The Rival is a fun frenemies to lovers, YA novel that Emma Lord is known for. Sadie and Seb have been forced in each other orbit since birth. They were friends, who along the way turned into rivals always trying to one up each other. They are now at the same college, competing for yet another thing … a writer in the college paper.

Overall this was fun and cute. I felt it was more about coming into your own when you leave for college. About how you feel homesick but also like you can breathe for the first time. I feel like Lord captured navigating this in-between feeling well. I will say at times I was so annoyed by Sadie I just wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her. But as she started to become herself, she also seemed to grow on me.

Not my favorite Emma Lord novel, but still enjoyed it.

This was a really cute, easy read. I enjoyed the banter between the characters. At parts I was a little bored, but overall this was a cute enemies to lover book.

Emma Lord is an automatic buy for me, so I was thrilled to receive this book for review (even though I had already preordered a copy). If you're a fan of hers, this book will not disappoint. I love that Sadie's journey is in finding her loud, messy self after years of being the controlled one in her family. And Seb's challenge is to find is own wishes and vulnerabilities rather than going along with what his parents want for him. Together, they are electric. This is another fun, funny, romantic book from Emma Lord, and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Fun rom-com of two students that have known each other forever. They finally think they are getting away from each other by going to different schools, when both get accepted to the same place. Now they must compete for the coveted spot on the campus newspaper where everything goes wrong. They realize their hate for each other is really deeper than they realize when they work together to solve a crisis with the newspaper. Competition that works together and becomes closer as their friendship develops throughout the novel.

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.

This was... flat?

I'm not sure why Sadie's central conflict was her being able to tell her family that she was funny?

Thank you to Net Gallley for the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for reading and reviewing.

3.5 stars
I always really enjoyed Emma Lord's books and this one wasn't any different. It wasn't necessary my favorite but it still had all the things I love about the author's books. The plot was fun, and I enjoyed the characters a lot.

I may have had a couple issues with the content in The Rival, but Emma Lord is such an amazing writer, I didn't care. I really liked the characters, and I enjoyed reading about the college freshman experience. The rivalry at the center of the story was complicated and believable, and I rooted for the couple to get together the entire time, and really felt for them when obstacles stood in their way. Just an all-around excellent reading experience.

The Rival by Emma Lord tells of a ... academic rivalry between lifelong friends Sadie and Seb. They're now attending the same college and are in competition for the one open position on the school newspaper. And Sadie is harboring some feelings for Seb, but won't tell him. That's it.

I thought that I was an Emma Lord fan, but upon reading this (skimming mostly), I think I must admit that I'm out of her target demographic. I thought this read like a high school romance YA, not a college love story YA. I'm not sure how to explain the difference, but there really is one and iykyk. While I typically enjoy a good college YA romance, this one felt extremely young to me and I just wasn't that drawn in. I couldn't really relate to any of the actions or feelings the main characters were experiencing.

If you want an easy quick read that is low on spice (which I typically want), then this one is for you. There was no chemistry and no heat between our characters and it overall felt like nothing was happening.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a fun cozy rom com that I thoroughly enjoyed! I always look forward to Emma’s books and was so happy when I got approved for this early read. It didn’t disappoint and I highly recommend if you love a good romcom

If Mary song by Taylor Swift was a book it be this I highly recommend this book for the high school early college romance, reader. Besides the cute will they won’t they romance? You also have the very real feelings of navigating the first few weeks of college definitely need more books like this in young adult genere

I just finished The Rivals by Emma Lord and this is my review.

Sadie sighs a huge breath of relief when she gets to the school of her choice because her long time rival is going somewhere else for school until he is moved from the waitlist and ends up on campus. Her blood boils instantly when Seb is there to continue their rivalry. Trouble is the more time they have to spend together, the more they can see past their rivalry but something more is going on at the school and it's going to take more than the pair of them to bring it to attention.

I didn’t think I was going to like this one. I got the audio and the e-book from @netgalley and honestly the narration was utter perfection and I had a hard time switching to reading.

I loved the rivalry. I thought it was done really well. They weren’t enemies, not really, they were childhood friends who’s friendship turned to a rivalry they never really came back from and it was fun. So much fun to watch them one up each other. The fact they were neighbors growing up too added to the complexity. It was really entertaining. I really enjoyed the setting. Being on a college campus really made it feel more exciting.

Watching them work together when they are competing for the same opportunity made for some compelling banter and they had undeniable chemistry!

I thought it all worked really well together and I enjoyed both Sadie and Seb, even though his name started to feel made up the more I heard it haha.

All round solid YA read.

Read if you like

- Slow-burn romance
- Rivals/enemies to lovers
- Childhood best friends to academic rivals
- University life
- Coming-of-age

4 stars

Thank you to @macmillanaudio and @stmartinspress for my gifted copies

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I love Emma Lord books! She is the queen of Young Adult cozy cute rom-coms! It was so fun following Sadie and Seb, best friends turned rivals continuing to compete in college. Thank you for the early release - this book was a delight. Highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this one! I am not the best at writing reviews sometimes, but sometimes books take you by surprise and this one did just that. I got invested a few chapters in and couldn't put it done. It was so good! I highly recommend this one. But then again, there has never been an Emma book I didn't like, so I am not surprised I loved this one too!

Absolutely loved this book and soaked up every minute of it! This was such an adorable rom com! Very lighthearted and easy to enjoy. Highly recommend

The Rival by Emma Lord is an enemies to lovers YA romance. The novel focuses on Sadie and Seb, two former childhood friends and next door neighbours, turned rivals who (as a surprise to Sadie) head off to the same college and are both gunning for the same spot on the college newspaper. Both Sadie and Seb are discovering who they are as they move away from their families and figure out what they want for themselves as opposed to what their families want for them. The book has a great cast of side-characters that added to the story line.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books, NetGalley and the author for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The Rival was my second young adult book that I’ve read by Emma Lord and I liked it! The Rival follows Sadie as she heads to university as she looks to join the school magazine while competing with her academic rival and childhood friend, Seb. I enjoyed following Sadie on her journey as she transitioned into the new stage of her life. I liked the banter and tension between Sadie and Seb, though at times I did find that the book felt slow. This one was a fun, cute (pancakes and the Alphabet party!) and I absolutely love the way Lord writes.

Overall, I liked this one and rated it 3.5 stars. If you are looking for a young adult childhood rivals to friends to lovers that has lots of good banter and tension with a university setting, check out The Rival! While I loved Begin Again more than this one, I’m so excited to keep reading more of Emma Lord’s work.

Thank you to Netgalley and St.Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

"The Rival" brings with it themes of competitive dynamics and personal growth for main characters Sadie and Seb and as usual a whole lot of shenanigans. The college setting and the evolution of a relationship from rivalry to something more is so sweet to see unfold. I do think this one lacked some of the emotional or reflective tone I'm used to from Lord. As a reader who loves complex feelings, this one fell a bit short in that regard. Overall, this was a fun read with characters that were flawed but loveable, who brought me back to the early days of college and what it feels like when something goes from catching feelings to falling in love.

I put off reading this book. Why? I don't know now. It was super cute. The characters had growth. Like so many characters not just the FMC and MMC. Their families were fun. They grew up together and everyone saw the end. I also liked that the big story they found was something that probably happens all too often. On a different note I really want pancakes now.

You had me at Emma Lord and enemies to lovers! As always, an enjoyable read by and author I have been a fan of for quite some time. This was a little slow for me in some places, but for the most part, I enjoyed the story and the relationships.