This was a very interesting retelling of Pride and Prejudice, with the main character being Georgiana Darcy who as you may know is the beloved sister of Mr. Darcy. This is a modern retelling and I liked it, although it has to be mentioned that it is a YA novel and very angsty. I felt a little out of the age range but it was still a good read for me.

This was enjoyable enough, but having the timeline be close to the timeline of Pride and Prejudice was a choice bc I just wanted Lizzie and Darcy's story to be the one I was reading. Even though it is her book Georgie Darcy really feels like a secondary character and her story was not that engaging. The crumbs we got about Darcy and Lizzie were the best and I liked seeing Darcy as an older brother.

To be honest I didn’t really enjoy this one. The characters kind of drove me crazy and Georgianna was probably the most annoying to me and she was the main character. I love P&P so I was looking forward to this little modern day retelling and it really didn’t live up to my expectations. I thought that every flaw of each P&P character was magnified and all of their good qualities totally missed. I finished because I didn’t want to DNF but I just didn’t like it

I love a good Austen retelling, and when it’s my very favorite Austen, even better.

This one is a modernized Pride and Prejudice, though Elizabeth and Darcy are not primary characters. Their love story is a sideline to Georgiana Darcy’s story. If you know P&P, you know that Georgiana had a past with Wickham, and that holds true here as well—he was dealing drugs out of her dorm room at the elite Pemberly private school. Wickham was expelled, and Georgie is now a social pariah, since he was super popular.

This is the story of what comes for Georgie in the following school year. Her brother is her legal guardian, since their father’s death and their mother’s abdication of parental responsibility. And even though Darcy is a stiff overachiever, Georgie loves him and wants him to be proud of her, so she decides to turn herself into the perfect student.

Fortunately, there’s one person left at school who doesn’t treat her any differently, fellow marching band trombone player Avery.

I really enjoyed Georgie’s evolution here. Her intentions are good, but her execution is often lacking. She has a complete blind spot as to just how much wealth and privilege she has, and it causes her to really miss on the execution of her ideas, more than once. It’s good to see her eventually make some friends and learn to appreciate what she, herself, can bring to the table, without her money and privilege.

This does follow the basic plot outline of the original, with those events happening mostly on the periphery. You know things will end for Darcy and Elizabeth, Jane and Bingley (delightfully portrayed as a super buff golden retriever of a frat boy). But it’s seeing how things end for Georgie that is the focus, and it’s a satisfying conclusion.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Swearing, including the F-word. Underage drinking and reference to drugs. Kissing. References to sex. Cheating on assignments. Ostracism. Parental death and abandonment. Dysfunctional families. Same-gender couples.

Who Might Like This Book:
Those who, like me, enjoy a good Austen retelling. Anyone who likes to see characters grow and develop and find their voice.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2024/07/modern-jane-austen.html

This book was so fun to read! I am always in the mood for a Pride & Prejudice retelling and this one was no different.

Georgie and Avery were *chefs kiss*. Georgie, I will say, is always in her head, which can become frustrating because it's hard to escape her inner thoughts. Wickham, as usual, is always my most hated in every rendition as he should be. He just always sucks as a person.

There were also some unrealistic moments. For example, being able to transfer to AP classes when the person doesn't have good grades. How does that happen? On the other hand, there were many things that I appreciated. I really liked that we were able to still see Darcy and Elizabeth's characters still fall in love despite them not being the main relationship of the story.

Accomplished by Amanda Quain is a fun retelling of Austen's Pride and Prejudice from the vantage point of Georgiana "Georgie" Darcy. Georgie finds herself nativaging her private boarding school, Pemberley Academy, under the watchful eye of her older brother, Fitzwilliam. This novel is a great YA take on the classic novel and all of Austen's characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/ St Martin's Publishing Group for the chance to read this novel.

I really wanted to love this book. I like Georgiana and I think she's an underutilized character in the Pride and Prejudice canon. But there is very very little to enjoy in this book. Georgiana, as she was in the original, is a traumatized and abused person. Being inside her head is depressing. She just feels so lost. And I get that that's important to know. But she continues to make very bad choices and Wickham is confusing for her and it just, I don't know, maybe it rings too true? If that's what this book is trying to accomplish then I guess it did exactly what it meant to do. But I find it very sad and unsettling: her life, her complete and utter lack of self-esteem, her choices, the way she feels like she doesn't belong anywhere. It was a hard book to read.

I did enjoy the conversation that Darcy and Georgiana had together about rich people and if they actually deserve their inherited wealth. It's good to see someone talking about inherited wealth, race, and privilege.

I’m a huge fan of the recent remixed classics, enjoying the modernizing, updating, or showing the story from a different point of view. Accomplished hit all my happy marks; it’s a modern update focusing on Georgianna as an elite private school student forever in her brother’s shadow and in the cold. Seeing the characters from the side and not the focus made me rethink how I saw Georgianna. A definite read for all Pride and Prejudice fans.

