This was a cute, quick and engaging read. Great for when reading is feeling challenging and you're having trouble getting hooked by anything or want something lighthearted. I'll be honest, I've never actually read Emma. I have, however, seen Clueless about 20 times, and felt this was just the right level of inventive/ familiar. The characters are very likeable and I appreciated that although it's written for a YA audience, Emmett is allowed to be self-deluded and very much in denial without spelling that out for readers. His perfectionism and his mistakes felt just right. If you're looking for a hefty helping of feels or a lot of romance, this isn't it, as the romance doesn't fully come to light until quite close to the end. But it is sweet and as a reader I was definitely rooting for the MCs to get together, though I didn't quite feel they had as much chemistry leading up to the big reveal as I'd hoped. Anyway, I enjoyed this very much and also loved the bigger role the MCs' families had in this version, especially Emmett's dad. And, as always, yay for characters going to therapy. Absolutely recommend this one if you're looking for something charming and fun.

Thank you to Little Brown Books for the ARC of <i>Emmett</i> via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Eighteen year old Emmett Woodhouse has it all figured out. He intends to avoid the pitfalls of relationship turmoil but staying free of entanglements until he’s older, citing the fact that men’s brains don’t even finish developing until mid-20s as an excuse to press pause on romance. Instead, he occupies himself with stringless dalliances and playing matchmaker to his circle of friends. As his matchmaking prowess seems to fall short, he’s left to question whether his whole way of living is wrong. By avoiding heartbreak, is he also avoiding love?

This modern day Emma is a delightful, breezy read. Charming and clever, it effortlessly combines the timeless story of Jane Austen with a queer and modern twist. I loved the exploration of grief and loss and complex familial relationships. Emmett and Miles made perfect sparring partners and I closed this book wanting more of them. Jane Austen’s love stories are nothing if not demonstrations of wit and banter, and L.C. Rosen rises to the occasion here to give us characters that are smart, funny and challenge each other. Highly recommend!

There’s just something about Rosen’s writing that is so addictive yet soothing? I always love diving into the his new stories and Emmett proved to be no different.

Emmett is pitched as a modern-day gay Emma retelling. We follow Emmett Woodhouse, who has a lot going for him. He’s handsome, clever, and of good fortune, and is generally a happy guy who loves to spread the wealth, whether that means letting an irritating person infiltrate his lunch table or setting up his ex-hook up with a new guy. Because as nice as Emmett is, he has absolutely no desire to be in a relationship before he is older and his brain has developed completely, otherwise the feelings wouldn’t be real—or so he thinks. After watching his father be devastated when Emmett’s mother died, he knows that he doesn’t want that kind of pain in his life, no matter how sweet the idea of romance may sound. But just because he doesn’t want a relationship, he’s not opposed to helping others get what they want. And when setting up his ex-friend-with-benefits proves to be a tougher nut to crack and constantly throws him together with no other than Miles, his childhood best friend, Emmett quickly learns that drawing lines only works as long as his heart isn’t on one of them. And what started out as a matchmaking quest may turn into a real love for Emmett himself.

At its core, this book really is about grieving and healing. Emmett is still reeling from the loss of his mother, even if he pretends he isn’t, and has to deal with his father who has adopted some unconventional methods to make sure his son is healthy and won’t get sick like his wife did. It’s a different way to express love that will make sense to anyone who’s ever loved a lost one.

Lest you think it’s a sad book, though, Rosen delivers a fun spectacle of young shenanigans, hilarious over-the-top romance moments, an adorkable cluelessness. and some moments that make your heart soar.

I loved Emmett as our protagonist. Emmett’s internal struggle was incredibly relatable. He’s doing everything in his power to be nice and be considered a kind person, even though he—as we all—has these internal thoughts that make it clear that he would love to just growl at people sometimes. Meanwhile, his flawed logic about not engaging in any type of relationship with actual feelings before his brain has finished developing just really hit home for me. Emmett is determined to not be romantically involved with anyone because he just couldn’t stand to handle the pain of losing them if something were to happen. I thought that was such an interesting coping mechanism and it kept me completely entranced in the fast-paced story. We know these moments in romances where people give up before they get hurt but here Emmett takes himself out of the game completely, refusing any emotional connection that might break his heart and leave him as sad as his dad. There’s much to say here about emotional growth and maturity and Rosen did it so perfectly.

