Just as I expected, this book was absolutely delightful. I was wholly rooting for Seb and Sadie the entire time. I loved the family dynamics for Sadie, the coming of age angst, and of course the swoons. Emma Lord is a treasure.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

This book is like a combo of The Paper (short-lived MTV reality show) and the "Damn the man, save the empire" vibes of Empire Records. This reference makes my elder millennial status quite clear, and with that, it also tells you I'm beyond the target age group of this book. This book is former/current rivals finding love during their freshman year. It's also them figuring the university experience, including some "stuff" that just doesn't make sense about the system, and they decide they're going to take it on. Overall, it was just a nice, fun read. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this January 2025 release.

The Rival is a charming, lighthearted read that delivers Emma Lord’s signature wit and warmth. The story brings together a fun blend of competitive tension and emotional growth as the characters navigate their evolving relationships. While the rivalry aspect creates some fun moments and clever banter, the plot can feel a bit predictable at times, and I found myself wanting a little more depth in certain areas. That said, the characters are likable, and the story moves along at a good pace. It’s an enjoyable read with just the right amount of heart and humor, perfect for fans of Lord’s previous books.

Thanks to NetGalley for advanced access to this book. The Rival felt a little different from what I’ve come to expect from Emma Lord. She still wrote a cute story highlighting friendships and romantic relationships. Like Begin Again, we found ourselves on a college campus with likable characters and an intriguing plot of college activity. But instead of grief undertones, it had hard to picture or rationalize family relationships that definitely affected the main character and plot.

This is Emma Lord's strongest entry in the YA romance genre yet. Academic rivals to lovers is always a special treat to me as I daydreamed about it as a teen. Lord is also pushing into an older age bracket with these college aged characters. I'm excited to read what she writes next.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing and eARC for a honest review.

Love love loved! Not my usual read but I really enjoyed the rivals trope (similar to my fav enemies to lovers). Really enjoyed the character development and plot!

If you’ve been following me and/or reading my blog, you know that I am an Emma Lord super fan. I adore Lord and her work. Every piece of her writing sparkles off the page with her signature blend of wit, emotion, and humor. The Rival is no exception.

I love that Lord has moved into the college-age YA space. Her last three young adult books have all taken place either right after high school graduation or at the beginning of college. It is such a transitional period of life often full of self-discovery, which is a space where Lord thrives.

Sadie has always felt like she needs to be the peace maker in her family, which has often led her to push down her feelings and hide pieces of who she really is. When she arrives at Maple Ride college, she is able to come into her own. She fights for a spot on the campus magazine, and she makes her mark as she tries to save it when it looks like it will lose its funding. She shows creativity and leadership in a way that those around her admire. Sadie is able to bring this newfound self-confidence into her relationships with her sisters, and they respect it as well.

Family is so important in all of Lord’s books. Both Sadie and Seb are deeply affected by their family relationships and worry about how their actions will be viewed by their family members. Seb is an only child, but he feels very close to Sadie’s family, and they are very important to him as well. Their families have a joint tradition of pancakes on Sunday mornings that Seb and Sadie continue at college, which I found so cute.

It wouldn’t be an Emma Lord novel without some food-related shenanigans. The Rival contains a Dorm Food-Off where Seb and Sadie end up making a cheesy mug pancake. Other items concocted in this competition include mini-cheeseburger pizzas and a mix of popcorn, nerds, and Sour Patch kids. I love all of the whimsical food creations that appear in Lord’s work, and these in particular made me smile. Of course, we can’t forget the sprinkle covered pancakes Sadie and Seb eat at Pancake or Leave It either.

I loved following Sadie and Seb’s journey in this book. They’ve known each other their whole lives and have a deeply entrenched dynamic. Sadie’s sister loves Seb and considers him a brother. They are set up immediately as rivals for the coveted spot on Newsbag. However, even though Sadie repeatedly says that she hates Seb, it’s clear she respects him. She knows that he is a good writer, and they share their work with each other before submitting to Newsbag. There is a sense that they make each other better. I also appreciated that they decide not to kiss while they’re competiting with one another. They want to make sure that when they get together, it will be right.