I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. Amanda Quain did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

I have not read and will not read this book for personal reasons. Thank you for the opportunity regardless. It is truly appreciated.

I was introduced to Amanda Quain’s work via her employment at my favorite local bookstore and couldn’t pass up the chance to support a local author. This is a retelling of Pride And Prejudice and I normally stay away from those as the Lizzie/Darcy storyline is often overdone but I felt the focus on Georgiana brought a fresh take. I really enjoyed this read. It felt familiar enough to feel like a retelling but managed to equally be something new and stand on its own as a tale set in modern day high school. However; I’m looking forward even more to her next book because Northanger Abbey is my favorite of Austen’s works.

I've never been able to get into any of Jane Austen's books, but this retelling in a modern setting was so good! The beginning was a little slow, but I really got into the story and devoured this book. Georgie was so much fun to read about and I absolutely despise Wickham. I would absolutely love another book written in this world.

Unfortunately the story was not for me. There was nothing particularly wrong with it just not my cup of tea

I stumbled upon Amanda Quain's book, Accomplished, and was totally intrigued by a Pride and Prejudice spin-off that focused on Georgiana. Quain's modern retelling of Austen's classic is not only entertaining but also brilliantly thought out. She put in a ton of effort to recreate Austen's world in a contemporary setting, and the characters are both delightful and genuine, yet still reminiscent of their P&P counterparts.
Georgie Darcy is headed back to her fancy private school after a messy scandal involving her ex-boyfriend Wickham, who was caught dealing drugs from her dorm room. Now, everyone blames Georgie for getting the charming and popular older boy expelled. As if that weren't enough, her brother Fitz transfers from his dream university in California to a local college close by so he can keep an eye on her. Determined to prove herself, Georgie tries to fix things and move on from the previous year's drama, but she keeps tripping over Wickham and making questionable decisions.
The modernized characters are fantastic. High school and college serve as a perfect substitute for the rigid social structures of Austen's time, and Fitz is an excellent choice for the wealthy boy who resents leaving his elite school for a more working-class college. The book also touches on wealth and privilege issues and introduces an adorable new love interest for Georgie. Fitz and his new study partner Lizzie are in the background, adding a nice touch. If you're looking for a unique take on Austen's work, especially if you're tired of reading about Darcy and Elizabeth, this modernized Austen world is a must-read!

I really liked the concept of a modern spin on Pride & Prejudice - the Lizzie Bennet Diaries did this remarkably well in the early 2010s - but this one missed the mark for me. The beginning was slow and, when all was said and done, the modernization made it feel a bit flat. It ended up reading like any other YA romance. Georgie's self-loathing also made parts of this a bit frustrating to get through. I think there's an audience for this, but unfortunately I don't think it's me.

"Accomplished" spins a fresh tale on the beloved "Pride and Prejudice," this time through the eyes of Georgie Darcy, Mr. Darcy's little sister. Picture Georgie as a junior at Pemberley Academy, grappling with a tarnished reputation and the heavy expectations that come with the Darcy name.

For someone who adores "Pride and Prejudice," diving into this retelling was a treat. Georgie, usually a background figure, steps up as a fully fleshed-out lead in Quain's novel. Her journey is genuine and heartwarming, and you can't help but cheer her on as she figures out what it means to carry the Darcy legacy.

And, of course, there are delightful appearances from the usual crowd. We get Fitz (aka Mr. Darcy) as the slightly grumpy but loving big brother, Wickham in his typical villainous role, and even Charles Bingley reimagined as a frat boy. The real kicker, though, is how the story reframes the idea that our value isn't just in our triumphs, but in the lessons we learn from our stumbles. It's a story about growth, making it a must-read for any Jane Austen fan!"

This is such a well done P&P update. Georgie Darcy returns to Pemberley Academy in a cloud of scandal. She's persona non grata with her fellow students, even the marching band. Her brother transferred to a nearby college to keep an eye on her. To distract her brother Georgie plays matchmaker between him and his argumentative classmate Lizzie.

Georgie is still traumatized by an incident with Wickham Foster. He saw a vulnerable girl, he separated her from her friends and took advantage of her naivete. While he was expelled from school, she hears him in her head putting her down. She doesn't think she's worthy of forgiveness. By the end of the book she is able to stand up for herself. She learns about her privilege and takes responsibility for her actions.

With having a love for Pride and Prejudice, I thought that I would give this book a go, but it wasn’t something that kept my attention. I kept getting distracted by real life and not able to actually able to submerge my self into he story and have a real connection with the characters.

It’s been awhile since I requested this, and my tastes have changed a little bit so I won’t be reading and properly reviewing this title.

I’m always down for a reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, so I was delighted to receive a copy of Accomplished. This is Georgie’s story at Pemberly Academy, and it’s a charming ride.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.