When You Get the Chance is an adorable YA contemporary novel that shows Emma Lord at her best. I really can't believe it took me so long to pick this up, and I am SO happy I finally did.

This book is a must read for anyone who likes musical theater, Mamma Mia, milkshakes, and the CUTEST enemies-to-lovers romance trope. This book was so much fun. One thing about Emma Lord's novels that I always really appreciate is how unique they are, and also how layered. I loved the different plots and how masterfully they were woven together to create a story that felt utterly authentic and whole.

When I started reading this book I could hardly put it down! I read it within two days and felt like in every spare moment I had I was trying to sneak in a few extra pages.

This is the third Emma Lord book I've read, and I decided to give this one a read. Thanks, NetGalley, for the advance copy and audiobook.

Having been raised by her father and aunt, aspiring broadway actress Millie knows nothing of her birth mother. After reading her father's college journal, she discovers her mother could be one of three women. Over the summer, she spends time with all three of them in an effort to narrow down who her mother is, and also might find out more about her friends and fall in love.

Yet again, Emma Lord does it. She's written another great teen romance story. I loved everything about it and look forward to the next book she's written.

I really have a hard time pointing out anything about the book that I didn't like. It felt realistic and enjoyable and a joy to read.

This is Emma Lord at her very best. The main character’s excitement and passion about musical theater jumped off the page. The Mama Mia mystery kept me going, and I was surprised at the end. And the love story! No notes. Just swoons and happiness over here.

Emma Lord is such a talent because I’m crying my eyes out right now. Her books are so cheesy and ridiculous and chaotic, but she’s genius at plotting and pacing. I cannot wait for her college-set book next year.

This book is a contemporary romance that features more than one love to hate relationship. I know Emma writes some amazing things, but this book caught me by surprise. There is also a big found family focus in this book with our main character. I highly recommend this book because of the friendship and the bonds that were made during the course of the entire novel.

I absolutely adored When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord! I ate this book up in a couple days and couldn’t get enough. As a former theatre kid and Mamma Mia lover, this book was a recipe for amazingness. When You Get the Chance follows Millie, an upcoming high school senior who is a theatre girl wanting to get into a prestigious early college program. Unfortunately her single dad doesn’t agree so she sets off to find her mom to see if she can change his mind. I highly highly recommend!

Oh Millie - so much drama and fun with this one. She was a little bit self-centered, but in a charming way. Watching her find her proper place as she transitions into young adulthood was great fun!

If you like teenagers with excessive energy and think Broadway is a way of life, then this is the book for you. When you get the chance is a gender swapped Mamma Mia, where theater nerd Millie is searching for her mother. Like her other books, Emma Lord's cast of characters is colorful and exciting. There is never a dull moment in this story.

Thank you Netgalley, Wednesday, and the author for the eARC in exchange for my review.

As a long time fan of Emma Lord I was very excited to read a book Emma herself has said has more of her in it than any other story before!! And it did not disappoint! If you were ever a theater kid, or even theater kid adjacent (like me) you will appreciate this novel. The story pulls you in and out of all these little niche-theater bubbles up and down New York City. It’s even more fun once the characters start their stream of musical references; some of my favorite mentions were Hamilton, Mamma Mia, & THE SIX!!! (Listen to the SIX! No, really.)

Besides the fantastic Emma-centric world building, the characters are also in a class of their own. While the book tips its’ hand toward cringe-y a little to often (Millie: I have to rebel against my dad in the most ridiculous unreasonable way!!), I really did enjoy most interactions. Specifically Millie & Oliver, who have officially turned me into a rivals-to-lovers stan. They are just so snarky, and condescending, and when they go at each other it just turns me feral!! In my notes I literally wrote “they are awful, but I love them” just so you know.

5/5 stars

*Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Love this Mamma Mia! style story, as well as the single father aspect. I don't feel like there are enough teenager girl/ single dad stories out there, and this one was great. I loved the plot and I love the way Emma Lord tells her stories. She writes her characters down to earth and relatable for teens.

I can’t even begin to express how happy this book made me!

For lack of better way to write this you are getting a list of things I loved here:
- enemies to friends to lovers
- the pure love of theater and the references to it
- Darren Criss was mentioned
- the pure madness of Millie Price
- a minor character just being named Baron Levait
- the absolute definition of found family
- NYC shenanigans
- did I mention theater?
- Oliver being an absolute gem
- Mamma Mia
- Emma Lord being a star writer

Moral of the story, I need it to be January so I can read it again.

