What an absolute delight of a book. I loved this contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's Emma, and thought the author did such a wonderful job of modernizing it. The dialogue was wonderful, the characters hilarious and loveable, and the New York setting was fantastic too. Emma and Knightly had fantastic angst and chemistry and I could have happily read about them for another 370 pages. In a nutshell, this book was witty, charming, and downright dazzling.

#book49of2023 Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding This was just mediocre for me. I enjoyed parts of the story and I was bored by a lot of the story. This book felt so contrived. And I’m pretty sure Clueless was a major factor in several scenes. It was pretty obvious in the “party in the Valley” scene and I still roll my eyes thinking about it. I did love Knightly- he was one of the redeeming characters. Emma is a teenage adult living with her dad in their brownstone on 83rd street. She’s kind of a mess surrounded by family and friends who might as well be family who are there to support her. She is going to school and majoring in art history which hopes of a fantastic internship at the Met. When Emma meets Nadine she knows Nadine is in desperate need of a makeover- not just in her appearance, but with life. Knightly is the only one who calls Emma out on what he thinks is appropriate or not. He gets a little jealous when a potential love interest enters the picture for Emma. This sounded so much better than it was- which was just ok. #kristalreads

I’d like to thank #NetGalley and #GalleryBooks for an advanced readers copy.

Rating: 4/5⭐️

Publication Date: May 23rd 2023

Author: Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding

Review: I love the retelling aspect of Jane Austen's Emma, everything about it was truly a feel good kind of read. its charming and quirky too, but also had its moments of being steamy. I am a person that judges a book by its cover and this one held its own. What was on the outside really helped/ represented what was going to be on the inside. It was easy to read and helped me live my fantasies of living on the upper east side.

This is a book that I would defiantly read again when i have the chance.

This is a really cute adaptation of Jane Austin's Emma. While reading this book, I kept coming back to the similarities to the movie Clueless, which happens to be my favorite 90’s movie!

What I liked about this book:
-Clueless vibes (one of my favorite movies from the 1990's)
-The Setting: Upper east side Manhattan. I had an apartment a few blocks from where this story took place
-Childhood friends to lovers
-Adaptation of Emma
-Likeable main and side characters
-Grumpy/Sunshine
-A few great spicy scenes
-One of my favorite book covers of 2023

The miscommunication trope is never going to be my favorite but I understand why it was used in this story.

Overall, this was a really fun read. I enjoyed getting to know these characters in the Upper East Side setting. I would recommend this to readers who love the friends to lovers trope or Clueless 😍

Thank you @simonandschuster @bookclubfavorites and @netgalley for this gifted copy.

A modern retelling of Jane Austen's Emma that will have you smiling from ear to ear! Emma Woodhouse is a 24 year old Upper East side resident with a heart of gold. She loves her family and friends deeply and is always putting them first. The boy next door/across the yard, is George Knightley, seven years her senior and sparring partner extraordinaire.

This book left the biggest smile on my face and I let out lots of happy "squees" while reading. Such a great book to kick off the summer! Or winter, or fall, just read it!

a well done modern retelling of Emma with some steamy stuff. Emma is always challenging because she is truly annoying and self absorbed and thoughtless in many ways. Same happens here but they do what they can.

Very charming modern retelling of Emma! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this!

The upper class New Yorker twist on served Emma's story nicely, and I loved that this was dual POV- Knightley's perspective added a lot of depth to the story.

I'll definitely be checking out more by this author.

Disclaimer: it's been a bit since I've read the original Emma, but to me, this felt like a fairly faithful to the core parts of what makes Emma Emma.

Content: some open door scenes towards the end that were very easy to completely skip

Very cute retelling of Jane Austin’s Emma. Totally enjoyed the book. A very solid 4 stars! And very relatable characters. Even for those of us who aren’t gazillionaires. Now I want to book a flight to New York.

Emma lives and breathes art in New York. She's in her last year of education and hoping for an internship at the MET. With her friends abroad and her sister newly married, she grasps on to a new friendship with Nadine and sets out on a course to slyly matchmake her way through year.
The authors did a great job with this retelling of Emma. It was definitely on the Clueless brand of a retelling with a more modern (I just made myself a little sick thinking the 90's are no longer modern) flair. I'm most looking forward to the retelling of Pride and Prejudice that is blatantly hinted at in the ending. If I don't get it, I may resort to messaging the authors for a one-on-one story telling.
I read and listened to this simultaneously, which I'm finding to be my new favorite way to read. It's dually narrated by Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton, who can't do me wrong.
Thank you to Gallery and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

This romcom tells the story of a wealthy girl named Emma who has lived next door to the same guy, Knightly, since childhood. Her sister married his brother, and they’ve been friends and flirted on and off for years. She’s graduating with a Masters in Art History and wants to work at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. He runs a hedge fund that works with sustainable businesses.

I really liked the buildup as their relationship gradually changed. The plotting and characters keeps the book moving. There’s a lot of detail about living in NYC, which is much easier if you’ve got money.

There was a lot of name dropping for clothing, furniture etc. and it got tiresome. Emma has little self awareness in the first half or so of the book and it was frustrating to read at times. Overall I enjoyed it, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

A friends to lovers romance, this takes place in”old New York City society” with 2 characters, Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley who actually drove me nuts for 2/3 of the book. They, however redeemed themselves in the last 1/3. I was frustrated by their obvious infatuation with each other that they did not see. I was very glad when they each got out of their heads and saw what was in front of them. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emma on 83rd Street is a quick and easy book to read. I found the story moved quick enough that I was never bored. I enjoyed the characters and found the dynamic between Emma and George (aka Knightley) flirty and realistic. They grew up as friends, almost sister and brother, but realized that there could be more to their friendship. Neither of them wanted to take that first step. They did not believe that the other felt the same way.



