This book was marketed as a Rom Com and a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Interestingly there really weren’t any romantic comedy storylines. Felt a little let down at this. The main character Liz is a queer writer for an online queer magazine. The magazine is set to close until 2 friends buy it then call it quits. The drama of this takes all of the main characters a while to come to terms with. And in between there are a number of missteps in Liz’s romantic life. Although there are some rough spots in the book, overall I enjoyed it. Liz’s internal musings really gave the book authenticity. As for the P&P aspect, I have no idea having never read the book. Gasp!
I was given this book by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest feedback.

3.5 ⭐️

This was an easy and lighthearted read! A band of diverse characters, and our MC Liz allows us to look into queer identity and finding yourself.

The concept of the story was great, but a lot of the characters were insufferable. I couldn’t stand some of the dramatics, and Liz just literally running away during points of conflict. It was lacking some much needed maturity at points. A lot of the character development was also told instead of shown, and it was hard to believe some of the transitions.

Liz writes for a magazine, and at one point does a more “serious” piece about a queer photographer. I would have actually loved a book about the photographer, and not about Liz. That also added to the rating — adding a more interesting side character than MC.

Still, a good queer love story!!

This was an amazing queer Pride & Prejudice reimaging and I was here for ALL of it!!! Amazing on audio narrated by one of my favs, Bailey Carr and perfect for fans of anyone who enjoys Jane Austen retellings. Many thanks to NetGalley and @prhaudio for complimentary digital copies in exchange for my honest review!

A modern sapphic retelling of Pride and Prejudice? Color me interested. I was so pumped for this book but was left disappointed in end. P&P is one of my all time favorite tales, so I probably set the bar too high going in.

Liz Baker is a staff writer at the Nether Fields, a struggling queer publication that’s just been bought by Daria Fitzgerald in an attempt to turn things around. While Liz is unsure of what to with her professional future, she is sure of one thing: Daria is an asshole. But the more time they spend together, the more it seems she may have gotten it all wrong.

CW/TW: lesbophobia, toxic relationships, gaslighting, abandonment, emotional abuse, infidelity, theft

If it’s a queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice I’m going to want to read it! This retelling touched on some really important topics and really celebrated queer culture.

In Just As You Are we meet Liz, Jane, Lydia, and Katie live together and work together at
a struggling Queer magazine in New York City. Liz has been feeling stalled in her life. She has no love prospects, a job where she’s not feeling fully challenged, and struggling with gender identity. Liz and her friends all find out the magazine has been saved by two lesbian businesswomen Bailey and Daria who know very little about journalism. Liz and Daria get off on the wrong foot but eventually realize they may have just gotten wrong first impressions of each other.

My absolute favorite parts of this book were Liz and her inner monologue with her gender identity. I felt like those moments where Liz was struggling with how to present herself during different aspects of life was extremely relatable and emotional. The first half of this book really worked for me I was hooked but I do think the pacing started to wear off in the 2nd half and than at the end rushed to finish. Some of the writing felt stilted especially when describing a character. The way Jane was described was literally "Jane was a Black trans woman".

I wasn’t completely sold on Liz and Daria’s relationship. They didn’t have enough conversations to convince me that these two who despise each other actually love each other.

The synopsis says this is a steamy romcom. For me this wasn’t a romcom and it wasn’t steamy. It had one spicy scene and I didn’t feel any spicy built up tension. In my opinion this should have been marketed more towards romance/lit fic than steamy romance comedy.

If it weren’t for the incredible insight on gender identity I probably would have given this two stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A queer modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Instead of being sisters Liz and Jane are roommates along with Katie and Lydia. They all work for an online queer magazine that has never made a profit in its almost twenty years. The conglomerate that owns them is going to shut them down when at the last minute two buyers appear, Daria and Bailey. Bailey is the primary investor and hopeful they can turn the magazine around. Daria is more pessimistic but is bringing her financial sector knowledge. Of course Bailey and Jane hit it off quickly. Liz finds it harder to trust Daria because new friend Weston bad mouths her.

It is clever how the author makes so much of Pride and Prejudice fit into the storyline. But it doesn’t necessarily make for great reading. When Daria, like Mr. Darcy says you had to know how I feel I’m as surprised as Liz. There has been nothing to show connections. Even their brief lapse into intimacy doesn’t lead me to think it was anymore than an awkward hook-up. Kudos to the author for creating a P&P storyline that reasonably works. But for me that is as entertaining as it gets. I wasn’t invested in either relationships personally.
Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC and I’m leaving a voluntary review.

🏳️‍🌈eARC Book Review🏳️‍🌈

“What if you regret not trying for the rest of your life? What if you are good enough?”

Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg
Pub Date: April 25th, 2023
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟(3/5)
Spice: 🌶 🌶(2/5)

Review:

Liz, Jane, Lydia, and Katie live together and work together at a struggling Queer magazine in New York City. We join the crew when they find out the magazine has been saved by two lesbian businesswomen who know very little about journalism. This story is the ups and downs of a struggling magazine and the drama that ensues.

