YOU HAVE A MATCH has a lot going on at once. There's a family storyline as Abby grapples with the discovery that she has a secret sister, Savvy, that she knew nothing about. There's also friendship struggles and a bit of a romance as Abby tries to figure out how to move past the Big Embarrassing Incident (BEI) with one of her best friends, Leo.

Of the various elements in the story, I found the family storyline the most compelling. The budding relationship between Abby and Savvy was wonderfully done and almost made me cry quite a few times. Each of the sisters has to work through the preconceived notions of the other, their feelings towards their parents with the light of this discovery, and how it makes them view themselves. Both Abby and Savvy are well-rounded characters who felt like real people. I particularly loved Abby, who grows so much over the course of YOU HAVE A MATCH.

I wanted more from the Abby/Leo storyline. The book is only narrated by Abby so we see her try to figure out how to resume a normal friendship with Leo despite having a huge crush on him. Leo seemed a bit too perfect and one-dimensional at times but was overall still a likable character. I would've loved a bit more about what it was like for him to do the DNA test looking to learn more about his biological parents (Leo is Filipino and was adopted by white parents). It comes up briefly but seems surprisingly glossed over considering Leo's decision to do a DNA test and rope his friends into doing them also is the spark for the whole plot.

One thing I really didn't like about YOU HAVE A MATCH was the reasoning behind Connie's decision to lie to both her friends about their feelings for each other. Connie says that she worried it would change their friendship dynamic and was afraid of being left out as she hasn't had romantic feelings like that for anyone. I read Connie as aromantic based off this and found this characterization yet another instance of YA using aro/ace characters to thwart potential romances between other characters out of a sense of jealousy. There are so few aro/ace characters in YA that it stings every time one appears only to be the wrench in other characters' romance. This didn't ruin the book for me but as an aro/ace reader, I found it really disappointing that Lord continues this broader trend of aro/ace characters as essentially the villain in the romance. Connie could've easily been just the third member of the friend group that was worried about being left out regardless of whether or not she is interested in romance for herself.

YOU HAVE A MATCH was an entertaining read with some compelling characters. I think the story had a bit too many elements going on, which resulted in some being much stronger than others, but overall found it to be an enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was overall very good! I will say, Abby made some decisions that I very much questioned, butttttt. Luckily everything worked out okay!

Savvy I was not a fan of for a while throughout the book. But, near the end she really grew on me! She is such a well developed character. I love how she changed throughout the story. I loved her so much by the end!

Leo was honestly such a sweetheart! I just love how supportive and caring he was. Such a cutiepie!

I just really enjoyed this. It was such a fun read! I highly recommend this!

Funny and thoughtful, You Have a Match is a beautifully written story about secrets, friendship, history and love. It is also about the fact that the family we create and embrace often has very little to do with biology or upbringing. A quick, engaging and heartwarming read!

This is like The Parent Trap, updated for this generation's teenage readers. There's nothing life-changing about this story, but it was a fun adventure -- the perfect read for a sick day!

Thanks to St Martins and Netgalley for the free early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Teenage Abby takes a DNA test to get her friends off her back. When she gets the results she finds out some crazy news. She has a sister that is a big instagram star! She ends up meeting up with her.

This story was long and boring for me. I didn't get into it and didn't really care what happened. Probably 2.5 stars. Maybe great for teens to read but not for me.

*Thank you to St. Martins Press, Emma Lord and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

You Have a Match has it all. Teen Romance, surprise sisters, summer camp, life long friendship, annoying siblings and teen angst. The problem is there is too much of everything.

Abby is 16 and in love with her best friend Leo. They agree to do a DNA test because Leo is adopted and Abby wants to support him. While Leo finds out virtually nothing, Abby is surprised to find out she has a sister. Instagrammer Savannah Tully, who only lives 30 minutes from her. Savannah couldn't be more different from her, despite the fact that they look almost exactly alike. Savvy convinces Abby to come Summer Camp with her so they can figure out the mystery of why they are sisters. and what happened.

There is so much going on in this book that the reader may find that there is little focus on any one thing. I personally wanted more focus on Leo' and Abby's friendship to romance and maybe less focus on other characters, of which we only get a glimpse of, such as Finn.

