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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Audiobook Review: Rival by Penelope Douglas, Narrated by Abby Craden and Nelson Hobbs


I have been so excited to get Madoc's story ever since I read Bully! I thought that Penelope Douglas had such a great writing style, and I loved how new and different her characters were. I am really enjoying this series, and I like how unique her stories are. While I really liked Rival, I will say that I didn't love it as much as I did Bully and Until You. But I still highly recommend this series, and I can't wait to get the next book!

After two years of being away, Fallon is back from boarding school. She left without a word, and Madoc never knew what happened. He only got the story that his father and stepmother told him. Back then, Madoc and Fallon had nothing to do with each other during their days, but their nights were a different story. They had just started to realize their feelings for one another when suddenly everything changed. But two years apart and many secrets now between them have changed everything. Madoc and Fallon find themselves more attracted to each other than ever, but they are both scared to let the other see how they really feel after everything that happened in the past.

I loved Madoc. He was so funny and charming in the first two books, but you could tell that there was so much about him that he didn't show to others. I loved his friendship with Jared, and it was good to see how close to Jax he had become in Rival. But it was also great to see some of his past and how he had been shaped by everything that happened with Fallon. He had this facade that most people assumed was how he really was, but it was clear that no one knew him the way Fallon did. Fallon was strong and a take no crap kind of girl, which I really loved. She was tough when she had to be, but she had such a vulnerable side as well. As hard as she fought it, she couldn't keep Madoc from getting under her skin. The feelings between these two ran so deep, but they had both been unaware of so much. The one thing that had never changed though was the chemistry between them. These two belonged together, and it was clear that they were beyond attracted to one another.

My biggest issue with this story compared to the first two was that there was so much drama. It got a bit over the top towards the second half of this book, and I just felt like that sort of distracted me from the connection between Madoc and Fallon. There was just so much going on and it was a bit too much. But Madoc and Fallon's story was still great, and I continue to become a bigger fan of Penelope Douglas's with each new story I read of hers. I really enjoyed listening to Abby Craden and Nelson Hobbs tell the story, and I thought that they did a wonderful job of bringing this book to life. I loved that we got both a male and female narrator, and it felt like the reader was really able to get into the minds of each character. Abby and Nelson did a great job of showing each emotion and feeling of the characters, and keeping the voices different enough that you could always tell them apart. I am really looking forward to more from both Abby Craden and Nelson Hobbs in the future, and I can't wait to see what Penelope Douglas has in store for Jax next. I loved getting to know him better in this book, and I can just tell that his story is going to be interesting. I definitely recommend this series to NA fans, but I think that romance fans in general will really enjoy each of these books as well.

**Audiobook Provided by Tantor Audio**

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