This was such a fun YA contemporary! A modern retelling of the classic Emma, Rosen delivers a compelling and realistic study of a young boy who thinks he has everything figured out. Emmett does come to realize that shocker, he can in fact be wrong about things 😂🙊.

Emmett was such a fun character and while I did want to be like boy you’re missing obvious signs, I was having too much fun to truly be irritated. If you enjoyed some of the humor from Hack of Hearts, you’ll find a similar one in Emmett but with more sophistication 💅.

I really loved Emmett’s group of friends and his extended family. It was so pure and cute! Seeing these relationships grow and change was so heartwarming. There’s a slow burn romance that develops and I loved it so much!! (The love interest is demisexual and demiromantic 🥹.)

If you enjoy contemporaries add this one to your purchase list as it’s out today!

I've loved all of this author's books and this was no exception. I've always had a soft spot for him because Jack of hearts was one of the first YA books I read with queer main character who didn't diminish asexuality in the queer community and in fact recognized and celebrated it in a secondary character.

This one actually reminds me a lot of jack of hearts. It is sex positive and a YA appropriate manner and has a diverse queer cast of characters. I especially appreciated the mention that our MC is not aromantic instead of just allowing readers to make a guess. Seeing aromanticism celebrated and included in queer representation is even rarer than asexual representation so that was a big win for me even though there isnt any actual aro characters.

I'm not even sure if I'm making sense at this point. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It's a fun queer YA that deals with a host of topics. I do think there are some things that could have been discussed a little bit more but as a whole, of very enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

What an incredibly cute book! This book really worked as a retelling of Emma because it didn’t try to hide the fact that Emma (or Emmett in this case) doesn’t start off as a great character but grows into a great one. It also keeps the humor from Austen’s original which is always great to see.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I tried reading this as an e-book and then listen to it as an audiobook. I didn't really care for any of the characters throughout the story and was halfway through when I decided not to finish. I think this is partly because I am not familiar with Jane Austen's Emma and that might have made a difference. I do think that if you were a fan of that book you should give this a try.

I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this and review! EMMETT is an absolute delight, a gender-bent retelling I didn't know I needed. Love the trans rep and the frank conversations about sex and romance. Will hand-sell in store!

I feel like Emma is the unsung Austen for retellings, and I don’t know why because it lends itself to modern day so well. Especially YA. And also queer! And Rosen does it justice.

In Emmett, our main character loves to set people up but wants to stay out of relationships entirely. He wants to keep feelings as far away as possible. Things get tricky when he tries to keep his feelings about his seemingly straight best friend at bay.

I always love Rosen’s writing, both in the YA realm and his adult work. This book really sings. There’s joy, grief, queer navigating, and everything. I found Emmett as a character to be very realistic and flawed, the way he should be. It takes a real narcissist who also deeply cares about people to want to genuinely help and believe that no one can do it like he can. That’s Emma in the Austen classic, too. And we love her for it.

I would love a whole series of contemporary Austen retellings like this. Queer and YA!

I'm SUCH a sucker for Austen retellings. BUT THEN. THEN? They are made QUEER?!? BE STILL MY SUPER GAY HEART AND TELL ME WE CAN KEEP THIS TREND GOING! This was a little cheesy but it worked! So I'm delighted! Bring on more queer retellings!

Jane Austen’s Emma goes YA - and queer YA at that! Queer YA darling @levacrosen takes on this beloved classic and gives us a boisterous, pompous, matchmaking Emmett, who is trying to survive his last year of high school, maintain his social status, and keep on getting some while giving his friends the loves of their lives. Rosen’s tale is ebullient, sassy, and still rather faithful while modernizing (and queering up) the story. I had such a soft spot for Emmett, and I appreciate how inclusive and s*x-positive Rosen’s YA work can be. You’d love this even if you never read Emma. Go have fun with Emmett and his wild group of friends!

Emmett was advertised as a modern-day queer version of Emma, but I think this is more queer version of Clueless (AS IF!) Since this is a retelling so it’s pretty clear where the story is going. However, I love Rosen added the elements of Emmett’s internal struggle of not looking for love and the whole being nice vs being better paradox. There were also so many laugh out loud moments for me.

I highly recommend the audio, this is the perfect queer rom-com for all the Clueless fans. I kept picturing Paul Rudd as the love interest in the book muahahaha!

4.3 ⭐️

I love Emma, and I love L.C. Rosen, so my expectations for this YA contemporary romance were through the roof, and it absolutely did not disappoint. I will continue to pick up everything Rosen writes because his wit, humor, sex-positive messaging, and romances are spot on.

This was delightful. It was Emma, but modernized. Really, it was Clueless modernized. It hit all the beats, and some characters were very familiar. Emmett was very charismatic. It helped that the audiobook narrator was also incredibly charismatic and gave a hell of a performance.

I think I had a smile on my face almost the entire time I was listening. The tone of the book and of the narrator was so breezy and informal and oozing self-confidence and charisma. Emma is probably my least favorite Jane Austen novel because she can get a little annoying, and Emmett does indeed get a little annoying. But just a little. And he comes around.

The characters all felt three-dimensional and real, like they could step out of the page and continue their conversation as if nothing had happened.

