📚 Every.Single.Trope. (by design)
📚 Rivals to Friends to Lovers
📚 Slow Burn
📚 He falls first
📚 Self Deprecating FMC
I think or a YA romance, The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee, checks off all the boxes. It is a pretty quick, lighthearted read. Irene and Aiden are both college freshmen at the same college and just so happen to be book reviewer rivals. At least that’s what Irene thinks. A literature class project gives us a forced proximity trope that gets Aiden’s foot into the door of Irene’s life. When a friendly competition leads us to our fake dating trope, Irene must decide is she can put her insecurities and people please aside.
I really enjoyed the chapters reflecting the romance tropes and tying it into the storyline. The supporting best friend characters were great and I wouldn’t mind a duology if we got to see more of them.
For all the slow burning and build up the resolution seem to come on very fast at the end. I think there was still some room for some character development but in terms of a short and sweet YA novel it works.

I was giggling and squealing throughout the book! I loved the concept of both the main characters competing to see who will find love through romance tropes. The fact the chapters represent those tropes is clever! Well done! I am also a sucker for the MC's banter! It gives me so much joy! I loved all the literary references and bookish inside jokes. It made me laugh. Lastly, their friends/roommates were such a riot. They could both see Irene and Aiden's chemistry from the get-go.

This book has my heart. I can't wait to have the physical book in my hands!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for this earc

This book was so cute. It’s been so long since I’m read a YA romance with two 18 year olds who do not have it all figured out. Irene is that main character who spends a little ( a lot) of her time in fictional world and has very little experience in real life romance. She is messy and confused and overwhelmed. Which is totally normal because she’s 18, it’s her first time being away from home and she has no idea how to deal.
I liked this story because it was honestly, a little extra and very sweet. Aiden gets all the book boyfriend point.
Just don’t pick this book up as your first romance read because you’ll for sure get super confused with all the acronyms.

Thank you to NetGalley, Susan Lee, and HarperCollins Children's Books for allowing me access to the e-arc.

3.5 stars

This was such a cute read. I enjoyed the rivals-to-lovers romance. Rival Book Reviewer was something I had never read about before. I enjoyed their bantering over their love for romance books. I just wanted more about the characters.

What a lovely surprise! The Romance Rivalry had me LOL’ing and squealing with delight. Such a fun take on romance tropes and so many nods to the genre. Loved it!

The Romance Rivalry had all the makings of a fun, trope-filled romance, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to its potential. The concept of a book reviewer trying to find love through romance tropes was clever, but the story felt rushed and underdeveloped, leaving me disconnected from both the characters and their journey.

Irene, the protagonist, came off as insufferable at times, and her motivations—like finding a boyfriend to secure a brand deal—felt flimsy and hard to root for. Aiden, her rival-turned-love-interest, had moments of charm but suffered from a lack of depth. Their enemies-to-lovers arc skipped over the slow-burn tension that makes the trope satisfying, with their relationship escalating too quickly to feel authentic.

Additionally, the conclusion was abrupt, with loose threads (like Aiden’s family issues) left unresolved. A pivotal fade-to-black scene felt forced and emotionally unearned, which detracted from the overall story. While there were some cute and clever moments—like the witty chapter titles—the book leaned too heavily on being a commentary on tropes without delivering a satisfying romance.

Ultimately, The Romance Rivalry is a quick read with potential, but it didn’t stick the landing for me. Fans of trope-heavy romances may still find it enjoyable, but this one fell flat for me.

○ Trope City
○ Slow Burn
○ Fluff Romance
○ Friendship Heavy
○ Golden Retriever MMC / Self Deprecation FMC
○ Rivals to Friends to Lovers
○ So many more...

Susan Lee has done it again, I first read SeoulMates and absolutely loved it and now that I've read The Romance Rivalry I honestly just want more of her books. This book alone was interesting since Irene wants to experience love in a whole new way, she's a romance reader and reviewer so she knows a lot about tropes but has never dated anyone. So, now that she's headed off to college her whole goal to experience love through tropes. Little does she know that her rival reviewer is closer to her than she thinks. Aiden is the true definition of Golden Retriever character, he's just always so happy for Irene and wants to support her even when she feels like she doesn't deserve it.

