This version of Emma Woodhouse offers a socially flawed, introverted heroine who is co-President of the Coding Club at her New Jersey high school. The story doesn't scream Austen, but instead takes a typical YA turn through high school life as a team of students work together to create an app that uses an algorithm to match couples at their high school. Students pair off, gets date to a dance, but Emma still refuses love herself, until the app's graphic artist reprograms the app just for her. Technology might predict a match, but the heart knows what it wants.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was an amazing YA read that made my nerdy self smile. I loved main characters Emma and George and their relationship. YA readers will be able to relate to the stresses of HS and and relationships. Very well written and I appreciated that there was no sex in this novel. Highly recommend!!!!!

“A nerdy modern day Emma, with a mathematical twist.”
Cecelia Beckman, Sheaf & Ink

My Thoughts

Jillian Cantor’s story is a quirky and unique take on the classic Jane Austen, Emma. Emma of The Code for Love and Heartbreak is the antithesis of the classic Emma. The modern Emma is all about academics, her strongest subject being math, and her least being relationships.
We have all the major players from the original novel coalescing into the Coding Club. With certain twists of who ends-up-with-who, Cantor’s story gives us a fresh view of how matchmaking, even when math is involved, doesn’t always have the perfect outcome.

I love when an author takes on retelling a past story and making it their own. When you have a new canvas to paint the story on it’s important, particularly if you’re creating a modern-day rendition, to broaden the scope of the story and push the boundaries of the original.

However, I thought Cantor could have done more in a few areas of her novel, particularly with equal representation, both with sexual orientation/preference and character diversity. Even though she includes “matches” who are gay or lesbian they aren’t main characters or even sub characters, which was disappointing. I actually thought at one point Emma would possibly be bi-sexual (if I’m being honest, would have been a great new aspect of the character in a contemporary fiction) and a great plot twist.

But I think the other areas that felt like there could have been more substance were character development, not glossing over hot topics of abuse and bullying, and tuning down the melodramatic heartbreak we see in the end.

I fully bought into the fact that Emma was clueless when it came to relationships. That she didn’t know what to say or how to interact when it came to her feelings or dealing with anyone romantically. But I think Cantor used Emma’s awkwardness and inexperience as a crutch and only did an adequate job at showing how Emma could move past her social shortcomings.

Another aspect that felt somewhat like a red flag was how certain hot topics were glossed over. There will always be concerns when it comes to dating apps and how they can turn into something entirely different than what it may have been originally intended. But to gloss over sexual abuse as though it never happened and just dropping the topic altogether seemed insufficient. If you bring into play abuse, then fully address the matter in a meaningful way so that it doesn’t leave doubt on where the author stands regarding the topic.

Towards the end of the book the melodramatic meter was ramped up beyond plausibility. Yes, I understand there are moments in high school that are dramatic, but this drama should be used in a way that readers can relate to.

Even though I had concerns, The Code for Love and Heartbreak was an interesting take on Jane Austen’s Emma.

<I> A HUGE thank you to Inkyard Press for providing me with an eARC of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This novel is currently set to be published in October 2020. </I>

4.5 stars

Wow! I am not sure if it was serendipidy or fate that caused me to come across this novel as I was obsessing over the new film rendition of Jane Austen's <u> Emma </u> released last week, but whatever the universe's impetus behind it was I am utterly infatuated with Cantor's new romcom. I have not read <u> Emma </u> in about a decade, but I found this modern reimagining to be just as fun and disastrous as the original novel.

Cantor made an effort to keep some of the key names faithful to Austen's book (e.g. Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley), but others she chose to substitute more modern names with the same first initial. It is pretty easy to figure out who is supposed to represent who as you are reading, if you are interested in drawing comparisons to its predecessor. I thoroughly enjoyed how Cantor gave this an updated spin by setting it in a high school with a "Code for Love" app as the matchmaking business. It keeps it relevant to 21st century readers while touching on the original themes and social dilemmas that Austen presented over 200 years ago. Some things never change; humans will always be drawn to love stories full of wit, humour, and suspense. This book has all of those. An easy fun read, especially for Austen fans.

