This is, overall, a great book full of fun ya tropes and drama!

Read if you…
🎤Like musicals
🎤Know all the words to Mamma Mia! songs
🎤Are looking for a feel-good story

Stories in the teen and young adult genres are usually a lot of fun for me and, when done well as this one is, are hard to put down. New to me author Emma Lord creates a world starring Millie Price and her family and friends. Millie is a typical teenager with big dreams of making it on Broadway. In order to accomplish that, she is convinced she needs to attend a “pre-college” course in musical theater for her senior year to better prepare her.

Raised by her single parent dad and never having known her mother, Millie tends to be an overachiever, which completely made sense to me even though it seems to create more issues for Millie. After her dad tells her she can’t go to California to attend the pre-college course, she decides she is going to find her mother, get her on her side about the school and somehow, together, they will present a united front to convince her dad.

Along the way, she ends up competing for an internship at a talent agency with her annoying arch nemesis, Oliver, that made me feel like their job was nothing more than a giant scavenger hunt, so that was quite entertaining to tag along on.

I adored the chemistry between Millie and Oliver and though it’s obvious to everyone but them that they belong together, it was adorable to watch it happen. I also liked all of the prospective “Mom” candidates that Millie has identified. I thought any of these women would have been great to be the one revealed. I had my suspicions early on who she was and I was correct, but the getting there came as a surprise.

I also enjoyed all of the Mama Mia references and now, because of Millie, I want to see some Broadway shows. This is one of those stories that the reader roots for all of the characters to come out on top. There are no mean girls to fight or evil to vanquish. Just a girl living her life, trying to fulfill her dreams in the best conceivable way.

I went with the audio format and loved the performance by Jesse Vilinsky. Her narration brought out each character’s personality vibrantly and some of the one-liners she delivered had me laughing so hard. For example, a scene between Oliver and Millie when he realizes Millie got to work before him. Oliver sweeps from the elevator a beat later and immediately narrows his eyes at me. “How do you keep beating me here?” “Because I drink coffee like a real New Yorker and you drink tea like the American Revolution never happened.”

My Final Verdict: I highly recommend this book to fans of the romance, teen and young adult genres as well as readers who like stories about people with big dreams, drive and determination. This book will make you laugh and you may shed a tear or two, but you won’t mind because this book will leave a smile on your face when you finish it.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of When You Get the Chance from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE EMMA LORD SO MUCH! Her writing is filled with witty and heartfelt moments. So, I was so excited to pick this book up. However, when the birth date of the main character was mentioned, it completely took me out of the book! I forgot how young these characters are, and I always age them up in my mind. Once again, this is more of a me problem than a writing or plot issue.

This was such a cute read! I rooted for Millie to find her Mom from the very beginning. Oliver and Millie were the cutest! I also loved the Teddy and Chloe, Heather and Farrah, Coop and Beth secondary romances!

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for the gifted book!

Millie Price is on track to achieve her dream of becoming the next Broadway star. But her sweet introverted dad is really raining on her parade by not letting her leave home to attend the school that will make her dreams a reality. And of course her drama club nemesis/source of all the simmering romantic tension in her life Oliver agrees with her dad. Millie is fed up and needs someone on her team. And after her best friend/brother figure finds her dad's LiveJournal from 2003, Millie decides she's going to investigate the three contenders from her dad's life at that time and pull a reverse Mama Mia to find her mom!

As she infiltrates each of these women's lives she isn't sure who she wants to be her mom. And she also isn't sure how she's going to come out of this experiment unscathed.

I loved all the Broadway goodness laced throughout this one. Plus each character is so fun and I never got tired of any of them. Even the secondary characters were big personalities and that just added to the humor and heartwarming nature that oozed from this one. Standing ovation, so much fun!

I thought this was so fun! Emma Lord is one of my go-to authors for YA contemporary novels. She writes funny, sweet, relatable stories that feature realistic characters. The friend groups are always interesting and fun to read, and the love interests are well-developed, as is the banter between the MC and her love interest. I'm not familiar with Mamma Mia, but I was still able to enjoy the book regardless. I was invested in finding out who her mother was and felt it was handled with just the right amount of silliness and gravity. I also enjoyed the side characters, as well as the amount of LGBTQ+ relationships/characters. It felt very authentic and natural. I will definitely recommend this to any teens looking for a rom-com, musical, romance, or acting-themed novel!

