What do you think?
Rate this book
THE RIVAL
The Rival is the last volume of THE ROYAL MISTRESS Trilogy, following the love life of Chief Mulatshawe Ratshali.
Linda, who has a deadly crush on the Chief, is prepared to go to all depths to be his second wife. The culture allows Chief Mulatshawe to marry as many wives as he can, but is the Queen prepared to welcome a second wife?
Linda, who has a deadly crush on the Chief, is prepared to go to all depths to be his second wife. The culture allows Chief Mulatshawe to marry as many wives as he can, but is the Queen prepared to welcome a second wife?
Paperback
Published October 25, 2019
22 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 28, 2019
Takalani M joins a growing crop of young black women writers who have created their own limitless boundaries from the barriers created by the literary establishment's continued centering of work that is "refined".
This is her 3rd book in #theroyalmistressseries and the chutzpah of her refusal, as a black woman, to be told which stories she is "allowed" to tell, is a hallmark of her writing. She has ensured, through this series, that people from a small village in Venda are seen and heard. She explores taboos, stereotypes and the idea of love.
The narrative revolves around Linda, Ria, Rotshi, Adelaide, Aunt Florence and Mula kept me company. The narrating is lacking as the form lets it down but, the content brought to the surface so many themes for interrogation. The Rival is a story set in a rural village in Venda and the characters are battling chieftancy, the responsibilities and obligations of the queen, Ria. Ria is a daughter, an entrepreneur with a budding business situated in Gauteng, the chief, Mula's wife, a mother, friend and sister-in-law. All these roles place a huge burden on her and she has to find a semblance of balance. Enter Linda, who is The Seven Deadly Sins personified and is hell-bent on taking her "rightful place" as the queen.The idea that Linda was willing to settle for thin love while Chief Mula's love for Ria was black gold, thick and valuable. Both women are portrayed as real black women. Not imbokodo for anyone. Ria steadfastly refused to join her husband till the matter of a second wife is sorted. Linda went to the ends of the earth for crumbs from the chief's table. Both women are uncompromisingly ambitious and demanded attention. And then there's The Matriarch. You cannot have a royal saga without Makhadzi.
The Rival has the makings of high drama and will definitely keep you entertained for hours.
At the end of my reading, I had to interrogate the title. Who was the real rival in The Rival?. My jury is still out on that🤔. The ending hinted at book 4. Watch this space. Gift yourself a copy of The rival these holidays or get yourself the complete series. The books are readable as standalone titles. I haven't read the first two and I didn't have to to follow the story.
Happy holiday from my shelf to yours🧚♀️🎁✊🏿🥂
This is her 3rd book in #theroyalmistressseries and the chutzpah of her refusal, as a black woman, to be told which stories she is "allowed" to tell, is a hallmark of her writing. She has ensured, through this series, that people from a small village in Venda are seen and heard. She explores taboos, stereotypes and the idea of love.
The narrative revolves around Linda, Ria, Rotshi, Adelaide, Aunt Florence and Mula kept me company. The narrating is lacking as the form lets it down but, the content brought to the surface so many themes for interrogation. The Rival is a story set in a rural village in Venda and the characters are battling chieftancy, the responsibilities and obligations of the queen, Ria. Ria is a daughter, an entrepreneur with a budding business situated in Gauteng, the chief, Mula's wife, a mother, friend and sister-in-law. All these roles place a huge burden on her and she has to find a semblance of balance. Enter Linda, who is The Seven Deadly Sins personified and is hell-bent on taking her "rightful place" as the queen.The idea that Linda was willing to settle for thin love while Chief Mula's love for Ria was black gold, thick and valuable. Both women are portrayed as real black women. Not imbokodo for anyone. Ria steadfastly refused to join her husband till the matter of a second wife is sorted. Linda went to the ends of the earth for crumbs from the chief's table. Both women are uncompromisingly ambitious and demanded attention. And then there's The Matriarch. You cannot have a royal saga without Makhadzi.
The Rival has the makings of high drama and will definitely keep you entertained for hours.
