Chord

The OTP #2

by Chelsea M. Cameron

Chase Hillier has plans, and nothing will cause her to deviate from them. So far, they're pretty simple: Get through her first year of college with good grades, read a lot of books, and hopefully find a cute boyfriend who could turn into her husband someday. She's got it all mapped out. No one is going to stand in her way. Not even her roommate, Cordelia Scott.
Cordelia Scott has her own plans: Get through her freshman year without too many panic attacks, figure out what the hell she wants to major in, and meet a guy who finally makes her heart flutter.
Fate has other plans for the two when they end up as roommates and neither of them can stop thinking about the other. They're both absolutely sure that they like boys and not girls. But their sparks can't be extinguished and they realize there is a lot more to their connection with each other than either of them thought. How will they navigate a path that neither of them planned on taking?

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Lesbian, Contemporary, Young Adult, New Adult, Queer

Unknown Binding

First published January 28, 2018

About the author

Chelsea M. Cameron is a New York Times/USA Today/Internationally Best Selling author from Maine who now lives and works in Boston. She's a red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, former cheerleader, and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, eating brunch in bed, tweeting, and playing fetch with her cat, Sassenach. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

Reviews

[Cece (ProblemsOfaBookNerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5/5

ANYWAY Chase was basically me my freshman year and I lived falling for my college roommate when I was sure I was straight. This frequently hit super close to home, and I loved that.

Also, I want to sing praises for the fact that neither of the MCs is sure about their labels at the end of the book. It took me YEARS to figure out which ones I like best, and I appreciated that aspect so much.

The worst part of this book is that I’m currently living on the other side of the country from my girlfriend and now I’m sad because I miss her. That’s not really on Chelsea, but like also... how dare she make me miss my gf more than I already do, you know?

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Chord” is book #2 in “The OTP” series, and is the sequel to “Style”. I wonder what “OTP” stands for…it’s not explained on Audible or Amazon, nor did I find anything explanatory after a brief Google search. Well, I’m going to call it the “Officially Too Perfect” series, because the characters, their friends, their families, the story and the narration are….wait for it….too perfect….officially! ;)

If you’re looking for drama, angst, misunderstandings, homophobia, cheaters, dark pasts, or sinister people….look/listen elsewhere. Chord will immerse you in a wonderful world of likable, kind, loving people at the brink of adulthood, filled with optimism for the future, whatever that may be, and learning about themselves and accepting that they are very different from who they thought they were. This is a very sweet, enjoyable story. If you’ve been reading/listening to Melissa Brayden’s “Seven Shores” series (and who hasn’t?), and you’re anxiously awaiting sweetly optimistic, Disney loving Hadley’s story in the yet unpublished book #4, “Love Like This” (and who isn’t?)…you will really love this book.

First year college students MCs Chase and Cordelia are computer-assigned as roommates. Chase is often anxious around others, and Cordelia too-frequently suffers panic attacks, but they become fast friends and comfort each other. Wow…do they comfort each other (oops…jumping ahead too much!). Their dormitory neighbors are Stella and Kyle, the now girlfriends MCs from “Style”. It was delightful spending more time with Stella and Kyle throughout the book. Their friendships with Chase and Cordelia are integrated very nicely.

Chase and Cordelia make a mutual pact to find boyfriends by the end of the year, but each are frequently confused and flustered by their feelings for each other. By the way, I really liked the author’s dedication at the beginning of the book:

”For all the girls who think they might like girls…this one’s for you”.

The evolution of each girl’s understanding of herself, and of their mutual recognition of their feelings for each other is sweet, and frequently made me smile. Chase, Cordelia and their friends felt real, and I felt happy spending time with them. The story uses alternating POVs, and I really enjoyed being inside each of their heads, hearing what each of them thought, as they thought of themselves and of each other.

I’ve just deleted a few more comments, because I’m going to end this as a relatively short review; anything more I would say would end up as spoilers, and I want you to enjoy the journey for Chase and Cordelia as the fresh story of young love, and young lust, that it is. Tenderness, kindness and communication abounds, which I really enjoyed in this New Adult storyline.

As with “Style”, “Chord” ends with an HFN rather than an HEA…which I found completely acceptable, given that Chase and Cordelia are only 19yo. Narrator Sophie Daniels did a fantastic job, as she did for “Style”. By the way (ok, I guess this is a bit of a spoiler….but it’s minor), it turns out that I was wrong in assuming “Style” derived its title from Stella and Kyle meeting in their high school english class: STella, kYLE…sort of like CHase, cORDelia…so cute!! Now I want to go bowling, even with the stinky shoes….ooops….no more spoilers!

