Hot libraries: Interest in book series spikes in Auckland following hit show

Auckland Libraries currently has more than 500 hold requests for a book series that a viral hit queer show is based on.

Heated Rivalry follows two male ice hockey players and their on and off relationship over the span of 10 years in a sporting world of homophobia and toxic masculinity.

The five-book series based on it and titled Game Changers has seen a spike in popularity following the show's success.

The series sold out of bookstores globally, topping eBook charts and became the hottest ticket in Auckland libraries since the show premiered in November 2025.

With more than 500 hold requests for copies of the books across the Auckland region, 200 of these are for the show's literary namesake and over 170 holds for the forthcoming sixth book in the series that isn't due to hit shelves until mid 2027.

Aucklanders are following an international trend of library popularity for the queer romance series.

During a January snowstorm in New York City, e-book downloads through the New York Public Library system surged 1000 per cent after Mayor Zohran Mamdani referred to the book and  series during a pre-blizzard press conference.

New Yorkers downloaded the whole book series more than 17,000 times in just three days following the mayor’s shout-out.

"Shows and movies do increase people's desire to want to engage with the book, and I think this is an interesting one," said Auckland librarian Theresa Holmes.

"I think shows have a way of building fandoms . . . and then everyone's like, ‘Oh I have to read the detail that the show [left out]' and we always love that."

Any fan of the show wouldn’t be surprised the book series is taking off with how big the cultural impact of the show has been.

It inspired a former professional hockey player to come out, and viral heated rivalry themed club nights are taking place all over the world, including at Auckland's ‘Tuning Fork’.

The number of holds on the Game Changers book series continued to rise across Auckland libraries, and the shows die-hard fan base is not slowing down any time soon.

This queer series is here to stay as fans await the shows second season, which will be based on the fifth book titled 'The Long Game'.

*AI was not used in the creation of this story.