This story is a great representation of the diversity of queer life and the struggle of self exploration. We have Liz struggling her femininity and masculinity. We have trans representation, Asian rep, black and latine rep. This lesbian leaning take on Pride and Prejudice is quite comforting.

I enjoyed this read but it wouldn’t be my first recommendation. I loved all the drama but for some people I know it would be so hard to follow. The mix of tag names from Pride and Prejudice mixed with new characters was sometimes hard to keep up with. Overall, it was a fun tale that is sure to resonate with the queer community.

If you like:
- Pride and Prejudice
- The L Word meets SATC
- New York City
- Slow Burn


Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for proving me with an eARC of this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.☺️

This took me a while to finish. Maybe it's because I'm not used to reading on my iPad, but also I'm not sure I actually enjoyed the story.

Let's start with the good stuff!

- I enjoyed the whole story about saving the magazine! I love stories when something important needs to be saved, and the characters do everything to save it.

- New York. I love stories that take place in NY!

Now with what I didn't like...

- I was expecting a romance. The romance in question is hardly there. And when it's there, it feels forced. There was no chemistry between the two love interest, and they went from hate to love within a chapter.

- Wayyyyy too faced paced for me. The book is relatively short, but I feel like the story could've been developed more.


I'm on the fence about this one because I was expecting a cute romance/rom-com. But this was definitely more of a contemporary romance. The central plot is about saving the magazine, not the romance. So from a rom-com point of view, this is like a 2 star read. From a contemporary fiction view, this is like a 3 star read. Do with that what you will!

What do you get when you mix Pride and Prejudice with The L Word? Why you get this delightful work of art! The whole premise is just so wonderful. A magazine with stories, articles, and lists written just for queer people. A place where they can feel seen and know they aren't the only ones feeling the things they are feeling. Only the magazine is failing. Daria and Bailey are two investors and queer women who purchase the magazine in an attempt to save it. Liz instantly hates Daria. But considering there's a thin line between love and hate, she's also attracted to her.

Sharp and witty writing make this one of the best lgbtq books of the year! With a host of trans and non binary characters, the inclusivity is also a very welcome addition. Liz questioning where she fits into the spectrum is something that isn't done much in novels, but should definitely be explored more. While it did lag in a few places, this is truly a smart and sexy novel! Definitely worth a read. ❤

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Camille Kellogg, and Random House Publishing Group Dial Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! I felt immersed into the world and was really interested in the main couple. I always love a good enemies-to-lovers and workplace romance. I would have love a little bit more about the couple, as it came off a bit insta-lovey for my taste. Had a great touch of spice and humor.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Finished ✔️ Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg

4 ⭐️’s
Publish Day: April 25th, 2023
Kindle Unlimited: No
Equal parts witty and steamy
This debut rom-com brings a healthy dose of queerness and a whole lot of spirit to a Pride and Prejudice inspired enemies-to-lovers
Brims with heart, spice, and humor
The L word but better.
A juicy sapphic romp, sweet, sexy, and tender all in the right ways.
The only thing worse than hating your boss? Being attracted to her
Yes, I’d recommend

#DeesReading #DeesRecs #DeesBookRecommendations #BookNerds #BookNerdProblems #BookNerdsUnited #BookProblems #BookProblems101 #BookNerds101 #Bookworms #BookwormProblems #BookwormProblems101 #BooksOfFacebook #DeeTheBookReviewer #DeesReadOfTheDay #DeesBookOfTheDay #DeesBookReviewsOfTheDay #BookReviewer #NewToMeAuthor #CamilleKellogg #ReadOfTheDay #BookOfTheDay #JustAsYouAre #NetGalley

Just as You Are by Camille Kellogg is a modern queer Pride and Prejudice-based enemies-to-lovers story, and it was great! Liz has four roommates working at the queer magazine, The Nether Fields. However, they were all devastated when their magazine would shut down. The magazine is saved when Bailey and Daria, two wealthy lesbians, buy The Nether Fields. Liz and Daria become enemies right from the start. I enjoyed seeing how they slowly begin to understand each other throughout the book. I appreciate how one of the main themes of this book is supporting queer culture and media. I recommend checking this book out when it comes out on April 25th, 2023.

Thank you, Random House and Penguin Random House Audio, for my gifted copies.

What a beautifully addictive retelling of The Pride and the Prejudice! I’ll admit, it took me until around the 40-50% mark to really get hooked but once I did I couldn’t put it down! This story gave SATC vibes clashed with HBO’s Girls and a dash of Broad City- all of my favorite things!

I loved this book! It's such a cute story and so important for right now. I'm a big fan of Camille's storytelling and will certainly be reading more books from this author in the future.

