Very cute and sparkly! For some reason, I didn’t fully buy into the Mack and Sam love story, but the former pop star hysteria and second chance romance was a pleasant enough read!

5⭐️

For the record (😉): whoever wrote the blurb for this book declaring it for fans of Emily Henry and “Daisy Jones & the Six” hit the NAIL ON THE HEAD. It has all the humor of an Emily Henry novel combined with the rivalry/tension of Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne but makes it a present-day rom com.

The FMC gives Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter vibes but if she got her start in the Spice Girls.

The banter between the MC’s was near flawless.

No surprises or twists here, but nor were they necessary.

This is one where I’d actually LOVE to hear The Thunder Hearts bandmates’ stories in future novels.



Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Rating: 4 Stars
Spice Rating: 1.5
Publish Date: August 12th 2025
Will I purchase a physical copy? Yes!

Sam and Mackenzie will always live rent free in my head. I felt for every single one of the characters and was interested in every aspect of the storyline.

I went into For The Record completely blind as I like to do with most books. I have very few absolutely nots for tropes and two of them are single parent (children mostly) and second chance romance so I was very surprised to see both in this book. What I was more surprised about is how much I enjoyed the tone of the first few pages that I didn’t care it has two of my most disliked tropes! They were done incredibly well and really made sense for the story.

This is the first Emma Lord book I have read and it certainly will not be the last, I am not afraid to admit that I felt so much for Sam and Mackenzie that by the ending tears were slowly trying to escape and I was genuinely feeling all their feels for every situation. Emma really captures each emotion so beautifully and intertwines the readers so well I felt like I was friends with everyone.

I highly recommend reading For the Record and I am adding Emma’s backlist to my TBR.

For the Record, by Emma Lord will be a fun summer beach read in 2025! Pop Princess Mack and Punk Rocker Sam have been music rivals for years. What happens when the lights start to dim, bands break up, or pop stars get older? This second chance romance was a fun read, set in the music world. My biggest complaint was the band names and the made up social media platform name (Tik Tune). This is a quick and enjoyable summer read. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this book!

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After a surgery changes her voice, former girl-group pop icon Mackenzie Waters is navigating her return to performing when her label throws her into a project with her rival - former punk band frontman turned single father Sam Blaze.

This was SUCH an incredibly fun time. I wasn’t sure how I would like a book set in the world of pop stars, but Emma gave these characters so much depth that I almost forgot about their stardom. They also faced every complication and conflict with so much grace and maturity, it was so refreshing when it seems that so many books rely on the characters being bad communicators. Emma was able to show us how much these characters have grown both by giving us snippets of their past, and showing us how they handle conflict in the present.

The romance was sweet, lovely, raw, and complex. You felt the love between our main characters so deeply, as well as all of the different kinds of love between the friends and family we meet along the way.

Also I have no idea how Emma managed to write a book that was SO centered around music that doesn’t exist, but still captured the essence of all of the songs we learned about. I’m just sad that I’ll never get to hear any of them in real life, because it truly feels like they exist!

This book was an instant favorite, and I feel so lucky to have read it!

Emma Lord’s For the Record is a fantastic enemies-to-lovers romance that surprised me in the best way. While the story started off a bit slow for me, it gradually built into something deeply engaging, with all the heart, tension, and chemistry I could hope for. Mackenzie and Sam—two former bandmates-turned-rivals—find themselves forced to collaborate after years apart, and their dynamic is electric once it fully unfolds.

Mack and Sam’s history is steeped in real animosity, not just surface-level banter, which makes their evolving relationship all the more satisfying. Watching them navigate their past resentments while rediscovering their connection was a rewarding journey.

I’ll admit, I don’t usually gravitate toward music-centered stories, but this one was an exception—I found myself truly invested in the romance despite the music theme. Emma Lord does a great job capturing the highs and lows of fame, weaving in themes of friendship, ambition, and personal growth. The supporting cast, particularly Mackenzie’s former bandmates, add richness to the story.

While I sometimes wished for more flashbacks to Mack and Sam’s early days on tour, the book balances the past and present well, offering just enough glimpses to heighten the emotional stakes. And unlike many romances, the third-act conflict avoids the typical breakup trope, instead presenting a realistic hurdle that the characters navigate together.

