Title: Emma of 83rd Street
Author: Audrey Bellezza; Emily Harding
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Beautiful, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse has lived twenty-three years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress or vex her…that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage—and subsequent move downtown. Now, with her sister gone and all her friends traveling abroad, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion: boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant with a heart of gold and drugstore blonde highlights to match, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor George Knightley would get out of her way.

Handsome, smart, and successful, the only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. Whether it’s her shopping sprees between classes or her revolving door of ill-conceived hobbies, he is only too happy to lecture her on all the finer points of adulthood she’s so hell-bent on ignoring. But despite his gripes—and much to his own chagrin—Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now…one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.

As Emma’s best laid plans collide with everyone from hipster baristas to meddling family members to flaky playboy millionaires, these two friends slowly realize their need to always be right has been usurped by a new need entirely, and it’s not long before they discover that even the most familiar stories still have some surprises.

As I first started reading this, I was wavering if it were going to annoy me enough to stop reading. I mean, Mr. Woodhouse’s obsession with the refined sugar content in everything was annoying, and Emma’s background monologue on appearances and the labels on her clothes was low-key irritating, but…she grew on me. She seemed superficial and flighty at first—and she was—but she learned self-awareness and started to be less self-absorbed.

I loved her friendship and banter with Knightley! Their friendship was just so much fun, including their large family/friend group. I ended up thoroughly enjoying this read!

Audrey Bellezza is an Emmy-nominated producer. Emily Harding is a writer and television producer. Emma of 83rd Street is their debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.)

This book is like Clueless meets Gossip Girl and it was such a fun read, perfect for summer! I loved watching Emma and Knightly find their way to each other, it was such a great twist on the classic book!

So, I live on 83rd St - albeit, across the park on the West side - and when I saw that there was a modern Jane Austen retelling set on (almost) my street, I was instantly sold. Emma also happens to be my favorite Austen book, so it was a fair bet that I was going to like this one. And like it I did!

This is a faithful yet fresh retelling of Emma, with a few character tweaks that didn't bother me at all - and, in fact, I think a few of them make more sense in a modern setting. Our beloved main couple has lots of banter that adds to the very palpable romantic tension. Every time I see/read an adaptation of Emma, I still manage to get the will-they-or-won't-they feels, and this book is no exception. Emma's career ambitions make a lot of sense in the context of her character, as well as her relationships with Nadine (Harriet Smith) and Montgomery (Frank Churchill). Also, I adore her relationship with her sister.

One complaint I have is that it's dual-POV (Emma's and Knightley's). It's not *the worst* by any means, but I don't think that the book needs to have Knightley's POV. Granted, I tend to like the increased tension found in single-POV romances much more, so I'm definitely biased. In any case, it didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book. I really look forward to reading what I hope was a hinted-at spin-off (iykyk)!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a digital review copy of this book via NetGalley!

Emma of 83rd Street is a cute, modern retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. I think the setting of New York City is a great choice for the story of Emma. The characters and familiar plot points translated well to the modern world. And for anyone like me who ever read Emma and wanted Knightley's point-of-view: we have it here in all its slightly exasperated and angsty glory! Lots of unresolved tension and chemistry between these two...

I do think this is very much a retelling - it didn't divert all too much from the original. Which in some ways is good - lots of easter eggs and callbacks that Austen fans will love! However, it also meant there were no real surprises if you've read Emma already. And some lines (iconic ones) directly lifted from Emma seemed a little clunky just dropped in there. So for that, it was a little cheesy, but overall I did enjoy reading. Quick, fun, and charming for fans of Emma and modern adaptations like Clueless!

I couldn’t put this book down! This has secured itself as one of my favorite Emma retellings, right up there with Clueless. The characters were complex while remaining likable and the chemistry between Emma and Knightley had me giggling to myself throughout. I also really appreciated the build up in their slow burn; it made their eventual admission of love so much more believable. It did a great job of maintaining its own unique story while embodying the spirit of Austen’s novel.

I enjoyed this fresh retelling of the classic “Emma”, with all the current modern-day woes of dating in your early twenties. Oh to be 23 again! The tension between Emma and Knightley her best friend since childhood/neighbor was electric throughout the book. Expect a slow burn with a good finale, the last 4 to 6 chapters were entertaining. I couldn’t put the book down. If you’re looking for an easy travel or beach read this is it!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced eBook copy in exchange for an honest review.