This was an adorable read! I feel like STEM and coding for girls are really under-represented. While not a hard hitting book this was the perfect light romance!

Quirky, nerdy, and super cute! Ended up in a different direction than I thought it would - but I loved it! Catch me teaching myself how to code an app!

This was a cute, quick read. Cantor has made characters who are likable and engaging. I loved that this was a YA book with a female lead who is also a math genius. Emma is a bit of a Sheldon Cooper type in terms of her social intelligence and it is both frustrating and endearing navigating senior year with her. Definitely recommend for fans of Emma and Clueless (another retelling of Emma)., or for anyone wanting a palate cleanser after a heavy read or a good beach read.

4 stars

This was a sweet novel with a good premise. It was, however, very light on the romance aspect and the characters didn't really speak to me. I'm not sure why, but I had a hard time really connecting and staying engaged as the story progresses. It may be that I generally read books with more mature lead characters and this book takes place in High School. That may not be an issue for other readers.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A super cute romcom retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. Beautifully written, had me hooked and unable to put it down. It’s a modern day retelling with a nerdy twist. Emma is a high school senior who likes numbers better than people. She figures out a way to quantify love with a code that can creates love matches... it all works out beautifully until it doesn’t. She has a hard time reading people and never seems to say the right things, but somehow she ends up finding herself and some new friends along the way. The names and general theme of the story is similar to the classic, but plot had some twists. I loved reading this rendition. I love Jane Austen and Emma is one of my top favorite Austen novels, but Jillian Cantor seems to make this classic much more relatable, which I love!

3.5
I thought this book was pretty cute. I thought it resembled a Jane Austen book but a more modern version. I liked how the characters developed, but at the same time I couldn’t stay hooked on the plot. It had its potential moments to be really cute but it fell a little short for me. It could also be my age, I’m in my late 20’s and have a difficult time sometimes connecting to younger characters.

This retelling of Jane Austen was a cute romantic comedy. The characters were well developed and the writing style was good as well. A great read for anyone looking for a romantic comedy and for Jane Austen fans.

There was something about the title and premise that drew me in. I mean, who doesn't love a good love story? I know nothing about Emma which is what this is a retelling of but I was still excited to give this one a try. The thing is, there was just something missing. I did like it for the most part but it just needed more.

Emma has no friends. She would rather deal with numbers than socializing. Although she quickly makes friends in this book so not really sure if that makes sense. I was a shy teen back in high-school but I still had a handful of friends. There wasn't anything that made me connect to her character but I did like that she cared so much about her dad. Family is important and I like seeing that in books. On the other hand, I literally can't remember a YA book I have read recently where both parents have been in the picture for the MC. I thought about that while reading so I'm just going to throw it in here.

The other characters in this book are fine but also a bit lackluster. They are there to move along the plot. George was fine but again, no connection for me. I did like the relationship and how it played because at least it wasn't insta-love and Emma had to work through her feelings to understand that math isn't the answer for everything and love just happens.

The plot was entertaining but I think what was missing is the love/heartbreak. Everything was told and not showed. I wanted to know more about the couples. It also felt like the part that could be taken as heartbreak was fine but also not that emotional? It could be just me.

Overall, I liked it but just needed a bit more of something.

The blurb sounds fascinating, and a retelling of Emma by Jane Austen? I'm all for it! And I'm a sucker for anything about coding/computers. Computer nerds/geeks are sexy. Seriously.

Sad to say, this book isn't for me. Here are the reasons:

1. The heroine doesn't endear herself to me, for some reason. However, I did like that she cares for her dad and worries about him should she go away to college when the time comes.

2. It seems weird that she doesn't have a single friend (aside from her sister) before the book starts. She does go to classes, doesn't she? How about seatmates whom she may be acquainted with?

3. Not much romance.

4. When Izzy came home for Christmas, the way she pined for John when he went on a trip with his family. I don't think it's a good depiction of a person in love. Impressionable teenagers would get the wrong impression.