ARC Review: Rival Hearts by Natalie Decker

Rival Hearts is the second book in the Rival Love series by Natalie Decker. This book continues the story of Caleb and Skylar and should be read after Rival Love. While I enjoyed the first book in the series, I did have a few problems with it. One problem was that I felt like Caleb and Skylar's story was unfinished, and at the time I had no idea if there would be more. I was glad to see that Natalie Decker decided to continue the series and couldn't wait to see where these two would go next. That being said, this book was not what I was expecting or hoping for.

Rival Hearts picks up right after Rival Love with Skylar living in New York with her father because of what happened with the school's pool being damaged. She doesn't want to put Caleb through a long distance relationship, so she pushes him away and refuses to talk to him. But Caleb isn't going to let her go easily and decides to head to NY to convince her to return home with him and give their relationship a chance. But with the person still out there who damaged the pool, Skylar isn't safe even when Caleb vows to protect her. Soon, Caleb and Skylar realize that there are those that would do anything to get rid of Skylar and keep the two of them apart.

With Skylar and Caleb both being in high school, I expect a certain amount of immaturity and poor choices. But I was not expecting to start to hate Skylar so much in this book. She was beyond immature and wishy-washy, and it drove me nuts! She was so different from the first book, and I really got tired of the back and forth. I am not sure why with this story it felt like she had a complete personality shift. Caleb on the other hand was great in this story. While he did have some moments of indecision, he was more mature and committed to being a good person. He had grown up a lot and changed for the better. He was determined to show Skylar how much he loved her, and I thought that he did a great job of trying really hard to prove what they shared was real. He was patient with her and kind, and he stood by her no matter what happened.

While I did like Natalie Decker's writing in this story, I just had a lot of problems with Skylar and the constant hot and cold. I also felt as though the surprise obstacle in this story was pretty overdone and predictable. I wasn't really surprised that it went there, but I was hoping it wouldn't. I figured as soon as Skylar and Caleb returned home that Danielle was up to something, and I just wish that it hadn't been so similar to so many other stories out there. I did think that this book had a great pace and was a pretty quick read though. I think that fans of the first book will definitely want to read this story to get more of Caleb and Skylar. But I am not sure that I would read these if I hadn't already started the series. At the end of this book though, Natalie Decker does let the reader know that there will be another book in the series called Rival Dreams. It appears to be set a few years later when Skylar and Caleb are in college, so I will be interested to read it and see if Skylar has grown up any and actually deserves Caleb after everything she did in this one.

**ARC Provided by Swoon Romance PR**

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ARC Review: Rival Love by Natalie Decker

At this point, I don't read that many young adult books anymore. Not that I am against them, but there just usually aren't that many that really grab my attention. When I read the blurb for Rival Love by Natalie Decker though, I really wanted to get that story. I love a good enemies to lovers story, and I am a sucker for books with sports in them. Rival Love is the debut novel from Natalie Decker, so I was a little apprehensive about it but was hoping for the best. While I did enjoy a lot of this story, I also had some things that I didn't enjoy. I think that this was a good debut despite everything I had issues with though and I would look for more from Natalie Decker in the future.

Skylar Fletcher is a proud Bulldog! She lives for her sports, friends and boyfriend. She has her future all mapped out and has positioned herself to be as successful as possible. But when her mom decides to move in with her boyfriend Brian, Skylar knows her life is about to change. As if moving in with Brian wasn't bad enough, he lives in Bobcat territory and is also a teacher there. Skylar knows that she will never fit in with the Bobcats, but things quickly go from bad to worse when she finds out that Brian's nephew that lives with them is non other than Caleb Morgan the popular quarterback for the Bobcats. Caleb and Skylar want nothing to do with one another and agree to keep their living situation a secret from everyone at school. As they start to get to know one another though, they begin to see that they aren't as different as they thought they were. As their attraction and feelings continue to grow, they both begin to wonder if there is any way a bulldog and a bobcat could be together?

One of my favorite things about YA books is that they aren't usually as serious and tend to be more playful in nature. Rival Love definitely had that fun and flirty feel to it, and I loved Caleb and Skylar's pranks. It was so much fun to see them being playful with one another even while they didn't really like each other, and I couldn't wait to see what they would do next. I thought that Caleb was a little gruff at times and he made some bad choices. But I also saw that he was a different guy than you first think, and he really started to care about Skylar. I liked that she brought out his protective side and that he would look out for her even if he did it without being obvious about it or anyone knowing. Skylar was smart and dedicated, and I can't imagine being put in the position she was. It would have been so hard to lose everything as a teenager like that and I thought that she handled it pretty well all things considered. I really liked watching Caleb and Skylar get to know one another, and start to open up to the idea of more between them.

I did have some issues with this story though. First, I didn't understand why Skylar was forced to switch schools. I understand that she moved, but it was mentioned more than once that it was a private school. If that was really the case then location of residence wouldn't have mattered and she could have still attended her former school as long as she took care of her commute. It just didn't work for me and was the basis of the story, which really bothered me. If the school would have been public instead of being said to be private, it wouldn't have been an issue at all. I also didn't understand why Caleb was with Danielle at all in this story. He didn't like her, his friends didn't like her, and there was really no point other than to start some drama and conflict. Just didn't work for me. I also thought that there were portions of this story that could have easily been omitted and wouldn't have changed the story at all. But for me the biggest problem I had was the ending. Things are left unresolved and on a cliffhanger. It felt rushed and abrupt, and I was left feeling completely unsatisfied. I assumed this was a standalone story based on the blurb and the fact that it was never mentioned to have a sequel, but I am really hoping that that is not the case. I feel like what readers were left with was fine as long as there will be more, but if there isn't another book coming I think that most readers will be left wanting more and unhappy with the ending. I do think that this was a good start for Natalie Decker despite everything, and I am hoping that she continues to tell Caleb and Skylar's story in another book in the future.

**ARC Provided by YA Bound Book Tours**

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