I started reading Emma Lord with her YA books and now love her adult romances.

Mackenzie and Sam were both in popular bands and were rivals that sort of turned to something could've happened until their bands both fell apart.

Sam tried to keep to music career going while caring for a child he didn't know about. It wasn't well and his manager suggested to join forces with Mackenzie. Little does he know that Mackenzie has been going through some personal things as well.

There is a lot of angst and banter between the two. There is also a lot of anger from Mackenzie's former band mate.

Sam's child added so much joy to the story. I love how he was so obsessed with Mackenzie's band and had zero interest in his dad's old band.

Andrew Aiden and Jessie Vilinsky did a great job on the narration and kept me interested in the story.

Thank you @youhadmeathea @macmillan.audiob for a copy of the book.

Mackenzie and Sam were singers in competing groups. She was in a pop group while he was in a punk group. They seemed like enemies, but he always had feelings for her. He never thought that he was good enough for her. They kissed once a few years ago, but nothing came of it because he found out that night that he had a four year old son that he didn't know about.

Now, he is the dad of a six year old son, and he is trying to get back into music again. Mackenzie's voice has changed because she went through a thyroid surgery. When their managers want them to work together to write songs, they start to reconnect.

I struggled with this once because I didn't think that there was enough romance. There were a lot of side stories going on, and I didn't feel as connected to Mackenzie and Sam. The story fell flat for me.

This swoony, high-stakes second-chance romance has everything: rivals-to-lovers, found family, dual POV, and yes, open-door spice that brings the emotional tension full circle.

Former musical rivals turned almost-lovers Mackenzie Waters and Sam Blaze were once the talk of the music scene, their on-stage tension matched only by their off-stage chemistry. But everything came crashing down — the bands, the budding romance, the careers. Now, years later, Mackenzie is singing anonymously while recovering from vocal surgery, and Sam is adjusting to unexpected fatherhood and life outside the limelight.

Their shot at redemption? A joint comeback album. Cue the angst, banter, and sparks as they try to collaborate without reigniting the drama… or falling back into old patterns.

This book delivers all the emotion and depth of a second-chance love story, wrapped in a vibrant, music-fueled world. I loved the layered characters, the vulnerable moments, and how both Mackenzie and Sam grew not just together, but as individuals.

For the Record hits all the right notes — it’s tender, passionate, and wildly entertaining.

For the Record by Emma Lord

⭐⭐⭐✨ | 🌶️ Medium Spice | When rivals become melodies

I wanted to fall head over heels for this music industry romance, but instead found myself stuck in that awkward space between disappointment and guilty pleasure. Emma Lord's latest had all the ingredients I crave—enemies to lovers, second chances, the intoxicating world of music—yet something about the execution left me feeling like I was reading something meant for a younger audience.

Vibes We Are Tracking:
🎸 Second chance romance
👨‍👦 Single dad energy
🎤 Music industry drama
💫 Found family feels
🔥 Enemies to lovers lite

The audio narration became my lifeline here. Both narrators breathed such authenticity into Sam and Mackenzie that I found myself completely absorbed even when the dialogue felt stilted—especially those cringeworthy moments when characters kept using each other's full names like they were reading from a script.

The emotional framework was solid—family wounds, artistic identity, the terror of creative vulnerability—but it never quite achieved the depth I was craving. It felt more like beautifully polished fanfiction than the mature contemporary romance the marketing promised.

FOR THE RECORD is another classic Emma Lord rom-com perfect capturing the last rays of late summer. Set against the backdrop of the music industry, the novel follows Mackenzie and Sam as they navigate post-stardom, post-breakup, and the possibilities of second chances. The dialogue is snappy, the pacing hits all the expected plot beats for a romance, and the characters leave you no choice but to root for them.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've read nearly all of this author's previous books and generally enjoyed them, but this one was a significant departure. I found myself completely disconnected from the characters, who often felt cringeworthy, and couldn't engage with the storyline. The overall impression was that of fan fiction, with the writing quality being notably weak. While I appreciated the narrators and kept listening, hoping to find a connection, it never materialized. This book, to my frustration, genuinely made my blood boil and was ultimately an annoying experience that just didn't resonate with me.

