Romance/Contemporary fiction

This novel falls into the NA (New Adult) category as Seb and Sadie are freshmen in college. Sadie hoped to get away from Seb when she went away to college as they have been academic rivals for years. Their families are close, so she has never been able to escape the stress of competition.

She and Seb end up competing in college as well. Their shared experiences bring them closer and allow them to reclaim the friendship that began long before the competing started. Could it be more than friendship? Can they navigate a relationship, a competition, college and their families?

I liked the relationship arc of these characters, but I don't know that I liked Sadie or some of the story. This was just ok for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

I have read all of Emma Lord's other books - I was excited to read this one too!

Sadie thinks that she got rid of Seb, her academic rival, when she left high school. Now she has a fresh start at her college following graduation. She is eager to be apart of her school's famous zine. When Seb gets into the school after being let off the waitlist, the long rivalry between the pair continues. But maybe this time something else will come out of the rilvary?

Emma Lord is one of my favourite authors. She always delivers such wonderful and fleshed out characters. Sadie and Seb are no exception. I loved their rivalry, and that as the weeks go by, they slowly get closer and get to where they realize what they truly are to each other. It was such a good story, and I want this on my own shelf. 10/10 no notes.

The Rival by Emma Lord
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Sadie is excited to apply to her favorite school magazine in her first week at college, only to learn that her high school rival got off the school’s waitlist. Now she will have to compete with the one person who drives her crazy.
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What I liked:
-Emma Lord always writes compelling stories with emotional gut punchs that hit me in the feels. This book was no different.
-I loved the little known pancake place and seeing Sadie and Seb both show up for pancakes every Sunday.
-I loved seeing Sadie really finding her place within her family.
-And I loved Sadie and Seb together.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked The Rival but When You Get the Chance remains my favorite Lord book.

It’s tough to admit when a favorite author no longer hits the same. I’ve genuinely loved Emma Lord’s earlier books—they were charming, witty, and heartfelt. But with her recent release, I found myself completely disconnected.

The story felt like it was built on a shaky foundation of pop culture references and quirky misunderstandings. Sadie, the main character, spends most of the book either missing the point or misinterpreting everything around her, which quickly wore thin. It was less endearing and more frustrating. And while I’m only a couple years out of college myself, the dialogue made me feel weirdly old. The shortened words, the ultra-online banter—it didn’t feel authentic or relatable. It felt like a TikTok script trying too hard.

The characters also fell flat. I struggled to connect with any of them, not because they’re unlikable, but because they never felt like real people. Their emotional arcs were shallow, and no one seemed to grow in a meaningful way. Even the romance was misrepresented—definitely not the rivals-to-lovers dynamic the book claimed. It was more of a quiet friends-to-lovers arc with very little tension or payoff.

All in all, this book just didn’t work for me. It lacked the emotional depth and sharpness that made Emma Lord’s earlier novels sparkle. Maybe I’ve outgrown her writing, or maybe the tone of this one just missed the mark—but either way, I’m walking away from it disappointed.

I‘ve never met an Emma Lord YA I didn’t love. This was no exception. I loved their journeys through this narrative and the focus on finding and accepting yourself as well. Definitely lessons this age bracket need to learn and read about.

Oh how I love Emma Lord. She is by far one of my favorites! I am always so excited to receive an ARC for one of her upcoming releases! The Rival was such a fun read! Great for my high school daughter and I to read together. Fun and entertaining growth of relationships and love and friendships in this YA rivals to lovers. Such a fun trope. Highly recommend this, especially if you are a fan of YA and Emma Lord!

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

What a cute young adult (freshman in college) book about finding yourself and love. It’s also about friendship and family. It’s sweet watching Seb & Sadie grow up and discover who they really are vs who they feel they need to be. And to see how that impacts the relationship around them. It’s a wholesome, sweet story your high school, even middle schooler would enjoy!

3.5 stars rounded up.

I was really hopeful for this one, as I'm a fan of Emma Lord's YA novels. I felt a bit let down though - it just didn't quite have the same magic for me as some of her others have (Begin Again, which also takes place on a college campus, comes to mind). At the outset, the story is intriguing - Sadie and Seb are high school rivals, and Sadie beats him out for the coveted spot at their preferred university. But she's shocked to literally bump into Seb at her first zine meeting at college, and she suddenly has to compete with him again for a spot.

While competing for that spot, they start to spend more time together (accidentally, or so it seems), and we begin to get glances into their past that tell us how things came to be in their present. You can feel the affection and tension and hurt between these two as they navigate campus, working on their stories.

I think the biggest turnoff for me was that the author would keep randomly mentioning LGBTQ things, but it was never crucial to the story so they were just mentioned to be there. Seb is noted as being queer but that has no impact on the story or his character development. The random mentions kept rubbing me the wrong way - either make something critical to the story, or don't place things just to be "cool" to popular culture.

By the end, I was a fan of Sadie and Seb together, but there was just a little something that was missing all along for me. I'm not sure I could put my finger on it, but it was a let down. The story held together well though and was otherwise intriguing.

I will continue to pick up Emma Lord's YA novels, in the hopes that this one was just a slight miss for me and her next one will be a winner once again.

Emma Lord really is the queen of YA rom-coms, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. While I’m not quite in the season of my life where that is what I’m looking for, it was the premise of this one that caught my eye. I love an enemies-to-lovers story (duh) and something about putting people in a university is appealing to me—possibly because I miss that simple time in my life? Either way, I did quite enjoy this one!

