The Code for Love and Heartbreak is a fun, fast paced young adult novel taking place in high school.

Emma is so used to relying on numbers that she believes they are better than people. When her older sister - and only friend- moves across the country for college, Emma must learn how to survive her senior year of high school alone. Emma is at the top of her class, co-President of coding club and a piano player so her calendar is filled, just not when it comes to social commitments.

That quickly changed when the coding club decides to create a matchmaking app for their regional competition.

Even though this has romance elements, I found it to be more about the main character Emma learning about herself and how to be the person she wants to be.

I enjoyed how the characters seemed like realistic high schoolers. Their concerns are about college applications, who to take to the dance and getting rides after school. Not like the high schoolers on television shows where everyone is rich and is doing everything but going to school.

I also appreciated the message of how it is okay to be a nerd and you don’t need to recreate yourself to find friends and maybe even a boyfriend.

The book is billed as being a retelling of Emma but seeing as how I haven’t read Emma, I cannot comment on that.

Super cute read that was incredibly readable with a believable and comfortable pace. It has messages that can be appreciated no matter your age.

4 stars

Emma has always understood math better than people. When her sister and closest confident goes away to college, Emma is left feeling like she doesn't fit. A budding romance between 2 teachers gives Emma an idea - maybe relationships are about the numbers - if you can figure out how to quantify it. Emma and her coding club friends embark on a journey of app development to see if they can use math to find matches among their classmates. Not that Emma wants a match, she just wants to crack the code for love and win the regional competition with the app. As is life, nothing goes to plan and Emma will learn more about people than she anticipated.

This was a cute teen romance with a little bit of computer programming thrown in. I personally cannot relate to it as a re-imagining of Austen's Emma, because in retrospect I realize that I have not read Austen's Emma. If you are looking for something light and fun, look no further.

Just finished my ARC and it hit the spot for my all consuming Jane Austen craving. It does a great job of adapting Emma for a YA setting, only Emma uses a coding app for a competition as her incentive to play match maker. I absolutely LOVED the way Cantor adapted the Elton plot line, and was please with how many changes she made in the processing of adapting; it’s not a direct retelling but it’s got enough of the main cues to be a sold YA adaption. While I don’t think I love it as much as Emma Approved, I can’t wait for this to come out so I can talk to other people about it!

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48713839-the-code-for-love-and-heartbreak" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Code for Love and Heartbreak" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581369579l/48713839._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48713839-the-code-for-love-and-heartbreak">The Code for Love and Heartbreak</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1651861.Jillian_Cantor">Jillian Cantor</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3216924915">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Just finished my ARC and it hit the spot for my all consuming Jane Austen craving. It does a great job of adapting Emma for a YA setting, only Emma uses a coding app for a competition as her incentive to play match maker. I absolutely LOVED the way Cantor adapted the Elton plot line, and was please with how many changes she made in the processing of adapting; it’s not a direct retelling but it’s got enough of the main cues to be a sold YA adaption. While I don’t think I love it as much as Emma Approved, I can’t wait for this to come out so I can talk to other people about it!
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5923662-courtney">View all my reviews</a>

”Everything can’t be solved with an equation, Em. If you feel something…just let yourself feel it, okay?”

The Code for Love and Heartbreak was so stinking cute. It takes a bit to really find its pace, but once you really dive in with Emma, her family, and her friends, you will not want to stop reading. This is described as a retelling of the classic, Emma, but I’ve never read that, so I’m going to say for myself and others who also haven’t read it, that TCFLAH is like the socially awkward and brainy version of the movie Clueless. (Also a retelling of Emma)

Emma is socially awkward and openly admits to missing some social cues. She relates to things better when they involved numbers, and people are nowhere near as reliable as numbers. I think it might be hard for some to connect to Emma at the start,but my advice is to keep going. This story is about her journey, and while it is a bit rocky, it is worth it to see her blossom.

This book focuses on Emma’s senior year and what she’s looking forward to most, which is winning the team coding competition at the state level. To do that she comes up with a sort of love match app that calculates compatibility based on data, formulas, and code. She has to work hard to convince her team that it’s a winner. That an equation and some code is all it takes to find someone a love match. Along the way she uses the app to set people up, and she finds that maybe love isn’t actually quantifiable.

All in all this was a great YA read. It was sweet and while our lead character was not perfect, she was relatable in so many ways. The feeling of young love. The confusion of being ready to leave home and start your adult life, but also not wanting to leave everything behind. It’s just, good. Recommend for anyone looking for a sweet YA.

Confession: I've never read Emma - I really only know the story from having seen Clueless. But, even with my limited knowledge of what this was based off of, I really enjoyed it and could recognize who was who and vaguely know the overarching plot going in. I like how the coding aspect was brought into the story naturally, and it wasn't super technical, but enough to go "ah-ha!" if you have coding knowledge. Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable book, and I think if I was late high school/early college, especially going into a STEAM field, I would enjoy it even more!