For the Record Book Review 🦇

What song is stuck in your head right now?❓

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. Two years later, Sam has traded the rockstar lifestyle for a quiet life raising his son, while Mackenzie is dealing with a postoperative change in her voice by singing under a pseudonym. The only way to revive their public careers? A joint comeback album. Now Sam and Mackenzie face their biggest challenge yet: giving up their 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. 🦇

Ah! I've said this before and I'll say it again: Emma Lord SLAYS with her witty banter. Let's break it down. 💜

Characters (5/5) Mackenzie and Sam are SO well-developed, growing both together and apart. Emma Lord excels at creating vivid, layered characters; For the Record is no exception. I especially adored the female friendships and elements of found family that built a strong, intertwined cast. ✨

Plot and Pacing (4/5) I rushed through this book within a day and didn't want it to end. My only wish: that we got strong, vivid flashbacks, instead of smaller snippets, to show us the real growth between the then and now for these characters. ✨

Romance (5/5) The book kicks off with some of the strongest witty banter I've read all year (and you KNOW) I love my banter. Lord's writing is whiplash smart. If you adored the sizzling chemistry in The Rival and want a similar adult romance, you won't be disappointed. I adored how their long-term feelings sizzled back to the surface, how their misunderstandings were genuine (no annoying miscommunication trope here!), how they came together to fill in the shattered pieces of each other. Again, I did NOT want this story to end; the romance will captivate you until the very last page. I kicked my feet, I screamed, I swooned. ✨

Mystery/Suspense (5/5) With dual POV, it's sometimes frustrating to know one MC's secret while the other remaisn in the dark. Lord executes this story's suspense flawlessly, allowing tension to build naturally until it reaches its crescendo. ✨

Tone/Prose (5/5) Lord's prose is without fault. Sme moments are lyrical, swaying you into a makeshift melody of yearning, while others have punk-rock intensity. Again, the witty banter is everything. The only thing I need: THE ALBUM! ✨

Recommended for fans of First-Time Caller, The Break-Up Tour, and Well, Actually! 🦇

The Vibes ✨
Contemporary Rom-Com 🎶
Rivals to Lovers 🎶
Second Chance Romance 🎶
SO MUCH BANTER 🎶
Slow Burn 🎶
Workplace Romance / Rockstar Romance 🎶
Chosen Family / Female Friendships 🎶
Self-Discovery / Reinvention 🎶
He Falls First 🎶
Dual POV 🎶

Major thanks to the author @dilemmalord and publisher @stmartinspress for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #FortheRecord 🦇

Quotes 💬
Shock and relief, the kind my body doesn’t know what to do with. Like blinding sunshine spilling onto the pavement when I’m still wet from the rain. Like a dislocated joint getting shoved back into place. Like my heart has been slightly off beat and something just slammed into it to knock it back into an old rhythm.

He’s a puzzle too damn compelling not to try to solve, and once you think about something too much, you can’t help but feel something for it.

It’s the warmth of his grip. It’s the unexpected need in his eyes. It’s the way I feel, irrationally, like every place in New York is the wrong place to be except right here. Fuck the test. I’m still failing the pop quiz.

The bands may have been in a rivalry, but it was our heat that fueled its fire. People loved to watch us hate each other. It was the greatest un-love story ever told.

He doesn’t look like a legend anymore, but a cautionary tale.

I’ve never loved the sound of my name more than when it’s coming out of Sam’s mouth.

"I thought— that woman’s either gonna change my life, or end life as I know it."

"You’re all glitz and no grit." "You’re all punk and no damn fun," I countered.

It strikes me that I’ve been spending my whole life trying to put love into words, but now I know what it sounds like— it’s the beat of Sam’s heart against mine. It’s his warm breath of relief against my neck. It’s the silence between two people who understand each other well enough not to need any words at all.

Life is always changing colors, but what we have is golden.

This is what I wanted from an Emma Lord adult novel!

For the Record is glitzy, thoughtful, and full of love of all kinds--lost, past, present, familial, friendly, romantic. Add to that forced proximity, enemies to friends to lovers, found family, and bad boy/pop girl, and For the Record is a fun read. But it also tackles some heavy topics, including the pressures of fame, being taken advantage of, and heartbreak. Put it all together, and this book is a wild and wonderful roller coaster with lots of sass and a perfect happily ever after.

Mackenzie and Sam are stand-out leads. I loved learning about their history together and seeing how they've changed since their band days. But that will they-won't they spark is still there, and it's a doozy! When they're forced to team up to get themselves back into the music scene, years of trauma and drama come boiling to the surface and push Mackenzie and Sam to face the truths of their relationship all those years before. Both characters have clearly grown a lot since they were in their respective bands, and honestly, I don't think I would've enjoyed reading a book about them as they were before. But now? Mack and Sam have come into themselves, and the friends and family with which they've surrounded themselves have also matured. That's not to say none of them have their wild moments, but those moments add joy and fun to the story.

Those secondary characters are really amazing. I especially loved Ben, and the storyline between Mackenzie and Serena was realistic and sad while also being so amazing. Lord does a great job of creating a vivid, loveable, and memorable cast, and I'd love a spin-off story for any of them.

