Just as You Are

A Novel

By: Camille Kellogg

Narrated by: Bailey Carr

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Equal parts witty and steamy, this debut rom-com brings a healthy dose of queerness and a whole lot of spirit to a Pride and Prejudice-inspired enemies-to-lovers romance.

“Brims with heart, spice, and humor.”—Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

“The L Word, but better.”—TJ Alexander, author of Chef’s Kiss

“A juicy sapphic romp; sweet, sexy, and tender in all the right ways.”—Gabrielle Korn, author of Everybody (Else) Is Perfect

One of Library Journal’s Best Romance Books of the Year (So Far)

The only thing worse than hating your boss? Being attracted to her.

Liz Baker and her three roommates work at the Nether Fields, a queer magazine in New York that’s on the verge of shutting down—until it’s bought at the last minute by two wealthy lesbians. Liz knows she’s lucky to still have a paycheck but it’s hard to feel grateful with minority investor Daria Fitzgerald slashing budgets, cancelling bagel Fridays, and password protecting the color printer to prevent “frivolous use.” When Liz overhears Daria scoffing at her listicles, she knows that it’s only a matter of time before her impulsive mouth gets herself fired.

But as Liz and Daria wind up having to spend more and more time together, Liz starts to see a softer side to Daria—she’s funny, thoughtful, and likes the way Liz’s gender presentation varies between butch and femme. Despite the evidence that Liz can’t trust her, it’s hard to keep hating Daria—and even harder to resist the chemistry between them.

This sexy and delightfully funny rom-com celebrates queer culture, chosen family, and falling in love against your better judgment.

©2023 Camille Kellogg (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“So much more than your average rom-com . . . Just as You Are is a full-on enemies-to-lovers romance that exudes queerness at every possible turn. . . . It’s clear this book was written by a queer person, for a queer person. . . . Kellogg has made me feel so seen. . . . Kellogg’s references to queer pop culture feel like a shared language that only exists among queer people. I don’t know if a straight person would enjoy this book the same way that [a] queer person would—and that’s okay. This is for us.”—Autostraddle

“Filled with intriguing characters, relatable gender and identity representation and . . . strong friendship bonds between distinct, engaging queer characters . . . Kellogg expertly delineates why queer media (and especially being represented accurately in it) is so important. . . . Perfect for fans of The Bold Type!”—The Nerd Daily

“There have been plenty of Pride and Prejudice retellings, but nothing quite like this one. . . . Kellogg gives everything a contemporary sapphic twist. . . . This thoughtful and playful reimagining celebrates the unexpected.”—Gay Times

Good listen

I enjoyed this story. Got to read my favorite book in a new and fun way.

Funny and Moving

This is a delightful novel and the P&P parallels are richly enjoyable. It is also an honest book about the queer experience. The narrator is terrific and adds a whole extra dimension to the story.

Loved this one!!!

A wonderfully queer retelling of pride and prejudice! Absolutely loved every moment. The narration is fantastic, too.

for a book that talks a lot about representation

spoilers

the representation it offers some marginalized group is not great and that hurts.

Wanted to like this more- spoilers

I wanted to like this so much (and at times I did), but the characters and sometimes the storyline felt out of sync to me— characters’ personalities were unpredictable from one chapter to the next (frosty to sweet) and the progression of feelings were hard for me to buy into because of it, despite there being some cute moments and conversations between the MCs. I enjoyed the narration and loved the full cast of queer characters, but something didn’t quite click for me as a warm and fuzzy love story (think about a spin off with Bailey and Jane and I’d read that— they were adorable).