Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers copy of The Rival by Emma Lord!

Sadie gets into the college of her dreams, and the best part is that her high school rival, Seb, doesn't get into the same college. So Sadie is ready to take her college years by storm until, on the first day, showing up for a meeting for a spot on the university's zine, she runs, literally into Seb, who got accepted after all. The stage is set for the rivalry to continue, as only one of them can get the coveted spot on the zine.

Emma Lord does fun banter and crazy antics flawlessly in this one. I loved Sadie and Seb, and you could see right away that an underlying friendship was dying to get out. Enter an underground pancake shop and an unfair method of funding clubs at the university, and I was sold. Now, I just want to find a pancake shop like that one, as I haven't stopped craving them since finishing this book!

This was so wonderfully fabulous. I may not be college aged but that didn’t stop me from resonating with these characters. This had me in all the feels. Giddy goodness to sappy, happy tears. Each individual breakdown had me blubbering like a baby. It is so easy to relate to over-achieving family support person syndrome. The weight of that role on Sadie was such a burden and seeing her let-go a little to embrace the chaos was very cathartic. The will they/ won’t they have Seb and Sadie was pure joy to watch. Who doesn’t love a good friends to frenemies to nemesis to lovers arc? The family dynamic of Seb & Sadie’s Co-family (really, how else do you describe the family/friend group between their parents & siblings) was so absolutely touching. Truly this story was delightful to listen to. This is my second Emma Lord book and if this is the bar she’s set, it’ll be tough to beat because both books were pure entertainment.

This book was cute. I loved how she wrote enemies to lovers. The family dynamic and friendship along with college was a perfect YA book. This was a fun story and I would recommend it.

I’m not exactly the target audience for this novel, but I did really enjoy it. Sadie and Seb have been rivals nearly their entire lives and end up at college battling for the same position on the school’s Zine. Overall, I think this book could be a five star read for a high schooler or college student. As a professor, there were some inaccuracies I noticed within the academic setting; however, the entire concept was cute and decently creative. The characters and their banter was fantastic and their tension was really palpable. There were some areas I just needed more flow and explanation from, but this is certainly a fun real. 4⭐️, 0.5🌶

Sadie and Seb have been in each other's lives since birth as their parents are best friends. They've spent Sundays eating pancakes, traveled together, etc. While Seb has been the extrovert with a popular Instagram account, Sadie has been the unwittingly fixer for all of her family's problems. She has longed to get rid of her fixer skin and step into being a comedy writer but has been too scared to let go. Ever since a prank war gone south, Sadie has made Seb into a rival who she finally got rid of when she was accepted at her dream college, Maple Ridge.

Sadie's first day is full of promise as she has her first meeting with the editorial staff at Newsbag, the competitive student magazine. As she's rushing to get there, she literally runs into someone who spills their smoothie all over her dress. When she realizes the person she crashes into is Seb, she gets upset knowing that he was able to get into Maple Ridge off the waitlist. Sadie thought she was able to leave him behind along with their families when he just wanted to follow her. During the Newsbag meeting, they realize they are once again in competition with each other for the one spot on the editorial staff and Sadie is determined to win.

Sadie and Seb are ridiculously cute together. It's apparent from the beginning that while Sadie is caustic to Seb, Seb is in love with Sadie. Their banter is over the top, witty, and funny. They work well off each other and Sadie seeks out Seb more and more.

This is a lighthearted and easy enemies-to-lovers romcom that is more YA than new adult. I loved all the shenanigans and college activities and enjoyed the secondary characters. Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this eARC.

Unfortunately, I did not get to reading this as an ARC due to the holidays and flu and work. But I do look forward to reading this as a finished book.

Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn
Excellent banter

I love Emma Lord! She seriously writes the best characters. She is becoming an auto buy author for me.

I loved following Sadie and Seb, who are constantly competing for the same things, all while trying to ignore their chemistry.

This book is most definitely a slow burn, but add in the chemistry and the banter? It's totally ok.

I am not in college anymore, but I also loved the college setting. You can feel Sadie working on who she is and who she wants to be, and I loved that part of the story as well.

Check this one out! If you love a good rom com, you will absolutely enjoy it!

Can Emma Lord do no wrong? First, she broke our hearts and healed us right back up with BEGIN AGAIN. Then she stupefyingly managed to go and do the exact same thing with THE RIVAL. Something about the way Lord writes feels like a glittering college-geared Time Machine. It’s nostalgic, it’s cute, it’s oh so fun.

I love literally everything Emma writes and this one was no different. Top tier rivalry to lovers and couldn’t get enough of their banter and their dynamic especially when it came to their families. The shenanigans that ensued when the two of them were trying to go for the same writer job on the campus zine were laugh out loud and just simply the best.

Every time that Emma releases a new story I just know that I am going to experience all of the emotions and come out smiling.

Thank you to Netgalley, SMP & Emma Lord for the chance to read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie and Seb grew up in families who were best friends and thoroughly entwined through very different. Sadie was thrilled that she was finally able to go to college away from her family and away from Seb but then he shows up not only at her school but in the activity that she very specifically went to this school for the honor of being part of this campus group. Not only are they competing against each other but they're also racing to save their school reputation and newspaper while still navigating their futures. It only makes sense to team up to do so though they've been Rivals for most of their childhood. This book was so cool and a great early adult transition book.

