**4.5-stars rounded up**

I'm not apologizing anymore. I'm done. Let it be known, I love Emma Lord, her stories, her characters, her wit and the themes she chooses to explore in her books. I've never walked away disappointed. They're silly, cutesy and so dang full of heart and humor. I'm a fan. A big, big, huge, unapologetic fan.

In this story we follow Sadie, who is excited to shake off the constraints of her small town and family, as she starts her first year at Maple Ridge College. She's most excited to focus on her writing, as she competes for a spot at the college's famous zine. What she wasn't expecting was to have to compete against her lifelong academic rival, Sebastian, for the spot.

Sadie and Seb's parents are best friends, and thus they've been shoved into each other's orbits their whole lives. Unfortunately, it seems they are always trying to out-do one another, so the relationship has been contentious. Traditionally, Maple Ridge has selected one student from their high school to attend, so Sadie thought she was golden. Apparently, Seb worked his way off the wait list though, probably just to be the bane of Sadie's existence.

Of course, he also wants to write for the zine, even though unlike Sadie, his long-term plan isn't to be a writer. At least, not if his Dad has anything to say about it. Even though she wants to continue to look at Seb with nothing but contempt, in this new setting, with more on the line and less support, he becomes a bit of a comfort as she transitions to college life. Before they know it, they seem to be working together in a way they never have before, and also starting to feel things they've never felt before.

This was so cute. It's such an Emma Lord story. She has such a style and formula, and darn it, it works. I find myself becoming completely invested in her characters, no matter what they are going through. I feel like nobody writes inner-turmoil, or self-doubt, quite like Emma Lord. She makes everything relatable and understandable. It's hard not to root for her main characters.

I love academic rival situations anyway, so this was sort of set-up to be a win for me. There's something so sexy about two individuals battling it out with their big brains. I also love Lord's side characters. There's never anyone who feels superfluous. Every player has a point, a reason for being there, and a well-developed personality to boot.

In this, both Sadie and Seb have some issues they're working through in regards to their families. I thought those aspects were very well done. There are def some complex feelings to work through as you move out of the family home for the first time, and that was examined in detail here.

I would recommend the audiobook if you have access to it. The narration was so great as a voice for Sadie's perspective. I had such a good time listening to it. There were moments that I was laughing out loud, and others were I was nodding in understanding. Just a really well rounded YA Contemporary. If you've loved Emma Lord before, or want to try her work for the first time, you should really check this one out!

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. Keep 'em coming, Emma Lord!

Read If You Like:
- Rivals-to-lovers romance
- College campus settings
- Witty banter and academic competition
- Slow-burn chemistry
- Heartfelt narratives with humor

The Rival is a romantic comedy that brings a fresh twist to the classic rivals-to-lovers trope. The story centers on Sadie, a determined student who has long competed with her neighbor, Seb, for academic accolades. When both are accepted into their dream college, they find themselves vying for a coveted spot on the school's prestigious zine. As they navigate this new competition, they uncover systemic issues within the institution, prompting them to collaborate despite their rivalry. This partnership leads to unexpected discoveries about each other and themselves, blending humor, romance, and social commentary seamlessly.

The novel's pacing is engaging, with well-developed characters and a plot that balances humor and heartfelt moments. The chemistry between Sadie and Seb is palpable, making their journey from rivals to partners both believable and compelling. The narrative offers a realistic portrayal of the complexities of young adulthood, ambition, and the courage required to challenge the status quo.

The Rival is a charming and irresistible read for fans of romantic comedies that offer more than just a love story. With its engaging plot, relatable characters, and a setting that feels both familiar and fresh, this novel is perfect for those seeking a feel-good escape into a world of romance and self-discovery.

Thanks so much to Wednesday Books and Macmillan for my ebook, ALC and finished copy!

The heartbreaking reality of dnf'ing a romance read on Valentine's day.....

I was excited for this book since I enjoyed some of Emma Lord's other books, The Getaway list and The Break Up pact, but this book is just too whiny. I understand that the main character, Sadie, is a college freshman and is still insecure but I think I may have aged out of reads like this. I just cannot relate to her in anyway and it is too cringey to continue on after this 26% mark. I think if I was reading this with a 20 year old brain instead of 27 year old, I would feel differently but at this point it is not meant for me - and that's okay!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for this arc!

This was ADORABLE.

Despite taking place during freshman year of college, this story definitely read more like a YA romance vs. New Adult, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless! This has everything in it that I've come to love from Emma Lord's writing - coming of age stories, first loves, complicated family dynamics, close friendships, great banter, and life lessons that everyone can take something away from.

Sadie and Seb are the true definitions of "frenemies" - long time (family) friends who are always competing and trying to one-up each other. Their dynamic was so fun and watching them grow into themselves and finally coming to terms with how they feeling about each other was a delight.

Frenemies fall in love in this collegiate romance. Seb and Sadie met when they were babies, became rivals in grade school, and have been competing ever since. And now, they're vying for a single spot on the staff of their college's campus 'zine, the launching point of many famous writers' careers. But they discover they actually can get farther in life if they work together.

