Jacob Tierney’s New Book Tops Bestsellers List Six Months Before Release

When I first saw the headline about Jacob Tierney’s new Heated Rivalry book shooting up the bestseller charts six months before its October release, I’ll admit I did a double-take. Not because the hockey romance drama isn’t massive—it absolutely is, dominating conversations from Toronto transit ads to Reddit threads—but because the frenzy feels oddly familiar to anyone who’s waited in line at Austin’s beloved BookPeople on a Saturday morning, hoping to snag the latest buzz-worthy release before it vanishes from the shelves. This isn’t just about a TV tie-in; it’s a cultural moment rippling outward from Montreal film sets to the live-music stages of Sixth Street, where fans debate Shane and Ilya’s fate over Lone Stars and queso.

The source of all this excitement? Tierney’s I’ll Believe in Anything: The Making of Heated Rivalry Season 1, positioned as an “official and complete collection of annotated scripts” from the HBO Max series that transformed Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels into a visual phenomenon. What makes this particular behind-the-scenes deep dive so compelling isn’t just access—it’s the specificity. Fans aren’t getting generic production notes; they’re promised Tierney’s commentary on everything from the casting process that brought together the actors portraying Montreal Voyageurs star Shane Hollander and Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov, to the intricate costume design that subtly shifts as the characters’ relationship evolves, and yes, that much-discussed “thoughtful sex choreography” credited with sparking real-world conversations about intimacy in sports narratives. Rolling Stone’s coverage confirms the book, published by Little, Brown and Company, spans 368 pages and includes exclusive material from Tierney and his producing partner Brendan Brady, directly addressing what was adapted from Reid’s books and what was intentionally left out for the screen.

This level of fan engagement isn’t happening in a vacuum. Consider how Heated Rivalry itself became a touchstone: the novel, Reid’s second in the Game Changers series, spent an astonishing 13 consecutive weeks atop CBC’s Canadian fiction list as of April 2026—a streak noted in their April 10 report—before the TV adaptation, directed by Montreal-born Tierney, debuted on Crave (now Max) and became the platform’s most successful original series to date. That transition from page to screen clearly resonated, driving not just viewership but a tangible surge in demand for the source material, a pattern mirrored in Austin where local independent stores like BookPeople and Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds reported noticeable upticks in hockey romance and queer sports fiction sales following the show’s November premiere, according to informal staff observations shared during community events at Waterloo Records.

What fascinates me as someone who tracks how national trends manifest locally is the second-order effect: this isn’t merely about selling more books or DVDs. The show’s authentic portrayal of a same-sex romance within the high-pressure world of professional hockey has reportedly influenced community dialogues elsewhere, and in Austin—a city known for its progressive values and vibrant LGBTQ+ scene centered around areas like 4th Street and the Warehouse District—it’s contributed to ongoing conversations about inclusion in traditionally conservative spaces like youth sports leagues. Organizations such as Austin Youth Rugby and the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce have, anecdotally, referenced the series’ themes when discussing visibility initiatives, although academic departments at the University of Texas at Austin, particularly within Radio-Television-Film and Sociology, have begun incorporating Heated Rivalry into coursework examining modern masculinity and media representation—a detail confirmed through publicly available spring 2026 syllabi.

Given my background in analyzing how entertainment narratives shape community discourse, if this Heated Rivalry phenomenon is influencing conversations around you in Austin, here are the three types of local professionals you should consider connecting with:

• Media Literacy Educators & Youth Program Facilitators: Look for practitioners affiliated with established local nonprofits like Latinitas or Austin Youth River Watch who specialize in critical viewing workshops. The best ones don’t just screen content; they guide teens in deconstructing narratives around gender, sexuality, and sportsmanship using frameworks rooted in media justice, often partnering with AISD or Austin Public Library branches for after-school programs.
• Inclusive Sports Organization Consultants: Seek out individuals or small firms with demonstrable experience advising groups like the Austin Gay Hockey Association or Texas Rollergirls on policy development. Key criteria include a background in sports management or social work, familiarity with NCAA/NGLBS inclusion guidelines, and a portfolio showing work translating media-inspired dialogue (like that sparked by Heated Rivalry) into actionable locker room or league protocols.
• Queer Cultural Historians & Archivists: Prioritize researchers connected to institutions such as the Austin History Center’s LGBTQ+ Collection or the GLBT Historical Society’s Southwest affiliate. Ideal candidates demonstrate rigorous archival methodology, can contextualize contemporary media moments within Texas-specific queer history (suppose post-Annie’s Bar era activism), and produce accessible public outputs—whether zines, walking tour scripts, or digital exhibits—rather than solely academic papers.

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