Camille Kellogg is a new voice to me but wow did I ever enjoy it! I really liked the characters and how they developed throughout the book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

A beautifully realized Pride & Prejudice retelling that brings to life a vibrant and nuanced queer community.

Just as You Are, made my Pride and Prejudice heart FULL, and then gave me even more with all the queer and sapphic content. I would recommend this book to any P&P lover, also to anyone who enjoys a lovely RomCom.

If it’s Pride and Prejudice related, I’m going to want to read it or watch it.

Just as You Are is a modern-day queer retelling of the classic that focuses on Liz and Daria at a queer magazine in New York City. Even though they start off on the wrong footing (with Liz finding Daria to be uptight and rude), as they start to spend more time together, their feelings grow and change.

I enjoyed Just as You Are, but there were some elements that missed the mark for me. I needed the story to have more levity, if it’s going to be a romcom. There was also too much of Daria’s aunt in this for my liking. She should be added flavor as opposed to a major source of conflict.

Overall, I’m glad I read it and that a sapphic version of the classic exists.

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. It's a queer retelling of Pride & Prejudice so this was high on my list to be read. I enjoyed how the characters were and were not like the original book's counterparts and how we completely skipped over the Lydia being ruined portion. Sweet, cute, and exceedingly queer and wide in its representation. 3 stars.

3.5 Stars - The book does a fantastic job celebrating queer culture, showcasing the importance of chosen family, and highlighting the intricacies of gender presentation. It is also filled with humor and witty banter, which showcases the chemistry between the characters.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced reader copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Just as You Are hits a fine line, paying dutiful homage to Austen's Pride and Prejudice while still remaining very much its own story - Kellogg's playfully crafted take on modern queer life in NYC.

There are some fun aspects to this book. I liked the overall set up of The Netherfields as a queer magazine and exploring the different types of writers, and financial challenges, such a publication has. Most of the characters were fun and had some punchy dialogue. I also enjoyed the discussions of femme-presenting vs. male-presenting vs. androgynous appearance and how it impacted Liz. It’s not something I have familiarity with, and I thought it helped to flesh out some of her insecurities.

However, Liz ended up being the reason I can’t recommend the book. The two-minds she gives to appearance makes sense; some other backs and forths don’t. The largest one is her writing. The book opens with her happy the magazine is closing; she’s upset when it gets rescued. Then, not that long after, she gets mad because someone says bad things about her writing that… she herself felt earlier? The reasoning she gives for “fluff” pieces being valuable are true, and they are the top-viewed portions of the magazine – which only further makes it weird that she was so down on them herself when the book opens. I understand that it’s supposed to be about how she wants to do more and different forms of writing, but it comes across weird.

This book would have been 100% better without the romance. This is not a rom-com this is a contemporary fiction book. 90% of this book is about workplace relations and friendship drama. I was so taken aback by the romance at the end because where even was it? Stop calling a book of rom-com if the romance is not existent. The cover of this book is elite and it is tragic that the inside does not match the cover.

Because this book is not an actual romance and instead focuses on a friendship group and workplace, it's no surprise that I didn't feel any connection between the main character and the love interest. It felt like they went from being mortal enemies to kind of seeing each other as human to making out and having sex. What? I just am frustrated because this could have been so good and it was fine if you go into it not expecting a romance. Ugh.

I didn’t feel connected to the characters as much as I wanted to be. I think that this book just isn’t for me.

This is my first book from this author and I loved her writing style. It's witty and steamy. It was a really fast read. The story is so engaging. Great character development. A beautiful retelling of Pride and Prejudice. A really heartfelt story. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read more stories from Camille.

This was a charming, fun, and deeply queer Pride and Prejudice retelling. Centered around a failing gay magazine, featuring a sweet central romance (with a little dash of work-enemies-to-lovers) and a lot of gay friend group drama (delicious!), this is certain to charm anyone who has been (or has wanted to be) young and gay in New York City.

I wanted just a little more development from the side characters, and a little more lead-up into the romance (it felt like it escalated quickly, without as much underlying chemistry as I wanted), but this was thoroughly enjoyable overall! Definitely recommended if you want a fun and light and extremely queer romance.

Thanks so much to Dial Press and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I absolutely adored this book- it was one of those books that you enjoy so much that it puts you in a reading slump. I LOVE a P&P retelling, and lesbian representation will always draw me in as a lesbian myself. Each character in this book felt crafted with so much thought and care- even side characters did not feel like a side plot. The anticipation was wonderfully done and the intimate scenes also felt both very hot and very natural. I also really appreciate the sensitivity around multiple hard hitting topics within the story. Loved!!

DNF p40

I’ve been seeing a lot of positive response to the book and I am always here for more queer, especially sapphic, books. I did really like how queer this is from the get-go, but the writing just is not working for me. Some of the repeated phrasing that I feel like is supposed to be making a point or being cute and funny is actually irritating me to the point it keeps jerking me out of the story. I may give this another try at a later date, but for now this book isn’t for me.

