I remembered I have free will- So I drew Armand with long hair 🟠-🟠

Eric Bogosian and Assad Zaman at New York Comic Con (2025)

And then they end episode 4 where? Shane following Rose up those same stairs in his appartment and Ilya alone in a shower. Both miserable

Baz being the best big brother is everything to me <3 (Obsessional Simon is the best Simon.)

In 2023 I made this visual intro to the Game Changers series, and the blog I hosted it on is dormant now but it seemed like a good time to re-up since there are many new folks curious about the books!

My recommended reading order to get hooked: 2, 5, 6 then 1, 3, 4 in any order. I love all the books but if you're wondering "what is all the fuss about" the fuss is about Shane and Ilya and their story starts in book 2 (Heated Rivalry). If a reader is new to the genre, I start them there so that they are sure to want more. For more experienced romance readers, there are elements of book 1 that set up some beautiful moments in book 2 and I think there's a nice payoff to go in 1-6 order.

Available as books, e-books and audiobooks. The audiobooks are great with the exception of book 1 which I had to listen to at 1.3x because one of the accents is a little….tough. I think books 4-6 are especially exceptional listens. Just watch your bluetooth connection if anyone else is going to be around you.

Note on book 1, since rumors abound: I see a lot of people dismiss this book because they've heard that once upon a time it had a previous life as Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes fanfic and then made the (heavily revised!) jump to published work. I think those people are missing out on a lovely and unique couple in Scott and Kip! Even if you're just here for Shane and Ilya, this book makes the rest of the series sing.

Why I love these:

a high octane background for romance even for non-hockey fans

five completely (impressively) distinct couples

an OTP (Shane/Ilya, books 2, 6) that hit me like a lightning bolt

conflicts rooted consistently and believably in character

absolutely searing smut and satisfying happy endings

diverse representation of queer and coming out experiences

Shane is Japanese Canadian, Fabian is Lebanese Canadian, and books 2, 3, 5, and 6 are set in Canada which is fun and different

a lot of great fan fic waiting at the end :) and some incredibly talented artists