I loved the twist that Emmett is gay. Really just about every character is queer, and they're all very open and understanding, and that was delightful. Emmet's and his father's grief was written so well. I really felt for him and understood his pain and determination to brush it aside.

I would have gladly listened for twice as long.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing an early copy for review.

Well I just breezed right through this! For context, I haven't actually read Emma by Jane Austen so I can't really speak to how this book engages with the inspiration. I will say, I've heard that Emma is Austen's most unlikeable character and I think that Emmett was set up well as a flawed and frustrating character. And yet, I still found him very likable and enjoyed spending time with him - maybe because I was able to find a lot of compassion for him in his grief and experience as a parentified child. (Frankly, Emmett's dad's hypochondria was a lot - it also felt very food shamey and ultimately he was not taking care of himself enough to be what Emmett needed in a parent. But all of this is very well challenged, which is what is most important.) I thought most of the secondary characters were well drawn and despite the relatively large number of people in play, they were all well differentiated. And together they really created a lovely found family vibe. Other than the ending, my favourite part was the whole set piece around the art exhibit. That was really well done and moved the story forward really well. I listened to the audio version of the book and I really liked the narrator but I suspect his style might not work for everyone so you might want to listen to a sample.

Overall I recommend this as a solid young adult bildungsroman with an underlying romance. This was my first book by the author and I will definitely be seeking out his older books.

Content warnings include: past death of a parent from cancer, lots of grief, lots of mentions of blood tests, some food shaming, parentification of a child, underage drinking.

I've never read Jane Austen- cue gasping and pearl clutching! I know, I know! But I have watched, may times, Clueless, so I couldn't help "comparing" Emmett with that movie. There were, of course, similarities, which I would assume would be similar to Emma, but I wasn't so caught up in the comparison that it took me out of the story- it was just there on the periphery.

I really liked Emmett. He's a good kid. Not perfect by any stretch- he has his flaws like anyone. But he's got a big heart and does his best. I liked how he wanted to help his friends, but couldn't see what was right in front of him.

This story was cute and sweet, but also heartfelt. I was sad for Emmett and his dad, still dealing with the grief of their mom and wife. Emmett's dad, in particular, wasn't handling things well and really needed help. Emmett was a little "clueless", but I loved seeing his growth over the course of the story.
I think this will be one I revisit on audio.

this was a nice surprise!!

something i'm always going to praise is a messy protagonist. i'll keep saying i think audiences keep pushing for stories about perfect people that don't do anything wrong. that's a huge disservice to storytelling and can actually be a it harmful when it comes to queer characters.

Emmett is kind of a mess, and it's okay that he is. the fact that he thinks he needs to be perfect but in reality he isn't actually plays really well into the overall themes of the book. i loved him as a protagonist.

the rest of the cast is filled with three dimensional characters that do a great job of bringing this world to life. and i loved how it portrayed relationships and validated all different kinds of romantic and non-romantic connections.

ultimately, it's about the messiness of love and life and the things you can find when you open yourself up to good things while no longer worrying about the bad.

oh! and it's holiday set. such a great read.

Emmett is convinced he knows what’s best for himself and everyone else. His life plan is clear — he wants to focus on excelling at college and going to medical school. Then, and only then, will he be ready for a relationship. But Emmett is eager to set up his friends. He has already played matchmaker for his best friend. And when one of his other friends wants a boyfriend, Emmett is only too happy to help. But what seems like a simple and fun mission becomes more complicated as Emmett realizes that other people’s feelings, and his own, are not always so easy to manage.

This was a fun and funny story. With an engaging character at its center, it is an entertaining and frequently thought-provoking exploration of an important time in people’s lives.

Highly recommended!

Emmett was a true delight, with a charming lead worthy of any Jane Austen novel. Filled with characters who are easy to love and root for, the kind of social situations that any reader of regency romance would recognize, and a ton of humor and heart, readers will fly through this novel from Rosen and then wish there was more!

I just loved this cover. I adored this gender bent retelling of Emma. I got all the Emma feels. I wanted to shake Emmett a couple of times but also just wanted him to have all the happiness! His dad was so awesome. The side characters in the book were pretty great too! They were such a delight in the story. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I've read four other books by this author before, but I have to admit this one has been my least favourite. It just didn't feel quite as fleshed out as the others. I didn't feel like I really got to know the main character very well, the plot didn't actually manage to pull me in very well, and a lot of issues in the book (like the dad's medical anxiety) felt kind of glossed over towards the end where I felt they deserved a little more attention. I've previously loved L.C. Rosen's books for their nuance and their depth, and I was kind of missing those here.

Emmett by L.C.Rosen is a retelling of Emma, which I didn't know while reading. Also, I haven't read Emma, so I can't compare the similarities. Speaking only of Emmett, it was a good read.

Emmett’s mother died of cancer years ago, and his father couldn't accept her death and was still in pain. This made him stay away from love, and he made flimsy excuses for it.

The whole plot revolves around Emmett trying to find a perfect boyfriend for his "friend" Harrison. In the process, he changes and evolves into believing in love. I love the gradual development of his character.

The ending was no surprise, but it still feels good. There are many scenes where Miles shows feelings for Emmett, which Emmett overlooks. But it's no secret that they both would end up together. Overall, it's a good read.