Read if you like:
- Academic rivals to lovers
- Competition turned partnership
- Forced proximity
- Opposites attract
- Coming-of-age

The Rival is a charming and witty story that takes the beloved academic rivals-to-lovers trope and infuses it with heart, humor, and relatable life lessons. The story follows Natalie "Nat" Harper and Theo Donovan, two fiercely ambitious high school seniors whose constant one-upmanship takes an unexpected turn when they’re forced to collaborate on a high-stakes project for a national competition.

Nat and Theo’s banter is razor-sharp and brimming with chemistry, making their transition from competition to camaraderie—and eventually to something deeper—both satisfying and believable.

The forced proximity and opposites-attract dynamics create plenty of opportunities for emotional growth and vulnerability, as Nat learns to embrace her softer side and Theo discovers there’s more to life than being perfect. Alongside their budding romance, the book explores themes of self-discovery, balancing ambition with connection, and the importance of finding your own path.

With its blend of laugh-out-loud moments, swoon-worthy romance, and heartfelt introspection, The Rival is a must-read for fans of coming-of-age romances with a competitive twist. Emma Lord delivers another gem that will leave readers smiling and inspired.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for my ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

If Emma Lord writes it, I am going to read it and absolutely add it to my classroom library. The Rival is no exception! This story is cute and funny and I loved that it delved into the characters' first year at college, but did not include any mature content that would be an issue in a classroom. I teach a lot of seniors and they need stories of early college experiences but we teachers do need to make sure the books on our shelves are not veering Into super-mature adult romance territory.

Emma Lord is one of my absolute favorite authors. If she wrote it, I will read it! The Rival was written in her same witty, sweet-as-cookies style that I have come to know and love from her.

Sadie and Seb were delightful characters to get to follow along on their journey through their freshman year of college. I loved their banter, and their friendship (although Sadie would be hesitant to call it that, especially at the beginning). Seeing them both grow and change was a delight. Romances set during college is something that I love and am hoping to see more of from Lord as she grows as an author.

I really enjoyed the storyline of this novel. I liked getting to see the trials that are unique to your first year of college/university. I also loved getting to meet all of the side characters along the way. Seeing the various clubs and societies interact was so much fun, and it took me back to my own first year at university, attempting to find my way in a brand new place.

The deeper meat of this story was how Sadie and Seb were trying to figure out who they were as individuals, apart from their families and the expectations that others put on them, or that they put on themselves. It was moving, and heart-wrenching at times, to see each character slowly figuring out how to be an adult and make their first real adult decisions.

**Slight Spoiler Alert!!**

The only thing that bothered me with this book was the sheer denial that Sadie was in regarding her feelings about Seb. The more I learned about their history, the more frustrated I became with her blindness in regards to him. Not even about having romantic feelings, but just in considering him a friend in the first place. She has known this boy since she was an infant…how can you tell me you don’t know how you feel about him in regards to friendship?! Okay, I’m off of my soapbox now.

**Spoiler Alert Over!! You are safe now!!**

All in all, I loved this story and the friendships and relationships fostered within it. I also love how Lord manages to insert her love of all things sweet into her novels, in this case, pancakes 🥞 🤤 If you are a fan of rivals to lovers romance, friends to lovers, first year of college stories, and books with delicious food…then this is the book for you!!

My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I gave The Rival 4 STARS!

This story is, in two words, "good chaos." If you've read one of Emma Lord's books before, you know she loves a forced proximity rivalry, but this one is SO elevated in terms of the sizzling chemistry and prose. The witty banter was everything I needed from this ship, and it truly speaks to how well the friends-to-rivals-to-lovers know one another. The quips aren't just one-offs; they're full-on tennis matches, the quick back-and-forth playful yet dangerously exciting.

This isn't my favorite Emma Lord book but it was still really cute. I think it just took a while for me to get into it. Sadie so clearly wants to kiss Seb but is repressing it hard. They just push each other to work as hard as they can and be the best. I really liked the storyline with her family and realizing that she can in fact be herself around them.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy of this book.

This is my first Emma Lord book somehow, but it definitely won't be my last! It's the first YA in a long time I didn't want to put down at all. I read it in about 24 hours and put my real life on hold to finish!

Seb and Sadie have been neighbors, friends, and then rivals since they were born. Their parents are best friends and they live next door to one another. When Sadie gets admitted to Maple Ridge College and Seb doesn't, she thinks she's finally free of him for awhile. But alas ... he got off the wait-list and now they're competing for one spot on the school's student-run paper Newsbag. It's Sadie's dream job after developing her voice in an anonymous column in her high-school paper.

