*4.5

This is a cute book. It's fairly cheesy but that's to be expected with an Emma Lord book and I love it. These two have been in love for so long but for their own various reasons they never said anything. I loved seeing them come together now and have a more mature love and understanding for one another.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This book confirmed something that ived been wondering about my reading, and that’s that I’m not a big fan of music in books. That being said I did still enjoy it I liked both main characters and the dual pov really added to the story. There were times where the pacing felt off but overall it was a good read.

This took me a bit to get into, but once I was in, I was in! It took a good month to finish the first 20%, but I read the last 80% in a day.

I liked the concept a lot. I really enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t a 3rd act break up. I actually loved the ending a lot.

I love the writing style of Emma Lord, this is the third book of her’s I’ve read this year. And the story didn’t disappoint.
At first I wasn’t sure this book would be for me because I don’t love the rockstars in love trope. But the characters are so vulnerable and at a very mature state in their lives.

It was a very sweet love story, with great banter and moments that give you chills.

Thank you to St Martin’s Griffin and the author for this ARC via NetGalley

This book is for you if you enjoy:
+Rockstars in love
+Second chances
+Emotionally mature characters
+Clever banter
+Heartfelt but light reads

Really sweet! As a big music fan and someone who has been interested in the industry the setting was unique!

3 ⭐

Mackenzie Waters and Sam Blaze are both talented musicians. Two rival posters are both trying to make a comeback and what better way to do that than make an album together? From the beginning of the story, even though they didn’t technically date when they were younger, you could tell there was just this electric energy between them. They’ve both gone through so many similar experiences together and were able to understand each other on these intimate levels. This story definitely had a lot more depth than I was expecting it to have and it showed that they’re just human like everyone else despite coming from families of fame. I love that Mackenzie got to got on her own little journey within the book and reconnect with mom. The dual pov was actually one of my favorite parts of the book because we got to see inside both of the characters heads. I think that Mackenzie and Sam were really able to see each other through and through which is how they fell for each other so much harder.

For the Record is a sweeping romance about forgiveness and second chances. About how sometimes the right person has been there the whole time, but the timing was just never right. Sometimes a second-chance romances just hits so hard and Emma Lord has most definitely figured out the formula.

While I absolutely adored Sam & Mackenzie’s dynamic. There’s something to be said for the female friendships in this book as well. Relationships of all kinds can be so complicated and the author did such a great job of capturing that. The dynamic between the Thunder Hearts felt so authentic. Even though Serena & Mack were fighting they very obviously still cared for each other.

This story definitely had me in the feels and I would recommend it to everyone! Not to mention it was dual pov which is honestly just one of my favourite things of all time. I want to SEE that man pine. If you like found family, self discovery and second chances romance- I think you’ll love this one.

I am so enchanted by the characters and the plot. I wish I could be a part of this story because I felt very welcomed reading it. Definitely one of my best reads of the year. Thank you for the early opportunity. 🥺❤️

For The Record was a great second chance romance. Mackenzie and Sam are both members of bands that met years ago and hated each other. meeting again changes all that when they decide to become a duet.

Thank you Net Galley and St Martins Griffin for the arc.

This book was a fun combination of real heart with enemies to lovers but with famous people! Highly recommend for fans of Romantic Comedy and How to Fake it in Hollywood. Just have your tissues ready, this one packs a true emotional punch!

This book is very mid. I didn’t hate it but the story won’t stick with me. I feel like I’ve already forgotten much of what I read. That’s not to say it’s bad, the story just didn’t hold much stock for me.

The characters are kind of lackluster and fall flat. When the romance happened it felt forced and just, bleh. The more I read the more I enjoyed their dynamic, but not enough that I felt drawn into their story.

The story line I did really enjoy was seeing Sam be a father for Ben and co-parenting. That dynamic I enjoyed the most out of everything. Their relationship was so sweet and each time we’d get to see them on page was when I was most invested. I felt that’s when we really get to see Sam’s character shine and I enjoyed that a lot.

I fear that music books also just might not be for me. Daisy Jones was my one and only and I need to move on. However, I did enjoy the band elements we did get to see. I think it would be interesting to read these characters in their band days rather than after.

