I loved the concept of this book. A pop princess and punk rockstar doing a joint comeback album. Mackenzie and Sam were cute together. I loved all their banter. Overall, a quick easy read!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

It's release day for this one and I'm so happy to have read this! Thank you so much for this copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the pop star and touring/music business aspect of this a lot! I thought the relationship building was a little bit thin but I did appreciate how these two grew and got to know each other. Emma Lord tells a really fantastic story that kept me engaged and turning pages even when things were moving slower I wanted to see where we would go!

I am SUCH a sucker for a rockstar romance! And I loved Mackenzie and Sam in For the Record. They were famous members of different bands that toured together and had a delicious, tension-filled rivalry when they were together on stage. Now both of their bands have broken up and their record label thinks their best career move would be to work together as a duo. I loved how their time revisiting the “haunts” of their past made them confront all the different ways they’ve both hurt and quietly supported each other over the years. I thought Mack was such a quirky, fun FMC. I literally laughed out loud when Sam referred to her as Taylor Swift’s “tiny feral cousin”. And Sam was so sweet. I thought he grew so much over the pages and I love that in a character! I wanted a little more pining and angst (some of my favorite rockstar romance elements), but overall I enjoyed it!

Give For the Record a read if you love a second chance, enemies to lovers, rockstar romance filled with sweet moments and found family.

Emma Lord is a perennial favourite of overbookedthree. So you better believe when she announces a new book, we mark it in our calendar! And we were so lucky to get an arc copy of her latest adult read, For The Record!

When old rivals Mack and Sam are paired together by their label to write an album, they get a second chance at a romance that sizzled but never ignited. Mack was too busy hating Sam in the past and Sam was too busy hiding his true feelings. Now two years later and after some significant life changes, they’re back in each other’s lives.

Their relationship felt organic and their chemistry was electric. It was a slow build with fun banter and then it just was them together like it was always meant to be. They broke their own rules, allowed themselves to feel their feelings and just love each other. We couldn’t help but root for their happiness. We were all in on their romance!

The story’s side characters, like Sam’s son Ben (adorable) and Mack’s old band mates Serena & Hannah enriched the story. And while the whole Tick Tune drama dragged a little bit, it all made sense in the end. We also can’t forget to mention the epilogue which was perfection!

Read if you like:
▪️Rivals to lovers
▪️Celebrity romance
▪️Single dad
▪️No third act break-up
▪️Dual POV

I really enjoyed the narrators for this! They did a great job.
As for the plot itself, I enjoyed it but it fell a little flat for me. The enemies to lovers was great but it just felt like it was missing something. Still enjoyable though!
It did remind me of Daisy Jones and the Six!

i enjoyed the music aspect and the idea of a comeback within the industry. however, the story fell a bit flat for me and it felt a bit underwhelming throughout. i was really hopeful for this because it was being compared to daisy jones & the six which i love, but i didn’t feel that way. the characters felt two dimensional and felt lackluster. i wanted to enjoy this, it just didn’t work for me.

pop princess mackenzie and punk rockstar sam captivated audiences as their bands clashed on stage. behind the scenes, their tension grew to something more and then suddenly both bands fell apart as well as the idea of their growing connection. fast forward two years, sam is now raising a son he had no idea about and mackenzie is dealing with a chance in her voice by only singing under a pseudonym. what better way to revive their public careers than a joint comeback album. sparks fly, tensions are high, can they work together or will their old rivalry impact their ability?

tropes: rivals to lovers, punk rockstar turned dad, former girl band pop star, secret identity, comeback, second chance, multiple timelines

For the Record is a slow-burn romance set in the drama-filled world of pop music. Mackenzie and Sam were in feuding bands for years and entertained their audiences by flirting and feuding on and off stage. All of their conflict hid their true feelings. Since they met years earlier, both Mackenzie and Sam have strong romantic feelings for each other. Their respective bands broke up a few years ago, and both artists have taken some time off. Right before they went their separate ways, they started a fling, but that ended when Sam disappeared.

They reunite to make an album together with a new name and a new sound. As they write and record songs together, their spark is quickly rekindled. They spend more time together and as their feelings deepen, old secrets come to light and they face many challenges as their relationship grows.

The author, Emma Lord, creates a world where the reader is immersed in the world of music, with conflict between former band members and issues with song rights, agents, and executives. Lord even creates an imaginary app that is a combination of Tik Tok and Spotify, which I found clever and very creative. Artists are able to post their music anonymously, so Mackenzie posts as Seven, but soon her friends find out and the situation gets very complicated. Mackenzie and Sam grow closer and get to know Sam's family and Mackenzie helps him navigate several issues with his family. It doesn't hurt their situation that Sam's son is crazy about Mackenzie.

