Book: The Rival

Author: Emma Lord

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for an advanced audio copy.

Before The Rival, I had read two books by Emma Lord. I loved one of them, so I was excited for another book by her. Unfortunately, this book struggles with the same thing the other books do: it’s simply too long. Begin Again was the book by Lord that I loved, and even that one I can agree was too long. Being that I did love Begin Again, I did appreciate the connection to The Rival, mentioning the same school as Begin Again. 

The Rival is an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story, but I never fully got on board with their love story. It’s very cliché in the sense that the guy always liked her, but she didn’t notice it, but of course, everyone else did. In high school, Sadie and Seb were rivals in everything. Their competition brought the best out in each other. Now they are at the same college competing for the one position on the prestigious college journalism program. 

I did like Seb for most of the story, but Sadie rubbed me the wrong way from start to finish. There is a difference between being goal-oriented and selfish, and Sadie was always selfish. She never thought about the people close to her when considering any of her actions. Even in the end, when I normally would come around on a character, Sadie never won me over. 

I’m now two for three with not loving Lord’s books, and I hate that. I can’t wait until her next book comes out so I can even up the score. 

Final score: 3/5