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Nic ani nikt nie stanie na przeszkodzie marzeniom Millie Price o zostaniu gwiazdą Broadwayu. Nie jej kochany, ale introwertyczny tata, który samotnie ją wychował. Nie jej nieznośny rywal z kółka teatralnego, Oliver. I nie "Humorki Millie", czyli intensywne emocje, które często ją przytłaczają.

Dziewczyna potrzebuje jednak kogoś, kto jej pomoże. Kiedy zupełnym przypadkiem trafia na komputerze ojca na jego pamiętnik z przeszłości i dowiaduje się kilku rzeczy o swojej biologicznej mamie, już wie, co musi zrobić. Odszukać ją.

Czy uda jej się znaleźć nową część swojego życia i dopasować ją do starego?
I czy możliwe, że poszukując przeszłości, w jakiś sposób i tak trafi do tego, co miała przez cały czas?

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2022

422 people are currently reading
39008 people want to read

About the author

Emma Lord

10 books4,589 followers
Emma Lord is an NYT bestselling author of rom coms for teens and adults, a BuzzFeed senior writer, and dessert gremlin living in New York City. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. Her sun sign is Cancer and her moon sign is whatever Taylor Swift song is about to pop up on shuffle.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,693 reviews
Profile Image for Nilufer Ozmekik.
3,119 reviews60.6k followers
March 19, 2023
Two things I may honestly say about this fabulous read:
This is the sweetest thing I’ve lately read!

This is my favorite Emma Lord I’ve ever read!

My cheeks, my lips hurt so much because of extra long smiling time! I felt like I did so many sitcom sound effects during my reads: 135 awww, 147 laugh out loud, 74 sighing, 32 giggling resulted with big permanent smile on my face!

This is gender reversed Mamma Mia meets Definitely Maybe with great enemies to lovers premise, a little You’ve got mail vibes ( side story )

This book gives you contagious happiness and pocketful of sunshine with its uplifting, relieving , feel good premise and beautifully resonating , so much likable, unique characters!

Millie Price, a young diva, loud, entertaining, extrovert, self confident, expressive, ball of fire, an aspiring future Broadway star gets her precollege acceptance which means she has to move to the West Coast, living her 37 years old, Tolkien- stalker, dweeb, dorky, earnest, kind father who raised her alone when he was just a college graduated young man and her cool, friendly, successful club owner dear auntie!

But when they didn’t give their consents, she needs an adult’s help for applying her Plan B which means she has to find the mother who left her when she was a baby and she ignored to contact with her for years.

Thankfully her neighbor/ best friend Teddy is a tech nerd who can reach any information in few seconds. He already found LiveJournal of Millie’s father. There are three women were mentioned at this journal who could be the possible mother candidates of Millie. Beth: social worker, mother of Chloe who is a year younger of Millie, Steph: executive assistant of famous Broadway agent and a struggling actress and finally Farrah: a talented dance teacher.

Millie decides to meet with all of these candidates which means she finds herself at the job interview to be intern of very famous Broadway manager. And guess what? She’s competing with her long time nemesis Oliver who likes to push her buttons and challenge her authority at school. And they’re both chosen to be temporary assistants for two weeks for finishing compelling tasks. The one with the best performance will get the permanent position.

Millie finds herself attending Beth’s house parties, hanging out with Chloe to get her out of her shelf, attending dance lessons of Farrah and working so hard to defeat Oliver by achieving her impossible tasks, having morning coffee chats and long career talks with Steph.

But the funny fact about her search is as she gets closer to find the identity of her mom, she finds out more about her true self and learns more about her long time nemesis who may be kind hearted and protective guy with perfect management skills.

Maybe she doesn’t need to move to the West Coast to find her true happiness. Maybe the way to pursue her true dreams just stands right behind her eyes!

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

One of the cutest, sweetest, most adoring, engaging, heartfelt reading I had for a long time! I’m giving my five musical, quirky, dorky, sweet, perfect supporting characters, permanent smile stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
Profile Image for megs_bookrack.
2,157 reviews14.1k followers
February 12, 2025
Millie Price dreams of becoming a Broadway star. Living in New York City with her slightly-dweeby, single-dad and fun-loving, Aunt Heather, you would think she was in the perfect place. Millie's sights are set elsewhere, however.

More specifically, on a competitive precollege program that will take her out of state next year.



Her Dad isn't happy when he finds out about Millie's plan. He doesn't understand why she can't finish up school at home. She's steps from Broadway, why would she need to travel across the country to help her future career prospects?

It's clear to Millie that he just doesn't get it and probably never will. ((Our Millie is nothing if not dramatic.))



What Millie needs is an ally to sell this precollege program to her Dad, but where to find one?