Add to that the secondary characters that fleshed out this fun romp in the best of ways. From Emmett’s (ex-)hook up that he tries to set up with someone perfect, his fellow classmates and friends and his strained relationship with Miles just all added a lot of depth to the story. Also, some of the over-the-top romance was just hilarious. The way Emmett constantly stood on the outside looking in as his best friend and her boyfriend were swept up in their love and got swept up in cinematic-worthy moments made me cackle. Not to mention that the setting up fails also had me grinning because it was so obvious to everyone but Emmett that you can’t script love, you can only follow what your heart wants.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs a refreshing tale to cleanse their palate.

An upbeat, modern gay Emma-retelling, Emmett will have you smiling like a Cheshire cat while also feeling all the feels. Perfect for fans of Jason June and Robbie Couch!

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I really struggled to like this book and, had I not been gifted an eARC and felt like it was my responsibility to finish the book, I likely would have DNFed it.

My main issue is the character of Emmett. I understand that the author was somewhat bound by the constraints of Emma - the main character is supposed to be pretentious - but I felt like Emmett was too one-note, with no redeeming characteristics. In the end, I wasn't rooting for him to be with his love interest; in fact, I felt like his love interest would be better off without him. I believe the author could have preserved Emma's inherent cluelessness and blindness to her own needs while still providing some redeeming qualities so that the reader wasn't left with the overwhelming impression of an insufferable and unlikeable main character.

I did not post this review on any public facing sites besides NetGalley because I have no desire to tank the reviews of a queer book. I wish I had liked this more, but I really struggled to enjoy this. However, it's clear that others have enjoyed it, so I hope it does well when it's published!

This is exactly what I needed. There were moments when I thought I knew where this book was going, only to be swiftly reminded I didn’t, and that ending was perfection.

Emmett is the nice guy. He is handsome and kind, always willing to lend a helping hand, but he knows that he doesn’t want a boyfriend. A lover of casual hookups, Emmett doesn’t want to make any “love” decisions until his brain is fully developed… His surgeon mother taught him that before she died four years ago, and they are words he lives by. No boyfriends!

When a casual hookup, Harrison hints at wanting more from him, Emmett takes it upon himself to play matchmaker. It worked with his best friend and her boyfriend, so why wouldn’t it work for Harrison? His neighbor Miles has concerns, though. He thinks this is all a bad idea, but Emmett wants nothing to do with his smirks or his weird attitude.

We get to see Emmett grow and learn through a series of ups and downs, triumphs and mistakes, and his group of friends is there along the way. I loved this book. It was so sweet and full of hope. Rosen is a favorite author of mine and I knew I would love this!

I will be honest, I don't know a lot about the 'classics'. So I can't compare any similarities. Emmett is a supposed queer modern-day retelling of Emma. Clueless meets Bridgerton. Emmett is an extremely privileged 18 year old who decides to help people by matchmaking. It turns out to be a little more complicated than he originally thought. Especially when it comes to himself. Emmett was a little tough to like at times but I think that was probably part of the point. I think fans of Queer stories, coming-of-age stories, and romcoms will enjoy Emmett.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me with a review copy.

I had nearly constant deja vu while reading LC Rosen's new novel, "Emmett."

It's not that the book was remixed from the classic Jane Austen novel, nor that it has obvious similarities to Alicia Silverstone's iconic Emma-inspired 90s teen classic "Clueless."

But something about a queer, sex-positive matchmaker who seems completely oblivious to his own feelings made me do a second take.

Still, this salacious YA romp was highly readable and ultimately satisfying.

Emmett is the queer, genderbent, inclusive modern adaptation of my teenage dreams. In the era of Heartstopper, we need more wholesome stories that represent everyone across the LGBTQIAP spectrum. As for this update? Our gay MC Emmett is B-L-E-S-S-E-D so obviously he tries to give back in the ways he knows how- tutoring the less fortunate in many different subjects- wink, wink- and playing matchmaker to boot. I really enjoyed this prep school take on the classic. A high note was the Emmett and Miles (Emma/Knightley) storyline which was well played out. Additionally, Emmett's health obsessed father was a hilarious take on history's most loved hypochondriac (green tea smoothie anyone?).