The Rival is Lord’s seventh book, and I’ve read her other six books multiple times. I’m already looking forward to my reread of The Rival, which will likely come when the book is officially released. Of course, I also can’t wait to read For the Record, her next adult novel, that will be released in August 2025. If you have never read an Emma Lord novel, do yourself a favor and pick one up. You will not regret it, but you mind end up wanting a sweet treat.

A fun read! I enjoyed the well-rounded nature of the Seb and Sadie characters and there were lots of creative and quirky additions to the storyline that kept me engaged in the story. I did feel like the tension between the main characters and the writing dragged a little in the second half of the book, but there was enough going on in the secondary plotlines to keep the pages turning the pages til the very end!

This is my first Emma Lord book and I was not disappointed! Sadie and Seb have the whole rivals to lovers down to a tee and the way their character development unfolds is fantastic. There is a depth to them that you won’t get unless you keep reading. For me, the book started off a little too chaotic (I might have been comparing it to the start of a Lynn Painter book which usually hooks me right away) but after a few chapters I was in love with the MCs, their backstories and sprinkle pancakes (Betty for the win!). The banter between Sadie and Seb was fantastic so I wish there had been a bit more dialogue. Recommend if you’re a fan of YA novels, Lynn Painter or writing for college newspapers. Solid 3.75 stars!

Emma Lord is an autoread author of me and she will continue to be, but this story just wasn't my favorite. I liked the characters, but I had a hard time getting past the very beginning when Sadie was surprised by Seb being on campus (if their families are truly as close as you learn they are, there's NO WAY she didn't know this!). I liked their banter and the wittiness of Sadie and her best friend/roommate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Personally not for me. I tried to get into it and even gave it two different tries in case it was a mood thing, but I was not able to get past the first 15%. I know a lot of other readers will love this book though.

Everytime I read an Emma lord book I am blown away. If she writes it, I will read it.

Her stories have a way of engaging me and longing to be a teenager/high schooler/college student again.

I love her casts of characters, her friendships, the relationship developments and the coming of age. The stories are beautifully woven to contain so many great details and each one has me chomping at the bit to finish them.

This one is beautifully described as “I feel like myself right now”. I love the realization of finding who you are and what makes you happy. Of pushing boundaries and understanding the consequences that come with actions, both good and bad. And how we view ourselves through the eyes of others. It was funny and light hearted but pulled on all the right heart strings to be impactful in a search for who you really are.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately did not very much. I absolutely loved the premise but the execution felt lacking to me, unfortunately. I think I am not in the target audience, age-wise, but I do not think I would’ve enjoyed it even if I was. To me, the college setting felt a bit like a middle schooler’s idea of college. Also, at times the plot just seemed very unrealistic to me, to the point that it took me out of the story. Both characters were also a little too one-dimensional. I wish I had been able to enjoy it more than I did considering how much I liked the idea.

I really enjoyed this book! Emma Lord has a way with making you feel young again.I enjoyed the tension between the characters and romance.

Emma Lord does it again! Lots of fun tropes in this one: early childhood friends to rivals to lovers, academic rivals to lovers, and a slooooooow very slow burn. The book’s college setting made me feel like I was right back on my own campus, backpack clanking behind me and a mound of books in my hands. Emma does a wonderful job of creating an immersive atmosphere in every single one of her books—and The Rivals didn’t disappoint.

I loved the back and forth banter between Seb and Sadie, and by the middle of the book I was begging for them to get together. Sadie was also so funny, and I felt her voice very refreshing and easy to read. As usual, I’ll be picking up Emma’s next book!


Thanks Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy.

I liked the story. A lot. I loved the idea for the plot, the quirky clubs, and all the incredibly fun, nostalgic, quintessentially college happenings Sadie and Seb got up to. This was a perfect early fall read, especially for those in college or new adults wanting to relive that time. However, I don’t think this story was for me.

