Having read a few of Emma Lord's romance books, I was very excited to read this advanced copy. A second chance love story set in the rock and roll world. It is fun, These two main characters need each other to further their careers and the spark really do fly. I love that he calls her Sparkles. and loved the female friendships all throughout the book. And also, who does not love a dual POV? The music world is not always my jam, but Emma Lord did a good job with this book.

another fun, breezy read from Emma Lord! I enjoyed reading her adult book, I’ve previously only read her YA work and this book was fun and I loved the second chance romance plotline. I loved all the characters and enjoyed how Sam was written with depth that I usually find lacking with typical “bad boy” characters. As a swiftie, I was pulled out of the world of the story every once in a while because parts of Mackenzie were written in way that was so reminiscent of Taylor that it threw me off. the last 20% and the conflict fell a little flat for me but overall this was an enjoyable read.

I can honestly say that I didn't expect to like "For The Record" as much as I did. I was initially drawn to the book's title and the description's mention that this story revolved around music, but by the end I was super hooked into this really fun story that Emma Lord has crafted.

Without giving too much away, the story revolves around two "ex-rockstar/music rivals" that find themselves in a situation where they have to put aside old differences and work together. Lord is really, really good at writing banter between these characters, which caught me by surprise in the best way, as this is an area in which other books in this genre fall flat.

Apart from our two main characters, Lord also introduces a group of supporting characters that help to move the story along in creative and fun ways.

This easily feels like a story that could be adapted for a big or small screen one day, as there's definitely a "cinematic rom-com" feel to the story.

I had a lot of fun reading this and will definitely be checking out more from this other based on my enjoyment in reading this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with this advanced reader copy to read and give my honest opinion on.

This review is currently live on Goodreads.

Well this was absolutely adorable! Now I’m wondering why it has taken me this long to read an Emma Lord book until now.

From the first moment the FMC and MMC were being introduced on the page I was hooked and knew this would be a book I wouldn’t be able to put down. I couldn’t get enough or Sam and Mack’s love story. The two first meet when they are young rival bands emerging into fame. Sam is the heartthrob bad boy, Mackenzie the wild ball of glittery chaos. The crowd can’t seem to get enough of their undeniable chemistry so the record label makes the decision to have them lean into that. Sam and Mackenzie are instructed to use their flirty tension to draw in more publicity for the two bands. However, it isn’t long before their flirty banter starts to develop into something much deeper under the surface. One night the tension finally snaps and the two give into one another with a passionate backstage kiss. Unfortunately, the romance is short lived after life events throw the two in completely different directions. Two years pass without a word from one another until one day their paths cross again. The last time Mackenzie had seen Sam he had left her heartbroken and confused. Thanks to their two meddling agents, Sam and Mack are thrown back into one another’s lives and Mackenzie comes to realize that maybe there is a fine line between the hate she thinks she feels for Sam and the love that is becoming harder to deny.

I thought this was a great read. It had a good storyline, the plot was interesting. Emma Lord did a fantastic job creating a group of characters with diverse personalities that all seemed to fit into the story seamlessly. They were all so well developed that it was easy to picture every character’s interaction in my mind while reading. I also loved how pretty much every character had some sort of conflict to overcome, it kept me engaged throughout the entire book.

My only teeny tiny complaint was I would have loved to see some more lyrics to the songs. The entire book was about Mack and Sam creating these beautiful lyrics with one another. There was so much emphasis on the songs and feelings that went into them. It would have been great to get more of the songs titles and just a line or two of lyrics from the songs. We did get some from Golden in the end of the book but I would have liked to see a little more of that since this was a music based romance between two singer/song writers.

Thank you NetGalley, Emma Lord, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this read!

For the Record by Emma Lord is a captivating story that follows two musicians, Sam and Mackenzie, who once toured together in separate bands and share a complicated history. Now, years later, they are thrown back together, forced to collaborate on new music as fans eagerly hope to rekindle the magic between them.

What I love about Emma Lord’s writing is her ability to craft engaging plots and deeply developed characters. It was a joy to get to know each of them and uncover what shaped them into who they are today. Adding to the intrigue is an online platform where a mysterious singer, "Seven," has been releasing songs filled with heartbreak and nostalgia over the years.