Although she knows next to nothing about her birth mother, an untouchable topic in their household, Millie does know that her Mom was a huge fan of musical theater.

Perhaps if Millie can find her, she can recruit her onto Team 'Let Millie Go To Precollege', thus swaying her Dad.



Going off clues found within her Dad's embarrassingly honest LiveJournal from 2003, Millie and her best friend, Teddy, begin the hunt in earnest.

They narrow their candidates down to three women living within New York City. All Millie needs to do is get close to them and insert herself into their lives, until she can figure out which one is her Mom.



When You Get the Chance swept me off my feet from the very start. It's a beautifully engaging love letter to musical theater, featuring one of my favorite YA Contemporary protagonists of all time.

I absolutely adored Millie. Her moods, dreams and insecurities all felt incredibly real to me. I'm basically her Aunt Heather now. I love her so darn much.



Emma Lord does a fantastic job of mixing cutesy-YA Romance, with quite serious family issues. This seems to be a trend in her work that I really appreciate.

Millie has a lot of questions surrounding her Mom that unfortunately, she doesn't feel comfortable asking anyone. She can tell by her Dad's reaction anytime her Mom does get brought up, that he doesn't want to talk about.

This leaves poor Millie to struggle on her own with a lot of unanswered questions. While her Dad is super loving and supportive of her, there's just a lot left unsaid.



I loved how this wildly fun and hilariously witty story was wrapped around this serious, dramatic core.

It's fun, sweet and fast-paced, while also having true substance that should resonate well with a lot of Readers.



If you pick this one up, and I definitely recommend that you do, please take the time to read the Acknowledgements at the end. I think it gives great insight into Lord as a writer and her inspiration for this story in particular.

At this point, I will pick up anything Emma Lord writes. I love her brand. I'm sold!



Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I look forward to adding a hard copy to my growing Emma Lord collection. Her writing absolutely fills my heart with joy and I just can't get enough of it!

Profile Image for jessica.
2,685 reviews48k followers
August 14, 2022
i adore dad/daughter relationships in YA novels. to me, its the least written about family dynamic and i wish that would change.

i think millies relationship with her dad is the best thing in this story, so its a shame there isnt much of it. but what is shown is so heartwarming. i understand that millies focus is on finding her mom, but i wish there was more page time dedicated to her strengthening her bond with her dad. her dad is just too precious, i wanted to read more about him!

but i think theatre kids will really love this story. its BROADWAY, in all caps, with musical references on every page! it also has all of the makings of a cute YA story - funny, charming MC with an equally funny, charming best friend, high school shenanigans, rivals becoming crushes, and NYC adventures.

overall, a great addition to ELs bibliography!

thanks st. martins press/wednesday books for the ARC!!

3.5 stars
Profile Image for Nikola.
807 reviews16.5k followers
February 24, 2023
4,5/5
Tak, to wybitnie cukierkowa historia. Do bólu przewidywalna, ale co ja poradzę, że tak świetnie się bawię czytając ją!
Uwielbiam ten humor, żarty i bohaterów. Uwielbiam, że są świadomi swoich błędów i potrafią za nie przeprosić.
Bardzo mocno polecam!
PS Są tutaj nawiązania do Tweet Cute (inna książka autorki), a to najlepsza, jaką autor może zrobić.
Profile Image for Em Lost In Books.
1,058 reviews2,276 followers
January 29, 2022
This book was the standard YA story until it gives an insight in Millie's relationship with her father and how she take in the identity of her mother, and what mother told her how Millie came to live with her father. Her relationship with her father was lovely and how he dealt with all the drama surrounding her mother's identity. I loved the mother's side story too.

And those two threads are the highlight of this book for me, everything else was regular YA stuff.
Profile Image for mimi (depression slump).
618 reviews509 followers
November 21, 2022
The most impressive information that I've learned from this story is that Manhattan is supposed to be a huge place but, in fact, everyone and everything you know is just a few steps away from you.

Millie has decided to find her mother - whom she’s never known - to help her with an evil plan, even though her family is right there next to her. But she's a teenager and she has the right to know, so it’s okay.
In the research she's gonna hurt everyone she knows, she’s gonna meet new people to add to her extended family and she’s gonna find love. She's also gonna find her mother, which wasn't a big deal in the end.
Most importantly, she's gonna find herself. No more Millie Moods or new Millies every month. Just the one and only Millie Prince.

A cute and shimmering novel from one of the favourite authors in the bookworm community, easy to read and to fall for. But you know me, I always have something to complain about, and this is it: it's not sparkling.
Millie is supposed to sparkle through the world, the relationship with her father is supposed to be the lighthouse of this story, and the academic-enemies-to-lover trope is supposed to make me fight for her and Oliver… but it doesn't. I can't see the sparkle and I definitely can't feel it.

