Rival by Penelope Douglas

“Bully” was one of my favorite books because of the way Penelope delivered such a beautiful love story and adding a twist in it. The way it confuses you and makes you question if you are actually reading a love story when obviously it is one is intriguing and made me admire her deeply. Not everybody can pull off such an amazing technique.

Now, I got the chance of reading “Rival”, that tells the story of two young lovers who are broken, force to be apart and had no way of letting this love go only by transforming it into hate. They say that between love and hate is a small step, and they are right, this book proved it.

Madoc and Fallon are our heroes. By now I am going to tell you that Fallon was ok for me, but Madoc wasn’t. Let me explain. The 2 of them fell in love when they were teens, experienced everything together, they thought they were it and after that Fallon left. After that, Madoc had his heart broken and love was out of his life for good because of this. He was a player, managing his hurt through sex **typically**.

This book was kind of a soup opera, with so many twist and OMG moments, that you didn’t know what connections to make and in which way to go.
Fallon for my was a great heroine because she experienced pain and suffering at a young age. She went through a traumatizing experience that changed her so much. Given the circumstances, she was hard to read and kind of confusing. But as I said, I understood her guarded position and mixed feelings. But she was determined and I liked that about her.
Madoc on the other hand, was not the hero I was hoping to find. He was sort of judgmental, impulsive and made a lot of mistakes. I wanted him to fight harder for Fallon and make up for the time they lost.. But unfortunately not all my wishes came true. He was a little immature for my taste, seeking revenge without having a proper conversation with her and maybe finding out the reasons that made her leave. He acted by impulse and little by heart.

I made a comparison between Jared/ Tate and Madoc/Fallon. The first couple based their relationship on more feelings than the second one. Jared and Tate bonded as kids and were driven by hate, love, lust. But there are feelings involved, more intense than Madoc/Fallon. From my point of view our heroes were more intense and explosive, having this attraction impossible to ignore. The attraction was there, but I was not very convinced of the love. This constant push and pull diminished a little the love it had to be between them. I don’t know if I made myself clear, but I tried.

A bonus for this book were the love scenes. God!! They were intense to say the least and quite original if I say so myself.I know I’m picky, but overall an enjoyable read, with a lot of intense and mind blowing moments.