What a beautiful *queer* pride and prejudice interpretation! I loved the when Liz and Daria first met and how horrible it went. I love reading the inner monologue of someone who hates a person, then slowly sees a totally different side of them. I think the only thing keeping it from a 5 star read is I felt the workplace was too large of a role in the story. I understand why some aspect of it has to be present but it felt like the magazine was the main love interest. Which in a way I guess it was. Overall I loved the journey and any positive queer love story will be a top hit for me.

**Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg was a heartwarming queer romance set in the New York journalism scene.

It follows Liz, a writer for a dying queer magazine. When two wealthy lesbians buy the magazine to save it, Liz and her friends' lives begin to get mixed up with their new owners, including the cold and aloof Daria.

First, I was so glad to finally get to read a romance novel with two gender-nonconforming queer women. Amazing!

However, I generally had mixed feelings about this book. Character-wise, I really liked Daria. She was a very interesting character and made for a good love interest. Some of the plot points that touched the lives of the other characters were also compelling for that reason. I will say that some of the things that the characters grapple with internally are repeated over and over without providing new insight or information about them.

I also was not the biggest of a fan of the plot. The romance was pretty slow, and scenes would come out of seemingly nowhere. So much of the plot focused on elements that weren't related to the romance, but then these things would also randomly be glossed over, creating a feeling of an unclear focus. The last 100 pages were pretty thrilling, though, and I enjoyed those.

Overall, I would recommend this book to people looking for a queer romance featuring masc characters and that enjoy a slow-burn.

i really wanted to love this but unfortunately a miss for me… i didn’t connect with any of the characters and couldn’t get into it. grateful to have been sent this though!

Just As You Are
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Camille Kellogg
GR: 3.85

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Random House Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: The only thing worse than hating your boss? Being attracted to her.

Liz Baker and her three roommates work at the Nether Fields, a queer magazine in New York that’s on the verge of shutting down—until it’s bought at the last minute by two wealthy lesbians. Liz knows she’s lucky to still have a paycheck but it’s hard to feel grateful with minority investor Daria Fitzgerald slashing budgets, cancelling bagel Fridays, and password protecting the color printer to prevent “frivolous use.” When Liz overhears Daria scoffing at her listicles, she knows that it’s only a matter of time before her impulsive mouth gets herself fired.

But as Liz and Daria wind up having to spend more and more time together, Liz starts to see a softer side to Daria—she’s funny, thoughtful, and likes the way Liz’s gender presentation varies between butch and femme. Despite the evidence that Liz can’t trust her, it’s hard to keep hating Daria—and even harder to resist the chemistry between them.

My Thoughts: This was a cute love story. When the story started off, I was a little unsure. But as the storyline developed, I became to love Lizzy and Daria. I love all love stories, straight, biracial, queer, all of them! I do not discriminate on my love story. Liz and her roommates, and also her co-workers become devastated when the queer magazine, The Nether Fields, is about to shut down. This has been their life for many years. Then two wealthy women come in to buy the magazine, after some restructuring. Liz and Daria are NOT friends at first, they actually hate each other. However, as they are forced to spend more time together, will a love bloom? How does the magazine fare?

The storyline does cover some heavy topics, such as gender presentation and queer topics, but does it in a tactful, graceful way. Some of the characters are older, which I love. The book is a retelling of a Pride and Prejudice in a queer way and it was done very well. The trope spin is a classic enemies to lovers story. The characters were developed well with witty banter, chemistry, and intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, crisp, swoony, and engaging. Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I would highly recommend to any reader.

I went into this with an open mind, as this isn't really go to for me when it comes to books. I was intrigued with the Pride and Prejudice retelling. It took me a while to get into it- and I'm not sure if that was just a personal thing or if I was just not connecting with the characters. It took me while to even come up with my review because I didn't absolutely love this book, but to say I didn't like it would not be correct either. I think if you have the right target audience, this will perform well. To me, this felt like it would have been more romance than what it was- and maybe that is my issue and why it fell short for me.

An interesting story about a Queer New Yorker who works for a Queer Magazine that is closing after 19 years. Instead of closing however two woman decide to purchase the magazine to keep a Queer space afloat. Liz's first impression of Daria and Bailey the magazines new owners isn't a good one. She overhears Daria bad mouthing her articles for being fluff. What follows is a precarious relationship between the two, as the two get to know each other better they start to respect each other more (and slowly fall for each other). Without too many spoilers the typical romance novel misunderstanding, fight, break up, and get back together happens.

The only reason this wasn't five stars was because of the ending. The big romantic grand gesture happened for Liz's roommate Jane and her story was just an ending. It also occurred on the last few pages of the book, without much (if any) fanfare. I also wasn't a huge fan of the reactions of the rest of the cast to a few of Liz's mistakes. Despite the author trying to make it seem like a pattern she needed to fix nothing specific is mentioned. Making their reactions seem a little harsh, even after Liz took responsibility for things that really were out of her control they still treated her a little harsher than necessary. If a pattern of mistakes where she only cared about herself was more established this would have felt more justified and natural.

Overall a good read and a worth is Queer addition to your bookshelf.