Cliches aside, I do think it's a nice story. Emma Lord is successful because she deserves to be: she has very easy-to-love writing, with everything happening at the right timing and the perfect happy ending, even if not everything ends up as you want sometimes.
But the sparkle is something you have to feel, and it simply wasn't here for me.

p.s.: idk if I'm the only one noticing it, but the cover is kinda wrong. I know it's supposed to represent Millie right now, but we didn't know she has dyed her hair until like half of the book, so I'm not really sure I like it.

3 stars
Profile Image for Debra - can't post any comments on site today grrr.
3,263 reviews36.5k followers
December 27, 2021
When you get the chance...give this book a read/listen!

Millie Price has two things that she wants in life:

1. To be a Broadway Star
2. To know the identity of her mother

A girl can dream!

And she does, Millie really does!

When Millie finds her dad's open live journal from 2003, she decides she is going to find her Mom!
Millie was left with her father after her birth. He raised her alone with the help of his older sister. That found live journal has motivated her and she has narrowed her search down to three women!
Stephanie, Farrah, and Beth!

Enter strong Mamma Mia vibes stage left!

This was a seriously cute book. Millie has her best friend, Teddy whose mad tech skills help her out in this book, then there is Oliver - her rival who might just go from enemy to frenemy.

There are antics, there is tension, there is angst, there are Millie Moods and there is a lot of fun in-between. I listened to the audio and thought it was fantastic! This was like a breath of fresh air. Fun, entertaining, and had me singing all my favorite show toons while listening to this - not at the same time of course, but you get the picture.

This book made me happy!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Profile Image for Anna.
191 reviews213 followers
January 14, 2022
Hiiii. Hi. Let me tell you about this book.

I've been a die-hard Emma Lord fan since her debut, Tweet Cute, which is a masterpiece of a YA romance. Her second book, You Have a Match, was not for me. There was a lot of Very Serious adult drama tangled up with the main characters, who were two teenage girls, and I thought the overall tone of the book ended up being a little messy.

This one, however, goes back to Tweet Cute territory (literally – the books are set a couple years after Tweet Cute's main characters graduated) which means I am now obsessed with it.

Millie Price is basically Rachel Berry if you took all the annoying out of her. She's loud and extroverted and crazy talented and obsessed with all things musical theater. After finding her single dad's angsty LiveJournal from 2003 – I mean, can you even – she decides to find the three women he had flings with in college in the summer she was conceived, setting her up for her very own Mamma Mia journey to find her mom – or Millie Mia, as she calls it.

This part of Millie's journey is so beautifully constructed, and ended up being completely satisfying by the end! (I will not admit to shedding a few tears, get out of here.)

Millie also finds herself in forced proximity for a lot of the book with her archenemy from school, Oliver Yang, who is unfairly handsome for someone she hates so much (aren't they all?). Except, maybe he's not that bad? And maybe she enjoys sparring with him? And maybe that feeling she gets by seeing his face every day is not so much indigestion as… butterflies?

I absolutely loved Millie and Oliver's dynamic, not to mention Millie's relationship with her dad, a nerdy introvert who loved her so much her whole life she never felt like anything was missing at all.

As any Emma Lord book, When You Get the Chance is filled with glitter and crazy desserts and hilarious quips and beautiful articulations of very confusing teenage feelings. This one made me smile a lot. 🥰
Profile Image for give me books.
496 reviews6,071 followers
February 22, 2023
3,5/5
Dopiero pod koniec poczułam cozy vibe. Niestety jak dla mnie jest to zmarnowany potencjał i trochę płytka jest ta historia.
Profile Image for podczytany.
314 reviews5,990 followers
February 20, 2023
Bardzo mi się nie podobało😭

Momentami ciężko się to czytało, nie wiem czy jest to kwestia tłumaczenia czy czegoś innego… Wielokrotnie musiałem się zatrzymać i zastanowić nad sensem zdania…

Nie podoba mi się koncepcja całego „śledztwa”, które okazuje się zupełnie bez sensu. Zauważanie takich rzeczy jak „o ta ma taki kolor włosów jak ja, może to jest moja matka”, w niczym nie pomogło. Czemu po prostu nie porozmawiała o tym chociażby ze swoją rodziną. Nie było nawet wspomnienia, aby takie próby były podejmowane.

Mam wrażenie, że w tej książce było tak dużo spraw poruszonych, iż przez to żadna nie wybrzmiała dobrze. Nie poczułem ani grama emocji w żadnej relacji…

Ocena: 2,0.
Profile Image for Christy.
4,542 reviews35.9k followers
January 18, 2023
4 stars

This book was so much fun! This would have been a book I would have loved to read as a teenager. I was (and still am) so Broadway obsessed! But alas… I’m almost the teenager’s dad’s age and have the live journal from my high school days to prove it. Sigh.