Get this terrific audiobook….highly recommended with 5*

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

My rating and my review was not in anyway affected by my having been provided a review copy.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I didn’t want to tell you this originally, but coming out isn’t a one-time thing. It happens over and over. It happens to me every time I talk about Eli with someone new. It happens every time someone asks if I’m single. It happens hundreds of times. I’ve skirted around it, I’ve lied, I’ve changed the subject, I’ve done everything. Sometimes you don’t want to and that’s okay. It’s shitty that you have to keep doing it, but that’s the way things are right now. I hope it will change.”

I waited way too long to write this review, so I'll keep this pretty brief. I had been wanting to start reading a bit more NA contemporary work, so when I saw a tweet promoting Chelsea Cameron's work, I decided to glance at her bio. As soon as I realized that she specialized in own-voice f/f love stories, I was hooked, and when I saw that this book was super cheap on the kindle store, I snatched it up and read it right away!

Chord isn't perfect, and I'll be up front about that. There are quite a few spelling and grammatical errors - which is not a deal-breaker by any means for me, but I know it is for many readers - and the dialogue, at times, feels overly casual and a little bit over-simplified. The plot is, if I had to average it out, probably 70% romance and 30% a queer coming-of-age story, with little excitement outside of that realm, so if you don't enjoy books that are primarily about love and embracing one's queerness, I would probably not recommend this one for you.

That said, if you do enjoy a good, cutesy, sexy f/f story, I highly suggest giving Chord a try! There is representation from so many different segments of the LGBTQIA+ community here, as well as the fact that one of our protagonists is plus size, which, hello, yes please! She's super sexy and her love interest absolutely adores her curves and describes her in such a way that is never, ever demeaning or fat-shaming, so I was living for that portrayal.

There's also a ton of super cute banter, some really heartfelt discussions about sexuality and mental health, and a lot of romance that never shies away from showing the authentic sides to relationships, like the awkwardness that can come with a couple's first time, or the experimentation and questioning that accompanies any individual exploring their sexuality in a new light.

All in all, like I said, this book does have some minor flaws, but I thought it was such a delightfully fun read and I couldn't put it down. I stayed up way too late and finished this one in one sitting, and will happily be reading more of Chelsea's writing in the future!

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review also on my blog • Twitter • Bookstagram

Rep: f/f romance, questioning mc's, multiple queer side characters

Content warnings: explicit sexual content, panic attack

Chord starts with two girls meeting in college, assigned to be roommates. Cordelia and Chase are two girls who had always assumed they were straight but after meeting each other, they both start to rethink that assumption about themselves. Ironically, at the beginning of the book they make a pact that they will both get a boyfriend in their first year of college. 

This book was so sweet and fluffy. It is pretty romance driven which is exactly my taste. I loved seeing Chase and Cordelia slowly get closer throughout the book. They are both initially confused by their feelings for each other, unable to recognise their romantic feelings for each other. Before their realisations, they had really good chemistry and connected really well. 

I liked that the book allowed them to go to the end of the book unsure of their labels, and that the people around them allowed them to. I really liked that there wasn't too much stress put on labels. There was some touches on compulsory heterosexuality, Cordelia questioning if she had only liked boys because she was told she was supposed to, and Chase touching on how she didn't like being with guys as much as she liked being with Cordelia. 

Both of their families were also really supportive, which I loved. Cordelia only has her dad and seeing their closeness was great. Chase's parents were also supportive, and coming out to her sister included her sister telling her she thinks she's bisexual. I don't think I've seen a book where there's a character with queer siblings.

This was also a companion to the book Style, which I love. The girls from the book, Stella and Kyle, made multiple cameos and I loved seeing them again.

Chord was an overall, sweet and enjoyable book to read. 

[Tinything · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story. Just like book 1 “Style”, everything is so positive. Both main characters’ parents and people around them are so accepting their sexuality. There is no conflict or angst or anything like that. There are two POV that alternate between the mains. And i enjoyed to be in Cordelia’s POV more for some reason. Probably because Chase had a bit complicated mind. She was anxious and need to plan for everything.

