Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  A Rival for Rivingdon

SERIES:  The Lords of Bucknall Club

AUTHORS:  J.A. Rock and Lisa Henry

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH:   255 pages

RELEASE DATE:  September 14, 2021

BLURB:

He must marry well, to secure his fortune.

The Honourable Loftus Rivingdon is poised to make his debut into Society. He’s beautiful, charming, and quite the catch of the Season. If only he could find the right hat. With the zealous assistance of his doting mother, Loftus has one ambition only: to meet and marry a wealthy peer. And Loftus knows just the peer—the dauntingly handsome, infinitely fashionable Viscount Soulden. Good thing there’s nothing standing in his way.

He must also marry well, to secure his fortune.

The Honourable Morgan Notley is poised to make his debut into Society. He’s beautiful, charming, and quite the catch of the Season. And he has just found the perfect hat. With the zealous assistance of his doting mother, Morgan has one ambition only: to meet and marry a wealthy peer. And Morgan knows just the peer—the dauntingly handsome, infinitely fashionable Viscount Soulden. Good thing there’s nothing standing in his w—

Damn it all to hell.

Their ambitions collide.

When Loftus and Morgan both set their sights on Soulden, the rivalry of the Season begins. Their mutual hatred escalates into spite, sabotage, and scandal, as all of Society eagerly waits to see which diamond of the first water will prevail. Except the course of true loathing, just like true love, never did run smooth. The harder they try to destroy each other, the closer they come to uncovering each other’s deepest vulnerabilities—and the more difficult it becomes to deny the burning attraction between them.

A Rival for Rivingdon is the third book in the Lords of Bucknall Club series, where the Regency meets m/m romance. The Lords of Bucknall Club can be read in any order.

REVIEW:

Loftus Rivingdon has his sights set on Viscount Soulden.  His family wealth has been gambled away by his father and his mother seems him as the only one who can rescue the family from ruin.  She has it in her head that Loftus will marry well and save her from her current fate.  She encourages Loftus to do whatever necessary to make sure that he lands Soulden.

Morgan Notley also has is hat set for Viscount Soulden.  And he’s just as determined as Rivingdon.  And he is also willing to do what is necessary to secure a marriage proposal in this his first season. But when he does something truly nasty to Rivingdon, he actually feels bad about it.

When Morgan and Loftus spend actual time together though, it seems that maybe they have more in common than they thought.  The share some their secrets and their family’s desires for them to make a match.  But they also dally a bit with each other.  Cecil, Morgan’s brother is NOT pleased and he threatens them with telling their mothers and a scandal will ensue.  Then there is the little matter of Soulden telling them he is not interested – in either of them.

There is some additional family drama.   Some of it is hilarious – particularly around Cecil – but some is also devastating – particularly with Loftus’s father and Morgan’s mother.  Seems that neither family really has their best interests at heart and it’s crushing to both young men.  Luckily it seems their might be a way out of this that will give them their own lives 😀

This was a delight!  Rivingdon and Notley were so very very entertaining!  I found myself chuckling so many times over their antics.  At first they both just so hilariously self-absorbed and their scheming and plotting to ruin each other get more and more ridiculous.  But then they seem to find some common ground.  Despite their attempts to trick the other into revealing their vulnerabilities and provide some advantage to securing Soulden, it soon becomes clear that they are not really bad fellows.  Their parents are terrible role models and at some point both young men realize this when it turns out that neither mothers have their best interests at heart – but are instead using their sons in a game of one upmanship.  I continue to be amused by this set of risque books the whole ton is using as a model of clandestine relationships and sex education 🙂  I did especially love the extremely clever plot to get Morgan and Loftus to where they really should be and the surprising twist of who actually provided them a way out of the mess they find themselves in 🙂  I think this might be my favorite of the series so far!  I cannot wait for the next book.  Highly recommended for those who love an enemies to lovers with a sweet romance and entertaining characters.

RATING: 

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