The ultimate best frienemies to lovers story! Sadie and Seb have spent their entire lives (literally, their parents have been best friends for forever) competing and one uping and challenging each other up until college. Except....When Seb is accepted off the waitlist at the college Sadie ended up at, the competition for a coveted spot on the school's we'll known zine starts heating up all over again. Through a series of challenges and upending the status quo, it seems that the only ones who aren't expecting them to kiss and make up already are Sadie and Seb themselves. Are they ready to put their competitiveness aside and lean into their feelings?

This was such a fun read, instead of will they won't they, it was filled with when will they. I love a slow burn and this was just so enjoyable! Sadie and Seb were felt relatable (or nostalgic depending on your age group) scenarios realistic for that beginning of college setting and as a musical theater nerd, the few references thrown in were the absolute best (I couldn't let this review go without mentioning my favorite of them all.... "Can't be trusted with an aux cord on a road trip without going full Elphaba").

This story had everything I enjoy about the YA books from this author and I can't wait to see what comes next from her!


Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

This might be my favourite Emma Lord yet! The banter and callbacks were so deftly woven through with every little detail feeling important. Enjoyed the believable yet over the top plot and enjoyed the sideplots of family.

I love Emma Lord's writing, so I was delighted to receive a copy of The Rival. If this book is any indication, 2025 is going to be a great year in books!

This is a fun college rom-com with an enemies-to-lovers theme. The dynamic between Seb and Sadie is electric, and this is a great addition to the new adult market.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Sadie is ready to conquer college and get a spot on the campus humor magazine. What she doesn't expect is her high school rival, and family friend, Seb to show up on campus and rain on her parade.

Emma Lord is so good at telling a good romance story! I loved this one. Here's what I loved:

The campus feel: This was a great NA college romcom. I loved the cast of characters on the campus. This honestly felt like I was watching a college romcom. It had humor and the perfect college feel.

Sadie and Seb and the pancakes: this book has so much more than what you think. There are emotional topics like finding who you are and how to navigate life away from your family. All of this was so real. Sadie and Seb both have such a great journey to take and it feels familiar. I adored them both and the way they worked together.

All in all, this was a great college NA romance!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

Emma lord is the queen of YA and she’s done it once again. This is the perfect rivalry palate cleanser for those who love academic setting. Her writing style is perfection as always and I highly recommend

This was so cute! The Rival follows Seb and Sadie, childhood neighbors and friends who spend all of middle and high school trying to one up each other until Sadie finally wins--she gets into her dream school and gets the chance to work at Newsbag--a comedy writing zine. Her dream comes crashing down on her way to the first meeting however, when she runs into Seb and learns he was accepted off the waitlist. As the two fight for the only staff writer position for Newsbag, they bond over shared homesickness, adjusting to college and familial expectations, and realize that they didn't have much to be fighting over after all.

I really loved this, this was a very sweet coming of age story and I love academic rivals and stories set in the comedy world. I really appreciated the perspectives on sex education and feeling ready for different firsts (Sadie has not yet had her first kiss at the start of the book).

Overall, I'd give this 4/5! I don't usually read YA romance, but I liked Emma Lord's other books and this was no different. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

5/5 stars! emma Lord has done it again! the dialogue is laugh- out- loud funny, the characters are relatable and the romance is giggly and fun. This reminded me so much of Today, Tonight, Tomorrow, which is my favorite book of all time. So obviously, this got a five stars for me. Thank you NetGalley for inviting me to read this book!

"The Rival" by Emma Lord is a charming and witty romantic comedy that perfectly captures the essence of youthful rivalry and unexpected romance.

Emma Lord has done it again!!

This book was cozy and real and something that a lot readers need. Leaving home is never easy especially when you have such great support systems. BUT finding out who you really are and afraid your family won’t accept you (Sadie) makes for especially uneasy times. BUT a throw in not wanting to disappoint your family (Seb). So much happening and throw in trying to bring to light a system failing?!

