Book info

• Title Rivals
• Author Jilly Cooper
• Year 1988
• Genre Contemporary

The glamorous, cutthroat world of 1980s British television is all about power, a time when the affluent elite exist in a bubble of immense wealth and influence, and will use any means to get what they want. Lord Baddingham is desperate to retain his Corinium TV franchise, and to do so he’s hired Declan O’Hara, an Irish talk show mega-star. Baddingham has also enticed on board Cameron Cook, a gorgeous and brash executive, to produce Declan’s program. But Declan and Cameron detest each other, soon provoking a storm of controversy. Enter into the fray everyone’s favourite hate-to-love-him bad-boy, Rupert Campbell-Black. As a rival group emerges to pitch for the franchise, reputations ripen and decline, true love blossoms and burns, marriages are made and shattered, and everyone is competing—in bed and in the boardroom—to come out on top.

Thoughts

This is a fantastic sequel to Riders, and obviously the basis for the very popular TV show. I listened to the audiobook which was read by Georgia Tennant, who was fantastic, as always. Usually when I’m reading a book of a TV show I’ve seen, I picture those characters, but actually for this, they’re so well described, they took on their own form in my mind so that I sometimes forgot who they were played by in the show. Except David Tennant, obviously. But yes, what an incredible book. A few moments and mentions that are ‘of its time’ but nothing too egregious, so lots to enjoy.

Rating: 5 / 5