Emma isn't always easy to adapt- she's vain but sweet, she thinks she's not self-centered when she really is, but she also acknowledges her faults and deeply cares for those around her. It's a careful balancing act that Rosen has accomplished with this titular character. Overall, it was a fun read and a great way to introduce a newer generation to our beloved Austen, but I would have liked a little more depth.

I read and loved all of Lev AC Rosen’s books, from the YA contemporary Camp to his adult detective series Andy Mills and his YA Indiana Jones-like series Tennessee Russo. And, of course, I also love Emmett, based on Jane Austen’s Emma.

In Emmett, Lev is back where he began with Jack of Hearts and Camp. Like the other books, this story is messy, informative without being too educational, and witty. Even though Emmett is a terrible meddler, he also has a soft side. He’s sweet, caring, and charming. His anxious dad became hypochondriac after Emmett’s mom died of cancer and is terrified of losing Emmett too, and in a way, Emmett is the same. He doesn’t want a relationship because of the chance of breaking his heart and the pain that comes with it. He wraps it in the excuse that, according to his dead mom, his brains have only finished growing when he’s twenty-five.

So, this story is about grief and acknowledging the pain that comes with life. It’s about wanting security even though life is full of insecurities. It’s about taking the jump and seeing what happens. It’s about looking behind masks and facades and being willing to see more. It’s about growing all your life, even when your body and brain have stopped growing a long time ago. And in the end, it’s about believing and letting go and enjoying the moment.

Don’t expect this story to be sad and hard-hitting because it isn’t. A smile danced on my face so many times. Lev always manages to tell a funny, fairly light story with a serious undertone, and that’s a gift!

Even though I loved the story, there are a few things I liked a little less, and those things made me deduct a star, maybe even 1.5 stars.

I found the draws of Emmett’s blood weird. I understand Lev wanted to follow the original story (Emma by Jane Austen), but a dad who constantly draws his son's blood? I didn’t understand that part until suddenly, out of the blue, it came late in the story that Emmett’s dad has a nursing degree, and again I thought, huh?

Furthermore, I cringed when I read two scenes about staying sober because Miles and Emmett were the designated drivers after a party. Both times were a little blurry because the boys said they wouldn’t drink, then drank alcohol and said they would wait until they were sober enough to drive home … Sober enough? When do you know you’re sober enough? These moments just didn’t sit well with me, especially because everything was so nice in this story. It almost felt like Lev wanted to make Emmett a little less perfect, but for me, it was the wrong kind of less perfect.

The last thing is the ending. In my opinion, it was underdeveloped and a bit rushed. I wished there was a bit more time around the love declaration and a more satisfying epilogue.

4.5 stars

I've never been a fan of classics but I thought that maybe reading a more modern and queer version by an author I love would help me enjoy it. I did in fact enjoy it! I will be honest and say that I have not actually read Emma so I don't know how accurate of a retelling it is.

In the beginning, especially during the first chapter, Emmett annoyed me A LOT! But I grew to love him and his flawed cocky self. I also loved almost all of the side characters, there was one side character that was just a dick but he was a well-written dick. My favorite character was Miles! He was perfect! There were a lot of cute moments throughout the book, but I wish there were even more and that they had just a little more to them. There was one moment that I especially wanted more to come from it, but I won't get into specifics.

If you're looking for an Emma and/or Bridgerton style story with childhood best friends-to-lovers, then you will love this book.

content warning: grief, blood/needles, hypochondriac, mental health, cancer

thank you to netgalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

Emma by Jane Austen is a favorite of mine. Hearing the description "a modern-day gay YA Emma, with the spikey social critique of Austen plus the lush over-the-top romance of Brigerton," I was completely sold. Then I started to read it...

I tried. I really did try. I was on a plane and tried to push through, and I made it to like 21% when I finally closed my Kindle. I could not stand Emmett Woodhouse. I always give characters the benefit of the doubt when I first meet them. I don't mind being in the head of an unlikable character for a book. But Emmett is in a category all his own. It wasn't even like a Cher Horowitz "Oh, the world is all about me" type of thinking. He was just not a good person. I realize *most* characters have to have their arc be bad to be better, but I couldn't even find any way to like him enough to root for him. The part that officially made me stop reading was when he started to fantasize about being 18, so it would be okay to hook up with someone older because he knew they wanted him, and age was what was stopping them. It just gave me an ick factor.

