I never read the reviews before I start a book, and it took me until I was nearly 50% in before I smacked my forehead with the realization that this was a queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice. No, I don't know how I missed any of it - I'm not really that dense usually and I have read a LOT of Austin retellings. It's my own favorite micro-genre. But this is so much more than slapping new identities on old tropes. It was SO well done, and the details matter. Loved it. Top three LBGTQ fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really am thankful this holiday season to have read this hilarious, heartfelt, absolute banger of a novel. Camille Kellogg stole my heart with her queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice, and I just want her to write a million more inclusive, sexy tales.

I was getting Sex and the City vibes from these four roommates in Brooklyn and their fabulous-slash-realistic lives in the big city. Except these characters had some actual depth and diversity. Liz, Jane, Lydia, and Katie live together in a tiny NY apartment and work for a magazine for LGBTQ+ folks that is constantly on the verge of closing. The struggle is real for the characters as they work hard every day for a low salary and with little job security. Yet the reader cannot help but envy their exciting lives and close friendships as they support and love each other through it all.

Of all the Pride and Prejudice retellings I have read, this may be my favorite. Daria is perfectly aloof and mysterious, Liz is clever and funny, and Jane, Lydia, et al play their roles to perfection. This really worked, feeling both familiar and totally fresh at the same time. It's wonderful to read queer stories that are about hope and love and amazing possibilities, not just about the struggle. Liz is the "fluff" writer for their magazine, and she makes a passionate point in Just as You Are that people need fun, lightness, and escapism, that those can be as important to the queer community as anything else. This novel is a perfect example of that. I give it 10/10 stars and recommend it to anyone who loves enemies-to-lovers romance or uplifting friendships.

I am so in love with this queer adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. I loved how the family was turned into a group of close knit friends, how the core elements of Jane Austen were recreated and newer elements were tied seamlessly into the source material. I loved Daria and Liz and their enemies to lovers development. The way they grew to understand each other was heartwarming and adorable. Loved it!

Mein Leseerlebnis

Die heutige Rezension wird recht kurz ausfallen, denn viel habe ich nicht zu sagen.

Das Buch ließ sich ingesamt gut zu lesen und ich fand bestimmte Aspekte der Modernisierung Jane Austens Klassiker spannend, so z.B. dass der Schauplatz ein Magazin war, für den eine der Heldinnen gearbeitet hat und dass die andere aufgekauft hat. Dadurch gab es so manch interessante, spannungsreiche Situation.

Mit Blick auf die Liebesgeschichte muss ich leider sagen, dass diese mich nur teils packen konnte. Manche Szenen fand ich ganz nett, richtig tief berührt war ich beim Lesen aber nie.

Das lag vor allem daran, dass dem Liebesroman im Vergleich zum Original die Raffinesse in der Charakterentwicklung fehlte. Einige Darstellungen der Charaktere wirkten auf mich etwas plump und wenig faszinierend.

Nehme ich das alles zusammen, so lande ich bei einem ganz netten Buch, das einige interessante Aspekte enthielt. 🖤🖤🖤

Für wen?

Das Buch bietet eine moderne Version von “Pride & Prejudice”, wer so etwas mag, könnte auf seine Kosten kommen.

Schaut in die Leseprobe rein und achtet in dieser genau auf die Charaktere und wie sie auf euch wirken.

Such a cute, funny, achingly relatable story. Felt like hanging out with my own friends and also the messy group of queers I always wished I had. Equal parts, funny, heartwarming and steamy. Loved the big romantic gesture at the end. Wish we could have seen them as a couple more though.

4.5 stars, filled with so much great queer found family and work friends that made it super relatable.

Daria's BFF buys the magazine Liz works for and Daria becomes Liz's boss - these dynamics don't bother me, but heads up for readers that's an issue for. I enjoyed the animosity in the workplace and even the misunderstandings, because I essentially just liked the characters, which is key.

There is a lot of push and pull with Liz and Daria, and this could be potentially annoying to some, but for where Liz is at in her life it made sense to me. Liz has some growing up to do, but that's literally the whole point of her arc. I really liked her subplot if figuring her life out. But my favorite part of the book is all of the ways she expresses her gender feels. Sometimes she feels more masc, sometimes more femme, and the way this is shown throughout in the way she dresses, how comfortable or uncomfortable she is, and how she relates to people is the best way I've ever seen it expressed on page.

