A review by cinderrunner
Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg

emotional lighthearted tense 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

2.5

As a queer woman and a huge Pride & Prejudice fan, I wanted to adore this book. But I spent most of it just being annoyed. The queer representation was VERY heavy handed in a way that felt less organic (in a "hey, look at this great book that just so happens to feature queer characters living their lives during the plot") and much more pandering. It is the first time I (as a white person) have understood on a personal level the frustration and annoyance POC readers express when they say they are sick of books about people like them never just being simple and normal and always having to be about their difficulties. Like therr are CONSTANT corny and heavy handed queer references (like every single room in the magazine the characters work at being named for queer icons like Laverne Cox and Hayley Kiyoko or someone wearing a Tegan and Sarah shirt which didnt need to be mentioned since it had nothing to do with the plot). And of course one of Liz and Daria's first moments of connection happens after some frat bro is homophobic toward them. Elizabeth Bennett is one of my all time favorite fictional characters. She does tend to be very short sighted and rash, which Liz in this book does reflect. But the parts most readers love most of Elizabeth (like her boldness, upsides of her stubbornness, embracing of being different and herself) are nowhere to be seen in Liz. Honestly, Liz was only reflective of Elizabeth in her bad traits and was Elizabeth's polar opposite in her good traits. Liz in this book is SOOOO insecure it was difficult to read at times. I will acknowledge that I have never struggled with my gender identity or presentation and have no way to relate to Liz's struggles in that regard. But I can empathize and enjoy reading about those struggles... when im not being reminded of it every few chapters. Seriously, it felt like I couldn't get a single chapter in without at least 2-3 paragraphs of Liz being insecure in how Masc or Fem she was. Or her complaining about her love life and being annoyingly desperate for love (very NOT Elizabeth of her). Or being insecure over her skills as a writer. I was tempted to DNF this book like 1/3 of the way through because of how whiney and weak Liz is. She has no backbone and I can't take her seriously as a love interest in a romance novel when I can't fathom how anyone could deal with her BS. Most of the plot revolves around how uselessly insecure Liz is. The middle of the book once the drama picked up was actually pretty good and I started enjoying it again since it wasn't as heavy handed. But then the author ruined it in the last 3 pages by making Liz, once again, do the weirdest and most cringey crap! It took me completely out of what should have been the big coming together romantic moment. This book is such a let down to P&P fans and queer romance fans. There are FAR better LGBT+ romances out there. And I know there are other queer Pride and Prejudice retellings too.