Mad Rivals

The Bradley Legacy, Book 1

By: Lisa Suzanne

Narrated by: Dane Anderson, Avery Caris

A steamy Pro Football, Business Rivals, Enemies to Lovers Romance from Amazon Top Ten Bestselling author Lisa Suzanne.

Pro football legend Madden Bradley was never supposed to be anything but my enemy. With one season left on his contract, he’s set to take over his family’s empire, and I’m his business rival. Forced into a partnership we both resent, the last place I should be is tangled in his sheets.

Now we’re stuck working together, and the more we clash, the more explosive the tension becomes…until it finally detonates.

He’s maddening, charming, and completely addictive. And when he murmurs exactly what he’s going to do to me, I forget that he’s supposed to be the enemy.

Our forbidden romance has to stay between us. Our families can’t find out. Our companies can’t know. The truth could destroy everything we’ve worked for.

But when we discover a buried secret together, Madden faces an impossible choice:

The legacy he was born to lead… or the woman he was never supposed to fall for.

©2025 Lisa Suzanne (P)2025 Lisa Suzanne

Fun New Series

I enjoyed diving into the Bradley brothers, and am looking forward to all their stories! What I really liked about this story is that it focused on what comes after football and left Madden really questioning his future and how he wanted it all to play out.

I enjoyed the rivalry, but loved when they decided to work together so much more!

The narration was great! I loved both narrators!

Mad Rivals: An Absolute Touchdown!

Mad Rivals by Lisa Suzanne, narrated by the talented Dane Anderson and Avery Caris, is an absolute home run. This steamy, pro-football, enemies-to-lovers romance introduces readers to the Bradley family and their legacy, and what a start it is.

The story centers on Madden "Mad Brad" Bradley, a pro-football legend who has his world flipped upside down when he's traded in his final season. To make matters even more complicated, his final year is spent working with his business rival, Kennedy Van Buren. Kennedy, who is a force of her own, has just made a tough choice for the good of her family and is trying to navigate a new role in their company. From the moment they first clash, their chemistry is undeniable.

Madden is the kind of book boyfriend all others will be measured against. He's maddening, charming, and utterly addictive. The way he pursues Kennedy is a force of nature, and their forbidden romance burns up the pages. They're forced into a partnership they both resent, but the more they clash, the more explosive the tension becomes, leading to a connection that cannot be denied.

As Madden and Kennedy navigate their personal and professional worlds, they uncover a buried family secret. This discovery forces Madden to make an impossible choice: the legacy he was born to lead or the woman he was never supposed to fall for.

This book is a stellar start to the Bradley Legacy series, perfectly setting the stage for future books while introducing us to a family that will steal your heart. The narration is top-notch, and the story will have you completely hooked from beginning to end.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

4.5 Can Rivals Really Work Together Stars?!

I love it when a favorite author starts a new series and we get introduced to an entirely new family. With this first book in her The Legacy series, we meet Madden Bradley and Kennedy VanBuren who’s family are archnemesis in the construction world in the Chicago area. Although their fathers know each other, surprisingly neither of them have met before until a fateful morning in a Starbucks in what is one of the best meet-cutes!

There’s a chemistry between the two of them, and just when they thought they’d never see each other again, because no numbers were exchanged, their lives change irreparably when they both end up on a build site to provide a bid for a new development of a commercial and residential area. When they end up having to work together, well, we get Ms. Suzanne at her witty best because these two go back and forth both with words and facial expressions that culminate in an oh so sexy escapade at a gala they’re both attending with their respective families. And this is the start of a relationship that moves quickly and finds both Madden and Kennedy questioning things they know and thought they knew.

The draw they have to each other is what neither of them knew they needed. As the story moves along and their love grows, they face some challenges with Madden’s football season starting and Kennedy making big changes so she can be with Madden and take on the roll she’s been groomed for since she was young. There’s also a twist that I wasn’t expecting that added an element to the book that challenges everyone and everything and it kept me on my toes because it’s a doozy and I was there for every little detail because holy moly I wasn’t expecting that!

I was lucky enough to listen to the audiobook of this story and the new to me narrators, Dane Anderson and Avery Caris did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life. They embodied Ms. Suzanne’s words letting me fall into all the emotions of this book. The witty banter, tender and swoony moments, and oh so steamy sexy times are that much richer thanks to their expert narration. Listening as both Madden and Kennedy grow both individually and together was a fabulous listening experience.

This book moves at a lightning pace which fits the story perfectly. Throughout the book we meet most of Madden’s siblings, and of course both of their parents, which also sets the tone for future books in this series. I fell hard and fast for these two and I think you will too! I think I know who the next book is about, but I’ll hold my opinion to myself just in case I’m wrong LOL!

Good story

This book was okay. The main characters in the first half of the book were very annoying. The second half made up for the first half! I liked how it focused more on the business part of the story than more of the football romance side.

Tropes: strangers to lovers, enemies to lovers, Romeo and Juliet vibes, business Rivals, he falls first, forced proximity, forbidden love.

Favorite quote: "

Overall good!!!

The narration was great by Dane and Avery. Always enjoy Avery narrating and Dane was great. His voice was nice and deep and gravely just how I like it.

The dirty talk by the MMC was on point and I was here for that! The overall story was good and I like the bit of mystery.

That all being said….

I HATE third act breakups! The book was going very well until I realized it was going well and there were still 4 hours left. That’s when I realized there’s going to be either miscommunication or third act breakups or both. Honestly the book stalled out for me about 80%. I was ready for it to be done because it felt like it was dragging out.