There's a lot more here - coming-of-age, Sadie's development away from her very loud and boisterous family, and longing for home but also wanting to leave. I adored the chemistry here between Seb and Sadie. I loved Sadie's bestie Christina and her issues adjusting to college as a varsity athlete.

If you're looking for something sweet but meaningful with lots of longing, I highly recommend The Rival.

Sadie has big dreams for her college life. She’s far enough from her family and most importantly her rival from High school Sebastion. But Sadie’s happy parade doesn’t last long because she crashed into Seb during the first week of school. Not only is he attending the same college but he’s competing for the same writing position as her. So the rivalry continues until they both discover something about the university.

Sadie’s character is awesome. Her inner dialogue made me laugh and I loved her passion for writing comedy and her competitiveness. Seb is kinda funny and I loved how he liked to challenge Sadie. The banter, the romance and the tension was written so well throughout the story. The two were a great match for each other. It was also fun reading about the two navigating college and their self journeys.

I had high expectations for this book after I loved reading Tweet cute and I can say, I was not disappointed.

THANK YOU to NetGalley and Emma Lord!!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Emma Lord, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie has finally gotten away from her lifelong academic rival — her cute and smart next door neighbor, Seb. She is off to her dream college. When Seb is taken off the waitlist and admitted, Sadie has to compete with him all over again. They are once again competing against each other. This time for a coveted spot on the school's famous magazine. Not only is she dealing with her family that she hid her writing talents from, but she has to come to terms with some of her feelings for Seb (both positive and negative)
that are popping up.


"The Rival" is a delightful and heartwarming YA novel that takes on themes of love, rivalry, and self-discovery. Seb and Sadie are both fantastic characters. I enjoyed their bantering and pancake conversations.

I was excited to receive a complimentary copy of the ebook The Rival by Emma Lord from NetGalley. I have honestly enjoyed every book that I have read by this author.

I like a rivals to lovers trope, especially one from high school, as I had a rival in my last year of high school as well, that I competed over everything with: how fast we could take notes, who got a better mark, etc. This made me connect with the way Sadie felt about Seb, although not sure if I ever actually believed I hated my rival.

Also, I liked seeing all of the chaos they helped create at the university in their path to prove they were the better writer. It was neat to see how they challenged yet also supported each other. I also liked that they would end up out for breakfast together; I thought that was a sweet way to fight the homesickness that being away can sometimes bring. Overall, this was another great read by Emma Lord. I will always read and recommend her to my students.

🦇 The Rival Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD

🦇 At long last, Sadie has vanquished her lifelong academic rival — her irritatingly charming, whip-smart next-door neighbor, Seb — by getting the coveted, only spot to her dream college. Or at least, so she thinks. When Seb is unexpectedly pulled off the waitlist and admitted, Sadie has to compete with him all over again, this time to get a spot on the school’s famous zine. Added bonus: she's coming to terms with some less-than-resentful crush for Seb while trying to crush him in the competition. But the longer they compete, the more Sadie and Seb notice flaws in the school’s system that are much bigger than any competition between them. Will they finally realize they've met their match in more ways than one?

💜 This story is, in two words, "good chaos." If you've read one of Emma Lord's books before, you know she loves a forced proximity rivalry, but this one is SO elevated in terms of the sizzling chemistry and prose. The witty banter was everything I needed from this ship, and it truly speaks to how well the friends-to-rivals-to-lovers know one another. The quips aren't just one-offs; they're full-on tennis matches, the quick back-and-forth playful yet dangerously exciting. Let's break it down:

✨ Characters: Every character has layered relationships (friends, family, romances), making them real and raw. Their motivations are clear, they have passions outside of those motivations, their voices are distinct. I loved Sadie having a space to find and define herself, Seb's bisexuality feeling natural, Betty and her wife, the zine team. Overall, a great cast.

✨ Plot and Pacing: There's a lot going on in this one, which did affect the pacing, but the plotlines overlap fairly well. I loved seeing how the budgeting issue could affect different people (Sadie versus her best friend, Christina) in different ways. Allowing Sadie to find her own, healthy chaos outside of her family worked well for her character development, and all the antics on campus were a blast to read.