I couldn’t put this book down once I started! A huge thank you to #NetGalley and #St. Martin’s Griffin for the EARC.

I thought this book was super cute. The beginning was a little slow, but I was craving to know the story of why May happened when they toured. Great tropes and character development.

I have been a longtime fan of Emma Lord and appreciated her debut from YA to adult fiction last year, so I was super excited to read this book. I enjoyed the premise but I wasn't 100% in love with the characters; Sam & Mack’s relationship did feel a bit immature and juvenile. While the book was cute overall, I did just feel like there was a little something missing.

Thank you to St. Martin and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
1.5⭐️ I unfortunately wasn't a fan of this book. While I did enjoy the idea, I wasn't a fan of how it was executed.
I honestly considered DNFing this book about 25% in, but I decided to stick it through. I felt that majority of the story was corny and would've been much better if written for a YA audience. To me, the opening felt a bit off because we didn't know the dynamic between Sam and Mackenzie yet. There was a lot of writing in-between parts of dialogue, so I found myself having to go back and remember what they were originally talking about several times. In my opinion, there was no reason for a 300 page book to be split into so many parts (or any parts at all). The main reason I had a hard time getting into this book was how corny the characters were. It felt like they were trying to be quirky and cool but it just... didn't come off as that. 'Samuel Blaze' and 'Candy Shard' are also corny names to me. I'm not even going to bring up the fashion choices in this book, I'm still pressed about that damn fuzzy bucket hat Mackenzie brought out. The fighting at their grown up age was super tiring. These characters are too old to be constantly bickering for seemingly no reason (specifically talking about that whole Serena thing). The side plot lines in general were unnecessary and drawn out. While some of the reminiscing on memories parts was cute, it just dragged on and on. This book might've been more enjoyable if there was a dual plot line happening instead of the random memory dumps in the middle of dialogue or moments that would've been better left alone. I didn't enjoy Mackenzie or her chapters because she was constantly making me cringe. She was very visibly a knock-off Taylor Swift (she brought up writing songs about her ex-boyfriends and the public crucifying her for it, her long blonde curly hair, etc. multiple times). This confused me though because there were several times in the story that Taylor Swift was name dropped? (I'm a huge Swifty, just felt like I was reading Taylor Swift fanfic lol). Lastly, TickTune just sounds like a bad app. I can't wrap my head around how an app that only lets you listen to a song once a day would help anyone trying to boost or start a career? Maybe that's just me though.
Onto the things I DID enjoy. I thought the mental aspects of Mackenzie's story were good, specifically the way she acknowledges her emotions regarding her parents. While I wasn't a huge fan of Mackenzie, I did like Sam and his chapters more. The way Sam thinks about Mackenzie is cute along with his nickname for her. All of the interactions between Mackenzie and Ben were adorable. Ben was the best character. I did enjoy the writing at the end of the story more than I enjoyed it in the beginning.
If this book was more geared toward a younger audience I think I would've liked it more. I can see WHY people like this book, there were just too many small things that bothered me for me to enjoy it. This is definitely a quick an easy read for people who like a fun, low stakes rom-com.

Picture this: a glittery popstar princess and bad boy rockstar in a rivals to lovers, will-they-won't-they romance that captures the world's attention while their rivaling bands tour the world together. But their groups disbanded, life hit them hard, and now, two years later, former popstar Mackenzie and former rockstar Sam find themselves back in each other's orbit as they collab on a comeback album together.

This book delivered everything you'd want from an Emma Lord book: It's cute, fun, a bit quirky, and incorporates mentions of unique food combos that will make you want to run to your kitchen and start experimenting. This book feels the most Emma Lord of the ones I've read. It's sparkly and full of heart (and Swiftie easter eggs, if you squint). We got a lovable girl group turned found family, a cast of enjoyable side characters, a fun setting (I loved all the scenes in Sugar Harmony, the bar Mackenzie's friend runs), and a main character with some Taylor Swift vibes without it feeling fanfic-y (I'm talking crumbs here. It's really more that Swifties will recognize that the way the world views Mackenzie's relationships is similar to what Taylor has experienced).

