I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Romance Rivalry
by Susan Lee
Published by HarperCollins on May 13, 2025
Genres: YA Romance
Pages: 368
Format: Audible Audiobook, Kindle, Paperback
Source: NetGalley
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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.
Perfect for fans of:
📚 Enemies to Lovers
💘 Fake Dating
🏫 College Rom-Coms
💬 Banter for Days
🎥 A+ Pop Culture References
✨ Books about loving books
The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee is a hilarious, unputdownable book about how two young adults who love the romance genre use it to start their dating life.
Can Irene Park fall in love and get everything she wants?
Irene Park
The main female character is Irene Park, and I love everything about her. Sure, she has some moments where she falls into the whole trope of, she-doesn’t-realize-the-guys-feelings-about-her but that is endearing. I love how she grows into her own person in college and, with her newfound friends, realizes she needs to voice her own opinions at home to make her family see that maybe what they want her to do isn’t what she wants to do. It also doesn’t help that she is the middle child and feels like she isn’t good enough, like her older and younger siblings are. To me, and Aiden, she comes alive when talking about her romance books, and even in college, that shows.
Irene deserves to make her family and herself see that Irene matters and what Irene has to say matters. I loved Irene as a character, and I feel like we would get along even if she reads more spicy romance novels than I do.
Aiden Jeon
Aiden Jeon is Irene’s nemesis online. Okay, that’s more of how Irene sees him, since really, he’s just a follower who got inspired by Irene to read the genre and realize that he loves it. I honestly love how he is handling himself and how he is paying for his college education. Aiden’s dream is amazing, and I hope he succeeds and that Irene promotes him on her channel.
Another thing I like about Aiden is that he isn’t afraid to show his emotions, which is rare for a guy.
The Romance
Aiden and Irene’s romance definitely wasn’t expected to happen. Let alone for Irene to realize that maybe things can change in college for the better than for the worse, and that she can’t let fear dictate how she can live her life to the fullest. The best thing about these two is that they both fall into the trope of the he-falls-first-but-she-falls-harder one, and I loved seeing that play out in this novel. Their romance was cute to read while it was unfolding, and how Aiden slowly let his feelings show around Irene, even if Irene never noticed it.
Five Stars
My rating for The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee is five stars. I loved the story and couldn’t put it down once I started to read it. As soon as I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Irene and Aiden were the cutest pairing, and of course, their two friends helping them out were amazing. I loved the references throughout the story that just had me chuckling the entire time. Ms. Lee, you are a fantastic writer, and I can’t wait to read more books from you in the future.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
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About Susan Lee
Susan Lee is the author of the critically acclaimed and reader favorite young adult romantic comedies SEOULMATES and THE NAME DROP. Her work has been featured in national outlets such as Buzzfeed, NPR, and Pop Sugar. Kirkus Reviews calls Susan’s voice “honest, fresh and thoughtful”. A graduate of UC San Diego, Susan built a career as an HR executive at some of today’s hottest companies, until she realized that writing stories was a more impactful and powerful form of resistance and change. Now she channels her energy into writing Happily Ever Afters for those historically underrepresented in Romance. When she is not writing (or painfully procrastinating from writing), Susan can be found down the rabbit holes of her many obsessions including listening to Kpop, binge watching K-dramas, collecting sneakers, building mechanical keyboards, and obsessing over her two adorable, but ill-behaved chihuahuas.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 Goodreads RC
- 2025 Romance Book Reading Challenge
- 2025 Young Adult Book RC
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