The Rivals

by Vi Keeland

352 pages, Paperback

Expected publication October 21, 2030

About the author

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 one hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-six 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.

Stop by and meet Vi in her private reader group on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ViKee...

Reviews

[That Aesthetic Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Vi Keeland for the ARC💌 OMG I loved this book so much!!!

This was such a juicy rivals-to-lovers romance, and it had me hooked the entire time. Sophia Sterling (our FMC) was incredible: smart, confident, and not afraid to stand her ground. I adored her sass and her strength. She made the rivalry so entertaining, and I couldn’t help but cheer for her every step of the way.

Then there’s Weston Lockwood… swoons. He was infuriating, magnetic, and layered in the best way. His struggles with alcohol and the way his journey was portrayed really added depth to his character. It wasn’t just about the romance, but also about healing, self-reflection, and second chances. Watching him grow while still being that arrogant, irresistible rival? SO GOOD.

The chemistry between Sophia and Weston was off-the-charts!!!! All the tension, all the banter, all the fiery push-and-pull. And when it finally tipped over into romance?? Perfection.

This book was equal parts fun, flirty, emotional, and heartfelt. I literally breezed through it!! Vi Keeland delivered an absolute addictive read, and I enjoyed every second of it.

[Mackenzie Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this except for the classic pre ending trope that happens in all romance lol

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start my review by saying that the story lives up to its title: Vi Keeland nailed it to portray true rivals to lovers in The Rivals.

Weston and Sofia are the epitome of rivals. Both their families are fighting for the remaining shares of a famous luxury hotel: The Countess. Coming from families on the hotelery market, they both need to move to New York City to secure this deal and prove their worth, and for that, they need to coexist with each other.

She thinks she hates him. He knows he desires her. They have been intertwined for a long time. Social circles, schools, friends. Their chemistry is off the charts. She’s what he wants… and also what he needs. What she needs is to stay far away from his sheets but that’s not what her heart truly desires. What could happen when a Lockwood and a Sterling have to get along managing a hotel… and on the bed? I’d guess steamy scenes and passionate moments (oh, and definitely jealousy feelings too).

Whether they like it or not, they were made for each other.

Weston and Sofia’s story was such a delight to read. Getting to understand their insecurities, their past and their goals was an amazing experience. The writing captures you and makes the book an easy and great read. What’s not to like in a well written book about rich rivals who can’t keep their hands off of each other, even if they are competing?

Thank you Bloom Books for the arc.

[Jackie Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love enemies to lovers look no further than Weston Lockwood and Sophia Stirling’s story in The Rivals, this book is everything you would expect in a great read and it ticked all my boxes.
Weston and Sophia have known each other since childhood but as their families were sworn enemies it seemed they should be too but when The Countess hotel is left to both the Stirling’s and the Lockwood’s they need to find a way to work together or at least get along.......
As Sophia and Weston spend time working through the day to day running of The Countess the hate they feel for each other turns into passion and I mean intense hot as sin passion and what follows is 2 enemies learning to trust each other as they put their family feud behind them, the only problem is will the families allow them to get past the feuding that goes back to their grandfathers......
This book captivated me from the first page to the last line, the chemistry is sizzling and the banter witty but it’s the vulnerability that this couple share as they really get to know each other that took this story to another level, this book touched me on so many levels.
I loved this entertaining,emotional read and I highly recommend this gem.

[tbrhoarder-bookdragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.83 somewhat annoyed stars

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The first 40% of the book was a bit cringey to me. The next 60% was really good and I wish more of that was pulled over to the first part of the novel.

The first half was enemies-to-lovers and lots of hate sex. There was something missing though. I don't know if it's the lack of chemistry or connection? I've read other books where there's a lot of hate and sex in the beginning, but it felt right to me. This one just didn't.

It's the second half of the book that I really felt like I connected with the characters. I mean, Weston Lockwood, you dirty talker you. Fanning myself here. He was amazing, funny, vulnerable, confident, and perfectly imperfect. There were some heavy themes around alcoholism and parental emotional abuse, and I appreciated how it was handled in this novel.

Anyway, it wasn't super bad, I just wish it was better because I really loved the 2nd half.

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little unsure about the hatef&$# dynamic this two had but after I stayed all night to finish this book I can only give it five stars

The chemistry was like a thunderstorm from the first pages and never stopped until the last chapters.

They're rich, entilted and trying to prove their family they deserve being in charge

It remindme of Blair and Chuck, from gossip girl, if they were running rivals hotel companies but also there's a mystic and powerful trust in your equal enemie you don't have with anyone else and that's what changed the game for this two

When they share equal parts of the same hotel and had to work together and can't stop messing with the other one. I was pure fun and magnetic and it turned a little more and in the end I couldn't stop falling for their story and the path they had to walk to get to their happy ending

I have several books by Vi Keeland but it's my first time reading this one and I'm glad I did it just know because I was needing a good book to take me out of a reading slump mood

Thanks to Vi Keeland and her team for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

[Lais · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm impressed by how Vi Keeland manages to write such heavy topics (alcoholism and parents who have a "reserve child") in a lighthearted way that doesn't weigh down the story's mood.

I love reading about rich people hating each other over trivial things. And this "Enemies to Lovers" is exactly that! The protagonists' grandparents hate each other because they were both in love with the same woman and she didn't want to choose one to marry (everything would have been resolved with a threesome). This has spanned generations, and the Sterlings hate the Lockwoods.

Sophie is the protagonist I love! Confident, feminine, and knows what she wants! And Weston is the typical golden retriever who flirts so no one sees beyond the surface.

The writing flowed beautifully and was a quick read. There are enemies to lovers, forced proximity, the fights are foreplay, and they have an amazing chemistry

[whisperedsigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh this was fast hot and had me laughing at times. Another vi keeland classic style and what more is i loved how she broke the cliche of her hiding things from him and him hiding things (but in a better twisted way rather than the full front lie we always get from books). I also love how forward and crude he was like my man was up in her pants a few minutes alone together 🤣 but aside from that i love that even though it was a given that they have plenty of them sex it was weirdly only ever a few pages /few chapter and i liked that the way it was told was more foreplay and that almost jump part to the zipping up of zipper after it was done. Cute different variation story of enemies to lovers

[kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars!

This fast-paced enemies to lovers story kept me entertained! Their families rivalry was a heavy presence throughout the story, which tied into Sophia and Weston’s love/hate relationship. Weston is a complex character who’s past plays into his demeanor, and Sophia balances him out. Overall, I enjoyed the novel!

[Elyse Standhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I needed to get out of reading slump