The writing was well done. I could see the Emma influence in the story. But up to where I read, I did not feel any Bridgerton romance, but I might not have gotten there yet. I wish I could have liked Emmett more or at all. I think this will have a place for people. I'm sad I didn't connect with it because it is my type of book.

"What matters is that you can grow together. Like flowers that are planted next to each other, and they wrap around each other as they grow."

Appropriately billed as a "modern-day gay YA Emma,"
Emmett Woodhouse IS Austen's title character. Even more, Emmett screams of Cher from Clueless (also based on Austen, fyi). Overty privileged and always "nice," Emmett decides to play matchmaker for his friends all while overlooking his judgemental best friend, Miles, who's a perfect match for Emmett. Misunderstandings and hilarity ensue. It was a sweet read, and had lots of diversity, but cool gender-twist aside, it didn't bring anything extraordinarily different to the original tale. It was a fun read, though.

*******
I received this eARC from Netgalley @netgalley and publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers @littlebrownbookgroup_uk in exchange for an honest review.
#netgalley #emmett

What is it about Austen heroines that lend themselves so well to gender-swapped or LGBTQ reimaginings? This is one of the more deftly-written ones, so any fans of the original Emma will enjoy the cleverness of the conversion. In a typical move for Austen translations, the estate or village has now become an elite academy. In this case, wealthy, popular Emmett Woodhouse attends Highbury Academy, and after some initial success at matchmaking for his best friend Taylor and her new boyfriend West, has decided he will be the resident matchmaker of the school. After all, Emmett knows best. This is why he is waiting until he is 25 and his pre-frontal cortex is fully developed before he allows himself to catch any feelings for anyone. Well, with one notable exception, family/childhood friend Miles manages to get under Emmett's skin by being the only person with the guts to call Emmett out when he's being extra. If you've read Emma, you know where this is going. The fun with this book is not only re-experiencing a beloved story, but also being surprised by how the author manages to update the narrative. Mr. Woodhouse's health food obsession and ocd intrusive thoughts are particularly well done. I'm not a big fan of the cover of this book though, so don't judge it by its cover. There's rather more going on in the book.

I've never been a one for reading Jane Austen, but I adore many of the modern-day retellings, and Emmett is no different!

I enjoyed Emmett so much that I'd gladly read any other story Rosen chooses to undertake, adaptation or not.

It is entirely possible that something is missed from not being familiar with 'Emma', as in my case. 'Emmett' comes across as not-quite YA Contemporary all on its own.

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

I requested this ARC because I (a) love Austen; (b) like Emma Woodhouse least of all Austen's protagonists; (c) wanted to know what a writer whose other YA books I've enjoyed would do with an overconfident teenage matchmaker.

The short answer is that Rosen changes the focus, and successfully.

Emma's mother has died before the book opens, but the loss happened early in Emma's childhood; she doesn't remember her mother well and she's no longer grieving. Emmet, on the other hand, lost his mother only a few years ago, remembers her well, and labors under a vast unacknowledged grief: he's "blessed," he says more than once, and of course he's fine. Absolutely fine! He just wants to control everything, especially and above all else his own emotions.

As for Rosen's Mr. Woodhouse, he's anxious and hypochondriacal like the original; but unlike the original, he slipped deeper into his anxieties because with his wife he lost a crucial support, & then deeper yet since her best friend has been gone for a year, serving with Doctors Without Borders. He focuses those anxieties on his son, taking regular blood samples and warning him about the Terrible Dangers of Sex.

Austen's characters appear in the guise of Emmet's friends and acquaintances, with changes appropriate to their ages and 21st-century US diversity, plus some new faces such as the f/f couple who live across the street and are parents to Emmet's friend Miles. The Elton character is a narcissistic social media influencer named Clarke, OTT and deliciously entertaining. They all have money, with the exception of the Harriet Smith stand-in, Harrison, who (gasp) only has a Mini Cooper. (Clarke has a Jaguar, of course. Speaking of which, all these kids need to get off my lawn, because in the 1970s, when I was a working-class teenager in an upper-middle-class suburb, it was a big deal if someone's parents gave them a used car for their seventeenth birthday.)