✨ Romance: The transition from rivals to lovers could have been easy, seamless, and instantaneous or exhausting and slow; somehow, Lord found the perfect medium. The obstacles between them are both internal and external, giving readers the perfect build toward this relationship. I adored Seb's dialogue about how we should never feel pressured into firsts, even a first kiss; it made the moment all the more meaningful for them. Seb's patience with Sadie--in waiting for her to process her real feelings for him, in never pressuring her but still making swoon-worthy comments that SEEM like jokes but aren't--was everything. Perfect book boyfriend.

✨ Tone/Prose: Sadie's narration is fun and easy, making this for a quick read. The story explores real issues (our over-focus on sports over arts, self-discovery, family dynamics, college corruption, etc.) while maintaining focus on the characters. However, I do think there's way too much introspection, which slows the pacing.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🥞 Friends to Rivals to Lovers
🗞 College Romance / YA / Coming-of-Age
🥞 First Person POV
🗞 Academic Rivals
🥞 Loaded With Witty
🗞 Opposites Attract
🥞 Everyone Can See It
🗞 Queer/Bisexua lMMC

🦇 Major thanks to the author @dilemmalord and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #TheRival

💬 Quotes
❝ “I’ve got a sweater in here you can borrow.” I’m too fixated on Seb following me into the building to consider the offer. “I’ve got a one-way ticket out of my sight you can keep.” “I hope you can get a decent refund, then." ❞
❝ “Just trying to decide if it’s worth it for me to keep paying for all these streaming services when I’m about to have the world’s most ridiculous ‘will they, won’t they, dear god, just kiss already’ show playing out right in front of my eyes.” ❞
❝ ‘Nick Jr. and Netflix fed scripts to a bot and it wrote a cursed rom-com, and made Pancake It or Leave It one of the sets.’ ❞
❝ When we were little there was an inevitability to us. Not one that could be defined by friendship or family or romance, but was undeniably, permanently shared. ❞
❝ "Maybe it was only a matter of time before some catalyst set us off.” What I don’t say but I know Seb hears: Maybe it was only a matter of time before something brought us back together. ❞

After being admitted to her dream college where she hopes to become a writer on their famous paper, the last thing Sadie expects is to see her lifelong rival Seb heading towards her on campus. While each competing for the sole spot on the paper, they learn school organizations are losing funding and, along with their fellow classmates, they pivot to make their voices hear to the donors and school board.

THE RIVAL by Emma Lord was cuuute!

I’ve been a fan of Emma’s work from the beginning - I have yet to read her adult novel, but she writes YA like no other.

I loved that we got to see Sadie’s relationship with Seb and her best friend Christina (both being very fleshed out!), while also getting to see her relationship with her family and how all has changed since she left for college.

Lord made it soo easy to root for these characters and the humor and sweet treats she threw in were perfection.

If you’re a fan of Lord’s work and sweet rivals-to-lovers, then you won’t want to miss this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: January 21

Thanks to Wednesday Books for an advanced copy of The Rival by Emma Lord. I absolutely adored Begin Again, so was looking forward to another college book.

The Rival is a slow burn, very slow burn romance between two rivals who grew up as best friends once they got to college and are competing for the one spot on the school's famous newspaper. Sadie was looking forward to Maple Ridge College, but when she runs into Seb, who she's known since birth because their parents are besties and they live next door. He just got off the waitlist and she is not looking forward to competing with him in college after 4 years of competing in everything in high school.

I love the way she writes college freshman, who are trying to figure out who they are, who they want to be and learning about themselves. This was such a fun book with their competing to get the staff writing spot, trying to save the Newbag and realizing that Sadie might be falling in love with Seb.

The side characters and some plot scenes were great. Betty and her pancakes was such a gem! I loved Sadie's family ! The Alphabet party and so many of the college shenanigans were so much fun. This book made me think of freshman year of college.

If you like YA or books about college freshman you need to read The Rival.

Thank you so much to ST Martins Press for the ARC!

I really wanted to love this one, but sadly it was just too tropey and cutesy for my taste. Right before this one, I read an almost identical book right before this one and maybe I'm just a little sick of the "rivals" that are secret authors/neighbors, etc. but so much of this is SO trendy and common right now that they all start to blend together.

I still have high hopes for Emma's adult novel FOR THE RECORD and think I may need to stick to her adult novels going forward!

I'm sure this will be a hit with the YA crowd though!

