I guess this is a retelling of the classic Emma, but I am a slacker and never read that so I cannot confirm or deny how closely this follows the original.
I thought the premise sounded fun and I liked the cover so I jumped into this really excited. Unfortunately, I only found this book to be ok. Keep in mind that others have seemed to enjoy it so if the synopsis sounds entertaining feel free to give it a read.
I personally struggled with the main character Emma. I did not care for her at all and I never warmed up to her, she never really had a change in her attitude, she was pretty abrasive and rude the whole book and basically her every interaction rubbed me the wrong way. The side characters were well fleshed out for the most part and I really adored George- who I personally think is too sweet for Emma, but maybe opposites really do attract. I found the plot to be very predictable as well as similar to a few other YA contemporary books I read earlier this year (but they had characters I liked which made a difference). Overall this was not for me, but I would give other books by this author a whirl to see how they go in the future.

I’m a big fan of Jillian Cantor’s books & think she’s a very talented writer. The Code for Love & Heartbreak is her first foray into the Young Adult genre & is well done. Cantor has done a great job of pairing the retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma with teenagers in the present day. I really liked the fact that the main female character is a computer nerd who is focused on a coding competition for the school club. An enjoyable way to spend a few afternoons relaxing, reading The Code for Love & Heartbreak promises a delightful escape.

Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really cute retelling of Emma and perfect for high school students. This was a typical YA contemporary but what makes it stand out a bit is the STEM aspect of the story.

For fans of Jane Austen’s Emma, this YA Contemporary between high school coders and a new matchmaking app is the perfect modern, romantic twist.

I’ve never read/watched the original story, so I can’t comment too much on how it relates to this retelling, but I can say that the plot itself felt like a great story for YA fans. I really enjoyed the wholesome, sweet connection between the characters while also displaying the more nerdy settting (which I love reading). It definitely reads as a YA, causing me to fly through the entire book in one sitting.

A typical 3 out of 5 star read for me. It was a fun read but nothing that completely stood out to me. I would recommend this one for readers who adore the YA Romance genre and geeky characters.

This was a cute contemporary! Nothing super notable about it: I've read several books similar to it, where the main character is a young woman in STEM. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE women in STEM and am a huge advocate for it (and am one myself!), but the trope can be, and already has become, overused. Not to say there's anything necessarily wrong with having more, except when the only character trait of the main character is 'is a nerd' and she is otherwise unremarkable, it just . . . is kinda boring.

With that aside though, here are my thoughts about this book specifically. Overall, it was sweet, if a little bit cliche-y. Some of them (maybe some spoilers ahead, read at your own risk): high school seniors, awkward woman in STEM that has no social cues, dead/super uninvolved parents, the hot guy somehow falling in love, the fact that everyone in high school seems to know everyone else and even if you're not /friends/ with everyone, everyone is civil and knows you and is willing to talk to you, having parents that are just cool with you having friends over whenever you want, never having to go to work but somehow having the budget to have a cute and quirky go-to takeout order, just vibin with a 4.0 AND extracurriculars AND getting ready to go to an ivy no biggie, oh no there's a medical emergency somewhere in the middle and the love interest is there and all of a sudden how good of a person they are is suddenly revealed, completely unfeasible science/techy thing that magically just ~happens~ because, let's all say it together, the main character is a ✨nerd✨, and the list goes on.

The story is a Jane Austen Emma retelling, and while I haven't read Emma, the characters have the same names as the ones in Emma: Emma Woodhouse and George Knightly, which I thought was kind of cute. The story revolves around their coding club, where they compete with other schools to design the best app, which I really liked. It really reminded me of my Science Olympiad years, which was very nostalgic for me and made me miss it. I understand that most people wouldn't necessarily have enjoyed it, but I would personally have liked to have seen more of the competition and design aspects, rather than just name dropping coding terms.

In addition, there was just . . . a lot of high school drama. I don't detail it, as it was almost entirely trivial and of no importance, but there was just a lot of drama. In addition, Emma often reacted very strongly to some things that really did not need that kind of reaction? There was a lot of being angry at someone for reasons that were honestly unknown and that didn't need that level of drama for. She also got mad at a bunch of people who were trying the best. Overall, it was just a very thoughts and emotions driven story, while still being told and not shown.

Neither Emma nor George have particularly notable characteristics, nor, for that matter, any of the side characters, other than one who had red hair. The whole premise of the story is that they design an app that would create the optimal pairing for people looking for a partner/date based on algorithms (which, not a computer scientist, but I'm almost certain that what they call an algorithm isn't . . . an algorithm?), which would have been fine, except for the fact that the pairs . . . didn't seem to work? I understand that that was the premise of the story--love isn't a measurable thing--but with how poorly the app seems to work (which is not mentioned in the book, but rather from my interpretation of the people who were paired), I just don't understand how the people at the school appeared to be be so supportive of it. At the end of it, even Emma and George (who were not paired by the app, whod've thunk) didn't seem that great of a pair either, which was the whole point of the book anyways.

