I was sadly underwhelmed with Emma of 83rd Street. I am a huge Emma fan (it is my favorite Jane Austen that I have read), and I knew this would be a hard sell going in. However, I was still looking forward to it.

I also want to establish that my baseline for modern retellings like this is Virginia Kantra's Meg & Jo and Beth & Amy duology. Those books are the perfect modern retelling because Kantra took the essence of the conflicts of Little Women while translating them to relatable, current time appropriate. In the case of Emma of 83rd Street, I could not for the life of me relate to Emma in any way like I could in the original. Bellezza and Harding made Emma a privileged white girl with old money in New York, which is not something many people can relate to. I much preferred Emma's friend Nadine and Emma's neighbors. I didn't even think this was particularly witty or funny; I got tired of the repeated name brand dropping and rich people problems. I am slightly intrigued by the crumbs left at the end of this novel for another retelling.

The nail in the coffin for me disliking this one was the infamous "If I loved you less, I might talk about it more" quote (which is one of my all-time favorite love declarations) being said after a SEX SCENE. Talk about bad timing. It just gave me major ick.

Anyway, I know the reviews for this one are overall good, so this might be the case of right book wrong person. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the authors for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much! I really didn’t know what it was about when I started reading it, but I quickly was obsessed! The characters are well developed, and I couldn’t help but love them all!

4+ stars. I really enjoyed this modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. To be honest, I was a little weary to start this one. Retellings don’t always work for me. It’s hard to find a balance between sticking to the source material and also creating something new. And to top that off, there’s already been a modern retelling of Emma (the movie Clueless) that was just absolute perfection, so I was worried that Emma of 83rd Street wouldn’t be able to carve its own niche. And luckily, my worries were for naught. Because this new spin on Emma was modern but it was also funny and sweet and sexy and still enough of its own story to keep me from being bored.

I feel like the authors really nailed the essence of Emma’s and Knightley’s characters while also making them feel modern. Yes, Emma was spoiled and didn’t have the best sense of reality, but she also had a heart of gold and wasn’t completely frivolous. She had substance. And Knightley was always there to put her in her place and to push Emma to be the best Emma she could be. One thing I enjoyed about this one is we actually got Knightley POV chapters. Another departure from the source material— this is def an open door romance. Yes, it’s still very slow burn and takes a while to get to the steamy scenes, but there are steamy scenes. All in all, Emma of 83rd Street was thoroughly enjoyable. I think lovers of the original will enjoy it, but I also think it’ll be enjoyable to those who haven’t read Austen. But if you have, there are some Austen Easter eggs, especially in the epilogue, that will make you smile. And who knows, maybe the authors left the door open for another retelling. And if they decide to pen another, I will def be reading it.

Thank you to the authors and Gallery for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Emma is my favorite Jane Austen, so a modern day retelling in one of my favorite cities (NYC), I knew I needed this book, and it is just a delightful retelling. Emma of 83rd Street is a modern update on Emma set in NYC. She is a privileged girl of high society trying to find her place in the world, and then there is her neighbor Knightly, seven years older than her—he is constantly looking out for her and now as she starts to find her place, he realizes the woman she has become. I love the Knightly/Emma banter. I really think this was a perfect modernization of Emma, but this Emma felt so mature and vulnerable. She really wanted to be better and I loved her support of Nadine. They had such a good balance in their friendship. And I adored having Knightley’s perspective as well as Emma’s. There’s a good volley of banter and so much heart. Plus there was so some good steam added it. I really rooting for Emma. She had a lot of strength and honesty and was such a well-developed character. All of the characters were so strong and developed and eclectic. It was a real community and honest. It was fun, light-hearted and vulnerable and I just really enjoyed it!

I sure can get behind every telling of a classic. And this book really panned out well. I had a great time periods. The characters were well thought out.

I love this book! I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved the Emma/clueless modern retelling. The chemistry between the main characters was amazing!

Such a cute modern re-telling of a classic story. Once I got over the astronomical rent for her 83rd street townhouse, I loved following along with Emma's adventures around NYC.

I could not put this book down! The will they, won’t they is captivating. 1000% recommend! I will for sure be preordering this book and adding it to my shelf.