#arc
#netgalley
#therival

Seb and Sadie have been rivals since they were kids. Their families have always been close, so Seb and Sadie have to pretend to be friends while also trying to outdo each other with pranks and academic successes. When Sadie gets into Maple Ride, she’s excited for a new start and to write for the infamous college zine. But when Seb enrolls in Maple Ride off of the waitlist, their rivalry continues. A story about friendship, family, and growing up ensues as Emma Lord weaves a, let’s face it, predictable and unoriginal storyline, into a heartfelt character driven narrative. Yes, this story has been told before, pretty similarly by this author herself, but Lord’s strong characterization saves this one from being just another rivals to lovers newspaper/podcast/“insert other student organization here” story. It was a fun read if a little unbelievable (the journalistic ethics were pretty much nonexistent with no consequences here). Ultimately, read it because it’s Emma Lord and for the endearing banter and the family dynamics.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I just enjoy Emma Lord. Reading this book took me back to some of my feelings when I had just moved out and gone to college. I wanted them both to make spots on the paper. I enjoyed the rivalry a bit but wish they both would have shared their feelings faster. Definitely a fun Emma Lord read.

I love Emma Lord's books, which are just a ray of sunshine in a sometimes cloudy world. The Rival is set on a college campus, and it's a college I wish I could have attended, with fun traditions and a zany atmosphere.

Even better, the book has an academic rivals romance! Highly recommended!

This book was great and very relatable! I can’t wait to add this to my high school classroom, as it tackles real topics that teens struggle with like how to find their way and adjust to life away from family.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did.
While Emma Lord writes beautifully, I found myself unengaged with the plot and characters. I didn’t mind Sadie, but things about her character didn’t make sense for me. For one, she wants to be a comedy writer, yet I didn’t particularly find her funny - but comedy is subjective so I can let that slide. Her qualms and rivalry with Seb felt a little pushed - especially from where their conflict stemmed from, which was incredibly juvenile to hold onto for so long.

While this was quickly paced, I found the plot and subplots to be undeveloped, such as Sadie’s relationship with her family. The way she felt about being the sole one everyone relied on was kind of dropped? Along with the fact that her family knew about her love of comedy writing and there was never really a discussion about it? Or her sudden fight with her sister? It all just felt undeveloped, which just lead me to not fully engage or know our characters and their struggles. Seb was fine, but I found the romance to feel forced.

Overall, a quick read, but not my favourite!

Thank you so much to Saint Martin’s press for the advanced e copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/ Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this title to read and review. This was such a treat! I've read several other Emma Lord titles before, and enjoy her writing style, but this was one of my favorite rivals-to-enemies that not only *she's* done, but that I've seen done! I think you get a really great backstory for WHY they're rivals/enemies-next-door, rather than a lot of times where you're just kind of told two people hate each other despite the odds. You could really tell that the competition and rivalry came from proximity and perceived similarity, which is a great place to start. I loved seeing both Seb and Sadie start to come into their own in their early days of college, both together and separately. Even though they were not fully starting over after their high school days since they still had their friends and each other in common at their new campus, they got to try out new things and consider taking on new challenges even if they weren't capital-C Challenges that they had to compete with each other on. I do think the plot was a little *too* focused on Newsbag, the college publication that both Seb and Sadie wanted an editorial spot on - like they made it feel like they absolutely would never be successful again in their lives if they didn't write for this place - but I do feel like that's authentic to the young adult experience. Also, Seb is a darling and made the book all that better!

This was another Emma Lord hit! I really enjoyed the Rival! It was fun, lighthearted, and humourous, but also had just the right amount of emotion and heart. Definitely a feel good, relatable story between two academic rivals.

I typically love enemies to lovers but I was a little sad these best friends turned rivals kept competing in everything. I loved Seb and wish we had gotten his POV. I enjoyed the ending but I enjoyed the story more when they weren’t huge rivals. This was my SIXTH book by Emma Lord and some have been solid 5 stars but this just wasn’t my favorite of hers.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own. 3.5 rounded up

There's something truly poetic in writing a book that’s the complete opposite of the one you published around the same time last year and, somehow, making them about the same thing: the arduous path of finding yourself.

If “The Getaway List” is about following your dreams and not being crushed by external expectations, “The Rival” is about what is like to live the college experience and understand you’ve been wrong all along about (basically) everything.
Being young and approaching the world thinking there's a solution for anything is, after all, a common I’m-finally-out-of-high-school experience.

Also, there are no enemies here - just another misleading synopsis.
Sadie and Seb have known each other all their lives and, because of one prank too far, they became academic rivals in the things the other did too, otherwise they just didn't care.
BUT that's not even the point of the book, because it's pretty clear from the beginning - and to everyone too - that these two are in love with each other. Reason why there's a lot of will-they-won’t-they for most of the story that does get annoying but, since we're blessed with Sadie’s pov and her latest discovery, pretty fast it becomes a journey of understanding her feelings and the reasons behind her fears and if she shouldn't just kiss him already.

In perfect Emma Lord’s style, it's a story about self-discovery and the ups and downs that it’ll lead to.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.