I was seriously considered of putting this book ‘on-hold’ at the start. But the book started to get more enjoyable after their first kiss. And i’m glad i didnt do it because i didnt want to put it there. It kind of still surprised me that after their first kiss, no one went of running and screaming. And no avoiding each other either. They both communicated with everything all the way through and being honest with themselves.

I would say i enjoyed this book. But not as much as book 1 “Style”. And it didnt give me the urge to put it on hold like this one.

[Starsandsun18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5


This is too dreamy for me. I do like Chase and Cordelia they’re cute but they’re too perfect especially Chase.
It’s too much for me.
If you happen to like Style, Kyle and Stella are here.
No major drama, everything is just easy going.

[Maja Todorovska · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a cute book in the spirit of Style, but I think I liked this one a bit better. The characters, Chase nad Cordelia are very likable and relatable. the book is HIghly focused on the two of them, although a frew other characters show up (even Stela and Kyle from the 'previous' book). As much as I liked the tight focus, I wish there was more interaction between the families and the POV characters. I would have loved it, if Chase and her sister had a conversation (or two) about their queerness. However, for what it is, the book is lovely. The relationship is adorable (if a bit twee) and the characters are solid.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like it as much as Style but it was still pretty fucking cute :)

[Rahma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor writing, boring plot, and two-dimensional characters. Honestly, it felt like poorly written fanfiction, and believe me when I say that I've read plenty of fanfiction better than this.
So go into this book not expecting something other than a quick, fluffy read. Only for the non-judgemental of readers.

[flavia · Rating 3 out of 5]

CUTE

[Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with Style, this is a simple story of two people falling in love. There’s not a lot of angst within the relationship itself, it’s more everyday-life angst: first time away from home, coming out to yourself and others, falling in love for the first time, that kind of stuff, along with Chase’s anxiety and Cordelia’s panic attacks. Not everything is easy but there are no external problems. And it feels good. Being able to see these two nice young women (they’re 18) fall in love and discover who they are or might be is a real treat.

Another thing I like about Cameron’s books is that not everybody is white and valid. This is only the second one I’ve read (or rather listened to) so maybe I’m being optimistic about all her books being the same on that front but it feels too natural to simply be a plot to tick all the boxes. Also, the whole labels thing was on point.

Sophie Daniels’ narration is perfect, too.

[barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

esse foi o meu primeiro livro sáfico e eu simplesmente amei!! esse livro me deixou muito soft e foi uma verdadeira aula para mim

[amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a super cute and fluffy book and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the fact that my girls Kyle and Stella were in it. And I appreciated the diversity and support systems in this!

I couldn’t give it higher than 3 stars though because there were some issues that I can’t get past. The writing a lot of the time got repetitive, and it felt like the girls were saying basically the same things to each other. Sometimes I couldn’t tell who was saying what because the way this book was written had one girl saying something and a different girl reacting to it in the same paragraph. And sometimes I couldn’t remember who’s pov it was in because they were written so similarly, PLUS there were one or two times when the person speaking referred to themselves in the third person when she should have said the other girls name. The story also seemed a little too similar to Kyle and Stella’s story at times.

[Manon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oof not even a break up, that was interesting. Sure I've read books without break ups but it's still surprising to read an entire cuteness overload story. Doesn't mean I've got something against a little drama here and there tho.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Kyle and Stella from Style and I loved that they were a part of this book. Both Chase and Cordelia were awesome and adorable.
Definitely don't regret reading it but regretting that I haven't read it sooner

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and cute

This book was little drama and just cute sweet and fluffy. I really needed something with low angst and just adorable girls falling in love.

[Fadwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars
This was just so cute and fluffy and happy and i just want to live in the way it made me feel FOREVER.
We not only get Chase and Cordelia who are just so soft with each other but we also get a glimpse at Stella and Kyle's first year of college (from book 1)!!!

[Nicole Hogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should have been a short story

There’s not really enough plot or action to warrant a full length novel. It drags a lot because of all the internal monologues used to fill space. There’s also quite a few typos and continuity errors with who’s speaking or doing what.