With sharp writing, witty banter, and a relationship that blossoms beautifully over time, For the Record ended up being one of my favorite music-themed romances. If you love a well-executed enemies-to-lovers story with compelling characters and a satisfying arc, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Mackenzie Waters and Sam Blaze had a "will they or won't they thing" going on when their respective bands were on tour together. They played it up because the crowds loved it but they eventually moved on to the maybe we could and then Sam gets some news that sends him running back home and focusing on his family. Two years later, Mackenzie is ready to get back to recording music but is concerned she won't be well received due to a change in her voice because of a surgery. She is secretly recording songs and releasing them on a new app that allows users to listen to a song just once a day. She's gained quite a following but still feels uncomfortable because fans don't know it's her. Sam is also ready to get back into the recording studio but wants to limit the amount of time he's away from home. The label feels he doesn't have enough star power for those type of demands and is ready to walk away. Mackenzie and Sam are pulled together to relaunch their careers by releasing an album they write and record together. The close proximity makes them wonder if perhaps they can have something now. We follow their story as they embark on dates meant to recreate some things from their past while inspiring some new music and fans are eating it up. It's once again a "will they or won't they" scenario and you'll have to read it to find out if they get their HEA.

I do not generally enjoy the pop star type RomComs as they always feel cringey to me but this was a sweet and fun story without all the weirdness of silly lyrics and names of songs. I think this is a strong story with a great cast of characters and a dose of humor that brings us back to RomComs time and time again. A solid read!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

This is how a second chance romance should be done!!

I adored this book!

When music rivals come together to reignite their careers, the music they write is beyond words!! Both have changed from the cocky kids they were in there former bands. They reignite more than just their careers!

This was so sweet and fun and the end was perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the early access!

Emma Lord’s books are always so cute and this book was no exception. It felt a little slow in the beginning, but I came around to it!

Emma Lord has done it again with her latest! I had such a blast following along with this story and felt immersed in the world the author created with these fun characters! I loved getting to peak into the music world through this read and was rooting for the main characters from the start. I will be recommending to everyone!

Me 🤝 any Emma Lord book

It’s no secret that I am a huge Emma Lord fan. I’ve read most of her books and all have been big hits with me and this one is no different. I actually think For the Record might be my favorite Emma Lord book yet.

For the Record is a dual pov second chance romance. I loved seeing the characters become sorta friends and back to lovers again. I ate up every single interaction between Mack and Sam, just waiting for them to get together. When it finally happened I was screaming. I will always eat up a second chance romance.

I also really loved the whole music industry aspect of this novel. I feel like this is a really common theme in romcoms this year and I am loving it.

Me 🤝 second chance romance !! It’s a meet-again cute / industry enemies to lovers that’ll make you blush over and over! This was sweet, tender, spicy, and felt like aftercare all wrapped up into a love story! A dual POV is allllways gonna do it for me also…
Not to mention, this was hottt because my boyfriend's name is Samuel.. need I say mo?

👌 enemies to lovers
👌 spice
👌redemption arc
👌second chance romance

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins press for an EARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I wanted to love this but I had a very hard time getting through it. I have liked Emma Lords other books but there was something abotu this book that I just felt was too slow for me towards the halfway mark.

Thank you #netgalley for giving me this arc of For the Record by Emma Lord. The rivalry between Sam and Mackenzie was and interesting read about their journey to reconcile.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this E-ARC. I had previously read one of Emma’s romcoms and she once again didn’t disappoint. I LOVED this sorta second chance romance, sorta friends to lovers romance. The banter is delicious and brilliant. You get to seamlessly see Sam and Mackenzie’s backstory without heavy flashbacks. And Emma can write a love scene.

Sam and Mackenzie are both famous musicians and their whole careers have been propped up by their label wanting them to appear to hate each other off stage but to give a “will they won’t they” vibe onstage. But at some point, the lines started to blur. It is not until both of their careers kind of come to an abrupt halt and they spend two years apart on the cusp of their first ever kiss that they realize there is something bigger between them. Sometimes, chemistry between people is not an IF, but a WHEN,

This was a cute, fun romp-- a perfect escape! It is refreshing for a book about celebrities to feel so relateable and down to earth, and Sam and Mackenzie had excellent chemistry! I felt it was well paced and the character arcs were meaningful without being too heavy. I definitely recommend to all romance fans!

Fun read, with fun characters and a great musical rivalry mixed in! A little long at parts, but the ending is sweet and pulls it all together.

I really wanted to like this book since I enjoyed the first one I read by her “the break up pact” but I couldn’t connect to the characters,

This book is fantastic!! It is a second chance, enemies to lovers trope! If you love, celebrities, pop stars, girl power, self discovery and romance I highly reccomend this book!! Can’t wait to read more books by Emma Lord!!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!! Also huge thank you to St Martin’s press for letting me read this early!!

4.5 stars!
For the Record by Emma Lord was such a fun and entertaining read. I was up into the wee hours of the night reading I've never swooned so hard in my life.