Millie Price is going to be a star. She already is in her own right, but one day, she’s going to make it big on Broadway. She has dreams and plans to back those dreams. Unfortunately, even as supportive as her dad is, he’s not quite on board with her latest plan. Millie’s dad is a single dad. She’s never met her mother… but she’s on a quest to find her now.

This story had a huge family dynamic and I loved that, but it also had a fantastic romance. Talk about opposites attract romance- I couldn’t have loved Millie and Oliver together more. They were less enemies and more rivals, but I had a blast watching them fall for each other.

This book was such a win for me. I truly enjoyed it so much!
Profile Image for Ania.
294 reviews2,336 followers
February 4, 2023
Młodzieżówka na medal! Wciągająca fabuła znajdująca swoje miejsce w lekkiej i szybkiej lekturze.
Podczas czytania uśmiech nie schodził mi z twarzy.
Wątek enemies to lovers *chef kiss*.
Przyjaźń między bohaterami i wzajemne wsparcie niepodważalnie zyskało moją sympatię.
Polubiłam, wręcz pokochałam główną bohaterkę, która za wszelką cenę stara się osiągnąć swój cel i wszystkie otaczające ją podczas tej „misji” osoby. Według mnie najlepsza książka Emmy jaką miałam okazję przeczytać, a nawiązanie do „Tweet cute” totalnie zrobiło mi dzień.
Profile Image for Colleen Scidmore.
387 reviews256 followers
February 24, 2022


Actual Stars 3.5

Ok folks heres a tidbit about me. I’m not a big fan of Broadway. I really don’t love musicals all that much and I was not a fan of Mamma Mia etc. But this book reached down into my black little heart and had me rethink my opposition of Broadway, helped along by seeing it through Millie’s enthusiastic eyes. I seriously doubt I will ever become a super fan but I might give some musicals a shot here and there. 😁

Millie is the very definition of a theater kid. She’s had performing in her DNA for as long as she can remember. She’s not exactly sure where it came from because her one and only parent, her dad Cooper’s comfort zone is making a living behind a computer. And because Millie’s mom gave her up to Coop as a baby, she has no idea who she is.

Because of her love of theater, being a Broadway Star is Millie’s future and she’s going to get there no matter what it takes. She seems to have found a way to help things along by being accepted into a well known pre college program that will help her accomplish her dream. But there is a catch. She has to leave her NY City neighborhood which includes her Dad, her Aunt Heather, her Best Friend Teddy and all her high school friends to move all the way to California. The only person she will not miss is her Drama Club nemesis Oliver. Millie also has to talk her anxious Dad into agreeing to let her go.

When her dad tells her no, Millie goes looking for her absent mother to help. If she’s being honest with herself it’s more than just trying to get into her dream school. She wants to know where her “Millie moods” come from. And if her mom regretted her decision to give her up. But she has no idea who she could possibly be or where to even start looking. With the help of her Geocaching and very nerdy friend Teddy they track down Coopers moody Live Journal Page from 2003 and investigate for clues. Millie finds not one but three possibilities for her missing mom.

There is Stephanie an actress and assistant to Georgie Check, a talent agent for some of the best actors in the industry. Farrah has her own dance studio and teaches dance classes. And lastly there is Beth who hosts Broadway Bugs, a musical theater enthusiast meetup for amateurs. Beth also has a younger daughter Chloe, that is only about one year younger than Millie. She starts to wonder what it would be like to find her mom and gain a half sister as well.

In order to narrow it down and get to know each woman Millie inserts herself in each of their lives. She takes dance classes with Farrah (the only part of theater she dreads), joins Beth’s group Broadway Bugs and tries out a temporary internship with Check Plus Talent working under Stephanie. The only hitch on the internship is that she is competing against her nemesis Oliver Yang for a permanent position. And the gloves are coming off in this all out battle to win the spot.

Millie learns somewhere along the way, trying to figure out which woman is her long lost mother, that she really already has the perfect family unit and may not need or want the extra complication.

This turned out to be a cute, interesting and pretty emotional read at times. But for those of you who are looking for a romance book, this is not the book for you. It has a sliver of romance but It’s mainly about Millie’s search to find her mom as well as herself.

And that brings me to my big problem with the book. Millie really didn’t spend enough time with each of the potential mom’s. I didn’t feel any kind of connection between them and Millie. And finding Millie’s mom is supposed to be the main plot. So I wanted that emotion and connection.
I also had one other little problem. The whole time I was reading this I felt that it was very unrealistic that Millie had NO idea who her Mom was. That Cooper and her Aunt Heather would not sit her down and talk to her about this before she was 16 going on 17 years old seemed wrong.

