Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC of this contemporary YA Mamma Mia retelling! When aspiring musical actress Millie stumbled across her dad’s Livejournal account, she finds 3 women who could just possibly be her mom. As she searches for her mom, she pursues her Broadway dream and clashes with her high school rival.

I’ll be honest, I picked up this book because once upon a time I was a Livejournal user and I still have dear friends I made on that platform. I was ready for pure chaos and shenanigans. I definitely found a lot of chaos and cheesiness, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a sweet and entertaining story as well.

Engaging in this book takes a strong suspension of disbelief as the plot is frankly nonsensical. But if you can wade through the musical references, the romance between Millie and her “rival” in is super cute and there are some genuinely clever twists at the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this book, but I do wonder how well it will age. There’s practically a pop culture reference on every other page… Someday, will kids be writing papers on all of this like we do The Great Gatsby now? Or will it be too confusing and dated?

When You Get The Chance is Emma Lord's third novel, and as expected it was one I immensely enjoyed reading. Full of fun antics and family drama, this novel is able to mix Mamma Mia levels of drama with sincere moments and an adorable romance. Altogether, this is a great contemporary that you don't want to miss.

When it comes to Emma Lord novels, I don't need to read the synopsis to know I want to read the novel, but when I saw the synopsis for WYGTC I was quickly intrigued by it. The novel revolves around Millie, a teenager who is passionate about musical theatre and has gotten into a competitive pre-college programme. Problem is, her dad doesn't want her going all the way to a different state at such a young age; Millie's solution to this? Find her mum and ask for her permission, and in Mamma Mia-esque fashion she has three women she's narrowed it down to.

The entire concept sounded fun and chaotic, and it certainly lived up to it. The novel takes place in the span of only two weeks, but Lord is able to pack in so much that there isn't a slow moment at all. Between Millie getting to know all her potential mothers, dealing with the responsibilities as an intern (and trying not to bite the head off her rival/classmate Oliver), and figuring out what she really wants to do in the future, there is *so* much going on and it was hard to put the novel down.

Millie was a fun extroverted character, and she made for a great protagonist. She was loud and brash and charismatic, and I loved her despite some of her poor choices. Although she wasn't the most level-headed, she was incredibly sweet and earnest, so it would be hard not to like her.

Her passion for musical theatre really bounced off the page, and despite knowing so little about theatre myself I couldn't help but be excited about it with her. Similarly, her dad and her best friend (Teddy) both knew little about musical theatre but would listen to her and root for her because her ambition was so admirable. Even if you're not a fan of musical theatre, you will still be able to understand and enjoy this book!

I would say the romance is slowburn in terms of the book, but the story only spans two weeks so I am unsure if I can still call it that? Nonetheless, we get to see the relationship slowly blossom between Oliver and Millie, from bickering rivals to reluctant allies to something more.

Oliver and Mille had been at each other's necks for a couple years prior to the novel. While Millie was a thespian who loved to perform, Oliver preferred to be managing things behind the scenes with the same amount of passion and vigor as Millie. They were opposites, which made their interactions and Oliver as a character so fadcinsting to read. Millie was outgoing and outspoken, Oliver quiet and contemplative, and they would bash heads quite often, making for funny arguments and spats between them. it makes it even more worthwhile when we get to see them slowly start to bond.

With most Emma Lord novels, the romantic relationship is on par or secondary to the family relationships, and for this relationships take precedence.

i adored Millie's and Teddy's friendship. at first I thought they were siblings because they had such a close comradery. its always wonderful to read about male-female friendships that don't turn into relationships - not that a dislike friends to lovers! its just a nice change of pace. Despite the fact that Teddy wasn't into theatre, and Millie wasn't into geocache (a passion of Teddy's), they still took an interest in each other's passions and would go to events with the other, showing how deep their friendship was.

I really liked Millie's relationship with the three women she thought may be her mother. They all had things in common with her, and helped her grow and learn so much. It was so sweet to read, and showed that you don't need to have blood relation to be close to someone.

Overall, this was a fantastic novel I would have to recommend to all fans of YA contemporaries.

This was another heartfelt, funny contemporary romance from Emma Lord—the Mamma Mia retelling is original and fun, with enough nods to the original while also bringing a really new viewpoint. The romance arc was so satisfying, the scenes funny, and the themes brimming with emotional depth.

