This audiobook hit my inbox right when I needed it. I was in a bit of a romance slump, everything was annoying me and as soon as this started I couldn't stop smiling. I was hooked. It felt nostalgic to me and maybe that's why I loved it so much but more so than anything I thought the characters were so well done.

Everyone has their own issues, as we do in life but I loved how Emma didn't make it define her characters. They were layered and human and the conflicting emotions felt real.

I'm a vibes girl when I review so as I recorded above imagine Daisy Jones, with a touch of Malibu rising, but written like it was made for old school CW with Josie & the Pussycats friend/band dynamics.

To me this is a must listen. Super fun and I'm once again grateful.

Awe, I really loved this book! It was so sweet.

We had our:
-Forced proximity
-Enemies to lovers
-Slow burn
-Secret lovers
-He falls fast/first

The pacing of the story was great. The FMC and MMC had cute banter and chemistry. I also enjoyed that they didn’t drag their hands and feet for too long. I don’t know much about record labels, but if it’s anything like the book, they’re terrible. Thank you NetGalley for this arc. I thoroughly enjoyed it! 4.25⭐️

This was a really good time, the narration was absolutely phenomenal.

I loved the backstory of Sam & Mckenzie. It was a slow-burn, but I enjoyed when it truly came to life. I also really loved the side characters in this book, especially friendship/found family aspect.

The book had momenta where I was laughing at loud, and moments when I couldn’t stop listening cause I cares about the characters so much.

I really enjoyed listening to this touching enemies to lovers romance. Pop Princess, Mackenzie Waters, and punk rockstar Sam Blaze were opposites and rivals on stage, but the tension between them backstage sizzled. Now two years later, they are different people, trying to make new music. When Mackenzie and Sam are forced to team up, it causes complications between them, but also their friends. As Mackenzie and Sam start to write music together, they also find their way back into each other's heart. But they both have secrets they aren't ready to share, fearing they will hurt the other. I loved Mackenzie and Sam! To the world they were opposites, but underneath they both ached for acceptance and unconditional love. I loved how they helped each other see their worth and made each other whole. Sam melted my heart as I watched him be a better father to his adorable little son, despite his absent father. I also loved how much Mackenzie's friendships meant to her and how hard she fought for them.
I loved the narration by Andrew Eiden and Jesse Vilinsky. They embodied these characters so perfectly, making them come to life so clearly in my mind. Their storytelling really pulled me in with their incredibly emotional and passionate performances, keeping me totally engaged from start to finish. I always enjoy Andrew Eiden's performances, but this is my first time listening to Jesse Vilinsky, and I will definitely look for more of her work.

The cover is what drew my attention to this book- I was looking for a lighthearted romcom and this book did not disappoint. The switch between narrators was not so much that it gave you whiplash which is something that can be hard with split perspective books.

For the Record is Emma Lord’s newest release about two rival musicians. I had such a good time reading this book. I loved Mac and Sam together. They had the best chemistry, and the music aspect was great. I also loved seeing Sam as a dad. I usually love Lord’s YA books more than her adult romances, but I truly enjoyed this one. The narration was top-notch.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read/listen to and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I really enjoy Lord's writing and her stories. I love that she can write adult and young adult. Her stories are always authentic and make me feel good. I was excited to jump into this one.
When I saw the audio was Andrew Eiden and Jesse Vilinsky were the narrators for this story, I was super excited. Jesse narrates most if not all of Lord's young adults books as well and Lynn Painter's young adult books. And I adore Eiden. And, while I really loved his voice for Sam, the MMC, I wasn't thrilled with Jesse for the FMC, Mackenzie. I just felt her voice was a bit too young for the age of the character. I'm not sure if it's because I know her to voice younger characters or if it just didn't fit for me, but it detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
Despite me not loving Jesse's voice for the FMC, I really connected with Mackenzie. She was very relatable and well developed. Her background and back story of her relationship with Sam really impacted how she went into her future. But Sam, he was so sweet. And you can see he's come into himself having become a dad and realizing he needed to change his bad boys ways.
The second chance romance of this book was top notch. I loved the build in the chemistry between Sam and Mack. But also, their past heavily influenced them as a couple. Both working on trying to believe they were worthy of one another. Both finding they had similar feelings that neither of them wanted to act on or couldn't act on due to their contracts with the recording company.
There's a bit of spice in this book but not much. It was more the slow burn that endeared me to the characters. Plus the side characters were fun.
The pacing was well done with lots of scenes building to reach the tipping point; side stories that gave insight into the relationships between all the characters. I liked that there was no real third act break up.
Overall it was a fun read but definitely not my favorite by this author. While I loved the music industry side of the story, I felt it was lacking in romance in many parts. There was just something in the execution that didn't sit right with me and thus lowered my rating. I won't rule out reading this author in the future and I'm hoping I'll like whatever she brings to the table next more than this one.