Absolutely loved this book! It was based off of Emma by Jane Austen with a modern spin. I liked all the characters and the coding club! I would probably want to hang out with them in high school!

Yet another book written that parallels Jane Austen's Emma except this one has to do with the main character being awkward with people but highly skilled at math and numbers. Along with her Code club president they make a dating app called "the code of love." What can possibly go wrong?

This was light hearted and much needed. A young rom-com. Loved the two main characters but it was somewhat predictable. Still an enjoyable read overall.

Thank to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Available: 10/6/2020

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. I really enjoyed reading about high school age girls who love math and coding. I don’t think I have read any other YA about a coding club, so that was an interesting angle. With that being said, I almost wish there was no romance between Emma and George. It didn’t feel believable and I think the premise of the book was interesting enough without it.

Jillian Cantor did a great job of reimagining the characters from Jane Austen's Emma. I really enjoyed this book and the quirky humor and great moments between George and Emma. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, light-hearted read. Very good!

Super cute rom-com by Jillian Cantor! I loved The Code for Love and Heartbreak. Emma understands numbers. People, not so much. Desperate to win the coding contest her senior year, she convinces Coding Club and her co-president George that her matchmaking app is their best hope. As the club develops the app, Emma also, finally, starts to build some friendships. Emma's total lack of awareness about her own feelings and those of her friends, and George, move the story along. Will Emma truly figure out the code for love?

The Code for Love and Heartbreak?
Try 'The Code for Adorable and Feel Good! It's a more accurate representation.

Among the pages of this book, we follow Emma as she learns to be her own person during her senior year of high school, as her sister goes off to her first year of college.

I find the high school and relationship dynamics are far more accurate in this book, than in most YA.

Emma is quirky, introverted, would rather spend a Friday night in rather than out on the town,
(how old am I that I just used the phrase "out on the town"?? .... anyway,)
she fully misses clues that someone has feelings for her and she can't bring herself to admit that she has feelings for him as well "because numbers are just easier, they cooperate". She struggles with wanting to keep the friends she has made throughout the year, while also discovering that friendships are WAY more work than being a loner.

I mean who can't relate to that?
Relationships are hard, folks.

You can't help but root for Emma throughout the entire book. Especially the parts where you have to struggle through the 'growing pains' along with her. I might still be cringing from a couple of them but hey, worth it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This was such a cute YA read. I love the aspect of trying make a matching up for a high school. I love it's Jane Austen feel--which is the point. Because it's very Emma, you know (if you're an Emma fan) how everything will play out, but the plot is still made enjoyable because of Cantor's fun writing and her characters.

I wasn’t feeling this in the beginning and almost put it down. I’m so glad I didn’t. It really picked up with voice, character levels, and plot as it got going. This is the right level of light with substance/ plot.

Most importantly, this is one of my favorite sister writings in a while (they love each other but they’re so different! when one goes away to college it’s both painful AND freeing/ a relief. Love the accurate nuance of this dynamic).

Beyond that, I’m also here for girls who code, apologies (we all need to sometimes! I love when this is modeled in MG and YA lit.), and respectful male characters. The love by the end was cute too.

This one will be well received. I look forward to sharing it around. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this story was cute, I loved the characters and how Emma really came into her own. At parts it seemed a little immature even for a young adult read, but I think that also comes with Emma's lack of peer relationships. Overall it was a quick, enjoyable read perfect for a quarantine!

As a huge fan of Emma, I couldn't resist reading Jillian Cantor's take on the storyline. The writing makes this a quick read and even though you are expecting the outcomes, the characters are like-able and relatable. I love that Emma Woodhouse is not what you would expect from a main female protagonist, but some of her social cues are lacking at best. I appreciated keeping the character names the same so it was easy to keep up. The contemporary spin with apps and coding, etc made this a refreshing read.

The publisher generously provided me with a copy of the book upon request on NetGalley. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

For those who loved “Tweet Cute” , this book is for you. With lovable characters and a love story for the nerd ages, Jillian Cantor captures coding with the brain and the heart. I loved getting to know everyone in the book and I couldn’t put it down.

“You could always code yourself a boyfriend.”
A silly offhand comment made by Emma's sister Izzy has Emma creating an app
that will stand out on her Stanford application and hopefully win the upcoming coding club competition. When students meet their "perfect match," Emma finds out math can't be used to predict love and is shocked her formula fails because she has always been able to rely on numbers.
Code for Love was a cute, feel good YA read. It did leave me with questions about Emma. Is she suppose to be on the Asperger's spectrum, the author never makes it clear, but there's plenty of hints. If it was the intent to write about a differently abled main character, brava, we need more stories like this.

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.