I have not read TweetCute but I have heard it is a much different book. I would definitely read Emma Lord again. This book had the potential to be fabulous!

I loved this book! I loved the camp setting. I felt like I was back at summer camp. I liked all the characters. Their friendships were very real. This was the first book I read by this author but I will definitely be reading more.

You Have a Match is cute, but it felt like it was geared toward a more middle-grade audience than something that would appeal to the same crowd as John Green YA. This may be more indicative of the shift in the industry, as 'New Adult' becomes more popular, carving separate spaces for the 12-15-year-old audience, versus the 16-20 crowd.
As far as the actual story here, it's well-crafted and unique, even if the 'scandal' and relationship troubles are too innocent for my personal taste. I would imagine most people who participate in those mail in ancestry kits, like myself, harbor a certain desire to discover a hidden relation or unknown origins. In that way, it does indeed strike a chord, making it relatable, but also exactly the kind of 'what if?' scenario we might imagine for ourselves. I would recommend this for middle school readers, up through 9th grade.

A fun YA book where we find what events transpire when Abby takes an online DNA test and finds a sister, Savvy who shares both parents in fact. The sisters then decide to meet in a summer camp to start scheming on how to find out the truth from their parents. Finding out this truth and the corresponding explanation made it intriguing. Both Abby and Savvy with their opposite personalities are fun to read about and various pranks by Abby at the camp were hilarious.

On the other side, we have the constant tension between Abby and her close friend Leo. They keep trying to stay just friends but have their feelings pushing them towards each other. I like Leo and his cooking antics. Savvy’s instagram savviness was so on point and depicts current reality perfectly.

Overall a cute and fun read!

Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

First off, let me be clear when I say that Emma Lord may have just become an auto buy author for me. I absolutely loved reading Tweet Cute earlier this year and still consider it to be one of my favorite books of 202o. So I was extremely shocked when I was given a chance to read and review You Have a Match as I was highly anticipating it for this next year and expecting to love it as much as I loved Tweet Cute.

So did You Have a Match stand up to my feelings for Tweet Cute?

In some ways yes and in other ways no. In this book, the romance takes much more of a back seat to all of the other events happening instead of being one of the main driving forces of the book. So for me that was a little bit of a bummer as I absolutely love a good romance story. However the overall story line and execution of the story itself was absolutely great. So if you are looking for a more family focused story with hints of romance sprinkled throughout then this is a book for you. If you prefer your stories to be more romance focused you may find yourself a bit disappointed in this one.

I think this story reminds me a bit of the more family focused books that Sarah Dessen has written where there is still a romance in the story but its not as present as the big issues being worked through with the family. And there are definitely some big issues being worked on in this family.

Emma Lord also has great command of her writing.. With both stories I have been completely pulled in and invested in the characters and wanting to know how their story is going to end. And while some of it may be a bit predictable I still felt like it was a fresh enough take that I wasn't completely bored with being able to guess where some elements of the story were going to take us. Overall this was a very solid story and I'm so excited to see what Emma Lord is going to write next.

oh this was SO cute. i didn’t realize how much i was craving a good family story!! also i want this book from savvy’s point of view. i love her. the only reason i didn’t give this the full five stars is because i really saw no point in abby’s brief thing with finn?? and there were times when i wanted to skip the romance and just get back to solving family secrets. but overall i loved this book!! loved it more than tweet cute!! definitely recommend for anyone looking for an easy read.

(thank you netgalley for the arc!!)

You Have A Match was a cute YA contemporary novel, with a focus on what happens if a DNA test brings back surprising results.

And I must admit, the chances of surprising results has been the reason why I haven’t done a DNA test yet - lol

Of course, it’s not surprising that the results would bring upheaval to Abby’s life and her family. And the aftereffects as well as the way it all unravels makes for an interesting story.

I personally wasn’t as pulled into this story as I was by Tweet Cute. I loved the romance in the first book, but was missing the same in You Have A Match. Although Abby and Leo were very cute together. But the book was more about the sisters and how they navigated the aftereffects than it being a romance novel.

Overall You Have A Match was a cute coming-of-age novel that will appeal to anyone enjoying young adult books.