“Why do you sound like you’re being chased by a zombie horde? ”
Here are reasons to read the YA Contemporary book:

College - Sadie is finally off to her college of choice
Rival - when she finds out her rival and lifelong friend Seb is off the waitlist and joining her
Newspaper - which would be fairly manageable, except they are the only 2 competing for the one sport on the college newspaper
Competition - so they continue to be frenemies all the while dealing with college politics and ignoring what is brewing under the surface between themselves

I will pick up literally any book Emma Lord writes. She has a way of connecting her characters in the best geeky way, and my past self identifies with them. For example, this book is all about on campus clubs, and as always, some theater is peppered in. Sadie in particular has goals and doesn’t see what’s actually happening around her while she focuses on them. I do think there were some slow parts in this book, but overall, it was a great way to reconnect to my college days and nostalgia.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a cute enemies/rivals to lovers , coming of age, YA romcom. I enjoyed the story and plot. This is a cute, heartwarming, and very entertaining read.

3.5 Stars rounded up

I love Emma Lord's books, but this one fell a bit flat. I did like reading a YA book that was written for a YA audience. However, I felt like something was missing.

Publication date: January 21st, 2025

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sadie has lifelong rival in her whole academic career her Nextdoor neighbor Seb.
She thinks by going to college she could escape the rivalries but only see him on campus. Not only dealing with him but also her loving yet but chaotic family she hides everything from her family especially her writing talent

Seb is trying to complete with her all except this time it’s different for both of them and learn how important it is to stick together no matter what

But to find out what happens to them and the fun side characters and her family and the friends they both met along the way it’s fun and they really grow through out the book.

Read to find out more 😊

Thank You, NetGalley and St..Martins Press

They had been pushed into each other's lives since birth by their best-friend parents, but Sadie was finally free of Sebastian! Or so she thought. Sadie was ready to conquer Maple Ride when she learns that Seb got off the wait-list and got in. Now, the two rivals are competing for a spot with the university's lauded zine, Newsbag which may have some surprising results.

It's always fun being in a world created by Emma Lord. Her characters are well developed with sharp wit and humor that is bound to elicit laughter from me. She does over-the-top in a way that amuses rather than annoy while still exploring relevant issues.

It may have been a long time ago, but I remember how scary and different it was when I started college. There are a LOT less rules and people trying to keep you in line, so you tend to grow. Some people are lucky, and they are easily able to adapt, but it can be a process for others. They need to find their boundaries, their people, their "home" away from home. Lord explored this first year of college in a thoughtful way, shining a light on the positives and the negatives while also delivering a great rivals-to-more love story.

I absolutely bought into the rivals aspect of Seb and Sadie's relationship, but I am not sure how much "hate" was there. It seems hard to hate someone that you shared so much of your life with. It was sweet the way they gravitated to each other when they were missing home, but it was also obvious that they was/had always been something bubbling beneath the surface for them. It was wonderful seeing it take root and grow as Seb and Sadie also grew. And pancakes. It's as if Emma Lord knew the way to my heart. I couldn't wait to see what kind of pancakes Betty would serve up next.

Speaking of Betty, she was one of many characters who added to the amazing chaos of this story. Like I said, it's always fun to be in a world created by Lord because of her colorful characters, snappy banter, well placed pop culture references, and whip-smart dialog. All that along with a cause to rally behind had me throughly entertained as I waited for all the cards to fall into place for Sadie.

Overall, it was a pleasure accompanying Sadie on her first year at Maple Ride where she found herself, learned to embrace the messy parts, fell in love, and established herself on campus.

In this delightful college YA novel, Sadie and Seb, long time secret rivals, compete for the only spot on a coveted newspaper staff.

Absolutely filled with the charm I have come to expect from an Emma Lord novel. I laughed, I cried, and of course, I swooned. Sadie’s sheer obliviousness to how down bad Seb has been the entire time was so adorable and I really enjoyed the conversations around expectations in your first romantic relationship.

I do wish Cristina’s character had been a bit more fleshed out for us to see her unravel as the book goes on. We see some, but never how serious it is until they fight.

Overall, another BANGER.

3 Stars

Emma Lord has been kind of a wild card author for me—I’m never sure what I’m going to get from her!

Overall, I liked The Rival. The writing style was witty and entertaining. At times though it just felt really busy! So much going on, so many side storylines & characters that I found myself wanting to skim past parts that I didn’t care about. The romance storyline felt a bit underwhelming to me and Sadie’s family drama also seemed really odd.

Despite my issues, I think this book had good messaging though about growing up & coming into yourself vs the ideas people/your family might have about you. I think if you like complex YA stories not just centered on romance then I think you might like this one. I also appreciated that it felt inclusive with the mmc identifying as queer/bisexual and there also being a non-binary side character.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.