4.5 stars.

Two former rivals from former rival bands are brought back together after years by their label as a duet, getting the two to reconnect and form a fresh new bond as well.

First things first, I really liked the way this book deals with familial issues. From the child in Sam's life to their parent situations. I also really liked seeing Mackenzie's deep yet complicated bonds with her former bandmates. They were interesting to follow and not just one dimensional.

I liked seeing the way Mackenzie and Sam's relationship grew over time. From being rivals to something much more. They really grew to understand each other over form and I appreciated that.

Normally I'm not a fan of the miscommunication trope in books at all but it actually worked in this one. Mackenzie's secret was integral to the plot in many ways and it kept things interesting since we knew she was hiding this the whole time. Not just from the public but from Sam as well.

I don't have much to complain about here. It was a pretty solid book. I really liked it. There were a couple times where it felt like a scene jumped weird or something and I wasn't the biggest of that, but otherwise yeah!

(Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.)

For the Record is a M/F romance novel featuring two rockstars. They each were part of a different group that toured together until two years ago. Both groups broke up when Sam, the male lead, found out he had a son. But the main character in the book is Mackenzie Waters, who was part of a trio. Her romantic tension with Sam was not exclusively onstage—but the full extent of the offstage action was a five-second kiss.

This book is very character-driven. We learn all about Mack’s back story and Sam’s secret father. But the story dives back in as Mack is trying to figure out how to go public with her “new voice” after having a growth removed near her vocal cord. Her agent and Sam’s agent cook up a scheme where the two artists write songs together and fan the flames of their chemistry.

This PR stunt takes a major turn into romance. The pair’s appeal in earlier times was the question of whether or not they would finally get together. The scheme to have a joint album where the songs were all written at places of importance to the couple feels so dorky that it does feel like an agent might cook it up for the fandom.

The tension in this book revolves around Mack’s secret identity as the performer behind a popular (and anonymous) social media singer, and that same platform’s stars getting unfair and exploitive contracts from a music group. The thing is, this social impact side story feels like it was added to give a source of conflict. Maybe there were a few plot points unconnected and it doubled as a solution to that problem.

That said, I’ve been googling rockstar romance and reading a few of the top results ever since I read this book. So it did something very right.

For the Record was a cute romcom about Mackenzie and Sam. Rival band singers turned lovers. It was my first Emma Lord book and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed watching Mack come into herself after an injury made her have to work through her new sound as a singer. Sam was the best kind of snarky when it came to Mack and the best dad for Ben. When they finally got together i throughly enjoyed how sweet they were and how much they respected and listened to each other as they worked through things. Neither of them let their singing careers change how they viewed themselves, their families and friends. Overall, if you enjoy enemies to lovers, second change love, found family, and single dad tropes this one is for you. Thank you NetGalley and st.martins press for the opportunity to read For the Record!

OBSESSED. I read my first Emma Lord book (Tweet Cute) as a teenager and I was so excited to hear that she was writing a book geared towards adults. There's nothing like having an author's stories grow up with you. I was in love with Sam from page 1 and adored the way he interacted with Mackenzie. The concept was so unique and fun, but still felt grounded in reality. I was also delighted to find that there was no third act break up ( I was really scared for a second there). That on top of the lovely coparenting and fun flashbacks to shared memories.... I was a goner. The only thing I have to say is I wish I could listen to some tunes by Mack & Sam and Seven. I would love to read a book about Hannah or Serena too!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite romance books to read is where it's a dual POV because I feel like there's an extra special connection and I get to see what the MMC is thinking, and this was no different. Mackenzie (FMC) and Sam (MMC) are musicians who used to hate each other with a ton of tension. Now, both are going through changes with Mackenzie having a vocal change due to surgery while Sam traded his guitar for fatherhood...cue their labels forcing them to make an album. With this, you see sizzling chemistry. Part of me thinks this felt like a YA novel, which isn't bad but unexpected. There were times where the book also was slow for my liking, where I wanted to hurry it up.