Sadie and Seb are the perfect duo (even if they disagree) for this adventure. I cannot wait to get this on HS shelves for kids to read before their new adventures so maybe they will see it’s normal to be happy, free, confused and lonely and not just at 22 ;)

Love this book. Read it. At any age. 🤍

OMG and plan to ready to have like literally every snack craving possible. Especially pancakes.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Emma Lord writes perfect college coming-of-age stories. I think a book like this would have meant a lot to me as a freshman in college.

Sadie and Seb are lifelong rivals—growing up together as next door neighbors with parents who are best friends will do that to you. Sadie finally vanquished Seb to get the only spot at their intended college, only for him to show up on the first day. As they figure out how to be more themselves in this new environment, they also have to reevaluate their relationship and figure out how to at least coexist. At the same time, all their dreams for college might be crashing down around them because of administrative greed and mismanagement—classic university story.

This book felt like the joy of being a freshman in college, walking on campus late at night with your friends, laughing harder than you knew was possible.

4.5 stars rounded up! Any Emma Lord book is an immediate must-read for me—like, I'd read her grocery list at this point (and honestly, given how she writes about food, I'm sure even that would be entertaining), and THE RIVAL was no different. Sadie has finally beat her lifelong academic rival (and next-door neighbor), the irritatingly smart and charming Seb, at his own game: she just scored the single coveted spot at her dream college. Or so she thinks...since Seb unexpectedly gets admitted off the waitlist. Now they're back in competition mode all over again, and Sadie is determined to earn a place on the staff of the school's famous zine—the only spot remaining for a freshman. But when they notice some concerning flaws in the school's system, Sadie and Seb are forced to band together rather than compete against each other. Will they finally realize that they're stronger together than they are as rivals...and that they just might have met their match in each other?

I love a good rivals-to-lovers, opposites-attract romcom, and this book definitely delivered on that front! Sadie and Seb's dynamic was so much fun to read about—their banter and chemistry was top-tier from start to finish. Both were also just such likable, relatable characters! Beyond the romance, I also enjoyed how Lord does such a great job of developing the characters as individuals, and really fleshing out their relationships with their family members and friends as well. I particularly liked seeing how Sadie's relationship with her sisters and just her family in general evolved throughout the story. Her conflict with always feeling like she had to fulfill a certain role within her family unit, and never feeling fully comfortable to be her true self or open up about her dreams of becoming a writer, was really well-done. And as someone who loves to write and also wrote for my college magazine, the storyline with Newsbag was also super engaging to read about, and added a unique layer to the story! I think the college aspect of the story in general was great, and Lord really touches on so many different parts of that experience, especially in terms of being a freshman like Sadie and Seb. What happens when the college experience wasn't entirely what you thought it would be, how isolating it can be to feel behind your peers from things like academics to dating/relationships, etc., these are things that will resonate with so many readers, and I appreciated how Lord incorporated topics like those, too! Finally, if you've read some of Emma Lord's other books, you already know to expect some fun pop culture references, and tons of delicious snacks (especially desserts!), both of which you'll find in THE RIVAL. Seriously, I don't think I've craved pancakes quite as much as I did while reading this book—by the end of the story, you'll want to take a trip to Pancake It or Leave It, too.

There were a couple of things I wanted more of from the book, but they didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story! I kind of wished we got to see more of the academic side of college than we did (like, more scenes of the characters going to classes, for example), although I understand why so much of the book focused on the extracurriculars like Newsbag. I also wanted a little bit more of the romance between Sadie and Seb—it was a pretty slow burn, which made sense for their characters, but I would have loved to see a couple more moments between them after they got together! Still, if you're in search of a sweet, fun YA romcom that also has lots of depth and character development, I would definitely recommend THE RIVAL. I can't wait to see what Emma Lord writes next! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

Emma Lord does it again!

