Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillian.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

"The Rival" by Emma Lord is a charming and engaging read that will appeal to fans of contemporary romance. Following "The Getaway List," I was eager to experience another of Lord's creations and was fortunate enough to receive an ARC. The audiobook, narrated by the talented Jesse Vilinsky, further enhanced the enjoyment.

This delightful rom-com centers around recent graduates, offering a relatable glimpse into post-university life. Sadie, the driven protagonist, is well-developed and avoids falling into the trap of being overly ambitious. Seb, her charming counterpart, adds a delightful sweetness to the narrative. The supporting cast is vibrant and memorable, enriching the overall story.

While the core concept is engaging, the pacing of the romantic development felt a bit rushed. The mutual attraction between Sadie and Seb was evident from the outset, diminishing the anticipation of the "will they/won't they" dynamic. Several scenes built palpable tension, only to have the potential kiss dissipate. When the eventual kiss does occur, it felt somewhat anticlimactic, as the tension had already subsided.

Despite this minor drawback, "The Rival" is a thoroughly enjoyable read with a lighthearted tone and some genuinely touching moments. Jesse Vilinsky's narration is superb, bringing the characters to life with distinct voices.

I highly recommend "The Rival" to students and fans of contemporary romance. It's a delightful escape.

4 stars

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3.5 stars rounded up

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I previously read and thoroughly enjoyed Emma Lord's Tweet Cute, and while I did enjoy listening to this book, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as my first Emma Lord book. This was a sweet story, it just lacked the spark that Tweet Cute had. I do plan on reading more of her titles.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. This was a fantastic audio book. Jessie Vallenski gives Millie the prefect voice in the narration.

This is a sweet enemy's to lovers romance. They are both determined to expose corruption at their school and somehow find a bit more than what they were looking for.

As much as I enjoyed the book it felt like the story line went on a bit too long for a single point of view novel, and would have liked it to be a bit shorter.

Over all a solid YA romance.

Macmillan Audio ALC
This was absolutely a perfect YA rivals to lovers. YA has been feeling different for me lately, but I know I can count on Emma Lord to write an engaging, fun story with depth. I loved how she focused on college freshmen and how this new phase of life is so life changing. I loved the exploration of friendship, rivalry, and discovering yourself. Sadie and Seb's growth was so much fun to witness. I think their characters showed how transitioning from being a kid and familial expectations can impact this new life experience. I had so much fun listening to this one, and Jesse Vilinsky captured Sadie so well. I always love her performances because I know she adds so much to the characters she narrates by capturing the tones and inflections and emotions perfectly.

What I liked about this book:
- Great narration
- A bubbly, engaging YA voice.
- A sweet childhood friends-to-lovers mixed with a touch of rivals-to-lovers. (It's very clear from the beginning that Sebastian is head over heels for Sadie and waiting for her to catch up. But it's very sweet to watch them overcome past misunderstandings for their relationship to evolve into love)
- A quirky college campus that we'd all definitely want to live in
- The first 25-30% drew me right in
- Sebastian was super sweet and popped off the page.

What I didn't like:
- This one felt about 3 hours (~30%) too long for me for a single-POV, light romcom, and I felt like the second half dragged.
- The many side characters, while fun, all kind of blended together for me
- While I started off liking Sadie, she grated on me in the second half - especially in some of the high-tension moments with Sebastian.
- Overall, the main plot felt a little lower stakes than my usual preference

Overall, if you're looking for a light, sweet college romance with a YA flavor and great narration, you might want to check this one out!

Thanks to Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for early access to The Rival in exchange for my honest opinion. The way Emma Lord writes YA is such a treat! And this book also includes a focus on the treat of pancakes 🥞 I’m not a pancake fan (but give me a waffle any day) but I really enjoyed their place in this book. Yes I know pancake and waffle batter is almost identical - I guess I’ve just had too many dry pancakes in my life to want to take the chance on one. But I have done my share of splitting a pancake for the table at a brunch spot - I'm willing to have a few bites!
I really enjoyed this book, and I'm excited it comes out 1/21. The tension and banter are so fun, and it reads with the best mix of reality and hilarious coincidence that you'd never want to actually be real. It rivals Begin Again for my favorite Emma Lord book! If you liked Begin Again and Emma Lord’s other YA/NA books, I think you'll love this book, too.