If I loved Emma of 83rd Street less, I might be able to talk about it more. Jane Austen's classic has been updated for a modern audience without losing any of the charms of the original. This retelling by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding is full of plenty of swoon-worthy moments, playful banter, and enough easter eggs to fill Mrs. Elton’s strawberry basket. Fans of Jane Austen and Clueless will love this book, but it’s also a fun slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance with a little spice for anyone not familiar with Austen (and a great jumping-in point for new Austen fans.)
Emma Woodhouse is a privileged grad student, who has plenty of free time to play matchmaker to her new friend Nadine. The only person willing to hold Emma accountable is her best friend and neighbor George Knightley. With a cast of quirky characters drawn from the classic novel, you will feel at home in this tightly-knit community on the Upper East Side. [Insert Carrie Bradshaw voice]: “It was like New York was a character in the novel.” You’ll want to grab your chunkiest When Harry Met Sally knit sweater and wander the Met all day after reading it.
There’s so much to love about this book. One of the best additions are several chapters from Knightley’s perspective, which amp up the tension and longing. And holy-Pride-and-Prejudice-hand-flex is there longing.
The chemistry between Emma and Knightley is palpable. While we all know that these two characters are destined for each other, the fun is watching them fumble their way to happily ever after. Even knowing the original as well as I do, I found myself turning pages faster than Mr. Woodhouse throws out a piece of cake.
The biggest update for the 21st century is the agency given to the women. Emma is a hard character to nail down. It’s easy to make her so unlikeable that the reader won’t stick with her through her redemption, but Bellezza and Harding make it look easy. They walk the line between making her privileged and sympathetic. This version of Emma is intelligent, hard-working, and ambitious. She’s undoubtedly spoiled but strives to earn her own way forward. And this time around it’s not only Knightley handing out the set downs.
Nadine has much more determination and capability than Harriet Smith as she navigates life in a new city as a single woman. She’s by far my favorite take on the Harriet character in any retelling. However, I felt that there was room to dig a little deeper into the class differences between Emma and Nadine. Overall, I loved the dynamic between them. Their friendship felt so real that I immediately called my best friend to gush about the book. Speaking of agency, there’s a particularly satisfying update to the Mr. Elton carriage scene.
This is easily one of my favorite Austen retellings. I found this book to be charming and funny with lots of heartfelt moments. Nothing sums up my reaction to this book better than what I texted my group chat at 2 am, “This book is great! Knightley is hot! You should read it!” Hopefully, this will not be the last time Bellezza and Harding introduce us to Austen’s characters.
Spoiler alert: there is gruel!
CW: discussion of the death of a parent, brief attempted sexual assault in chapter 9, open door scenes in chapters 31 and 35
Thank you to Audrey Bellezza, Emily Harding, and Gallery Books for the ARC. This review is provided independently and freely.

This is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma.

Emma and her sister Margo grow up next door to Ben and George Knightly. Childhood friends throughout the years, brings Margo and Ben together. Emma is 23 and in her last year at graduate school, Knightly has his successful venture capital firm that just opened up a branch on the west coast.

Emma was a bit spoiled, but also worked really hard for her degree and is down to earth (in designer clothes). Knightly and Emma realize their feelings for each other, but it’s a bit of a slow burn.

This is a “he fell first” type story and it’s beautiful! Loved it. Can’t wait to see if William Darcy will find his happy ending.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I will preface this by saying I have never read an Austen book, but I have read (and seen) a multitude of Austen retellings. That said, Emma of 83rd Street was an Emma retelling that I would be at the top of the heap (along with Clueless).

This book was packed with sparkling dialogue and tons of humor. I swear, my face hurt from all the resulting smiling. I adored Emma and being part of her journey as she figured out her post college plans. With her friends starting their adulting abroad, Emma was left on her own to navigate the next chapter of her life as well as all the other changes in her world. It was great that a friendship sparked between her and Nadine who was a welcome distraction for Emma, but it was her life long friendship Knightly that critical for Emma.

Knightly. He was definitely a check in the plus column. The chapters told from his point of view were some of my favorites! I felt like I was truly seeing into his heart, and it was a thrill to watch him recognize how his feelings towards Emma were changing. *swoon*

I must admit that if I did not know how this story ended, I would have been frustrated with these two. Miscommunication and assumptions ran rampant and caused quite a bit of drama. BUT! It was all forgivable because this was a retelling with the story getting a fabulous rom-com update.

