Lazy Book Lovers: Blog Tour: Rival Love by Natalie Decker - Review (@nataliedecker07) (@swoonromance)

Rival Love by Natalie Decker
Publication Date: August 26, 2014
Published: Swoon Romance
Source: Received copy for honest review

My Rating:

Skylar Fletcher is a proud Harris Academy Bulldog! She has everything she’s ever wanted: a perfect boyfriend, great friends, and her dream college waiting for her in the fall. But nothing lasts forever. Skylar's world shatters when her mom decides it is time to move and drags Skylar, kicking and screaming, into Bobcat territory.
At Delmont High School, home of the Bobcats, Skylar has no friends and is often bullied. To make matters worse, her home life sucks thanks to all-star quarterback Caleb Morgan, nephew of her mom's live-in boyfriend.
At first Skylar and Caleb want nothing to do with one another. But they soon discover they're not that different after all--and each is harboring a secret attraction to the other. But can a Bulldog and a Bobcat ever really be more than friends? And are Skylar and Caleb willing to risk everything to find out? Rival Love is a debut young adult contemporary romance from Natalie Decker.

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The will to win is alive and well in Rival Love. When I started my expectations for the book weren't very high. At first, I thought I knew what I was getting into. Another sports book, about two kids who hate each other, but learned to love one another. While, yes, there was sports, and yes, Skylar and Caleb can’t stand each other, there is something else. Charm.

This story was charming from beginning to end. Skylar who had to move across town because her mom is now in a new relationship is dead center in the territory of her former school’s rival school. I personally haven’t experienced a rival that is expressed in this book, but it was kind of fun to see. It was also fun to see Skylar, someone that could have easily been an annoying female lead, be something more than boy crazy. She was athletic and driven and wanted something more than small town life. In the beginning, yes, she was a little annoying, but then I realized she is a teenager and everything is dramatic to a teenager.

Then there is Caleb. Your typical quarterback and all around big man on campus. He was another one that was quite annoying at first, but there was something deeper that prevented him from staying shallow. Even with the internal rivalry that him and Skylar engaged in, because who would think that one of the enemy would end up living in his house, he ended up being more than just a dumb jock.

That is what this was for me, more than what I anticipated. Some things felt a little forced but when it came down to it, it was a story about looking beyond what your first impressions are. There is more to the story than just the cover. Now I'm just waiting for the follow up because yes, there is a cliffhanger!

Natalie Decker is the Author of Rival Love. She loves oceans, sunsets, sand between her toes, and carefree days. Her imagination is always going, which some find odd. But she believes in seeing the world in a different light at all times. Her first passion for writing started at age twelve when she had to write a poem for English class. However, seventh grade wasn’t her favorite time and books were her source of comfort. She took all college prep classes in High school, and attended the University of Akron. Although she studied Mathematics she never lost her passion for writing or her comfort in books. She’s a mean cook in the kitchen, loves her family and friends and her awesome dog infinity times infinity. If she’s not writing, reading, traveling, hanging out with her family and friends, then she’s off having an adventure. Because Natalie believes in a saying: Your life is your own journey, so make it amazing!

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