This was a mostly fluffy, zany romantic comedy with a LOT of will they, won't they...almost too much. I thought it was written really well, but Sadie's manic narration was way over the top for me and her family was more annoying than quirky. Seb was a really sweet character but I was confused about how he fit into the story at times. The book overall felt much longer than it needed to be. It's too bad because I was really vibing with it and laughing at the characters' antics until about 40 percent of the way in, when I felt like the action was stalling.

The audio narration wasn't bad. Sort of like Leslie Knope on steroids. You may not need your daily coffee if you listen at 1.5x speed.

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. The audiobook was great as well, the narrator did a fantastic job!

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

#enemiestolovers #therivals #emmalord #ya #yaromance #slowburn #bookishreview #bookblog #bookishvlog #smpinfluencer #booksbooksbooks #booktube #booktok #bookstababe #bookalorian #booktalk #bookishchat #bookbanter

The atmosphere felt very accurate, the opening scene of having 2 buildings with the same name made me laugh out loud since I went through the exact same thing when the first day of University and I can confirm it is incredibly confusing! The characters both enjoyable but I did prefer Seb! both were easy to relate to and likable. THE BANTER!!!!! Omg it was just so good! It felt very relatable honestly, lot of weirdly similar life experiences in this book which was fun. There were many pacing issues throughout this which did make the book drag on a bit.

The last 30% ish did loose me a little. The conflict with her sisters and her best friend was a little dumb and I had a few issues with it but the resolution was well done.

I will say this is my favorite Emma Lord to date.

I’m a big fan of an author and liked the narration. But this one felt a bit too unrealistic for me. However, it was a sweet and easy read.

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

Let me start with a positive - I adore the cover and I am a faithful Emma Lord reader. I really enjoyed The Getaway List.

Buuuuuuut….to say I loathed this book would be kind. The immaturity of the MCs had me wondering wth?? While I look at it as YA these are college students that had no business leaving their mommy daddy nest because they clearly still need to be on the tit.

By 50% I had zero clue what the point was and that I only wanted to never read a book ever again.

Anyways, I will still continue to support the author because she’s a cool queen but this was not the book for me. I already had taken the picture and edited it so I had to post a little something something.

Loved this one! It’s a YA with more substance than expected. The narrator was one of my favorites, she does a great job with every book. Highly recommend this one!

Emma Lord has an incredible ability to capture all of the wild, wonderful, and messy parts of being a teenager. The Rival deals with the big feelings of being away from home for the first time, trying to carve out a place for yourself in the world, and also falling in love in such a fun and nuanced way. As per usual, the side characters are lovable and quirky and the desserts are mouthwatering.

We all know the stars have to align to have a good romance, but Emma Lord aligns galaxies to have the picture-perfect setup for her new YA novel. Seb and Sadie were high school rivals when they unexpectedly ended up at the same college after Seb got off the waitlist. Of course, they're not just high school rivals... turns out their dads were best friends, so their families love each other and are even next-door neighbors, and Sadie has known Seb since she was 3 days old. But due to childhood antics, Sadie and Seb have been competing against each other to be the best in their class, and naturally, that's going to continue now that they're at the same college, competing for the same spot writing for NewsMag, the school's nationally famous "zine". Predictably, over the course of the competition, Sadie realizes she might possibly have feelings for Seb, which everyone else has known forever, and leaves the reader echoing the plea of so many characters: "Just kiss already!"

\\\\\ 3.5 \\\\\

This one was quite cute, exactly what you can expect of a young adult romance with all the rom-com vibes.

Read if you like:
Rivals to lovers
Childhood bestfriends
Academic set-up
Coming of age story
Slow-burn romance

My thoughts:
The bond between our two characters was easy to understand, and I enjoyed their friendship quite a lot. Even though they stuck to saying they were enemies, you still could feel how deeply they cared for each other. The fact that they knew one another so well, made for really sweet interactions. It was a bit hard to not get mad at the miscommunication at the chore of their rivalry.

I have to admit that I would have loved for this one to be a double POV because I had a hard time connecting with Sadie, I did not always agree with how she acted, meanwhile, Seb was simply perfect to me. It would have certainly helped my reading experience to get to his POV once in a while.

The first part of the book was more compelling to me and went by far more quickly than the second part. I'm not someone who enjoys conflict and confrontations, and at some point in the book it was all that was happening and that was not appealing to me. While I do appreciate some deeper stuff, it definitely dragged on and I just wanted to get back to the more quirky and fun vibe.

Overall, the plot was interesting with a touch of humour and a heartwarming side as well. I always love seeing characters learning to be their true self and find their path in life.

As for the audiobook, the narrator did a great job and it was an enjoyable one!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

This is my 3rd Emma Lord book and I she definitely has a knack for writing very sweet, YA rom-coms that offer a little bit of depth to them. In this book, we meet Sadie and Seb, two people who have no choice but to be in each other's lives and Sadie is not always happy about that... or is she?

