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Dear Friends, Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter, where I share writing updates, book recommendations in romance and beyond, and my general observations. Our world is unsettled and frightening, but please take a short detour with me to talk about some bright spots. First of all, we have to talk about Heated Rivalry. One of the cult favorites of the romance world has been adapted into the #1 series on HBO. This is unexpected and delightful! I’ve been a casual fan of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series and hockey romance in general for a while. In fact, I snuck in an Easter egg for Heated Rivalry fans In April in Paris in June when April catches her best friend Selma reading a steamy hockey romance on the plane. I like to imagine April and Selma cackling their way through the tv series, shrieking at the sexy parts and tearing up at the romance. People are surprised by how popular the show is, even the people that made it. I have many thoughts about why Heated Rivalry is all over the discourse right now, from TikTok to the New York Times, and I have whittled it down to a few for you. The tv series respects the source material. When I heard about the show, I expected something campy, winking at the audience about the absurdity of rival hockey stars in love and maybe poking fun at us for watching it. Instead we got a sincere, dare I say reverential creation of the Game Changers world (Heated Rivalry is only #2 of six books) which closely follows the books in plot and intensity. Ilya and Shane. Ilya Rosanov is one of the all-time great romance protagonists–maddeningly arrogant, devastatingly handsome, and just a real softie underneath it all. Connor Storrie as Ilya and Hudson Williams as Shane are perfectly cast and have the kind of chemistry romance authors dream of. These guys make it look effortless, but they are skating in heavy hockey gear, speaking perfect French and Russian, flirting, arguing, and getting very naked with 100% commitment. Which brings me to… It’s sexy but not gratuitous. Okay, it’s very sexy, and the actors are gorgeous and have trademark hockey butts. The sex serves the story, though, and develops Shane and Ilya’s relationship. A particularly intense scene in Episode 2 goes well beyond where most directors would fade to black, but the camera is closely tracking the emotional experience each character is having, along with the (very hot) physical experience. And finally, women and others are tired and numb, and isn’t romance about making us feel the highs and lows of true love? Maybe we need something as dramatic as yearning and red hot sex between some incredibly good looking guys who seem to be nice people in real life. Hollywood is shocked again and again that when they make good content that appeals to women, we consume it, and they make money. As Selma says, “What, can’t a mature woman enjoy an erotic m/m ice hockey romance without getting the third degree?” So in summary, Heated Rivalry is sexy and good, so of course it is a big hit.
December was a slow reading month for me. I DNF’d several good books because life was busy and overwhelming. So here is my list of things I’m enjoying lately, lighter on the books than usual.
Skipshock by Caroline O’Donohue (the author of one of the best reads of 2024, The Rachel Incident.) A YA sci fi romance where privilege is measured by the length of your world’s day–for some it is just a few hours long, making for short, brutal lives. Naive Margo meets jaded Moon, and together they are brave enough to fight the dystopian government. The Pitt Season 2. Such a thoughtful, provocative, touching, and funny show. I feel like I know the characters intimately after season 1 (Team Mel!) The podcast Glamorous Trash with Chelsea Devantez. Before she branched out to all things glamorously trashy, Chelsea book-clubbed women’s celebrity memoirs with depth, humor and compassion. Chelsea has a way of celebrating women’s media that respects both high and low culture.
As for my own writing, I’m continuing progress on my follow-up to April in Paris in June, featuring Gabriel, my favorite overreaching marketing assistant. After orchestrating the Paris reunion for a dubious dating app, Gabriel is sleeping on a friend’s couch, in debt, and potentially taking the fall for his former boss’s fraud. An unexpected offer to star on a reality dating show feels like a godsend, even if there are some pretty serious strings attached. Nothing will keep prickly Gabriel from fulfilling his duty and taking the payout, except maybe his inconvenient growing attraction to down-to-earth Murray.
Thank you for reading! I wish you all peace and some flashes of joy in 2026.
Best, Jessica
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