Emma’s family was a lot. They were constantly in each other’s business. The dad, he was not a good father. He did not mean to, but he held his daughter’s back from living their lives. I am not sure that the author meant to write him as an unlikable character, but I cringed every time he was making a statement. Emma’s sister was happily married and that left Emma to live with her dad and deal with his negativity. Then enters Knightley, the next-door neighbor. He is something else, but I felt from the beginning that he had Emma’s best interest at heart. He was like a little kid, if I am mean to the girl, it means I like her.



Emma of 83rd Street is a book I read in one sitting but I will admit that the characters were not overly likable. I did skim some of the pages as I felt there was too much description and not enough conversation, but that could be because everyone was always telling everyone else what they did wrong or what they should be doing.

I really, really enjoyed this dual POV, friends to lovers, slow burn Emma retelling! I don't know what it is about Jane Austen's works but her stories still hold up so well in our modern age. Set in NYC, Emma and Knightly are longtime childhood friends but they always seem able to push each other's buttons. Over the course of a year we see them grow closer and finally give in with a surprisingly spicy consummation.

Filled with all the classic reasons we love meddling, big hearted Emma and grumpy/gruff Knightly with tons of banter, humor and heart. This was great on audio narrated by two of my very fav narrators, Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton. The ending hints that this author duo's next book might be a Pride & Prejudice retelling and I am here for it!

Highly recommend for any Jane Austen retelling fans! Many thanks also to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was so cute i absolutely loved it! emma and george were so perfect! i loved this friends to lover slow burn so much! the banter and tension was absolutely perfect with just the right amount of angst! once i started reading i couldnt put this book down! loved the spice at the end and just their friendship/relationship as a whole it was the perfect book!

Confession time… I have never read any of Jane Austen’s novels😬 Emma of 83rd Street is a modern retelling of the classic, Emma, and while I cannot comment on the likeness of the two, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I thought the writing had a great flow and it was a quick, easy read. Emma is such a likable character and I adored her friendship with Nadine. Knightley is absolutely swoon-worthy and I loved the relationship between him and Emma. The slow burn in this one is slowww then everything wraps up rather quickly which I am not the biggest fan of. Overall I thought this was a fantastic book and one I highly recommend!

Confession: I have never read the original Emma by Austen but have seen Clueless countless times. (That counts, right?) But the synopsis seemed cute and figured why not. And it was cute. I liked the relationship of Emma and Knightley from childhood friends to adulthood. The sunshine/grumpy and childhood friends to lovers tropes are alive and well in this book. Loved the slow burn and the book was entertaining and humorous.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this eArc. Emma of 83rd Street is out now. A great summer read!

Emma of 83rd Street is the latest modern/rom com take on a Jane Austen novel. Austen’s classic novel Emma gets a modern retelling that feels similar to Clueless but not as much fun. Emma of 83rd Street is an enjoyable rom com perfect for beach of poolside reading.

Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding is going to be a huge win for these authors. I absolutely LOVE this book! I love the retelling of the classic Jane Austen book Emma with it's modern day twist. I see so many movies in this book. From another review someone mentioned the movie Clueless and I couldn't agree more! Emma wins its readers over with humor, wit, banter, and flirtation. It leaves hopeless romantics like myself, wanting more.

This is the best Jane Austen adaptation I’ve read in a long time! Emma wins its readers over with humor, wit, banter, and flirtation. It leaves hopeless romantics like myself, wanting more. Kudos to Bellezza and Harding for an amazing debut. I can’t wait until you publish your next!

Emma is a well to-do graduate student studying art 🖼️. She lives with her father and sister in a beautiful brownstone on 83rd Street in New York City and is the epitome of fashion 👛 and grace. She has everything that she could ever want except for one thing…love.

Emma becomes known by family and friends as quite the matchmaker 💕 for setting up her sister and childhood best friend (Ben) at one of the Woodhouse’s annual Christmas parties. When Margo and Ben get married, Emma finds herself lonelier than usual and works to find a match for new friend, Nadine. Emma finds it easy to help others fall in love but can’t quite figure out the perfect equation for herself. However, handsome (and stubborn) neighbor Knightley keeps running 🏃‍♂️ through her mind. Will opposites 🧲 attract? Will Emma and Knightley let their walls down and acknowledge a good thing when they see (and feel) it?

What I loved:
💕 Emmas huge heart even if motive may be a little misplaced at times.
💕 Knightley’s stubborn and slightly grumpy demeanor.
💕 The deep connection that the Woodhouse’s and Knightley’s have had since childhood, as well as how protective they are of each other. Family dinners and other traditions are delightful.
💕 The humor that the authors plant throughout the story. The book is beautifully crafted!

Ahhhh this was so good! Most definitely one of my favorite romances of the year! I wasn't expecting to love Emma of 83rd Street so much - OH HOW I LOVE BOOKISH SURPRISES.

I haven't read Emma yet (embarrassing, I know..But I will soon) but this retelling has made me so interesting in the classic now! Fans of the timeless classic will find a new favorite in this, surely. The childhood-friends-to-lovers trope always hits! I loved the swoon-worthy dyanamic between Emma and Knightley so very much. The angst, the pining, the slow-burn - EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT. I swooned, I laughed, I screamed.

I am so impressed with the authors' writing styles! Can't wait to read more from them. ❤️

Many thanks to the publisher for the e-ARC. ✨