Otherwise, I really liked Millie’s character for the most part. I loved her self confidence and going for what she wanted with energy and determination. I thought she was a bit hard on her dad at times and I didn’t like the way she went behind his or her aunt’s back. Her Aunt Heather that basically raised Millie as her own daughter. But realistically that’s also what quite a few normal teenagers would’ve done.

Overall pretty decent read. I think for those of you who love Broadway, theater or musicals, you will enjoy it even more. And I’m definitely willing to try out another Emma Lord book.
Profile Image for Cara.
548 reviews1,004 followers
June 15, 2022
WOW JUST WOW!!!! When You Get The Chance by Emma Lord was no exception!!!!! This book was honestly amazing!! I went into this book completely blind, not knowing anything, at first I thought I made the wrong decision doing that, but boy was I wrong. This book gave me all the feels, it made me laugh, it made me a bit teary eyed. When You Get The Chance is an enemies to lovers trope. I didn't know what to feel going into this story, but i'm glad I picked it up because it was just too good to pass. When I first saw the cover, it screamed at me to read it, with a gorgeous character, and glitter, what's not to love about it? The banter between our two main characters, Millie and Oliver had me laughing throughout the whole story. Emma Lord sure knows how to write a feel good, laugh-out-loud novel. After the mentions of glitter, milkshakes, and sprinkles, it made me want to make a fun milkshake full of edible glitter, fun sprinkles, and delicious ice cream.

First off, I want to thank Rebekah for buddy reading this with me<3!!

A search for her birth mother.
A crush on her rival.
What's life without a little drama?

In When You Get The Chance we follow the journey of Millie Price following her dream in becoming a Broadway star. Nothing, absolutely nothing will get in the way of Millie's dream of becoming a Broadway star. Not her lovable, but super introverted dad, who has raised Millie alone since she was baby when she was left on her dad's front porch because Millie's mom felt like she wasn't good enough to raise her daughter. Millie's dad, Cooper doesn't want to watch his daughter leave home and pursue her dream. Millie is a senior, but has put in an application to a pre-college out of state to pursue her Broadway career. Even Millie's drama club rival, Oliver won't get in her way of pursuing her dream. And not her "Millie Moods", the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm her. Millie needs an ally to believe in her to go to this college because her dad doesn't want to see her leave home.

When an accidentally left open browser window brings Millie to her dad's embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do: find her mom. Millie was raised by her dad, and her aunt Heather. Millie has her best friend, Teddy who lives across the hall from Millie help her find her mom. Millie applies for an internship with Oliver. As these two rivals try to prove each other wrong, they find themselves getting closer to each other, but what Oliver doesn't know is that Millie is trying to find her mom. But Oliver thinks Millie is just doing this internship to get back at him for all the times he annoyed her throughout high school. When You Get The Chance is a novel about falling in love, making a mess, and learning to let go. It it a glittery and joyful novel, family lost and found, and discovering who you really are.

At this internship, there's Steph, a still aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. Millie thinks Steph acts just like her, so could Steph be Millie's mom? There's Farrah, a dance teacher that Millie signs up for dance classes with, Farrah clearly doesn't have the two left feet Millie has. Millie realizes she can't dance for the life of her when she almost trips over people in the dance class. Millie finds out that Farrah and her aunt Heather are dating, so Farrah can't be Millie's mom. And then there's Beth, who is a chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with a fifteen year old daughter, Chloe, does that mean Beth is Millie's mom and Chloe is Millie's step sister? I'm not going to say anything because I don't want to spoil the story, so you'll need to read it for yourself to find out who Millie's mom is.

How can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? I'm sad this book ended because I just wanted to keep reading, it was just so so so good!! But once you start reading this book you will NOT be disappointed!! I loved the quirks and banter between all these wonderful characters. I felt like I was right there watching Millie pursue her dream, and find her mom. I loved the friendship between Millie and Teddy. I loved how Millie opened her arms and made Chloe feel welcome. The ending of this story made my heart swell, I just loved every minute of it!!! Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book, a cozy blanket, and some snacks and drinks, because once you start reading you won't be able to stop!!! This book was unputdownable for me!!! This book definitely had everything I could ask for in a book!!!!!
Profile Image for Claude's Bookzone.
1,551 reviews271 followers
January 25, 2022
3.5 Stars

That was a chaotically fun outing with aspiring Broadway diva, Millie Price. This book is filled with quirkily cool characters. There were parts that I think could have been edited out to make for a tighter reading experience as I did find my mind wandering at a couple of points, but it ended on a high note...see what I did there?

