The Rival Mini Book Review
The Rival by Emma Lord mini book review and recommendation with NO SPOILERS
Date: 10-25-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 6.8/10
Book Cover Rating: 3.1/10
(My personal opinion)
Title: The Rival
Author: Emma Lord
Pages: 320
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Romance Level: No spice, but prominent part of plot
Publisher: Wednesday Books
First Published: 2025
Goodreads Rating: 3.53/5
Amazon Rating: 3.8/5
Movie/TV Show?? : No
Book Type: Standard
Hook: Sadie is thrilled to go away to college. To finally pursue her writing dreams. To get a bit of distance from her overbearing family. To finally find herself. And, to get away from the bane of her existence- Seb. Everything was a competition between Sadie and Seb in high school, but she was the only one with an acceptance to the dream college. She finally beat him at something!
Her joy fades quickly when she sees him on campus. She soon learns that not only did he receive a last minute spot after being waitlisted, but he’s also trying out for the single open writing spot on the college’s newspaper that Sadie has been dreaming of for years. So much for her chances to write on the newspaper. But, she won’t give up that easily. At the end of the day, she beat him by getting a real acceptance to this college. She’s confident she can beat him in this too.
My Review
Another sweet, heartfelt Emma Lord romance! This book had great character development, a perfect romance set up, and no lack of heartfelt moments! However, this book has been my least favorite Emma Lord so far. I honestly didn’t feel like I could relate very much with the characters. I’m not used to this because usually Emma Lord does a GREAT job with the characters! Also, this felt cliche. Maybe it was just me but something felt off about the main characters’ interactions and the ways they acted. I will say, I was VERY happy to see some plot outside of just the romance- Seb and Sadie are battling for a spot on the school newspaper. To be honest, the non-romance plot did feel a little futile at times, but I shouldn’t complain because I was just happy to get something! All of that said, I did enjoy this book, but I would recommend other Emma Lord (or other YA romance) books over this one. Maybe I was just in a reading slump, but this book didn’t quite do it for me.
Overall Book Rating: 6.8/10
I would maybe recommend this book
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Emma lives and writes in New York City
She loves baking delicious, inventive treats
She has written over 6 YA romance books
For more information, view Emma Lord’s website: Emmalordwriting.com
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