The slow burn was too much, too long, and felt so dragged out. I did not like the third act drama at all, especially because it was resolved as soon as they made eye contact the first time after their fight. I also hated Christina fighting with Sadie. Her points about Sadie not caring about her and Seb made me so mad. I have been a scholarship student so I know first hand the pressures involved and Christina was not handling it well. She acted immaturely and was so annoying. She had resources to help her and ignored them all until she was a shell of a character. I also don’t understand why she was mad at Sadie for being successful — joining student orgs, making friends, putting in work to ensure her future was what she wanted? Is that not exactly what someone going to college should be doing? The fact that Newsbag was her ticket to her dream career and successful life was emphasized a dozen times. If Sadie gave that up for Seb, and Christina thought she should, then I truly think everyone involved needs a reality check.

It was all giving way too much drama for a romance in my opinion and was way too off and on for my taste. I hated every single character so much. They regressed constantly and were all horrible, inconsistent hot messes. Sadie was so wishy washy on wanting to be new but wanting to fix everything. I have sympathy as someone who also completely changed when she went to college and realized I hadn’t been myself for a long time, but I just couldn’t connect with how she acted. I also really hated Hadley’s drama because Sadie and Seb got into a fight? She acted like her life was over and it was so overdramatic for absolutely no reason. And kicking Sadie out of her own bedroom just because she went to college (something adults have to do) was wild to me. I almost dnfed the book when that turned into a whole plot point. Also, why was Seb transferring to another school after a semester? What was the point literally at all? If he wasn’t going to be a journalist no matter what, then him doing Newsbag was a moot point. And if he was going to be an engineer, he could’ve joined a school paper at whichever college he was at to hone his writing skills. And if he was going to pursue a journalism career no matter what, literally none of it matters. Not to mention he said he didn’t even think writing for Newsbag was for him and he was going to drop out! What was the reason! I hated that whole story line.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of The Rival by Emma Lord. Frankly, I think Emma Lord is the Emily Henry of YA romance right now, and I am here for both of them! I love that though I can't have Henry's adult work in my library, I can tell my teens to try Emma Lord to pick up similar vibes.

I loved The Rival. It's nothing totally new, of course, but sometimes we read for the trope, right? I'm a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers, secretly-loved-you-from-a-distance story anytime. I liked the idea of Sadie never having been kissed and the discussions she and Seb have around it -- it's not a scenario often seen for a college freshman character, though I know it's a situation teens find themselves in. I know Maple Ride is too good to be true, much like a Stars Hollow, yet it works because the readers wish it could be. I loved Betty and wish I could have her pancakes.

My one quibble with this book is that the way Sadie talks about her family makes them feel dysfunctional, but they're perfectly lovely, just a little embarrassing. I know that can feel huge and be a real issue for a kid, but as a reader, I just felt dissonance between the way Sadie talked about them and the way they actually were.

Thank you NetGallery for this ARC! I love Emma Lord’s work and although this wasn’t my favorite book of hers, I still enjoyed it! Loved the enemies to lovers feel and that there were important family moments as well. If you want a quick and easy read, I highly recommend this one!

I'll read anything by Emma Lord. She never lets me down and this book was no exception!
I loved the discovering who you are in college aspect of this book and I really loved the dynamic between Sadie and Seb! It was a great rivals to lovers execution and their relationship developed in a very realistic way. Can't wait to listen to this one on audiobook as well!

4.5 stars!
Emma Lord is the queen of witty banter, and The Rival showcases it in full display.
The Rival came along just when I needed a boost from my reading slump, and it did not disappoint. This rivals-to-lovers trope is made even better, in my opinion, because Sadie and Seb are best friends at heart. While it takes them some time to finally figure out the best friends label, when they do, their romance flourishes despite some setbacks along the way.
There are so many good dynamics in this novel, and Lord gives each one of them just the right touch. Readers will love this one.