When Millie finds her Dad’s LiveJournal from 2003, she hatches a plan to find her mom, loosely inspired by Mamma Mia(she is a Broadway star in the making, after all).

This was so sweet and exactly what I needed to read! I love the premise - combing through her dad’s cringey blog entries and actually finding the women who appear there in the right time frame was chaotic and hilarious. The situations Millie ends up in are fun and meaningful, and I especially enjoyed the internship storyline with Oliver - it was all very sweet from the beginning even though they butt heads.

I enjoyed how it all weaves together, and I even cried during parts - it was lighthearted with just enough emotion to keep me invested in these characters. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fun New York setting and some quirky characters. It’s a bit of a love letter to theatre, and it left me feeling warm and happy.

3.5/5⭐️

Personally I wanted to like this one more than I did, but I’m sure many will like it unreservedly.

There are basically three plots going on…finding a mom you’ve never known, arch enemy angst/resolution and making decisions (as a teenager) about what comes next in realizing your dream.

The plot was fine, the writing was good. But I had a hard time liking Millie (the main character) most of the time. I understand that as a theater kid, she’s an extrovert who lives and breathes drama, both onstage and off. But she came off to me as abrasive and temperamental, and as she seemed to be spoiled and at the whims of her uncontrollable “Millie Moods” much of the time, I guess that’s not surprising? My favorite characters here were her bff Teddy and arch enemy Oliver.

Yes, I know this is YA, and there’s some growing up to be done, but if I could have responded more favorably to Millie and if the ending had not been so perfectly perfect, I would have enjoyed it far more.

My thanks to #NetGalley , #WednesdayBooks and the author for providing me the free early arc of #WhenYouGetTheChance for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I had high hopes for When You Get the Chance after absolutely adoring Tweet Cute and You Have a Match. When You Get the Chance exceeded all of my expectations! I LOVED it. Emma Lord knocked it out of the park once again!

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord

Millie has her sights set on stardom. She is a musical theater high school student in NYC but she doesn't quite have it all figured out yet. She was raised by her dad and his sister. she does not know her mother, but she knows her mother was involved in theater. She sets out on a quest to find her mother - she identifies three potential mothers and intertwines her lives with theirs in order to try to learn more about herself through an internship, dance classes, etc.

I struggled with this book. I felt exasperated by Millie's character at times, she was so overblown and dramatic. However, this is a YA book and that may be true to character for Millie. At one point one of the other characters said "I don't hate you, I'm exhausted by you". That stuck with me. Millie is a force to be reckoned with but it was a bit much for me. I will say that while I struggled to stay engaged with the book, it did resolve nicely, with Millie learning to reign herself in a bit. Overall, I'd rate it 3.5 stars,

This was pure YA perfection! I have a such a soft spot for Emma Lord - I mean, she's like a cool older sister on IG (I adore her). I love Mamma Mia so just knowing this was a gender-reversed version where our MC, Millie, needed to find her mom, sign me up!

The writing in this story flowed beautifully. As we follow Millie get into one mess after another, the story and who she is as an individual unfolds in such a pleasing way. It's like Emma Lord found the perfect recipe to give us just enough to remain invested and want to follow Millie. All of Millie's interactions were so great and full of amazing character growth. The enemies-to-lovers storyline was seriously top notch. Like damn, Emma Lord really knows the way to my heart.

The ending/epilogue was absolutely perfect! This family is just so huge and disorganized and a true mish mash but it works so well. You could just feel the happiness radiating off the page and my smile was huge through reading it.

Also, if you're still hesitant about reading this one - the reveal, I promise, is one that you will definitely not see coming AT ALL. I was genuinely shocked.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read an e-ARC :)

An adorable YA contemporary with Emma Lord's signature voice. However I miss the more romcom centric approach her debut Tweet Cute had.

Millie (short for Camille, although easily could be equated to Millie from Thoroughly Modern Millie) is a musical theatre nerd in the extreme. It’s good that she lives in New York because she would lost in a small town in the middle of nowhere. We follow her navigating through trying to get her single parent father to let her go away to a musical theatre pre-college, essentially skipping her senior year of high school. When he inevitably says no, her solution is to ask her mother to convince HER to let her go. Only problem, she’s never met her mother. She was dropped off by her mom on her dad’s doorstep when she was an infant, and Millie has been raised by him and his sister, Heather. When Millie discovers that there are 3 potential women who could be her mom living in the city, she takes matters into her own hands. The antics ensue from there.

