Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

A huge thank you to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for gifting me review copies of When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord.

Millie dreams of being a Broadway star. Actually, she's not just dreaming about it, she's working her butt off to make it happen. So she's thrilled to find out she's being offered a pre-college place in a prestigious school. The only problem is, it's on the other side of the country and her dad has already told her no.

Millie starts to wonder if her mom would be more supportive, except she doesn't actually know who or where her mom is—she left Millie with her dad in college and hasn't seen her since. So, in Mama Mia style, Millie starts doing some sleuthing, with the help of her neighbor. Of course, nothing goes according to plan (because that would be a fairly boring book) and there are all sorts of hijinks along the way and plenty of run-ins with Millie's rival, Oliver.

I'm not much of a musical theater lover, but if you are I'm sure you'll love this one. There is plenty to keep you entertained even if you're not though. There's love, found family, drama, mystery, rivalries, deceit and so much more.

Millie's character irritated me for quite a while, but by the end of the book I'd definitely come around and grown to love her. And I really enjoyed all of the supporting characters you get to know along the way too.

The audiobook was pretty fantastic, performed by Jesse Vilinsky (who you might recognize from Better Than the Movies among other titles). It's 10 hours and 17 minutes in length but I listened to it in one day over the weekend.

You can download the audiobook right now, or get a physical copy via the button below.

Synopsis:

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, 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?