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A review by jkneebone
Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Just As You Are is a sweet sapphic take on a Pride & Prejudice retelling. If you like romance and P&P, you will probably enjoy this book. Our heroine, Liz Baker, is the advice/quiz/fluff writer at a struggling queer magazine called the Nether Fields. (We won't talk about how long it took me to get that reference.) Her three roommates - talented journalist Jane, social media whiz Katie, and kind of a jerk Lydia - also work at the magazine. As the story opens, the Nether Fields staff is preparing for the closure of the magazine, when - surprise! - the publication is purchased by two well-off queer women.
Her friends are thrilled, but Liz is bummed, since she was planning to use the severance pay from NF to support her while she followed her dream of writing a novel. She's even more frustrated when she meets the new owners of the magazine. Bailey Cox is friendly and enthusiastic, if inexperienced in the world of publishing or running a business, but minority partner Daria Fitzgerald is a grump, overly concerned with the (admittedly bad) financial state of the magazine.
As you can imagine, Liz and Daria get off on the wrong foot, while Jane and Bailey hit it off extremely well. Liz gets dirt on Daria from hottie Weston, but it turns out that Weston is not who she seems. Liz and Daria take a trip to Boston to visit Daria's Aunt Catherine, where they also see Daria's ex, Caroline. The standard P&P plot is followed pretty closely, albeit with the necessary adaptations for a story about queer women and nonbinary people in modern NYC.
Just As You Are is a short book, and an easy read - I finished it in just a few sittings, and I liked how easy it was to digest. Although Liz is given some depth with discussion of her gender identity and writing dreams, most of the characters are fairly flat, simply by virtue of there being so many of them and so much going on in a shorter-than-average romance novel. Still, my heart went all twisty when Daria confessed her feelings (and Liz was appropriately horrified), and I liked the choice the author made with Lydia, as a way to modernize the Lydia/Wickham situation. It wasn't perfect, but it was an enjoyable romance read, especially if you're a fan of Pride & Prejudice. Not doing anything revolutionary, but definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon.
Her friends are thrilled, but Liz is bummed, since she was planning to use the severance pay from NF to support her while she followed her dream of writing a novel. She's even more frustrated when she meets the new owners of the magazine. Bailey Cox is friendly and enthusiastic, if inexperienced in the world of publishing or running a business, but minority partner Daria Fitzgerald is a grump, overly concerned with the (admittedly bad) financial state of the magazine.
As you can imagine, Liz and Daria get off on the wrong foot, while Jane and Bailey hit it off extremely well. Liz gets dirt on Daria from hottie Weston, but it turns out that Weston is not who she seems. Liz and Daria take a trip to Boston to visit Daria's Aunt Catherine, where they also see Daria's ex, Caroline. The standard P&P plot is followed pretty closely, albeit with the necessary adaptations for a story about queer women and nonbinary people in modern NYC.
Just As You Are is a short book, and an easy read - I finished it in just a few sittings, and I liked how easy it was to digest. Although Liz is given some depth with discussion of her gender identity and writing dreams, most of the characters are fairly flat, simply by virtue of there being so many of them and so much going on in a shorter-than-average romance novel. Still, my heart went all twisty when Daria confessed her feelings (and Liz was appropriately horrified), and I liked the choice the author made with Lydia, as a way to modernize the Lydia/Wickham situation. It wasn't perfect, but it was an enjoyable romance read, especially if you're a fan of Pride & Prejudice. Not doing anything revolutionary, but definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content