[Pastels Passions · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chelsea Cameron is my go-to for fluffy f/f romances.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this for cute lesbians and that’s what i got. i did not read it for the plot i just wanted lesbians

[prag ♻ · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun fact: i still don't know which one of them is chase and which one is cordelia

[larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

outro romance f/f fofo da chelsea eu to apaixonada

[Searchr.23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does a wonderful job with describing innocent feelings. He does it so well that not only the characters, but also the readers feel the feelings. In this book, love and sympathy are shown as an object of study. Two young girls don't act on an impulse of instinct, and do not give free rein to sympathy for fate. But gradually they cautiously step by step on the path of an interconnected and beautiful, generally healthy relationship. They get to know each other and themselves through beautiful relationships.
Sometimes in the sex scenes she writes funny phrases, but that doesn't spoil the picture at all.
Reading this novel is equal to drinking the most delicious coffee in the world on a cold evening.

Some fav scenes/ lines from book:

•“It’s going to be okay,” I said, because what else was there to say? I wasn’t so great at the comfort thing, but I could give her a hug and hold her and tell her nice things. Her head dipped and her cheek rested on my shoulder. My skin tingled, and I tried to ignore it. I nearly jumped when I realized she was running her fingers through my curls. “Ouch,” I said when her hand hit a snag. “Sorry,” she said into my shoulder. Her voice was muffled, and I couldn’t stop the feeling that I didn’t want to let go from this hug. “It’s okay,” I said back. No one was pulling away and we had passed the acceptable hug period. (Cute scene)

•I figured it was as good for her to read to me as it was for me to listen to it. Something for both of us.

•How had this one girl changed my entire life with one kiss? One kiss that I was having regrets about. If I hadn’t kissed her, I might not be up and re-evaluating my entire life up until this moment. But kissing Cordelia was something that was as inevitable as the sun setting. It was only a matter of when, and last night had been the when.

•“That doesn’t matter. What matters is right now. And how you feel and how she feels. The rest will come later. Or never. You don’t have to put a label on yourself if you don’t feel comfortable with it. You can just ... be. Some people feel better with a label. Others don’t. Find out what works for you,”

•"And I think we figured along the way that we could make our own rules. That a lot of the rules for heterosexual couples were rooted in old ways that, sometimes, were completely misogynistic and outdated. So, really, you can do what you want. What feels right. That’s one of the best parts of being queer. You make your own rules.”

•“And then there was you. You, Cordelia Scott, who burst into my life like a fireball and turned all those plans to smoke.”

[Sylwia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My level of enjoyment was somewhere in the middle.

Why You Might Bump This Up On Your TBR:
The protagonists both identify as female and both have romantic and sexual feelings for each other and continue to question their sexual orientation throughout the novel. The author writes orientation with so much love that this novel can be a safe space for any questioning and/or queer readers. Pronouns are discussed regularly and the protagonists are introduced to a lot of other queer characters. The characters are likable and healthy. They're believable. Their romance is sweet. They speak about their sex and love lives in a very healthy way, modeling behavior for the reader.

Why You Might Bump This Down On Your TBR:
While the characters are believable, we don't spend enough time with their introspection. The only "conflicts" are them learning about their own sexual orientations and them coming out to their parents, but these can barely be called conflicts. The absence of conflict and therefore also of plot didn't work for me.

[Dessy Hristova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time reading this book. It was cute but I guess I wasn't that much into it so it took me a while to finish it. I usually love the whole roommates to lovers thing, but here it was just... I don't know, I just didn't feel it. I didn't like the idea that at first Chase and Cordelia were both looking for boyfriends or whatever and then they just got together out of nowhere... I loved all the adorable and cute moments, but I found their worries about sexuality and labels really unnecessary. They knew that their parents would accept their sexuality no matter what, that their friends would be cool and all, and yet they found it so damn difficult to just tell them. It just seemed unnecessary to me. Overall, it was a cute story, though.

[Cleo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, very low conflict sapphic NA romance between first year college roommates.

Chord is the ship name of the two MCs, Cordelia and Chase. This is kind of a slice of life type book - lots of loving descriptions of their meals and hanging out with their hall mates, etc. It was cute but it dragged in places. It could have been edited down a lot without losing much.

SBTB Summer 2025 Bingo: roommates or neighbors

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was adorable! It was a realistic portrayal of finding your own identity and discovering yourself while also being a super fluffy romance! I also really loved what we got to see of Stella and Kyle!

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this audiobook gets 5 stars! The struggles of coming out, the angst and the emotions that goes with it are very well interpreted in the story. And very well narrated.

[sandra alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

omg they were roommate's!

[kavya ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was everything i wanted in a romance on paper but the writing and arc progression was so dull and mediocre good grief // dnf @ 33%

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/4 *