The friend group also felt really realistic to me, so many different dynamics within the relationships. I loved the secondary relationship that was featured as well.

Just so much about this book to love.

Liz Baker has a lot going on in her life. She has a steady job writing for Nether Fields, a magazine for queer women, nonbinary folks, and the trans community -- and she has a wonderful community of queer friends, including her roommates Jane, Katie, and Lydia. Unfortunately, the magazine is being sold, Liz wants to spend time writing a novel, and she struggles not only with a history of failed dates but the ongoing difficulty of finding a gender presentation that really fits her.

When Liz and her friends find out that the magazine is being taken over by new ownership, they hope for the best. What they get is bubbly Bailey Cox and her cold and condescending co-owner Daria Fitzgerald. Bailey gushes about how much she loves the magazine, especially Jane's feature writing, but Daria is looking to cut costs, not make friends, and her offhand comments rub Liz the wrong way.

If this sounds like a twist on Pride and Prejudice, you would be right, though it draws heavily from Bridget Jones' Diary as well, making it a retelling of a retelling. The major pairings (Liz and Daria, Jane and Bailey) are there, along with the conflict provided by a thoughtless Lydia and a charming but shady character named Weston. The four main characters are given more depth, opportunities to screw up, calls to accountability, and chances for redemption, but most of the other characters remain lightly drawn.

The strength of the book lies in its depiction of queer found family, the many facets of queer daily life, and the beautiful spectrum of gender expression, whether it's presented with great confidence or the uncertainty of someone still trying to learn who they are. You'll find love and support for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community throughout the book, even when they are messy and falling apart.

The weakness comes from an overemphasis on telling the reader many details instead of showing in subtle ways. While Black and POC characters are given space on the page, but only rarely do we see how that representation affects their lives. Jane, as a trans Black woman, is the only one who really points out how what she faces in life is vastly different from, say, Liz's lived experience. I would have liked to see more of that intersectionality with other characters, too. Another example of overtelling came from the naming of spaces within the magazine's offices (named, of course, for various queer icons) -- it felt a little heavy-handed when it could have been written more as little Easter eggs for the attentive reader to find.

Overall, not my personal favorite P&P adaptation but certainly one that celebrates queer life in a wonderful way -- 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Read this if you love: enemies to lovers, messy office dynamics and even messier friendships, queer found family, putting the PRIDE in Pride and Prejudice

Thank you, The Dial Press/Penguin Random House and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This book is a solid 3.5 or 4 stars for me. I was invested in Liz very quick and loved the idea that she wanted to be a writer. At times, the love stories/couples were a little mix-matched and confusing in my head, but I really enjoyed the last half and ending of this book. Very cute and lots of representation.

Thank you, Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback, for allowing me to read Just as You Are early.

Mmm, I'm sorry to say but I couldn't get into this story. When I requested the ARC I thought I would love Just as You Are, especially because it's inspired by Pride and Prejudice, but sadly it's the opposite. I found the story boring and didn't connect to Liz and Daria as much as I wanted to. I hope others will love this more than I did.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Random House Publishing Group- Random House and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Diverse characters in this romantic story make it even more enjoyable.

This book felt like watching an early 2000s rom com except queer and non white people got to be there and it was a GREAT time. Personally it was what me and my friends call a “hot knife” about a lot of things that made me relate to the main character and empathize with her so much. Honestly I was hooked from the opening page of “To everyone whose doubted if there’s a happy ending out there for them” like wow read my diary why don’t you!! 10/10 highly recommend this wonderful queer messy rom com!

Just As You Are is such a love queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It really should have been more obvious to me because the names align perfectly. Instead of family, they’re friends and coworkers. The Daria and Liz dynamic was written to perfection, full of supposed disdain that unwittingly turns into tension when they have a decent conversation. I love the modifications to the story, the queer diversity, and the relatively respectful way the author wrote in BIPOC characters without misrepresenting them or speaking for them. A really fun book!!

Well.

This was bad.

Rant incoming. I am obviously in the major minority seeing as this has 4.95 rating as I write this, so take this with a pinch of salt.

A cast of 2D characters with a major lack of personality. The flattest attempt at racial diversity (which amounts to one character mentioning one time that she's a Chinese lesbian, another mentioning a coupe of times that she's a black trans woman, and nothing deeper than that).