I found some of the politics a little heavy-handed (do teenagers typically write essays about insidious colonialism in art?) but on the other hand also interesting (before reading Emmet, I had not been aware of how a landscape might be framed so as to imply that it belonged to the artist's nation rather than to the people who lived there), so not unwelcome. A couple of YA-typical psychological homilies also struck me as a bit much -- though again, probably welcome for the right audience.

I rolled my eyes much harder at the characterization of Mr. Woodhouse's blood draws as "abuse"; not only does Emmet refuse them more than once in the book, but also it was hard to see them as more harmful than any other overanxious parental behavior. Emmet seems to find the needle sticks no more than annoying; if he had a phobia of needles I would feel differently, but as it is I landed firmly in "Oh, come on" territory. For my money, to call the blood draws abuse cheapens the word.

As often with YA books, I judge Emmet one way for myself, another way for teenage readers. So: 3 stars for me, 4 for a YA audience.

Thanks to Little, Brown and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks Little Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Emmett is absolutely wonderful! Emmett has a rule that he’ll have no boyfriends until he’s 25, that’s when the brain stops developing. So when his casual hook up and friend, Harrison, wants a boyfriend, Emmett is on a mission to find him the perfect guy (that’s not him). Of course hijinks ensue, and it doesn’t help that his exish best friend and neighbor, Miles, thinks it’s a bad idea and is not afraid to tell Emmett that. And Miles does it with so much condescension. Can Emmett find the perfect guy for Harrison? Does he really want a boyfriend? How will he deal with the insufferable Miles? I enjoyed the back and forth quips between Emmett and Miles! I love that Emmett is sweet, caring, lovable, and nice! I also love that he’s a little condescending, judgmental, has a need for things to be perfect, thinks he knows what perfect is! A good reminder for readers that we’re all well rounded people and that there’s good and not so good parts of us all! Always room for growth! It’s sweet, charming, funny, and heartwarming! I also just want to hold Emmett’s dad throughout! I can’t wait to read this one again!

It's been a good year for YA Austen retellings: "Ghosted" by Amanda Quain ("Northhanger Abbey"), "Lola at Last" by J.C. Peterson ("Pride and Prejudice" inspired), and now "Emmett"—which is, of course, an "Emma" retelling. Queer Emma! I'm here for it.

Emmett is blessed: he has the money, the looks, the grades, the friends. He tries to pay it forward by being nice—by volunteering and serving as his friends' sounding board and tutoring...or "tutoring". Ahem. (If some of this also benefits Emmett—increases his popularity, boosts his college applications, whatever—oh well! Nothing he can do about that.) Emmett doesn't want a boyfriend, not until he's 25 and his brain has stopped growing, but when his (*ahem*) tutoring client *does* want a boyfriend, well, Emmett is perfectly poised to do the nice thing and set him up with the perfect guy...whoever that might happen to be.

The book is appropriately tongue in cheek—think of Mr. Woodhouse and his obsession with eating thin gruel (itself a tongue-in-cheek characterisation—when "Emma" was written, gruel was purported to be healthy in any manner of situations, including when the eater had VD), and shift that to the 21st century and you get a man obsessed with green tea and cauliflower-crust pizza, and who tests his son's blood at every opportunity. Just in case. It's on point, though if anything I wanted Emmett to be a bit snarkier or a bit more...oblivious? Imagine him captioning his social media posts with #blessed, for example. He's more likeable for being a little more earnest and a little less over the top, but...I don't mind a little over-the-topness for Emma.

It may be time for me to go back and read the original, because it occurred to me at some point that I was thinking more of "Clueless" for context than of "Emma". (I burn with shame.) In any case, nice to see another YA take that deviates from the more common retellings.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

This queer, present-day Emma retelling, set in California and centered around an elite private school, is a delight.

It is a well-done retelling. While Emmett does come across like Emma does (as far as entitlement and things appearing to be centered around him), he’s more relatable and it’s easier to be empathetic and sympathetic to him. His motivations and how he treats others are clearer here, and I appreciate the discussions and portrayals of mental health, identity, orientation, and sexuality.

It retains the humor from Austen’s original, too, which is nice.

For fans of Emma, or remakes like Clueless, it’s fun to match up Emmett’s characters and events with those from earlier versions of the story.

And Rosen includes fun touches of magical realism along the way.

I received an advance copy of the book from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.