This was a such an enjoyable book. I really liked the love/hate relationship between Sadie and Seb. My favorite character in this book was Betty, the owner of the pancake place. She was such a grump, but deep down she had a heart of gold! :)
The audio was great. Loved the narrator.

The Rival was such an adorable book. The banter with long time rivals, childhood best friends Sadie and Seb ending up at the same college last minute, was too good. Their banter but also obvious care and admiration for one another was perfect! I love how Sadie and Seb grew together but also individually which I think is really important especially for young romance. This was a cute fluffy read with great rival banter. Would recommend!

The second Emma Lord book that I didn’t love 😭 I have loved all of her books and I’ll continue to read. I just wasn’t super into this one.

I always know going into an Emma Lord book that I’m going to love it and she still hasn’t let me down. Love me a friends to enemies to lovers story. All of the characters were likable and diverse. I appreciated how the conflict played out. Loved rooting for Seb and Sadie. Loved all the food references (and despite Emma telling us to snack while reading in the dedication, I didn’t). This just felt like a warm comfort read.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ebook and the audiobook to review. I did both and enjoyed both formats!

Sadie and Seb have been a part of each other's world since they were kids and thrive on competition. Now in college, they are both vying for the same staff writing position. I enjoy the enemies to lovers trope and these two were fun to read. Their banter and unexpected tender moments kept me listening and the audiobook, narrated by Jesse Vilinsky, is a great way to enjoy this new adult romance.

I always love Emma Lord books. This one may not be my fave of hers but it was still enjoyable and entertaining. Seb and Sadie grew up competing against each other and end up competing for a spot on the college paper. It's fairly predictable but still fun to see their romance unfold slowly. As always, great banter and memorable secondary characters, like Sadie's family members and the pancake lady. The audiobook narrator was great!

The Rival is one of those books I read that makes me very sad I didn't have it to read years and years ago. This sounds a little hyperbolic about a YA romance between two overachievers, but Emma Lord has a magic way of gently tackling some big issues in such a comforting way. She doesn't discount the very real pressures many young adults face from their families, peers, and academic institutions and finds ways to creatively discuss and tackle these topics throughout a charming and funny novel.

Overall, this book was lovely and full of heart. The narrator Jesse Vilinsky does an amazing job bringing both Sadie and Seb to life. Highly recommend.

It’s the start of Sadie’s freshman year of college, the start of Sadie allowing herself to fully be who she is, the start of a new era without her longstanding rival by her side continuously upping the ante—or so she thinks.

Seb has basically been by her side since birth. Sure, at one point they were friends, but their near-constant battle of one-upmanship has been going on for a decade. She’s supposed to finally be getting a break from him.

But no, sure enough, there he is also going into the interest meeting for the school’s zine that she has been planning to join for years. And there’s only one open spot on staff and that’s only if the zine can manage to get the proper funding from the school to keep itself in print.

Y’all, this is not how Sadie’s freshman year is supposed to go.

At a glance:
- Single POV
- YA / new adult (kissing only)
- Friends to rivals to lovers
- Coming of age
- People pleaser + the one with charm that seems to effortlessly collect admiration wherever he goes
- Neighbors and family friends
- Straight-laced with a comedic perspective + a “meme lord” with an investigative journalism bent
- Queer rep
- Will absolutely make you hungry

Read it for
- Seb (oh my heart)
- Sadie growing the confidence to share herself with those around her
- The banter
- Some open and honest conversations
- The friendships (even with the bumps along the way)
- The food descriptions
- Betty, the pancake proprietor

Recovering people pleasers, consider yourself forewarned: Sadie has to learn to stop making herself responsible for maintaining the balance for everyone. She has to learn not to always subjugate her own needs to those of her family. It’s a learning process for her.

As for the audiobook, I give two thumbs up to Jesse Vilinsky’s narration. She captures the youthfulness and escalating stress levels of Sadie well. I liked her voice for Seb, and it was easy to keep track of which character is speaking during the sections of dialogue.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All review opinions are my own.