Emma of 83rd Street is a loose adaptation of Emma by Jane Austen and thereby a loose adaptation of Clueless, the movie. It started out as a cute story, which I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen. I really liked this character of Emma. She seemed much more self aware than some of the other adaptations. The first thing that was upsetting was a diabetes joke right off the bat. This is 2023. When are we going to be educated enough to realize a table of sweets doesn’t and can’t cause diabetes? It is so harmful to the Type 1 community and type 2 as well. Please just stop with these. Second, Knightly was mean. He wasn’t helping Emma by pointing out her flaws and making her feel less than. He was being cruel and the way she handled it was much more adult than he was. Halfway through the book he even realized how he was behaving towards her and always calling out her mistakes but then he continues to do so and in such a cold, brutal, and unnecessary way. I hated how she kept contacting him after he treated her poorly. He jumped all over her about Mrs. Pawloski but Emma went to apologize rather quickly and he would just run away when he owed her an apology. The one time he had a realization about his behavior and apologized, he didn't do anything to change moving forward. Also, there were two gratuitous sex scenes that were unnecessary and not my style in books I read. I wanted to love it but it was just not for me at the end of the day. I would have liked a better George Knightly for this sweet Emma.

I adored Emma of 83rd street from debut duo Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding and know others will too!

Emma thinks she is the best matchmarker for other people's love lives. Setting up her sister and Ben, she's sure that she can manipulate new friend Nadine's life to have the perfect love story. Yet Knightley isn't so fast to agree with her. He's been living next door to Emma since she was born. Last time he saw her, she was a young, needs to grow up girl who he couldn't help but joke with. So why is it that when he returns home for a period of time, he cannot help but notice Emma in a new light? Emma of 83rd Street is set to conquer the world, one comment at a time.

Emma of 83d Street is a retelling of Jane Austen's classic, Emma. Told in dual point of view, the short chapters bounce back between Emma and Knightley. I enjoyed reading both parts of view and found that I couldn't put the book down from ten percent in. While I knew where the story was going from the get go, I needed to see how Bellezza and Harding crafted the ending. I definitely recommend this novel to anyone looking for a whimsy, fun spring/summer read.

Thank you Gallery Books and Netgalley for my earc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 rounded up! What a great book! A modern day retelling of Jane Austen’s “Emma,” Emma of 83rd Street is a completely bingeable read! I will admit I have not read Austen’s original (shame on me), but I knew any book retelling an Austen had to either shine or crash and burn. And boy, does this one SHINE. I absolutely loved following Emma and her family, as well as the neighbors and friends they surround themselves with. It is a story of a wealthy tight-knit family entrenched in the art world, who have weekly dinners with their neighbors - two of whom are handsome brothers. Emma is a flighty girl who dives into different passion projects before forgetting them almost as soon as she starts. She claims to be an excellent matchmaker and is constantly trying to pair everyone besides herself. Handsome, broody George Knightley doesn’t understand Emma’s constant fluttering from one passion to the next. It is completely beyond him why she won’t “grow up.” But something, outside of weekly Sunday dinners, keeps pulling these two friends together to discuss any and every event of their lives. The only thing keeping this from being a 5 for me is that the beginning did take me a bit to get into the story. That being said, I absolutely loved this romance, and there is an Easter egg at the end that hopefully hints at more modern Jane Austen retellings with these characters in the future!! Highly recommend.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for this eARC!! Kudos to the authors for a fabulous book.

My Rating: 4

First thing you need to know about me- Emma is my favorite Jane Austen novel! So I was of course compelled to read this retelling!
Very much is a modern retelling of Emma and closely follows the plot-- sometimes even down to the line! I was quickly drawn in and finished it within a day. The characters remain very much true to the OGs. I mean the father being a health nut, come on such a smart modern twist!
Was it a bit hard to swallow a version of Emma Woodhouse saying the word orgasm and Knightley talking about sex? Yes, but I quickly got over it ( well..... mostly).
There are of course a few nitpicky things that bothered me but Im biased to the original.

Overall, if you love Emma or just a contemporary romance I think you would enjoy this. Especially if you want a lil bit of a spicier version. Love the allusion to a Pride and Prejudice sequel-- I will definitely want to read that.

Emma is 23 and working hard to finish her degree and get her dream job without her fathers name getting her there. Unfortunately she has Knightly across the courtyard, always reminder her of everything she is doing wrong in life. Will the two realize they don’t always need to be right when it comes to the other?

Rich people drink a lot of champagne. Just kidding! But seriously they do drink a lot of champagne. Anyway, I just read this is a modernized “Emma” which @ahatforeveryread knows I never read and likely never will! She still loves me though! I found this story to be so fantastic. I really enjoyed Emma and while Knightly frustrated me when he spoke down to her, I came around on him eventually. I mean two friends raised with a joined courtyard, how could you not root for them?

This book was stinking adorable. It’s a debut from a new author duo and a super fun retelling of Emma that gave me serious Clueless vibes (and yes I know they’re both Emma retellings!)

