This audiobook was so fun! I enjoyed the dual narration very much. Loved the pop star / rock star elements of this book. I really appreciated that there wasn’t necessarily a third act break up, but instead just a conflict that they were able to resolve together!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an advance listening copy of #ForTheRecord. Two recording industry rivals find love. Four stars.

I was offered an Arc audiobook of For The Record and I just want to thank the publishers soooo much!!! I never wanted an earlier release more once I read the summary of this book.

I am a 42 year old Canadian woman, I grew up with not only an eclectic taste in music but a thirst for entertainment news. It was only later in life when I realized how problematic some of the gossip columns and paparazzi are. To say this story was up my alley is an understatement.

The Author did a great job of creating a story which layered in behind the scenes of the music industry while giving you the romance we all love. While I thought the author might have cracked open my brain to see what I would like to hear in my next audiobook, please don’t be alarmed that it might be too niche :)

I loved the plot twists, not all of them were huge but they all played a part.

I will certainly be looking into Emma’s back catalogue to read more of her stories.

Just wrapped up the audiobook For the Record by Emma Lord, narrated by the fantastic duo Andrew Eiden and Jesse Vilinsky. I’m a huge fan of the dual narrator format—and Andrew Eiden is hands-down one of my favorite male narrators. He’s just SO good.

As for the story itself, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It’s a second chance romance between two musicians, and while I typically enjoy that trope, I struggled to feel connected to the characters this time around. The emotional depth wasn’t quite there, and I found myself comparing it to other books with similar themes that I’d recommend first.

I’m still interested in reading more from Emma Lord and will never just stop with an author. I’m curious to see how her future stories evolve.

Thank you for the ACR of the audio version of this book. The narration was outstanding. Jesse Valensky and Andrew Eiden made this story come to life.

Once a part of a thriving musical group, Mackenize is trying to figure out how she fits into her world after she's had a life altering experience. Nothing is the same, not her relationship with music, her friends, and especially how she feels about Sam, the lead of a rival band. Sam had his world turned upside down, when he found out two years ago he was a father, as a member of a punk rock band, he left the music world to become 'Dad'. However, he wants something more in his life.

They were once locked in as rivals of their respective groups, they both want to find their way back to music, but on their terms, not anyone else's. Their music label has other ideas, and asks them to work together to recreate the magic they once had when they wrote songs together. This is not too hard as they still have feelings for each other. As they work and create in their old 'haunts', they find themselves falling for each other and together they start to heal from their old wounds.

To find her voice again, Mac, has been posting songs on TicTune as the artist "seven". Writing songs that represent each of her major heart breaks, she posts six, and the seventh and final one is about Sam. She doesn't want him to hear the song once she realizes her feelings for him are more complex. However, before she can post the new song a glitch posts the original full of hurt and sadness along with revealing her true identity. In the background of the love story is the story about artists and their rights posting music online, the love of music is a secondary romance in this novel.

Can Sam forgiver her, can she find a way to help artists keep their rights and finally, can she find a way to love again herself.

Where do I start about my feelings on this book?!? I love the concept of a second chance romance and I think Emma Lord did a fantastic job of perfectly encapsulating that. Is it a bit cheesy sure but I think when you’re looking for a feel good romance, this is perfect. It wasn’t overly smutty but it definitely had some smut! It was a slow burn to get there, but I think the author did a great job really encapsulating the story and setting up this narrative, making sure that we had a clear understanding of the dynamic and the characters releases to each other their background and what had happened in the past that brought them to today! When I first started the book I got to about chapter 2 and was feeling a bit discouraged. I definitely didn’t know if I was feeling as engaged with the book as I usually am so I put it down took a couple days and came back to it and I’m very glad that I did because After that I binge listen to it in a day cause I just had to finish it it was so good I couldn’t put it down! I feel like it’s the type of book that could be put towards a younger audience say early 20s really reflecting back on past relationships and how they’ve moved on recognizing their wrongs and trying to push it to a positive!

Intriguing read with a whole bunch of secret keeping, misunderstandings, and side character drama. Additionally, as a second chance romance, it has that extra gut punch of emotion as the characters traverses through their past. I enjoyed this story as an audiobook and the narration performance was excellent!

This was a decent romcom, but I really wanted to love it more than I actually did based on the premise. I love a good second chance/right person, wrong time romance, but I felt like the characters were really missing chemistry and the plot itself needed more back story to help us understand why the two main characters were interested in each other to begin with and why we as readers should root for them to make it in the end.

I do think both narrators did an excellent job and they made the story enjoyable to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an early copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! It was narrated by 2 of my favorites and it just made me feel good. I caught myself smiling more than anything. The storyline, while predictable, was fun and I will be buying a physical copy for my shelf!
Thank you for the chance to review!

