenge traditional gender roles, and I think probably the biggest theme I’ve found in the genre is chosen family.
“I feel like those stories are very much about how do we connect with people,?” Apple said. “What are some ways to connect that aren’t just about procreation and monogamy and the traditional marriage and family structures?”
In analyzing those tropes with her book club, Apple has found her own sense of camaraderie.
“It’s given us our own kind of mini culture. We chat a lot in the Discord, and we’re able to share recommendations. It’s amazing. Obviously, there’s a lot of ‘Heated Rivalry’ talk right now, so just having kind of a subculture where we can discuss these stories that we all love... we can see where everybody else is coming from and what they appreciate or don’t appreciate about it. The club is still completely virtual, so we still have these really strong friendships and connections, even though most of these people have not met in person, which I think is neat.”
Authors are feeling the love, too. At the top of this year, LGBTQ+ romance print book sales had grown more than 100% compared with last year, according to Forbes, thanks to the success of “Heated Rivalry” and other novels in Reid’s bestselling “Game Changers” series.
Karmen Lee, an Atlanta-based author who writes Black Sapphic (women loving women) romance novels, has her own set of stories. The Peach Blossom series by Lee, 40, follows sisters trying to find love in the small fictional town of Peach Blossom, Georgia.
Still, Lee said her decade-long author journey has often been isolating. “Sometimes if a convention focused on queer romance, I’m essentially the only Black person, and if it’s a Black convention I’m one of the few who have queer romance books.”
But she credits the rise of social media and indie bookstores with boosting community for queer romance readers and authors. Now, she finds community with other local queer romance authors, such as Julian Winters and Meka James.
“As much as I always joke that I’m not really a huge fan of social media, I think it has done a big thing in pushing queer media, whether it’s books or movies or musicians and things like that, kind of a little bit more to the forefront so that people can find it.”
“Heated Rivalry” fans won’t have to wait too long to find more of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov’s love story. In September, Rachel Reid will release “Unrivaled,” the seventh installment in the series that inspired the hit show.
Last month, All the Tropes announced a release party to celebrate the forthcoming book, which sold out in less than two hours, prompting the store to expand the event. It will now be held Sept. 28 at Lore nightclub on Edgewood Avenue.
Fischer will be there. She’s happy that queer romance is growing beyond the niche scene, expanding traditional definitions of modern love.
“A lot of people I’ve heard say they thought romance as a genre was just like ‘Bridgerton’ type stuff, like the rom-coms that you see, but these are like real stories that people can see themselves in.”
About the Author
DeAsia is a music and culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She focuses on the intersection of arts, culture and diverse communities, as well as how emerging social trends are being expressed through the lens of the Atlanta aesthetic. DeAsia's work can be seen in Pitchfork, Essence, Teen Vogue, Elle and more.
