I’m familiar with Austen’s work in the sense that I read her works back in high school and have a vague understanding of the Pride & Prejudice plot. I’m pretty sure I e seen at least one version of the movie, but it’s been a while.

In Accomplished, the characters from the Austen story are brought into modern times with Georgiana Darcy at the center of this one. Fitz, Lizzie, Bingley, and Wickham are all present and bring their namesake’s core characteristics with them: Fitz and Lizzie banter-aka argue-about college classes; Fitz is obsessed with Google calendar; Bingley the opposite of Fitz with his easy going, frat boy character; and Wickham who is just as devious and manipulative in his ways.

Georgiana is trying desperately to live up to the Darcy name, but is having a hard time getting out of the shadow of Fitz and Wickham at Pemberley Academy. As Junior year begins, Georgie comes up with a plan to do so but it does not go smoothly at all. Her only friend, Avery, gets roped into her scheme. Georgie works hard to become a better person with Avery’s help and she realizes she only needs to be herself.

I felt so bad for Georgie right from the beginning! It was clear she was struggling and that feeling of aloneness was palatable. I was frustrated with Fitz and infuriated with Wickham throughout. I wanted Georgie to be one her best self and was rooting for her throughout.

While this is heavily influenced by Pride and Prejudice , I feel it was a sweet, heartwarming, coming-of-age novel with a dash of romance. The nods to modern times like Google calendar, a Downton Abby-esque show called Sage Hall, and references to Taylor Swift lyrics give the story line an anchor to today’s world. I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to those who don’t mind retellings or heavy influencing of the classics.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of "Accomplished" and here comes the honest review in exchange.
Though I've never considered myself a hardcore Jane Austin-ite, I've never been able to resist all the attempted reboots, reinventions and modernizations of the well known beloved characters. So I dove into this one, already knowing that it doesn't function as an actual "Pride And Prejudice" re-do, but rather plucks out the characters and plops them down into a tale of current day Prep School angst.
So here we have Georgie Darcy, kind of the primo legacy student at the posh Pemberly school, living under the shadow of her vast family wealth.......and also under the deep shadow of Fitz, her golden boy big brother and legal guardian
But like the boys in "Animal House", Georgie's in Big Bro's deep, double secret probation for falling under the spell of Fitz's one time boyhood friend, Wickham Foster. Wickham, charismatic rogue that he is, entranced Georgie while dealing drugs from her dorm room. Saved from expulsion by Fitz and power of their family name, Georgie's now ostracized and despised by the entire school.........and freshly blackmailed by Wickham to help her out in his next upcoming criminal scheme.
I found multiple concerns with this labored storyline. Wickham's hold on Georgie seems tenuous and flimsy at best and hardly justifies her launching into all of her poorly thought out, wrong=headed and reckless behavior that take up the bulk of the book. This includes signing up for AP classes beyond her study capacities and sneaking off the Fitz's college to play secret cupid to her brother and his classmate Lizzie Bennett.
Georgie, while attempting all these futile efforts to put herself back in everyone's good graces, comes across like a world class woe-is-me whiner and not someone you want to spend much time with. So I wouldn't blame any reader who runs out of patience with her and prefers to bail out early.
On the plus side, author Amanda Quain finally does provide, in the final chapters, an entertaining, satisfying series of truth-telling, epiphanies and heart-to-heart conversations that you'd be expecting and hoping for all along.
But it's a long, long tiresome trip to arrive at those chapters, and probably a trip best taken only by 'Pride And Prejudice' completists who'd never miss a single modern day Austin-ized romance. This one's not among the better such efforts.

Here we have a unique modern remix of Pride and Prejudice-rather than redoing the Lizzie/Darcy story, Quain focuses on Georgiana Darcy, the little sister of the Darcy siblings, and the fall-out from her time with Wickham. Georgie is back at her boarding school after nearly getting expelled because her former flame, Wickham, was a drug dealer at the school. Her older brother, Fitz, is way too overbearing because they have no parents left to take care of them, and all the burden has fallen on him. After a brief run-in with Wickham, Georgie sets out on a goal to be the best Darcy possible. A whole mess ensues (because of course!)

