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.

Read this if you love:
💕 YA books set at college
💕 rivals to lovers
💕 quirky side characters

Sadie’s ready for a fresh start at Maple Ride University, far away from her chaotic family and her all-consuming academic rivalry with Sebastian, her family’s next door neighbor. She beat him for her high school’s only spot at Maple Ride so she can pursue her dream of writing comedy for the school’s infamous zine. The catch? Sebastian gets off the waitlist and wants the same writing position, reigniting the competitive spark that has kept them in each other’s orbit all these years.

I’ll start with what I loved about The Rival—it has Emma Lord’s classic charm. I’ve been in a terrible reading slump and this book pulled me out. The prose was funny and smart, making me genuinely laugh out loud. Sadie and Seb have such a spark between them that kept me reading. I’m a sucker for ex-childhood best friends to rivals to lovers.

Sadie’s particular brand of humorous writing feels very Buzzfeed, which makes sense since Emma Lord writes for them. Maple Ride University felt so alive with all of the quirky clubs and events on campus. My favorite element was the chaotic pancake house.

I will say though that this isn’t my favorite Emma Lord book. While it has her charm, I didn’t connect with the characters as much. Whether that is a symptom of me growing out of YA contemporaries or a disconnect with just this book is beyond me. Also, there was A LOT of swearing (like, constant f-bombs). I get that they’re teenagers, but it got annoying after a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and @wednesdaybooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a bit of a miss for me. Maybe I had different expectations. But the characters felt so juvenile and immature, it was frustrating to read. Some light and funny moments though.

4.5 stars. I absolutely loved this story! The childhood enemies to lovers really worked with adorable banter, and the shared history so they actually knew each other better than they knew themselves. The coming of age story through getting to know yourself as they go to college was a nice premise. Another Emma Lord slam dunk!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

I'm a big Emma Lord fan and this lived up to my expectations! I love how this is really a coming-of-age novel wrapped up in a rivals-to-lovers romcom. The exploits of the Newsbag team were so fun to read about and the stakes of Christina's scholarship added a good amount of depth to the story.

This was a cute one! The story doesn’t take itself too seriously—there are a lot of humorous lines and sitcom-like moments that make this book easy to read. It’s also geared toward a true young adult audience, with the main characters being newly eighteen and out in the world on their own for the first time and dealing with complicated feelings about family, the future, themselves, and their love lives.

And if you like a good almost-kiss scene, this book has got one of the best I’ve read so far. The tension and anticipation was palpable!

The Rival is a cute YA academic rivals story. Sadie and Seb grew up with parents who were best friends, and have just started college at the same school. They're competing for the same spot on the school newspaper, and Sadie is understandably frustrated after having to compete with Seb throughout her whole high school career.

The campus shenanigans were quite fun (even if I spent a lot of time wondering how Sadie was managing to keep up with classes!), and I felt for Sadie's overworked roommate Christina. There's a lot of apt discussion about leaving home and your family for the first time. I enjoyed Sadie and Seb's backstory, even if I didn't quite buy their relationship.

I always look forward to a new Emma Lord book, and The Rival was no exception. For everyone wondering what Emma Lord's signature sweet treat fixation will be in this book, it's pancakes!

In this book you meet Sadie and Seb, who are next door neighbors that have competed with each other their whole lives. Enter college when they are finally separated or so Sadie thinks. Until surprise, guess who got off the the wait list…..Seb! Now him and Sadie are competing for the coveted spot writing for the college zine! Who will win the competition? Read this book to find out.

#slowburn
#enemiestodating
#friendorfoe

I’d give this book 3 stars for its relatable exploration of leaving home for the first time, navigating sibling dynamics, and the ups and downs of budding college relationships. Emma Lord does a great job of capturing the emotions of that transition, and the main characters, especially Sadie, are charming and full of heart. However, some aspects of the story felt outdated, especially the portrayal of dorm life and dining, which felt like a throwback to an earlier generation. The slow-burn romance and frenemies plotline resolved too quickly, and though the story seemed geared toward a clean romance, the frequent F-bombs and casual mentions of underage drinking didn’t quite fit that vibe. Still, it’s an enjoyable read if you don’t mind a bit of wish fulfillment, with Sadie seemingly succeeding in everything she touches. The diverse representation added a nice touch, though it’s more of a fun, feel-good YA than a deep dive into college life.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced copy for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Rival. While I’m not a writer, the peek into the world of journalism at a famous college newspaper was intriguing. Involving so many different college clubs in the story added so much variety, and it was eye opening to read about what these clubs go through to remain on campus - things like budgeting and other restrictions sound like a nightmare.

The characters were also great - rivals from birth but also growing up as extremely close family friends created a really cool dynamic that I haven’t seen in many YA/NA books. I really loved their relationship and seeing it develop while they grew as people was fun.

Emma Lord is one of my favorite YA/NA authors, and I can’t wait to read the next one!

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) Such a good premise! Sadie and Seb have grown up together (literally, their families are super close with each other and live next to one another) and became academic rivals along the way. They end up at the same college for their freshman year and each grows into their own person. Both Sadie and Seb have their own growing up to do with their own baggage. Seb is an only child and suffers from not living up to his parents’ expectations. Sadie is one of many children in an outgoing and boisterous family. Sadie assigned herself the role of managing her family’s quirkiness, solving their problems and tamping down their over-the-top behavior. Seb has had romantic thoughts about Sadie since the age of 14 and while Sadie may have wanted to kiss him, she doesn’t acknowledge it to herself or others until college. As they work to straighten out their romantic life, they also must figure things out with their families, friends and school.

First, I really enjoy reading Emma Lord’s stories. She always writes such feel-good YA books that I wish I had around when I was younger. This story was a great idea but somehow got a little bogged down along the way. The back and forth between Sadie and Seb before they figured things out was too long and it made it tough to stay focused on the story at times. That said, this is a great coming of age story about college freshman and how challenging it is to adapt to a new and evolving time. I do recommend reading it as it’s cute and does make you think about that time in your life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sharing an ARC. This review is completely voluntary and joyfully shared.

Emma Lord has become a great name in new adult fiction and her stories are always very relatable; however, The Rival missed the mark a little bit for me simply because I had the "when are we getting to the point" feeling versus "I can't wait to see where this is going" feeling. I liked Sadie and Seb's story, but was there was just so much outside stuck going on between their families and the paper and their friends that I found myself getting lost in the story. Maybe this was the headspace I was in when I read it and I need to be back and revisit another time. I will still recommend this to other readers because I do think that that new college experiences that Sadie, Seb, and Christina are going through are super important for kids to read in case it's something that will help them out!

I always eat up an Emma Lord book and this one was no exception! Her writing flows easily and is full of humor and character. She writes fun, believable characters and I loved the college atmosphere of this one!

this was so so so so cute please get this asap!!! emma lord has never failed me so i had high hopes for this book and it was the best feel good, cozy read. do i still love begin again more? yes. none of her books top that one...but this might just be a close second. also - this is set in the same world as begin again, you definitely do not have to read that one first as there really isn't any crossover, but some places sound familiar ;)