The book description online states that For the Record is "perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Daisy Jones and the Six", and I couldn't agree more. This book has complex characters who are vulnerable and emotional, and their relationships evolve with the contemporary music industry as their backdrop. This story has a great love story with two characters who have deep feelings for each other set in the drama-filled world of music. I really enjoyed this book and found the subject and setting to be refreshingly different. I will definitely be reading Emma Lord's other work!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished For the Record by Emma Lord and here are my thoughts.

The pop princess and the Punk Rockstar bad boy used to smash headlines with their clashes on the stage but that is in the past. Behind the scenes it wasn’t so wild but a quiet simmering of something more… That is until both bands fell apart and they lost touch.

2 years later Sam has been quietly raising his son and Mackenzie has been releasing music under a pseudonym.. Wanting to revive their careers the idea is floated that the once rivals create a comeback album.. TOGETHER! What could go wrong!

I’m going to be honest. I have a soft spot for Emma Lord’s books so I had seriously high hopes for this one. I received an ARC and an ALC and switched between the two so I could hear their voices in my head when I was reading.

The book gave me all the feels!! I really felt the connection between Sam and Mac and the tension, the undercurrent of the romance long before it came to fruition.. I do wish there had been witty banter, I think the book could have really knocked it out of the park had that been better.


What this book has :

A solid dual pov - If you know me, you know I am not a fan of more than one POV but this worked well reading and via audio.

Rivals to lovers - It was clever because while most of it was an act for the stage, their hostility was more to cover their attraction to each other so I loved that.

Second chance romance/careers - which I normally hate but it worked here.

I actually think my favorite part of the book was the family story with Sam and the child he didn’t know he had and becoming a dad then finding out who his own dad is and the problems that causes. It was all very well done.

It did feel a bit juvenile, the band stuff from the past but it was easy enough to not let that dull the enjoyment.

4 stars! The narration was absolutely perfect and if I had to tell convince you of a format… Go audio!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stamartinspress @macmillanaudio for my gifted alc and arc

Once the most notorious rivals in the music scene, pop princess Mackenzie Waters and punk rockstar Sam Blaze electrified audiences as their bands clashed on stage. But behind the scenes, their simmering tension grew into something more — until suddenly both bands fell apart, and the idea of Mackenzie and Sam did, too.

Two years later, Sam has traded the rockstar lifestyle for a quiet life raising the son he didn’t know about. Meanwhile, Mackenzie is dealing with a postoperative change in her voice by only singing under a pseudonym. The only way to revive their public careers? A joint comeback album.

With fans over the moon and their futures on the line, Sam and Mackenzie face their biggest challenge yet: giving up the old rivalry and learning to work together. But as old sparks fly and new secrets emerge, they set off a chain reaction neither of them could have anticipated — one that proves that sometimes, the greatest hits are the ones yet to be written.

Loved it. Will recommend to others.

3.75 stars

I really enjoyed this one! I am a sucker for a music related romance novel. This was a quick and easy weekend read. I thought the set up for this book was fun. Mackenzie and Sam are "retired" musicians who used to be in rival bands. Their record label wants them to make an album together to launch their respective comebacks. To get inspiration, they travel around to meaningful places from their past to write songs. It was cute! I'm assuming this is going to be a series featuring Mackenzie's other band mates, and I look forward to reading the rest.

Part of the reason this is only 3.75 stars, is I found the third act "breakup" to be confusing. Based on the writing, I was confused what the characters were doing and why. I thought this section could have been better written to have a better impact.

Sam and Mackenzie have the best enemies-to-lovers story! There's celebrity lifestyle, parenthood, found family, and a slow(ish) burn; I just really ate it up! I highly recommend for a swoon-worthy good time. :)

Thank you to Emma Lord, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy in exchange of my honest review.

I didn't have time to read this one before it came out, but I love the author's previous work and I'm sure I'll love this, too!

Second chance romance, the music industry, pop meets punk (my two worlds colliding!!!), frenemies to lovers with so much yearning, forced proximity, single father, dual POV, female friendships, and found family. This book really has it all.

For the Record is such a fun read, with plenty of swoony, sweet moments mixed with deeper, more emotional ones. Emma Lord captures the high-energy vibe of the music scene while also giving you tender, heartfelt beats that make you root for the characters. The chemistry is spot on, the friendships are wholesome, and the found family element made me smile more than once.

If you’re looking for romance with backstage drama, banter that will make you laugh, and moments that will give you all the feels, this one is worth picking up.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for the ARC!

Overall, this was a fun book. If I explained the plot to someone they would like it. I just feel like we kinda got dropped into this story without enough context. She started listing off names and characters in chapter 1 and we just had to figure out who they all were on their own. The third act "breakup" didn't really make sense, like I still don't quite get why they were doing what they were doing. Idk it kept my brain occupied for a while so I'll definitely give it that

Lord's For the Record had a lot of potential that I don't think it truly lived up to. Mackenzie Waters and Sam Blaze were once the biggest stars of their respective girl- and boy-groups; they were at each others' throats both romantically and musically. Fast forward to their adulthood and Sam and Mackenzie find themselves pushed together by their record labels to create an album together, which is not only awkward for them as former competitors and love interests, but as people that aren't necessarily "in" the music scene any longer.

