Loved the cover on this book and the whole story being based around making candy. It gave an interesting perspective to the candy making business and how to beat out the competition. It is the year 1910, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Lucy Kendall has just returned home from a trip abroad to find her father's candy business about to go under and his health also. She will go to battle against their biggest competitor, the man she believes stole their original recipe and made their fortune with it.

But Lucy wasn't planning on Charlie Clarke, the son of the "ruthless" candy company, who is trying to put his past behind him and learn to forgive a father who left home when he was young and never kept in touch. Now Charlie has found his father, wants to help him in the business, but helping him might jeopardize any chance he might have with befriending Lucy.

Lucy is a force to be reckoned with, but she also has a mother who is just as strong willed as she is. Lucy's attraction to Charlie, and visa versa, is fun to watch and I loved how the author shared the "banter" back and forth between them. It was a delightful escape to a time when things were done a little differently, and a time to enjoy the delicious idea of creating a tasty bit of sweetness. ( )

This was a "sweet" story. I really liked the 2 main characters and I found it funny at times of upset Lucy would get over things. I had to stop and remember the time frame for when this took place. The author did a great job at making me hungry through the whole book at want to eat candy. She also did a great job of making me feel like I was there with Lucy and going through what she went through. I liked Charlie from the start and at the end of the book I liked him even more. ( )

Siri Mitchell consistently creates well-researched and beautifully told historical novels. Unrivaled is another winner from this talented author. If you like historically accurate books with realistic characters and a story like no other, then you need to check out this book. The romance is a sweet addition too!

The world of St. Louis in the early 1900s comes to life in Unrivaled. There is so much change occuring — new modes of transportation and innovation in manufacturing. Yet some things need never change, like faith and love and family. Told from the first person perspective of the two main characters, Unrivaled explores the world of candy making and the sometimes shady business practices of the day. It is also a wonderful and sometimes humorous love story between two endearingly flawed characters. Charlie and Lucy have grown up in two very different worlds, yet have the same insecurity — not knowing just where they fit in among high society, business and their families. They also have a faulty perception of God and their standing with Him. And although candy is the subject at hand, their is nothing fluffy or insubstantial in Mitchell’s message.

For the history buff, Mitchell’s afterword sheds a lot of light on what is fiction and what is factual in Unrivaled — a not to be missed part of this book. I am always amazed at how much research goes into the writing of historical fiction, and Mitchell is a pro!

Recommended.

(Thanks to Bethany House for a review copy. The opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

Seems I'm the odd reviewer out of the rest on this one...
The premise was good, but the story and characters didn't add up to good reading for me. I am not impressed with the immature protagonist and never did come to any 'liking' of her. Tantalized by the great cover, disappointed by the lack of character content. She was childish and mean, devious in her attempts to keep her father's candy company afloat, and never questioned blatantly obvious discrepancies between her mother's comments and her own understanding of their loss of the candy recipe that made another family rich... She agreed to a marriage of convenience without any depth of feeling and all emotions seemed entirely surface. No questions about her fiance's activities or where he spent his time - Waaaay too naive to keep my interest. I was constantly putting it down in frustration, then picking up later just to keep my commitment to read and review. Sorry to say it was so...


I received Unrivaled as a review copy. ( )

Sometimes things have to get worse before life can get better. Charlie Clarke and Lucy Kendall are both at low points in their lives. Charlie finds himself behind bars for another man's crime and reluctantly agrees to work for his father as a way of creating a new start. Lucy returns from Europe to find her father gravely ill and his candy business, City Confectionery, near closure. Determined to create a new candy that will trump Royal Taffy, the candy recipe that was stolen from her father by the owner of Standard Manufacturing, Lucy's endeavors put her directly at odds with Charlie, the new promotions manager at Standard Manufacturing and son of the recipe thief. Any attraction and relationship between two people from such opposing stances seems impossible; yet, Lucy and Charlie find themselves drawn to each other over and over again. Read more in Unrivaled by Siri Mitchell.

I enjoyed reading Unrivaled by Siri Mitchell. The chapters alternated between Lucy's and Charlie's points-of-view (pov) and, contrary to my expectation, Charlie's pov was actually my favorite. Lucy's immaturity was annoying at times – Charlie probably thought the same thing about her quite often – but the character growth that she experienced soothed the irritation. The story line was intriguing and I liked reading about the actual candy-making process. I'm not sure if there is a sequel planned, but I did feel like there were a few open ends that weren't fully resolved. In spite of that, I found the ending to be a sweet treat and I do recommend this book to anyone looking for a clean, sweet romance.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." ( )