Review: Gossip Girl meets Jane Austen
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 23, 2014
**Thank you Celia Gray and NetGalley for this book**3.5-4 StarsWhen I was in high school (and I'm probably fixing to tell my age), YA wasn't a huge genre, definitely not one I was vastly aware of anyway. However, I still devoured books, they were the classics. My favorites of course being anything by the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen. I read most of them way more than once, and could probably quote some of them line for line. However, I don't remember much about Austen's Emma. Which tells me I may not have cared for the original very much.I was afraid Gray's retelling was going to follow in those footsteps. In fact, this book for me was almost a DNF at 25%, thank goodness I kept on reading or I would have missed out on this delightful story!"Only With You" is a retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. Emma is an upperclass, privileged , and beautiful young lady who has everything going for her, and she knows it. She is controlling, meddlesome, and whiny. However, she also has a huge heart, wants to see her friends happy, and tries to make the world a better place one small step at a time. Beneath all the false bravado and seeming confidence is a young lady riddled with insecurities and fear.  The first half of the book Emma annoyed me so bad that she was like nails on a chalk board. Every sentence I read I felt like banging my head against a wall.However, I persevered and through it I saw Emma grow and change. It made the first part worth it!!I loved Knight, he was definitely my favorite in the whole book. He was honest, real, and oh so cute and likable. He was so endearing as a friend that you couldn't help but love him and his devotion and sweetness!!I think the part of this that was the hardest for me was, these are supposed to be juniors and seniors in high school, I get they are the upper echelons of society, but they still did not feel like high school students. Not in behavior (Emma excluded), language, or attitude. It felt more like these should be college students. This story had a very Gossip Girl feel to it.That being said, for me, the last half of the book more than made up for the first. It was an enjoyable and light read and I will read other books in this series.