If you aren't familiar with this author, Lord is known for her YA romance novels filled with witty banter. This one is no exception, as it focuses on Sadie and Seb, who grew up together as academic rivals. Sadie thinks she finally breaks free competing with Seb when she goes off to college. She is unfortunately shocked to discover that he was accepted off her school's waitlist and decides to matriculate at the same university. Their academic rivalry further escalates when they both decide to compete for the same writer spot on their university's magazine.

Despite this being a YA book, it is also a good choice for anyone who appreciates the enemies-to-lovers trope within a clean romance. While I do get a bit tired of this author's obsession with sugar, which she seems to infuse into all her books, I still found this to be a sweet, lighthearted, and fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for e-book and audiobook ARCs in exchange for my honest feedback.

Everyone loves a “‘will they, won’t they, dear god, just kiss already’ show” and Emma Lord is one of the best at writing them. I enjoyed the banter between Seb and Sadie. Their entangled history made reading between the jabs fun and their moments seem more electric than a regular enemies to lovers book.

My qualm about the book was how naive Sadie was. While reading this, there were so many obvious actions that anyone could have spotted a mile away, that it took away from the fun away from the story. Also there were so many side characters that it made it hard to keep track of everyone and the role they played in the story.

Overall this book was a good read, but I might not have been the audience for this one. As much as I was drawn in with the plot and tropes, I had a disconnect with the story. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC

I got to about 70% and skimmed the rest of the book. This was very meh. So much college and newspapers and magazines and writing and like 0% romance. The slow burn was so slow I can’t even consider it a slow burn. She kept putting off telling Seb how she felt and it drove me crazy!!! And the stuff with her family was like…. Just come on. You’re supposed to be in college now! Not my favorite but very creative. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Emma Lord does YAr right! This was sweet, engaging and all around a perfect little read. I found the characters to be well developed and charming.

Sadie and Seb were best friends, turned rivals. These two had parents that were best friends and grew up together. They are always competing and trying to one up one another. Sadie is now starting her freshman year of college, without Seb, but suddenly, he shows up. He got off the waitlist and now they're both competing for the school paper's one spot.

I enjoy Emma Lord's writing but Sadie drove me a little batty. I thing getting Seb's POV throughout the book would have made it significantly better. As the book went on, she became more tolerable and I did like the ending.

The Rival was, for this Emma Lord fan, a bit of a disappointment right from the start. Even from the very title, which promises rivals to lovers, and manages to fall short even on this basic premise - Seb and Sadie are competitive friends, with Seb barely even participating in the pretense of disliking one another, a pretense that goes away promptly anyway. Like most other plot elements in this YA romcom, the rivalry feels contrived, inauthentic, and incredibly formulaic. It's a paint-by-numbers romance, with characters and story beats ticking off a checklist but lacking in heart and humor.

Sadie's baggage with her family is particularly weird to me - she's afraid of telling them that she's funny? What does that even mean? Why? How? What? And also, huh? If she was scared to admit she wants to pursue comedy writing in a family that expects her to go into a more secure and lucrative field, that'd be understandable, but that cliche is given to Seb. Nope, Sadie's scared to admit that she's...funny. She's afraid to have quips. She's afraid to be someone who banters. I remain unclear on why that's supposed to be some dramatic emotional turmoil for her.

The competition for the campus magazine spot, the central plot driver for Sadie and Seb's current rivalry, is likewise silly and contrived; the college life that contextualizes it is absurdly quirky and outdated (if it was ever in-date....). This is supposed to be a prestigious university that's hard to get into? When do these students ever go to class in between their Quirk Clubs and Cutesy Societies and campus-wide dodgeball events that are somehow, incomprehensibly, supposed to make some kind of point protesting campus financial allocations?