It took me quite a while to get into For the Record, at least initially, as each characters' background slowly played out over alternating POV chapters. While both Sam's and Mackenzie's character development eventually becomes clear, I didn't find their chemistry to be leaping off the page. Instead, their story read a bit more feel-good and, at times, a bit too YA for something that's marketed towards adults.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mackenzie Waters and Sam Blaze were each part of rival bands whose labels, capitalizing on the electricity between them, sent them on tour together. Now, two years after each of their bands have gone their separate ways, Mac and Sam are trying to figure out how to reinvent themselves and their label wants them as a duet. However, their true feelings for one another threaten to bubble to the surface.

This is one of the better Rock N Roll romances I've read recently. So many are trying to be the next Daisy Jones and end up falling flat. This one gets really close and I think it has to do with the way Mac and Sam both talk about their art and how they collaborate.

I liked that we were kind of dropped in the middle of Mac and Sam's stories and we had to build up the pieces around it. Kind of reads like a second chance romance. However, it's a little more nuanced than that as technically Mac and Sam weren't in an official romance, but definitely on their way to one before other life matters got in the way. It's good that we got a dual point of view because there were so many misconceptions on both sides. It was good to get a well-rounded picture.

This is also great that in the audiobook we get dual narrators. I leaned a little more toward Sam's portions of the book here just because I felt like he was a little more mysterious about his feelings towards Mac. Like he couldn't fully admit them even to himself whereas Mackenzie is pretty clear - at least to readers - from the onset about how she feels for Sam. I enjoyed his sections and "seeing" his realization creep up on him. Both narrators did a great job in bringing the characters to life. You could feel the chemistry between them.

I also really liked these characters, although the tension between Mac and her former bandmate Serena was a little grating (just talk to each other already!). To be fair it did lead somewhere satisfying in the end and helped the overall story. I wish we had gotten that same look at Sam and his former bandmates. I liked the idea of each of these groups' dynamics, I would have loved spending a little more time with them as groups before splitting off to do their own thing.

For all that this is a "celebrity" story, I looked at it more as a comeback. I enjoyed seeing these two people reclaim what they love to do before the fame set in and then when the fame starts to wane showing they've still got it proving their label wrong in a rock and roll way that sticks it to the man. Within all of this, I loved seeing these two people find one another again and have the courage to see it through.

3.75 stars - Give me all the musician romances! Set years after the rivalry that helped push both of their bands into the spotlight, Mackenzie Waters and Sam Blaze are attempting to launch solo careers, but a lot has changed since their younger days. Through the anonymous release of a series of songs, Mackenzie is attempting to work through her past heartbreaks while also coming to terms with her new voice, whereas Sam is settling into fatherhood in hopes of being a part of his son's life in the way his own father never was.

This was such a fun ride! I loved that both Mackenzie and Sam wanted to give music another go, but with a different sound than what either of them originally became known for. To me it highlight the fact that they truly just wanted to make music again, they weren't in it to "relive the glory days." Plus, the fact that the only thing their labels would allow was a joint comeback gave me that forced proximity that I always cheer for.

Filled with an array of past and current musicians and one absolutely delightful child, the cast for this novel was perfection. Paired with plenty of character growth and my favorite of all tropes - found family - this was a heartwarming and entertaining read!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love Emma Lord’s novels. She has a wide range to her writing and I’ve consumed all of it.

This is the story of two famous singers who previously toured together (in separate bands) trying to make a comeback. It’s a now and then set up with a great cast of characters (band mates, agents, very much found family). It’s described as second chance but the first attempt never really got a chance.

I enjoyed this and found it a fun read, but I struggled a bit with believing their attract to one another in the “past” parts. The current story is an absolute adventure to read with lots of twists and turns! And I absolutely loved the group dynamics among all the friendships. It added a wonderful layer of emotion to the story.

I wish this could be a movie so I could see these characters come to life. However Emma Lord paints them so vividly with her words I would worry the movie wouldn’t live up to my expectations.

#fortherecord #bookrecommendation #newrelease #secondchangeromance #foundfamily

This was such a fun romance!

Former pop princess, Mackenzie Waters, and rival punk rock bad boy, Sam Blaze, used to play enemies onstage, leaning into the "will they, won't they" energy that their fans loved. But offstage, the tension simmered into something that threatened to end the rivalry for good. Just when they both seemed ready to finally cross that line, unexpected circumstances led to both bands calling it quits. Two years later, they're both ready to step back into the limelight as solo artists, but their label has decided that the only way to garner enough interest is for them to have a comeback as a duo. Now they'll have to figure out how to work together even as old flames are rekindled and new sparks fly.