Susan can we possibly get Charlie and Jeanette's story next?

this was actually so fun
my only critique and the reason I'm rating it 4 stars is because it was just a little cringe and it wrapped up really fast. I think the ending could have been a bit more drawn out and thought out.
In the end, it was very enjoyable in the moment, but I'm not sure how memorable this will be in the long run
(jeanette was the star of the show though)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

I've been enjoying a lot of YA and NA romances recently, so I was excited for this one. I would give this a 3.5 stars rounded up.

There were plenty of cute moments that I absolutely fell for, but the ending really let me down. From the beginning, I was slightly confused as to where this would go as I wasn't feeling too solid on Irene's characterization. However, once we got to the actual plot of the novel, I found myself intrigued and invested in Irene and Aiden's relationship. Honestly, the most compelling character for me was Irene's roommate, but I still enjoyed the cute moments that Irene and Aiden shared.

It was their individual character developments, though, that needed the most work. The third-act breakup felt overdone and unnecessary, and the way it was resolved was even worse, in my opinion. Irene wasn't a character that I see myself being friends with, so it made it hard to connect with her. Without that connection, I didn't really care for the ending.

Ultimately, it was a sweet novel, if a tad immature. I enjoyed it.

And I'm out.

This cute college romance is the story of two book reviewers who end up paired together for a lit class their first semester. It's a love letter to romance and romance readers filled with tropes and book discussion and all the things that we as romance lovers love to love. Susan weaves culture and romance and community together in a way that's just so much fun. I loved her previous work on audio and while I read this with my eyes, I am certain that the audio will be fantastic.

this book is for the READERS!!! and not just any readers, but the fanfic loving, Bookstagram babes who would much rather be reading than attending a social event (unless it’s bookish).

This book is absolutely everything to me and I was hooked from the glossary! Susan definitely understands her audience and rather than being embarrassed and cringing from her love for reading, she embraces it, her characters, and most importantly the audience. I’ve never felt more love for readers from a book than in this one.

It’s giving whisper of the heart where the MMC reads the same books as the FMC to get her attention AHHHHHHH

I loved the banter between Irene and Aiden. The dialogue was very realistic and flowed so well I didn’t even realize how fast I was reading. They had such amazing chemistry and I loved how he was very clearly into Irene while she was blind to it (at least for a little while). While originally rivals, I loved that they both were able to work through Irene’s one sided beef and talk about life as book reviewers and how it affected them.

Irene’s development was very well done. I was annoyed by how focused she was on her dating plan to fall in love because it seemed so shallow and not genuine, which I felt was the opposite of her as a person. She clearly cares for everyone close to her on a deep level and her people pleasing side bled into her online life. But it was the plan that was annoying, not Irene herself. It was also so relatable for her to be overwhelmed with college life and have her passion for reading fall to the side, but also be so focused on her love for reading that her scholarly work was suffering. I think their author did a great job in noting both parts of a reviewers life affects each other. What’s great is that Irene had a solid support system and was able to work her way through finding out what she wants.

This read is perfect for fans of Tashie Bhuiyan (Counting Down with You) and Ann Liang (If You Could See the Sun).

HUGE thank you to Harper Collin’s publishing & Susan Lee for the ARC of this book! I’ve been in a horrible book slump for MONTHS struggling to find a book to suck me back into the reading world and this did just that! Aiden and Irene have such a cute enemies to lovers romance. I thought the way the tropes fit into the story and sometimes broke the 4th wall were super clever and hilarious. I am SO thankful for this and honored I was approved for this. I only wish it was written in dual perspectives so we could know Aiden’s feelings going in, but that’s not a huge deal!

okay romance tropes!!!

this book is very cutesy and if you're looking for a new ya romance that is focused on bookish things... its here. lately i have been struggling with ya books where the characters are going to college because i feel slightly too old. that time period is one i don't want to think about. this book hit all the tropes and was centered by rivals to lovers which usually tops my list of favorite tropes. this was cute and i would recommend this for ya readers but its not for me in my life right now..

*thank you net galley*

I am Irene. She is me. Susan Lee... you're such a mastermind!! Being a reader and reviewer, I definitely felt seen here. Irene is incredibly relatable despite her being 18 and me being 28. This type of book deeply resonates in my soul. Absolutely binged this book in one day. It felt a bit short for me because I didn't want the book to end at all.

