Here's to Strong Women. May We Know Them.

The Rival alternates between Then and Now, between Ashley and Helena, between the new employee and the career woman. Both women are strong. Ashley brings in new ideas. Helena feels like she is being pushed out.

The story is slow starting. I kept wondering when things would start happening, where's the suspense? Finally after more than 50% in (kindle let me know how far I had read), things started to pick up. After 85%, the true nature appears. Then finally, my heart started pounding.

The end was poignant and sad. I also liked the author's note at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the read!

A whole new level of a rival. I loved this book and could not put it down! Read it in one sitting. The author is new to me and I will definitely look for more that she has written.. I was so surprised that i was actually rooting for both characters, lol

If you are faint of heart, do not, I repeat, do not read “The Rival” by Charlotte Duckworth during anything but the brightest sunshine. This is an ultra twisty psychological tale about ambition and female rivalry that will blow your socks off, even if you’re not wearing any!

The pub note describes the story thusly: “Helena is a career woman with no job and a mother without a baby. She blames Ashley for destroying her life. But is what happened really Ashley's fault? Then, when Helena hires Ashley to work for her, she's startled but impressed by her fierce ambition. They form a dream team and Helena is proud - maybe this is the protégée she's always wanted to have. But soon Helena realizes that nothing will stand in the way of Ashley's drive to get to the top. And when Helena becomes pregnant, everything she has worked so hard for is suddenly threatened, with devastating consequences.”

Stay out in that sunshine until your trembling hand reaches that last page! 😱 5/5

Pub Date 01 Sep 2018

Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#TheRival #NetGalley

The reader is taken from the present to past and vice versa, as we meet Helena and her ambitious co-worker Ashley (Ash). In the past Helena doesn’t notice how Ash is encroaching on her terrain until it is too late to do anything about it. In the present the intelligent career woman has been reduced to a blubbering mess incapable of coping with life in general. Her job and career have disintegrated, and the house is now no longer filled with the sounds and smells of a baby.

Even when one takes the archaic patriarchal system into consideration and the fact there is still inequality between men and women, I still stand by the fact that women are often the greatest opposition to other women. The situation between Ash and Helena is an example of the way women think they should achieve and get rid of the competition in the workplace. Ash does what a lot of women do, especially in the world of business, she believes she has to be one of the men to succeed. Treating pregnant colleagues with disdain, judging their appearance instead of their professional capabilities, and being completely ruthless to get ahead.

Regardless of which aspect of this story you look at or connect with, it all comes back to support. The majority of us need support at some time or other during our lives, but I think the support women sometimes need is at the forefront of this read.

Motherhood is a topic that causes a lot of controversy, especially between women. Women who choose not to have children sneer at women who do, women who have children think childless women are missing out and aren’t complete women. Women who have c-sections are told they aren’t real mothers because only vaginal births count. Stay-at-home mothers are called lazy by career mothers, and career mothers are called neglectful by stay-at-home mothers. The author begins her story with a simple anonymous quote – Every mother is a working mother – and that is the truth. The above mentioned controversial and often hotly debated topics are just a few examples of how we degrade, demean and bring each other down instead of supporting and raising each other up.

This story is meticulously plotted, it doesn’t go in the direction you think it will and ultimately doesn’t focus on the element of the plot you think it might. I don’t want to reveal the twist in the plot, although I would love to talk about the ending. Kudos to the author for highlighting the issues. It’s an incredibly powerful and well thought out debut by Duckworth and I can’t wait to read what she comes up with next.

Let me just say that although it fits into the genre of psychological thriller it is also in its own way an empowering piece of women’s fiction and a reminder to pay more attention to the people around us.

Helena, the smart, perfect business woman has a new employer, Ashley. Ashley is ruthless and wants to succeed and doesn’t care how she does it. From two points of view and two timelines we see how Helena is thrown out from a life she has complete control over and how Ashley takes over everything. Helena ultimately loses a part of herself and blames Ashley for the destruction of her life.

This was a very clever book and had me gripped. Definitely a book club talking point. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was thinking this book was going to be very disturbing. So I was disappointed that it wasn't.
I DID enjoy reading it.
It portrayed mental health brilliantly.
Especially after childbirth.

A lovely read!