Things that work well in this book: an "enemies" to lovers where neither person is a bully, create a will they/won't they dynamic that is both obvious yet charming, and a plot that really serves this dynamic well. If you could mash up Today, Tonight, Tomorrow and Better than the Movies, I feel like it would put you in the ballpark of how this book feels.

Things that didn't work for me: the "resolution" with Sadie and her younger sister who, I'm so sorry, was a very frustrating character and her affection for Seb could have had led to much more interesting concepts and conversations.

This book is very sweet and warm and sometimes you want to shake Sadie and Seb a little bit, but generally a very good time.

I thought the narration for this audiobook was great. Jesse Vilinsky is one of my favorite YA romcom narrators. She brings a lot of charm, warmth, and realistic emotions to her characters that serves the book very well. The narration feels real and believable and I really enjoyed this listen.

Thank you to MacMilllan Audio, the publshers, and NetGalley for this ARC Audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Rival by Emma Lord in quick, rapid fire thoughts.

-this dedication is on point! (Obviously I need a snack now!)
-eeekkk! Love when there's a backstory for our characters
-wish I had attended this fun college
-a fresh start and new attitude give us a heroine to root for!
-rivals to lovers vibes with a hint of jealousy
-a diverse group is in Sadie's life - we love to see it!
-multiple college experiences portrayed means everyone can relate
-found family representation both at school and at home
-Sadie's character arc!!! (Also, Sadie's parents get gold stars!)
-loved the message and theme so much it hurts
-ummm... also pancakes!

I'm not sure if I should really say this or not... but the voice Jesse Vilinsky used when narrating Seb's voice was so swoon worthy! Vilinsky perfectly captured the emotions Sadie was experiencing, summing up her character wonderfully! I absolutely loved the monotone voice used for Rowan; it was phenomenal!

All in all, this is exactly what I've now come to expect and love from Lord's writing: fun plot and lovable characters! Can't wait for her next book!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio and Macmillan Young Listeners for the complimentary copies to read and review.

I liked this. but feel it was definitely geared toward a less mature audience. The main the character was a bit..much. This was probably my least favorite Emma Lord book.

Rating: 4/5
I received the eARC for my honest opinion.

This was a really cute YA romcom, you will find enemies to lovers/friends to lovers, opposites attract. I found the plot to have been written well, the pace of the book was steady, and I didn’t see it really lagging a lot in the book. The book is character driven, and I loved getting to know the characters more throughout the book and watching their growth.

The story starts off with Sadie at Maple Ridge College, she is rushing to the first Newsbag meeting, but she collides with someone and the smoothie from the other person spills all over her dress and ruins it. When she looks to see who she ran into it's no other than Seb Adams, Her biggest high school rival. He is also the same guy who for years was a big part of her life because their families are close friends and of course do everything together. She soon finds out that he is on the Newsbag staff too and he is competing for the same staff writer position and over her dead body he will win.

As I said earlier, I really liked this plot, and I loved that they were opposites that finally understood that it works better for them that way. They also help each other with understanding their own feelings about being an adult, how to really become your own person, how to navigate life, and learning how to forgive each other for past mistakes or miscommunications that occurred over the years. I found the characters to have been well developed, and I liked the fact that the readers will see their development throughout the book. I also really liked the sweet moments, the banter between the characters, the school drama and the uncovering of corruption in their school system. I loved getting to see Sadie and Seb try to fight their attraction for each other and discover if they can be more than what they’re now.

I also received the audio of this book and found Emma Lord did a fantastic job with this book. I loved that I was able to picture what the characters were doing.

Overall, this book was a cute, fast-paced book with cute tropes.

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin Press and Macmillan for the opportunity to review this book.

Emma Lord's The Rival is a great addition to the YA rom-com genre, offering a charming and engaging take on the rivals-to-lovers trope. The story follows two ambitious college freshmen, Sadie and Seb, who are constantly butting heads, whether it's in the classroom, during extracurriculars, or just in the hallways. Their competitive spirit fuels a simmering tension that eventually ignites into something more.

Lord does a good job at crafting witty banter and creating genuine chemistry between her characters. The back-and-forth between Sadie and Seb is consistently entertaining, showcasing their intelligence, passion, and hidden vulnerabilities. Beyond the romance, the novel explores themes of ambition, self-discovery, and the pressures of college, adding depth to the story. While the plot may follow some familiar rom-com beats, Lord's fresh voice and relatable characters keep the narrative feeling engaging and fun.

The Rival is a perfect pick for readers who enjoy lighthearted and sweet romances with a touch of humor. It's a feel-good story that will leave you with a smile on your face. While some readers might find certain plot points predictable, the overall charm and execution of the story make it a thoroughly enjoyable read.

This book was amazing from sprinkle pancakes to collage clubs it was truly a rom com through and through. The writing is amazing as all Emma lord writing is and I fell in love with every character she wrote. The character development is phenomenal in every including the way family can be so many things if you look at it from a different perspective.