Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Rival by Charlotte Duckworth.

I honestly thought that this was going to be another petty novel about two women who will stop at nothing to break the glass ceiling. Hey, I get it, patriarchy sucks, and it puts women in impossible situations. Instead, this ended up being much deeper than that, and I was pleasantly surprised.

This still has a lot of themes about the challenges of being a woman in a man's worth, and there is fierce competition between women. But it also highlights the challenges of pregnancy and motherhood in the workforce, and how everything that comes with it can really inhibit a woman. There is love, misunderstandings, and care. I don't want to give anything away, but I enjoyed how much this surprised me.

I love a thriller and The Rival really ticked most of the thriller boxes for me. Helena hires Ashley to work for her and to begin with, it seems like they have the perfect working partnership. But Helena soon realises that Ashley is not what she seems and will do anything to work her way up. I love a story of a thriller set in a workplace and especially love toxic female relationships in novels (not real life) so was really engaged with this story. The ending left me a bit disappointed if I'm being honest but I was still gripped most of the way through.

Really good book, but I felt like I would have been better off watching the Lifetime version of this.

No longer interested in reading this book plus have been in more of a reading slump and it’s been almost three years or more since I got this ARC

This was much better than I was expected.
It was a fast paced gripping read. It was such a page turner and I didn’t want to put it down.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I am a fan of books in this genre, so I was very much looking forward to reading this one. I was not dissapointed and both the plot and characters gripped me from the start. I will definitley aim to read another by this author. Highly reccomended!

Thank you so much @QuercusBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 17 October 2019)

SYNOPSIS | Helena finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at the height of her career and her protege, Ashley, is an ambitious woman that will do whatever it takes to get the promotion she thinks she deserves.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the fact that the author could make me root and loathe each of the main characters throughout the course of the book (& flip flop back again)
- short, snappy chapters

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the ending was too farfetched for my taste
- the characterisation of Helena & Ashley was very cliché and the male side characters were just sort of there...
- this is marketed as a thriller and therefore I expected more thrill

I totally enjoyed this new to me author and her writing style. The Rival is about initiative, desire, rivalry, mental illness, jealousy, competition and so many other things. I could actually see how some of the events could occur in real life and become a true story. Helena is a wife and very successful business woman. Ashley wants what Helena has and is young, single, determined and hungry to achieve success no matter the cost or so it seems. Helena and Ashley build a great working team until Helena becomes pregnant and everything changes!

Charlotte Duckworth did an excellent job with her witty narration that is told in three parts. It is also told by Helena and Ashley's perspective of then and now. It was not confusing at all and the character building is excellent. My perspective on each of the characters would quickly change throughout the book. Once I started reading, I needed to see how it ended. This is not a high stake thriller but it is definitely a slow build with lots of clues and indication to the ending that did not pop out till the ending. I was totally immersed into the story and was stunned a bit at the ending. One must answer the question, Is Ashley to blame for Helena's life changes?

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this excellent book.

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.

This was a tough one to get in to. I thought it was a little confusing and didn’t think the plot twist was that great, especially since it didn’t have a very clear plot to begin with.

This should definitely be on your to read list. This is a story about 2 women competing in the workplace, both very career driven, both from very different backgrounds and the lengths a person might go to just to reach the top. I have to admit i did put this down numerous times and pick it back up, the storyline takes a while to get off the ground. The content isnt overly thought provoking but something that at least flows when you get used to the now and then aspect. The story comes alive and ties up loose ends as it comes to a close. The thriller bit is at the end and wasnt something i seen coming so in that respect i would recommend it. Thanks for allowing me the ARC

Woah! What a ride! I initially thought that this would be a stereotypical girl fight of a book but I was so wrong. Helena and Ashley are both ambitious and Helena accidentally falling pregnant was not in her life plan... Told from both perspectives and both before and after this four pronged approach could have got confusing but was entirely readable. I really enjoyed this book.

A fun thriller with surprising twists and turns.Was drawn in from first pages.kept me up reading with turns that really surprised me.#netgalley#st.martins

I really enjoyed this book so much. It has a really great plot, superb main characters and I read it in one sitting. I would highly recommend this book.

This is such a fun and twisty read. I loved the premise of the story! The author wrote in a way that captured suspense and story time all at the same time. Would definitely recommend this book to a friend.

This was a surprising read, with a serious subject matter handled well. As a mother of two, there were parts of this that were uncomfortable to read - but they should be. It highlighted many taboo issues surrounding pregnancy, maternity leave and workplace attitudes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, it was well written with strong, believable characters. There were points I felt that the story rather dragged but as I approached the end it became clearer why. An excellent read.

Great dramatic read and what a twist at the end! This was definitely a fun read that if visit again and would tell my friends all about.

#TheRival #NetGalley
A fantastic read.
Helena is beautiful, privileged, happily married and the Creative Director for the UK's hottest luxury beauty retailer. She has everything that Ashley has ever wanted.
When Ashley wins a job as Helena's assistant, she is determined to impress. But is Ashley the perfect protégée or a ruthless rival?
When Helena discovers she is pregnant, Ashley's fierce ambition soon becomes apparent and it sets in motion a terrible series of events that could see both women lose everything...
Charlotte Duckworth's writing is amazing and the ending makes your jaw drop.
Characters are awesome which should be in a psychological thriller.
Narration is amazing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette UK for giving me an advance copy of this awesome psychological thriller.
A must read.

The book started out a bit slow for me, but made up for it as it went along. Beautifully written and loved the story and character development.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Helena, pregnant, just when she has made it to the top. Ashley, determine to get that big promotion. Who will win in this corporate showdown and who will get crushed? In one corner we have Helena and in the other Ashley, both women with ambitions. This story is told in three parts, switching between then and now and the point of view of Ashley or Helena. It story was extremely entertaining but I had a hard time getting fully engrossed. I might have been so furious with Ashley's character that I couldn't allow myself to be more attached to the story! Or I lack ambitions to relate with either character.

I am not always a huge fan of psychological thrillers but this one is a good mix with general contemporary fiction. It touches on other contemporary topics like relationships, mental illness and women struggles. I did expect a little more ruthless drama and found some of the story to be a tad boring.