Read if you like:
- Enemies to lovers
- Second chance
- Dual POV
- Found family
- Single dad

Hello, Emma Lord’s biggest fan here. I loved her first adult book, The Breakup Pact, and I was thrilled to get an early copy of her second adult romance.

I love a good second chance romance. Sam and Mackenzie have a deep professional and personal history. It is clear from the beginning of the novel how much they mean to one another even though they made names for themselves as rivals onstage. It is my kryptonite when a romantic pairing helps each other thrive both personally and professionally, and that is absolutely the case here. Sam and Mackenzie are able to write incredible music together, and they do so quickly. Sam helps Mackenzie feel confident in her voice again after her surgery, and Mackenzie supports Sam as he meets his birth father. I throughly enjoyed reading their relationship.

At the release of The Breakup Pact, I remember Lord comparing For the Record to Taylor Swift’s album, Red, and having read it now, I absolutely understand why. Red has a darker and moodier tone than Swift’s earlier work, and I’d say that’s true of For the Record as well. I also can imagine that the music Mackenzie puts out as Seven sounds like the music from Red. Seven puts out seven songs about her exes, which certainly sounds like something Swift would do.

One of my new favorite things to find in a romance novel is a main character who is a parent. Sam learns about his son when he is four years old. He immediately does everything he can to be there for his son. He has a great relationship with his son’s mom and even lives next door to her. Mackenzie respects and admires this about Sam as well. It is hard not to respect Sam for the loving way he parents his child. It is just one of several things that makes Sam such a likable character.

It wouldn’t be an Emma Lord novel without some delicious treats playing a role. Sam’s son’s mother owns a bakery and Sam’s son, Ben, enjoys coming up with fun creations like “pizza muffins.” Rocket, who enjoys hanging out at the bakery, even refers to Ben as a “dessert anarchist.” Reading that scene, I couldn’t help but smile because it felt like such a classic Emma Lord moment.

Lord created an app in this novel, Tick Tune. The app combines TikTok and Snapchat and allows artists to anonymously post music that disappears after you listen to it. Mackenzie uses this app to post music anonymously as she gets used to her new voice after thyroid surgery. While there are logisitical concerns that the book raises that would reveal the identities of the artists on Tick Tune, it does sound like a fun app that I wish were real. I also would love an album of Seven’s songs to accompany this book.

I’m loving Lord’s transition to adult work. I am eagerly awaiting announcement of her next book. Her work never fails to emotionally move me…and make me laugh.

This was a light and fun romcom book! Although I didn’t really believe the relationship between the two main characters of Mackenzie and Sam, the former pop star hysteria and second chance romance was an interesting concept! Just wish they had more believable chemistry compared to other romcom books I’ve read but with more editing and revisions I think this would definitely become a greater book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

"For the Record" by Emma Lord was a really enjoyable read! The writing was engaging and had a lot of heart, and I found myself really connecting with the characters. Emma Lord does a great job of bringing the story to life, especially when it comes to the emotional depth and relationships between the characters.

There were a few moments where the pacing felt a bit slow, which did make it harder to stay fully invested at times. It wasn’t a major issue, but I did wish things would pick up a little more in certain parts.

While I wouldn’t say it was side-splittingly funny, the story still had some light, charming moments that added a nice balance to the more serious themes. Overall, it was a nice feel-good read, and I’d recommend it. Thank you Emma Lord, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved Mackenzie and Sam! I was rooting for their love story the whole book, and both were real, fleshed-out characters. I enjoyed all of the music and the friendships between the girls and the other characters. I loved it.

this book was okay. it kind of slumped me and took me a bit longer than i wanted to read it.

but overall it was a good book and i enjoyed the banter and chemistry of the characters in the book.

Their personal growth could have been explored more, making their arcs feel somewhat stunted. I never quite reached the level of excitement that makes a romance truly swoon-worthy—no kicking my feet or giggling moments here.

