This was a light and fun romcom book! Although I didn’t really believe the relationship between the two main characters of Mackenzie and Sam, the former pop star hysteria and second chance romance was an interesting concept! Just wish they had more believable chemistry compared to other romcom books I’ve read but with more editing and revisions I think this would definitely become a greater book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

"For the Record" by Emma Lord was a really enjoyable read! The writing was engaging and had a lot of heart, and I found myself really connecting with the characters. Emma Lord does a great job of bringing the story to life, especially when it comes to the emotional depth and relationships between the characters.

There were a few moments where the pacing felt a bit slow, which did make it harder to stay fully invested at times. It wasn’t a major issue, but I did wish things would pick up a little more in certain parts.

While I wouldn’t say it was side-splittingly funny, the story still had some light, charming moments that added a nice balance to the more serious themes. Overall, it was a nice feel-good read, and I’d recommend it. Thank you Emma Lord, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved Mackenzie and Sam! I was rooting for their love story the whole book, and both were real, fleshed-out characters. I enjoyed all of the music and the friendships between the girls and the other characters. I loved it.

this book was okay. it kind of slumped me and took me a bit longer than i wanted to read it.

but overall it was a good book and i enjoyed the banter and chemistry of the characters in the book.

Their personal growth could have been explored more, making their arcs feel somewhat stunted. I never quite reached the level of excitement that makes a romance truly swoon-worthy—no kicking my feet or giggling moments here.

This book was a fantastic enemies to lovers story! I loved following the dual POV throughout the books and I loved the growth in the characters throughout this read as well! I would definitely say that the way the author tied in music and band rivalries was something I hadn’t read before and it was extremely interesting! Really awesome read! Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC

Emma Lord's new title is sure to inspire both laughing and shedding tears as we watch Mackenzie and Sam find their way back to their love of making music and each other. Despite their past rivalry on the stage, the chemistry they have felt since the beginning has grown alongside them as they have separated from the limelight and each other. As they embark on writing a comeback album together, we will watch them learn more about themselves, and each other, than they ever imagined.

Certain to entertain romance lovers and music lovers alike, Mackenzie and Sam's story unites the wonders of the music industry with laugh out loud humor and romantic moments sure to make you blush!

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.

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.