This is the 5th book I’ve read by Emma Lord and I was a bit disappointed with the storyline. It was a bit slow for me and I felt like it was much much longer than it needed to be. I also had issues with the audiobook as it was missing Chapter 16! It was just a whole 26 minute long track of silence. The storyline was just a bit boring for me, even though I love “writing storylines” and “rivals:lovers”. There was just something missing from this book and I can’t quite put my finger on what. Maybe it was too juvenile for me? I will still read more from Emma Lord in the future, but I hope it’s better than this one.

This book was such a delight to read and left me craving pancakes. As a sprinkle lover, I couldn't get enough of all the sprinkle mentions- it added some whimsical charm to the story. Emma Lord always captures the lives of college students so well, from their ambitions and self-discovery to the chaos of balancing college life. Sadie and Seb's rivalry-turned-partnership was perfectly packed, and I loved how their connection grew against the background of campus life. It's a fun and heartfelt story with the perfect amount of humor, romance, and depth.

This rivals to more story has all the charm (and snacks) we expect from an Emma Lord novel. I’m so grateful to @WednesdayBooks for this copy with an autographed bookplate and to @macmillanaudio for an ALC of this one!!

For as long as she can remember, Sadie has been battling next door neighbor and family friend, Seb to be the best. When she got the coveted spot at their dream college, she thought she was leaving the rivalry in the past, so she’s less than thrilled to run into Seb on campus where he informs her he got a spot off the waitlist. And not only is he here, he’s also vying for the one staff job on their college’s famous zine—the zine Sadie has dreamed of working on for years.

There’s a lot to love about this one. Seb is a doll. Sadie is a great friend who works to make things right when she messes up. Sadie’s family is hysterical. There’s a great subplot about what organizations get college funding and why as well as how hard it can be to maintain a sports’ scholarship and the pressure that comes with it. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the pancakes. I definitely enjoyed the ride with Seb and Sadie even though it was obvious where it was headed from the get go. My one quibble was that there was a bit too much ruminating about everything for my taste. There were many moments in the book where Sadie had a mental breakthrough only to not act on it and have a similar breakthrough chapters later. I wished she figured out some of these things sooner, but her process was probably pretty realistic.

I sailed through the audiobook. Jessie Vilinsky’s narration added so much character, heart, and quirk. I would definitely recommend the audiobook, although I’m thrilled to have a physical copy so I can reread some of the more swoony moments.
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Emma Lord has such a talent for writing friendships and family with just the right amount of drama to keep is realistic, frustrating and finally heartwarming.

I really enjoyed Sadie and Seb’s story. The way they went from childhood friends, to the funniest rivals ever while maintaining a “friendship facade” to their families, to lovers was so cute and fun to read.

I did read this on my kindle as well as listen and I really loved the audio. Jesse Vilinsky did a wonderful job putting the perfect amount of emotion into this story with her narration. 🙌🏻

♡ Thank you for the free ARC, Wednesday Books and NetGalley. Thank you for the free ALC, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. And thank you for the finished copy, Wednesday Books!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Emma Lord books that I have read, and this was another fun one! And another adorable cover, too. I loved Sadie and Seb together. This story is for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Lynn Painter. If you love a sweet young adult romance with witty banter and a bit of rivalry, this is one to add to your TBR.

☊ Listening to this via audiobook was great! Narrator Jesse Vilinsky did a fantastic job.

This book was a lot of fun. It was laugh out loud funny, and filled with shenanigans, hijinks, and excellent banter. I was expecting a romcom, and this is not that. It does have a romantic subplot though, which was very cute and sweet. Sadie and Seb have known each other for their entire lives, and she’s spent most of that time loathing him. The only way she knows how to interact with him is to compete against him in a cutthroat rivalry that consumes every aspect of their lives. And the only way he knows how to get her attention is to beat her at things and to tease her. They were super adorable together. I’d say this book is less a love story and more of a coming of age story about finding yourself in college and learning where you fit within your family dynamics. It was enjoyable, heartwarming, and cute.
🥞
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️
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Read if you like:
▫️rivals to lovers
▫️she hates him
▫️he falls first and harder
▫️black cat x golden retriever
▫️coming of age story
🥞
Thank you to Wednesday Books, MacMillan Audio, Emma Lord, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC. I received advanced copies for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.