The music aspects are obviously a large part of the story, and Lord does a nice job of including enough detail about songwriting and the music industry to allow readers to understand what's going on without bogging down the story. The songs Mack and Sam write are full of emotion and help move the story along so naturally, and I probably ought to dig around to see which musical artists inspired their "work" because I would probably love their sound.

All in all, For the Record is a fun read with some really heartfelt emotions and discussions. Will definitely be recommending this one!

This was a fun book! The main storyline was entirely predictable (in a good way), but the remainder of the story was not so much. I loved the characters, their contentions, their back stories, how they evolved throughout the book, and their relationships to the main character. Another great book by Emma Lord! I'm a fan!

I really enjoy Emma Lord, and think her books are like cozy socks with adolescent bite (YA). I had success with her first adult romance because it successfully used what YA authors should succeed at but with mature plot propelling it.

This leaned so much on the YA writing that at times the adult characters feel indistinguishable from their younger counterparts. Sam's POV saved it, since he showed growth and maturity and being stuck in Mack's head would have felt like the inside of a Taylor Swift song (derogatory). Mack dominated the chapters yet didn't have compelling external factors propelling her into any new adult or adult romance territory. I think there was meant to be back story there, but it largely failed and could have worked to have been more contemporary in the timeline.

Sam, while clear in action and on page, also had unconvincing internal struggles that may have been best left on the drafting table.

But did I read this in a day? Yes. It's an easy fun read but didn't strike the chords I was hoping it to.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc copy which has not affected my review.

⭐️: 3.5/5

From the start of this one, it kind of felt like a story that was starting in the middle, if that makes sense. Like, Mack and Sam had all this history, and we’re starting after all of it has occurrent, without any true flashbacks, only ones told in short recollection format. I think this one would’ve hit a lot harder emotionally and plot wise if there was a dual timeline going on, but the linear-ness of this one kind of made it a little bit of a slog to get through. It highlighted a bunch of pacing issues and weird gaps in time/events that would have made more sense if there was a flashback chapter between them, but since there wasn’t, it just felt odd. I also have to say, all the names of the bands and places and bars were all two words, and I really couldn’t keep them straight.

Then, don’t get me started on the whole “it’s MEEEE, I’m the one people need saving from!!!” of it all. It was like, give me a fucking break. Self-sacrifice when the other person is telling you they don’t want it isn’t self-sacrifice, it’s patronizing, paternalistic bullshit. This whole theme of “I have to leave to save the other person from me, without me is the only way they can be happy” is worse than miscommunication to me as a trope. It shouldn’t exist.

I do enjoy an enemies to lovers story (or I guess maybe more like second chance? Idk) where we get to hear from both POVs in the main couple. It usually reads a lot better when you understand where both of them are coming from, and it’s nicer to see the yearning on both sides. So this one had that, which saved it a little bit. Overall, it was a cute story and a quick read, but the other book comparisons in the blurb just…weren’t accurate.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing this eARC in exchange for my review!!

"The first thing you need to know about Samuel Blaze is that it’s damn near impossible not to fall in love with him."

4.75 stars

"Sam liberates the cocktail from my hand. “Trust me, Sparkles. I’m being nice to me.” He takes a long sip. “This is your cocktail, right?” he asks, lips lingering on the spiced rim. “You taste delicious.”"

I think this was Emma’s first jump into adult romance, and there was SPICE! I did not expect it, but I was living for it lmao

“We’re learning about keeping time.”

Okay, but the whole “if it's under 5 seconds it doesn’t count” needs to be its own trope now because I am obsessed!

This was such a fun rom-com about second chances, life after fame, the consequences (and happy surprises) of being famous musicians, and how to start over.

I really loved both of our MCs, I thought they were both strong on their own, and I loved their chemistry. Sam was both in control and such a simp, and that’s just the perfect combination. There was also a slightly chronic illness rep, and as a chronic illness girlie - I appreciated that. I appreciated that it changed her life, or at least parts of her life, but it wasn’t the end of her. I do wish it had been a little more prominent, but I guess you can’t get everything you want. Ben was the best, what a cute kid. I don’t normally read single-parent books, but I loved how his ex was still in their life The reason it’s not 5 stars is because of a certain friend in the beginning, and I didn’t like how that played out.

"The way the light is hitting her every curve makes it look like the sun was just put there so she could shine in it."

I always forget how much rockstar/celebrity/pop star books are until I read them again lol, but I liked the way this played out and there were lots of emotional emotions.

“The audience finally gets their damn kiss, and I finally get Mackenzie Water’s heart.”

