"Heated Rivalry" craze fills San Diego 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 Max drama dropped late last year.
• Now Reid's book — and the "Game Changers" queer, hockey romance series it's a part of — are in high demand.

Yes, but: If you want to borrow a "Heated Rivalry" copy from a San Diego library, good luck.

By the numbers: There are three physical books being ordered for the Central, Mission Hills and Rancho Peñasquitos libraries, per the SD public library website.

• There are 113 people waiting for an eBook, and 86 for an audiobook.
• The San Diego County Public Library has about a 13-week wait on Libby, with 783 people in line. There's a 15-week wait for the audiobook.

Between the lines: Heated Rivalry has been "absolutely flying off the shelves" at Meet Cute, a romance book store in La Mesa, owner Becca Title told Axios.

• They've worked through a backlog of orders and are "delighted to see a queer romance that has been a shop favorite for so long reach so many new readers," she said.

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

The intrigue: Three Heated Rivalry Trivia Nights at Miss B's Coconut Club sold out quickly, and organizers are working on a fourth date, so keep an eye out.