For the Record is an angsty Rockstar Romance between former rivals/writing partners Mackeznie Waters and Sam Blaze. We get their history in little snippets throughout the book. Sometimes it’s a little hard to follow, and maybe a dual timeline would’ve worked better. They were both members of rival bands that toured together. After that tour ended, they did not keep in touch. Fast forward 2 years later, they are tasked to create an album together to revitalize their respective careers. There were times the conflict felt forced, but I went with it. I also felt at times that Sabrina (Mackenzie’s bandmate, she is at odds) had more main character energy than Mackenzie. Mackenzie is the more likable character, so it still works. Sam is a softie with a rockstar personality, which helps entertain us.

Jesse Vilinsky does an amazing job bringing Mackenzie to life through her narration. I love her narration in Better Than the Movies and appreciate it even more in this book. Andrew Eiden sounds so much like Teddy Hamilton in this book, because newsflash (for me), he is Teddy Hamilton. He makes the whole experience as Sam so much more enjoyable. If you have the option, definitely listen to the audiobook version of this book. The only thing that would make it better is music!

This is the 3rd Emma Lord book I’ve read (the others being The Break Up Pact & The Rivals). I enjoyed this one the most out of the 3.

Thank you, MacMillion Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an advanced ALC/ARC of this book.

Second chance romance.
This was a sweet, easy, read. Good buffer between heavier books if you want a break.
Heavy on the self-discovery theme.
Mackenzie and Sam had a sweet romance and comeback.
I felt like I needed more from the plot. I did have a hard time connecting with the main characters.
They seemed to have good chemistry.
I would recommend as a quick buffer book!
I did have a hard time with how Sam behaved at the end of the book - the not listening to Mackenzie, but he still wasn't too bad of a guy.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

** Update 7/29/2025: I also received an ARC of the audio book and still agree with the above review1 Still a cute listen! **

This was a fun, second-chance rockstar romance - they’re both musicians, they go on a road trip, Samnis a single dad (and is still friendly with his bm) and there’s a lot of drama between the women friend group. (some of that annoyed me, but it was still entertaining)
Narration was great! I liked both narrators.
In between 3.75-4 ⭐️’s
Thank you MacMillion audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

So fun, cute, and powerful. Serena annoyed me, but I enjoyed the other characters. And as a music fangirl this was extra interesting!!

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.

The narrators, Andrew Eiden and Jesse Vilinsky, did a great job with the story.

I had an absolute BLAST listening to this audiobook! The story and characters are engaging, familiar enough in that way that all romance books are, but with new twists, engaging subplots, and some really brilliant writing from Emma Lord. On the audiobook side, this duel-POV book has a different narrator for Mackenzie and for Sam, and their performance is perfect. Took me a minute to get into Sam’s drawl, but once I did I can’t imagine separating that voice from the character!

Overall a great summer read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This is one of my favorite Emma Lord books to date! With a music-fueled second-chance romance at its core, it delivers all the emotional beats and swoony tension you could want. Mackenzie and Sam were once music rivals turned something more, but after a public falling out, they’ve gone their separate ways—until a joint comeback album forces them to reunite.

The audiobook is chef’s kiss--the dual narration really brings the dual POV to life. Both narrators captured Mackenzie’s vulnerability and Sam’s warmth so well, and the tension between them was electric. A must-listen if you're into audiobooks!

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.

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.

Anyone who ids intrigued by the pop group members once their time in the spotlight is over this will be a perfect book for you! I imagine them performing and being thrust together and having many 'Silver Springs' moments if you know that I mean! Maybe the N*sync and a Britney Spears (if she was in a group) kind of media and I am so here for that. My millennial was swooning the entire time!

This book was one that I felt myself really enjoying the pacing and the relationship with the main characters. I loved that despite it being a romance that had a strong evolution of the characters that there were strong subplots as well. The female friendships and the way that the subplots really tied into the romance plot was fantastic.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves musicians and the twist and turns their lives take Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book! I will definitely be continuing to read the rest of Emma Lord's books.

So lighthearted and perfect for the summer! I picked this because it looks like Taylor Swift on the front and that seemed fun but, I didnt expect to love it so much. These characters are really fun and honestly, relatable! The dual POV is everything and Sam was my favorite mmc. I love when a book takes me into a world that exists but I am unfamiliar with. For this book that world is the recording label and the twists and turns of that did not disappoint.

Not for me....or at least not when I tried to listen to this one. Sometimes I surprise myself with a romance novel, but mostly I just roll my eyes at them. This just was boring, and I guess so cliche.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

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.

Macmillan audio did a great job with the production creating a captivating listening experience. This audio introduced me to two fabulous narrators. Andrew Eiden’s fresh voice gave all the feels for Sam and Jesse Vilinsky dragged you in with her emotional displays as Mac. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them both.