I fear that Emma Lord is a two hit wonder author for me. I absolutely loved her first few books and the rest have fallen flat including THE RIVAL.

Set on a college campus, this rivals to lovers was filled with lots of banter and quirky characters but I found myself skimming through and not connecting nor caring much for any of the relationships.

After only feel okay about Emma Lord's last YA novel, I was excited for her newest one to be back in a college campus setting - and I loved it! I started as a journalist major (and then pivoted to PR), so the plot surrounding trying to make the college's zine and become a writer was everything!

I loved the childhood friends turned fierce competitors aspect of the book - someone who know you so deeply, but you are still pitted against each other time and time again. I also loved being able to explore the college campus through their eyes - and hear about some of the ridiculous student organizations.

There was also a dash of fighting against family expectations and some coming-of-age once finally away from your family - all wrapped up with a romance. It was everything and I absolutely loved it.

And now I need pancakes.

Oh I enjoyed this one. A YA rom com of two enemies to lovers (rivals) set in college. I loved the banter between Sebastian and Sadie - and related to their characters. This one was easy for me to get into, a great palette cleanser between books. Overall - I thought the story was cute and entertaining - and I do always enjoy an academic setting. Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is more frenemies to lovers since they have been friends since they were babies and then frenemies since they were like in elementary school where everything got more enemy than friend at least at school since with family they have a super friends front. So Sadie thought she was rid of Sebastian when she got into College since he got waitlisted but alas it wasn’t to be since he is not competing against her for the only writing spot on the school zine that they both would do anything to write for. I love Sadies internal monologue of her evolving feeling for Seb and how she has tapped down her own chaotic personality to be the peace maker in her family since she felt like someone needed to be and she is finally figuring out who she is outside of them. I love how poor Seb is just pining and seems to have been since high school but Sadie is oblivious to how he feels since she herself is still in Seb is the enemy mode. I really enjoyed how Sadie helped start a protest on campus with the jocks and student clubs banding together to figure out where all the funding was going and getting a transparent report on it. It was the best slow burn but they finally get there and boy was it good. I really love Emma Lords novels and this was no exception.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

This is a cute YA academic rivals story. Sadie and Seb grew up together, but now they’re competing for the same spot on the school newspaper. Sadie is frustrated because she’s competed with Seb all through high school and thought she’d get a break in college. I could feel her frustration just oozing off the page. It was so real and I loved it. The banter between Sadie and Seb was great. I chuckled a few times while reading this which is always a nice treat. The chemistry between the two was good, however I think I needed a little something more for it to be believable. It’s not that it was bad, I was just looking for a little more I guess. The characters did feel age appropriate. Some of their decisions made me roll my eyes but, they’re barely adults so it makes sense.

If you’re looking for a fun young adult college romance, then check this one out.

This was just an okay read for me, I didn't truly love it. It started off well but then somewhere around half way it just lost its appeal. It just took a different turn and it felt like that's not what I was looking for from this story. The miscommunication issue they had was a little much for me and it just made me roll my eyes many times. It wasn't for me.

3.5⭐ (Rounded Up To 4)

✨YA College Romance
✨Rivals To Lovers
✨Witty Banter

This a was a cute and cozy read, perfect for readers who enjoy stories filled with plenty of witty banter, friendships and a rivals to lovers, slow burn romance.

The only thing that didn't really work for me is that this story does read pretty young at times, with some of the dialogue I would have thought the characters were still in highschool rather than young adults beginning College.

I think it's definitely worth checking out and would try another book from this author in the future.

Thank you Emma Lord, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press- Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

very cute romance with some very fun aspects about handling problems in the systems of college and with some very strong themes. 4 stars. tysm for the arc. loved sadie and seb

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

Another fun and enjoyable YA romance from Emma Lord! This had the fun, banter, and good vibes I’ve come to expect. A few parts of the plot felt juvenile but it’s YA so I’ll allow it

Emma Lord’s newest book, The Rival, is packed with her signature wit, quirky characters, and melt in your mouth, cavity inducing dessert descriptions. I enjoy a rivals to lovers romance, and the addition of the two main characters having grown up as best friends not only added dimension to the couple, but felt extremely believable. Saddie and Seb traversing their new college experience while figuring out who they were was not only fun and relatable, but had a kick of Lord’s signature quirkiness. Betty, delectable pancakes, alphabet parties, and too many clubs to even know where to begin. I did struggle a bit at times with the family relationships between both main characters. At times it felt a little more tell than show. I also was not a fan of Sadie’s best friend, and thought they’re tension was contrived and unnecessary. Overall though this was another hit from Lord, and I will be coming back for more! Until then I will be waiting for my invite to an alphabet party.

4.5 stars. I adored this book. Emma Lord is a must-read author for me, and she never disappoints. Lord does banter extremely well, and it's impossible not to fall in love with Sadie and Sebastian as they battle it out for a spot on Maple Ride's Newsbag. Their antics and the silly college events make for a delightful reading experience.

emma lord is such a solid young adult author and she brings such classic style YA vibes. i love sadie and seb so much it was such a fun coming of age

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press/Wednesday Books for the E-Arc!

