Camille Kellogg's Just As You Are is the romance book I have been waiting my entire life to read.

In recent years, the LGBTQ+ community has gotten so more representation in the media, which is amazing but most of us still don't see ourselves. I can't speak for everyone but as a masculine-presenting lesbian, I can count every accurate butch character I've seen in media on one hand. Butch lesbians are often reduced to a predatory stereotype or are killed off or both.
What I loved about Just As You Are was how unabashedly silly it was, and in the best ways. I laughed myself into side-stitches on a full flight. I could feel a handful of eyes on me but I couldn't put the book down.
Additionally, Liz, the protagonist, is having a bit of an identity crisis throughout the story that is both relatable and anxiety-inducing. Most of her internal conflict is the accumulation of her own self-doubt. As Liz falls for Darcy, her lack of self-worth only impedes the relationship. Liz has to learn to love herself before she can love someone else. This is such a healthy message that is often missing from romance narratives.

This book is lighthearted, full of queer-joy, and I absolutely cannot wait for the rest of the world to enjoy it as much as I have!

Just as You Are is a fresh and absorbing Pride and Prejudice retelling. Liz is a writer at a struggling queer magazine which is not only her source of income but her found family, in particular her roommates Jane, Lydia, and Katie (the P&P parallels are wonderfully thick, particularly in the first half the story). When two investors, Daria and Bailey, buy the magazine, they upend Liz's search for identity, professional fulfillment, and maybe even love.

Although I am not the target demographic for this novel, I thought it was a great read. There are many Pride and Prejudice retellings, but this one is particularly apt. Like the original, Just as You Are is concerned with appearances and how they can represent or conceal realities - but in addition to the usual questions of Daria's/Darcy's reserve and Weston's/Wickham's volubility, the novel also addresses Liz's gender presentation. Liz's attempts to find a style that makes her feel like herself, and also her best self, may be specific to queer individuals, but they will resonate with others too.

I'm not sure I would categorize this as a romance novel, and certainly not only as a romance novel. Of course there is the question of Liz and Daria's (and Jane and Bailey's) relationship to resolve. But Just as You Are is at least as much concerned with Liz's professional confidence, her self-perception, and her shifting friendships as with her romantic future - which, considering her age and milieu, seems appropriate. Like most people, she is looking for a whole community, not just one love interest, that wants her just as she is.

This was a fantastic debut. Hot love interest, in depth conversations about gender presentation--love it.

I love reading a queer romance where there isn't some dramatic coming out problem, it is just a normal rom-com between two females. I do wish we got Daria's perspectives - it felt very hard to understand her. I also really loved the secondary characters!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a nice book about friendship and love and figuring out who you are.

I liked seeing Liz progress through the book. I liked seeing her develop a friendship with Daria and see them share their deepest secrets with each other.

There were times when I felt frustrated with Liz and the choices she made; and how she made assumptions too quickly. I am glad that she decided to make some changes and go to therapy to address her thought process.

I liked seeing how Liz struggled with her gender identity/presentation. It felt real and accurate.

This was a fun read and I would recommend.

This book was such a fun read and I loved getting to know the characters in it so much. A light and hopeful read about queer community and love.

Even though I'm a fan of most Pride & Prejudice retellings, I thought that this would be a 'just okay' book at first. One thing that got tiresome was the explanation of the rooms in the office and who they were named after (Google is thy friend). However, I quickly got over that and dove into the story of Liz and Daria and y'all...I loved this book. Like it was so sweet and relatable on so many levels. I loved how we got a little more insight into Daria (aka Darcy) in this book than we have from others both from the way she was written even if it was from Liz's POV and the stories people told about her. Highly recommend this and am looking forward to it being released so I can get a physical copy.

I enjoyed Just As You Are by Camille Kellogg. This is a modern queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in NYC with our cast of characters working for the online queer magazine Nether Fields. The story hits all of the high points of P&P without being a scene-by-scene recreation. The book has great diverse representation in race, sexuality, and gender presentation. As a reader who enjoys P&P, Just As You Are was a fun read as I noted the similarities and differences from the original story. Content notes--a few open door scenes, mentions of homophobia and family rejection.

Although I am a sucker for Pride & Prejudice retellings, I didn't like this one very much. The characters lacked depth, the enemies became lovers way too fast, and there is a lot of telling rather than showing in the writing.

I did like the queer representation and loved the queer AF friend group, but overall this story fell flat for me.

Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this. Taking a lot of inspiration from Pride and Prejudice was a fun concept, and the execution was just as good. The characters were engaging and relatable without being over the top. I think I could have done without Liz’s fashion woes but I get what the author was going for.

It’s confirmed, Pride & Prejudice retellings aren’t for me. I haven’t even read or watched the original for a reason. I couldn’t get past 30%. :(

This was an adorably cute and somewhat steamy modern take on the classic Pride and Prejudice story of enemies to lovers. While at times the author toes the line of being unbearably on the nose with the similarities, they do in the end come out telling an addicting and fun story! I read this in one sitting, if that tells you anything.

Liz and her roommates Jane, Lydia and Katie all work at the small but impactful queer magazine, aptly named the Nether Fields. When the magazine is threatened with closure, in swoops rich savior Bailey, with her grumpy and even richer companion Daria.

Daria stole my heart as soon as she entered the scene. I love grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers and with a P&P retelling, we get both! The hardships they endured as queer women are achingly familiar and relatable for many readers out there. I really appreciated the representation on display with the entire cast of characters, but Liz and Daria were such raw and real examples of the many identity struggles a lot of queer people battle with day to day. Liz wavers on the gender spectrum and can't quite figure out where she wants to land, and Daria is there to help her realize she's right where she is supposed to be.