Emma Woodhouse is in her final year of graduate school, focusing on her remaining class and finalizing her thesis. To fill her time, she makes a project out of Nadine, the new first year student from Ohio. All the while, Emma and George Knightley, childhood best friend and neighbor, can’t stop bickering.

This wasn’t a particularly unique take on retelling Emma but it was an incredibly fun read that I could not put down. I appreciated that it was told from both POVs. The banter between Emma and George was adorable and when the sparks finally fly between them, it was delicious. I especially loved all the side characters and the epilogue set up a potential next book was a Pride & Prejudice retelling (tell me more!)

Content warnings: Emma’s mother died when she was young and George’s father died recently. There is one scene with an attempted sexual assault.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I need to preface this review by stating that I technically haven't read Jane Austin's 'Emma,' but I know the concept and general plot. I therefore can't honestly comment on whether or not this is a good retelling, and will focus my review solely on this story.

I'm giving 'Emma of 83rd Street' an even 3.0 stars. There were good moments, there were bad moments. Overall I just felt very neutral during and after reading.

I had a love/hate relationship with most of the characters, particularly Emma and Knightley since they're the main duo, but also some of the side characters. They acted more like teenagers than adults in their 20s-30s. I also don't feel like there was any real growth.

A big issue for me was the miscommunication trope. I personally have no issues with the trope, if done well. But miscommunication via assumptions / lack of communication, and used multiple times as a way to prolong the inevitable end result, is just a huge turn off. Once or twice I can accept, maybe even a third, but not more. This was a lot more.

Then on a personal level - which I made sure did not influence my review - I wish I knew there were "spicy" scenes prior to reading. They're just not my cup of tea.

A modern day Jane Austen novel retelling... and I am here for it! As with so many, I'm a huge JA fan, and love to read anything that is a twist on her amazing stories. This was quick, heartwarming, and everything I could hope for in a modern Emma. The characters are like familiar friends, and so full of big personalities. It was a smidge predictable, but that's the wonderful thing about these kinds of stories. You know you will enjoy the happy ending, as well at the journey to get there. I would recommend this nook to anyone who loves classic romance stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this one, and give my opinion. I will be purchasing this one for my personal collection, and keep an eye out for more from these authors. I loved this.

oh man. I was excited about this because I’ve been very into Jane Austen lately. I did, afterall, host my first ever Jane Austen party in 2022. But alas I think I have come to the realization that I’m not a huge retelling girl. This is a retelling of Emma by Jane Austen and it’s pretty darn close to the formula of the original book. It’s not like Cinder (by Marissa Meyer) in that it’s loosely based off of the previous work.

Just like my feelings in watching Emma on Netflix- I got pretty easily annoyed with Emma. I just don’t vibe with her. And while I love pining- I didn’t end up falling for the love story between Knightley and Emma.

2.5 out of 5 stars3 out of 5 steam level

*I forgot the steam level to be honest but I think it was close to 3.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC of this novel.

I love a good Austenian adaptation, and the summary of Emma of 83rd Street seemed to fit in perfectly. From the get-go, our heroine Emma and her eventual love interest Knightley have banter in spades, which immediately piqued my interest in this dual-perspective novel. Emma of 83rd Street does feel quite frivolous, but since that's literally the entire point of the OG, I'll allow it as a way to connect back to the original.

While it's well-written, I just couldn't connect to it as I would have hoped, mainly because the wide age gap takes it out of the modern sphere and plops back in the OG camp. That impracticality just kept me from truly getting invested and sucked in.

Yes, this book does get spicy in certain points which is something to be aware of if you are vehemently opposed to that.

Emma of 83rd Street is a delightful and entertaining book, a modern-day retelling of Jane Austin’s Emma. Our current-day Emma is such a fun character, kind of a hot mess but she has an amazingly kind heart. The tension and banter between Emma and Knightley felt completely sincere as they sorted out their feelings for each other—of course there were times when I wanted to knock their heads together and fell them to WAKE UP, but that was all part of the fun!

I don’t know where to begin. I started out thinking “oh this is a cute, sweet HEA!” Then I switched to thinking “I am enjoying this book so very much! “. Then I went to ”Oh this book is everything” but through it all I couldn’t put down! It starts out really good and gets even better as the story deepens. The main characters-Emma, Margo, Ben, Knightly & Nadine - I was so invested in all of them. I sympathized and actually felt bad for Montgomery. I kept wondering what would happen with Nadine (and still am!)The story is well written with lots of great visuals and depths of character. This is a debut novel and I will definitely look for the next one by the authors! Thumbs up, add to your tbr list! And count me in for Will’s story!