A Rival’s Kiss; Fulton U Rivals #3
(An interconnected standalone within a series)
Publication Date: May 5, 2022
Genre/Tropes: Sports/New Adult Romance
Author: Maya Hughes
Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars
Review/Synopsis:
Review:
The best Rival book yet with one of my favorite Maya Hughes couples shining through.
Willa and Ezra come from two different worlds, and I’m not just talking about two different colleges. This story contains a lot of Princess and the Pauper themes, along with them attending rival schools. Willa comes from a tight knit family, never having to worry about where her next meal comes from or having a roof over her head, a very different world from the one Ezra grew up in. This duality travels throughout the entire plot of the book and their struggle, love, and heartbreak is a beautiful story to read.
First I’ll start with what I loved about Ezra; for the harsh, never having anyone to count on, knowing where he’d be sleeping, or when his next meal would be way he grew up, he is the sweetest, nicest, and most caring individual Maya has ever written. From the very beginning of this story I was completely head over heels all in for everything Ezra. He displayed a vulnerability that is so rare, placing aside pride, anger, and misplaced hostility, instead caring so deeply about Willa and her feelings that I couldn’t help continually falling for him over and over again.
Willa was also a bright shining light, bubbling over and pulling Ezra out from the shell he liked to live in. She was the one person who didn’t allow him to hide, who allowed him to be someone other than the hulking beast he released on the field every week. The more time he spent with her the more he released that he enjoyed who he was with her, he just worried about Willa finding out about his past and ruining any potential future he could have with her.
Willa too has a complicated past, not to mention an overprotective brother that Ezra has met on the field time and time again. With the odds stacked against them, could they truly have a chance at a future?
A Rival’s Kiss is a complete standalone, however I feel the emotions hit just a little bit harder because it is interconnected to her other series. You don’t need to have read any of Maya’s previous books for this book to hit all the feels, as this book can be read as a standalone as well.
Synopsis:
Walking away would be the smartest decision, but no one’s ever accused me of being smart. Cold, determined, brutal, but never smart.
Willa’s mine from the moment I rescue her. I protect her from a brawling crowd and she stares up at me like I’m her prince charming. No one’s ever looked at me like that. No one has ever dared to come that close.
I didn’t know she was the little sister of one of my biggest rivals. Her brother and I have both drawn blood on the field, dislocated joints, broken bones, but I’ll never want to show her that side of me.
I long to be the man she believes I am, but there’s only one way I know how to win—how to survive—and that’s ensuring my enemies lose.
Once he finds out who his sister has been dating it’ll be all-out war, and I might lose the only woman who’s ever looked at me like I’m not built only for destruction.
Changing my ways won’t be easy, but I’m willing to risk it all for her.
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