#rival darling alexandra moody

[phantomdialogue]

˗ˏˋ. ݁₊ ✶ ˖ 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 - 𝟑/𝟓 ☆ . ݁ ˖ˎˊ˗

premise: when violet gets cheated on by her hockey-captain boyfriend, the captain of their rival team, reed, sees the chance to prove his feelings for her. but she's sworn off hockey players and his only option is to show her that he's not like her ex by agreeing to a fake dating pact that he hopes will prove how much he likes her.

couple: reed and violet

tropes: fake dating, rival teams, YA, sports romance, he falls first

content warnings: none to note (HEA, no cliffhanger)

available on kindle unlimited

review below!

review:

this was a really cute read. i read it for the most part while travelling and in an airport and it's definitely one of those cute perfect reads for that situation. reed darling is a good mmc. he's sweet and kind and it's clear that he's just head over for violet from the beginning. violet does suffer a little bit from the "i'm different from other girls" dilemma that is rampant nowadays but it's not to such a degree that you want to scoop out your insides rather than keep reading. i did find myself enjoying reed's POV a whole lot more though because of it.

there is also a really good collection of ensemble characters to this that i think add a lot to the story. reed's brothers, grayson and parker, stand out the most amongst them to me, and it's clear that they'll be the next in the series to get their books and romances, but even just as side characters in this one, i think they're such a fun addition. grayson kind of has that older brother (even though him and reed are twins) stereotypical role, while parker has the annoying little brother role, and getting to see them interact with violet as well just makes it such a fun read.

the writing is lacking a bit which is why it's rated on the lower end for me. i think that there comes a point when it's not "fluffy" enough, and i wish we had a bit more descriptiveness throughout. also the figure skating thing... i'm ngl it was more of a turn off than i thought it would be. but overall, it's a cute read and it keeps you hooked and having a fun time for sure.

my ratings:

characters - 4 ☆ - likeable, relatable, one dimensional

plot - 3.75 ☆ - cliched, fast-paced

setting - 4 ☆ - fits the story, realistic, rustic

writing style - 2.5 ☆ - easy to read, witty, simplistic, repetitive

favorite quotes (some spoilers here, of course, but minimal):

“So, is there a reason we’re beating up a brand-new 2024 Ford Mustang?” “We?” “I mean, I haven’t done anything yet, but I’ve got a couple of hockey sticks in my truck if you want to do some real damage?”

“I’m exactly where I want to be.” The truth was, right now, I just wanted to be wherever she was.

One moment, all you can think about is his warm brown eyes and soft dark hair. The next, you realize his hair is actually a little greasy, and his eyes are closer to the color of mud than honey. Even his voice, which was once soft and melodic suddenly sounds more like the whining purr of a drone.

With every word, this girl was shattering my heart but making it beat harder at the same time.

“I guess I’d rather be feared than loved.” His eyes were still distant, and I tried to read the emotion flickering in his gaze. “Really? Why?” “It’s easier,” he replied. “No one can screw you over if you don’t give them the chance.”

“You know what they say about guys with big feet…” “They make great clowns,”

“I think I could easily come up with a list of things he saw in you.” “I don’t need a list.” I laughed. “Are you sure? Because I’m more than happy to write one up and pass it on to him.”

[efexbe]

rival darling by alexandra moody

[dorelia23]

Reading Rival Darling rn and DON'T TELL ME HE'S ABOUT TO THROW THE GAME NOOOOO

[your-mommy-ems]

LOADING....

EMMA ?! minor. the beach. a future author. the city at night. writing. #1 mess it up and siren sounds stan. pretty dresses. sunsets. flowers. music on at all times. scented candles. bows. garlic bread. pasta. ice cream in hand walking down the beach. sitting on a rooftop and stargazing. art. formula one. reading late at night. going insane over faceclaims for edits. blurry photos. romcoms.

LIBRARY ?! the inheritance games. boys of tommen. powerless. shatter me. ouabh/caraval. folk of the air. dance of thieves. pjo. the naturals. soc. lynn painter books. red queen. prison healer. ann liang books. heartless. alexandra moody books. assistant to the villain. divine rivals.

HEADPHONES ON ?! gracie abrams. tate mcrae. taylor swift. maisie peters. erin lecount. isabel larosa. chase atlantic. coldplay. alex warren. nessa barrett. getting into sza. madison beer. of monsters and men. jenna raine.

ON THE BIG SCREEN ?! friends. b99. ghosts. now you see me. tinkerbell movies. oceans 11. knives out. mamma mia. enola holmes. starwars. little women. to all the boys i've loved before. any type of romcom.

EXTRA ?! summer fruit. reading on the train. pretty trinkets. dancing in the rain. stuck in a job until i become rich and. joey lynch. johnny kavanagh. kai azer's darling. ambivert. a straight hair queen. haley pham. edits. green eyes that change colour. smoothie lover. your basic teenage girl. matcha. typos. giggling and laughing. sunny days that aren't hot.

