Emma Lord’s novels never fail to engage me meaning that with her three novels (all of which I’ve read), I either liked them or really liked them and in the case of When You Get A Chance, it was the former. I liked it but the level of disbelief I needed to suspend paired with the overall outlandish-ness made it hard for me to love. That said, it was still entertaining!

Millie Price is determined to become a Broadway star and is willing to go through some enormous hoops to get there. She’s loud and brash (the total opposite of me and admittedly hard for me to relate to) but I admired her tenacity to go after her dreams. Her introverted dad, who raised her alone, is supportive but doesn’t want her to leave home to pursue said dream. When Millie randomly discovers her dad’s LiveJournal from 2003 (this made me roll my eyes and also aged me quite a bit because now that I think about it, am I the same age as her dad?!), she decides to use his entries as clues to find her mom, who’s been AWOL for most of her life, to help support her. She narrows it down to three women and proceeds to worm her way into each of their lives to figure out who’s the one. It’s very Mamma Mia-like, which is kind of the point, and downright insane in my humble opinion. But like I said, she’s determined. And what ended up grounding this plot point (aside from the group of level-headed people in her life, who I all adored) is that it’s not just about finding her mom to help support her Broadway dreams. It’s about finding herself and discovering her roots, and I think that’s something we all can relate to.

So fun! I wonder what the experience would be for someone who doesn't know the Mamma Mia plot as well as I do. This had a really satisfying ending where everyone ends up happy.

Gender-swapped version Momma Mia, I am here for that. Add an enemy to lover romance and you had me at hello. 😂 The drama nerd in me, loved this story. Millie is a force to be reckoned with and I loved her escapades. I also loved her relationship with Oliver and all their banter:

**3.5 stars**
When You Get the Chance is an uplifting and feel good contemporary young adult. The characters all added so much depth to the story. Millie was spirited and entertaining. The love interest brought out some perfect nemesis vibes. The family dynamics in here were top notch. It was a joy to read this one.

This is my favourite Emma Lord book yet. I loved every character, the made-family trope, and Millie was just a delight.

Loved this book! Loved the characters. ! Quirky and fun. You fall in love with all of the characters, I laughed often at the story because it’s all relatable. It’s a definite must-read for those that enjoy a good story!

Emma Lord continues to prove herself a favorite of mine in the YA contemporary category! When You Get the Chance was just as good as her previous books, making me smile, tear up and laugh multiple times while reading!

I've noticed that when it comes to YA contemporary, these past 2-ish years i've been having a hard time relating to the main characters or just overall enjoying my experience reading it like I did a few years back. Because of that, I've been very selective over which books in this category I request or pick up to read. Two authors that are still always immediately added to my TBR whenever a new book gets announces are Jenn Bennett, and most recently, Emma Lord. I fell in love with Lord's storytelling after Tweet Cute, and You Have a Match was just as good and entertaining to me! So of course I was so excited to start When You Get The Chance! it quickly became one of my most anticipated books of 2022, and I literally squealed when I got the email that I was approved for an ARC. And I am happy to report that it was as good as I expected!

The first thing that really caught my attention was the plot. Musical theater and gender-swapped Mamma Mia (as in the main character is looking for her mom instead of her dad)?!? YES PLEASE. And honestly, it was probably, along with the romance (which I'll get to in a moment) my favorite part of the story! I loved getting to know the 3 women who could potentially be Millies mom, I loved the relationships Millie was able to develop with all of them and I loved how different they were from one another. I specially loved Steph and the special relationship she created with Millie throughout the story.

Now, for the romance. I find enemies to lovers a bit overrated, so personally, there is just a few types that I enjoy. Millie and Oliver are drama club rivals that are constantly bickering over the smallest of differences. And soon they find themselves having to compete against each other for a summer internship. From the very first interaction between the two I already loved their little banter, but it got even better when they started battling for a job, and even better when that disliked started turning into a sweet friendship and then, before Millie knew it, a crush. Emma Lord always knocks it out of the part with the romance in her books. Her couple's interactions are always so fun to read about, their chemistry always clear on page. Oliver and Millie weren't different; I found myself rooting for them from the very start!

I loved Millie's inner monologue. It made her POV super fun to read about even though I did not relate to her at all. She is very extroverted and loud, and I am the complete opposite, but even then, I think it speaks to Emma Lord's amazing writing skills that I still managed to understand Millie and root for her to succeed. Was she a little bit childish sometimes? Sure. But honestly, it didn't bother me because I was already enjoying the story too much to care.

I loved the reveal of who Millie's mom is as well. I thought it was perfect!

Overall, another amazing book by Emma Lord. I cannot wait to see what she writes next. Based on her previous works, I'm sure it will be amazing.

I recommend this book for anyone who loves Broadway musicals and a good mystery. Millie was a pretty unlikable character at the start of the story, but I quickly grew to love her!

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillian for an eARC of this book.
From the author of Tweet cute, this book is a gender bend Mamma Mia retelling. Following Milly who has never known her mother and find some old journal posts from her father about three women who could potentially be her mother. She decides to go undercover to meet all three of these women and to find out which one is her mother. In order to get to know one of her potential mothers, she decides to take on this internship where she is forced to work with her arch enemy Oliver.
First off I really enjoyed the character of Millie, and absolutely loved all the Mamma Mia references. I was very curious how they would do this as a gender bend version and I thought the author did a good job with that. Where the story was lacking and I think I would’ve enjoyed it more is if there was a little more focus on the romance and relationship developing between Millie and Oliver. Especially considering they are enemies and it is essentially a enemies to lovers trope there really needed to be more development. I found that we didn’t get enough of the relationship growth between the two characters which made the ending between them a little unrealistic. I just didn’t really feel a connection between the two.
Overall, it was a good contemporary read but I expected more.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I adored this book. Millie is such a fully developed character and you find yourself rooting for her throughout. As a Broadway fan myself, I loved all the theater and showtunes references. The book, while generally a feel-good story, deals with mental health, unwanted pregnancy and issues of abandonment in a fresh and thoughtful manner.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This book is a theater kid book for sure but not have been one I still love it now I don't get the references but I love the story line it a mamma Mia themed going but with a twist. Millie Not my fave she very over the tope at times, but i still feel for the girl. She makes mistakes and learns from them. God I want to gush about this books but i wont because of spoilers. so I'm going to finish with this it was slow at times but I still love this book.

