Audrey Bellezza

Good things come to those who wait (for a price drop), but sadly I didn't and paid £9.99 to read another disappointing retelling of my favourite Austen novel, Emma. According to my tags, this is the 42nd spin on the original characters in my library, and some adaptations work better than others - stories set in the Deep South and India, to name two. 'Modern day' city Emma is the most popular, usually in the form of a Hallmark movie, but Austen's etiquette and subplots don't often translate well into the life of an art aficionado in New York, studying at NYU while dressing in YSL and carrying Balenciaga handbags, etc. I thought I might have found the exception, and initially loved the reworking of Emma and Knightley (who get to keep their names!), and the general style, humour and setting, but then the 'romance' kicked in.

The following review is purely a subjective take on Austen's novel compared with this style of 'romcom', and therefore not necessarily a criticism, but listen - Mr Knightley falls in love with Emma when Frank Churchill arrives in Highbury, but Emma does not recognise her own feelings for Knightley until she fears she might lose him to Harriet. Austen is clever enough to throw clues in - Emma noticing him while she's dancing, and always taking his words to heart - but Emma herself is clueless. That's the whole point. So why ruin a fun dynamic between the pair in this story by instantly reducing them both to angst-ridden, lovestruck teenagers? And whenever the change in their relationship occurs, it's love not lust. Emma staring at Knightley's muscles and broad shoulders, or the way he keeps sweeping his dark hair back, while he gets excited watching her eat a tub of ice cream in a short dress, isn't quite the same for me. I skipped most of the soft porn in the final chapters - the dark academics might have made me heartily sick of the famous line 'If I loved you less ...', but that's poetry compared to 'Come again for me' and 'You're so fucking beautiful'. I mean, they go straight from being afraid to confess their feelings to shagging in the kitchen! The kitchen in Knightley's house which backs onto Emma's, when it's already been established that both houses are perfect vantage points for spying on your neighbours. I'm not a prude, I swear, and there is room in Austen retellings for sex - see I Could Write A Book by Karen M Cox - but the 'action' needs to stay in character rather than tacking on a generic bedroom (or kitchen) scene.

Wilfully misunderstanding, or forcefully updating, the characters aside, I did really enjoy the banter between Emma and Knightley to start with. The dialogue felt natural and did give the feeling that they knew each other far too well. I also liked the condensing of Isabella and Miss Taylor into Emma's big sister Margo, which makes sense, and Nadine (Harriet) was also very endearing, even if she did get her shit together pretty quickly! The Frank/Jane subplot made no sense and had no real personal consequences for Emma or Knightley. As Emma's father (another great character) wryly remarks: “Darling, I barely remembered their names five minutes ago." The theme of 'nobody's perfect' was really hammered home too.

Great start, some fun characters and (old money) New York makes for a beautiful backdrop, but I preferred the friendship in the first half to the hormones in the second. And the eyebrow semaphore could have been dialled back a notch - there are other ways to show expressions!… (more)

Enthralling. Captivating. Hard to put down. All of these describe the charm that is captured in Emma on 83rd Street. Whether you are a fan of Jane Austen’s Emma or one of the many cinematic captures of Jane’s classic tale (i.e. Clueless. If you didn’t know that was based on Emma – now you do and you are welcome), this modern day twist takes us into the heart of New York where the Woodhouse and Knightly clan take on nuisances of the 21st century.

Determined, driven, beautiful, and creative are a just a few ways to describe the youngest daughter of the Woodhouse family. Adored by the residence of 83rd Street, Emma Woodhouse knows how to throw a party, bring people together, and help two people find love. At the age of 23 with only one year remaining of graduate school, Emma is trying her hardest to make the most of her single life in New York. While she is proud to have helped her sister Margo find her forever relationship, with her gone and her close friends abroad – Emma finds herself lonely, with only her overbearing neighbor George Knightley to keep her company. That is until she meets Nadine, a midwest transplant that seems so out of place, it would be a disservice not to step in and help her!

Contrary to the objections of Knightly that this is only another hair-brained hobby, Emma sets her focus on helping her friend, yet again – find love in the big city – not realizing that love has other plans in mind.

For a debut duo novel, hats off to Audrey and Emily. This was a beautifully crafted story for anyone who enjoys a good romance with a classic twist. I can’t wait to see what these two come up with next!… (more)

I love a good Jane Austen retelling, particularly in a different era. Emma of 83rd Street takes the classic, puts Emma in the middle of modern-day New York and Knightley as her neighbour and high-flying businessman. Mr Woodhouse is obsessed with clean eating and Nadine (aka Harriet) is new to the big city. It’s fun, sexy and embellished with good food and designer clothing.

Emma is a modern woman, doing postgraduate study in art history with the aim of getting an internship at the Met. She is of course, spoiled (she definitely doesn’t do the subway, it’s drivers all the way) and enjoys a lot of financial freedom and designer clothes. But Emma is still Emma, and after her sister marries Knightley’s brother Ben, she’s out for a new project. She finds it in fellow student Nadine, organising her life from hair to clothes to ditching the high school boyfriend. Meanwhile, Knightley (her neighbour since childhood) is always there to tease Emma and question her choices. It takes more than a few mishaps, including a not quite fling with Montgomery Knox, the mysterious backer of Ben’s restaurant. Both Emma and Knightley realise that they are falling for each other, but neither is game to tell the other until it all spills out and ends in sex and ice cream. Meanwhile, Emma has realised that she doesn’t want to rely on the family name, nor does she need to meddle so much in other’s lives.

This is an update that stays true to the essence of Jane Austen’s classic, but makes the scenarios more accessible for the modern reader. (Although I must admit that Emma and Knightley having sex was rather mind-blowing at first. What would Jane Austen do in this era? Closed or open door?) Nadine is not the doormat that Harriet was, but grows into a confident young woman – with a much better ending in my opinion. Mrs Pawloski is the just right combination of annoying, pitiful and funny that you can’t help but like her. This makes Emma’s takedown of her hit even harder and Emma’s apology a real turning point for her character. The reader also gets an insight into what Knightley is thinking and doing, which ups the angst levels. It’s got everything you need for a modern rom-com, including a lot of delicious food descriptions (which are not quite balanced by Mr Woodhouse’s suggestions for healthier, cleaner alternatives). The authors keep the story moving along at a great pace and there are quite a few funny moments.

I really got into this story as it went on and created a world of its own. The epilogue has a great, sneaky nod to another Jane Austen favourite. Could this be a premonition for another story reimagined in the modern era? It is universally acknowledged that an enemies to lovers story is very popular…

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC. My review is honest.

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