I did like the relationship between Emma and Jane: their friendship was super cute and honestly I think they had the most chemistry out of every relationship in the book. The interactions of the coding club in general was pretty fun and overall had good energy. Emma's dad was also pretty fun, and I liked his character. I also LOVED Mrs. Bates, an elderly woman who lived at the nursing home with her husband with dementia: she was probably my favorite character from the book! Lastly, and while it makes me feel 80 years old saying this, I honestly related with Izzy (Emma's older sister) and her boyfriend, who is George's older brother, who are away at college, the most from this book: they are just . . . older and wiser and aren't as caught up in high school dramatics.

Honestly overall? This book was fine. It was a cute story and I enjoyed reading it, but my time for high school YA might be ending, which honestly I'm not too sad about. The characters were really flat, and while the story was good, it was pretty average and I doubt I'll remember it for long.

This book was terribly cute! I really loved the coding element, and of course I love an Austen retelling. This book didn't really do anything super special, but the romance was sweet, and I will say, this heroine was much more likable than the Emma in Austen's book ;) Super predictable, a great palate cleanser

Great story and loved the slight romance. Really enjoyed the characters and how the plot moved and how the characters changed throughout the book. I would read this author again.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor is amazing! For fans of To All The Boys I Loved Before, this is a must read. Inside, readers will find a female protagonist who isn't looking for love at first and gets hit smacked with cupid's arrow. Funny, charming, and heartfelt I could not put this novel down...it was addictive. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of the story until Emma comes up with the app and starts to crush on the new guy. It was then that she seems to start becoming more human and filled with emotions.

Before, she was all about coding and her chances for college. But even as she navigates this new territory of feelings, crushes, and becoming more social aka having friends-Emma ends up finding herself and lives more. Before, she technically hid from most of the world. With her older sister leaving for a faraway college, her dad falling ill, and the tensions from the coding project-this girl has her hands full.

I enjoyed reading this tale. The cast of characters, big and small, made it more real. The emotional journey is epic. Overall, I definitely recommend not only to YA fans but to romantic comedy fans. I have never read a book by Jillian Cantor until now. I will definitely be looking out for more books by her in the future.

This book had so much potential I was really hoping to love it. It is a cute YA contemporary romance. It hits all of the elements needed to create a storyline backdrop that you want to be engaged in. However, I found it really hard to like the characters enough to be invested in their story. Emma was whiny and terribly self centered. While I understand her development is learning how to understand people over numbers, the way she treated other characters regularly made it difficult to want a happy ending for her. She never learned any lessons or had serious repercussions for her actions.

If you are in the YA age range, this is a solid fit. If you enjoy a good YA contemporary you will enjoy this book. It is written in a way that is easy to read with some awesome tech elements that really held the story together.

Ahhhh to be young and in love.

& just imagine having an app that tells you exactly who to like and how much they like you. This adorable YA title had a premise that I immediately fell for, and the story itself did NOT disappoint!

Even knowing that this one would be a predictable plotline, did not keep me from just smiling at the characters relatable, adolescent problems and feelings. While at times the writing style left some of the conflicts with something to be desired, I really enjoyed the book overall. Who doesn't need a little bit of nostalgia for their younger years?!

Thank you to NetGalley + Inkyard Press for providing me an eARC in exchange for my personal review, I gave this one 3.5 stars.

Could not get into this one at all. The main character didn't have a personality and the story dragged on. The romance was predictable and there wasn't much build up.

First off, I really appreciated the complexity and the amount of growth all of the characters underwent in this novel. Emma was an enjoyable protagonist, and I found her experiences and opinions to be relatable on more occasions then I can count. The fact that she played piano for elderly people was also pretty endearing. The gradual progression in feelings that Emma had for one of the other characters was natural and logical, too. The passion and connection they shared wasn’t formed out of insta-love, and their relationship seemed to progress at a realistic rate. As a fellow geek, I'll admit that I was hooked and totally immersed in the story.

Jane, another member of Emma’s coding club, was also well developed. A traumatic event from her past helped distinguish her from the other characters, and although I would have liked to see her gain some confidence and display her insecurities by the end of the story, I still think she was a solid addition to the story.

The way the coding competition finished was also somewhat unconventional, although it was very refreshing. Overall it was a lovely book, and definitely one that will appeal to a wide array of audiences. If you've read and enjoyed books like Crow Flight by Susan Cunningham, and Prom Theory by Ann LaBar, then I know you'll love this one. Teens and adults that enjoy reading about nerdy teenagers who fall in love and are willing to work extremely hard to make their dreams come true will celebrate this addition to the genre.

A special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Inkyard Press, for the ARC I received. All opinions expressed in the review are my own.

This is a contemporary retelling of Emma and it was entertaining and cute but that's about it. It took me a bit to get into the story and even then I felt like i had to push myself to continue at times.

