The Code for Love and Heartbreak took a while to get going for me. This is a retelling of Emma by Jane Austen, and it was a very loyal retelling rather than an “inspired by.” For a while I was worried that this one wasn’t going to work for me. The plot was a bit slow right off, and I had forgotten how bossy and insufferable Emma can be.

But around halfway through the book. The Code for Love and Heartbreak really started to grow on me. I grew to have a lot of empathy for Emma and her frustration that she can’t control everyone around her (same!)

So while The Code for Love and Heartbreak was a bit of a mix for me, if you are a big Jane Austen fan you might want to check it out – I thought the retelling was really clever. In the original Emma is a (rather failed!) matchmaker and in this book, she was updated to be a coder making a matchmaking app.

I had to DNF it after about a third of the way through. It’s not fun, it’s not cute, and it’s not even particularly interesting.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak is a modern retelling of Emma set in high school. Emma is a co president of her schools coding club. The club has to make a project for a contest so Emma decides to make a dating app. But the wrong people keep ending up together.

It’s just straight up boring. I wanted to like it so bad but I found myself skim reading so much and eventually had to quit altogether. Emma and all the other characters are boring and unlikable. None of them had much of a personality other than maybe Emma. She’s selfish and arrogant and doesnt really do much of anything, and there’s nothing likeable about her.

And it feels like the author tries to hard to make characters quirky. Like Jane Fairfax wears a lab coat all the time. Or Emma has a weird obsession with numbers so she gets angry with people for exaggerating numbers—at one point, George says something like there’s a thousand people in their school and she just cuts into him because there isn’t exactly a thousand. Sigh. I really hate when people get mad about stupid things, so this really bothered me.

It was a nice idea, but I don’t think it was carried through right. Big disappointment.

I've yet to read Emma or any of the Jane Austen books so, I can't make any comparisons with this book as everyone else has. We meet Emma Woodhouse whose a math whiz and does coding. She simply lives for numbers. She has a bff named George Knightly for a coding project. With their creative minds they come up with a great concept. They come up with a dating app called: "Code for Love". The app consists of algorithms to calculate your match.
George isn't feeling the whole app thing and controlling people's lives. Emma doesn't pay attention to that though. She knows what she's doing and the numbers never lie. The app turns out to be successful and people start to match. However, some things start to go awry with the app (you have to read to find out what they are). I really thought this book was a cute read and I lived for the LGBTQ+ representation, friendships, and romance in this story. The main characters and side characters had great stories and I enjoyed learning about them. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Blog Tours, and Inkyard press for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First, before I even start writing anything about the book, can we please talk about this cover! It looks so pretty and I’m just in love with it. And I can assure you that the rest of the book is also pretty great!

So where should I start? When I heard that this would be more of a modern retelling of “Emma” by Jane Austen, I knew that I had to read this book. Last year I’ve listened to the audio version of the original “Emma” and loved the story. I was wondering how the modern version would look like and I haven’t been disappointed. It’s most certainly not the same thing and can’t be compared to the book written by Jane Austen but still it was nearly flawless. “The Code for Love and Heartbreak” is about a young girl trying to find a mathematical way to understand love, and I was pretty intrigued by this concept.

However, you as a reader are coming pretty quick to the conclusion that love cannot be determined by maths or anything else. These are real feelings that you simply cannot play with and sometimes there is no real explanation to love.

I loved the writing style. Unfortunately the plot about the love interest became very predictable. It just had to be that certain someone and it becomes very soon very evident. It’s the only thing I really have to criticize. Other than that the book was perfect! It’s a cute and funny read about how to find love through an algorithm and I loved reading the story. “The Code for Love and Heartbreak” is fast-paced and if my life wasn’t so stressful right now, I could have easily read it in one sitting.

Overall, if you are a fan of cute and funny YA novels then I highly recommend this beauty to you.

I found it well written and the characters interesting, unfortunately the story didn't keep my attention and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Disclaimer: I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I think fans of When Dimple Met Rishi will adore this one! If you want a book about love and two computer nerds then this is for you!