CW: Child abandonment
Profile Image for h o l l i s .
2,723 reviews2,306 followers
January 3, 2022
As much as I was super keen to read more by this author, who is quickly becoming a fave, I was a little worried about some similar echoes to her sophomore debut what with another family-based secret and/or discovery being a main plot point. But honestly this was so different that if you are likewise worried, don't be.

I'll also admit (yes, we're apparently starting off with all the negatives, why not) that Millie took some time to warm up to. And she had her moments (not to be confused with her Millie Moods). But, like all Lord books, the vibes, the warmth, the ensemble, it all just.. works.

I'm not sure this outshines TWEET CUTE but it might be on par with YOU HAVE A MATCH. This has a fewer laugh out loud moments but makes up for it by one of the sweetest best-friend relationships and there is some good quality banter between Millie and her love interest.

This made me both long to watch Mamma Mia! (the story more or less follows the plot of the musical) and also cringe in fear at the idea of someone related to me discovering an old LiveJournal (god, so many horrors, yes, I did just do a quick google to make sure I had deleted mine) but, despite how wrong and weird the whole investigative plot went, I really liked how -- sneaky underhanded intentions notwithstanding -- Millie did it and how it ended up. And much like Millie herself, I actually forgot what the catalyst was that made her finally set out to determine who her mother might be. Sure, it wasn't the real reason, it wasn't the only reason, but it was the push. But in doing so it shed light on all the strength and love and greatness she had in her life even without a mother and that.. that was lovely and sweet and yes okay fine I teared up a few times whatever.

I don't think this contemporary is such a standout that I'll remember it as vividly as, say, Lord's debut, but in an era where my YA consumption is going down, and everything feels like it's already been done to death, this left me feeling really content and delighted and soft and I had a really good time with these characters. With three books under her belt, this author is an auto-read for me and I'm excited to see what she does next.

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
Profile Image for ☾.
259 reviews1 follower
January 8, 2022
meh. a flat 3 stars.

besides it being a very average read, it also felt weirdly middle-grade rather than YA? i don’t know whether to blame that on millie’s internal dialogue, external dialogue, or the way the plot moved in general.

despite this book being very meh for me, i’m still going to continue reading emma lord releases 🤝

-
recommend: ermmm, no? not a definite no, because it’s definitely a light, 2010-disney-channel-original-movie read (which i can eat up at times), so i recommend it to anyone looking for that. but i did feel like i could have spent my time reading something better, so i can confidently say that i don’t recommend this to past me. i also don’t recommend this to anyone who bases how much they like a book on how much they like the main character, because millie was… anyway. or to anyone who dislikes when certain things happen without making complete sense simply for convenience of the plot direction.
Profile Image for Susana.
353 reviews229 followers
February 9, 2022
3.5 stars

This was fun but that ending was too damn perfect (read: unrealistic).

-----------------

At this point, I'll pick up anything this woman writes

GIVE ME ALL THE FEELS, I'M READY FOR IT

description


Expected release date: January 2022
Profile Image for rish.
18 reviews56 followers
August 26, 2021
★★★★☆ // 4 s t a r s
My Book Blog — Apollo Approved

Thank you St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Review
How do I start this because I honestly don't know. Well, let's just take a moment to praise Emma Lord because here she is, doing it again. Anyone who's met me knows that I very rarely give four stars to contemporary books, I rate them on almost a completely different brain scale than others. But, here we are with the second book by Emma Lord, up at four stars (and she's only published three), like she really takes the cake as my favorite contemporary author at this point. Go read Tweet Cute. Now.

Okay, so When You Get the Chance is about Millie Price, a high-school actor who has big dreams for broadway. Once her dad tells her she can't go to precollege in LA (they reside in NYC), Millie makes it her mission to find her mother (who left her when she was a baby at her dad's doorstep) because she knows that her missing mom was also a broadway girl like her and would most likely side with her over her dad. This obviously lends way to a Mamma Mia! inspired plot point in which she attempts to find her mom (unlike Sophie who is finding her dad). Also unlike Mamma Mia!, she does find out who her mother is at the and so if you're like me and thought at the end of Mamma Mia! that is was crazy that Sophie didn't just take a DNA test and find out if Sam was actually her dad (because we were all rooting for Sam, you know it), this book is more for you than any other.

