The Rivals by Dylan Allen // Review

He listened to me. He thought about what I said and found value in it. I think this man might be a unicorn.

The Rivals by Dylan Allen

Rivers Wilde #1-3.4
Release - December 14, 2020
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Format/Source - Kindle purchase
Length - 1353 pages
Publisher - Gold Coast Girl Publishing

THE LEGACY

Heir to a fortune, Hayes Rivers has been raised to lead.
Just as he finally claims his legacy, he falls in love with a woman who is the opposite of everything he should want.
Family secrets call everything he believes into question - and put him and his new love on opposite sides of a lawsuit.
Can he salvage his family’s name and his new relationship?

THE LEGEND

At the same time a scandal turns his family upside down, Remington Wilde’s first love comes back into his life.
He wants a second chance to get things right,
But can he convince her to trust him again?
And can he forgive her when he finds out the real reason she’s back?

THE JEZEBEL

The last time he saw her, loving Regan Wilde had been an impossible dream for Stone Rivers.
When a chance encounter brings them together again, their complicated past and messy family connections threaten to put her out of his reach again.
This time, Stone won’t stop until he can claim her as his own.

THE GATHERING

After their obstacle defying happily ever afters, our favorite couples are ready to tackle their biggest challenge yet- Getting this family of rivals together for a holiday meal.
Plans are made, invitations are sent, and decorations are hung.
But as the evening approaches, surprise guests and announcements are as plentiful as the good cheer.
Will it take a holiday miracle to make- and keep - this season bright? Or are these rivals destined to remain that way?

Find your copy of The Rivals by Dylan Allen on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wG13sI
You can also read it for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Dylan Allen... you're a marvel! If you've read from this author, then you agree. And if you haven't yet, I'm not sure what you're waiting for. She writes beautiful words about incredible characters who have a ring of authenticity you just can't find everywhere. Read her books y'all!

The Legacy by Dylan Allen

4 stars
Rivers Wilde #1
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5

He's my river. I am drowning in him. And I don't want to be rescued.

Hayes was sexyyyy! Rich, arrogant, with a heart of gold. Confidency was also sexy. She was a warrior for social justice who had a huge chip on her shoulder. They meet and it's lust at first sight. Then hate because of a little misunderstanding. Then straight back into lust again. I guess that's what hanging off a cliff ledge will do to you. Their lust quickly grew into love and it was beautiful...

Until it wasn't...

This was shaping up to be a five star read. But when Confidence had Hayes humbling himself a step too far, I wasn't having it. I'm all for a good grovel when a man has done his woman wrong. But Hayes wasn't completely to blame and Confidence needed to get off of her cross. Can a man get a moment to explain? Especially for thinking and saying stuff before he even knew you? When a man consistently shows and proves his love and devotion, can you maybe throw him a bone and not throw it back in his face? Maybe don't be unnecessarily disrespectful and rude. I get feeling hurt, but if there's love in your heart, which there obviously although she tried to hide it, you should never be so cruel.

Whew! Glad I got that off my chest! Overall, it was a great read.

The Legend by Dylan Allen

5 stars
Rivers Wilde #2
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4.5 out of 5/several explicit scenes

All legends are lies. Make your own truth.

The Rivers and the Wildes are supposed to be enemies. That's hard to maintain when the two heirs of those kingdoms, Hayes and Remi, are not only best friends, but connected through secrets. And that's just one small piece of this story.

Remi's life was always planned for him and he finally took it upon himself to start making his own decisions. Constantly forced to measure up to the ghost of his father, when his family's secrets are exposed, he's left shattered. The only person who could possibly reach him, heal him, and lead him back to the light was the one person who was always just out of his grasp... Kalilah.

Remi always finds a way to take something terrible and reshape it into something beautiful.

This second chance romance was full of drama, angst and feels. Dylan Allen took me on a roller coaster of emotions. From the wistful optimism for young love, the anger and betrayal of deceit and lies, to the never-ending hope for reconciliation, I was utterly swept away by the journey Remi and Kal were on to be with one another.

