"Heated Rivalry" craze fills KC's library waitlists

Catch up quick: Rachel Reid's novel, which follows two professional male hockey players as they fall in love, came out in 2019.

• But the "Heated Rivalry" fandom has grown and gone nuts since the Crave and HBO drama dropped late last year.
• Now the book and the queer hockey romance series it's a part of — "Game Changers" — are in high demand.

Zoom in: If you want to borrow a "Heated Rivalry" copy from any KC-area library, patience is a virtue.

By the numbers: At the Kansas City Public Library, the book is not available in print yet, but seven physical copies are on order and already have 32 people waiting. The e-book has one copy and is currently available.

• Johnson County Library already has the book in circulation, but demand is high. There are 81 people waiting for physical copies and 297 waiting for the e-book, with all copies currently checked out.

• Mid-Continent Public Library has the longest waitlist. The system shows 104 holds for physical copies and 425 people waiting for the e-book.

Pro tip: The more impatient fans can listen to the entire series on Audible, no wait required, but it's $21.01.

The bottom line: If you prefer to read your hockey smut on loan from the library, it may be a while.

• Luckily, that's plenty of time to rewatch Season 1. Again.