Christina almost has an interesting storyline, when she's not too busy being the token non-white BFF, but gets short shrift since she spends the whole book being Sadie's cliche support system. Indeed, everyone and everything in the book is too busy supporting Sadie, and while I'm aware it sounds absurd to complain that a book's main characters are too, you know, main-character-y, the "center of every scene we walk into" energy Seb and Sadie have made me full-body cringe in 90% of their scenes that involved other people.

The predictable conflict in their romantic journey is as contrived and easily dismissed as every other step of that journey was before, and resolved with such absurd simplicity that it really makes you wonder why and how these two spent a decade or so pretending to hate each other, or whatever that frenemyship was supposed to be. Everyone seems so dedicated to making statements about how other characters are that feel entirely belied by what we've actually seen of those characters within the pages of this book. It isn't character growth, it's just poor character writing.

I had lots of tiny, trivial issues with the book as well, most of which felt way too petty to bother bringing up in a review, but the fact that I kept stubbing my metaphorical toes on them and mentally grumbling about each and every one feels like a strong indicator to me that I simply wasn't having a good time with this book. It felt like a watered-down version of Emma Lord's earlier books, a photocopy copied so many times it's lost the sharpness and clarity of the first rendition. In short, I was disappointed, to say the least.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

3.5/5 Stars!

Quick Summary: Seb and Sadie are high school rivals and find themselves competing for a writing spot in the same magazine in college.

This book was a great coming-of-age story for adjusting to college, being away from home, figuring out who you are, and advocating for your future. I enjoyed those aspects of this book a lot and I think it had a lot of good messages. I also enjoyed reading about how they were able to unify the college together to advocate for mental health services and being able to allocate school finances towards things that benefit the school body. Overall, these aspects made the book enjoyable.

Some things about the book that I didn't like was Sadie. I don't think I was able to connect with her due to her attitude during some situations. I feel like she was flat and unempathetic if it didn't feed into her goals. I also feel like the romance was a little underdeveloped and rushed at the same time. I wanted a little bit more openness and vulnerability with the romance. I also, found myself zoning out through some of the book and I think that might have been due to some parts being flat and not seeming like they were contributing to the story.

Overall, I did enjoy this story and I think it was well done. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy coming-of-age stories, adjusting to college, slow burn and friends to lovers/Enemies to lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Emma Lord for providing an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

The Rival is a cutesy young adult book about Seb and Sadie competing against each other throughout their lives. I could not sustain interest with the book. Both main characters were very annoying and immature. It sounded like a couple grade schoolers than college students.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I've liked Emma Lord's mature YA books for a little while now. She has a way of infusing her characters with charm and realness as well as their ambitions. It gives me some hope for Gen Z.

While this book doesn't quite top last year's for me, I liked Sadie and Seb. I had read a few books with the frenemy competition trope. So I was a little wary at first. Sadie and Seb's parents are best friends, and her siblings love Seb like a brother. It's Sadie's first time away from her family at college at a fictional university called Maple Ride. Sadie feels like her family is a lot, and she's been relegated to the fixer as the middle sibling. Her friendship with Seb got off the rails after a prank went wrong when they were 8. Sadie is pretty tired of competing with Seb for everything, so when he turns up at her university after getting off the wait list, she's not pleased. Her best friend Christina from another high school is her roommate and cross-country scholarship student.

Sadie's goal is to become a Newsbug staff writer, the official zine of the college. She wants to go into comedy and writing. Soon, they are competing for the same spot, and there's threats of funding being pulled by the administration. Sadie and Seb, along with new friends, have some creative ways to fight the administration without it being illegal. Good chaos, they call it. I loved the Pancake place, too. Everyone seemed to pick up on the tension and chemistry between them. It was only a matter of time.

The issue I had was maybe there wasn't enough of one to keep me super interested. This may be my age showing, but a coming of age story in college that didn't 100% resonate with me, with some very real world things happening in the past year on college campuses. I'm glad for the escape but not entirely convinced that it was a reflection on current events. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to 16-20 year olds.
Book is out 1/21/25. 3.6☆ rounded up to 4 ☆.