The Rival Upgrade
- Published
- 13 February 2026
- Pages
- 49
- Type
- novella
About this book
The Rival Upgrade (13 February 2026) is a free bonus novella listed as Love and Hockey #6.5 on Goodreads, not a numbered mainline entry: a rival-to-lovers revenge-fling premise involving British hockey player Shaw. Its existence, with no series-completion statement found anywhere, is why this file records the series as ongoing rather than concluded at book six.
Key facts about The Rival Upgrade
The Rival Upgrade is a novella by Lauren Blakely. Readers have had it since 13 February 2026. It runs to 49 pages.
The Rival Upgrade is book 7 of 7 in the Love and Hockey series. The series has 7 published books. However, the series starts with The Boyfriend Goal (2024). It is also the latest book in the series with a full release date.
Additionally, Lauren Blakely writes No Regrets, Seductive Nights and The Fighting Fire, plus 10 more series. Those series sit on our contemporary romance, sports romance and m/m romance shelves. Meanwhile, I've Got a Crush on You is the latest published Lauren Blakely book on file, from 28 July 2026.
About Lauren Blakely
Lauren Blakely is an American author of contemporary romance and romantic comedy, and a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller with a large, prolific catalogue of standalone novels and interconnected series. See every Lauren Blakely book in order.
Its place in Love and Hockey
The Rival Upgrade is book 7 in the Love and Hockey series. It follows The Flirting Game. See the full Love and Hockey reading order.
Love and Hockey is Lauren Blakely's contemporary MF sports rom-com series, publisher-tagged "An All New MF Hockey Rom Com Series with Heat, Heart, and Humor!" Each entry pairs a new couple -- mostly players on, or people connected to, the same pro hockey team -- inside tropes like friends-to-lovers, forbidden workplace romance, marriage of convenience, age-gap romance, single-dad-and-nanny, and neighbors-to-lovers fake dating. The series opened with The Boyfriend Goal in August 2024 and ran through six novels by…