I really liked the twist on the Austen classic, and the fact that it wasn't the same ole retelling plot! This was fresh, while still getting to see a lot of the original P&P characters in the background. Georgie is kind of a mess, and at first it was almost frustrating, and then I remembered that being a teenager is hard and you don't always make excellent decisions. There is decent character growth both in Georgie and Fitz, which was good, but I always wish there was just a little more time tacked on at the end with it all.

Recommended if you like Austen retellings, YA boarding school settings, and old stories redone in modern times!

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday books for the e-ARC!

Accomplished is the story of Georgiana Darcy, also known as Fitz Darcy’s little sister. After her last school year at Pemberley Academy, she is now a social outcast and misunderstood by most of the student body. Wickham Foster was beloved at the academy and most people blame her for his absence. Fitz Darcy is clear that this is her last chance to prove that she has what it takes to be a member of the illustrious Darcy family. With the help of band leader Avery, can Georgie find a way to earn back all that she’s lost?

I will read any and all Pride & Prejudice retellings without question, but it’s a particular joy to find retellings that focus on seldom represented characters. Georgie goes on quite the adventure to work her way out of the precarious situation she finds herself in after the disaster that is Wickham. It is a truth universally acknowledged that I will always hate Wickham in any retelling! I enjoyed the inclusion of Bingley (hilarious that he was a frat bro), Jane Bennet, and Lizzie Bennet. However, my favorite character was probably Avery because he is a sweet cinnamon roll who can do no wrong.

Accomplished explores expectations, manipulation, and privilege. Along the way, Georgie and Fitz must face the grief they share over the death of their parents and the complicated emotions they have over Fitz stepping into a guardian role for Georgie. This is a story for anyone who has ever had the best of intentions and experienced terrible consequences. I would recommend it for fans of Samantha Markum and Pride & Prejudice. I really enjoyed Accomplished and look forward to seeing what Amanda Quain writes next!

Thank you to Amanda Quain, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, Wordpress blog, and Barnes & Noble etc

Accomplished is a YA novel inspired by Pride & Prejudice, and a modern retelling of Georgiana Darcy’s story via boarding school rom-com. This was the hook that sucked me in. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to expectations.

DNF at 12% when the third chapter ends with a complete nonsensical plot point that supposedly kicks off the post-scandal Georgie redemption project. I cannot believe this whole thing starts because of a deal/bet/blackmail set up with Wickham. Maybe I could see a very naive teenager agreeing to this deal (or buying into it as a reader), but what purpose does it serve Wickham? Does this scammy drug dealer really need this side project? Come on now. No. Pass. Won’t be reading more because there wasn’t a lot to keep me going before this ridiculous plot point. Not for me, and wouldn’t encourage my daughter to read it.

This is a heartfelt and insightful book. Georgie Darcy is the latest in a long line of Darcys to attend Pemberley Academy — including her brother Fitz, three years her senior, who was a star at the school. Her sophomore year started off strong, but went awry when there was “The Incident” with her boyfriend, Wickham — he was forced to leave the school but, because of her family, Georgie was allowed to remain.

At the start of Georgie’s junior year, it seems like everyone hates her — her brother, for being such a disappointment and forcing him to move back to the east coast for college to keep an eye on her; her fellow members of the marching band, for being the reason their star trumpet player, Wickham was expelled; and even her assigned roommate. So Georgie comes up with a way to get back into her friends good graces and get her brother off her back. But, like all things in her life, things don’t go exactly to plan — and along the way she must confront her family history, her own privilege, and her feelings for her best friend.

This was a sweet and funny story. The author offered a great new spin on Pride & Prejudice — applying the best parts of that story to a contemporary boarding school novel, and making something fresh and highly engaging.

Highly recommended!