This book was a fantastic enemies to lovers story! I loved following the dual POV throughout the books and I loved the growth in the characters throughout this read as well! I would definitely say that the way the author tied in music and band rivalries was something I hadn’t read before and it was extremely interesting! Really awesome read! Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC

Emma Lord's new title is sure to inspire both laughing and shedding tears as we watch Mackenzie and Sam find their way back to their love of making music and each other. Despite their past rivalry on the stage, the chemistry they have felt since the beginning has grown alongside them as they have separated from the limelight and each other. As they embark on writing a comeback album together, we will watch them learn more about themselves, and each other, than they ever imagined.

Certain to entertain romance lovers and music lovers alike, Mackenzie and Sam's story unites the wonders of the music industry with laugh out loud humor and romantic moments sure to make you blush!

Having read a few of Emma Lord's romance books, I was very excited to read this advanced copy. A second chance love story set in the rock and roll world. It is fun, These two main characters need each other to further their careers and the spark really do fly. I love that he calls her Sparkles. and loved the female friendships all throughout the book. And also, who does not love a dual POV? The music world is not always my jam, but Emma Lord did a good job with this book.

another fun, breezy read from Emma Lord! I enjoyed reading her adult book, I’ve previously only read her YA work and this book was fun and I loved the second chance romance plotline. I loved all the characters and enjoyed how Sam was written with depth that I usually find lacking with typical “bad boy” characters. As a swiftie, I was pulled out of the world of the story every once in a while because parts of Mackenzie were written in way that was so reminiscent of Taylor that it threw me off. the last 20% and the conflict fell a little flat for me but overall this was an enjoyable read.

I can honestly say that I didn't expect to like "For The Record" as much as I did. I was initially drawn to the book's title and the description's mention that this story revolved around music, but by the end I was super hooked into this really fun story that Emma Lord has crafted.

Without giving too much away, the story revolves around two "ex-rockstar/music rivals" that find themselves in a situation where they have to put aside old differences and work together. Lord is really, really good at writing banter between these characters, which caught me by surprise in the best way, as this is an area in which other books in this genre fall flat.

Apart from our two main characters, Lord also introduces a group of supporting characters that help to move the story along in creative and fun ways.

This easily feels like a story that could be adapted for a big or small screen one day, as there's definitely a "cinematic rom-com" feel to the story.

I had a lot of fun reading this and will definitely be checking out more from this other based on my enjoyment in reading this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with this advanced reader copy to read and give my honest opinion on.

This review is currently live on Goodreads.

Well this was absolutely adorable! Now I’m wondering why it has taken me this long to read an Emma Lord book until now.

From the first moment the FMC and MMC were being introduced on the page I was hooked and knew this would be a book I wouldn’t be able to put down. I couldn’t get enough or Sam and Mack’s love story. The two first meet when they are young rival bands emerging into fame. Sam is the heartthrob bad boy, Mackenzie the wild ball of glittery chaos. The crowd can’t seem to get enough of their undeniable chemistry so the record label makes the decision to have them lean into that. Sam and Mackenzie are instructed to use their flirty tension to draw in more publicity for the two bands. However, it isn’t long before their flirty banter starts to develop into something much deeper under the surface. One night the tension finally snaps and the two give into one another with a passionate backstage kiss. Unfortunately, the romance is short lived after life events throw the two in completely different directions. Two years pass without a word from one another until one day their paths cross again. The last time Mackenzie had seen Sam he had left her heartbroken and confused. Thanks to their two meddling agents, Sam and Mack are thrown back into one another’s lives and Mackenzie comes to realize that maybe there is a fine line between the hate she thinks she feels for Sam and the love that is becoming harder to deny.

I thought this was a great read. It had a good storyline, the plot was interesting. Emma Lord did a fantastic job creating a group of characters with diverse personalities that all seemed to fit into the story seamlessly. They were all so well developed that it was easy to picture every character’s interaction in my mind while reading. I also loved how pretty much every character had some sort of conflict to overcome, it kept me engaged throughout the entire book.