The best part - the third-act breakup was very minimal, and since I always hate third-act breakups, this was GREAT!

Not really much to say about this one except that it was... fine, I guess? I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. Normally Emma Lord's characters are much more developed but Sam and Mackenzie seemed almost wooden to me and I couldn't connect with either one of them. I'll probably forget about this book in a week.

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

This was exactly the kind of book I thought it would be, which isn’t a bad thing! In the end, it just wasn’t totally for me.

I did really love the sisterhood between Mack, Hannah, and Serena. That part felt genuine and strong, and I honestly could’ve read a whole book about just the three of them figuring life out together. Sam being a dad? I didn’t expect that, but I loved it. It gave his character a softness and emotional pull that really worked for me.

The enemies-to-duo setup was fun in theory, but I didn’t always feel the chemistry or spark I was hoping for. The story dragged a bit in the middle for me. I kept waiting for something to fully hook me, and it never quite got there.

Still, there were moments that made me pause, especially this quote:

“You know when it feels right, the whole ‘lock, click’ thing.”
That line. So simple but so good.

Overall, it had the right heart and themes: second chances, finding your voice again, letting go of guilt, but it just didn’t hit quite the way I hoped it would. I’m glad I read it, though, and I think it’ll hit better for the right reader.

For the Record is a rom com about two former music rivals who are forced to work together. Mackenzie and Sam were in rival bands but off the stage they were more than rivals. However, when both bands break up so did Mackenzie and Sam.

Now it's a few years later and they are living the quiet life. Sam is raising his son and Kenzie is singing under a different name. When they decide they want to make a comeback, and they have to do it together. Old rivalries and tensions make come to light as they try to work together.

There was something about this book that just didn't work for me, and I normally love Emma Lord books. This one was on the short side but it took me forever to finish it.

I am going to try and piece myself back together as I dry my tears. This book has taken me completely by surprise. I loved the last Emma Lord book I read so I was expecting that, expecting a fun, sweet story that made me giggle. I was not expecting to crack out the Kleenex for full on sobfests. The broken soul that is Mackenzie cracked so many parts of my heart. The way this girl searches for love, puts herself out there for the world to see and then is continually let down, it’s devastating. Then you have the sure and cocky Sam, the bad boy rock star who seemingly has the world at his feet. But looks can be deceiving, he’s not as together as he appears and is truly just as damaged as Mac. These two shine when they are together, whether it’s faking a musical rivalry for the execs or learning to be the friends they needed all along. It’s not just romantic pain that has Mac in its grip though, it’s the distance of her friends (the family she chose) that really had me in emotional upheaval. Her and Serena’s drama hits like a gut punch, and heals like gold. The shining star for me was sweet, intuitive Sam. That little boy knew just what was going on, and how to make everyone’s day bright. I loved the musical world that this is created in, all the pomp and circumstance made the tender homely moments hit that much deeper for the contrast. This story has surprising depth, deep connections and enough conflict to build the tingles. The romance is lit with an undeniable chemistry and had us just as eager as the fans awaiting their favorite musical rivalry’s inevitable implosion of heat and love. Emma Lord is a gifted storyteller, coming in with the tough emotions and healing the heart along the way. A beautiful story of two lost souls who simply needed that perfect blend of right person, finally right time.

Loved (no surprise) this book! From the secrets and scandals to the found family to the slow-ish burn to the banter it was perfection.

Mack and Sam. Timing and situations seemed to always be getting in their way. Like always and everything. From their bands to family situations to paparazzi to secrets and more.

But together they are seriously the cutest and sweetest. If they, and everyone else, could get out of their own way. But their banter! And the fun they have! And the songs they write! So good.

I loved the dual POVs and getting to see them deal with each other and their problems as well as get a glimpse into their personal lives and individual chaos.

The humor and snacks cannot be beat in this book. Christmas Underwear Test?! Perfection.

Funny and sweet and emotional, do not skip this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

I tried so very hard to like this book but unfortunately I really really didn't. The first book by this author I've tried that I have outright hated. The characters were supposed to be adults and yet I'm pretty sure that some of the people in her YA novels have acted with more mautrity than these two. Ah well. Not every book by every author I like will be a hit. This one and I are not friends.

I can’t wait to see the movie version and hear the soundtrack. It’s cute. I liked the characters and felt nostalgic

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I had a really hard time getting into this book. The first half felt really choppy and there was a ton of backstory between the fmc and mmc and her friends, but it seemed to just lightly skim over everything and leave you asking more questions than what was answered. However, I loved the last half! It made up for the beginning. I ended up really enjoying this one. Thank you NetGalley for the arc and alc for my review.