I selected this book because of the reverse Mamma Mia component. It was a clever story, but a bit of a stretch to believe that the main character wouldn't be able to figure out her mom with the information she had. For being a YA book, it was good, but it was a stretch to believe it otherwise.

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.

Millie has big dreams of making it on Broadway. The fact that she has just been admitted into a coveted acting program in California could bring her even closer to bringing her fancy into fruition. The only problem is her Dad won't let her go which is why she can no longer put off discovering her birthmother's true identity. Discovering her Dad's LiveJournal and her love off Mama Mia serves as plenty of ammunition to find her biological mother. This story also has an enemies-to-lover element that does not take away from the main story line. This book would be perfect for anyone who is into musicals and romantic comedies.

This author is one of my YA faves! Lord is back and better than ever with her new audiobook, "When You Get the Chance." Lord writes her characters as relatable and interesting which kept me entertained as a reader. I loved this one. It felt like a role reversal of Mamma Mia but I was in for the ride. This fun, cute and breezy read was great and I loved that it highlighted the Father/Daughter. The narration was excellent in this one as well. Recommend to any broadway lovers or YA readers!

Millie Price is going to be a Broadway star! As soon as she can convince her dad to let her go to the prestigious acting school and skip her senior year of high school. But before he will agree, Millie needs to find her mother, a ghost that has haunted her since she left. In a nod to the classic Mama Mia musical, When You Get the Chance will take the reader on a roller coaster ride of drama, laughter, and chaos. Millie is a tad much, in the regard that she is laser-focused on her dream and achieving it. This can be a dangerous character to get audiences to relate to but Lord perfectly infuses Millie with personality and genuine authenticity that is hard to resist. Her growth throughout the book is enduring and funny. The slow burn of her romance with her arch-enemy only adds to the depth of her personality.

Perfect for musical theater nerds!

Like You Have a Match, When You Get the Chance explores searching for parentage. This one doesn’t take the dna route but the scour dad’s old social media and amateur sleuthing. I really liked the aunt character, but it was overall a bit long. Since I listened to the audiobook, I was ready for it to be done 80% of the way in.

The perfect YA read for a drama lover. Millie has always had a little extra flair for the dramatic. She is outgoing and works hard for what she wants. This has led her to being accepted to pre-college which, to her, is a guarantee of a future spot on Broadway. One problem, her dad says no. He isn't so sure about her leaving New York for the west coast to finish her last year of high school away from him and his older sister who have raised Millie. Millie's only option is to seek out her birth mom, the mom that left her on her dad's doorstep in college. Once she gets her birth mom on board with pre-college her dad will have to agree, right?

Luckily she just so happens upon her dad's old LiveJournal page from his college days and has 3 solid leads for possible birth moms. For this Mamma Mia loving girl could there be a more perfect scenario? So she works to find ways into each of these three women's lives to find the one. Her best friend Teddy, a geo-caching expert uses his skills to locate the women and find ways to break the ice.

Some things I didn't care for as much:
-Teddy was always eating or they were talking about him eating and that seemed to be his only other personality trait besides geo-caching
-Millie and her Millie moods and obsessive mentioning of her Millie moods. Millie needed a professional to talk to. She was super high strung and a go-getter who never even thought to pick up a journal or find a way to cope with her big emotions.

If you love drama (both on and off the stage) then this might be the perfect pick for you.

3.5 stars (rounded up) for me

I did enjoy the audio version of this one so I do recommend that route for fans of audiobooks.

Fun, quirky and cool!

An enjoyable YA novel that kept me entertained.

Millie has a dream. To be a Broadway star - the only problem is that she’s a teenager and she needs her dad’s consent to attend school on the West Coast and he won’t give it. Millie, therefore, comes up with a solution. Get her mother’s consent instead. The issue with that is that her mother abandoned her when she was a child. Thus begins Millie’s search.. For her mother and herself.

A sweet, cute, engaging heartfelt audiobook that made me smile.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the alc.

