this was a great sequel!

i got an arc for the verifiers when it first came out, back in 2022, and i liked it! it was a very interesting concept, one that i definitely was not familiar with, but it hooked me. i reread it a couple days ago, and when i found out that a sequel was coming out this year, i requested it eagerly. i think overall that the rivals is better than the verifiers, and that i'm really eager to see where this series is going.

this book follows claudia lin, new partner at veracity, a dating detective agency. she and her partners, becks and squirrel, are working to uncover the secrets behind the synthetic accounts on dating profiles, and the stakes are upped from the last book. it also follows claudia's relationship with her family. i thought this book was written better than the first book; i found myself a bit confused while reading the first book, and i think this book was more clear and straightforward in its writing. i thought the plot was really inventive as well; all these loose threads were weaving together.

the protagonist, claudia, is someone who's quite easy to root for; her voice is so interesting and she is a compelling character, especially with her relationships to her siblings. i really like how her and becks' relationship was developed throughout the book; the scene at the concert??? i was rooting so hard for them.

i think this sequel is really quite good and a fitting sequel to the first book. i would definitely reccomend this to mystery and thriller fans, and i can't wait to see how the story concludes. four stars!

thanks to netgalley and knopf for the arc! 

  the people (me) demand a becks and claudia kiss and at least 1 (ONE) acknowledgement of them being closer than friends in book 3 or we riot