Abby signs up to get a DNA test to help nudge her best friend and secret crush Leo to find out more about her birth parents. What she doesn't expect is to find a secret Instagram-famous older sister. When they plot to spend the summer together at camp to discover more about their parents (a la Parent Trap), things don't go exactly according to plan--including Abby being in forced proximity with Leo, who turns out to be the camp chef!

I don't read a lot of YA, but the cover and blurb really drew me to this one. I ended up enjoying it exponentially and binged it in one evening. I've heard some people say it's a slow start, but I disagree--we jump right into the DNA test and Abby finding out she has a sister (this is in the blurb, so not a spoiler). I like the romance aspect, because who doesn't love a little romance, but I think this story is much more about Abby and Savvy's relationship as sisters than Abby and Leo. Makes me wish the cover featured the two sisters, rather than a boy and a girl. There was definitely a point where I was 3/4 of the way through and thought the book was over but then realized I still had an hour left, so the plot could have been a little more concise, but I do think this way it had more twists and turns. I think this is a great read for teens or adults and has a little bit of everything--family drama, sisterly bonds, romance, Instagram fame, and summer camp fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for my free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

5 stars - 8/10

The writing is good but I don't feel like I am the proper audience for this novel. I am not really a YA reader and found it hard to relate to the teenage characters.
Overall, I did enjoy this one even though it wasn't a perfect read. With romance not being the number one plot, I think the book best fits in the young adult fiction genre.

I quite enjoyed Tweet Cute so I was very excited to read this book because I thought the whole DNA service and long-lost blood-related sister was a really unique idea, especially since the sister is a social media influencer. I thought the mystery and secrecy behind her adoption was intriguing and found the summer camp setting to be cute and fun. Unfortunately, it was really hard for me to feel engaged in the story. It just felt like it dragged a bit, and I couldn't make myself care about the characters like I did with the characters in Tweet Cute.

Thank you Net Galley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After Abby and her friends do one of those mail in DNA kits on a whim, Abby finds out she has a biological sister...and she is a beautiful and somewhat famous instagram model named Savannah. Abby does not need anything else complicating her life, as she struggles in school, with SAT prep, and with very inconvenient feelings for her best friend Leo. But Abby, Savannah, and Leo all end up at the same summer camp, forcing Abby to confront her challenges on every side.

This was a cute YA book. I liked the twist of focusing on a sibling relationship. Everything felt VERY LIFE SHATTERINGLY URGENT for Abby which was exhausting, but I guess that's how we all were at 17. ;)

Emma Lord has now written two books very much into food and I am here for it. Don't read while you're pregnant and hungry though, or you'll find yourself making random snacks at 9pm to fill a craving.

Thank you to Netgalley, author Emma Lord, and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the eARC.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book. It was not only a love story, rather it was more of a family story about Abby discovering her sister Savvy.. The camp setting was fun, although it felt more like a summer book than one to read in the winter! The friend group was fun to read about and I loved that Abby was a photographer.

I have heard only super positive reviews for Emma Lord's first book, Tweet Cute. So when this book came up on Netgalley, I grabbed it with both hands...er, requested it immediately.

What a unique story!

Abby is a passionate photographer. She has her own quirks but she is doing quite well in life, thank you. Then her friend (plus secret crush) Leo announces that he is submitting his name for a DNA test. Abby does it too, just for him.

Imagine the shock when she finds out that she actually has a sister she didn't know about! Her name is Savannah (goes by Savvy), is passionate about photographs in reverse (she likes standing in front of a camera, not behind it), and is a social media influencer.

Obviously, both of them have endless questions but they decide not to ask either set of parents and instead decide to spend time together at a camp.

The premise was unique and the story was excellent. I loved the writing. I loved Abby, but I also loved Savvy and Leo.

I am reading Tweet Cute next!

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emma Lord for this ARC.

This is actually a fun and interesting YA book. During Summer, Abby learns more about her family, and in the process ends up discovering more about herself and what she really wants to do with her life. She ends up with two matches - one from a DNA test and a second one as a love interest. She is the typical high school teenager - with a group of close friends, good to average grades, and a promising future. But things get a little bit out of place when she and her friends do a DNA test and she ends up finding out things that her parents were hiding from her for 16 years. When she tries to find her "match" she ends up discovering a lot more things along the way.