The Rivals Books in Order
Part ofGeneva Lee Books in OrderFind The Rivals books by Geneva Lee in order, with summaries, series background, and a guide to Adair and Sterling’s second-chance romance.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
3 books
Backlash
by Geneva Lee
2020
Adair thought Sterling had broken her for the last time, but their past keeps tightening around them. As secrets surface, love and revenge blur, and both must decide what survival will cost.
Blacklist
by Geneva Lee
2020
Adair MacLaine and Sterling Ford once burned hot enough to ruin each other. Years later, he returns as the investor who can save, or destroy, her family empire, and the old fire is far from out.
Bombshell
by Geneva Lee
2020
Sterling and Adair finally know how deep their bond runs, but the truth they have chased could still tear them apart. Betrayals, family warfare, and old crimes push their love into open conflict.
Series background & context
The Rivals is a three-book second-chance romance with sharp edges. It follows Adair MacLaine and Sterling Ford, two people who loved each other young, hurt each other badly, and meet again when neither of them is soft enough to make the reunion easy.
Blacklist starts after years of separation. Adair comes from the MacLaine world of family name, inheritance, and expectations. Sterling once arrived at Valmont with little more than a scholarship and a chip on his shoulder. Their love burned fast, but pressure from Adair’s family helped tear them apart.
Then Sterling comes back with power.
By the time Adair’s father is dead and the MacLaine empire is in trouble, Sterling is no longer the poor boy who could be pushed aside. He is the investor who can decide the family company’s fate, which makes every old feeling dangerous. Desire, resentment, and revenge are all tangled together from the start.
The series keeps tightening through Backlash and Bombshell. Adair and Sterling have to deal not only with what happened between them, but with the larger secrets around their families, fortunes, and the past they thought they understood. The romance is intense, but the suspense matters too. There are betrayals, old crimes, and questions about who is really standing with them.
The emotional engine is simple: they know each other too well to pretend nothing happened, and not well enough to trust each other easily.
Read the trilogy in order. This is not a set of loose standalones. Each book picks up the same relationship and the same fight, pushing Adair and Sterling closer to the truth and asking whether love can survive when both people have learned how to wound first.
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