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

The Code for Love and Heartbreak was exactly the type of story I was looking for. Not only did the story have sweet cutesy moments but it also had some tough and sad moments sprinkled throughout the book. I am slightly curious about the main character as social cues and relationships were something that she struggled with and I'm not sure if she was meant to have a social anxiety or something else that would be hindering that as it is mentioned that it started at a young age but its brought up pretty often how she doesn't understand most social cues and always says the wrong thing. I feel like there are some characteristics there but I do not know if it is meant to be a representation or not so I can not speak on that.

I did enjoy the overall plot of the story and actually really liked how all of the different characters came together and each roll in this story was filled. I was definitely rooting for the couple to get together and saw it coming for quite some time but was surprised by some of the events and how we finally got to the ending. The beginning of the story was much more slow moving but by about midway through I felt more of a connection to the characters and the relationships that I didn't want to put the book down as I just wanted to keep reading about them and some of the cute moments that happened throughout. I also loved that while this was a romance the friendship aspect was also a huge part of this story and loved seeing the character as she built friendships with others.

The thing that mostly held me back from considering this a 5 star book was that in the beginning I didn't feel as much of a connection to the main character and really only started to feel that connection more as she started opening up and creating friends.

A unique, modern take on Jane Austen’s Emma.

Emma doesn’t know what to do when her sister leaves for college. Her sister was the only reason Emma had a social life, Emma would rather be home coding. She’s kind of scared when her sister Izzy suggests that Emma make some friends or maybe get a boyfriend. Emma makes a joke about creating the code for a boyfriend.

Later Emma decides she actually can create a code for dating. She bounces the idea off her coding club that they create a dating app to mathematically match students at their school with their perfect match.
Ultimately the coding group chooses Emma’s code for dating project.

Emma has never had a boyfriend or dated. She is pretty convinced that she can help people find their perfect match using math.

There are a lot of things that Emma never factored into her equations and these things start working against her.

It actually seems like her app has a pretty solid success rate but that’s definitely not all that matters. Emma learns a lot about friendship and love in the process.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thanks!

Thank you to Netgalley & Inkyard Press for providing me with an e-ARC of The Code for Love and Heartbreak; however, I did my review based on a finished copy of the audiobook!

3.5 Round Up!

Who loves a good retelling? Me. Who loves a book that centers around technology? Also me.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak is an Emma by Jane Austen retelling; I'm gonna be real with you, I have never read Emma, so I can't necessarily compare the two for you.

Something I have to remind myself often is that when I read YA books, the characters are, of course, young. Did I get upset over really dumb things when I was in high school? Yes, absolutely, I was a Hot Mess. Emma & the Coding Club have some conflict throughout the book & it made me cringe so much. Like? That's what you chose to be angry about? Seriously? But after stepping back & reassessing the situation, maybe I would have been mad too at that age.

There is one thing that irked me though that did lower my opinion on The Code for Love and Heartbreak. And it's that it felt like it was attempting to be a love-triangle story. Emma seems to be pining after two characters & for some reason, it just didn't feel right to me? This may have been just a me thing though.

I was going to give this a 3-star overall, however, the ending had me in my feels & I definitely had to raise it a bit. The Code for Love and Heartbreak is a cute read where our main character learns a lot about herself & develops really meaningful relationships.

A cute YA rom com and a modern riff on Austen's Emma. This was a charming read with a fun protagonist and set-up.

Emma Woodhouse, 17, self-named nerd, coder, never been in love. This definitely sounds like the right person to create a dating app... not! And yet, that is exactly what happens in this book.

Much like Jane Austen's Emma, this group of characters take some work to get in touch with. The antics of high school coding club members are as foreign to me as the lives of affluent members of Regency society.

I enjoyed this very quick read after some struggle in the beginning to connect with the characters. It was a nice update to a much beloved classic and it would make a great movie, imo.

Recommended for: teens, young adult novel enthusiasts, die-hard Emma fans

Solid 3.5
I haven't seen a lot of books where the girl is the awkward computer nerd and I really liked that concept. Usually when I start to read a YA contemporary like this I can immediately pick out who the main character is going to end up with, but I found myself quite unsure for a while there. It was almost set up as a love triangle without there being any actual love between Emma, Sam, and George. In the end, I did really love Emma and George together.
The friendship between Jane and Emma was a lot of fun to read about and I liked how that relationship developed.
Sometimes Emma was annoying and I just wanted to shake her.
Overall it was a pretty average book with a cute plotline. Nothing super special or unique, but I had an enjoyable time reading it

I love geeky love stories and The Code for Love and Heartbreak delivered!

Emma is co-president of the coding club with George. She competes with George constantly, but they are friends. Emma is trying to think of what their senior project will be for coding club. Her sister, Izzy, left her for college. Izzy told her she should code herself a boyfriend. Emma gets the idea that the coding club could make an app that mathematically tells you who you should be with. She grudgingly gets the coding team behind her. But what happens when the code doesn't work?

Emma was likable. She was very rigid at times though. George was adorable. I liked him instantly. There was also a strong relationship between Emma and her dad, which I always love to see in YA books.

If you want a cozy, geeky love story, The Code for Love and Heartbreak is for you!