These Heated Rivalry X-rated scenes cut or changed for TV are far filthier in the book

Rachel Reid’s ice hockey romance, Heated Rivalry, has long been known for its explicit sex scenes, and while the TV adaptation doesn’t exactly shy away from intimacy, the book goes further, lasts longer, and shows a lot more. Basically, the Heated Rivalry book sex scenes are way filthier than the show, and now the creator has explained why they changed it.

What the book does that the show doesn’t

via HBO

One of the biggest differences between the Heated Rivalry book and TV show is how often Shane and Ilya have sex. In the book, their relationship is almost entirely physical for years. Hookups happen repeatedly, sometimes casually, sometimes desperately, often in secret. On screen, many of those encounters are either combined, shortened, or skipped altogether.

There are also long-distance sex scenes in the novel, phone calls and video calls that are explicit, drawn-out, and emotionally messy. There’s a hands-free climax scenes and a detailed Skype scene where one character talks the other through what to do. In the series, these moments are usually implied or cut down to quick exchanges.

Another example is how the book lingers on anticipation and power dynamics. Scenes involving teasing, control, and Shane struggling with how badly he wants Ilya are much more intense on the page, while the show tends to soften these beats visually.

In the novel, Shane climaxes hands-free while going down on Ilya, which is something readers often point out as especially memorable. In the TV show, this moment is changed. Instead, Shane climaxes while Ilya is on top, and the scene ends with Ilya joking and teasing him about it afterwards.

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Why does the book feel filthier even when the scenes exist?

A big reason the book hits harder is access to thoughts. Rachel Reid writes large chunks of the story inside Shane and Ilya’s heads, especially during sex. Panic, denial, jealousy, obsession, it’s all happening at once. That inner chaos is what makes the scenes feel so raw.

On TV, you can’t hear that spiral. You see desire, but not always the fear or emotional fallout that comes with it. As a result, the same encounter can feel far less extreme.

‘These books are p*rn’

via HBO

Show creator Jacob Tierney has been very upfront about what he was adapting. In an interview with Attitude about the challenge of bringing Heated Rivalry to the screen, he acknowledged just how explicit the source material is. He said the novels are unapologetically sexual.

At one point, he even pushed back against concerns about how graphic the show was becoming. He bluntly pointed out, “These books are p*rn. You think that the audience is here despite that? They’re here for this. This is what they want,”

So, basically, they toned things down to figure out how much of it would actually work on TV.

Tierney has also stressed that sex wasn’t treated as decoration. He told Vulture, “These are sex scenes, not nudity scenes.” Still, even with that approach, some moments from the book didn’t make it across intact.

Rachel Reid has also addressed how intimacy was rearranged for television. Speaking about one key change, she explained that a hookup that happens earlier in the book had to be moved. This is because in the novel, the characters are already sleeping together at that point, whereas the show needed to build things differently.

“In the book, they are hooking up at that time because they’ve already had intercourse,” she told Parade, acknowledging that TV pacing required a reset.

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