This was like cotton candy! Very light and fluffy! I enjoyed my time with this novel, but overall I didn’t really get anything out of it. The set-up was really good, but I just found myself not caring about the characters. The MC comes off as abrasive from the very beginning, as your can read above, whining about her sister’s choice of university and honestly, her character was all over the place. She is supposed to be all rational and good with numbers, but she is acting like her sister could take back her choice of college right before she goes away. I didn’t really find her portrayal to be very consistent.

This novel is also a Emma retelling, but because I’ve never read Emma, I have no idea if this is a faithful adaptation. My problems with Emma’s character could very well be taken straight from the source material, so I can’t really fault the author for that.

The actual plot was very slow-paced and this made for a very character-focused novel, which didn’t help how I felt about it. The coding and app components were interesting, but they weren’t featured enough to hold up the entire novel.

Overall this was a good read, especially for someone looking for something quick and fluffy. I was happy with the ending and it made me more interested in reading the source material!

3.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with an ARC of The Code for Love and Heartbreak in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Gist
So, I have been staring at the computer screen for a good 20 minutes. I checked my Facebook three times. Trust me, I don’t have enough friends to see new content every time I log in. And I have checked my email so many times, I’m starting to feel really sad and lonely.

Still, I have no clue how to write this review without sounding conceited, condescending or arrogant.

What the heck. Here it goes. I know Jane Austen; know Jane Austen very well. I wrote my graduate thesis on her works.

If you must call me snobbish, I guess this would be a good reason to do so.

I felt equal parts intrigued and hesitant reading about this retelling of Austen’s Emma. Set in modern times, it holds a lot of potential. It can also run the risk of taking a classic and turning it into something that would have snobbish Janeites gasp in disbelief.

The Details
I feel very confused about how to address the finer points of this review, because all of them centre around the characters.

I shall start with Emma. In the original, the character of Emma is a little arrogant, but also charming, social and holds a position of power and influence in her little village. She is well-known and has no problem sticking her nose in other people’s business.

Reading the prologue and first chapter of The Code for Love and Heartbreak, the author made it very clear, repetitively clear that this Emma is anti-social. She hates people. She doesn’t want to talk to people and doesn’t have any friends.

Here comes my question: how can you make a retelling with the main character being the exact opposite of the original?

Especially when every other character is taken directly from the original? They have the same names and same purpose in the story.

Not too long ago I read a sci-fi retelling of another classic British literature novel and in that one the author chose to change the names to put an original spin on the story. It was also kind of fun guessing which character was based on the original one.

In The Code for Love and Heartbreak I didn’t understand the authors decision to change the protagonist into a bitter, egotistical and very unlikeable character. What would motivate me to keep reading her story? Not much.

The writing itself was fine. I noticed a lot of repetition, as I have already mentioned, in order to establish the protagonist’s character.

There was only so much bitter internal monologue I could take before I stopped caring. Give me at least something to hold on to.

With all the other characters being exactly like in the original, there wasn’t much I didn’t already know about the story.

The Verdict
Overall, I had hoped for something a little more fun. I know I’m acting extremely judgemental and protective of my Jane stories. What can I say? I can’t help it.

Generally speaking, this isn’t a bad story. I just don’t like that the protagonist was changed so much.

I might suggest it for a quick, contemporary read.

This was such a cute, lighthearted romance book. I loved everything about the characters and how awkward they were. I also loved how I couldn’t predict who the mc was going to end up with! It was a relief to actually be surprised

Full disclaimer - of all of Jane Austen's books, Emma is my least favorite. I don't dislike it, but I have a weakness for being drawn to retellings of it to see if I like a reworking of the story itself. I really enjoyed this take on it and in some ways can completely empathize with Emma's opinion that math can be easier to understand and communicate with than people. The idea of Emma having to kind of figure out herself after the one person she felt comfortable with, her sister, decided to move away for college was a great starting point. Not only does she not know anything about love, but she doesn't know how to be by herself and be ok in her own skin by herself. It was a touch predictable who would be end game, but that didn't effect the reading experience. The romance was slow burn as they moved through the story and the pace of writing made for a quick read. This was definitely a re-working of Emma that I really enjoyed and suited the modern setting.

If you know me, you know I love to read YA books. I love finding a new story to share with my daughter and her friends. I love promoting a new title to our school librarians. I also love being reminded of being young!

