1.02k reviews for:

Rival Darling

Alexandra Moody

3.63 AVERAGE

ladyflufficorn's review

5.0

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

carolina_dreamer's review against another edition

2.5

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

wildflower1's review

3.25

slow-paced

fictionalmen4thewin's review

4.5

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

cloudbella's review

3.5

lighthearted medium-paced

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lighthearted book, very lovely
I, honestly, expected so much for the ending.

monica030's review

2.0

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mpomorin's review

3.5

funny relaxing medium-paced

ireadcauseiwantto's review

5.0

funny hopeful relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

paige_21143's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 5%

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This book is ass. The author can’t decide whether this should be a high school or college romance and it shows. It just got worse with every paragraph do not recommend at all. 

jamie_cy18's review against another edition

2.5

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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NOTES
2.5/5
Reed and Violet are sweet but their characters are...okay. I don't feel as connected to them as I do with other characters in the YA space. Their love story is cute and Reed is very charming but the plot is nothing special. 
Moody does a great job at making Jerkemy a horrible person. I read this book after Grumpy Darling (the second in the series) and can say wholeheartedly that she has definitely improved with the second book. 

TROPES
- Sunshine (literally) x Black Cat
- Fake dating 
- Rival hockey team captains
- He falls first 

S/S/T NOTES - 10/10
smut 0/10
spice 0/10
tenson 4/10 
This is a Young Adult book with characters that are minors, so no smut in this book! They do have some tension on whether or not they like each other, which is realistic. They do share some very sweet cheek kisses, very cute!!

WRITING NOTES - Dual POV, 1st
5/10
The writing is okay - I don't think I connected as well with the characters as I would have liked. Parker is by far my favourite character (and he was a side character). Reed and Violet's relationship is sweet but I feel like they lack the emotional connection (as he falls for her quite early on and only after a few accidental meetings). Jeremy and Violet's relationship formation is never really explained....and really lacks the oomph when their breakup happens. 

FINAL 
It was a cute story, but I won't be coming back to this one to re-read in the future. This is the first book in the series - as I read Grumpy Darling beofre this one, I can assure you that the writing and plotlines do improve! I can't wait to see what Moody releases in the future! - 2.5/5