In case you could not tell, I loved this friends-to-lovers tale which was packed with warmth, wit, and charm. I heard a rumor we will get more books in this world, and I for one, am ecstatic!

I mean, what could be better than a modern take on Jane Austen’s, Emma? Set in New York City, Emma of 83rd Street, is a great retelling of Emma. It’s childhood best friends to lovers and a slow burn filled with great banter and insane chemistry. Oh and once the wait is over, some great spice.

I really loved this book and the characters. George and Emma’s chemistry and the depth of their characters were fantastic. I liked that they both had a lot of personal growth throughout the story. The side characters were also great. All of Emma and George’s family and friends and Nadine were great additions. I even think there might have been a set up for another book surrounding one of the characters?? 👀👀

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Emma has been updated to a setting in New York where Emma is pursuing a career in art history and Knightley is the head of his own company. The cast of characters is very similar with some small differences in whom is related to whom.

This was one of the better Jane Austen adaptations I've read! I felt like it captured the original fairly accurately. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Emma and the Mrs. Bates character in this adaptation. The Mrs. Bates character served as a motherly figure to Emma after Emma insulted her and it was such a great addition to what Jane Austen wrote.

Half of the last 20% of the book was spicy scenes which were not necessary in my opinion and were entirely too much.

“𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙠. 𝙊𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙮𝙖𝙧𝙙.”

This modern retelling of the Jane Austen classic Emma is absolute perfection. If you’re a fan, you need to read this book. I know I’m always waxing poetic about the enemies to lovers trope, but after this book I’ve come to realize that most of my favorite books are childhood friends to lovers. This is one of the books and it has firmly nestled its way into my heart.

Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley have been friends since Emma was born…cue the awwwws. Their houses in the Upper East Side of NYC back up to each other and they have a direct view into each others bedrooms. I loved how this element was continuously woven throughout the story! The friendship between these two is so comforting and solid, but when things started to shift and the angst came…yes please!! I always love when two idiots are in love and everyone around them knows it besides them. Once they figure it out though?! My heart!! I loved the confessions, Margo in Emma’s bedroom window and the very special Easter egg that Knightley dropped

Emma and Nadine…loved this friendship. All of the Clueless feels sent my nostalgic heart soaring. Emma’s personality was made most evident in the way she treated Nadine. She truly has a heart of gold and the way she helped Nadine and tried to put her first. She was truly a ray of sunshine that balanced out Knightley’s quiet broodiness. Other things I loved were the New Year’s Eve almost kiss, Margo and Ben, Mrs. Pawloski, the Met interview and aloof but not really aloof Mr. Woodhouse. His one liners were fantastic. I can’t recommend this book enough!!

CW: open door content (ch. 31, 35)

Thank you to Gallery Books for an advanced copy. My thoughts are my own.

Retelling classics is always a gamble. Emma of 83rd Street is a sweet, updated retelling. You'll recognize all of our main characters, and Emma's introspection, struggle to be seen apart from her family, and love of art from her mother makes her a more sympathetic character. I was a little confused on which characters got name changes, and a few of the characters were suddenly introduced without much backstory or it was added later. Being familiar with the original Emma helped, and I could have gotten along even if I wasn't, but it kept me from fully sinking into and enjoying the story.

I just couldn’t get into this one - even though I know the story well, I felt the plot was thin and the characters not fleshed out. Loved the UES setting though.

There are a lot of Jane Austen adaptations out there, but this one was really something special. It honored the timeless Emma while still feeling like its own story. I loved the authors’ interpretation of the main character— a lot of Emma adaptations can make Emma seem annoying and whiny, but this was not the case. She was relatable, likable, and authentic, albeit a little innocent and naive. Knightley was as attractive as ever but with a modern twist. I was so happy when I read the teaser near the end— I am looking forward to more from this writing duo! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

Emma of 83rd Street was a cute Rom Com featuring Emma, a 23 year old who has lived in NYC her whole life, trying to figure out who she is, and also who she is to her childhood best friend/neighbor George Knightley. This book is apparently a modern take of "Emma" by Jane Austen. Unfortunately I haven't read "Emma" and think therefore missed alot of the the best parts of this book, instead I found a few things strange and just didn't get it, such as calling people by their formal names and George Knightley was never "George" always Knightley. After some research I think this was done to pay tribute to Jane Austen's book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has read "Emma" by Jane Austen, you may enjoy it more than I did. Overall a cute story!

