cover image Rival

Rival

Penelope Douglas. NAL, $14 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-451-47242-7

Douglas follows Bully with a gritty, racy new adult tale peppered with raw emotions. It has been two years since step-siblings Fallon Pierce and Madoc Caruthers laid eyes on each other. Without skipping a beat, they return to old habits, trading hateful barbs in public before abandoning themselves to emotional, raw, satisfying sex in private. But this time Fallon has a vengeful plan in mind, and Madoc’s emotions are caught between a rock and a hard place. Fallon and Medoc have equally painful stories that will crush the readers’s hearts as they watch the couple try to rebuild the bonds of trust and yet again separate. While stubbornness keeps them apart and a family crisis challenges their relationship, a little conniving from their friends brings them back together to confront the past. This smoking-hot, action-packed story is a powerful addition to the edgy side of the genre, and readers will eagerly anticipate the next installment. (Sept.)