Overall, there were bits of this book I liked and bits that I didn’t. It was a very okay book. I think I might stand alone on this, because I do see the appeal and why others will likely enjoy this book. It just wasn’t for me, I’m sad to say. I will likely read more from this author in the future, nonetheless.

P.s. the nickname “Sparkles” and how often it came up made me upset!

***Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and St Martin’s Griffin for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review***

I was kindly provided with the arc of this book by NetGalley and the editors in exchange of an honest review, thank you ✨

4⭐️

This was a very cute, fast and intense book, I really loved the story and how Mackenzie and Sam had their second chance after all they had to deal with from the moment they met, I loved Ben and Lizzie and Kara and all the characters ✨

This wasn't my favorite. Our read story of like fan fiction and could have worked better as a YA novel.

This was fun! Second chance romances are hit or miss for me, but thankfully while the main characters did deal with knowing each other/their lives being intertwined in the past, the true focus of the story was the enemies > working together > romance plot, which I thought was really well done. The personal stakes and issues that both leads experienced helped flesh out the characters and make the story stronger as they fell in love.

This was really fun albeit sort of ridiculous, but I loved the second chance tension rivals to lovers.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️
Book boyfriend ranking: 18/54

The way I put this book off because it was my first time reading an Emma Lord book makes no sense because I flew through this sweet romance. I think I read it in under 24 hours.

You’ve got a single dad, a semi second chance romance, found family, and yearning! There is a bit of miscommunication but it didn’t bother me too much because it made sense why the characters were making those decisions.

This book has all the things that make a good romance. I had a great time reading this and would recommend to those who are fans of Emily Henry, Ashley Poston, Kristina Forest, and Annabel Monaghan.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Emma Lord for the advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own!

I liked the dual narrative of this book. It was helpful for extra context into their history. They were a little too afraid of commitment for 2 people with good chemistry but I understand the external factors like his son. I liked seeing the healthy parenting dynamic.

I just finished reading “For the Record” by Emma Lord.

Mackenzie and Sam have a history. This book is a second chance romance and although I found it slow at first, it picked up towards the end.

The banter was great. I found the rest of the book slow. There was always confusion between the two characters.

I give it 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is my first time reading a book by Emma Lord, and I am looking forward to reading more of her books. When I first read the description of the book, I was immediately interested in its premise. Second-chance romances and enemies-to-lovers are some of my favorite romance tropes to read, and I was excited to see both included in this book.

Former music rivals Mackenzie Waters and Sam Blaze once ignited fan frenzy through their bands’ intense onstage showdowns, while off-stage, their tension grew into something more until their bands broke up. Now, two years later, Sam is a single dad living a quiet life, and Mackenzie hides behind a stage name after a surgery altered her voice. A joint comeback album offers them both a second chance at fame — and maybe love. As they try to set aside their past, old feelings reignite and unexpected revelations threaten everything, proving that their greatest story may still be ahead of them.

This was an easy read told through dual points of view. I liked that the author provided background into both Mackenzie and Sam's journeys, giving some depth to the story. I especially enjoyed the Epilogue. While this was an easy (and short read at 283 pages), there were times I felt the book really dragged, and I just wanted to get to the end. I felt that more emphasis should have been spent on Mackenzie and Sam's personal growth to provide more depth to the story, and less emphasis should have been placed on Tick Tunes and some of the other sub-plot elements.

Overall, the book had some nice moments and provided a satisfying happily ever after. If you enjoy second-chance romances, enemies-to-lovers, musicians (pop stars and punk rock band), and found family tropes, this might be a book for you!

This book made me realize how much I adore a celebrity/singer romance book with 90's vibes. For me I grew up loving and possibly too invested into pop culture so this to me was a way to feed into that haha. If was a truly fun book to read and loved the story of what happens when a group breaks up? There were parts to me that we a bit too quirky and made me cringe a bit mostly from the flashbacks but overall I really enjoyed the book and thing if you love a light hearted read you will enjoy this one!

Rating: 3.5

Tropes:
- Second Change Romance
- "Rivals" to "Lovers"
- Sunshine x Grumpy
- "Its Always Been You"
- dual POV

Thank you so much to Emma Lord, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an arc of this read in exchange for an honest review!