Toronto Star bestsellers: Rachel Reid scores again and a Netflix announcement boosts 'The God of the Woods'

This week, Reid’s novel has zoomed to the top of original non-fiction, where it’s joined at No. 2 by “The Long Game,” the Nova Scotia author’s followup about lovers Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, the heroes of “Heated Rivalry,” both the show and the book.

And that’s not all, Reid now has five of her “Game Changers” novels on the Canadian fiction list, which might be a record for books by a single author on one list. 

Besides “Heated Rivalry” and “The Long Game,” readers are also snapping up “Game Changer,” whose heroes Scott and Kip were also portrayed in the TV series; “Common Goal,” about a retired goalie in a May-December romance, and “Tough Guy,” about a defenceman hooking up with an old crush.

Reid isn’t the only author this week whose books got a boost from a TV tie-in. News that her novel “The God of the Woods” is getting a Netflix series propelled Liz Moore‘s 2024 crime book onto the original fiction list for the first time. Moore will write, executive produce and serve as co-showrunner of the series about the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl from her family’s summer camp.

Finally, a shout-out here to Canadian cookbook author Greta Podleski. Her “Every Salad Ever” topped the rotating list of cooking bestsellers throughout 2025 ever since it was published last April, and it did so again this week. 

The Star doesn’t include cookbooks in its original and Canadian non-fiction lists, but if it did, Podleski’s book would be right up there alongside the extremely popular “Wealthy Barber.”

CANADIAN FICTION

1. Heated Rivalry, Rachel Reid, Carina

2. The Long Game, Rachel Reid, Carina

3. One Golden Summer, Carley Fortune, Viking

4. The Black Wolf, Louise Penny, Minotaur 

5. Game Changer, Rachel Reid, Carina

6. Every Summer After, Carley Fortune, Viking

7. Common Goal, Rachel Reid, Carina

8. Pick a Colour, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Knopf Canada

9. The Bond That Burns (deluxe limited edition), Briar Boleyn, Mira

10. Tough Guy, Rachel Reid, Carina

CANADIAN NON-FICTION

1. The Wealthy Barber, David Chilton, Financial Awareness

2. Book of Lives, Margaret Atwood, McClelland & Stewart

3. Certified Beauties, James Duthie, Collins

4. Sorry, Not Sorry, Mark Critch, Viking

5. One Day, Everyone Will have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad, McClelland & Stewart

6. The Smiling Land, Alan Doyle, Doubleday Canada 

7. Values, Mark Carney, Signal

8. Vanished Beyond the Map, Adam Shoalts, Allen Lane 

9. We Breed Lions, Rick Westhead, Random House Canada

10. Enshittification, Cory Doctorow, MCD/FSG

ORIGINAL FICTION

1. Heated Rivalry, Rachel Reid, Carina (2)*

2. The Long Game, Rachel Reid, Carina (1)

3. The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown, Doubleday (16)

4. Alchemised, SenLinYu, Del Ray (11)

5. The God of the Woods, Liz Moore, Riverhead (1)

6. Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy, Flatiron (7)

7. Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Doubleday Canada (16)

8. Brimstone, Callie Hart, Forever (4)

9. One Golden Summer, Carley Fortune, Viking (18)

10. Broken Country, Clare Leslie Hall, Simon & Schuster (28)

ORIGINAL NON-FICTION

1. The Wealthy Barber, David Chilton, Financial Awareness (6)

2. Book of Lives, Margaret Atwood, McClelland & Stewart (8)

3. Nobody’s Girl, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Knopf (10)

4. Finding My Way, Malala Yousafzai, Atria (4)

5. 1929, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Viking (9)

6. Notes on Being a Man, Scott Galloway, Simon & Schuster (4)

7. Mother Mary Comes to Me, Arundhati Roy, Simon & Schuster (8)

8. Certified Beauties, James Duthie, Collins (10)

9. Sorry, Not Sorry, Mark Critch, Viking (5)

10. One Day, Everyone Will have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad, McClelland & Stewart (27)

CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT

1. Talons of Power (Wings of Fire #9), Tui T. Sutherland, Mike Holmes, Graphix

2. Big Jim Believes (Dog Man #14), Dav Pilkey, Graphix

3. For the Fans! (KPop Demon Hunters), Angela Song, Golden Books

4. Vortex of the Chaos Dragon (Dragon Masters #30), Tracey West, Graham Howells, Scholastic

5. Partypooper (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #20), Jeff Kinney, Amulet

6. Darkstalker (Wings of Fire: Legends), Tui T. Sutherland, Jake Parker, Graphix

7. A Waffle Lot of Love (Narwhal and Jelly #10), Ben Clanton, Tundra

8. Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins, Scholastic

9. Powerless, Lauren Roberts, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

10. Warriors (The Prophecies Begin #3), Erin Hunter, HarperAlley

COOKING

1. Every Salad Ever, Greta Podleski, One Spoon

2. Mrs. Brown’s Kitchen, Heather Brown, Flanker

3. Eat Yourself Healthy, Jamie Oliver, Appetite by Random House

4. Anna Cooks, Anna Olson, Appetite by Random House

5. The Essential Cottage Cookbook, Andrea Buckett, Appetite by Random House

6. Skinnytaste High Protein, Gina Homolka, Heather K. Jones, Clarkson Potter

7. Sally’s Baking 101, Sally McKenney, Clarkson Potter

8. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, Samin Nosrat, Wendy MacNaughton, Simon & Schuster

9. Something From Nothing, Alison Roman, Clarkson Potter

10. Good Things, Samin Nosrat, Aya Brackett, Random House

*Weeks on list

The bestseller lists are compiled by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited from information provided by BookNet Canada’s national sales tracking service, BNC SalesData.