At times the P&P plotline made this story obviously incredibly predictable, but to be honest, I didn't care! I knew it was a retelling going in, and the author still manages to create a fun, engaging, and incredibly important and relevant world.

A queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice.

Liz has been a staff writer at Nether Fields, an online magazine, for some years now, tasked with creating the listicles and quizzes that while not substantive, are fun.

When Nether Fields is threatened with closure, two saviors swoop in to buy the magazine and rejuvenate it.

However while Bailey, the main owner, is enthusiastic and pleasant, her business partner, Daria, is anything but.

Daria and Liz clash immediately and after words gets around most of the magazine staff are anti-Daria.

But then Liz begins to see little glimpses into who Daria really is behind her spiffy suits and sharp hair parts, and it really isn't all that bad.

It's really easy to see the inspiration in the story, but it's funny and lighthearted enough to be worth the read.

A queer spin on Pride and Prejudice, Just as You Are deftly modernizes the story to make it more relevant to current times while keeping the bones of Austen's framework intact in a way that feels fresh and vibrant. Spice level: low (in keeping with the vibe of the original), but sexy. I liked that main character Liz had multiple identity struggles (gender expression and career path) that were resolved through receiving loving support from her friends and love interest Daria. Looking forward to more from this new author!

Liz and her three roommates are devastated when the queer magazine where they work, The Nether Fields, is about to be shut down. But the magazine is saved at the last hour by two wealthy lesbians, Bailey and Daria. Liz and snobby Daria get off on the wrong foot immediately, with Daria mocking the listicles Liz writes. She can't help but rage at Daria as the woman eliminates kitchen supplies and lacks all faith in the magazine's future. Still, the more Daria and Liz are thrown together, she also sees a softer side to her as well.

This is an excellent romance--a fast read filled with hilarious queer inside jokes. It covers serious topics like gender expression and presentation. I loved having a chance to read a queer HEA with older characters (they have jobs! rent! romantic histories!). Liz and many of the characters work at a magazine devoted to queer topics, which has had a serious impact on society. JUST AS YOU ARE highlights the importance of gay media and queer culture as a whole. I love reading books like this that represent my demographic and contain jokes and topics relevant to my life. Even though there is so much more queer lit out there now, it is still really nice to find books filled with LGBTQIA+ characters living their lives.

JUST AS YOU ARE is billed as a Pride and Prejudice-based enemies to lovers story, and it nails all of that on the head. Liz and Daria hate one another from the start. That does not keep Daria from being a butch dream, however, as Liz struggles with her own gender presentation. There's plenty of angst along the way to the "lovers" part, but it's certainly understandable in the lesbian context. Liz's found family is wonderful too. Kellogg nails covering serious topics but also giving us a witty, sexy, romantic, and fun tale. Overall, this is an incredibly enjoyable read. Can't wait to read what Kellogg comes up with next!

From the first line I was drawn into this Pride and Prejudice inspired, super queer book. I loved the idea of this super close knit set of friends, all working together at a queer magazine, and also being roommates. I thought their dynamic was great and honestly their friendships are what I became the most invested in.

In addition to these friendship relationships we do also get some romance. Jane, one of the roommates who is also a Black trans woman, finds love pretty early on with a character that I absolutely adored. Liz, our main character also finds love actually more than once. Although one of these relationships is very one sided and toxic, while the other is this perfect little opposites attract moment (although I would have loved to see more buildup before the actual situationship starts). But while there’s definitely some great romance in this book I think the main focus for me was really just on Liz.

Throughout the book Liz is really just questioning everything. From the way she presents herself, to her desire to write a book, even down to her articles for the magazine, she is incredibly insecure. She’s constantly feeling out of place but throughout the course of the book her confidence really starts to grow and we see her believe in herself a little bit more. This was so endearing for me and that’s why Liz is my favorite.

All in all I loved this book. I do wish we had gotten to see more of the attraction between Liz and Daria because it felt a little awkward at first. They go from hate to sleeping together pretty quickly and I just wanted to see.. something. Other than that I think it’s a solid book with a lot of great queer rep/queer culture. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a copy of this book. This is my honest review

DNF @80%. While reading Just As You Are, many of the characters were extremely unlikable and I did not like the characters that I was supposed to like. I felt no attachment to any of them. Liz felt so immature to me, as did Daria. Two grown women who cannot communicate their feelings? Can’t resolve their issues with one another? No thank you. By 80% in I feel as though they should have resolved their issues but they didn’t and I was frustrated with the constant drama and whiplash of the characters’ actions. Liz’s roommates also felt very two-dimensional to me. Nothing about this book grabbed my attention and I felt like I was pushing through just for the sake of pushing through. Either way, I didn’t care to read the ending since I’m sure it ended with a big love proclamation of some sort.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Um. So it took me WAY TOO long to realize this was a Pride and Prejudice retelling. Like yes. That’s the first sentence in the book blurb. Lol. But um I was so excited when I realized. Sapphic P&P!!! Omg.

I absolutely loved this.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved all the nods to Pride and Prejudice. The characters were absolutely lovely. And except for the villains everyone gets really great character growth. Super queer and pretty messy and so so enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Randomhouse for an eARC.

DNF @ 30%

This.... really didn't work for me. I was hoping for a romantic pride & prejudice retelling but this was? Not romance? What am I reading.

A queer pride and prejudice retelling? Say less, I’m in. I’m not sure that I would call this a romance, more contemporary fiction with a romance subplot. I would recommend the book though, just don’t expect a romcom.