Author: Emma Lord
Narrator: Jesse Vilinsky
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: January 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Teen
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.
There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, an ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?
My Thoughts: Stories in the teen and young adult genres are usually a lot of fun for me and, when done well as this one is, are hard to put down. New to me author Emma Lord creates a world starring Millie Price and her family and friends. Millie is a typical teenager with big dreams of making it on Broadway. In order to accomplish that, she is convinced she needs to attend a “pre-college” course in musical theater for her senior year to better prepare her.
Raised by her single parent dad and never having known her mother, Millie tends to be an overachiever, which completely made sense to me even though it seems to create more issues for Millie. After her dad tells her she can’t go to California to attend the pre-college course, she decides she is going to find her mother, get her on her side about the school and somehow, together, they will present a united front to convince her dad.
Along the way, she ends up competing for an internship at a talent agency with her annoying arch nemesis, Oliver, that made me feel like their job was nothing more than a giant scavenger hunt, so that was quite entertaining to tag along on.
I adored the chemistry between Millie and Oliver and though it’s obvious to everyone but them that they belong together, it was adorable to watch it happen. I also liked all of the prospective “Mom” candidates that Millie has identified. I thought any of these women would have been great to be the one revealed. I had my suspicions early on who she was and I was correct, but the getting there came as a surprise.
I also enjoyed all of the Mama Mia references and now, because of Millie, I want to see some Broadway shows. This is one of those stories that the reader roots for all of the characters to come out on top. There are no mean girls to fight or evil to vanquish. Just a girl living her life, trying to fulfill her dreams in the best conceivable way.
I went with the audio format and loved the performance by Jesse Vilinsky. Her narration brought out each character’s personality vibrantly and some of the one-liners she delivered had me laughing so hard. For example, a scene between Oliver and Millie when he realizes Millie got to work before him. Oliver sweeps from the elevator a beat later and immediately narrows his eyes at me. “How do you keep beating me here?” “Because I drink coffee like a real New Yorker and you drink tea like the American Revolution never happened.”
My Final Verdict: I highly recommend this book to fans of the romance, teen and young adult genres as well as readers who like stories about people with big dreams, drive and determination. This book will make you laugh and you may shed a tear or two, but you won’t mind because this book will leave a smile on your face when you finish it.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of When You Get the Chance from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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