I am not normally one for romances with musicians, or that center around music, but this one worked for me, and I think it's because the song lyrics were contained to a single line here and there. I know some people really love songs in books, but for whatever reason, they give me secondhand embarrassment more often than not, so I liked that they were used very sparingly. But I really enjoyed this story, and I loved Mackenzie and Sam's characters! I thought they had excellent banter and great chemistry. I also loved the friendship dynamic between Mackenzie, Hannah, and Serena.

I only wish we had gotten more showing versus telling when it came to the memories of when Thunder Hearts and Candy Shards were touring together. Those scenes are recounted within Mackenzie and Sam's inner monologue, and I think I would have preferred more of an actual flashback or dual timeline. Specifically, I really wanted a first-hand account of the phone call that led to them not speaking for two years, rather than the vague summaries that we got.

Otherwise, I had a lot of fun reading this book, and I recommend it to anyone who lives for when musicians feud through their music!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 / 5 Stars
This was a sweet, surprisingly deep, second chance romance between two famous musicians which I really enjoyed, even though I found that there were a few plot and character elements that felt a little bit disjointed. Pop star Mackenzie Waters and punk rocker Same Blaze (yes, their names end up as puns) were notorious music rivals, but it’s been two years since they’ve seen each other. In those two years, Sam found out that he had a son that he didn’t know about and Mackenzie had surgery that altered her singing voice. They’re different people now yet the electricity between them is still palpable when they see each other. Their managers pitch them as a duo to their record labels (neither one has enough interest on their own) and while Mackenzie and Sam may not like each other as people, they can’t deny their musical abilities together. As they work together, their old “will they, won’t they” is as hard to ignore as the secrets they’ve kept from each other.

You will probably like this book if you like:
🎸 Pop star FMC x Rock Star MMC
🎤 Second chance romance
🎸 Rivals to lovers
🎤 Single Dad with a great co-parenting relationship
🎸 Reformed playboy
🎤 Found family
🎸 Autoimmune condition representation (Hashimoto thyroiditis)

Mackenzie and Sam had palpable chemistry that I really enjoyed. Their banter was snarky in a sexy way. Reading about their past made it easy to understand why they would have the delicious tension. And truly, there are only so many times you can almost fake kiss each other onstage before the lines get blurry. And you could really tell that they respected each other’s talent which made the relationship feel deeper than just a charged, physical attraction.

And look, I am a second chance hater. I think it is the hardest trope to pull off because if nothing about the couple changes, I will never buy that their relationship will work the second time around. Being emotionally stunted, famous people definitely didn’t make it easy for Mack and Sam to create something that could last so it made total sense why they stopped talking to each other two years ago (though Sam did pull one of my least favorite tropes with his “I’m just no good for her.” Uh, have you asked her, Sam? Maybe don’t decide for her, you silly man child). And they were constantly playing a game of chicken: who would break their almost kiss first, who would push the line further first, and who would push the other one away first? But when they meet back up two years later, they are different – bless you therapy and being responsible for a child. They still have their insecurities and miscommunications but I genuinely did believe that they had changed enough to make it work.

And there was a ton of character depth. I said surprising depth in my description above because I didn’t expect to see that in a romance about rich and famous people, but it was done in a layered, nuanced way. Both Mackenzie and Sam had complicated family relationships, a complex relationship with fame, deep feelings about the power of music, and deep insecurities about being enough. My one wish for Sam was to see him with a support system. He says that the mother of his child is his best friend but he doesn’t really rely on her for emotional support in any capacity in the story. Mackenzie has rich friendships with her bandmates (her relationship with Serena is complicated, but it is filled with love) and it would have been great to see the same for Sam, especially a rich, deep male friendship because men need friends too.

There were pieces that felt a little out of place. For example, there were a few times in the very start of the book where the plot relied on Mackenzie being kind of clumsy so that Sam could come to her rescue (the fashion show scene with her robe was the wackiest one) but that didn’t come back up again in the rest of the book. It wasn’t a character trait for Mack so it just felt a little ungrounded, which was unfortunate because a story about two famous people needs all the grounding it can get to be believable and to make me care. And Mackenzie and Sam’s third act conflict felt bullheaded in ways that didn’t feel true to their characters anymore while also being confusing (I genuinely could not figure out what they decided by the end of that chapter). The stuff with Tick Tune (a mix of Snapchat and Tik Tok, I think?) sometimes felt just like a plot device instead of an integral part of their character growth.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. And bless Emma Lord for having to come up with so many band names, song names, app names. It is not an easy feat and 99% of them were great, though I don’t know if I will get over “Candy Shard” as a band name because shard is not a word that I want to read over and over. 🤣

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing the eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: August 12, 2025