The worlds that Geneva Lee creates are always so amazing! Sterling and Adair have so much history and so much current chemistry it leaves you on the edge of your seat waiting anxiously to see what mysteries unfold! My jaw was left hanging open and I cannot wait to see what happens in Backlash

I found it really difficult to read not knowing why he was trying to destroy her life… like it doesn’t tell you until the last few chapters.

Also don’t like how it kept flicking back to the past and between the two main characters. Was just a confusing way to read

Blacklist is the first of a new series, The Rivals, from Geneva Lee. As a long time lover of Geneva Lee's books, I was looking forward to this new series, and Blacklist did not disappoint.

Adaire MacLaine chose her wealthy family's name and money over her relationship with Stirling Ford, a poor foster kid with a scholarship to her wealthy university. Five years later Stirling walks back into her life, with his own wealth and a blacklist of people he wants revenge against.

I particularly liked how Geneva tells this story not only from both main characters points of view, but also in both the past and the present so we can learn about their relationship in both time-frames.

As I've come to expect from Geneva's books, Blacklist is full of twists and unexpected turns.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait until September 2020 for the next book in The Rivals Series.

Revenge is tricky business

The one who was everything is now a walking nightmare you can't avoid. Adair had love and now it's got a hard shell coating of loathing. Secrets and a past no one seems to talk about but some things are impossible to hide.

Blacklist is all about the one who "got" away. Both sides are clinging to a past and their own version of how it happened. But it's clear they don't know the truth...each others and the full picture. Sterling has his own truths. Each points the blame at the other.

I have some serious allegations that I know will come into play later. I can't wait to watch it all unfold.

I haven’t read any of Lee’s books in a while, and so I was excited to read the start of this new series. And oh, it was going to be a wild ride. The story circles around the two protagonists, Sterling and Adair. Meeting in college, they had a connection at first glance and kept pushing each other’s buttons until one night changed it all.

The reader goes back and forth between the present and the past. We learn about Sterling’s coming into wealth, what this Blacklist was actually about and what made the both of them hate each other. This book left me with so many more questions, wanting to read the next book in the series and find out the answers. I loved that, for most of the book, Sterling and Adair’s relationship was portrayed as this emotional and intellectual connection they had. Blacklist is more of a slow burn romance, presented from both of the main character’s POVs. Lee definitely has a talent for weaving all these intricate webs of secrets and lies. When you think you finally got the answer, it gets pulled out of your grip, leaving you wanting more. The author has done a fantastic job of slowly building this world, these characters and their relationships, stopping at the best and worst point with that cliffhanger.

[I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.]

Wow

Adams's attitude and self awareness is a breath of fresh air. Sterling is a different bread than other characters Geneva has written. The dynamics of the family is interesting. I am excited to read the second book!

I’m a huge fan of Geneva Lee! Blacklist is the first book of a new series written by Geneva Lee.

I love that throughout the book we get to read from both Sterling and Adair’s viewpoint. The book goes back and forth between the present and up to five years into the past. It becomes clear rather quickly that these two have a history. I really liked Sterling’s character. Based on his upbringing, I could understand why he was the way he was.

Adair frustrated me but I started to sympathize with her as the book went on. She is the typical spoiled rich kid with a mean girl attitude. Sterling and Adair have chemistry but they both constantly question what they think they see with the other and they both constantly question whether they are not good enough for the other. When they feel threatened, they attack with words to slice the other down as a defense mechanism.

This book ends with a cliffhanger. I still have a lot of questions about what really happened in the past to cause the current enemy/revenge between them. I really feel like they love each other but for some reason, they don’t think they are good enough for each other. I can’t wait for September 2020 to read the next book to see where their story goes!

ARC Review: I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

3.5 Cocktails