This is a heartfelt queer journey of self discovery and romance, with nods to Pride and Prejudice. Liz is struggling to figure out her queer identity and presentation while also navigating adult life and relationships. As a queer person, there were a lot of really relatable moments in Liz’s journey and I felt like that was the most impactful part of the story, the romance being more of a side note. Which was good because I was kind of ambivalent about the romance, it wasn’t bad or anything but it wasn’t fully captivating either. I never felt enough authenticity in it to make me really invested in them as a couple. They could have gone their separate ways at the end and I would have been fine with that. I was most invested in Liz’s relationship with herself and how she grows and starts to come into her own. I also really adored Liz and Jane - their friendship was so lovely and made me really happy to read! Lydia, Caroline, and Aunt Katherine all tie for the worrrssssst! And like…what a perfect rendition of how a modern Lydia and Wickham would act, I absolutely loved to hate them.

Overall a really lovely, relatable story with an important message in finding and loving yourself, just as you are. I hope to see more books from this author in the future!

This was a fantastic debut novel! It was so fun, and real! The friendships made my heart SO happy. Everyone genuinely loved each other. All of the characters were queer, there was not a single straight person in sight. The magazine was owned by a queer person of color and it focused solely on queer issues and topics. The workplace that they had was so inclusive and welcoming. Everyone was so fun! Even when things were fun, they were all losing their jobs and going through heartbreaks after all. But I loved everyone!

Liz was looking forward to the end of the magazine, she was going to start writing full time, writing a book she could have used when she was younger and confused about being queer. But then Daria and Bailey buy the magazine and are trying to fix everything. And Daria is the WORST. Or is she?

There was a lot of self exploration in this book! The romance between Liz and Daria was more a secondary story, which was fine! They were still sweet and very present, even in their moments of…misunderstanding. And Jane and Bailey were romancing it up the whole time!! So it was a good mix.

Liz is unsure of herself, she doesn’t feel like she’s good enough for a lot of reasons - her writing, her lack of a relationship, her gender identity. Nothing feels right. And throughout the book she goes through a really good change and realization and I loved it. And Daria was crucial to that! They were able to really bond. Even though Daria herself still goes through periods of doubt!

The only thing I didn’t like was the conflict, which is honestly a surprise to no one. And as always it was written well! And I’m glad the “villain” was someone I already didn’t like, I just really didn’t them as a character! And of course it was necessary for everyone to take a good look at themselves and everyone around them!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Dial Press, and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Camille Kellogg's Just As You Are is the romance book I have been waiting my entire life to read.

In recent years, the LGBTQ+ community has gotten so more representation in the media, which is amazing but most of us still don't see ourselves. I can't speak for everyone but as a masculine-presenting lesbian, I can count every accurate butch character I've seen in media on one hand. Butch lesbians are often reduced to a predatory stereotype or are killed off or both.
What I loved about Just As You Are was how unabashedly silly it was, and in the best ways. I laughed myself into side-stitches on a full flight. I could feel a handful of eyes on me but I couldn't put the book down.
Additionally, Liz, the protagonist, is having a bit of an identity crisis throughout the story that is both relatable and anxiety-inducing. Most of her internal conflict is the accumulation of her own self-doubt. As Liz falls for Darcy, her lack of self-worth only impedes the relationship. Liz has to learn to love herself before she can love someone else. This is such a healthy message that is often missing from romance narratives.

This book is lighthearted, full of queer-joy, and I absolutely cannot wait for the rest of the world to enjoy it as much as I have!

Just as You Are is a fresh and absorbing Pride and Prejudice retelling. Liz is a writer at a struggling queer magazine which is not only her source of income but her found family, in particular her roommates Jane, Lydia, and Katie (the P&P parallels are wonderfully thick, particularly in the first half the story). When two investors, Daria and Bailey, buy the magazine, they upend Liz's search for identity, professional fulfillment, and maybe even love.

Although I am not the target demographic for this novel, I thought it was a great read. There are many Pride and Prejudice retellings, but this one is particularly apt. Like the original, Just as You Are is concerned with appearances and how they can represent or conceal realities - but in addition to the usual questions of Daria's/Darcy's reserve and Weston's/Wickham's volubility, the novel also addresses Liz's gender presentation. Liz's attempts to find a style that makes her feel like herself, and also her best self, may be specific to queer individuals, but they will resonate with others too.

I'm not sure I would categorize this as a romance novel, and certainly not only as a romance novel. Of course there is the question of Liz and Daria's (and Jane and Bailey's) relationship to resolve. But Just as You Are is at least as much concerned with Liz's professional confidence, her self-perception, and her shifting friendships as with her romantic future - which, considering her age and milieu, seems appropriate. Like most people, she is looking for a whole community, not just one love interest, that wants her just as she is.

This was a fantastic debut. Hot love interest, in depth conversations about gender presentation--love it.

I love reading a queer romance where there isn't some dramatic coming out problem, it is just a normal rom-com between two females. I do wish we got Daria's perspectives - it felt very hard to understand her. I also really loved the secondary characters!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.