I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

At long last, Sadie has vanquished her lifelong academic rival — her irritatingly charming, whip smart next door neighbor, Seb — by getting the coveted, only spot to her dream college. Or at least, so she thinks. When Seb is unexpectedly pulled off the waitlist and admitted, Sadie has to compete with him all over again, this time to get a spot on the school’s famous zine. Now not only is she dealing with the mayhem of the lovable, chaotic family she hid her writing talents from, as well as her own self doubt, but she has to come to terms with some less-than-resentful feelings for Seb that are popping up along the way.

But the longer they compete, the more Sadie and Seb notice flaws in the school’s system that are much bigger than any competition between them. Somehow the two of them have to band together even as they’re trying to crush each other, only to discover they may have met their match in more ways than one.

Short and Sweet Review

It’s Sadie’s first semester of college at dream college and she’s excited especially because she thinks she’s left her academic rival Sebastian in the past. The only thing is Sebastian ended up getting off of the waiting list so Sadie and Seb are back at being rivals and they both want the spot on the school newspaper. Not only do these two have to compete but they also have to fight off the feelings they have for each other or maybe not.

The Rival is a cute contemporary romance that follows the competitiveness of our main character Sadie and her rival Seb. It’s very much an enemies to lovers story. Sadie and Seb have known each other since they were kids and we get to see a lot of reminiscing about the past and how they’ve gone up against each other and what takes place in college is no different. Maple Ridge has a pretty popular newspaper called the Newsbag and both Sadie and Seb want the staff reporter position and now they have three assignments to complete to see who wins the spot. I liked the book as I found it to be entertaining but I wouldn’t say that the plot was something big it was mainly a background thing as the romance takes center stage and we spend a majority of the time hearing about the newspaper but also see Sadie and Seb spend time together. Sadie was a good character, she was determined but also a very level headed person. I thought the romance was cute, Sadie and Seb have known each other for a while and I think they’re finally in a place to explore more than a rivalry but an actual romance and figure out their feelings.

Overall, this was a light and enjoyable read. I did like the college atmosphere and the journalism aspect. If you’re in the mood for a quick enemies to lovers romance check this book out.