Also, just wanted to let it be known that I’ve seen a few reviews saying that they thought the female main character swore too much, but I didn’t notice it at all, like not one bit, so I’m not sure what the says about me, but thought I should point it out.

What didn’t work for me

The missing POV: It might just be because I’ve gotten used to reading two sides of the story with both main characters’ thoughts, but I missed Seb’s side of things. I found Sadie to be a bit…much…at times, and I think seeing where his head was at would have balanced her out a bit. That being said, it did make the ending/the third act a little less predictable, but it’s not like there was a giant mystery to be figured out.

What I liked

The tropes: This is enemies-to-lovers as well as work/academic rivals and also, weirdly, friends-to-lovers. It kind of hits all the bases—then adds a school setting…all my faves when it comes to YA.

Family dynamics: I enjoyed that Sadie and Seb both had very different family dynamics that they were dealing with and that we got to see it play out. Going off to school is a big deal, and parents (and kids) have to learn to navigate it. I feel like Lord did a great job of showing the pressure from a couple of different angles without showing broken or dysfunctional families. It was nice to see.

3.5 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Two kids that have been friends forever are in the same college. Their parents are friends and they are frenemies. But is there more to it then just competition that’s brewing below the surface?

The Rival was cute and had all the ingredients I usually love—academic rivals-to-lovers, chaotic families, a zine (!!!)—but for some reason, it just didn’t totally charm me the way Emma Lord’s other books have. Sadie and Seb had fun banter and that classic “ugh I hate you (but not really)” energy, but the emotional depth and stakes felt a little light for me. I wanted to feel more of their tension and connection, and the plot sometimes leaned more quirky than compelling. Not a bad read by any means—if you like soft rivals and cozy campus vibes, it’ll scratch that itch—but for me, it was more of a gentle aww than a full-body swoon.

Not gonna lie, I think I would enjoy this book much more when I was younger, like, during my senior high school or even freshman year of college. The type and level of romance/spiciness have changed a lot for me throughout the years and this book is simply too vanilla. However, I do see the captivating selling points as the main characters are easily to fall in love with and their dynamics physically as well as emotionally will definitely attract the younger readers. In my opinion, this book will be perfect for romance book beginners or upper YA readers as the story itself is quite lovely with relatable characters. Therefore, I'd still recommend this book to those who prefer puppy love and less complicated storyline!

***Thanks to the publisher for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.***

Another phenomenal book from Emma. This is an adorable (kind of) enemies to lovers. I only say kind of because I never got the enemies vibe from Seb. Sadie and Seb are wonderful characters that are easy to relate to from the beginning. Realistically, I can't help but wonder if there will ever be a book by Emma Lord that I can't relate to in a big way. Even at 31, I feel as unprepared for life without guidance as I did at 18. I especially related to Sadie, I'm still trying to find myself and shake off expectations that were set growing up. Even expectations that I set for myself. Proving once again, in my opinion, that YA is not just for teens. It's for adults too.

The storyline, competing for a writing spot on a student magazine turned into saving the magazine, was a lot of fun. I love seeing Emma dive into the different student organizations that can be on a campus and make them intriguing and in general shine bright. I love how Emma always brings people together using food. Speaking of, I love the pancakes and the quirky characters that come with them. I can't wait for the next story to fall head over heels in love with.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.

DNFed at 40%. This book had a great start. Mainly DNFed because life got too hectic, but I would possibly get back into this book at a later date.

I have read 3 of Emma Lord's other books and have really enjoyed them. I love her YA rom-coms! So I was really excited to get this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I have to say this is my least favorite of her books I've read so far. I do enjoy books set in highschool or college so I was initially excited about the premise. However this one just never clicked for me. I couldn't really understand her family dynamics or why she didn't get along with them and was so embarrassed by them. And there was 3 huge blowup fights with people close to her in this book which just felt like more drama than I cared to read about in a YA book like this.
I'm a fan of the best friends to more trope, and I did like that Seb and Sadie have known each other their whole lives and yet had new things to learn about each other. The pancake restaurant was fun.
I think overall this just wasn't a super memorable story that will be sticking with me for a long time to come, unfortunately.

"Satan does make a killer smoothie."

Emma Lord at her YA best!!

This book truly had everything I love about Emma Lord's YA work -- smart and hilarious writing, swoon, and delicious treats! I love getting lost in her stories, and this one was a particularly enjoyable rivals-to-lovers romance with the most delectable slow burn buildup. I was rapt! It's got captivating writing, believable stakes, and the most immersive setting. I feel so grateful to live in a world where we get to devour Emma Lord's incredibly funny and romantic books. I will always want more!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the e-book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. THE RIVAL is out now!

I thought that this was a super sweet, YA romcom - I loved the characterization, the adorable enemies-to-lovers relationship, and the opposites-attract - I just loved it

I love Emma Lord! Her YA books are truly such a pleasure to read. The way that she can make difficult situations comical and lighter is really impressive. Each time one of he characters learns something about themselves or has a realization I feel so proud of them because I feel like I really know these people.

Anywho, read this book, it’s real good!

This had rivals to lovers in the best way, full of banter, competition, and mutual respect. I loved Sadie and Seb, they are each great on their own, but together they are even better. They brought out the best, and sometimes worst, in each other, but they were also the only people the other was truly themself around. They understood each other on a deep level and I loved every moment of them together. I also loved all the other antics and chaos that they were apart of through Newsbag and the student organizations.