REVIEW: Rivaled by Nicole Dykes (Kensley Panthers #4)

- August 31, 2023

RIVALED

Kensely Panthers - Book Four

by Nicole Dykes

Release Date: August 29, 2023

Review

Rivaled is probably the sweetest, most optimistic of the Kensley Panthers series. This series examines small rural towns that are stuck in their ways and stuck in their small-mindedness. It’s a town that runs on Football.

So the position of Coach is an important one. But the folks don’t just care how many games they win, they also expect the Coach to be the ‘right sort of person’. And divorced Noah knows it all too well. Which is why he’s kept his bisexuality under lock and key.

Until the delectable assistant coach shows up. Noah may try to hate the ex-Bear, their biggest rival team, but he just can’t ignore the pull to the younger man.

This is a mushy and gentle story about finding the courage to be yourself and finding the person who makes you strong.

It was a really lovely story.

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Synopsis

Noah Asher

Coach. That’s who I am. The strong, levelheaded, always-dependable coach.

But then my wife left me. And my daughter—well, according to the town—she ran off and left me too. Now I’m branded with scandal.

My reputation is at stake, and I have to play by the rules if I want to keep my job.

But then . . . Along comes Chance Leighton—a rule breaker with a scandal of his own. And worse, he’s not from here. He’s a Big Bend Bear.

I need to keep my head down and follow the rules of this town. This town that’s kept me in their perfect package since day one.

But he makes me want to rebel. To break free and live my life how I want.

So I have a choice to make. A choice that rivals all others. One that’ll change everything.

Chance Leighton

He’s the coach. I’m an outsider.

There’s no bigger rivalry than the one between the Big Bend Bears and the Kensley Panthers. But here I am, forced to work alongside Kensley’s stubborn, grumpy coach.

There’s no way he’ll give me a shot. He sees me how they all do—wrapped up in scandal and exiled from the only place I’ve ever called home.

Just for being who I truly am.

He follows the rules. He believes in a strict structure. It’s worked for him. But I want to chip away at this town’s idea of him and see the real man.

Can rivals become friends? Can they become even more?

I don’t know the answer to that, but we’re about to find out. Because he’s so much more than who this town makes him out to be.

It’s up to him, but I’m ready for the challenge if he’ll just reach out and take it.

About Nicole Dykes

Nicole Dykes is a wife and a professional assistant/mom to two gorgeous girls. Currently residing in Kansas, she's a lover of coffee, Kansas City Chiefs, and all things romance. She currently has over 20 published books with her Monroe and Adamson series being the most popular. She enjoys cranking up the angst level, making her readers cry, and turning those tears into the coffee that fuels her writing.

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