Bubbling up with Helena

• Title: The Romance Rivalry
• Author: Susan Lee
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release Date: 5/15/25
• Genre: Romance
• Age Range: Young Adult
• Rating: ★★★★★
• Publisher’s Summary: She’s read every romance…except her own…Irene Park loves romance novels—so much so she’s made a career of them as an online book reviewer with a massive following. But Irene’s real life dating story? Non-existent. So when she starts her freshman year of college, she sets her sights on finding true love using the one thing she really understands…romance book tropes. If only it were that easy. Enter Aiden Jeon, Irene’s online book review rival and biggest nemesis. When Aiden challenges her to see who can find love-by-trope first, he becomes the one person standing in her way to getting everything she wants both professionally and personally, too. So when the competition takes an unexpected turn, forcing the two of them to have to partner in the ultimate trope, fake dating, Irene is not prepared for everything she believed about romance, and Aiden, to flip on its head. As Irene tackles the challenges of college life, struggles to figure out what she really wants for herself, all while trying to win the race for love, Irene realizes the answers may not be found in a romance novel. Happily Ever Afters seem so easy on page. But for Irene to find her ultimate HEA, she’ll have to get her nose out of the book and become the main character of her own story.

It is no secret that I love a good romance novel. The premise of this book immediately intrigued me, especially as someone who loves Susan Lee’s previous work. If you are a lover of romance novels like I am (and like Irene is), this book is for you.

It is so clear from this book that Lee loves romance novels. Each chapter is titled with a romance trope that comes into play in the chapter. Not only was it fun to explore all of the tropes along with the characters, but it was also a little hint about what to expect in the chapter ahead. I was most surprised to see the “secret baby” trope as a chapter heading. I’ll let you read the book to see how that trope plays out in this particular story.

I immediately liked Aiden as soon as he suggested to Irene that they should read a Jane Austen novel as part of their project. A teenage boy who not only reads romance novels, but loves Austen? Immediate green flags. I also maybe let out an immediate “aww” when he says “I wish” when someone asks if he’s dating Irene. He is sensitive and in touch with his emotions, and I want to go back to college to befriend him.

Aiden and Irene’s relationship is sweet and fun to read. It starts out as classic rivals to lovers. Not only are both in the romance book influencer space, but they also are up for the same brand sponsorship deal. Aiden’s followers even leave less than kind comments on Irene’s content. The moment where Irene confronts him about it, and it’s clear he has no idea that is happening is so sweet I loved that they come up with a competition to use romance tropes to fall in love. The concept is so fun, even though it is obvious that they will end up falling for one another.

The transition into college life is a difficult one, and Lee manages to capture that. Irene is struggling not only to define herself in this new space, but to balance school work and social life. Reading this book took me back to that moment in my life and made me feel a little nostaligic for it. It is a time when there is so much possibility ahead. As a middle child, Irene has always felt overshadowed by her siblings, but she now has the space to figure out who she is without her family and what she wants to do with her future.

I also have to say that the Intro to Lit class that Irene and Aiden are taking sounds amazing. A project that involves comparing two pieces of literature from the same genre? An extra credit assignment that explores how an author’s life experience can permeate their work? These sound great to me. Dr. Kingston, the professor, also clearly cares about his students. He reads the books Irene recommends and wants to discuss them with her, and he works with her to help her succeed when she falls behind.

Friendships are key to the college experience, and to a good romance novel in my opinion. It’s hard not to immediately love Jeannette, Irene’s roommate. She immediately embraces Irene as a friend and invites her to eat with her at the dining hall. The moment where Irene and Jeannette call each other “best friend” is so sweet. The reader gets enough information about Jeannette that it doesn’t feel like she is simply there to serve Irene’s story. It is easy to imagine that she has a life outside of the pages of the novel.

Most epilogues of books flash forward, but the epilogue of this book goes back in time to before where the story begins. Without spoiling anything, I will say that it is one of my favorite epilogues that I’ve ever read. It adds color to the entire book the reader has just finished, and it is so sweet to boot. Some people tend to skip epilogues, but I hope readers don’t skip this one.

I’ve loved all of Lee’s books, and this was no exception. Her love for romance novels jumps off every page. I look forward to her next book, her adult debut, Julia Song is Undateable.