Bubbling up with Helena

• Title: For the Record
• Author: Emma Lord
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
• Release Date: 8/12/25
• Genre: Romance
• Age Range: Adult
• Rating: ★★★★★
• Publisher’s Summary: An electrifying rom com of rivalry and redemption, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Daisy Jones and the Six, from New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord. 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 the 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.

Hello, Emma Lord’s biggest fan here. I loved her first adult book, The Breakup Pact, and I was thrilled to get an early copy of her second adult romance.

I love a good second chance romance. Sam and Mackenzie have a deep professional and personal history. It is clear from the beginning of the novel how much they mean to one another even though they made names for themselves as rivals onstage. It is my kryptonite when a romantic pairing helps each other thrive both personally and professionally, and that is absolutely the case here. Sam and Mackenzie are able to write incredible music together, and they do so quickly. Sam helps Mackenzie feel confident in her voice again after her surgery, and Mackenzie supports Sam as he meets his birth father. I throughly enjoyed reading their relationship.

At the release of The Breakup Pact, I remember Lord comparing For the Record to Taylor Swift’s album, Red, and having read it now, I absolutely understand why. Red has a darker and moodier tone than Swift’s earlier work, and I’d say that’s true of For the Record as well. I also can imagine that the music Mackenzie puts out as Seven sounds like the music from Red. Seven puts out seven songs about her exes, which certainly sounds like something Swift would do.

One of my new favorite things to find in a romance novel is a main character who is a parent. Sam learns about his son when he is four years old. He immediately does everything he can to be there for his son. He has a great relationship with his son’s mom and even lives next door to her. Mackenzie respects and admires this about Sam as well. It is hard not to respect Sam for the loving way he parents his child. It is just one of several things that makes Sam such a likable character.

It wouldn’t be an Emma Lord novel without some delicious treats playing a role. Sam’s son’s mother owns a bakery and Sam’s son, Ben, enjoys coming up with fun creations like “pizza muffins.” Rocket, who enjoys hanging out at the bakery, even refers to Ben as a “dessert anarchist.” Reading that scene, I couldn’t help but smile because it felt like such a classic Emma Lord moment.

Lord created an app in this novel, Tick Tune. The app combines TikTok and Snapchat and allows artists to anonymously post music that disappears after you listen to it. Mackenzie uses this app to post music anonymously as she gets used to her new voice after thyroid surgery. While there are logisitical concerns that the book raises that would reveal the identities of the artists on Tick Tune, it does sound like a fun app that I wish were real. I also would love an album of Seven’s songs to accompany this book.

I’m loving Lord’s transition to adult work. I am eagerly awaiting announcement of her next book. Her work never fails to emotionally move me…and make me laugh.