I love Emma Lord and her uncanny ability to capture that YA rom com vibe. This book was a pleasure to read and I would recommend to those who think they would enjoy a YA romance with a theatre kid flair.

I love reading contemporary, it’s a great escape for me. I loved the father daughter relationship a lot and wished more of their relationship was in the story. The writing was great, I fell easily into the story and the way the characters interacted with one another. The story itself was like a rom-com I found myself laughing , smiling and feeling warm inside.

I would recommended this book to any Contemporary readers and if you like comedies and romance.

Thank you netgalley for sharing this copy with me.

This is my third Emma Lord book but I am disappointed to say, I just could not get into it, I got to about the 20% mark and found myself not caring what happened to any of the characters. The writing is superb as I expected but I just wasn't as in to the story line as I thought I would be. This does not diminish my like of Emma Lord novels. I did really love the small bit in the story that mentions the characters from Tweet Cute! I may try to pick this one up again at a later date.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this title*

I loved this book. The characters, the story, all of it. Emma Lord does not disappoint. I will be rereading this book as I loved it that much.

I adored so much about this story. As a former theater nerd, I obviously identified with Millie's ambition, and of course, I loved the Mamma Mia-inspired storyline of her exploring three potential mothers.

In general, this story was just pure fun. I was deeply invested in Millie's journey, and I loved trying to figure out for myself which mother was hers. I did end up predicting it before the reveal came, but that didn't take away from my overall enjoyment.

The relationship Millie had with her father and aunt was very sweet, and the relationship between Millie and her best friend reminded me a lot of myself and my best friend in high school, which just further connected me to Millie and her journey.

The dialogue was well-written, and the descriptions were immersive. I always enjoy Emma Lord's writing; it really knows how to captivate you and not release its grip until the story is done. Ultimately, though, I could only rate this book four stars because I've read some of Emma Lord's other stories, and those have connected with me and hit me more. While there was a lot about this story I loved and identified with, and I did enjoy the mental health representation of the "Millie Moods," I just couldn't quite put it on the same level as my all-time favorite Emma Lord book, "You Have A Match."

All in all though, this story was wonderful and I did really enjoy reading it. I would definitely recommend this book to any other recovering theater kids out there; there's definitely something about ourselves we can all find in this story.

DNF. I’m really sad about this one since I am a Mamma Mia stan for LIFE, but something about the voice and pacing just put me off.

This was a really cute YA book with some themes and tropes that I loved. I adore this author and will read everything they put out!

I thought this was such a sweet YA romance novel. It is my new favorite from Emma Lord, which is high praise because I've loved all of her books.

Millie Price, a young, loud, out-going, self-assured, aspiring Broadway star gets her acceptance into a precollege program, in California. One problem she needs consent from her single dad, who has raised her from the beginning. Her application and acceptance were done without his knowledge, now she must figure out how to get his consent to continue working toward her dream.
When her acceptance letter is not met with the same enthusiasm, she decides it is time to finally figure out who her mom is, and if she is fulfilling her dream of being a Broadway star. Millie begins searching through old emails and finds some clues that may lead her to her mom. She enlists her best friend and next-door neighbor Teddy to help.
Teddy is a tech nerd who can reach any information in few seconds. He already found LiveJournal of Millie’s father. There are three women were mentioned at this journal who could be the possible mother candidates of Millie. Beth: social worker, mother of Chloe who is a year younger of Millie, Steph: executive assistant of famous Broadway agent and a struggling actress and finally Farrah: a talented dance teacher.

Millie decides she must meet all three potential matches and decide from there who her mother is. A mishap of the search, she finds herself being interviewed for an intern position for a well-known Broadway manager. But of course, her competition for the interview is her long-time nemesis Oliver. Now she finds herself in a full-blown competition for the intern position and searching for her mom, who she believes is the assistant.
Millie finds herself in some sort of relationship with each of the three women she believes to be her mom. She has met them all and feels a connection to each one. All the while, her real mom, is right in front of her and she has no idea.

Maybe she doesn’t need to move to the West Coast to find her true happiness. Maybe the way to pursue her true dreams just stands right behind her eyes!