Mackenzie and Sam had a sweet relationship where we got to see them heal past wounds and move from somewhat enemies to friends to lovers as they learned to open up to each other through the process of making music. They had such an interesting dynamic because while they'd spent so long in each others' orbit while on tour, they avoided each other (and their building feelings) off-stage as much as possible, so in a way, they were building up a real relationship and fully getting to know each other for the first time.

This book is compared to an Emily Henry and Daisy Jones and the Six, and I get why publishers would want to market it that way, but I would NOT go into this book expecting either of those. The premise of this book was giving me DaisyBilly angsty sequel vibes, but written by Emily Henry, and that's just not the vibe of this book at all (and not in a bad way). If anything, I'd expect more of a Sarah Adams, cupcake sweet, little bit quirky kind of read.

When I started this, I almost DNF'd because the bantering was not bantering to me and I wasn't feeling the dynamic between the main characters, but I'm glad I stuck it out because it ended up getting better each section and being a fun read. Some parts felt lacking and left me with a bit of disconnect from the characters and story, and I was left feeling like something was missing. In fact, I think I love the idea of this book more than the actual book itself. But if the premise intrigued you and you're looking for something cute and fun that feels like a rom-com movie on page, I'd say give this a shot. This was one of my anticipated releases of the year so I'm so grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Oh how I wanted to love this one more than I did. The cover, the premise it all sounded so cute. Unfortunately, it really fell flat for me and just the entire storyline was missing something to make it work for me. It's definitely a quick and entertaining read nonetheless.

The end of For The Record made me all giddy and swoony - 5 stars to the last third. I loved Sam, Mackenzie, and Ben - they were all well developed and seemed honest. But… felt like there were a few too many story lines (it almost felt like blatantly setting up a series?) that took up space and forced out more details of the progress from rivals to lovers that I would’ve liked to see. I felt like they just jumped over all the past hurdles to start messing around and I would’ve liked a little more of that to be part of the story. But overall, I really enjoyed it and will happily come back for more if there in fact is a series coming!

Thank you so much to #netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I was such a fan of these characters! After loving The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord, I was so excited to have the opportunity to receive an advanced copy of For The Record. Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Synopsis: Pop princess Mackenzie Waters and punk rockstar Sam Blaze were two rivals in the music industry and their bands were loved by their audiences. The simmering tension between Mackenzie and Sam grew into something more until both bands fell apart. The two have not seen each other in two years, and have gone their separate ways. Mackenzie is learning how to use her new voice, which has undergone some changes, and is singing under a pseudonym. Sam is raising the son that he never knew he had. They're approached to create a joint comeback album and are forced to put their rivalry to the side in order to work together to revive their careers. Like their fans ask - will they or won't they?

My thoughts: I was swooning over these characters! As someone who is not a fan of the miscommunication trope, I was so happy that Emma Lord created two main characters who learned to be open and honest with each other. Both of them took chances and were not afraid to be vulnerable. The story had many layers to it: found family, health scares, a little bit of spice, and two people learning how to be vulnerable together. The descriptions of the music they were creating and sharing made me want to hear their real albums! This book did not disappoint, and Emma Lord definitely has a forever fan in me.

This was such a great second chance romance book 🥹 This was my first book from this author and I will definitely be checking out her other books. The FMC was quirky but not in an annoying way, there were so many sweet moments in this book along with some deep emotional ones between the FMC and MMC, they had me in my feels quite a few times 😭 I typically stay away from celebrity/popstar books as they tend to be cringy but this one was done well! Loved Mackenzie's journey of self-discovery and the female friendships in this book 🥹

If you're not reading Emma Lord, you're missing out! For the Record is definitely my favorite Lord romance to date. Fans of Falon Ballard and Katie Ruggle will enjoy this. For the Record will make a great beach read this summer.

For readers looking for a tamer version of Daisy Jones and the Six and a hate-to-love romance, I think this book could work for you. The premise was intriguing, but it wasn’t a book that worked for me.

