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jackiehorne's review
I'm usually a huge Parker fan. But this Hawaiian-set retelling of EMMA didn't work for me. In part because there are a lot of things about EMMA that just don't translate well to our times. And in part because Parker's novel was too short to give enough space to all Austen's characters and plotlines. I got about a third of the way in, and didn't have the desire to keep going :-(
ninarivagf's review against another edition
1.0
DNF. this was very disappointing as a austen retelling. and this was extremely disappointing as a queer story.
margaret's review
2.0
This f/f retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma is set in present-day Hawaii, following a young woman named Theo who is determined to set up everyone around her in perfect relationships. Her meddling goes too far, though, with her new friend Laurel, and Theo is forced to acknowledge the fact that she doesn’t know her own feelings at all.
*Deep sigh* Emma is one of my favorite Austen novels, and even though I appreciate the fact that this author made it more diverse and modern…well, this ain’t it. My first problem is the fact that Theo, the “Emma” character, feels extremely immature. I know that immaturity is an essential part of that character, but this felt too far – she reads like a fifteen year old rather than a twenty-five year old. I could tell that a lot, probably too much, was influenced by Clueless. Plus, her manipulation of people around her, which is mostly innocent and well-meant in the original text – becomes more malicious and self-serving in this version. Emma is already a difficult character to like, and this retelling makes her downright unbearable.
Besides that, the writing was clunky and unpolished. Often it felt like huge chunks of dialogue were copied from the original text, updated into modern language, and left there without any consideration of flow or character voice. The only good thing was that this book was short, so it didn’t take long to get through!
Content warnings: sexual assault
*Deep sigh* Emma is one of my favorite Austen novels, and even though I appreciate the fact that this author made it more diverse and modern…well, this ain’t it. My first problem is the fact that Theo, the “Emma” character, feels extremely immature. I know that immaturity is an essential part of that character, but this felt too far – she reads like a fifteen year old rather than a twenty-five year old. I could tell that a lot, probably too much, was influenced by Clueless. Plus, her manipulation of people around her, which is mostly innocent and well-meant in the original text – becomes more malicious and self-serving in this version. Emma is already a difficult character to like, and this retelling makes her downright unbearable.
Besides that, the writing was clunky and unpolished. Often it felt like huge chunks of dialogue were copied from the original text, updated into modern language, and left there without any consideration of flow or character voice. The only good thing was that this book was short, so it didn’t take long to get through!
Content warnings: sexual assault
anngarth8's review
2.0
A remarkable beat-for-beat adaptation of Emma, but unfortunately it wasn't very well-written.
agentkp's review against another edition
1.0
dnf. couldn't get past chapter 10, the main character is just so fucking annoying! She's way too self centered and she sounds like she's 15 instead of 25 in the most annoying way possible. I get that the story is about showing how self centered she is but it was done in a too annoying way for me. Also the way she talks about Kini and how she sees her as a sister and mother figure but also there's the sexual tension there and the fact that Kini basically helped raise her but they're also the romantic pairing? Just big no for me.
angieinbooks's review against another edition
4.0
It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that Emma, not Pride and Prejudice, is the Jane Austen novel that works in modern adaptations. My love of all things Austen combined with the tepid reviews on If I Loved You Less kept me away from this book longer than it probably would have normally, which is a shame because I really, really liked it.
***This review is probably pretty spoilery. But only in that way I'd be spoiling a novel that was published more than 200 years ago. I'm not going to tag this with spoiler tags because I think Emma is pretty fair game and If I Loved You Less is fairly faithful to the events in Emma. If you don't want spoilers, do not read any further.***
Emma is a hard book to like. Of the character, Austen wrote that she had created "a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like." And Theo Sullivan, this adaptation's Emma, is every bit the spoiled, though well-meaning, pain in the ass as Jane Austen's Emma, only Theo world revolves around the community of Hannalei in Kauai, Hawaii. And I think Tamsen Parker does a really great job keeping close to Austen's Emma while also making this her own story.
I've always struggled with the Mr. Knightley/Emma pairing. And it's not the age-gap alone, which I can forgive, but the fact that Mr. Knightley--a teenager when Emma was born--knew her since her birth and had watched her grow up. In If I Loved You Less, the Mr. Knightley character becomes Kini, a woman who owns a local bakery and who has known Theo since she was born (when Kini was 14 years old). Turns out this detail is even odder when you adapt that for modern readers.
I really liked Kini, but my only issue with her is the continued references to her silver-infused black hair. She's 39, not 59. Even if she is going gray prematurely, I doubt that would be the defining feature of her hair. I just felt it was an odd choice--why emphasize how much older she is than Theo? Why make her seem older than their 14-year difference? Having said all that, I actually thought Parker did a great job leading the readers towards a romance with Kini and Theo, so even if I have reservations, I think it's handled as best as it could be. But this book isn't a romance in the traditional sense. The Theo/Kini romance doesn't occur until close to the end of the novel, so you're really reading about Theo and the way she interacts with and interferes in the lives of her neighbors and friends. And I really enjoyed watching it all happen right there on that Hannalei beach.
***This review is probably pretty spoilery. But only in that way I'd be spoiling a novel that was published more than 200 years ago. I'm not going to tag this with spoiler tags because I think Emma is pretty fair game and If I Loved You Less is fairly faithful to the events in Emma. If you don't want spoilers, do not read any further.***
Emma is a hard book to like. Of the character, Austen wrote that she had created "a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like." And Theo Sullivan, this adaptation's Emma, is every bit the spoiled, though well-meaning, pain in the ass as Jane Austen's Emma, only Theo world revolves around the community of Hannalei in Kauai, Hawaii. And I think Tamsen Parker does a really great job keeping close to Austen's Emma while also making this her own story.
I've always struggled with the Mr. Knightley/Emma pairing. And it's not the age-gap alone, which I can forgive, but the fact that Mr. Knightley--a teenager when Emma was born--knew her since her birth and had watched her grow up. In If I Loved You Less, the Mr. Knightley character becomes Kini, a woman who owns a local bakery and who has known Theo since she was born (when Kini was 14 years old). Turns out this detail is even odder when you adapt that for modern readers.
I really liked Kini, but my only issue with her is the continued references to her silver-infused black hair. She's 39, not 59. Even if she is going gray prematurely, I doubt that would be the defining feature of her hair. I just felt it was an odd choice--why emphasize how much older she is than Theo? Why make her seem older than their 14-year difference? Having said all that, I actually thought Parker did a great job leading the readers towards a romance with Kini and Theo, so even if I have reservations, I think it's handled as best as it could be. But this book isn't a romance in the traditional sense. The Theo/Kini romance doesn't occur until close to the end of the novel, so you're really reading about Theo and the way she interacts with and interferes in the lives of her neighbors and friends. And I really enjoyed watching it all happen right there on that Hannalei beach.
charlottemmeline's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
leahkarge's review against another edition
2.0
This retelling is definitely true to the original, which means it has a lot of the same issues. Ones that are really hard to overlook, especially in the time in which we live.
Read the review on my blog.
Read the review on my blog.
eemms's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe more of a 3.5 but I'm rounding up for good f/f (a sad rarity!) and overall I just had good feelings about this after reading so much crap this past month or so.
Full review is on my blog
Full review is on my blog
j29's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5