The book starts a bit slow but then quickly builds up speed. The story itself is gripping and full of twists and turns!

The Rival was a book that I had seen coming up on social media again and again. I had been intrigued by the premise and keen to get my hands on a copy. It is a novel about two strong women at different stages in their lives. Helena finds herself gradually losing control of her successful career whereas her young employee, Ashley goes from strength to strength in hers. The concept of women being pitted against each other is a topical one and one that is tackled well within the pages of this book.

I flew through the novel finding it an easy and satisfying read. It maintains its momentum throughout and I was surprised on more than one occasion by twists that I hadn't predicted. I have heard the term Chick Noir mentioned recently and this book seems to fit that description perfectly. It deals with issues that affect women but does so with a dark edge. The author writes well and this was an accomplished debut. I have already recommended The Rival to a couple of friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks also to Charlotte Duckworth and the Publisher.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity areas this ARC.

The story is mainly about two women and is good from both their points of view and in two timelines then and now.
I found the characters quite unlikable. Ashley background history was slowly building up to a crescendo but instead was just a small fizz and pop.
I did finish the book and wanted to know what happened next st. But not a favourite read.

This book was one that had my head spinning from beginning to end, and that I had not even began to unravel. The characters were done so well and it all seemed so developed, that the end just sort of left me in shock,
Will be reviewing in Chapter Chatter Pub and using for a daily challenge, as well as recommending to the members,

Thank you Quercus books and Net Galley for an early copy of The Rival. It was ok, a bit compelling. I’m still a little confused with the ending but all in all an ok read.

Wow, what a fabulous debut novel! This psychological thriller kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down. It not only covers mental health, it also addresses the struggles that women face in the workplace.

I loved the way the book flowed between the past and the present, and taking the viewpoints of the two protagonists, Helena and Ashley. Ashley appeared to be fiercely driven to succeed in life, primarily to slay the ghosts of her past, and willing to do anything to achieve her goals. Helena appeared to have it all, the career, the handsome husband, the house in the country, but in the 'now' she was a mother without a baby, and a career-woman without a job, and she blamed Ashley for everything, taking advantage of Helena's pregnancy to steal her job. However, in spite of that, all is not what it seems...

I would like to thank Charlotte Duckworth, Quercus and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Why do women do these things to each other? Told in a then and now way and from the perspectives of both Helena and Ashley, it is about more than ambition, although that's how it's blurbed. Helena is a middle manager who mentors Ashley, a young woman who wants to succeed in business. Helena is, in the now, at home with her child and she's angry at what happened with Ashley. SO what did happen? No spoilers. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a quick read and somewhat of a page turner because it's told in short chapters that cleverly pull you into keeping going even when you mean to put it down.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! It was definitely a book that kept you thinking! I would definitely recommend this book to fellow readers. Thank you!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book in exchange for an honest review.
I did finish the book but I found it very heavy going and unremittingly morose, whether it was about two women working together or the main character becoming pregnant. There was no joy in the story and I am sorry that I cannot find anything positive to say about it.

A novel that pits two women against each other, personally and professionally. Helena takes her career seriously even as she longs for a child. She hires Ashley, viewing her as a sort of protege, but Ashley doesn’t want a mentor, she wants Helena’s job, her life and everything she holds dear. This isn’t the most original premise, but the book was enjoyable and storytelling first rate

I would like to thank Netgalley, Quercus books and Charlotte Duckworth for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
I found this to be an engrossing read that drew me in and found me sympathizing with Natalie and almost hating Ashley. However, all is not always as it seems and the final stages of the book takes a different dimension ,which altered my thinking entirely.
I personally enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Quercus Books and Charlotte Duckworth for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Rival.
I was drawn to this book by the cover design initially. Once I read the description, I thought it sounded really promising. Unfortunately, it didn't grab me whereby I had to read it in one sitting which is what I thought it would do.
Not a book for me.

Loved the cover, which initially drew my attention to this book. I am not a lover of stories that are told from two different main characters and i do tend to avoid them. There are very few books whereby i have enjoyed this style of writing, but am sorry that on this occasion it didn't work for me. However, i did manage to finish the book.

I do thank Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, freely given.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Very unoriginal “single white female“ thriller, enjoyable but nothing earth-shattering. Good for a rainy day.