3.5 stars.
While this isn't my favorite Emma Lord book, it's still a pretty cute story. Millie's relationship with her dad is a sweet one and I loved all of their talks together. Millie comes across old Livejournal entries by her dad that talks about her absent mother. She figures that there are three possible women that could be her mother so she decides to take the summer to see which one it is. As she describes it, it's a "Millie Mia" situation but real life isn't a charming musical. Despite her desire to be a Broadway star and someday be in a musical. In her quest to get to know her possible mothers, she takes a Broadway dancing class, is in contention for an internship, and bonds with her possible half-sister. There's also butting of heads between a male classmate of hers that morphs into something else entirely during the summer. The story is sweet and entertaining where the family relationships are the strongest part. I would recommend it if you're looking for a light YA read.

If you love NYC, Broadway, musical theater and some cute high school romance, you will adore this book. Living only an hour away from the city, I could picture the places and imagine it all playing out.

Millie Price is a girl on a mission. After an embarrassing video from when she was 10 is starting to lost its influence on her theater dreams, Millie is determined to be accepted and attend a musical theater high school in California. Her father is not on board with this dream. As a single dad parenting with his sister, he is especially attached to Millie and doesn't like the idea of her being so far away. And then there's the question of who her mom is. When she stumbles across an old online diary of her father's, Millie decides to take her summer and narrow down between 3 possible suspects that still live in the city. She takes on a job, dance lessons, and more to figure this out. And then there's her arch-nemesis who is trying to take her internship away from her. It's just so cute!! I would definitely let my teens read this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Millie Price really wants to be a Broadway star. When she gets into a pre-college acting program she thinks this is her big break, but her father doesn’t want her to go to school across country. Millie decides to track down the mother who abandoned her as a baby to get her approval. This leads her to an unexpected internship, the possibility of a half sister, and dreaded dance classes, but which of these ladies is her mother? And why did she leave Millie with her father after having her.

I really enjoyed this book and loved the gender bending take on Mamma Mia. There are so many Broadway references throughout the story which I loved. NYC was the perfect setting for this book, and I loved how the internship took Millie and her nemesis, Oliver, all around it.

There were so many great characters in this book like Teddy, Millie’s best friend, Oliver, her rival, and Heather, her aunt. My biggest issue was Millie. I found her “Millie moods” to be a bit much and didn’t love how dramatic she was. I know that’s how her character is meant to be, but I really preferred the parts of the story when she wasn’t over the top.

I loved Oliver and Millie’s relationship throughout the book and seeing them go from enemies to friends to maybe a bit more. I also liked that this storyline wasn’t the main focus of the book, but was just the right amount of romance and focused on the growth of both characters.

Although I was able to figure out who Millie’s mom was, it didn’t ruin the book for me. This was my first Emma Lord book, and now I’m excited to read her others.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is available now.

So fun and sparkling for any theater, New York, or Mama Mia lovers. I loved the mom mystery and it kept me guessing until the end.

This was a really cute and quick read. Definitely a case where everything lines up perhaps a little too perfectly for the main character. The highlight for me was the relationship between her and her dad.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for sending me an advanced copy of When You Get The Chance by Emma Lord. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hi, can Millie Price be my new best friend because she is everything amazing talented and cool about theatre nerds (and I should know, I am one!). Millie and her moods make me want to give her the biggest hug ever. and who doesn't love that cover?? A beautiful lovely inspiring novel of growing up, down, in and away. I want to say more but I can't begin to describe how beautifully hearted and talented Emma Lord is with her writing.

I love St. Martin's Press it's one of my favourite publishing houses and they continue to release incredible writing I can't wait for everything they do next.

In general, I’ve found myself avoiding YA for a while now. The characters are often melodramatic to a fault and unlikable. I find them far too exhausting to read. The conflict is avoidable and the emotions are forced. Emma Lord’s writing is NOT that. She writes teenage characters with just the right amount of melodrama (because, let’s be real, teenagers ARE melodramatic). Their emotions are BIG and their problems are big, to them at least. They’re not cliches, they’re just very young people learning to navigate the world around them the best they can. Millie is no different. She wasn’t my favorite character, and was insufferable at times, but she does grow quite a bit throughout the story. Oliver is sweet and grounding, Teddy is a solid best friend, the side characters they meet along the way are fun. I saw the big twist coming but I don’t think it was overly obvious.

This was a cute YA contemporary story! I really liked the main character, Millie, and her search for her mom. At times I felt that the story relied a little too heavily on the reader knowing about the plot of Mamma Mia, which I could see detracting from some reader's enjoyment of this one. Millie was an interesting main character and I liked seeing her come into herself as the story went on. I also really enjoyed the entire ensemble cast, especially Teddy, Oliver, and Chloe. I do wish we explored their characters more outside of Millie, but they made up a good group of friends and love interests. Plotwise, it was a pretty standard YA story with a slight Broadway twist. That is to say, it was a quick and easy read but still entertaining. I wanted a little more from the search for Millie's mom, and the ending I thought was pretty predictable.

Overall, this was a quick and fun read!