Naughty and Nice Book Blog: REVIEW TOUR ~ THE RIVALS by Vi Keeland

Title: The Rivals

Author: Vi Keeland

Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance

Release Date: July 13, 2020

Blurb

The feud between Weston Lockwood and me started at the altar.

Only neither of us attended the wedding, and the nuptials happened decades before either of us was born.

Our grandfathers had been best friends and business partners, at least up until my grandfather’s wedding day—when his bride-to-be blurted out she couldn’t marry him because she was also in love with Weston‘s grandfather.

The two men spent years fighting over Grace Copeland, who also happened to be their third business partner. But in the end, neither man could steal half of her heart away from the other.

Eventually, they all went their separate ways. Our grandfathers married other women, and the two men became one of the biggest business rivals in history.

Our fathers continued the family tradition of feuding. And then Weston and I did, too.

For the most part, we kept as much distance as possible.

Until the day the woman who started the feud died—and unexpectedly left one of the most valuable hotels in the world to our grandfathers to share.

Now I’m stuck in a hotel with the man I was born to hate, trying to unravel the mess our families inherited.

As usual, it didn’t take long for us to be at each other’s throats.

Weston Lockwood was everything I hated: tall, smart, cocky, and too gorgeous for his own good. We were fire and ice.

But that shouldn’t be an issue. Our families were used to being at war. There was just one minor problem, though. Every time Weston and I fought, we somehow wound up in bed.

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Review

“Bittersweet memories are better than regrets.”

Holy cow! This book.. I’m still processing. I have spent my entire day locked away from the world, holed up in my sunroom devouring this book. My kids had no idea where I ran off to since our sunroom is not really used by anyone. I pulled the one more chapter excuse one too many times today. I did take a break to run an errand and make the family dinner, but there I went back into my own little world. All of a sudden, the end came. Asking me for a favorite book by Vi Keeland is like asking which kid is my favorite. I can’t pick one. It seems as if each new book that she releases becomes better than the last one I would deemed was my favorite. The Rivals will defiantly suck you in from the very beginning. It sure did with me. Hook, line and sinker. I was a goner. I definitely laughed, my heart broke and I fell in love with the characters. Vi has a way of placing me into the story right alongside them. This is definitely an ermines to lovers book you don't want to miss out on.

Weston and Sophia have known each other their entire lives, but I wouldn’t call them friends. In fact, their families are enemies which automatically makes them enemies. Their grandfathers were best friends and business partners long before they were born, but that all went crashing down due to a woman. Grace Copeland to be exact. Once best friends, now rival enemies. The feud continued with their sons and now their grandchildren Weston and Grace. Weston and Grace have crossed paths throughout the years but they haven’t really ran in the same circles. After many years they cross paths once again on a plane headed to NYC. But that wouldn’t be the last they will see of each other. As it turns out, the late Grace Copeland left the hotel, The Countess to both their families. Enemies or not, Weston and Grace must work closely together to get their affairs of the hotel in order.

I definitely loved Sophia. Her strength and how she doesn’t take any crap from anyone. She definitely gives Weston a run for his money that is for sure. Growing up, she never experienced love from her father. She never felt important to him and she is always having to prove herself to him. Prove that a woman can be in a field with men. I hated her father while reading this story, treating her like someone he can just push around. I was kind of hoping to see him crumble at some point but that’s just me getting ahead of myself. LOL Sophia has gone through so much in so little time, but it has only made her stronger. The past causes her not to trust so easily, to question everything, like waiting for that shoe to drop. But that doesn’t stop her from giving everything she does her all. Sophia’s best friend dubbed family, Scarlett is hilarious. She definitely got Sophia’s back no matter what. She’s more family than her true family.

Weston of course comes off as the notorious cocky bastard. Charming as hell, good looking, rich and can get anything he truly wants. Which is all true, until Sophia enters the picture and starts peeling the layers off we get to know who Weston truly is. And let me tell you I swooned over him. I won’t deny he is cocky as hell attitude but there is so much sadness inside of him. So much guilt. He too hasn’t been shown enough love growing up. The one person he truly cared about isn’t here anymore. The one person he was made to protect and he failed. That’s when his life went spiraling and made some big mistakes he will live to regret. My heart broke for Weston when I found out the feelings he has been harboring. Only if he had that one lifeline to help him through it all. He really is a big softy on the inside and one is able to experience this side of him. Mr. Thorne is a big presence in his life and seems to be the only one who has his back. Weston is just a lost soul trying to find his place in life.

The chemistry between Sophia and Weston is WOW… combustable. Sophia tried her damndest to stay away but they have such a magnetic pull that has a mind of its own. They’re like oil and water but then they get together? I’ll admit it’s hot as hell, you are going to need some moments to fan yourself and cool down. The first time wasn’t meant to happen, it was a mistake that they all tried to forget. It seemed to be fueled by anger and hate, and by golly, hate sex seems to be the thing. It was supposed to only be one time. But one time leads to many more times and to a point where they can’t shake each other. Weston is definitely a different person when he is with Sophia. He hasn’t had to put anyone before himself in a long time, but he does it so naturally with Sophia. Slowly their working relationship progresses as well as the personal one they have started to develop. They’re getting too caught up in their happy bubble that feelings are starting to form. But as their business deal comes to a close, stakes between their family will rise. Their families will ask them to betray the other for the sake of saving their family’s appearance.

“You know what obstacles are?” “What?” “They’re tests to see if you deserve to win.”

What will happen when you put everything on the line? When betrayal sets in so deep? Will they choose each other or will they be loyal to their families? Is this something that they can recover from or where they doomed from the beginning? Maybe they were just meant to be rivals, just like they started. Or maybe they will be able to put the rivalry behind them and come full circle?

I definitely did not want this story to end. I wanted it to go on forever and ever. You will need to get your copy to see what happens.

Author Bio

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

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