[jianreadsaus]

I was initially reading “Rival Darling” by Alexandra Moody but by the end i felt like it was meh?? So i got so lazy and picked up an actual book i had on my shelf as a change of pace. It’s Called “Fate of A Distant Future” and it’s a Sci-Fi book made by a filo author! (Yes, support local WOW) Personally, I have little to no interest in Sci-Fi unless it’s an action movie lolz, so when I met the author during MIBF 2023, i kinda forced myself to buy the book coz i couldn’t say no to him >< I KNOW, I ALSO FEEL BAD FOR FEELING THIS WAY. But I actually enjoyed how he hyped the plot of the book, and although i’m not so fond of the genre, I wanted to give it a try. I actually DNF-ed it the first time coz I was actually confused of the whole mixed futuristic timeline thing. But, after picking the book up and reading it again, I WAS HELLA INVESTED. I actually agree with the people saying that the dialogues could be better, but the plot was really nice. For a first time Sci-Fi reader, I was actually engaged and I was so into it (even though I couldn’t imagine it LMFAO). Neways, Let’s see if i’ll DNF the book for the second time, or actually finish it this time around.

[phantomdialogue]

⊹₊⋆｡˚⊹ 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ⊹˚｡⋆₊⊹

all of my book reviews collected for easy navigation

𝓰 - see goodreads for review

𝓴𝓾 - available on kindle unlimited

6 ☆ reads

this is how you lose the time war ⟢ amal el-mohtar - 𝓰

the undertaking of hart and mercy ⟢ megan bannen

first-time caller ⟢ bk borison

every summer after ⟢ carley fortune

one golden summer ⟢ carley fortune

people we meet on vacation ⟢ emily henry - 𝓰

book lovers ⟢ emily henry

beach read ⟢ emily henry

great big beautiful life ⟢ emily henry

assistant to the villain ⟢ hannah nicole maehrer - 𝓰

apprentice to the villain ⟢ hannah nicole maehrer

nothing like the movies ⟢ lynn painter

the seven year slip ⟢ ashley poston

series

chestnut springs ⟢ elsie silver ⟢ all 𝓴𝓾

flawless - 4 ☆

heartless - 4.5 ☆

powerless - 3.75 ☆

reckless - 4.75 ☆

hopeless - 4.25 ☆

the mindf*ck series ⟢ s. t. abby ⟢ all 𝓴𝓾

the risk - 4 ☆ - 𝓰

sidetracked - 4.25 ☆ - 𝓰

scarlet angel - 4 ☆ - 𝓰

all the lies - 4.5 ☆ - 𝓰

paint it all red - 4.5 ☆ - 𝓰

boys of tommen series ⟢ chloe walsh ⟢ all 𝓴𝓾

binding 13 - 4.5 ☆

keeping 13 - 5 ☆

saving 6 - 4.5 ☆

redeeming 6 - 5 ☆

taming 7 - 4 ☆

shatter me series ⟢ tahereh mafi

shatter me - 2.75 ☆ - 𝓴𝓾

off campus series ⟢ elle kennedy ⟢ all 𝓴𝓾

the deal - 4 ☆

the mistake - 3.5 ☆

the score - 4.5 ☆

author (alphabetical by last name - series listed above not included)

lauren asher

throttled - 3.5 ☆ - 𝓰 - 𝓴𝓾

falon ballard

something wicked - 3 ☆

megan bannen

the undertaking of hart and mercy - 6 ☆

upasna barath

comedic timing - 3.75 ☆

bk borison

first-time caller - 6 ☆

jennifer chipman

spookily yours - 0.5 ☆ - 𝓴𝓾

s. l. cokeley

this blood that binds us - 1.5 ☆ - 𝓴𝓾

lizzy dent

drive me crazy - 3.25 ☆

mazey eddings

well, actually - 1.75 ☆

amal el-mohtar

this is how you lose the time war - 6 ☆ - 𝓰

carley fortune

every summer after - 6 ☆

one golden summer - 6 ☆

hannah hamrick

we can't be friends - 3.25 ☆

jessa hastings

never - 4.25 ☆ - 𝓴𝓾

ali hazelwood

love theoretically - 5.5 ☆

bride - 3.25 ☆

under one roof - 4.5 ☆

stuck with you - 4.25 ☆

below zero - 4 ☆

deep end - 5.25 ☆

the love hypothesis - 4.5 ☆

not in love - 4.75 ☆

love on the brain - 4.75 ☆

problematic summer romance - 5.75 ☆

emily henry

people we meet on vacation - 6 ☆ - 𝓰

book lovers - 6 ☆

beach read - 6 ☆

funny story - 4.25 ☆

happy place - 4.5 ☆

great big beautiful life - 6 ☆

alexandra moody

rival darling - 3 ☆ - 𝓴𝓾

hannah nicole maehrer

assistant to the villain - 6 ☆ - 𝓰

apprentice to the villain - 6 ☆

madge maril

slipstream - 4.5 ☆

lynn painter

the do-over - 4.25 ☆ - 𝓰

betting on you - 4.75 ☆ - 𝓰

nothing like the movies - 6 ☆

ashley poston

the seven year slip - 6 ☆

emily rath

pucking around - 4.25 ☆ - 𝓰 - 𝓴𝓾

katee robert

neon gods - 3.75 ☆ - 𝓰

the kraken's sacrifice - 1.5 ☆ - 𝓰 - 𝓴𝓾

the gargoyle's captive - 2 ☆ - 𝓰 - 𝓴𝓾

electric idol - 2 ☆

lauren roberts

powerless - 4.25-4.5 ☆ - 𝓰

reckless - DNF - 2/5 ☆

alison saft

wings of starlight - 5 ☆

london sperry

passion project - 4.5 ☆

laura steven

our infinite fates - 5 ☆