At the end of my reading, I had to interrogate the title. Who was the real rival in The Rival?. My jury is still out on that🤔. The ending hinted at book 4. Watch this space. Gift yourself a copy of The rival these holidays or get yourself the complete series. The books are readable as standalone titles. I haven't read the first two and I didn't have to to follow the story.
Happy holiday from my shelf to yours🧚♀️🎁✊🏿🥂
November 26, 2020
This is my absolute favorite book in the series, I love how the characters have grown from the first book and how they stand their ground and do what they believe in.
June 27, 2020
This book captured the character of a true villain. The character of Linda was captured so well that I just didn’t like the girl throughout the book. I took everything she did personally and then there’s Aunt Flo - the least about her - the better. It was interesting to read - and I would rate it 3.5 out of 5. This is the last book of the trilogy- but it still left me wanting more. I feel like the ending was not complete.
August 21, 2020
Oh buy this Linda charector we hate her! Unlike the first mistress whome I fell in love with, this girl is rachet and her trying to kill the wife is sickening. The overall book is phenomenal and well written describing places and people very well I can picture exactly what they are wearing and what they look like.
September 28, 2022
I am not happy with Linda. I felt she had it easy, it was a wonderful read though
April 15, 2025
It is a fictional love story of a Venda prince, his commoner wife and a mistress. This book shares an overview of the Venda culture and what it really means to be Royalty.
Basic Plot: Mula is a Venda prince who just became a doctor in his village, where he has plans of building a well functional clinic for his people. He is set to be crowned chief of his land as his father is late and get married to his wife Rea who is a commoner. Mula got introduced to Linda at a party by his uncle and only to find out the she’s a nurse at the clinic he works. Linda who becomes the obsessive dangerous mistress.
As far as the plot is concerned- parts of it worked out and some really didn’t. I mean there was absolutely nothing outstanding about the storyline. I felt like it was just a typical recycled Venda love story of a prince who is head over heels in love with a commoner and their love stands the test of time but conquers all .
Her writing is interesting but the spelling, grammar and punctuation errors in this book are really distracting and easily noticeable as they’re being repeated through out the book.
It’s a sequel of of three books but I only read the 3rd and read reviews about the 1st two and it turns out the storyline is just recycled and stretched.
Basic Plot: Mula is a Venda prince who just became a doctor in his village, where he has plans of building a well functional clinic for his people. He is set to be crowned chief of his land as his father is late and get married to his wife Rea who is a commoner. Mula got introduced to Linda at a party by his uncle and only to find out the she’s a nurse at the clinic he works. Linda who becomes the obsessive dangerous mistress.
As far as the plot is concerned- parts of it worked out and some really didn’t. I mean there was absolutely nothing outstanding about the storyline. I felt like it was just a typical recycled Venda love story of a prince who is head over heels in love with a commoner and their love stands the test of time but conquers all .
Her writing is interesting but the spelling, grammar and punctuation errors in this book are really distracting and easily noticeable as they’re being repeated through out the book.
It’s a sequel of of three books but I only read the 3rd and read reviews about the 1st two and it turns out the storyline is just recycled and stretched.
July 8, 2020
Takalani books 🥺 the best I tell you. Just buy the book you won’t regret it. So this book it a continuation of the Adelaide the royal mistress. Spoilers Adelaide turns out to be a good person after all. Something bad happens to Rea😢 (which is my favorite character in the book). And the prince (I don’t remember his name) leaves the royal house. To find out why. Just buy the book y’all.😌
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2020
ILOVED this series Takalani thank you for this. After reading this I'm interested in the Venda culture even more.
September 16, 2020
Venda its people, its crops, its valleys ….you take us there girl!!! These side chicks are crazy though yehheni boh!!
October 15, 2021
Damn that ending..i love this book .The way Mulatshawe sacrifices everything for Rialivhuwa its amazing and just perfect
Want to read
June 7, 2022How do I open it... I downloaded this app now I cannot read the book please help
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews