This sounded so cute, but unfortunately it didn't entirely work for me. I loved the emphasis on romance books and both characters' love for the genre. But as someone who's been active on bookstagram for almost 10 years, I found it very hard to believe they would each have almost ONE MILLION followers, and there were other aspects I struggled with. This took me out of the story a lot. Combined with the way the characters interacted with each other, my cringe meter went firmly into "too much". I can appreciate a certain level of cringe if the book balances it out with cuteness, but it was too much for me here.

Two rival bookish influencers are forced to work together when they find out they both go to the same college and are now partners in the same literature class. Irene Park is a bookish influencer and adores romance books, the only problem is that she has never experienced it herself and it's never been called into question until another rival bookish influencer Aiden Jeon's followers call her out and he challenges her to see who can find love-by-trope first. Yet when they begin to spend more time together they begin to realize that maybe, the real life romance was between them all along. As someone who has read a ton of Susan Lee's books, I was so excited for this one but this one completely missed the mark for me. This book is so clearly dated and written for the younger half of Gen-Z. The characters might be written to be in college however it truly read like first year high schoolers. This book is also extremely camp and if you like that this book will work for you. The book also has omegaverse fanfic and Irene definitely' isn't for everybody. The book just never really felt all there for me, the romance wasn't really well done and there just felt like a lack of showing the romance between the two characters... and an actual plot if I'm being honest. I just felt like this was too on the nose for me, and as someone who adores romance books, this was just too "young" is how I would best describe it. I do think if you are a younger YA reader who wants to read a romance book, absolutely give it a go.

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

4.5

I absolutely loved this! This was my first Susan Lee book and I really enjoyed the way she wrote these characters. They felt so realistic and I was thrown back to my own freshman year of college. Lee portrayed the stress and complexities that come with being on your own for the first time with new friendships, relationships, and schoolwork.

Irene Park is a popular romance book influencer who has never experienced a romance herself and feels like that is hurting the quality of her online persona and reviews. She decides to spend her freshman year at college reinventing herself and experiencing romance for the first time, using romance tropes to help her get there. Irene befriends her online enemy, Aiden, when they realize they're both at the same college and are up for the same sponsorship for social media.

I really enjoyed this story and really felt the love for romance books that Lee has and wanted to share with others. I very much look forward to reading more from her in the future

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Romance Rivalry is a YA version of a k-drama wrapped up in a pretty cover 😍. Such a fun time and I was giggling and screaming and squealing the whole time.

The story is about two romance book reviewers Irene, and Aiden who, on all counts, seem to constantly have opposing thoughts about the books they read. Imagine the shock when, in their first year at college, they find each other in the same lit class. They’re “forced” into doing a partner project for the class and so begins their somewhat tumultuous rivals to lovers relationship.

Someone needs to take some notes and make a dating show with romance book tropes. When Aiden spews off a bunch of tropes to get Irene to open her dang eyes, oooooh man. That was diabolical! If you want a mostly silly fun good time, with a sprinkling of relatable Asian parent expectations / family dynamics, pick this up when it comes out!

I have read and really enjoyed this author’s first two books, so I was very excited for this one. And while the amount of spice in this one makes it YA maybe? I am calling it NA because of the age of the characters. To me college students are NA. There was so much about this story that I loved. I totally feel like Irene about real life love/relationships. Of course at her age I was nowhere near this organized and passionate about one thing, books, like she is. Although I have always been a reader, at that age I was still more into sci-fi and horror.

I loved how they used all the tropes as chapter themes, as well as for the dating experiment that Irene decided to do to make herself better suited for the sponsor she was trying to get. It was so easy to see how much Aiden was the perfect guy for her. And she was being so stubborn, even if it was understandable. I loved how she followed through those stages as did he. I could also totally understand how she felt overwhelmed starting that first year at college, and I think I kind of had the same issue when I first started college but in my case it was having more of a social life that I’d never really had before and the freedom from parents as well.

The one thing they talked about was when she said miscommunication is a real thing and I know it is. And sometimes I’m okay with it in romances, but when it is something that seems ridiculous for them not to say or tell someone, then it becomes drama for drama’s sake in a story, in my opinion. And in a way that happened here. However the way Aiden said he would be there waiting for her while she did what she needed? That made him a perfect book boyfriend for her.

This was a perfect little romance story with good friends and lots of lessons. And while I technically believe this age of character should be considered new adult, I think this is still a good YA romance that I can’t wait to share with my students!

I absolutely loved reading this book, it felt like the perfect combinations of tropes. I really loved Irene and was rooting for her all the way through.

Another bingeable YA book! It is filled with quippy humor and TONS of tropes.

Irene is a popular book reviewer that is starting college to become an editor. She feels as though she is kind of a fraud reviewing romance novels even though she’s never been in love. Her freshman year goal is to find a boyfriend by using her favorite book tropes to gain experience.

During an icebreaker activity in her literature class she gets randomly paired up with her rival and fellow book reviewer, Aiden. Little do they know, that icebreaker determined their project partner for the whole semester.

Aiden joins in on the trope challenge to find love. This book follows Aiden & Irene as they navigate their friendship and their friendly competition to find love.

I thought this book was SO adorable. I loved the way Aiden never wavered in his support of Irene. There definitely was a moderate amount of miscommunication, but such is life! Even though at times I was like “OMG JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER”, that was so real and represented a typical freshman year college relationship lol

Okay, let me admit that I'm not terribly picky about what genre I read in. I can't say that I'm as obsessed with romance books as the characters in this book, but this book was fun and kind of reminded me of my own college days (not because I went crazy when it came to reinventing myself or trying to find someone to date, but because college is such a strange time of trying to figure out who you are and setting your own expectations for yourself while still thinking about your parents' expectations. Yeah, anyway.).

Favorite parts: the little review snippets that fed into the upcoming chapter, the dating tropes competition, Taejin (seriously, he was such a minor character but I cackled both times he showed up.), the little reveal at the end.

Definitely worth the time for a light-hearted yet insightful story. Note that things can get a touch spicy though nothing major is talked about.

Thank you, Harper Collins, NetGalley, and Susan Lee for the Arc! I absolutely loved loved this book. I could not put it down and fell in love trope after trope with Irene and Aiden!

It feels so strange reviewing a book about a book reviewer who is the go to for romance books. But ugh, I just loved Irene so much! I get her, I was her in college with a grand plan of how it was supposed to be, but then finding out that my carefully thought out planned was not going to go like that. I just loved her growth and the vulnerability she showed as I kept reading on. And of course, Aiden. I liked how he helped Irene figure herself out and called her out for her persona she tried to pull in school, but that was obviously not working the way she thought it was. I'm going to admit it, he was basically the perfect Kdrama guy! I mean, without spoiling too much, the book?? That's such a romantic gesture! I would literally die if that happened to me.

The tropes on tropes on tropes, was so perfect, and I loved the idea that Irene had to use them to her advantage to solidify her presence as a Romance Reviewer. Even towards the end, I just loved that the tropes tied the story so perfectly well and made me kick my feet and giggle as I read the epilogue! Instalove! I see you 😉

Susan Lee, you have become my new favourite author and I can't wait to pick up your other books. 10/10 would 100% recommend to other who love romance and endless tropes.

actual rating: 2.5⭐️

The premise of this book was very clever and cute; and it was ultimately what drew me into requesting an eARC. The use of romance novel tropes to set the stage for the romance/rivalry between the main characters was one of the fun parts of this novel.

But let’s backtrack a bit, how about a small summary: Irene is an online book reviewer that exclusively reads romance books—and she has amassed a large following doing so through consistency and dedication over the course of years. Enter Aiden, a newcomer to the online bookish space that has quickly gained a large following because he’s an attractive guy in a heavily women-centric space. Also not to mention that he consistently reads the same books as Irene but always has the opposite reaction to the book than her. If she loved it, he had a problem with an aspect of the book; and vice versa. Irene in her mind understands that he’s her rival and so much tells him so to his face when they meet in their freshman Intro to Lit class. Much to her dissatisfaction, they become project partners for the semester and have to work together. That’s the overall gist of it, the romance tropes competition thing is followed shortly after that and sets the story on its course.

Now let’s talk about what didn’t work for me with this book before we get to the positive. I personally found it really hard to root for our main character, Irene, because her motivations for wanting to find love were very superficial. It was giving “I think I know more about American dolls than you do genius” because that was literally what happened; she got so worked up by Aiden’s commenters on her post and with a pending deal on the line, her response was basically “I’ll show them that I can find love.” And it really highlights how immature our girl actually is, which she’s only eighteen so I will give her grace but it was so infuriating to see how awful she handled a lot of situations especially towards the end of this novel. I would’ve so appreciated a lot of that being cut from the novel altogether so Aiden could get more character development because he was infinitely more mature and not romantically stunted like Irene was. Aiden had so much more backstory to cover and I personally hated how those last two chapters were from his perspective because it just threw me off so badly. I think I was expecting to see a fast forward to the future where Irene possibly changes majors to something that is suited to her wants and not her parents’ expectations. And Irene had her areas of relatability especially when it came to being the universal people pleasing middle child that wants to impress her parents and stand out. But by the end of the novel, I was super over Irene and her story. I also really hate how this book covered one of my most loathed tropes in existence, the dreaded miscommunication trope. For me, I was having a good time reading this book; Irene wasn’t that bad as a main character but that trope absolutely annihilated any goodwill I had towards Irene.

Now for some positives: First, this book is incredibly fast paced and it is a super quick read—which is something that I don’t actively seek out in books that I read but it is something that I appreciate. The writing is super easy to read and flows like water which is what made this book a quick read. Second, I do appreciate Aiden a lot more as the leading characters because he actually had the charm and charisma to keep this story pushing forward which is always needed in any romance novel. I also so appreciate the secondary romance between the side characters—Jeannette and Charles because I am so used to the secondary characters being just that, in the background, they don’t make their own leaps and bounds until the author writes the book that follows their romance. I have to say it almost reminded me of a kdrama and like many kdramas, I personally loved their relationship a lot more and we didn’t even get to see much of it but I loved Jeannette’s personality so much.

I honestly think if I was eighteen or in my early 20’s I would love this book so much more but because I am not in either of those categories, I find myself with a lot of criticism. I think this book is super light-hearted, a perfect palate cleanser that gives you some of those feet kicking moments but only if you can largely ignore the fmc which I hate to say but it’s my truth.

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins Children’s Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Susan Lee continues to be an autobuy author for me. She creates these fantastic characters that have the right but of swoon and tension, I absolutely love them every time.

I loved that she used the tropes to drive the story, each chapter was a different trope and had cute little reviews for books, but the chapters also loosely pertained to each trope. I also loved that Irene was so invested in her social media presence— it was so relatable, the anxiety, the way she sometimes thrived. It really worked for the story that they were rivals in such an interesting field.

The star, though, is how they became friends and how their friend group worked as a found family. I really really enjoyed that the four of them grew from doing this competition, to actually relying on one another.

Anyway, if you want some romance, some yearning, some comedy, and realistic characters that you will love, check out this book for sure!! And her others, honestly.

this week is my first week reading susan lee although i've seen her ya novels recommended in the ali hazelwood, julie soto, etc. sphere of writers who came from fanfic. now is especially a great time to read lee as it's aapi month and i will say lee always includes a good amount of korean american representation especially in how family dynamics affect the coming of age of her characters. i don't think every book has to be revolutionary; some can just be for fun. however, i do think the structure of going through romance tropes limited the structure of the story. i'm curious of how omegaverse will work for ya audience but lee is going on my autobuy list for the future!

I think sometimes college-aged characters can feel too juvenile like highscholers or too mature like mid-20s but every character in this felt so well-written! Irene and Aiden were written so well in that they were at different emotional stages of being ready for love but they played off each other so well in how they both opened up! I also really enjoyed how Irene and Jeannette's friendship was so sweetly tied into how Irene matured and grew into the new relationships in her life. The only thing that I wish could've been touched on more throughout the book and built up slowly (instead of mostly in the last third) was Irene's struggle with adjusting to college academically.

3.8/5 Runded up
This is definitely a story for romance lovers and those in the bookish community as the main characters are online book reviewers. As the blurb says the FMC decides to find love using what she knows best, book tropes. Then her rival in the book reviewing world is also attending the same school and they decide to do it as a challenge and as you can imagine they partake in fake dating and fall for each other. I had to remind myself that they were teenagers, specially in the case of Irene. She came across a bit standoffish at times and very insecure, which she had her reasons for. When the part of the third act conflict came her reaction was not the best, I felt like Aidan was the one more invested in their relationship. I will say I did enjoy the writing and the way the tropes were incorporated. There were some cute scenes specially a bike incident one that felt like a k-drama, and as someone who enjoys them it had me smiling and kicking my feet. Overall it was a cute story with a bit of humor and some heartfelt moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

This book was wonderful and so cute !

The set up with the chapters being different tropes and the epigraphs were something I've never seen before, and something I really loved!
The romance was so cute, (and the side romance) and I really liked the add on with the "time travel" at the end.
I think this was such a fun filled book, with relatable and loveable tropes, and content.

Two rival book influencers end up attending the same college and start a competition to see who can use the most classic romance tropes and who can fall in love first!

This was such a sweet and wholesome read! Aiden and Irene are both precious! Irene is struggling to navigate her freshmen year of college and accepting she needs help and is so deserving of all the love she always reads about.

Aiden is so down bad for our girl Irene and navigating complex family dynamics and challenges of his own.

These two are perfectly matched and so sweet together. Aiden is so attentive, caring, and all around wonderful. 10/10 notes on him! I enjoyed the side characters and friends to Aiden and Irene to help the story feel full.

Overall this is such a love letter to romance, romance book, romance readers, and the book community at large, especially in the online bookish community. The author navigates so many tropes in such a fun and engaging way! Lovely on audio! The narrators giving Irene (&the small Aiden POV) an authentic feel.

The story was good in this book. The potential of the romance was there, but I was constantly left wanting more. I adore enemies or rivals to lovers, even if Irene is not a fan of it. Irene and Aiden were such a good pair, but I really needed more from the romance of it.

The writing itself was decent as well. I go into books with new authors with no expectation, but this one definitely had some wording that kind of grated on me a bit. Beyond that, the book read smoothly and easily and it was enjoyable. I definitely did not hate it at all, I enjoyed the story and the book, there were just a few things I could not get past.

There's so much to love here!

I really enjoy when a book calls out popular romance tropes and uses them to shape the plot. There wasn't anything innovative or unique here but the way Irene and Aiden interacted with them was great. Irene's plan to experience a romantic relationship and possibly fall in love by using tropes as her guide was adorable and very fitting for who she is. Aiden's enthusiasm was infectious.

This story flirts the line between YA and NA. Yes, they're 18/19-year-olds but some of the situations they end up in (or fade out of) feel better suited to readers of similar ages or older. That said, I think this should be required reading for college freshmen. The college experience is different for each student but the lessons here can benefit everyone. Irene's growth throughout the book made me so happy for her. I was cheering her on every step of the way, hoping she'd figure out how to handle everything.

Jeannette, Charles, and even Dr. King are great side characters. I was super appreciative that this is a story of friendship as much as it is about romance. Seeing Irene and Jeannette navigate a new friendship -- especially one as intense as your college roommate -- made me reminisce about my college days.

This is adorable and charming and hopeful. I plan on recommending it to everyone who needs a pick-me-up!

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I loved this! The romance reader in me was on cloud 9 the whole time. It felt like I was talking to a book friend about how much I love books. The tropes, the social media aspect, and the relationship between Aiden and Irene were all somehow both true to life and still idealistic. This is a YA novel but the characters are freshman in college and I found the way the characters thought and acted was very realistic for their age. Aiden is adorable. I was able to speed through this book. Lean into the cheesy/campy parts of this book and enjoy being a romance reader! Highly recommend!

4.75 ⭐️

Ya know, everyone needs a good YA/NA book every now and then but this one? I ate these two up so quick.

First and foremost, Aiden is an absolute sweetheart and I'd lay my life down for that man because WHAT DO YOU MEAN??????? 😭😭😭😭 (you'll know once you read this book lol).
I've gotta say, the whole enemies/rivals to lovers Irene and Aiden had happening was such a nice time. Two romance book reviewers just so happen to attend the same college AND same intro to lit class? Oh, you bet I'm sat tf down and ready to devour this.
I really enjoyed Irene as a whole though. Irene goes through a lot of challenges mentally with coming to terms with things about her self and seeing her finally open up to her family was so refreshing.