My only teeny tiny complaint was I would have loved to see some more lyrics to the songs. The entire book was about Mack and Sam creating these beautiful lyrics with one another. There was so much emphasis on the songs and feelings that went into them. It would have been great to get more of the songs titles and just a line or two of lyrics from the songs. We did get some from Golden in the end of the book but I would have liked to see a little more of that since this was a music based romance between two singer/song writers.

Thank you NetGalley, Emma Lord, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this read!

For the Record by Emma Lord is a captivating story that follows two musicians, Sam and Mackenzie, who once toured together in separate bands and share a complicated history. Now, years later, they are thrown back together, forced to collaborate on new music as fans eagerly hope to rekindle the magic between them.

What I love about Emma Lord’s writing is her ability to craft engaging plots and deeply developed characters. It was a joy to get to know each of them and uncover what shaped them into who they are today. Adding to the intrigue is an online platform where a mysterious singer, "Seven," has been releasing songs filled with heartbreak and nostalgia over the years.

I couldn’t put this book down once I started! A huge thank you to #NetGalley and #St. Martin’s Griffin for the EARC.

I thought this book was super cute. The beginning was a little slow, but I was craving to know the story of why May happened when they toured. Great tropes and character development.

I have been a longtime fan of Emma Lord and appreciated her debut from YA to adult fiction last year, so I was super excited to read this book. I enjoyed the premise but I wasn't 100% in love with the characters; Sam & Mack’s relationship did feel a bit immature and juvenile. While the book was cute overall, I did just feel like there was a little something missing.

Thank you to St. Martin and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
1.5⭐️ I unfortunately wasn't a fan of this book. While I did enjoy the idea, I wasn't a fan of how it was executed.
I honestly considered DNFing this book about 25% in, but I decided to stick it through. I felt that majority of the story was corny and would've been much better if written for a YA audience. To me, the opening felt a bit off because we didn't know the dynamic between Sam and Mackenzie yet. There was a lot of writing in-between parts of dialogue, so I found myself having to go back and remember what they were originally talking about several times. In my opinion, there was no reason for a 300 page book to be split into so many parts (or any parts at all). The main reason I had a hard time getting into this book was how corny the characters were. It felt like they were trying to be quirky and cool but it just... didn't come off as that. 'Samuel Blaze' and 'Candy Shard' are also corny names to me. I'm not even going to bring up the fashion choices in this book, I'm still pressed about that damn fuzzy bucket hat Mackenzie brought out. The fighting at their grown up age was super tiring. These characters are too old to be constantly bickering for seemingly no reason (specifically talking about that whole Serena thing). The side plot lines in general were unnecessary and drawn out. While some of the reminiscing on memories parts was cute, it just dragged on and on. This book might've been more enjoyable if there was a dual plot line happening instead of the random memory dumps in the middle of dialogue or moments that would've been better left alone. I didn't enjoy Mackenzie or her chapters because she was constantly making me cringe. She was very visibly a knock-off Taylor Swift (she brought up writing songs about her ex-boyfriends and the public crucifying her for it, her long blonde curly hair, etc. multiple times). This confused me though because there were several times in the story that Taylor Swift was name dropped? (I'm a huge Swifty, just felt like I was reading Taylor Swift fanfic lol). Lastly, TickTune just sounds like a bad app. I can't wrap my head around how an app that only lets you listen to a song once a day would help anyone trying to boost or start a career? Maybe that's just me though.
Onto the things I DID enjoy. I thought the mental aspects of Mackenzie's story were good, specifically the way she acknowledges her emotions regarding her parents. While I wasn't a huge fan of Mackenzie, I did like Sam and his chapters more. The way Sam thinks about Mackenzie is cute along with his nickname for her. All of the interactions between Mackenzie and Ben were adorable. Ben was the best character. I did enjoy the writing at the end of the story more than I enjoyed it in the beginning.
If this book was more geared toward a younger audience I think I would've liked it more. I can see WHY people like this book, there were just too many small things that bothered me for me to enjoy it. This is definitely a quick an easy read for people who like a fun, low stakes rom-com.