Book Review: “For the Record” by Emma Lord

Oh my goodness … what a book!! I was delighted by this. I loved this book. I loved her debut, Tweet Cute, so much but haven’t gotten a chance to read her adult books — this was my first adult book by her and it didn’t disappoint!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy! Out 8/12.

Synopsis:

Once the most notorious rivals in the music scene, pop princess Mackenzie Waters and punk rockstar Sam Blaze electrified audiences as their bands clashed on stage. But behind the scenes, their simmering tension grew into something more — until suddenly both bands fell apart, and the idea of Mackenzie and Sam did, too.

Two years later, Sam has traded the rockstar lifestyle for a quiet life raising the son he didn’t know about. Meanwhile, Mackenzie is dealing with a postoperative change in her voice by only singing under a pseudonym. The only way to revive their public careers? A joint comeback album.

With fans over the moon and their futures on the line, Sam and Mackenzie face their biggest challenge yet: giving up their old rivalry and learning to work together. But as old sparks fly and new secrets emerge, they set off a chain reaction neither of them could have anticipated — one that proves that sometimes, the greatest hits are the ones yet to be written.

My Review:

I loved the music industry jargon and background to the main romance plot between Mackenzie and Sam. Can we talk about them? They were rivals, with a lot of classic enemies-to-lovers banter, which was fun! They slightly reminded me of Sonny and Chad from Sonny with a Chance. LOL. But also Harry Styles and Taylor Swift when they dated in the early 2010s.

Years prior, Mackenzie was in an all-girls pop band and Sam was in a punk-rock band — and their bands toured together. But then suddenly, their bands disbanded. They moved on. Sam settled down to raise his son alongside his son’s mother and her girlfriend, while Mackenzie had throat surgery due to an underlining medical issue with her thyroid that affected her vocal cords. Because she felt alone, she turned to writing songs, and she later recorded and published them under a pseudonym “Seven” on the popular music app “Tick Tune” (a fictionalized version of TikTok).

When their old label proposes that Sam and Mackenzie team up to drum up press and reignite their careers, they start to write songs together (for the record) … and the spark between Sam and Mackenzie, that was always there, harboring underneath the surface, reignites again.

It ended up being a story also about the music industry and owning your music … and ultimately, your voice! Really loved that — especially with Taylor Swift’s re-recording projects. But overall, the romance was great! Lots of banter and fun pop culture references — which I don’t typically mind (if it’s not overdone), like what I expected from this author. They were “rivals” when their bands were touring together, and often clashed. Sam often teased Mackenzie and her boyfriends at the time — the reader, or us, knowing that it’s because he knew Mackenzie was always too good for her chosen partners. Mackenzie saw Sam as this playboy, commitment-phobe rockstar who didn’t want to settle down. They clashed, and they clashed hard. But then! After their bands splintered apart, they went their separate ways. When the record label proposed Sam & Mack to work together, they grew closer and discovered the spark that was always there. I thought their romance to be realistic and believable. It was natural and easygoing, and not instant or at first sight.

I really loved her portrayal of Sam’s relationship with his son, Ben! LOL — at first mention of Sam’s family, I instantly thought of Ross, Carol, and Susan raising Ben. Literally copy of Sam, Lizzie, and Lizzie’s partner (I forgot her name) raising Ben. We really saw Sam maturing from his punk-rock days (we didn’t really see Sam’s punk-rock days, but it was implied) through him raising Ben. It was so sweet. Especially after when Sam and Mack began their working relationship (and eventually a romantic relationship).

I also really liked the evolving friendship between Mackenzie and her friends, Skylar and Hannah. Particularly Skylar. Skylar was the one who controlled their girl group, and when the band disbanded, Skylar went solo while Hannah started her clothing line, and Mackenzie wrote songs in secret. We meet Skylar and Mackenzie as they develop a rift between each other. They are at odds with one another, and I liked seeing that type of friendship. Clearly, they were still friends, but they didn’t know how to navigate going about talking about their differences. Over the course of the book, the rift grew stronger, but eventually, we see them resolve their differences and actually working together to resolve the record contract for some of the newer artists mentioned in the book. Skylar was a character I looked forward to reading — I found myself wanting to know more about her backstory! And her present-day life, like her helping newer artists navigate their first record deal (and not get screwed over by contracts). She was slightly instrumental in Sam and Mackenzie reuniting at the end of the book.

Overall, I’d recommend! Such a cute romance. Sam and Mackenzie’s romance genuinely put a smile on my face and uplifted my mood. Only one spicy scene, but other than that, pretty much closed door. If you’re looking for a fun, contemporary romance to put a smile on your face but also that carries a bit of emotional depth, that has a good story, then pick this one up.

Rating: 3.5/5

Pre-order on Amazon, Bookshop.org on August 12, 2025.