The Rivals

The Sterlings and the Lockwood families have had an ongoing feud since the grandfathers fought over a woman. Now that woman has passed away and left equal shares in the Countess Hotel to the families. 

Sophia Sterling needed to escape her failed relationship in London so jumped on the chance to relocate to New York. Unfortunately, her father does not put much faith in here. She is smart, resourceful, and hardworking an is determined to win a bid that would make her family win full control. She is pissed at men and has major trust issues. 

Weston Lockwood is sent by his family. Her past one-night stand and current enemy. He is charismatic, cocky, arrogant, and handsome. He also has a lot of baggage, self-worth issues,  and does not have much family support either. He can act all alpha, but he has deep wounds and a history of bad choices.

These two take hate f***ing to a new level. They fuss, fight, taunt, tease, and the clothes come off. Even when she tries to play nice to stop their hostile foreplay, it seems to backfire. One look and he can make her lose her tightly wound control. But being around her makes him want to be a better man. By the time they begin to come together, things keep getting more complicated.

This is a fiery, lust-filled, steamy enemies-to-lovers story about trust, understanding, vulnerability, and loyalty. Their banter is antagonistic, flirty, and dirty. Their chemistry sizzles and sparks. It is told mostly in Sophia's point of view, but I was happy to see some from Weston mixed in.

I liked that the characters have layers and that there are some more emotional undertones running through. Both characters and are trying to prove themselves to people who do not believe in them as well as themselves and each other. They know they are in a precarious situation, but just cannot help themselves. I enjoyed seeing more walls coming down and vulnerability. Especially with Weston, there is much more to him than it initially appeared. And I liked that even though Weston could bring some control in the bedroom, Sophia is also feisty, strong, and capable. They play off each other well and their dynamics are constantly shifting.

All's fair in love and war...But in the end there is only supposed to be one winner...

The rivalry between Weston and Sophia started before they were even born when their grandfathers were in competition for the love of the same woman, who loved them both. Their grandfathers went their separate ways, dissolving the business partnership and friendship that had been the center of their lives. Now their 2 families are competing to gain majority control of the hotel that Grace Copeland divided between the Lockwoods and Sterlings upon her death.

The animosity between these two was off the charts. They quickly learned which buttons to push to get the best reaction out of the other. This was a true-enemies to lovers, in the sense that Romeo and Juliet were enemies as well. Though their families hate each other and the two are in direct competition for the hotel, the chemistry between them is off the charts. There was a tendency for the clothes to go flying any time they were alone together, which felt a little overdone at times, but the smolder between them was clear and definitive. 

I loved as things turned to more than basic chemistry between them and they started working together. It wasn’t clear how they would reconcile the hotel, which only served to ramp up the tension on the pages. 

They challenge each other in all aspects. Sophia is used to working hard to be taken seriously, and there is some tension as they figure out how to work together without feeling like they are stepping over the other. The hotel provided the backdrop for them to find common ground, but it took work to bring in the intimacy and vulnerability that would be required to make something work between them.

This was a page turner filled with fire, lust, and competition that cut to the bone. Weston and Sophia have a lot to learn about the hotel they each want to run for their family, and the things that are important in the deepest parts of their hearts. They cross some lines that can’t be uncrossed, but I couldn’t help but think in the end they worked things out the best way possible to correct the generational split between their families.