Ultimately, I was left wanting more from the main characters. Sam & Mack’s relationship was juvenile, at best. Their dialogue felt very YA, which I think makes sense considering this author has written mostly YA books.

The concept is what kept me reading for as long as I did, but I didn’t get the depth that I wanted from the characters. I had no emotional attachment, and I think that was in large part due to being told more about the characters thoughts and feelings than actually seeing it on page. I also think it would have lent well to the storyline if there would have been dual timelines.

Additionally, I thought the excessive use of curse words was lazy. While it’s not preferred, I don’t mind and can handle some swearing in books. However, the amount of times Mack said “damn” felt extremely unrealistic and took me out of the story.

By 30% in, I knew it was in my best interest to put the book down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me.

This book was a wonderful read. Absolutely some T Swift vibes but absolutely reaching back to my high school days of boy bands and girl groups. Both Mackenzie and Sam were super frustrating with their absolutely clear love for each other while hiding it from the other because they thought the other didn't feel that way. And as frustrating as it was it's so real life that it was nice to see on page what a lot of people experience often. If someone loves Katherine Center, Emily Henry and the like...Emma Lord should be right up there on the TBR lists :)

This may be Emma Lord’s best yet. The chemistry of these characters, the fresh plot, the female friendships, the subplots that never felt like too much going on. I really, really enjoyed it, and something so special about Emma’s writing is how you can see her fingerprints all over it—this book felt like her, as parasocial as that may sound. My only complaint is some of the conflicts felt confusing—especially the third act “breakup,” if it even was a breakup. It felt like a miscommunication even as they were actively communicating. But the resolution made it all worth it, and this is one of my favorite epilogues I’ve ever read. 4.5 stars overall, would definitely recommend!

Emma Lord is quickly becoming one of my top authors! This was such a cute frenemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance, in a story that read quite literally like "he was a punk, she did ballet...what more can I say". Such a cute read, with insane character chemistry.

Former pop sensation and girl group frontwoman Mackenzie has been somewhat of a recluse since her band broke up and she had to have surgery that impacted her voice. But recently, she's been starting to get back into music, releasing songs anonymously on a mysterious app. When she's finally ready to dip her toe into making music under her own name again, though, the label is skeptical. Enter former punk band member and her musical rival, Sam, who is also contemplating reentering the world of music after taking time away to raise his son. The label decides what better way to revive two what they consider has-beens and throw the enemies together?

I had been in the mood for a celebrity romance and thought this one fit the bill. I had read Lord's YA novels, but if she has another adult novel, it hasn't crossed my path yet. This one was a pure delight to read. I love Mack and Sam, their whole story, and the many, many subplots which kept me constantly engaged. Some might consider all the things going on aside from Mack and Sam's dynamic (the evil record label! the evil app owners! Mack's feud with her former bandmate! Sam's mysterious absentee dad!) a lot, but I was entertained by it all.

I do think the cover art is a bit of a misstep though, as it's very Taylor Swift-coded, and McKenzie is nothing like her, in looks or personality. Mack is described as having a distinctive cloud of yellow curly hair, which isn't really what we get from the cover.

Thanks to St. Martin's for my eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

For The Record By Emma Lord 2.5

First thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the arc read. I was very excited to read this book! As always I have to be honest about my feelings about this read. However, I did have some problems with it hence the 2.5. The characters though were older acted like teenagers and lacked communication skills. These are adults and yet they lack communication abilities with each other and everyone around them. This leads to overall frustrating situations. I usually don’t mind a miscommunication trope, but this was too much. I also felt like this book was only written due to the recent craze over Daisy Jones And The Six. Two rival musicians try fighting their attraction to one another. Sam is a father trying to provide for his son. Mackenzie has a secret music identity called Seven. It truly felt like a fan fiction story about Daisy Jones And The Six. However, without the interview aspect, the author did not know how to go back and forth between past and present. We would be mid-chapter and suddenly sucked into the past to explain the context of a situation happening. This book would have benefited greatly from a dual timeline. I did bump up my rating from a 2 to a 2.5 simply because I think readers who haven’t read Daisy Jones would enjoy this much better, and not notice the similarities.