Honestly, I have nothing to say other than I loved it? It could have been a five star read, the only reason it wasn't is because it was just very predictable. All the twists were fairly obvious, and we enjoy them, don't get me wrong, but still. Also, I'll be honest, the romance also fell flat. Yes, enemies-to-lovers, blah blah blah. But, while it was important (kind of) to the plot (KIND of), it wasn't highlighted. Which I am not against, romance is not my favorite thing to read, but I do read it a lot (specifically contemporary romance) which is really weird, but also it's more like I like fluff and I don't like details…Like make me squeal but I don't care about your problems, I guess? This is going into rant territory, back to the book. Oliver and Millie are very cute, and of course, I ship them like crazy, and like I said I don't love romance too much, but I kind of wish there was more? There were moments where I was like, "If Oliver shows up right now, I think I would die from emotions" kinda think, ya know?

❝ ‘Millie, you’re not a person,’ he says. ‘You’re a roller coaster. My seatbelt is buckled. I have no idea where you’re going, but I’m in for the ride’ ❞

Anyway, this was the most confusing review, I literally just wrote words down and didn't proofread it whatsoever…But, eyes peeled for When You Get the Chance, for all my contemporary and Mamma Mia! lovers, this one's for you.

Read...If You Liked
Tweet Cute
Daisy Jones & The Six
Profile Image for spillingthematcha.
739 reviews1,141 followers
February 8, 2023
Mam wielką słabość do książek tej autorki! Cudownie spędzam przy nich czas.
Profile Image for Jacob Proffitt.
3,311 reviews2,153 followers
September 15, 2022
I had trouble with Millie, as a character, and that kept me from fully engaging with this story. The side characters, most especially Oliver, kept me going as there is a rich tapestry of people close to her that I enjoyed very much.

There's a desperation to Millie based on a years-old video of her that went viral. And then was memed. And that ended up hampering her in auditions for parts as people only associated her with that video and its cute presentation. She has withdrawn from auditioning since then and has been reinventing looks for herself in order to gain separation from it. And nothing says "I've overcome my youthful awkwardness" like enrolling in a "precollege" theater program that would take her to LA for her final year of High School. A program that accepted her after months of auditions and sneaking and assuming that her father would go along with it.

He doesn't go along with it.

So the plot is Millie trying to find her mother for reasons that are mostly emotional and have to do with arranging a counterbalance to her father's refusal. At least, I think that was the motivation. The thing is, once she identifies a couple likely candidates (her father isn't forthcoming about who her mother actually is), she gets weirdly shy all of a sudden. Which seems out of character. Even more out of character is lying and hedging and, frankly, doing everything in her power to avoid actually finding the answer to a question that is relatively urgent.

So I spent the entire book going "why is she dorking around with these subterfuges when a flat-out question or two would get her exactly what she wants and without all the ancillary embarrassment?" And the only answer my brain could find was "so there would be a book". And that sat poorly with me.

That said, I was entertained. A lot of that is Oliver, as I mentioned above, but some of it is also all the fallout of the awkward lies. Having a friend group from college essentially rediscover themselves, and that they still have lots in common, drew me in very well. And the messages of family and support and love were kind of cool, too.

I'm almost tempted to bump up this rating, but when Millie decided to disregard credible guidance that went against her precollege plan for no good reason (I mean, beyond keeping the story going) that kind of tanked the building good feelings for me. So let's say three stars for being basically entertaining, but not something I'd care to repeat.

A note about theater kids: I was theater-adjacent in High School, so some of the personalities and shenanigans resonated with me. But I was only casually adjacent, so I didn't find it nostalgic or particularly endearing. I'm willing to bet that readers who have a background more closely theater-involved will find this very engaging for those aspects of the story alone. It's very well presented and felt authentic to me.

A note about Chaste: Millie and Oliver should probably have been together years ago as they are pretty perfect for each other. An old misunderstanding and some subsequent antagonism prevented that so this book is mostly them finding their way to a détente that extends into understanding and, eventually, trust, friendship, and love. There's some hand holding, and a kiss or two, but that's all. So it is very chaste.
Profile Image for Syndi.
3,711 reviews1,038 followers
March 11, 2022
When You Get the Chance has Mamma Mia vibe on the story. It is fun, YA novel with the theme of finding yourself. The audiobook is about 10 hours long.

Despite so many good reviews about Miss Lord's work, I found myself not so enthusiastic liking this book. I tried to find something so I can give this book more than 3 stars.
Alas, I do not connect with Millie's jouney. I think the story is too long. Some of the scenes have nothing to do with the story developed.

Anyway, moving on....

3 stars
Profile Image for Fanna.
1,071 reviews523 followers
February 2, 2022
Lord's reads have been a hit or miss for me, with Tweet Cute still fresh in my memory for the grilled sandwiches playing cupid and with You Have a Match being an averagely romantic story set up in a camp of clichés. But I'm happy to say this recent one has been close to hit!

↳ consider reading this review over on my blog!