The Cod for Love and Heartbreak was a sweet story, centering on a young math whiz and coding expert whose work with numbers goes better than her work with humans. It was definitely a read I could suggest to my middle schoolers and to my daughter in high school.

Here’s the overview:

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this contemporary romcom retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma by USA TODAY bestselling author Jillian Cantor, there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

When math genius Emma and her coding club co-president, George, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born.

George disapproves of Emma’s idea of creating a matchmaking app, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other, and Emma’s own feelings defy any algorithm?

I didn’t make the connection to Emma while reading it, but of course now I see the parallels. It’s a fun rom-com with a happy ending and with characters that are true-to-life. Thank you for my kindle mobi copy and for making me part of the tour.

A modern update of the classic story Emma. In this story, Emma wants to focus on her senior year, her academics, and the Coding Club project. But when she envisions a matchmaking app called 'The Code for Love', her whole world is turned upside-down and maybe now numbers just won't be enough to get her through the year.

Emma likes numbers more than people, because numbers don't lie. But she is so oblivious about what is going on around and right in front of her. There were times when I wanted to beat her with her own book, she's just so clueless!

The other characters that feature help to make the story come to life, each of them unique. Whether Jillian modeled these characters from nothing or based them on real people doesn't matter, you'll find you have something in common with at least one of them.

I never realized how a lot of books put extreme emphasis on gender to distinguish LGBTQ+ characters, until this book didn't. It felt way more realistic, because love is love and we shouldn't need to label it.

All in all, this is a great read for when you need a break from all the thrillers and spooky books this fall. Who doesn't want to find love, right?

The Code For Love and HEartbreak is fine retelling of the classic but the book didn’t quite live up to expectations.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak is an inventive and cute contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's <em>Emma</em>. It centers around Emma, an analytical number focused, top of her class student. Numbers are black and white and make sense to her - they always do what they're supposed to and she much prefers straightforward numbers to subjective feelings. As co-president of her school's coding club, she comes up with the idea for an app to predict a person's "perfect match" based purely on algorithms she comes up to evaluate their compatibility. She thinks it's a perfect idea and determined that it will win the coding competition. People at her school start pairing up and she thinks it's all going perfectly -- until it isn't.

This take on Emma was a lot of fun and so cute! The idea of the app was really clever and in this day and age of apps and online dating, seemed like a very plausible thing! But of course there's much more to love and relationships than quantifiable facts which Emma doesn't take into account. I think one of my favorite parts of the story was seeing Emma open up and start to become friends with the other people in her coding club. She previously only tagged along with her older sister Izzy who has moved away for college and now that she's left on her own, it was great to see her forge those friendships.

George was adorable. He is the classic boy next door and has been friends with Emma since forever. He's just so nice and such a good person. You can't help but root for him and Emma even as all these other pairings happen because of their app.

I did take a bit to warm up to Emma though. She's very stubborn and hardheaded and she would say or do things that kept irking me. I understand that's her personality though and part of her character arc as she discovers how there is more to people than straight up facts. People are more than just a number. Feelings can't always be put into clearly labeled boxes. She has a lot to learn and I believe she does figure it out as the events unravel.

I also liked the coding club aspect and the competition and the club members working together as a team was great. It had a very authentic high school feel.

In Short...
What a super cute contemporary twist on a literary classic! This retelling took the familiar bones of Emma and gave it a fresh, new spin. Matchmaking in high school today via an app is the perfect basis for unexpected things to happen. Really enjoyed this story about how love and feelings can't be quantified. At its core is a friends to more romance that is sweet and is sure to leave you with fluttery happy feels.

This ended up being a just OK read for me. Emma is one of my favorite Jane Austen books, so I thought I would love this one. I think had I read this in high school, I probably would have liked it more. I couldn't connect with the main character much at all. I found it kind of predictable and a bit slow. I wasn't invested in the story for about half of it. The ending was cute though so that was a plus. This is probably a case of just not for me.

It’s possible I’m just not into Emma adaptations. I wasn’t a fan of DFTBA’s Emma Approved either, even though I loved their Pride and Prejudice remake Regardless, this book just didn’t hold my attention.