This was such a cute book. I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I have enjoyed Emma Lord's other books and this one was a hit as well. Emma usually writes young adult books, but this book shows she can write for adults too. I liked the main characters and their love story seemed so sweet. I could see this actually happening between two singers. Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

Mack and Sam, former lead signers in rival bands, spent their twenties in touring together and fueling rumors of a “will they, won’t they” romance. But for the past two years, both stepped away from the spotlight. That is until a chance run in aided by some behind the scenes scheming from their agents lands them back together to make a duet album that could resurrect their careers… and reignite unresolved feelings.

FOR THE RECORD has Emma Lord’s trademark banter, subtle pop culture references, and charm. While it is marketed for fans of “Daisy Jones and the Six,” I want to be clear that this book is a romcom. It pulls the best elements from both the enemies to lovers and second chance romance tropes even though they don’t easily fit into the box of each trope.

The audiobook is fantastic and performed by veteran narrators Jesse Vilinsky and Andrew Eiden. I am a fan of their previous work, and their performance on FOR THE RECORD is no exception. Both brought a strong presence to their characters that complimented the other narrator well, which made for a seamless listening experience. The transitions between chapters in the dual narration felt natural and cohesive, enhancing the emotional beats of the story. Fans of Lord, Vilinsky, and Eiden will enjoy FOR THE RECORD, and I recommend you pick it up in your favorite format!

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Griffin for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I found the beginning of this story to be dragged out for too long but thoroughly enjoyed the ending. Regardless, I did find myself sucked into the story and rooting for the characters. I will recommend this to people who are looking for an Emily Henry readalike book. 3 out of 5 stars!

3 stars

You know that mystery chest of prizes in kindergarten? You could pull out a backscratcher. Maybe it's a fun size candy bar. Maybe it's a Garbage Pail Kids card that you can use as leverage with your brothers for a chore swap. Maybe...it's a hard, unbreakable stick of fossilized gum. You don't know what it's going to be and the answer could range from magical to horrible. That sums up my relationship to Emma Lord's books. I've read every one of them. Why? Well because I never know what I'm getting. It's a true Labubu experience, to put it in more modern terms. Will I love it? Find it just okay? Struggle to get through it? It's always a mystery I'm confusingly dying to solve.

For me, Sam and Mackenzie fall squarely in the middle of that treasure chest of prizes. This is a relatively short book but it feels long at times because the exact same predictable thing is happening all along. Are these likeable characters? Well, enough. Was I really rooting for them? Not that much. They've had this outcome in mind for a long time, and it's obvious how things will evolve.

Readers looking for a straightforward, uncomplicated romance between musicians with a past will enjoy this. I wanted something a bit more special feeling to come out of here, whether that was about the characters being more intriguing/complicated, a reveal (one I was invested in) of some kind, more passion... But it's engaging enough, for the most part.

Will this lackluster experience stop me from reading more Emma Lord? Nothing can.

For the Record by Emma Lord is a charming and heartfelt second chance romance that truly delivers. The audiobook shines thanks to the narrators, who bring Makenzie and Sam to life with warmth and authenticity. Their performances perfectly capture the emotional highs and lows of the characters, making the story even more engaging. Emma Lord strikes a great balance between humour, vulnerability, and romantic tension. For the Record is sweet, compelling, and impossible to pause.

I got this ARC from Netgalley

I really wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me. The premise had potential, but the characters felt flat and the pacing dragged. The narration was okay, but it didn’t bring much extra life to the story. Hoping for more depth in Emma Lord’s future books!

To be honest, this book and these characters just are not for me (and that's okay!) Honestly this is second book by Emma Lord that I have dnf'd this year so I think that her writing style is not something I enjoy.

I could tell from chapter two that I was not going to enjoy this book because I absolutely hated being inside os Sam's mind. The drama felt really forced and honestly juvenile for these adults. I put the book down at 13% because I could just feel myself being over it already.

I feel like I am in the small camp of people that don't love her writing but don't let that deter you if you have enjoyed other recent books by Lord.

Thank you so much Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this arc!

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC read.

At the begging of the book, I had high hopes for it. Who doesn't like a second chance romance. Yet the back and forward miscommunication was a bit annoying, I wish there was more playful banter.

The lead up and hold Seven last song had on me throughout the book was fun until the reveal happened and it was a bit anticlimactic. Overall, I did enjoy the MMC Sam, especially his realization of the relationships in his life.