Living in New York, Millie dreams of becoming a famous Broadway star and now she's gotten into a performing arts school in Los Angeles. But when her introverted single father minds the distance, despite her grandparents being LA based, Millie is determined to find her biological mother—the woman who shares her love for the stage. She knows her mother would say 'yes' to her dream school, and so begins Millie's search for her mother, and eventually herself.

The parental mystery idea didn't work in You Have a Match for me, but it pleasantly worked here. Maybe it's the refreshing internal monologue that Lord brings through Millie's prose, maybe it's the father's LiveJournal that is being scoured by Millie, or maybe it's the backdrop of NYC streets that lets you effortlessly escape through the whimsical plot. But it surprisingly entertains.

As for the romance, it's clear through my reactions to Lord's previous works and this one that enemies-to-lovers triumphs best friends-to-lovers—for me. The rivalry that hooked me in Tweet Cute manages to engage me here through a summer internship that motivates two opposites to banter; a great recipe for teen romance, if you ask me. In addition to the fun, the emotional tangibility of this contemporary is worth appreciating for the balance it brings through Millie's unapologetic dreams, upbeat friendships, and a dad-daughter dynamic.

Maybe if I was interested in theatre or Mamma Mia! or '90s musical references, I would've enjoyed this more but that only shows you how you might like reading this book without any passion for these, so do pick it up when you get the chance.

if you wish to support: blog | ko-fi | twitter
Profile Image for Sabi.
1,259 reviews359 followers
April 17, 2022
This is a must for Mama Mia Fans, but for others, it can be bit too much...



Things I liked:

🧡 The story: The concept is nice. Mamma Mia for young adults. Of course, fans would like it..

🧡 Friendship: YA's have one of the best friend groups and this was the case in this book as well.

Things I wasn't impressed with:

The romance element: I didn't feel the chemistry between the couple, it felt forced. That slight enemies to lovers element wasn't needed.

Too much Drama? I know, I know, it's a Mamma Mia amd maybe you'll like it, but for me, it was too much dramatic at points.
Profile Image for Booktastically Amazing.
584 reviews463 followers
May 31, 2022
In the most eloquent of words my personality stealing self (that kidnapped the MCs too)...


This book was GOOD. Like ice cream sunday good. Like, end of the week, start of the weekend after a month of exams, torture, oral presentations that basically destroyed me, essay writing, calculus calculating, GOOD.
Profile Image for Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner).
396 reviews1,795 followers
January 11, 2022
"embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003"

This makes me feel ridiculously old and called out lol.

(also reminds me to delete my super embarassingly moody/emo Xanga and Myspace one day so Riley does not in fact EVER stumble upon it)


MY THOUGHTS:

I really enjoyed this Mamma Mia inspired story! The word that best sums it up for me is delightful.

It was just a delightful reading experience watching her try to find her mom, beat her arch nemesis at their internship, convince her dad to let her go across the country for pre-college and just generally traipse across NYC.

There is a lot of heartwarming moments, some funny moments and the romance is so sweet -- plus the secondary cast is so great. Are things a bit silly and predictable at times? YES. But like in such a good way. In a way that this book so could have been a Disney Channel original movie that I would have thoroughly enjoyed back in the day.

A love letter to theater, New York City and family in all shapes and sizes.
Profile Image for Cortney -  Bookworm & Vine.
1,084 reviews257 followers
February 1, 2022
What an absolutely adorable and lovable book!! The Mamma Mia story line was super cute, and I laughed out loud throughout.
Profile Image for Lindsay (pawsomereads).
1,261 reviews602 followers
November 26, 2021
4.5⭐️
When You Get the Chance stars Millie, a rising senior who has big Broadway dreams and the talent to back it up. She was raised by a single dad and aunt who have always supported her in all of her endeavors. But when she and her best friend, Teddy, stumble upon her dad’s LiveJournal page from 2003, she starts wondering more about her mom and sets off on a journey to find her in a very Mamma Mia-like fashion. Add in a rivals-to-lovers romance and a great cast of supporting characters and you’ve got an award-worthy read!
I highly recommend listening to the Mamma Mia soundtrack while reading this one just to really give yourself the full immersive experience. This book was full of theater and Broadway references as well as a lot of love for Nee York City. If you’re a fan of bright lights in the big city, this one is definitely for you.
Millie was such a fun and energetic main character. She was truly infectious and magnetic and I was rooting for her throughout the whole story. I was totally emotionally invested in her goal of finding her mom and pursuing her dream of starting in a musical. I loved that she was confident in herself but also showed character growth over the course of the book.
This was a fun and fast read that focused a lot on family, finding and being yourself and creating the perfect milkshake. It was super sweet and I can’t wait to keep reading more books by this author!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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