This was a fantastic book, especially for a debut! It is the enemies to lovers story of Emma and Knightley (a modern version of Jane Austen's Emma), two friends who lived next door to each other growing up. Knightley said something way back when that really offended Emma and she has held a grudge ever since. Things are definitely very complicated between the two. They each secretly pine for the other and jealousy plays a pretty big part of their relationship...up until they gloriously work the kinks out of the relationship.

This book has so much going for it. I loved they way they called each other by their last names. I loved the family aspects in the book (family is who you choose) and I loved the slow burn in the book that then explodes! These two characters are perfection.

Thanks to Gallery Books Simon Schuster and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

I had high expectations for Emma of 83rd Street. I first heard about it when author Lauren Layne raved about it. That piqued my curiosity and then when I read great reviews by several friends, I knew I had to read it. Sadly, it wasn't really a book for me, so probably take this review with a grain of salt if you are interested reading this book.

I struggled with the third person writing. It felt too classic and wordy for me. This might be a plus for someone wanting a classic Emma experience. I could tell the writing was good, impressive for a debut. I just wasn't into it. I kept thinking maybe I should have listened to this book instead of reading it. Maybe that would have helped me out.

Emma was not my cup of tea. She was not relatable to me at all. She came across as immature, surface level, and not very nice. Her character didn't have those loveable qualities hidden under her immaturity like Cher did in Clueless. It made it harm to blame Knightley for the way he talked down to her. Emma did have a moment of redemption toward the end, but I had spent so long disliking her that it didn't anything but make me feel sorry for her. I guess when it comes down to it, I just didn't connect with her character.

Knightley, on the other hand, I loved. He probably should have come off as a jerk with the way he talked to Emma, but I felt like he was giving her the truth many times. He also loved her despite those things. I'm glad the authors gave us POV. 

I expected this book to be a slow burn and it was. I was surprised, since I didn't love Emma, at how much I enjoyed the relationship buildup. It was easy to see how Emma and Knightley were realigning their childhood ideas of each other and falling for the adult versions. 

Overall, Emma of 83rd Street was a fairly light, easy read. Despite not falling in love with it myself, I have a feeling it will hit a high note with many readers. People love their Emma retellings and I'm sure they will find this to be a fun one.

*ARC Review*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love a Jane Austen retelling. I probably have read at least a dozen in the past year. Emma is tricky to capture because she is a rich, spoiled meddler redeemed by her charm, earnestness and growth. Emma of 83rd Street’s Emma is a different than the Emma we have come to know. She doesn’t do as much matchmaking and even takes a light hand with Nadine (the Harriet Smith equivalent). I appreciated many of the changes to plot and character, but some of the differences ended up with lower stakes in the end because the characters were not as fully formed.

I liked that Emma was in an art grad program and that she wanted to prove herself by earning her post grad job on her own. That seemed like a good update for her. Her chemistry with Knightley was excellent and their transition from friends to lovers was well plotted for the modern audience. Rather than a proposal out of nowhere at the end this approach felt natural.

On the nitpicking side of things, as an uncorrected galley I understand mistakes happen. There are a couple times where the Crawfords are called the Westons and some other minor editorial errors. The one thing that pulled me out of the story was New Year’s Eve. Emma says she goes to Montgomery’s house at 7 PM for the party and then on three occasions in the chapter there are references the sun setting, or things getting dark, lights turning on in the fading light etc. This is New York in December. The sun sets at 4:30. I could have let it go if it was only mentioned once but it came up in the chapter a few times. I don’t know why it bothered me but it did!

Overall, I liked the booked and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Austen retellings.

AMAZING!! This book was beyond adorable💗💗!! Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful modern retelling of Jane Austen's classic Emma, set in New York. I absolutely loved this book so much🥰🥰!! I was completely captivated from the beginning and was intrigued to see how the authors would portray the different compenents of the original classic. Emma on 83rd Street adheres to the original plot and characters with a twenty-first century twist. The retelling has an addition of a few chapters of George Knightley's point of view which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley have been best friends and neighbors since childhood. The friends to lovers, slow burn romance between them is filled with angst, banter, tension, chemistry and some spice. I would say the last 10% of the book has steamy scenes 🔥🔥!!

Overall, this was a sweet and heartwarming read that deserves ALL the stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I cannot recommend this book enough if you are a Jane Austen fan and love Bridgerton. I hope the book becomes a series of Austen retellings!