WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE BY EMMA LORD // spoiler-free book review: need a YA contemporary romance that’s also a mamma mia retelling with rivals to lovers AND is set in NYC? i got you.

In the wise words of Lizzo, IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME,,,

Let us not waste any more of that and dive right into it!

Title: When You Get The Chance
Author: Emma Lord
Page count: 320
Date published: 4 January 2022
Genre: YA contemporary romance

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Synopsis:

Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?

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Big thanks to St Martin’s Press for the eARC via Netgalley. And to Pan Macmillan SA for the physical review copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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STAR RATING: (5 out of 5 stars)

Shame on me for the second time. Honestly, I’m just dumb at this point and I can’t BELIEVE I held off on reading this because I thought I wouldn’t adore it to shreds. My sincerest apology to the queen that is Emma Lord aka a force to be reckoned with and if I go missing one day, I won’t blame her.

But hey, at least we’re starting the year off strong with a book that I’ve had on my shelf for ages,,, and I am deeply sorry to the publishers,,,

Okay enough of that, it’s time to yell!

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I was never a theatre kid, absolutely no idea what that world looks like. But every single time I fall in love with them and wish I got the chance to be one. Ha, get it? Lol, I didn’t even try there. Anyways, these geeks are my new besties and I’m transporting myself onto a Broadway stage so we can sing to our heart’s content. Stop laughing, I’m dead serious. Ms Lord brought this out in me because I was always a theatre gal to my core *sighs*

I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again: Emma Lord’s witty writing is UNMATCHED. I know it’s because she is experienced in Buzzfeed writing but I’m cackling every few pages at her pop culture references that, written by anybody else could be cringey, but she hits the nail on its head EVERY SINGLE TIME. Her integration is seamless and oh-so natural and I love it so much. Also, this is somehow both very quiet and very loud about being a Mammia Mia retelling and I love it??? Like it doesn’t feel like one but then every few pages it makes a very clear reference and I loved it so much.

Speaking of writing, this book had my heart in its hands and kept on squeezing and GOSH DANG IT I’M IN LOVE. I just forgot how hard I could relate to the characters Lord creates and they’re literally teenagers? I’m 22 now but I felt so deeply for Millie and her journey and ahhhh!!! But she managed to craft these completely multi-faceted characters that are simultaneously hardcore relatable and uniquely loveable and it hits me in the chest. Literally. Frankly, Millie is insufferable but it doesn’t bother me at all because at her core she is loud and boisterous and feels her emotions so deeply and I,,, gah family insecurity gets me every time.

Seriously what the heck? I didn’t sign up for an emotional rollercoaster and Ms Millie reminded me that sometimes we don’t feel good enough or that we don’t know why we’re chasing a dream so hard and forget about why. I didn’t ask for any of that,,,,

Emma Lord is really good at her job, just saying.

Okay, let’s chat about the side-characters because yes I love Teddy and Chloe and Heather and all the moms. They made this lil book feel so well-rounded we love a fleshed-out set of characters.

Also yes I did catch ALL of the Tweet Cute references and I was living my best life.

Don’t even get me started on the romance!!! Gosh dang it they’re adorable. Out of all the Lord books I’ve read, this one is actually the least romance-y of them and she kinda took the backseat. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t shipping them so hard and smiling my teeth away. Oliver um hi I LOVE YOU. They’re adorable and I’m obsessed.

Last but certainly not least, and possibly my favourite part, was the almost mystery element to this? It’s literally Mamma Mia in the sense that it’s contemporary but you’re also being a detective to figure out who the mom is. And I’m a genius and I picked up on ALL the subtle clues that we were left and oooohhhhh Ms Lord was clever. But it’s worth it, I promise!!!!

Before I go, let’s just take another moment to yell… THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD WHAT THE HECK I LOVED IT SO MUCH GO READ IT NOW!!!!!!

Okay, I’m done.

So yeah you need to go read this little contemporary romance full of spunk and guts and a big heart. Plus I mean all the theatre kid chaos, rivals-to-lovers romance and gut-wrenching deep feelings that’ll have you by the neck. Now go forth and cry and thank me later <3<3<3

“I wish more than anything I could ask him something now. I was prepared to lose him, maybe. But I wasn’t prepared for what happens after the losing.”

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“Because I drink coffee like a real New Yorker and you drink tea like the American Revolution never happened.”

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“But even then, my laugh at Oliver’s text lingers in the back of my throat the rest of the way home—and for the first time in the history of ever, I fall asleep looking forward to seeing him the next day.”

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The afternoon light is pouring in through the window, casting warm colors on his face, streaming into his eyes. I drink in the sight of him, doing something I’m usually not very good at: taking my time.

“And after,” I say quietly. He smiles his Millie smile, and I smile my Oliver one. We’ve said a lot of things to each other over the years, tossed more mean words between us than I could ever count. But making a promise only takes two.”

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“I don’t hate you, Millie,” Oliver exclaims, throwing up his hands in a very un-Oliver-like gesture. It appears that after all these years, I’ve finally found his last nerve. If it weren’t so insulting, it’s be kind of fun to watch. “I’m just exhausted by you.”

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“Millie, you’re not a person,” he says. “You’re a roller coaster. My seat belt is buckled. I have no idea where you’re going, but I’m in for the ride.”

HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER? HAVE YOU READ ANY OF EMMA LORD’S BOOKS? WHAT DID YOU THINK? LET ME KNOW!