One thing I loved about this premise, is how much Millie identifies that her situation is reminiscent of Mamma Mia. So far as she and her best friend Teddy, begin calling it her Millie Mia. This book is completely filled with an abundance of musical theatre references (which some may think are too much, but as a musical theatre nerd, I LOVED). And the relationships between Millie and all her supporting cast (hah hah) were very well developed. From her best friend across the hall Teddy, to her arch-nemesis Oliver, to her potential younger half-sister Chloe, her aunt Heather, and to her father, my personal favorite, Cooper. Each relationship feels fully fleshed out and has backstory. And I love how you learn about each of the characters in their lives OUTSIDE of Millie.

One of the biggest things this book also solidified for me. I may read YA books 95% of the time, but I’m in my mid 30s. Do I still fall for the clear love interest? Nope, I’m falling for the single dad every time.

All in all, I loved this book so much. Easy 5/5 from me for this book. My only little nitpicky issue, is that, throughout the whole book, “theatre” is spelled “theater.” Small gripe, but that’s just me. I had to get over it.

Emma lord writes enemies to lovers like none other! This book had me feeling absolutely giddy. I smiled at almost every interaction between Millie and Oliver. Millie is an extrovert in every way and even though I am the complete opposite (a total introvert) I really saw my 16 year old self in her. I really loved teddy and millies sibling relationship. It’s really nice to read about friends like that! This book was honestly one of the best I’ve read this year and I don’t even know how to form a coherent thought because my only thought is “AHHHHH I LOVE IT” I seriously can’t wait for everyone to read about the shenanigans that Millie and Oliver get into!!!

As expected Lord delivers an adorable, yet somewhat cerebral romcom with a satisfying conclusion. In this story, our protagonist, Millie, is a musical theater addict on her own “Millie Mia” quest for her birth mother. There are enough twists to keep the reader guessing and the enemies to lovers trope is well done. I usually can’t appreciate those relationships, but this one worked. Give this to any musical theater enthusiast.

Obsessed!! Seriously just obsessed with Millie and Oliver and Teddy and Heather and Cooper and the whole quirky gang! I’ve actually never seen Mamma Mia (remedying that ASAP), so I’m sure I missed a lot of references, but I loved following Millie’s journey to discover who her mom is! It’s such a great coming of age story as Millie finds a part of herself and a lot more along the way. I loved all of the theater and nerdy references. By the end you feel like Millie is your friend and is some ways that you are Millie and you won’t want the book to end.

I will read anything and everything that Emma Lord puts on a page of paper and binds together in book form.

This was absolutely a 5-star read for me that I couldn't put down. Just a funny, sweet, heart-warming story that everyone should give a read to.

Thank you for the early copy!

It had always just been Millie, her dad, and her aunt. That was their family. But, after discovering her father’s LiveJournal from his pre-Millie years, she embarked on her own “Millie Mia”, the search for her mother.

Can you see it? The big stupid grin I’m wearing. Well, it’s all due to Emma Lord. Once again, Lord has succeeded in lifting my spirits and filling me with joy. I might not have fully bought into what drove Millie to find her mother, but the journey was everything and more.

I swear, I wanted to be best friends with every character in this book. Our star, Millie, actually had a lot of star quality. Vibrant colors and musical notes were emitted from the page with each Millie encounter. She had that sort of B I G personality you expect from a theatre kid, but she also had a squishy heart and some insecurities too. I personally adored all sides of her.

Her aunt, her nemesis, her best friends — all of these characters endeared themselves to me, but it was dad that won my heart. I was just so taken by this man who found himself a single father at twenty years old. He spent all the years since trying to be the best dad he could. If that wasn’t enough, there was this one scene between him and Millie that was so touching that my heart melted. Actual goo. Yes, lots of feels.

As always, Lord had me laughing up a storm. In addition to being great characters, they also had witty personalities and engaged in some amusing conversations. Even if they did nothing, I would enjoy hearing their thoughts and verbal exchanges because they tended to elicit giggles and guffaws from me with each encounter.

