Emma Lord. Does. It. Again.

It being a sweet and swoony, emotionally deep, unique, and character-driven YA story. I really enjoyed this one. Solid 4 ⭐️!

📖 The Details:
The Rival By Emma Lord
Enemies to Friends to Lovers | College Setting | Journalist Characters

⏱️ Quick Summary:
Sadie and Seb have always been childhood neighbors and rivals - but Sadie is finally getting a chance to be her own person and try out for the school zine at college. Until Seb shows up as a last minute freshman and also wants to work for the zine.

💁‍♀️ My Take:
On the surface, this is a light and sweet YA story of two kids who think they hate each other but are definitely going to fall in love. But then there's so much more. Throw in some interesting side characters, dramatic family dynamics, and a plot to save student-run orgs across campus - "good chaos" ensues. Plus pancakes. Lots of pancakes. I loved the development of the characters, while still acknowledging that they're 18 years old and learning how to do life. The main storyline (other than Sadie and Seb) about the zine/student-run orgs funding vs. athletics funding was interesting and probably relevant to a lot of real-life college campuses - worth thinking about! Would recommend for sure!

College freshman Sadie is thrilled to be at her dream college with her best friend and much needed break from chaotic family. She has big plans including writing for the school news publication. Enter Seb, her life-long rival yet again pushing her to extremes by joining her college and competing for the same position!

I really enjoyed this book. Sadie and Seb had a lot of chemistry and I laughed out loud at their antics quite a few times. The book also gave us some family drama and an epic battle to do what's right.

I stick by reading everything Emma Lord writes!

Super cute storyline with a few surprising twists. I felt like Seb’s queer storyline wasn’t fully developed and just mentioned occasionally though, and I’d love to have seen that a little more despite understanding why it wasn’t. Overall, a very easy and fun read!

Emma Lord reigns as the queen of sweet YA romcoms! She has created another adorable enemies-to-lovers and opposites-attract love story set in college, where rivals compete for the college newspaper's staff writing position while uncovering administrative secrets. The plot is well-executed, and Sebastian and Sadie are lovable characters from the start, despite their differences. Their palpable attraction and forced proximity since childhood make reading their story a delight.

The story begins on Sadie's first day at Maple Ridge College, as she rushes across campus to her first meeting at the Newsbag to meet the editorial staff. However, disaster strikes when she collides with someone carrying a large smoothie, staining her entire dress. That someone turns out to be Seb Adams, her high school nemesis and biggest rival – the same boy she's had to endure for years because their families are best friends who do everything together, including Sunday confetti-sprinkled pancake breakfasts.

By choosing Maple Ridge, Sadie thought she could escape her loud, expressive, extensive family dramas and leave her arch-nemesis behind, who was supposed to attend a different university for an engineering program. But fate has other plans – Seb is no longer waitlisted at Maple Ridge. Not only is he attending the same college, but he's also competing with her for the staff writer position at the Newsbag.

Sadie curses her luck as she faces competing with him on three assignments. With his charm, Seb already begins attracting large social circles, just like in high school. Meanwhile, Sadie harbors a dream of comedy writing, having secretly written columns under a pseudonym throughout high school alongside her position as school newspaper editor. She must channel her inner sarcastic voice to focus on her tasks, but her complex love-hate feelings for Seb break her concentration. To complicate matters further, they discover corruption in the school system and must reveal the truth, potentially risking their futures for the greater good of all students. Can they trust each other enough to team up? Of course! But can they trust each other with their hearts? Well, that's a trickier question!

Overall: This is an entertaining, incredibly cute, and heartwarming read you shouldn't miss!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for sharing this sweet romance's digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Fans of Emma Lord will not be disappointed in this enemies-to-lovers romance. As with all of Lord’s books, our characters are so well fleshed out that their struggles and quirks make them incredibly relatable, with immense heart. You’ll be rooting for these two from page 1.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a sweet YA rom-com with about as much spice as a bell pepper. Don’t let that deter you from this slow burn, nostalgic coming of age story. Seb and Sadie are adorable and I had a smile on my face as I read about their shenanigans. I love a slow burn but this did read a little toooo slow at times. The story kept me entertained but I can see how it might seem a little too young for others.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc.
Publish date: Jan. 21, 2025

Sometimes you just need a good YA romance and this was it!! It was so cute and sweet. Emma is a great author overall so if you’re looking for something sweet to read, this is your book!

This was such a cute read! I loved the academic rivals/childhood best friend plot line in a college setting. I love the politics throughout the book which can happen in today’s colleges. The slow burn romance was very cute I loved it. The banter between characters was so good and made me smile and laugh multiple times. It was a great YA romance!

I loved this book. It's funny and endearing. The characters are well developed. The storyline is great. It's a classic enemies to lovers while also being unique in many ways. I love how Lord inserts fun traditions into her stories. Well worth the read: I stayed up late to finish it!

The Rival by Emma Lord is one for your trophy shelf. It’s a glorious slow burn rom-com, with added depth in the topics of finding who you really are, leaving home for the first time, and fighting for what you believe in. Plus there’s pancakes. Five stars!

