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Member Reviews

There's just something about how Emma Lord writes that just makes me want to re-read all of her other works. The Rival, personally, is her best to date. I enjoyed Sadie and Seb's relationship and watching it progress throughout the book. If you liked Begin Again, You Have a Match, or Tweet Cute, you'll love this one. Can't wait to buy it when it comes out!

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Emma Lord is the perfect go to for YA and new adult romance—charming characters, heartfelt stories, witty banter. I recommend this and her other books to teens and young adults who love a satisfying romance!

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Thanks so much to Emma Lord and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the eARC of this book. I loved the dynamic between Sadie and Seb. I also love a good rivals to lovers trope. This is a great YA read. Definitely Recommend.

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This was super cute! I’ve read and enjoyed a lot of Emma Lord’s books. Most of them have a pretty simple premise but are good, easy reads. If not a little basic. I enjoyed this a lot, especially the aspect of how they’ve basically known each other since birth. I loved the moments of them caring for each other even just as friends, I appreciated how they didn’t immediately just into a relationship. I also liked seeing the aspects of their rivalry as well, though the last 10% dragged a lot.

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Even as an adult I enjoy a good YA romance. This was a sweet enemies/friends to lovers with a good childhood backstory and a fun new college experience. I feel like the book started out strong but maybe lost me a little along the way. It was fun, cute and had some sweet moments. I feel like it could have possibly used a bit more direction/development & gotten rid of a few distractions but I enjoyed it along the way. As far as content, I think it’s a good YA, clean except some random language thrown in there.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

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ARC provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, sweet read. Slow burn romance. Loved the romance between Seb and Sadie. Smooth moving plot as well.

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LIKE IVE SAID BEFORE my favorite books are books like this one. Books about rivals, enemies to lovers/academic rivals. Love that.

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The Rival, by Emma Lord, is a fun rom-com without too much spice (for those who like your romance scenes to be a little less steamy). This one is a quick easy read that will pull you through to discover what will happen. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

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Emma Lord, the woman you are <3 As the self proclaimed leader of the Emma Lord Fan Club, being sent this ARC was an actual dream come true! And The Rival truly did not disappoint! Sadie and Seb had me laughing and giggling and screaming “JUST KISS ALREADY” Armed with so many sweet treats, The Rival is the PERFECT rivals to lovers with just enough sass and silliness that everyone will love it! Perfect for fans of Today, Tonight, Tomorrow and Love, Off the Record, The Rival is not to be missed!

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC!
I’ve enjoyed some of Emma Lord’s YAs before, and this was no exception! It wasn’t my number one favorite of hers, but I still really liked it overall.
I feel like there aren’t as many YA college romances, and I was excited that the MCs were in college! That aspect made it a little different and so fun. The MCs are also childhood rivals to lovers, and I thought this trope was done so well!
All in all, I definitely recommend!

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Emma Lord is a comfort author for me. I feel a kinship with her as I love her references and relate, despite not being in the YA group anymore. This book was no exception. So fun and quick, the romance was adorable. Highly recommend.

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This was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed the rivalry between these frienemies and was rooting for that first kiss! Kudos to Emma! I’ll be recommending to book club for sure!

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Sadie thinks moving to a new school without her lifelong rival, Sebastian, will be the fresh start that she wanted. However, on her first day of college, she runs into him. To make things even better, Sebastian and Sadie are competing for the same position at the school's journalism program.

I was obsessed with this book from the first page. The story sucked me in. Sadie and Sebastian had such an enjoyable dynamic. The banter was hilarious and had me giggling. The other thing I loved was quite literally all of the characters. Sadie was my favorite, though. She was interesting and had a ton of character growth by the end.

I am so thankful that I was able to read this ARC copy! Thank you so much to @stmartinspress, @netgalley, and @dilemmalord.

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Adorable. Even in my 40’s I can appreciate a good YA. This reminded me a bit of Today Tonight Tomorrow which I loved. I have not read any of the authors backlist but I will now!

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3.5 stars, rounded down

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Emma Lord's books I have read and was pumped to start this one! It didn't disappoint, per se, but it wasn't the same quality as her other books. With that said though, I think my biggest gripe about it was it was a college set book, and the college setting was so out of touch with how college actually is. It took away from the book for me.

I did really enjoy that it wasn't just about the romance, it focused on leaving family for the first time and how that changes your relationships. I found that refreshing and different from most YA books I've read that are set in college.

While this one fell a little flat for me, I still enjoyed the quick read and I will always pick up the next Emma Lord book that comes out. She is hands down an auto-read author for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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DNF at 75%. I typically like Emma Lord but this wasn’t it. The storyline and characters are very immature and have nothing-burger problems, and it feels like the author threw in a bi identification for the MMc just for the lgbtqia+ tag rather than it actually having anything to do with the story (since he’s actually just been in love with the female mc forever). The “big” moments in the book made me cringe (everyone becoming a jock for a day?) just wasn’t for me.

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i have read all of emma lord's YA books and they're always well-crafted, with so much attention to detail for the characters and the sense of place. the rival was no different- while i was initially hesitant since she's written about a college campus and rivals to lovers before, i still enjoyed the rival. seb and sadie's relationship was so sweet- a good amount of longing but also "if you know you know"- their progression made sense to me. the cast of side characters was colorful as always, and i thought the conflict/resolution made sense and (mostly) didn't feel out of place. overall, a sweet read with some great messages about finding your voice- especially in college!

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I was really looking forward to this, particularly because I really enjoyed BEGIN AGAIN and was excited that this also took place at college. However, it unfortunately didn't have the same charm for me. The story was cute enough, but I thought the plot lacked depth. I also found myself wanting more from the characters, especially since Sadie's whole shtick is that she is funny and has a really voicey writing style, but hardly any of that came across throughout the book. For two main characters who have known each other their entire lives, I felt like I didn't know much about who Sadie and Seb were until the very end of the book. A cute read, but not my favorite by Emma Lord. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This had potential, but really fell flat. The characters had no depth and the rivalry wasn’t really that intense. The pacing was also all over the place, not for me.

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if there’s something you should know about me is that im a sucker for academic rivals!!!

this books was so fun! i read it in less than 48hrs! it’s such a fun and quick read! and the banter!!! the slow burn!!! the communication! *chefs kiss*

and SEB HAS MY HEART! he’s the greenest flag!

will be recommending this book to all my friends!

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