Probably 3.5 stars. I loved the dual POV and the book was easy to read in one sitting. Both Sam and Mackenzie were great main characters, I liked how Mackenzie shined in the spotlight without ever seeking it out and how Sam essentially put his life on hold for his son. I enjoyed the side characters, Ben, Serena, and Hannah. The relationship between Mackenzie and Serena felt so special and I wanted to see more of that dynamic. Sam and Mackenzie's journey through some of their haunts were interesting, especially because of their past, so it was good to see how and why each place was special to them and the memories associated with each location. Their past is so complicated, it'd be hard to distinguish what's real and what's fake for a normal person and way harder for anyone living in the public spotlight.

*Dual POV
*Rivals to lovers
*Second chance (kind of)
*Music industry

I got an ARC (or ALC?) of the audiobook thanks to NetGalley. This is my first Emma Lord book, and won’t be my last.

I read almost exclusively romantic comedies and romantasy,(nothing dark), and I’ll finish an ok book and give it three stars bc I didn’t hate it. I’m giving this four stars because I enjoyed the romance - it was a tad less cliché than most. There was a lot more depth to the subplot than many have. It gave some Abby Jimenez (but not as funny) and Emily Henry vibes at times in the way that it talked through “real issues” but nothing as intense as Abby’s stuff.

I was pleased with how the third act “break up” (which often happens in rom come) went, less predictable than I expected.

There was one thing that I had a hard time suspending disbelief about, which was how/why a punk band was on the same label as a sparkle pop band??? And they tour together??? The rivals part was a big part they played up but I cannot imagine two bands so different touring together - makes very little sense to me.

Audiobook wise, I enjoyed the female narrator Jesse Vilinksy far more than the male one. I can only handle Andrew Eiden at 1.25x+ speed, otherwise his voice really grates on me.

Before I begin; I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listening copy. All opinions are my own for this honest review.

Style: Dual POV, Dual Narration.
Length: 10 hrs

For the Record is marketed as a rom-com, but I'm not sure I would agree with that classification though. Personally, I would say it leans more toward contemp romance, as I don't think here’s not quite enough chaos or hijinks to hit that classic rom-com vibe for me. It does bring is a thoughtful exploration of old wounds, and some good old fashioned longtime yearning which feels more comtemp, especially with so much deep-seated angst and self loathing, I'll continue my thought process later in the review, but I really wanna get to the most important part of an ALC-the narration!

In my humblest of opinions, one that will surprise absolutely no one; Andrew Eiden absolutely one of the best in the business. I don't think there has been one single one of performances that I Have not abosolutely loved, and his performance here is no exception. It does have his signature broody charm (this is defintiely lighter that his alter ego, but definitely in the Andrew realm) and his polished delivery. He also nails the emotional beats of a struggling single dad who really wants to do right by his son, but not entirely sure what he's doing and certainly not confident in his parenting abilities.

Jesse Vilinsky was the surprise star for me! I had to go back to my audible to see if I had listened to anything of hers before, but looks like not. I loved her deep, rich male voice and though it was really well done. I think it really helped to create clean, distinct transitions between POVs and as much as I would love to always be listening to Andrew, I didn't find I was missing out terribly during Jesse's chapters. I’ll definitely be keeping an ear out for more of her work!

I'm going to go ahead and give more bonus points, because I loved the music that was featured for the the beginning and at the end. I think the music they had selected really set the mood for a story rooted in the music industry.

I've seen people say this is an enemies to lovers and I'm definitely of the rivals to lovers camp of thinking. The characters come with baggage, past betrayals by others and from each other, as well as plenty of unresolved feelings and lingering resentment. It's a non-linear second chance romance that bounces back and forth in timelines, mainly through memories, which leads us to the common miscommunication trope. Because we spend a lot of time in memories, I found it to be even more satisfying with the resolution.

That said, the “third-act breakup but not really breakup” didn’t quite land for me. I was kind of confused with where things were really left during that time, where it was kind of a pause or a break or just kind of no-mans land, I really wasn't all that clear. It didn't feel like a breakup, but It also didn't NOT feel like a breakup. I undersstand what Emma was aiming for with the situtation, but to me it felt more like a backslide from Sam’s side and it just felt...a little off. He had so much growth and then for him to back away in the way he did, didn't really feel authentic and didn't really feel true to the character (in the way I had had grown to understand him). He was trying to look out for her, but the martyrdom just didn't work.

Even with that third act "hiccup", we'll call it, I really enjoyed the story overall. I absolutely found myself rooting for them and was really excited when they were able to get over themselves and out of their own respective ways. I haven't done a deep dive to see if there are any more books planned, but I do hope we can expect more to come from this world!

As mentioned in the beginning, I received an ALC of this audiobook from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review. Having said that, all thoughts are my own.