The main "couple" had no chemistry. The conflicts were petty and poorly written. The whole book is poorly written. It feels like one of those first drafts where the author writes "Liz did x and y and z" and then goes back later to add details and heart, except the going back part never happened. It's SO flat. So much telling what Liz is doing in the most boring way.

I don't know how this is published. I really don't. It feels like it hasn't ever seen an editor and it badly needs one.

Apparently it's a retelling of pride and prejudice, which makes sense because the characters are all just fulfilling roles without any of their own personality, like the author hardly knows their own creations.

Just as You Are showed me I have never had a unique experience in my life. But in a good way. I haven’t ever been in a place where I have many queer friends and Kellogg elegantly captures so many experiences that I was never able to share with other queer people when they happened to me.

It took me a minute to get sold on this, and I thought I wouldn't like it, but then Just as You Are swept me off my feet!

I'm a sucker for well done retellings and this is the best Pride and Prejudice retelling I've ever read. We have our Liz and Daria and the classic miscommunication and mutual dislike turned affection trope. But we also get so, so much moer. We get queer af sex scenes and queer af self-growth and queer af friend groups.
I really loved how both Liz and Daria grew - I feel like so many P&P retellings make the darcy the whole villian and fail to show Lizzie in all her flaws and growth. But Liz Baker was properly called out and brought to task for her real shitty behaviors towards her best friends (and Daria)

On another note, the reasons I almost put this book down are still present throughout the story. I really don't like how the POC characters were described, or actually any character. When introducing characters, the author would write "Jane was a Black trans woman" or "Caroline was a white woman." that kind of writing is incredibly lazy and not good. As a jouranlist, we avoid labeling people's race when describing them because it can sound bad. And it reads super clunky.
The better way to write is to show - not tell. Later on in the story, Jane references being Black and Trans in a very natural way. It fit in better and showed who she was on page. I wish an editor could go through and edit more showiness in the opening chapters because it's a whole lot of info-dumping telling. The info dumps pulled me out of the story and almost made me put the book down.
Which I'm very glad I did not, because I really, really fell for Just as You Are and I wanted to read more hot, sexy moments with Liz and Daria.

I've been walking around with this story and these characters bursting in my chest all week. I've been smiling to myself in odd moments thinking about it. I've been bringing my Kindle everywhere, feeling the pull of the story in the moments when it's regrettably at the bottom of my tote bag. Because I know Camille Kellogg to be funny, thoughtful, and big-hearted, (and, well, gay) I thought this book might share those qualities and so I had the highest hopes for it. And: wow, yes. I loved it.

I was right to have high expectations: It *is* so gay (& queer) (and I know I could just stop here. As a reader, you're probably like say no more, I'm in). The abundance of pop culture references and LGBTQIA+ historical figures (fictional and real) made me feel like these were my real friends who talked about the things my friends and I talk about. It made me feel like this book was written for people just like me, and there are only a small handful of novels I can say that about.

Just as You Are *is* also funny; the kind of funny that had me laughing out loud in a hospital, that had more than one person asking me, "WHAT are you READING?" (and I was so eager to tell them about it). It's the kind of funny that had me laughing to myself hours later about a line I'd read earlier in the day. The close-to-Liz Baker third-person narration is deadpan and witty, and the cast of endearing, entirely queer characters are willing to let you in on their inside jokes. This levity makes the pages sparkle.

The story also acknowledges that this lightness—or fluff, if you're asking Daria Fitzgerald—is both fun and indulgent for the sake of it (we deserve nice things!) but also because it's a survival mechanism. To have beautiful, soft places to escape to as a marginalized person is a necessity. It's transformative. Healing. The story never forgets to acknowledge the greater context the characters are living in beyond the bubble of their apartment, magazine, or running group. They've carved out safe spaces because they've had to.

I was also right to think this book would also be big-hearted. The longing and angst! The stolen glances! And, more painfully, the avoided ones! The romance between Liz and Daria (and Jane and Bailey, for that matter), is full of miscommunications and unsaid words that often lead to false assumptions, and that space between the characters is crackling with tension and desire on every page. It's romantic, and at the heart of that romance is a promise, to the characters and to the readers: You are enough, even when you are too much. Someone—the right someone—will love you for the person you have been, the person you are, and the person you dream of becoming. All at once.

