“Rival Darling” by Alexandra Moody is a young adult hockey romance that is perfect for anyone looking for a hockey romance without spice.
“Rival Darling” is a young adult hockey romance, which is unique because typically the sports romances like “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace or “The Deal” by Elle Kennedy have more adult themes. This gives “Rival Darling” a refreshing feel, because it focuses more on the emotional aspect of a relationship rather than the physical ones.
It also brings back the feeling of nostalgia from high school heartbreak and love, which isn’t something you typically get in an adult sports romance because most take place in college like “Icebreaker.”
Violet Sinclair is entering her senior year at high school when she is forced to move from California to Sunshine Hills, Minn. to live with her uncle when her mom moves abroad for work.
During her first few months in Sunshine Hills before school starts, Violet falls in love with the local hockey star, Jeremy Hoffman, breaking her one rule to never date a jock. However, she falls short of the ‘perfect hockey girlfriend,’ but she isn’t the only imperfect one in their relationship.
After Reed Darling, the notorious bad boy and captain of Sunshine Hills’ biggest hockey rival, helps Violet with her car troubles, he finds her heartbroken and angry after she finds Jeremy cheating on her.
To get Jeremy to let her go, Violet enters a fake relationship with Reed, but Reed has his own reasons for agreeing to fake date Violet.
This book is truly heartwarming and funny. It has so many funny moments and characters throughout the book. For example, Parker, Reed’s younger brother, has multiple moments where he provides comic relief with quick and flirty comments.
However, the main thing that sets “Rival Darling” apart in the sea of hockey romances is the age rating on it.
The lack of spice also doesn’t take away from the story at all because the author still manages to keep tension between the couple high by using the fake dating troupe.
Having Violet and Reed enter a fake relationship puts them in situations that would mean nothing if they weren’t already developing feelings for each other, but they keep each other at arm’s length because they don’t believe the other person feels the same way. This creates an addictive push and pull, which makes it hard to put the book down.
It’s also addictive because “Rival Darling” has switching point of views, which allows for glimpses into the thoughts of both Violet and Reed.
Having the insight into the thoughts and feelings of both characters shows the progression of feelings of both characters because they are able to lie to each other, but not themselves. Therefore, while it may be annoying that they aren’t confessing to each other, it is easy to understand their motivations for withholding it.
Overall, “Rival Darling” is perfect introduction to sports romances for someone who is craving tension and romance without the more adult themes that similar books typically have.
