Review: Rival

Rival by Penelope Douglas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

https://officialbookcritic.blogspot.c...

This is the second book of Fall Away series and also my most favorite book. This book focuses on Maddox and Fallon.

Maddox was introduced in the first book, he is the best friend of Jared. I was immediately fascinated by his character, especially when Tate and Jared started their relationship and he was so supportive of his friend. I felt he is a genuine guy.

Unlike Maddox, Fallon is a completely new character for me. There is a tension between Maddox and Fallon, it later was revealed they were secretly dating. Although I thought I wouldn't like Fallon because she was really mean at the beginning of the book, my mind changes completely as the story progresses. The plot unravels and we realize both Maddox and Fallon suffered but what Fallon went through was much harsher than Maddox

Maddox was lied by his stepmother who is Fallon's biological mother. She also lied to Fallon, her own daughter. She is a despicable character. It was devastating when Maddox gets to know what Fallon went through, that she never lied, that her mother forces her to abort their baby. Jaxon actually found it out and told Maddox, even if he didn't Fallon will eventually tell him.

The author dealt with this issue very well. The scene was devastating. When Maddox embraced Fallon and she cried, I felt tears in my eyes.

Fallon's mask slowly comes off, she wasn't mean at all. She just tried to take revenge but didn't have the ability to hurt Maddox. She turns out to be very naive, innocent and completely in love with Maddox. As for Maddox, his character growth was remarkable. What they did at the end was completely unexpected but I understand why they did it. They were just young teenagers who loved each other deeply but had people who wanted to keep them apart, they just didn't have any choice.

Maddox and his father's issue was also solved. It was good to see them accepting their differences.

I liked the friendship between Fallon, KC, and Tate in this book. Overall, It's a very emotional love story, filled with angst, passion, mistake, secret and betrayal. It is also a beautiful love story of young teenagers who overcome every obstacle of their life just to be together.

View all my reviews