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jovienna's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
was ok but i .. lowkey regret buying this. should have saved my money & borrowed from the library
gold_star_reader's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was such a fun spin on the Emma/Clueless story, with definitely leaning towards the Clueless side. Emmett decides it's a great idea to setup his "study" partner who wants a boyfriend, which is disappointing to Emmett who is completely happy with their friends with benefits situation. But as a good friend and with one successful matchmaking under his belt, this should be easy. And that's where everything begins to go wrong. His ex-best friend/next door neighbor/former crush Miles thinks this is a terrible idea and as one plan after another fails, Emmett needs to work on rethinking everything he thought he knew. The descriptions in this book, from the food, sounds, colors, etc. really painted the scenes in such vibrant words, everything seemed to pop off the page. I think it plays into Emmett's focus on appearances and being 'nice.' It adds such a great element to the story, especially in the audio version.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content and Grief
Minor: Medical content and Medical trauma
celakeman's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sidsidstories's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I am usually very skeptical of retellings, especially Jane Austen ones, because they often miss the mark with emotional depth. There are many superficial retellings of this story, that focus on the humor, rather than the character development in the original story. That was not the case with this book. The story was written so well. The characters were written wonderfully and everyone was quite loveable and adapted well from the original text. The themes of grief, family, and self-identity grounded the book well.
sunshinedragon14's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
theamyleblanc's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Emma isn't one of the more popular Austen adaptations so this book was very exciting. The cover is cheeky and cute. And maybe in my excitement, I was a little blind because I don't remember reading much of the summary at the time.
This sentence sets very high expectations: "A modern-day gay YA Emma, with the spikey social critique of Austen plus the lush over-the-top romance of Bridgerton."
The adage is true: comparison is the death of joy. The romance falls very short -- I was hesitant to even shelve this as a romance! There doesn't seem to be much in the way of social critique. In fact, Emmett seems consumed with appearances and afraid of failure and loss. It prevents a larger conversation from developing. There's potential here but it wasn't realized.
Another sentence from the summary that wasn't lived up to: "Emmett brings you lush romance all while exploring the complexities of queer culture." The only real exploration of queer culture is that almost everyone is queer. There are a myriad of queer identities and queer relationships shown in the story. But it hardly explores the complexities beyond the surface.
And that's the biggest issue here. When your readers know the source material, they know the shape of the story and are reading it to see your take. The characters, the pivotal moments, they need to be really well done. Otherwise, things feel flat and surface-y. I couldn't connect with any of the characters. I knew pretty much the way things would play out and the dialogue wasn't compelling. The one bright spot is Knight's musings on queer relationships. But it wasn't enough to make up for everything else.
I'm disappointed.
This sentence sets very high expectations: "A modern-day gay YA Emma, with the spikey social critique of Austen plus the lush over-the-top romance of Bridgerton."
The adage is true: comparison is the death of joy. The romance falls very short -- I was hesitant to even shelve this as a romance! There doesn't seem to be much in the way of social critique. In fact, Emmett seems consumed with appearances and afraid of failure and loss. It prevents a larger conversation from developing. There's potential here but it wasn't realized.
Another sentence from the summary that wasn't lived up to: "Emmett brings you lush romance all while exploring the complexities of queer culture." The only real exploration of queer culture is that almost everyone is queer. There are a myriad of queer identities and queer relationships shown in the story. But it hardly explores the complexities beyond the surface.
And that's the biggest issue here. When your readers know the source material, they know the shape of the story and are reading it to see your take. The characters, the pivotal moments, they need to be really well done. Otherwise, things feel flat and surface-y. I couldn't connect with any of the characters. I knew pretty much the way things would play out and the dialogue wasn't compelling. The one bright spot is Knight's musings on queer relationships. But it wasn't enough to make up for everything else.
I'm disappointed.
jlannh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
coriabc3d's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jennguare's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sportie55's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don't like Emmett, all the other character's in the book are pretty good but him as the protagonist wasn't great, in my personal opinion. His constant need to meddle and feel like everyone's against him and projecting his ideals onto others, especially Harrison, drove me nuts. The diversity and discussions of queer relationships and identity were good though.