The glossary at the beginning actually had me dying cackling, and I understand why it's included because it is very pertinent to the book itself. This is a true trope book done right. I was eating up every epigraph chapter, especially once Aiden was introduced.
I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. The epigraph reviews, the chapter tropes, the trope challenge itself, relatability as an Asian American attending college (I have already graduated but currently back in school for my masters).

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!

This had all the ingredients for a great story, but it didn’t quite stick the landing. The concept overall felt hurried and the chapters went by so quickly that there wasn’t enough time to fully flesh out the characters or give key moments the weight they deserved.

Maybe I’m just not the right demographic for this book but Irene was not someone I could root for or relate to… She was kinda insufferable and the romance moved way too fast, skipping over the slow burn that makes the enemies-to-lovers trope so satisfying.

While the concept was strong, the story leaned too heavily on all the wrong areas, making it feel more like a commentary on tropes than a fully realized romance. The conclusion also felt abrupt, leaving me wishing for a more satisfying resolution and deeper character growth. In the end, this book had all the right ingredients but didn’t quite come together. A great idea that just needed more space to flourish.

As a bookstagrammer, I felt like this book was written to heal my soul. I have genuinely been looking for a book like this for so long that I was about to write one but then Susan Lee DELIVERED. the concept is so cute. Two rival romance reviewers ending up attending the same college, continuing their rivalry through fake dating and competitions? Literally best idea ever. I felt so inspired. I literally read this book in one sitting.
But it also felt too fast. It wasn’t very realistic. There’s a fade to black spice scene that was kinda random. The character development was fine but it all felt rushed. Like as a slow-burn reader the timeline seemed unrealistic. And I wish Aiden’s character was explored more. Inget that most of this book was written from Irene’s POV but Aiden’s family life felt more like an afterthought, a plot filler, than a real background.
I really wanted to love this book and I was so excited— I do still love this book, but it’s not one of my top reads. however, I will be reading Susan Lee’s other works. Aiden was such a cutie and I loved the romance. Literally every chapter title was a trope. And it was so cool how the banter/epigraph showed how Irene and Aiden’s relationship is progressing. When Aiden didn’t reply that one time? My heart broke. But this is a guaranteed HEA and the sweetest college love story. The jealousy? Perfection.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

I love a good romance - especially a rivals to loves. The romance rivalry is the perfect book to curl up and read.

Holy moly! I’m obsessed with this book. In this book, we meet Aiden and Irene. Two Korean teen (older teen) booktubers in a silent feud online. This feud is fostered by Aiden’s perceptions and disagreements on Irene’s posts which are then double downed on by Aiden’s subscribers. Fast forward and the teens are out of H.S and meet again!

This book is so enchanting. While it feels like an enemies to lovers, each chapter aligns to a typical romance trope which makes the scenes in the chapters so endearing. This book is a love-letter to romance tropes and books. I loved it! I love Susan Lee’s writing. I was giggling and kicking my feet.

This was so sweet! The concept of romance reviewers using tropes to find love was so charming. I loved the found family aspects of the friend group too.

Really my only complaint was hard not to feel nitpicky about how reviewing romance and brand deals actually work in real life. I can't say I've ever heard of a brand selecting only one influencer to work with and it being such an exclusive thing or book reviewers or their audience competing in this way. But I do tend to offer a bit of grace for YA books with things like that.

Ultimately was very fun and adorable, and I had a great time.

I always love a cheesy, feel-good rivals to lovers romance, and this didn’t disappoint. Was it a bit cliché? 100%, but I think it gave the novel charm.

Irene was a relatable FMC to follow, and she really shows that college freshman experience where people need to remember that they will struggle. And that’s okay! Irene’s character arc was nice because she finally grew and realized it’s okay to ask for help.

Aiden made me swoon constantly, but I wanted more from him. I wish we had gotten more in his character arc because his internal motivations and struggles weren’t fleshed out as much. It’s discussed a little, but I wanted more. Especially being the MMC, he just deserved more.

Irene and Aiden’s banter was fun and entertaining to read, and I loved their dynamic! As cheesy as it was, it was still cute and gave me the feel-good moments I love in romance novels.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and I think anyone who just wants an easy, feel-good romance read could enjoy this! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC :)