ARC Review: “You Have a Match” by Emma Lord

A huge thanks to Wednesday Books for giving me a free digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Lord’s debut novel, Tweet Cute, so I was excited to see she was releasing another book! It’s been a while since I read that one, but I found I liked both equally, and all for different reasons.

Title: You Have a Match
Author: Emma Lord
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release date: January 12, 2021 (tomorrow!)
Genre: Young adult, contemporary, romance
Length: 320 pages (hardcover)
Synopsis: (via Goodreads) “When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.

But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.

When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents—especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.

The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby’s growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.

But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones.”

If you like the movie “Parent Trap,” you’ll enjoy this book. As a matter of a fact, I love that movie and it was the first thing that came to mind as I dove deeper into the book. I then became immediately invested when Abby learned she had a secret sister because I wanted to know how/why that came to be, especially since Abby’s parents never mentioned it. As we continue reading the book, the readers become aware that is a bit of a painful part of her parents’ pasts.

While I liked all of the characters, I wanted a bit more of the friendship between Connie, Leo, and Abby. That was a bit difficult here, I think, because school is all but over and summer starts. Saying that, I loved the friends-to-lovers between Leo and Abby. I found them both completely adorable and all the confusion regarding their feelings for one another made their actual romance so much more worth it. As for Savvy and Abby’s relationship, you expect the bumps and rough patches they go through, but at the same time, I thought it was little harsh for Abby to play pranks on Savvy. I want to right it off as confusion and figuring out how to cope between learning she has a secret sister and why her parents never told her.

This is most likely the adult in me talking but I found the revelation about Savannah and Abby’s parents incredibly fascinating. The same thing goes for Savannah’s parents, which I won’t say due to spoilers. I loved how things…fell into place and you see these people picking up the pieces and the mess they made and turning it into something…good, something worthwhile and worth keeping.

I think what could have made this story a little better is having Savannah’s POV. I would have loved to know if she and Abby had the same thoughts about discovering each other, their respective parents, etc. I felt like the two sisters were dealing with a lot of things internally and externally, and while I enjoyed Abby’s POV, knowing Savannah’s would have been the icing on the cake.

Overall, this was a fun (although sometimes frustrating) and adorable book. I’ll definitely add it to my personal library, and am excited to see more from Lord.

You can check out these other reviews:

• Ahaana at Windows to Worlds gave this 4.5 stars!
• Caitlyn of Tea Time Lit rated this 5 stars!
• I secretly adore Yolanda’s bullet point list of things she liked about this book.

You can pre-order this book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, or through BookShop.org where you can support local indie stores!