#TheRival
#EmmaLord
#NetGalleyARC
#YAbooks

Emma Lord’s *The Rival* captures the competitive and heartfelt spirit of high school journalism, friendship, and ambition. The story centers on two determined teens vying for a prestigious journalism scholarship. What begins as a rivalry soon deepens into an exploration of personal growth, passion, and the complexity of competition. Lord's characters are relatable and endearing, each facing their own insecurities and pressures, making the narrative both engaging and emotionally resonant.

The witty banter, authentic dialogue, and well-paced plot make *The Rival* a page-turner, while the nuanced portrayal of competition and teamwork adds depth to the story. Though certain twists feel predictable, the novel’s charm and insight into young ambition make it a compelling read.

Adore this YA author’s writing.
How much you ask ? She’s published 7 books. Devoured each and every one of them.

That’s why I’ll continue to read her despite my take on her latest “The Rival”


#TheRival #NetGalley

Seb and Sadie. Sadie and Seb. Lives intertwined even before birth. Plausible explanation as to why their relationship evolved from friendship to frenemies. And, while the POV is entirely hers, wish there more background development as to her relationship with her two sisters/parents, bff Christina, and Newsbag staff. Felt surface characteristics associated with the secondary characters.

This ARC was provided by the publisher St Martin’s Press / Wednesday Books no via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

ugh this book was so cute! academic rivals to lovers is one of my favorites, and combine that with he’s obsessed? i’m sat.

that being said, i think the story could’ve used a bit more fleshing out, especially in the third act; it was paced really quickly. other than that it was a terrific read!

four stars!!

My Rating: 3⭐️
Tropes: academic rivals to lovers, childhood best friends, journalism, college competition

This book had a quick start and likable characters. Sadie Brighton has finally one upped her high school academic rival (and former childhood best friend), Seb, by beating him for a spot into their top choice college. So, she is completely shocked when she arrives on campus and he is there also! Much like high school, they are competing for the solo writing position in the colleges newspaper, but as they’re competing, they’re noticing a mismanagement of funds that threatens to put an end to many campus student led organizations. They team up to get to the bottom of the issue.
I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as rivals to lovers at all. It was more of a friends to lovers type of situation. Sadie’s dislike of Seb felt very surface level and it resolved itself about twenty percent into the book. Sadie’s personal conflict with her family and her having to hide her true “funny” personality felt forced and was very strange. It was also very apparent reading this book that the author has never interacted with college age kids before or been on a college campus in some time. The dialogue was cringey and stilted at some points, and the characters were extremely unrealistic for their supposed age group.
That being said, it was good writing and easy to get into. The main conflict of the funding issue felt real, and Sadie’s resolution to the issue provided for a great happy ending.

A special thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Emma Lord for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute rivals to lovers book. I did feel like it dragged a bit and the main characters were very immature. Overall a cute, light easy read.

1 Sentence Summary: Sadie thought she was finally free of her childhood friend turned high school academic rival, but when Seb shows up at the same college as her, their competition starts all over again, for a spot on the school paper this time, and even though Sadie hates Seb, maybe she’s secretly glad to see him…

My Thoughts: This was cute, but not my favorite Emma Lord book. I just didn’t fall in love with the characters or ship them together as much as I normally do. I can’t really put my finger on why I didn’t like it as much. I actually found myself getting secondhand embarrassment a bit; it was a little too cheesy sometimes.

I enjoyed the journalism aspects, and the subplot of exposing the school’s corruption. And I loved the exploration of Sadie’s family dynamics and her feeling like she doesn’t fit in with them. And as always, Emma Lord is a fantastic writer. I guess it was just the romance that I was less invested in. Also, there was quite a bit of miscommunication, which I’m not a fan of.

Overall, this was an fun and enjoyable read!

Recommend to: Fans of YA college romance featuring academic rivals.

(Warnings: swearing)

Sadie and Seb grew up together next door and were high school rivals, and surprise they find themselves at the same college vying for the one spot for a new staff writer on the college newspaper. Rumors are that the college wants to cut funding for the newspaper and Sadie wonders should they call out the administration on this. As Sadie and Seb spend more time together someone says when will they “just kiss already.” Do Sadie and Seb wind up together after all these years?
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
3.5 stars

This was my first emma lord novel and I love a slow burn college romance! This was a slow burn enemies to lovers – I personally love friends to lovers slow burn but this is a close second. I loved the genuine feeling fire between Sadie and Seb, as well as the banter/humor throughout. I think the difficult part of this novel is that I’m feeling a little too old for YA romances but it did give me so much nostalgia for college and young love! Emma writes for Buzzfeed and I found that humor and charm to be a big part of the writing that kept me most interested.

This was not my favorite Emma Lord book, but there was still a lot I really enjoyed. This is a very sweet, clean college book, which is nice to see. I loved the rivalry, the shenanigans, the silly characters, and love of food! My biggest complaint is that a feel like it dragged, both the slow burn romance and the plot.

4⭐

I really love her books, they always something everyone in the family can read and ones you can out down. Thanks for letting me read this book.