Reviews

Rivalové by Emily Wibberley

aered59's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

melanie_books's review against another edition

3.0

Alison Sanger has only two goals in life: prove that she is worthy to go to Harvard and to academically destroy Ethan Malloy. Bitter rivals, Alison & Ethan make every aspect of their school life a competition, from tests & grades to their roles in student government and at the school paper. But when the beleaguered school principal assigns them the task of organizing an upcoming class reunion, they are going to have to work together for once. But putting aside four years of contention will be harder than they think - and will have consequences they never imagined.

This was my first "Wibbroka" book and it was fun to start with the novel that was inspired by the authors' real-life love story. Alison & Ethan's relationship was certainly toxic at times (which they and those around them acknowledged) but that made the "enemies to lovers" transition even more rewarding. The moment of the switch is jarring, which fit the story really well. The ending was great and fit the characters and their history together. I'll definitely be reading other books by these authors!

puddleshoes's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

books4susie's review against another edition

5.0

This author duo keeps getting better with each new book. Alison and Ethan are cutthroat competitors for everything academic at their school, whether it be for valedictorian or an acceptance to Harvard University. Teachers and classmates alike are wary of the constant one-upmanship between the two of them. Tensions between the two soon boil over when the principal assigns them to plan a 10-year reunion for a former class at the school. Soon, Alison and Ethan realize that there is more to their relationship than the competition but, can the rivalry be set aside for a chance at love?

Fans will appreciate the glimpse of Fitz ad Juniper from Time of Our Lives.

imathew's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

min3's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

nique's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

finally!!!! after putting this off months ago, i finished it. it got interesting on the 60%-ish dkakjsja why do i always do that

ameserole's review against another edition

3.0

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What's Not to Love didn't mesh with me in the beginning. Honestly, I was never the girl who was completely competitive in school. I hated the schools I went to so I just wanted to go in and get out. That's it. Doesn't mean I wasn't competitive in anything else - hellllllllo sports. Heck yes!

Other than that, I didn't really connect with Alison and Ethan. If I'm going to continue this honesty trend - I didn't like them either. Alison could be pretty harsh at times. Now I was raised by parents who didn't sugarcoat anything.. but Alison clearly wasn't. So, yeah, she was really harsh to her own family at times.

A couple of times she started to become relatable to me, maybe even borderline likable. She would fail at something and no one would give her crap about it. Seriously no one but herself. One needs to go into life knowing that they are going to fail at something. Doesn't matter when it's going to hit you - you just need to know that it's going to happen and you are going to be okay. Yet, for Alison - it wasn't.

Then there's Ethan. I don't really get what they were trying to do because they just annoyed me. Tension? Sure they had some weird version of it but nothing that made my heart pitter patter. Were they cute? At times they could be but I still didn't connect to anyone. Am I glad that I dove into this book? Sure, with a glass of wine I can always be glad to dive into any book.

In the end, it had cute moments even if I didn't connect to anyone.

pmali's review against another edition

5.0

This was the kind of hate to love I really enjoy. The main characters are arch-nemeses/rivals and their tension leads to a kiss that changes their entire dynamic. I eat this shit up. The banter between the two was pretty basic but it still worked. I would have loved to see it go further and get smarter/wittier, but I still really enjoyed it.

I love these authors so I’m going to eventually work through their entire library.
Overall I’m giving it a 4.75/5. There were things I loved, but little things that keep it from a full five.

flowerfrogz's review against another edition

5.0

I LOVED this one - it took a little bit for me to get into it but it was a really fun book :)