Only With You: A Modern Retelling of Emma (The Jane Austen Academy Series #5) was such a wonderful read. The premise was so enchanting that I was simply giddy with excitement when I learned about it.

Off the bat, I must say that I adored Knight. He was strong and commanding, while at the same time he was quiet and aware. His maturity was evident. His charm was memorable. He was solid, likeable and real. He was a great match for the main character, Emma. I really liked the fact that he could go toe to toe with her and still make her smile. His feelings for her were palpable.

What can I say about dear, dear Emma? I liked her overall, but in the beginning, I could not relate to her. Her life of privilege was blaring, and her seemingly flirtatious actions toward Knight were so loud. But, I soon warmed to her and my heart felt for her, especially as it relates to her parents. It's a good thing Knight was there to lean on. She had a good heart and good intentions underneath the sass and misguided matchmaking.

Rick and Anna... Oh my! Can they just reunite, please? Love lost and hearts longing. I want to cry over these two. It's so obvious that they belong together. (sigh)

Josh. The verdict is still out on this guy. Obviously, there is more there than meets the eye. I am going to have to see Fannie's story, for sure.

Although Gray's book does depart somewhat from Austen's original story, it still had many romantic similarities. And the final scene between Knight and Emma, it was PRICELESS.

Outstanding all the way around!

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Recommend: Yes
Content: Clean
Angle: Modern day twist on Emma
Extras: Discussion questions, Series listing, Reference info on Austen's original work


A complimentary e-copy of this title was made available by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The words I have expressed are my own.

Super good, just like the other ones. Each character is so perfectly written and different from all others. This is not a group of friends made up of carbon copies.

I love this book as much as the others in the series. Once you try one, you're hooked and devour each book.

Cecilia did it again. Highly recommended.

I was really looking forward to reading this one in the series, because Emma is my favorite Austen story. This is in large part to the existence of Mr Knightley, so I was a bit worried that I wouldn't like the portrayal of him in this modern retelling.
I shouldn't have worried, because Knight was written so perfectly. There was the perfect balance of his sweet, caring side, how he's always there for Emma, supporting her, and the gentle disapproval that is just so perfectly Mr Knightley's character.
I also loved that Emma's growth was done in a really believable way. Her character was perfect for Emma Woodhouses' character in Emma. Bubbly, kind hearted, generous and just a little misguided sometimes. I thought she was written perfectly.
The story that this followed as well was great. I liked the use of characters in this one, just as much as I liked the use of them in the last book.
I thought that there was a perfect balance of moments with Emma's scheming, and also with her and Knight. I also felt that it was great having these small mentions of her feelings for Knight, as she continually ignored what they really meant. I thought things were paced out really nicely.
Overall, this is definitely my favorite of the series so far. It was cute, fun, and utterly absorbing. I loved it and would highly recommend it.

This is going to be hard to write. I love Cecilia Gray and even her new book Drawn was different but exciting, this one however just didn't do it for me. To be honest I have not read the Jane Austen series in quite some time so maybe I just need to go back and re-read but I don't think that's it. Most of Cecilia's books grab me no matter the order I read them in!

Here are the ups and downs for this one.


First the downs so I can get this out of the way! I just don't like Emma in this one. I vaguely remember reading about her before and I don't think I had any problems with her but this Emma in THIS book is a complete and utter disaster, and not in a fun or quirky way. Emma has everything and I do mean everything, and even though she doesn't have the best self esteem I just couldn't feel for her. She texts her friends at the beginning of the book and types that it's an emergency. The emergency is that she would like her friends to come over and help her with getting some dogs and cats adopted, awesome cause in my book! But, she wants to set up two of her friends and gets disgruntled and thinks the ENTIRE WORLD Is coming down when another guy shows up. Also, the way she treats Knight just kills me. He's such a sweet guy and it's like all she wants is to have a cute guy on her arm as a trophy, not because she likes him! Argh...


So.. enough about Emma. As we move on through the book, sadly not much was happening. It's all about Emma's plans and where she wants her friends to be and how. I was nearly 50% into the book when stuff finally started happening. I don't normally DNF books but... I was really having to push through this one. And again to be completely honest if this were not Cecilia Gray I may have DNF'd it. There is just not enough plot here.


Fortunately! About halfway through things did start moving along. Emma actually started, sort of coming out of her shell and things go much better. There wasn't much of a character arc so I feel like if Emma is in Cecilia Gray's next book that she is still not going to be my fav character but at least something was going on!


All in all it sort of felt like Cecilia didn't write this. And maybe that was my problem. I have Cecilia gray on such a high pedestal that there is no way that even she can reach it in EVERY book. I still love her and her stories but this one left me short of expectations. Still a good story but not her best.

