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A review by lindseylitlivres
The Rivals by Jane Pek
4.0
Thrilled I got to read the sequel so soon! Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
This was a more polished novel compared to very enjoyable “Verifiers.” In her novel, Jane Pek does a great job of weaving together a tapestry of plot knots where, once you untangle one, you get three more. But I never felt confused or frustrated with what was revealed; I just wanted to learn more.
In “The Rivals,” we find out there’s more that’s fraught in the online dating industry that goes beyond the ambitions of a handful of people from the last novel compared the the last novel. There are lot of details about what could be possible with AI and machine learning - not just within online dating (are we the zombies?). Pek really went into the weeds on some of these details without ever feeling confusing or overly jargony.
As interested as I was in Claudia’s case though, I was just as invested in her relationships with her family, her friends, her colleagues, and her romantic prospects. I’m starting to love all of these quirky, complex people she has in her life.
The only thing that I couldn’t connect with was the motivations of one of the nefarious characters in the book. I felt like there weren’t enough details about their personality or what happened in their past to make what happened in the end feel…understandable, I guess? Maybe we learn about them in another book (which I’m hoping comes out soon after this one), but that seems unlikely.
This ended up being such a fun book and I’ll be sure to recommend it to everyone. Again, thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for the early access!
This was a more polished novel compared to very enjoyable “Verifiers.” In her novel, Jane Pek does a great job of weaving together a tapestry of plot knots where, once you untangle one, you get three more. But I never felt confused or frustrated with what was revealed; I just wanted to learn more.
In “The Rivals,” we find out there’s more that’s fraught in the online dating industry that goes beyond the ambitions of a handful of people from the last novel compared the the last novel. There are lot of details about what could be possible with AI and machine learning - not just within online dating (are we the zombies?). Pek really went into the weeds on some of these details without ever feeling confusing or overly jargony.
As interested as I was in Claudia’s case though, I was just as invested in her relationships with her family, her friends, her colleagues, and her romantic prospects. I’m starting to love all of these quirky, complex people she has in her life.
The only thing that I couldn’t connect with was the motivations of one of the nefarious characters in the book. I felt like there weren’t enough details about their personality or what happened in their past to make what happened in the end feel…understandable, I guess? Maybe we learn about them in another book (which I’m hoping comes out soon after this one), but that seems unlikely.
This ended up being such a fun book and I’ll be sure to recommend it to everyone. Again, thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for the early access!