I only had one real hangup with this story. Here's the thing... Remi is half-Jamaican and half-Irish. What a coinkidink! I'm also Jamaican and Irish. I'm not in touch with most of my family on the Irish side, but I was raised by a single Jamaican mother. I got her values. I got her culture. I was immersed in it. I know what it is to be a Jamaican. Our food, our words, our every whim is unique. So I know when it isn't exact. And while this book came close, it did have mistakes, which I won't list out because really I'm the only one who cares. Some of the patois was off and for the life of me... I've never heard of curry stew. I've made curry goat, curry chicken, curry cow foot, curry chicken foot, even curry duck, curry meatballs, curry soya, curry about everything... but no curry stew.

The Jezebel by Dylan Allen

5 stars
Rivers Wilde #3
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4.5/several explicit scenes

"Just because you're not like everyone else, doesn't mean there's a single thing wrong with you. You're perfectly made." - Regan

I think Regan was the character I was able to identify with most. Similar backgrounds (aside from the wealth, obviously) and the way she deals with her emotions (or doesn't) made it easy for me to draw parallels. So here's what I took away from this book:
☆ She's got 3c hair and I'm between a 3b and 3c. Her hair care was a little off considering, but I enjoyed that little touch
☆ Her first year of college, the whole experience of trying to find and understand her identity... who hasn't gone through that, especially when you're mixed. I too joined both the Jamaican and Irish associations at university
☆ I loved the evolution of her relationship with her mother. All of the lies and secrets have been exposed and all they're left with is the truth. It's humbling and both mother and daughter showed a lot of growth

Regan was an easy woman to love and respect. I admired her loyalty and integrity when it came to those she loved. As a mother, even when she doubted herself, she was incredible. Allen did an amazing job with building this character.

Then there's Stone... this man was flipping awesome! Hot, intelligent, compassionate, passionate, honorable... He was extremely swoon-worthy.

"I water you, you water me. Together, we're going to grow."

And Tina... mama bear... matriarch of the Wilde clan... she blew me away with the levels of her development. Once a cold, hard queen, by the end she was a different woman. I was finally able to see the love and care she had for her children. I was finally able to sympathize with her suffering. She became beautiful to me and her words to her daughter...

"New rule — romanticize yourself. You are the stuff of fairytales, my Reggae Queen, and it's time you started living like it."

Yes mum!

Again, there were some discrepancies that I made note of, such as some of the Jamaican cuisine, culture and patois, of what it is to be mixed race and the challenges one faces, and some of the French (question structure). Again, there was nothing that could detract from how much I was able to enjoy and be entertained by this story.

The Gathering by Dylan Allen

4 stars
Rivers Wilde #3.4
Multiple POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5

The highlights: everyone's leaving! Just kidding, but not really.

I loved getting a glimpse into where the Rivers and the Wildes are right now. Everyone's still very much in love and while what was happening between Kal and Remi was a bit annoying (once again she was being selfish and I didn't like that he encouraged it), I still liked seeing where they all were at.

Surprise of all surprises... Tina's got her groove back and I loved it!!

There was even a teaser for what will be Tyson Wilde's story. He hasn't featured in any significant way so far, but if he's anything like the rest of his family, his story is sure to be lovely.

Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author, Dylan Allen writes compelling, dramatic, emotional romances with exceptional, diverse characters you'll root for and never forget.

A self-proclaimed happily ever junkie, she loves creating stories where her characters find a love worth fighting for. When she isn’t writing or reading, eating, or cooking, Dylan indulges her wanderlust by planning her next globe-trotting adventure.

Dylan was born in Accra, Ghana (West Africa) but was raised in Houston, Texas. Dylan is a proud graduate of Tufts University, Howard University School of Law and the London School of economics. After twenty years of adventure and wild oat sowing, Dylan, her amazing husband and two incredible children returned to Houston where they now make their home.

Visit https://www.dylanallenbooks.com/ for more information