What happens when a race car athlete loses his need for speed? Things get hot on the track when a new team mate threatens to take his top spot in the Indie Race Series. Rivals, a Driven World novel by Stephanie Nichole, sets out to show what happens when you put it all out on the track. Go fast, or go home.
After a wreck takes the life of Rathe McCall’s team mate and friend, the PTSD takes his ability to win. The anxiety holds him back and threatens his spot on the team. When Sutton Pierce joins the squad, and threatens to take his spot on top, Rathe needs to find his drive or risk being left in the dust.
Synopsis
Rivals is a romance between two teammates competing for the top spot. Both Rathe and Sutton are former street racers gone pro, but first impressions keep them from realizing just how much they have in common. Rathe is arrogant, and refuses to admit he’s still shook from the accident that took his friend and former teammate’s life last year. Sutton is proud, and works hard to earn respect. Their personalities clash, both on the track and off, until they realize there is something valuable each can offer the other.
But as they begin to get closer Rathe realizes the real risk of a relationship isn’t just heart break. They could lose so much more. So they set boundaries and focus on crossing finish lines.
Reader Thoughts
This book is a page-turner. The plot is multi-faceted, bringing in more than just race car drivers competing for the spotlight. There’s clear effort to build the characters’ past and present, so the reader is invested in their individual successes as well as the inevitable romance.
The romance between the pair is slow, both putting up boundaries to keep their relationship strictly professional at first. And as obstacles come between them, they realistically work to find a solution instead of sacrificing their livelihood. This felt very natural, and I liked how the author came up with a different solution than the reader anticipated.
The details pertaining to driving are not overwhelming, and easy to follow. There is a great balance between scenes at the track, and pulling in the past of each person to build strong character. Although it is a romance, it’s not overwhelmingly mushy. Post traumatic stress disorder is a real problem today, and the book does a good job at describing Rathe’s symptoms and normalizing how he seeks therapy to cope with his accident. It also shines a light on the foster care system, and the dark side of people claiming to do good things for the children.
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How does an Indie driver find his ability to race again? A smoking rival threatening to leave him in the dust. Check out Rivals by Stephanie Nichole Share on XGain access to thousands of books and audiobooks with Kindle Unlimited
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