Emma is a brainiac, and I found her know-it-all and hyper focused narration more annoying than charming. Add in bland dialogue and a too-slow conflict build up, and the story overall just feels meh. Not terrible, but not memorable.

While Emma isn’t my favorite Jane Austen book, it IS my favorite romance and my favorite hero. So even though math & numbers are most definitely not my thing, I couldn’t resist reading this cute new Young Adult retelling of Austen’s classic by Jillian Cantor. And, after all, I am a sucker for best friends who fall in love (married to mine for 20 years now).

Retellings are always a bit tricky because they could go either way. On the one hand, they might be too kitschy in how they incorporate the story elements – and on the other hand, they might not be true enough to the story in this new setting. I am pleased to report that The Code for Love and Heartbreak has neither of these problems. If you are already familiar with Austen’s classic, you will love the creative way Cantor keeps the heart of the story and adds her own flavor as well. And, if you’ve never read Emma, you’ll still be able to appreciate a cute story and a breath-stealing romance.

I love that Emma and her friends are nerdy & socially awkward without being over the top about it (though at the beginning of the story ‘friends’ is probably a generous title to give the other members of the coding club). I mean, don’t get me wrong… Emma especially can’t see past numbers and equations and quantifiable things. She misses a lot of social cues that most of us are comfortable with, and she has some definitely wince-worthy moments that come from not socializing enough. But, unless we were in the super popular crowd (and maybe even if we were) don’t we all have similar memories from high school too? I enjoyed seeing her character growth throughout the novel, and on the flip side I also appreciated that Cantor left Emma with more growing still to do, just as Austen does with her titular character in the original. And of course there’s George – sweet, noble, best friend George. Cantor does a great job of making him his own, layered character while also staying true to the man he’s modeled after and his role in Emma’s life.

Bottom Line: The Code for Love and Heartbreak is a light, sweet, really cute read about friendship, falling in love, and being comfortable in your own skin. Its similarities to Austen’s Emma are noticeable without being overdone, while also retaining its own distinct identity and flair. There’s not a lot of unnecessary-to-the-story drama, which I appreciated given the high level of unnecessary drama in our current world – sometimes it’s nice to just sit down and read a story that makes you smile. And that’s exactly what Cantor’s latest did for me!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

This was okay. I got bored and started skim reading halfway. But it was nice seeing the coding.

Oh, I failed to see this was an Emma retelling. Gah. I hardly read synopsis in fear of spoilers. So missed that factor. If you love Emma your are going to enjoy this modern take on Jane Austen’s beloved heroine.

Sadly, failed to enjoy it.

Would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for this arc.

This book was so cheesy good! Obviously, it's a modern retelling of Jane Austen's <em>Emma</em>, but far more fun.

I was very similar to this Emma growing up, except instead of being a numbers person, I was far better with words. I didn't understand people at ALL. So I definitely felt for our sweet lead, even if she is a bit of a stereotype.

I feel like every single character in this one is extremely likeable, which is rare for modern YA books. I also feel like this version is ripe for adaptation.

If you're looking for a quick, fun, sweet read to distract from *gestures at everything*, look no further! The Code is perfect.

Thank you so much to Inkyard Press for having me as a part of their blog tour for the Code for Love and Heartbreak! I'm running so behind on reading all of the books I really need to be reading, so even though this book came out on Tuesday (the 6th) and I was trying to have it read and reviewed by yesterday, I wasn't able to get to it until today BUT I started it early this afternoon and I finished it so fast because it was such a fun/quick read!

The Code for Love and Heartbreak 4/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads: Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma's sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers...those you can count on. (No pun intended.)
Emma's senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma's idea, accusing her of meddling in people's lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.
Emma's code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there's nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.
This book was so, so cute! I loved how Emma really came into her own throughout the book, and like sure, she didn't have all of the answers, but she was more confident by the end of the book and awwwww the ending made me so happy! I loved Emma and George and all of the coding club really. Izzy annoyed me slightly at times, but at the same time, I remember being a freshman in college and not being as cognisant about the feelings of the rest rest of my family. I remember thinking that their lives revolved around my relationships. This book was the feel good, fun read that I didn't know I needed at the end of this week and I definitely think that y'all should read it too!