3.5/5

This was the Jane Austen Academy story I was looking forward to more than any other. Emma is my favorite Austen heroine. I love her because she's flawed, and also because she reminds me of myself. I, too, have played matchmaker for my friends - one couple even got married on my birthday! - and I've also put my foot in my mouth more times than I can count. I may not be as rich nor as perfect as Austen's Miss Woodhouse, but I admire her earnestness and lively spirit. Thankfully, Cecilia Gray's Emma is just as lively (and as flawed, even if she doesn't want to admit it). This novella is a quick, breezy read that kept me entertained and eager to see what would happen next. Or rather, to see how it would play out - the happily-ever-after-with-the-guy-of-her-dreams is a foregone conclusion, but getting there is a lot of fun. Emma invites steadfast Anne, male BFF Knight, and playboy/actor Josh to her parents' house for a weekend. The goal: hookup Anne and Josh, both of whom are nursing broken hearts. The reality turns out to be a bit more complicated, as Anne's ex, Rick, also shows up. The kids spend time volunteering at an animal shelter (complete with a vet named Frank Churchill!) and Emma learns a thing or two about love - namely, that she can (and does!) feel it.

One thing I love about Gray's adaptations is seeing how the characters fit into the minor roles in each new book. Josh, ever the playboy, takes on both Mr. Elton and Frank Churchill. Anne makes a much more interesting Harriet Smith than OG Harriet ever did, and Rick is pretty much spot-on as Robert Martin. There are a few characters absent, of course (understandable, given how short the book is). I love Jane Fairfax as a foil to Emma in the original and would've loved to have seen Lucy in that role. That would've paired her with Josh, too, but I get the feeling that's being saved for the Louisa-Benwick-Wentworth triangle in the last book. Another interesting change from the source material is Emma's relationship with her elderly widowed father. Here, Emma's mother is living and Emma constantly tries to live up to her. It bothered me a bit at first (that father/daughter dynamic is central to Emma's characterization, I feel), but it makes a lot of sense. Both Emmas are trying hard to live up to expectations, and I love the idea of modern Emma being a insecure "mean girl" who isn't actually mean.

On the surface Emma believes she has it all - the looks, the family, the money - so it is her duty to help everyone less fortunate than herself. Which unfortunately she believes is everyone. This is so she can prove to her parents that she is worthwhile, and hide her insecurities.
Although it was a well-written story I just didn't care for any of the characters

I am not a fan of Jane Austen’s Emma. It is probably my least favourite of Austen’s novels and Emma – the character – was the only one of Austen’s heroines that I failed to find any redeeming features. Somewhat ironically I love Clueless – the hit 90s movie based on Emma. Only With You by Cecilia Gray is a rip off of a rip off. That sounds particularly harsh. It probably would be nicer to say that she is paying homage to both pieces of entertainment. I just personally didn’t love Only With You.

Instead of rural England, Only With You takes place in America, the characters are all teenagers who attend Jane Austen Academy – now maybe I have come into the series too late but I didn’t understand the naming of the academy so that initially threw me off. Like in the Austen novel, Emma tries to set up her friends but she keeps getting it wrong. She means well but her actions are sometimes a bit selfish.

To be fair to Cecilia Gray, Only With You isn’t a bad story. I think it is that I am personally biased against it because of my dislike of the original text. I think it would be best suited for a teenage audience and my age probably played a part in whether or not I liked this book. What I am trying to say is that Only With You was a good book it just wasn’t for me.

Only With You by Cecilia Gray is available now.

For more information regarding Cecilia Gray (@CeciliaBooks) please visit www.ceciliagray.com.

I really really adore this series!
Funny, short, light and romantic, they make you feel better. And it focuses on friendship, aswell! I love good girl-bonding moments in books. :3
My favourites are still Lizzie's and Kat's stories, but I really loved Emma in this one too.
And Knight. *^*
I want a Knght in my life!
I can't wait for the next and *sobs* last one! I have a feeling Rick is going to be really dreamy. :'D

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I'm going to be honest with you. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this book before I started it. I read it because I have loved all of the other books in the Jane Austen Academy series, but this one was about Emma. And because we started the series with Lizzie, Emma was the "mean girl". I just wasn't too sure how I was going to connect with her. But I am super pleased to say that I ended up really, really enjoying her story.

Each book in the Jane Austen Academy series focuses on a different friend from the school, and each of the books can be read as a standalone. When I first started reading Only With You, Emma seemed like a completely different person than I remembered her. She was such a do-gooder; nice to everyone and she seemed really selfless. But then as the story continued, I started to see more and more of the Emma I remembered, and oddly enough it were these little moments of selfishness, immaturity, and her attention commanding look at me now personality that put me at ease and drew me into the story. I know that sounds weird but it was closer to the Emma that I had drawn in my head. But in Only With You we get to see why she is this way. We really get to dive into her head. Emma is a complete meddler in her friends lives. She thinks that she was the one that set all of her friends up with their boyfriends and she is at it again- this time with Anne.

Since I already knew the characters and their personalities, I loved reading Only With You and trying to guess what was going to happened. I figured out the end game of this book pretty quickly, but I was still surprised a bunch of times along the way. I loved how Emma's character grew. It took a while for her to get there and to admit her shortcomings, but her insecurities and her overall character growth surprisingly turned out to be the most rewarding one yet in the series for me. And that is something I did not expect to happen. Once Emma lets her guard down, she is very relate-able and likable. I wanted her to get her happy ending.

All of the books in the Jane Austen Academy series are light and fun happy ending books. They each standalone and you can read them out of order, but they do have an overarching story theme of what is going to happen to the academy itself. I think that is going to play a larger role in the 6th book, so if you can, I would read them in order. Plus you will fall in love with this group of friends. This is my 5th book with them and they kind of feel like family now to me.