February 13, 2023
Author team Bellezza and Harding put a contemporary rom-com spin on Jane Austen’s Emma in their charming debut. In their reimagining, beautiful and wealthy 23-year-old grad student Emma Woodhouse’s world revolves around New York’s Upper East Side. She struggles between claiming independence and her family’s approval when faced with the growing pains of adulting. With her collegiate girlfriends living their lives abroad, and her sister marrying and moving away, Emma copes with feelings of abandonment by playing matchmaker for her new friend and classmate, Nadine Pittman—a project that inevitably goes awry. Meanwhile Emma realizes her own feelings for strikingly handsome George Knightley, her childhood friend and neighbor, who recognizes an attraction to her as well. But miscommunication, misconceptions, and misunderstandings threaten both their lifelong friendship and their chance at a relationship. The authors bring plenty of wit to this classic friends-to-lovers tale. Readers will fall in love with Emma Woodhouse all over again. Agent: Joelle Delbourgo, Joelle Delbourgo Assoc.
April 1, 2023
DEBUT Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley have been friends since childhood--their tony Upper East Side homes neighboring each other. Now they're both grown up, with Emma starting grad school at NYU, and George freshly returned from LA to work for a private-equity firm in New York City. As they navigate their exclusive social circle full of glam parties, marriages, pregnancies, friendships new and old, breakups, and dates gone wrong, they get to spend plenty of time together and find that it's increasingly difficult to deny their growing feelings for each other. They hesitate to take it further, fearing losing their friendship if their relationship ends badly, but they'll have to trust their instincts and their chemistry to claim their chance at true love. Bellezza and Harding have created a glamorous romp that is heartfelt, steamy, and romantic. VERDICT This modern retelling of Jane Austen's Emma takes readers from Regency England to present-day high-society Manhattan, but the relationship foibles and romantic misunderstanding remain intact. For fans of the movie Clueless and retellings of classics.--Migdalia Jimenez
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