Millie Price has always dreamed of being a Broadway star. She has always loved the musical Mama Mia and dreams of one day playing Sophie. She does not however expect to find herself starring in the real life version of Mama Mia. Her real life version. Not until she and her best friend Teddy discover her Dad's old Livejournal account leading them on a merry chase across the dazzling city of New York in search of Millie's birthmother. In order to suss out her potential Mom's Millie finds herself in a dance class, a broadway fans club, and lands herself an internship with her rival and stage manager, Oliver. Among all this, and partly because of this, Millie is trying to convince her Dad to let her, basically start college a year early, at a school catered toward Broadway hopefuls across the country in California. As Millie puts the pieces together, and misses others entirely, she discovers more about herself than she thought possible. Does she win the fight against her father? Could there be more to the annoying Oliver? And ultimately, does she find her mother? If you're a musical theatre kid, you are going to go nuts over this book.

I have to say I loved Oliver. But then again, I loved being a stage manager when I was in high school, so... That said, I loved this book even more than I thought I would, which I didn't think possible. So much so that I asked my sister for an audiobook copy when she offered me a few audible books. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud in the car, where I primarily listen to audiobooks. It was also impossible not to laugh when I was walking around the store listening and shopping. Seriously, I laughed so much! I just wish I could have captured more of the quotes than just the one. I'll see what I can do on a reread. Because oh yes, I'm listening to this again.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

In a market glutted with derivative YA fantasy novels, I'm consistently attracted to the more realistic fiction. And Emma Lord's When You Get the Chance was an absolutely adorable romantic comedy! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a teenager, or an adult reader either. (Honestly, it was a lot more sophisticated, realistic, and mature than about half of the adult romances I read.)

The characters were interesting and likable. They had understandable motivations. There was an awareness of the pop culture influences on the plot. The NY setting and Broadway back-drop was a huge bonus for this Broadway baby. Overall, this was just entertaining and fun!

If you’ve ever needed a YA book to completely wrap you in from start to finish, I highly recommend “When You Get the Chance.”
I gave this read five stars and would do more if I could, it’s that good. I was smiling, laughing, or crying from the first page.

This is a modern-day NYC, Mammia Mia retelling. Mille Price dreams of becoming a Broadway star and she becomes the ultimate method actor as she sets out to find the mother that left her on her dad’s doorstep when she was a newborn. And you guessed it - she has three potential moms! As she inserts herself into the lives of the 3 women, she learns more about herself and her future goals.


Recommended if you like:
-Mammia Mia
-musical theatre
-NYC/Broadway
-YA romance / enemies-to-lovers
-milkshakes
-indie rock bands
-geocaching

QOTD: if you had 48 hours to yourself to do anything you wanted with no responsibilities, what would you do with the time?
I’d travel to a cottage somewhere with a huge deck attached, sit outside with endless amounts of coffee and books until the sun set maybe bring along my paints that I haven’t touched in months 😭 and sleep in until my body was ready to wake lol

Now a book review:
I LOVE @dilemmalord. I’ve recommended, Tweet Cute, as a really fun and cute YA read countless times, and When You Get the Chance is at least just as perfect. It read less my YA romance, though, there was an enemies to lovers element, and more like a coming of age story.

In it, Millie, has dreams of becoming a broadway star and finding her mom that abandoned her on her dad’s doorstep when she was an infant. There are lots of Mamma Mia references (a retelling of sorts I hear), but regrettably I’ve never seen it.

I just know this story kept me smiling in the way I always hope a GREAT contemporary YA book will. I listened to this one on audio and it was 👏👏 I’ve listened a few now narrated by Jesse Vilinsky and really like her performance

Thanks @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for my gifted audiobook copy! Pub date, Jan 4, 22

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This was such a cute and sweet romance about found family. Perfect for any fans of Lords past work. I loved Millie and related to her so much and her love of broadway.

This was so flipping cute!!!! The last 10% had my mouth hurting from smiling so much. This was the first audio book I’ve listened to and the narrator was amazing! As a musical theatre fan, I loved all the references! The NYC setting was so fun and Millie was adorable. Highly recommend checking this one out!