This was a cute YA romance set on a college campus! I thought it was cute read, but it definitely took me a while to get into the story. The characters were funny and relatable— there were times where I would be reading in public and I would struggle to not laugh out loud! Overall, I thought it was a cute read!

This enemies-to-friends-to-dating YA story reminded me yet again that Emma Lord writes some of the absolute best young adult books on the market. In this one, our main character (Sadie) is a college freshman at the school of her dreams, getting ready to try out for the school zine she's been following for years, and living in the dorm with her best friend, Christina. She's thrown for a loop when her neighbor/frenemy/soulmate, Seb, suddenly appears at the zine tryout meeting...since he didn't get into the school. Except he did. He got off the wait list and this leads to the two of them competing for the one available spot on the zine staff. There's also family drama, "freshman year at college is hard" drama, and a lot of pancakes in the cutest way possible. And an alphabet party that I now want to try to throw in my 40s.

I feel like a quote from chapter 11 sums it up best: "Keep your friends close and your lifelong academic rivals you've imagined kissing multiple times against your will closer." (This was a review copy so I'm sorry if this line changes slightly in final book!)

Highly recommended to anyone who is getting ready to go to college, who remembers the transition to college fondly and wants to smile, or who hated their transition to college and wants to overwrite it with adorable dialogue.

CW: intense young adult stress, lots of will-they-or-won't-they-or-when-will-they kiss (no adult content)

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. FWIW, I'll be buying this one for my shelves for sure.

Likes:

+ I love a rivals to lovers romance and this offers all the fighting and chemistry between two people who are trying to ignore the attraction between them. I especially love that Sadie and Seb have known one another since they were little! I loved seeing them go from frenemies to lovers.

+ This is a coming of age story as well as a romance. Sadie and Seb both are in their first year of college and though Sadie knows what she wants, she’s not sure what her family would think of her dreams of being a comedic writer. As for Seb, he’s not sure what path is right for himself but though he and Sadie are rivals, they definitely do push one another to be better versions of themselves – usually.

+ I thought the college experience was captured really well in this story – I loved all the antics, campus life, and shenanigans with the clubs. Also, Betty was awesome.

Dislikes:

~ There were times I wished Sadie would let up on the competition with Seb and their little falling out felt a bit overdramatic on Sadie’s part.


Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one because I loved the college campus life portrayed in the story. The rivals to lovers romance was full of fighting, banter and chemistry. Overall, I thought it was a fun story!

Emma Lord is one of my favorite YA authors for her sweet stories that don't have anything overly dark or depressing in them. This one focuses on Sadie and Seb - rivals who have been trying to one up the other for years. Now they are both at the same college and trying to get the same coveted role as a staff writer with the college paper. At the same time, it gives a look into what going away to school can feel like and how that looks different for different people. For some, like Sadie, college becomes a place to shed the mask that you felt like you had to wear around family. For others, like Seb, it is a place where you have to prove yourself to your parents who think they know what is best for you, even when it isn't. At the same time, Lord shines a light on some of the unfair treatment of student athletes and the disproportionate amount of money some sports get vs other sports as well as other clubs. For those looking for a light hearted, clean, romance, this is a definite win.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

The ABCs of Emma Lord: Antics, Banter, and Cookies. And good news, The Rival has all 3! Take me to an alphabet party and pass me a cheesy mug cake, I'm all in.

It's a cute and cozy college romcom, with more of a focus on the com. Sadie and Seb have competed their whole life, but Sadie didn't expect she'd have to fight him for a staff position at her college's Zine. But quickly, they find that they'll need to work together to save the school's newspaper. And of course, there's also a local restaurant with fictional food I'm dying to try. Betty is easily the best character in this book and this book made me want pancakes.

Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, not all of this author's books are created equally which meant that "The Rival," as much as I wanted to love it just fell sort of flat. This book felt short in length and was hard to get into, in my opinion. However, I can't deny that this author still brought her hallmark compelling language to tell this rivals-to-lovers New Adult romance. It's fine, let's leave it at that, but are there other books in the writer's catalogue I'd go back to first? Definitely.

The queen of YA has done it again! I loved the college setting in this one. It took me back to fond memories of my time there. I enjoyed the relatability of the characters and the chemistry between them. Another Emma Lord not to miss!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Really fun book, it had me smiling all the way through. Sadie and Seb were funny, had great banter and chemistry. Having being frenemies for most of their lives made for a great dynamic, they were relentless in trying to one up each other. As they navigate college life, self discovery they come to terms that maybe they might be more than just rivals. I like that it also showed realistic examples of different relationships, like how she felt being the middle child and thinking like she had to be the buffer between her family members and how that affected her relationship with her sisters. Then her relationship with her best friend Christina and how she had to learn to support and see things from her perspective. Also all the interactions with the university clubs were so fun, I would have been part of the Random Acts of Chaos Club for sure. Their actions and problems were very representative of their age (18) not trying to sound or act older than that which was nice. Overall very enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC, all opinions are my own.