The humor, the romance, the shenanigans — I expected them all, but I was surprised by how many twists Lord was able to throw in there. Well done! There were things I saw coming from a mile away, but many others that made me go 😲 WHAT!!! Then Lord wrote the most perfect ending, and BOOM! My sappy heart exploded. So good. It was simply perfection.

This may have been a search for her mother, but Millie found so much more than what she was looking for. She found love in a most unlikely place. She uncovered so many things about herself. She rediscovered the wonderful things she already had. If asked, I would describe this story as a bucket of sunshine which left me with a gooey heart and an ear-to-ear grin.

Emma Lord is my new favourite queen of sweet, fun and bighearted YA reads.

The only things bigger than Millie Price's personality and singing voice is her dream of becoming a Broadway star. What's standing in her way? Her introverted, single dad and her drama club rival, Oliver. When Millie accidentally finds her dad's old journal, she knows what she is going to do- find an ally in her theater loving mother who dropped her off on her dad's doorstep years ago. But how will digging into her past impact Millie's future?

As soon as Millie started rehearsing songs for her Mamma Mia audition, I knew what I was in for. This gender-swapped Mamma Millie storyline was adorable. Think Definitely Maybe but with tons of musical references and musical theater name drops. My sister is long-time Rent-head and I immediately started texting her while reading because I knew she would love it. This will definitely be the bible for theater kids everywhere.

One of the sweetest parts of the book was the father/daughter relationship. Millie's dad made the choice to be a single father when he was only 21 and Millie was the priority of his life. In turn, Millie grew up feeling that her father was parent enough. It was really heartwarming.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. You can pick up your copy of this gem when it's published on January 4 2022!

This was such a cute book. I loved the idea of the "reverse Mamma Mia" while trying to find her mother. Millie was such a fun character, and I enjoyed being with her on her journey. If you were/are a theatre kid, you will adore this book. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital arc of this title.

This is a fun romp behind the scenes of the musical theater industry in NYC as aspiring actress, Millie, prepares for her next steps after high school, takes a summer internship with her arch rival, Oliver, and starts a search for her birth mother.

This was quick and entertaining. There are numerous strong females in Millie’s life and for me this was a strength.

Millie herself is a bit neurotic and I did find the references to “Millie moods”, regular emotional breakdowns, overdone and not very believable.

There are sweet romance and many heartfelt family moments. Overall this is entertaining and not too deep.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Lord has quickly become one of my favorite YA authors. I just read Tweet Cute and You Have A Match a few weeks ago, and I loved them.

Millie (the main character) was very refreshing to read about. It's not the I'm-not-like-the-other-girls trope, but she's stands out when compared to other female protagonists in YA. You never know what she's going to do, and I loved that about her.

The romance was everything I could have asked for. It is important to note that, because romance isn't the main focus, you shouldn't go into this looking for purely a cute and fluffy romance. It is an enemies to lovers, and although I don't like the word "enemies" in this context, but that's the trope so,,,

The real story is about Millie trying to find her mother. There were some very cute moments with her potential moms. I really liked Millie's relationship with her father and aunt.

I love found family more than any other trope, and Millie and Teddy, her best friend, had that. They acted like siblings in every possible way.

Although this isn't my favorite book Emma Lord has written, I still really enjoyed it. It's a quick read and I enjoyed every second of it.

Actual rating: 4.5/5

When You Get the Chance stars Millie, a rising senior who has big Broadway dreams and the talent to back it up. She was raised by a single dad and aunt who have always supported her in all of her endeavors. But when she and her best friend, Teddy, stumble upon her dad’s LiveJournal page from 2003, she starts wondering more about her mom and sets off on a journey to find her in a very Mamma Mia-like fashion. Add in a rivals-to-lovers romance and a great cast of supporting characters and you’ve got an award-worthy read!
I highly recommend listening to the Mamma Mia soundtrack while reading this one just to really give yourself the full immersive experience. This book was full of theater and Broadway references as well as a lot of love for Nee York City. If you’re a fan of bright lights in the big city, this one is definitely for you.
Millie was such a fun and energetic main character. She was truly infectious and magnetic and I was rooting for her throughout the whole story. I was totally emotionally invested in her goal of finding her mom and pursuing her dream of starting in a musical. I loved that she was confident in herself but also showed character growth over the course of the book.
This was a fun and fast read that focused a lot on family, finding and being yourself and creating the perfect milkshake. It was super sweet and I can’t wait to keep reading more books by this author!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!