So, yes. This book was everything I expected it would be: gay, funny, thoughtful, and big-hearted. But what I didn't necessarily expect was to feel so sincerely seen by the way Liz and Daria both feel about their gender identity and presentation. For every minute that made me laugh out loud, there was a moment that made my eyes brim with tears. This line says it best: "Hearing Daria say these things, when Liz had felt lost in these feelings for so long—inexplicably, embarrassingly, Liz wanted to cry." I'm in my 30s, but the I still feel like I'm figuring myself out. I still feel like I'm walking around every day without most people seeing me the way I want them to, without really ever finding the words to describe myself, without being able to really let them know me because how could they when I can barely find solid ground to plant the flag of myself in? To watch these two characters fall in love with each other, despite their uncertain steps and imperfect labels and then, subsequently, to find so much love for themselves? Oh, my heart.

My final note is that I didn't realize I'm a lesbian until I was like, 30, and the messy, emotional volcano that was my 20s had already come to a close. I ache for the chapters in my life I will never get to relive as an out person, which is why I think I write YA, and why I was so touched by the way this story leans into all of those explosive emotions and relationships. Just as You Are so perfectly captures what I imagine I maybe missed in my 20s: to have a queer group of friends who is there for you to cheer you on and tell you when you're wrong and to gush to about a first date. A group who speaks your language of pop culture and cultural touchpoints and community. A group whose very center of gravity is ethereal because you know you will all move out and move on but you love that space, that apartment so much because of the people in it. In this way, this book feels like a home I never got to live in, but one I feel nostaglic for, anyway. Thank you, Liz and Jane and Katie* for letting me visit.

And thank you, Camille, for this dream of a novel that urges us all to chase possibility, not fear. It's a new favorite.

*Not Lydia. Fuck Lydia.

This book absolutely wrecked me in all the best ways. The way Camille handles gender presentation, social expectations around queerness, burnout and the general uncertainty about what you can dream about... all in a delightful sapphic Pride & Prejudice package. These characters all have my heart. Well, most of them... And I can't wait to read it all over again once I get my hands on a finished copy. A stunning, romantic debut!

P.S. It's entirely possible this book convinced me I need to start running, even with my absolutely atrocious knees.

I loved this! Just As You Are is a f/f contemporary reimagining of Pride and Prejudice that manages to be fresh and original while doing justice to the source material. It was heartfelt and funny and moving. I literally snorted with laughter at several lines (Liz's introduction to Daria???!!!) and also found myself anxiously hoping that the main romantic pairings would end up together--I was in suspense even though I knew how it would end! I also loved the novel's commentary on self-discovery, the publishing world, and what it means for a work of writing to have value, which was deftly woven in with the main story (much like Austen's social commentary).

In short--this was great! I highly recommend this hilarious and very queer debut and can't wait for more by this author!

Liz loves her job writing listicles and advice columns for The Nether Fields, a queer magazine where most of her friends and roommates work as well. But when it looks like the magazine will be forced to shut down, she wonders if it’s time to pursue her secret dream of writing a novel. Instead, a couple of new investors step in to save the magazine, one of whom is dangerously hot—and seems to deeply hate Liz and her articles.

This queer Pride and Prejudice retelling has so much humor, heart, gender exploration, and authenticity. I love how Camille Kellogg breathes fresh (and very queer) air into familiar characters, making Liz and her friends relatable and endearing. Just As You Are is a beautiful testament to the power of queer found family and self-love.

I really enjoyed this book. The issues the main character had felt relatable. The dialogue was great and I thought the read In general was well-paced. I enjoyed all the characters and was honestly caught off guard by the twist from one of the side characters near the end. A couple things that I didn’t find enjoyable about the book. The main characters internal debate felt repeated. I’m on board with revisiting under the surface topics, and did feel they were necessary to address repeatedly for the sake of the main characters personal devolpment, but it felt kind of flat to me. The writing itself felt repetitive in terms of the main character’s internal dialogue. The ending also felt a bit abrupt. I was really getting into what I was reading (not paying attention to the progress count) so I was caught off guard by the end. I’m a sucker for a epilogue and I think just a little something, something would have been nice. Besides that, again, I really enjoyed reading this and I appreciate being able to read an advanced copy. I’ll definitely be buying a copy for my personal library.