In this episode, we take a deeper look at Shane Hollander’s evolving hero’s journey across Heated Rivalry, The Long Game, and the highly anticipated book Unrivaled, using insight from Rachel Reid herself.

Drawing from a recent interview, Reid made it clear that while these books center on a love story between Shane and Ilya, this trilogy has always been Shane’s story.

In this episode, we break down what that actually means by exploring the structure of the Hero’s Journey (or monomyth) and map Shane’s arc onto this classic storytelling framework. From his early identity as a closeted, high-performing athlete to the pressures of public life, aging in professional hockey, and building a future beyond the game, Shane’s journey reflects a quieter, more internal version of heroism.