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hannahmichele5's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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? No
5.0
I LOVED this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished a few days ago but coming back to write my review! Just as You Are is blurbed as a queer, contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I loved EVERYTHING about this book. It is laugh-out-loud funny, full of diverse characters, and will have you all in your feels. The friendship between the roommates was probably my favorite part (besides Daria's suits obvi). It was so fun to see their dynamic and made me so nostalgic for my early 20's (even though the character's arent in their early 20's lol).
Anyways, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND to any and everyone but especially those who are looking for a sapphic/lesbian romance. Thank you SO much to Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy!
Finished a few days ago but coming back to write my review! Just as You Are is blurbed as a queer, contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I loved EVERYTHING about this book. It is laugh-out-loud funny, full of diverse characters, and will have you all in your feels. The friendship between the roommates was probably my favorite part (besides Daria's suits obvi). It was so fun to see their dynamic and made me so nostalgic for my early 20's (even though the character's arent in their early 20's lol).
Anyways, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND to any and everyone but especially those who are looking for a sapphic/lesbian romance. Thank you SO much to Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
frantically's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
A good retelling a good story does not make.
Can you believe sapphic representation has gone so far lately?? We're getting our own toxic relationship stories 🥲
Okay, first the positives: I loved how unapologetically queer everything was — we stick together and that was shown here beautifully. There's also good starting thoughts about lesbian/sapphic gender expression and how sometimes we put ourselves back into heteronormative relationship norms by being obsessive about whether someone's a butch or a femme.
I really struggled with this, I'm sad to say. Liz wasn't developed enough at all as a main character and while Daria was developed, it wasn't in a positive sense. There's so much telling and not showing especially when it comes to their relationship. Suddenly they're confessing feelings for each other and there was just no build up to it. Daria gets her little redemption arc but she just seems to be two completely different people from the start of the book to the end.
The drama annoyed me a lot too — there's consequences for a mistake that Liz made but it's not even her fault! Suddenly she's out here apologizing to everyone for being a terrible friend but she's not even the one who made a mistake in the first place, it infuriated me so much.
So — nice butch representation, love myself a queer found family but the plot just wasn't it.
Can you believe sapphic representation has gone so far lately?? We're getting our own toxic relationship stories 🥲
Okay, first the positives: I loved how unapologetically queer everything was — we stick together and that was shown here beautifully. There's also good starting thoughts about lesbian/sapphic gender expression and how sometimes we put ourselves back into heteronormative relationship norms by being obsessive about whether someone's a butch or a femme.
I really struggled with this, I'm sad to say. Liz wasn't developed enough at all as a main character and while Daria was developed, it wasn't in a positive sense. There's so much telling and not showing especially when it comes to their relationship. Suddenly they're confessing feelings for each other and there was just no build up to it. Daria gets her little redemption arc but she just seems to be two completely different people from the start of the book to the end.
The drama annoyed me a lot too — there's consequences for a mistake that Liz made but it's not even her fault! Suddenly she's out here apologizing to everyone for being a terrible friend but she's not even the one who made a mistake in the first place, it infuriated me so much.
So — nice butch representation, love myself a queer found family but the plot just wasn't it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse
analenegrace's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.75
love love loved this! the characters felt real and weren’t perfect. Daria and Liz, as well as all of the side characters, were wonderfully written and lots of fun.
it was a P&P retelling for P&P lovers and for those who don’t/haven’t read. While it was very obviously a retelling (character names etc) it was one that took the told many times plot and elevated it, taking the characters to new heights!
I loved the authors writing style and descriptive writing. I also loved that the magazine didn’t stay open, it was realistic to the current stage of society while still letting the characters stay hopeful and end up happy.
it was a P&P retelling for P&P lovers and for those who don’t/haven’t read. While it was very obviously a retelling (character names etc) it was one that took the told many times plot and elevated it, taking the characters to new heights!
I loved the authors writing style and descriptive writing. I also loved that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Classism
caseythereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.5
Thanks to The Dial Press for the free advance copy of this book.
- Raise your hand if you're looking for a sweet, funny, and smart lesbian Pride and Prejudice retelling! Oh, everyone is looking for that, and here it is in JUST AS YOU ARE!
- This book is a loving homage to P&P, to queer culture, to trying to find yourself when you're somewhere between labels. I adored Liz and Daria, modern incarnations of Elizabeth and Darcy down to every last detail.
- One of the things I loved most about this book was how steeped in queer culture it is. So often books feature one or two queer characters surrounded by straight people, but this book is queer down to the bones. Every character is queer, they move entirely through queer spaces, and references to our pop culture touchstones abound. Heaven.
- Raise your hand if you're looking for a sweet, funny, and smart lesbian Pride and Prejudice retelling! Oh, everyone is looking for that, and here it is in JUST AS YOU ARE!
- This book is a loving homage to P&P, to queer culture, to trying to find yourself when you're somewhere between labels. I adored Liz and Daria, modern incarnations of Elizabeth and Darcy down to every last detail.
- One of the things I loved most about this book was how steeped in queer culture it is. So often books feature one or two queer characters surrounded by straight people, but this book is queer down to the bones. Every character is queer, they move entirely through queer spaces, and references to our pop culture touchstones abound. Heaven.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol
decklededgess's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
trigger warnings: gender dysphoria, emotional abuse, drug use, alcohol, sexual content, toxic friendship, anxiety, infidelity
This is an all femme cast retelling of Pride and Prejudice in found family/coworker dynamics instead of family. That is why it took me 30% of the book to realise that it was a retelling despite the names Jane, Liz, Lydia, Katie, Charlotte, and so on STARING ME IN THE FUCKING FACE. Frankly embarrassing for me.
Needless to say I am absolutely over the moon and obsessed with how good this book is. It's got all the angst, all the tension filled enemies to lovers interactions, the tight knit family/friends dynamics, and more. The drawn out tension between Liz and Daria was EXQUISITE. The way their interactions were charged with heat from the dead start...oh man oh boy.
I love how this story hit all the significant plot points of not only Jane Austen's original text but also the 2005 movie adaptation as well. It felt cinematic in an incredibly poetic way. I also really loved the small changes that allowed for this story to exist with an all queer femme cast too. The little changes did nothing to detract from the heart of the story and the emotional aspects of character relationships. It felt well crafted as an original story within the framework of it being a classic retelling.
I just really loved this book.
This is an all femme cast retelling of Pride and Prejudice in found family/coworker dynamics instead of family. That is why it took me 30% of the book to realise that it was a retelling despite the names Jane, Liz, Lydia, Katie, Charlotte, and so on STARING ME IN THE FUCKING FACE. Frankly embarrassing for me.
Needless to say I am absolutely over the moon and obsessed with how good this book is. It's got all the angst, all the tension filled enemies to lovers interactions, the tight knit family/friends dynamics, and more. The drawn out tension between Liz and Daria was EXQUISITE. The way their interactions were charged with heat from the dead start...oh man oh boy.
I love how this story hit all the significant plot points of not only Jane Austen's original text but also the 2005 movie adaptation as well. It felt cinematic in an incredibly poetic way. I also really loved the small changes that allowed for this story to exist with an all queer femme cast too. The little changes did nothing to detract from the heart of the story and the emotional aspects of character relationships. It felt well crafted as an original story within the framework of it being a classic retelling.
I just really loved this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
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