Oh my goodness! Georgie Darcy cannot catch a break. This poor girl was used and cast aside and then STILL pressured by Wickham, and all of this at her high school? Agh! Wickham was awful in the original, and I can tell you that the modern look isn’t any better!! This guy is truly a villain and it was such an intense story to watch Georgie grow and become the young woman who didn’t need him!

And that’s really the theme here. She has a lot to live up to, but she grows in such a way that she isn’t so self focused, and gains some self awareness.

Next— Fitzwilliam and Lizzie!!! I loved seeing them through Georgie’s eyes, and in a modern setting. It was so sweet. 🥹 And I don’t know if I was ever a Bingley fangirl, but this version of him was totally swoon worthy. I would love to see more of him in another version of this. 🥰

And lastly, Avery! 🥰 He was such a good addition. He teaches Georgie her worth and is such a kind friend, so when it naturally takes the turn to romance, it’s so perfect.

Georgie Darcy ended last school year as the social outcast of Pemberley Academy and an epic Darcy failure because of her naivety and her privilege.

She put her trust into the charming Wickham Foster and he betrayed her by selling drugs out of her dormitory. This year, her brother Fitz Darcy is breathing down her neck while she’s trying to redeem herself to him, recover socially, and prove that she’s impressive without her brother or Wickham’s stamp of approval. Oh and Wickham is back and up to his old tricks.

While I enjoyed this read I have to say that I’ve never actually read Pride and Prejudice, so can I compare it to the inspiration, no. On it’s own Accomplished is a fun coming of age, where our 16-year-old MC spends a lot of time trying to fix her past while learning some hard lessons and seeing herself and her life through the eyes of the few she trusts.

At some times Georgie comes off as hard to relate to, but I think that’s on purpose. She’s realizing that her life is not the norm, and her being hard to relate to sort of reinforces that realization. I enjoyed her interactions with her brother and Lizzie most. The moments with Avery were great as well. The dichotomy between them as humans and their experiences were a great lesson to Georgie in the end.

Anyway. I think if you want a YA coming of age story, that’s set in an elite private school, then you will love Accomplished.

My review for this book comes from a non-Jane Austen reader who is in her later twenties, so keep that in mind. That being said, I have read several YA books that I have enjoyed. Okay, now on to the review. Without being educated on anything from Pride & Prejudice, I did enjoy this novel a lot. Its a young take on a privileged young girl at a high-end private school, which I was very intrigued by. Now, my biggest issue lies within our FMC herself. I know she is young but she felt YOUNG. Like younger than she was and it was insanely frustrating at time. I am all for younger coming-of-age stories filled with growth but oofta. I did really like how the story wrapped up but at times it felt a little too drawn out for my own liking. However, I know plenty of readers who will enjoy this.

Georgie Darcy has had a hard year. She's from the notorious Darcy family but half the time that isn't all it's cracked up to be, in fact, some people at her school hold it against her. Not to mention, the trouble she got in last year. But now, she is trying for a fresh start. She is willing to do anything to get back in the people's good graces while also trying not to stress out her older brother so much. But her peers aren't making it easy on her. It seems that everything she does is the wrong thing. At least her friend Avery seems to be on her side. She's torn between trying harder and just giving up. Can she really fix all these problems AND still get good grades? All her family's money sure won't help her here.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for early access!

Accomplished is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice—kind of. Lizzie and Darcy are side-characters (Lizzie more-so) since our main character is Georgiana (Georgie) Darcy. Georgie is 16 and Wickham, an old family friend, has set his sights on her—and her single dorm room so he can peddle pills out of it. The story starts after the aforementioned drug peddling and Georgie's reputation is in shambles. She concocts a plan to fix her reputation, get her friends back, and get her brother off her back (forcing him and a classmate to fall in love [Lizzie]). It was okay! Very, very standard YA. A decent amount of privilege-talk but I'm not sure any of the characters really learned anything? The story felt a lot younger than I expected, but there wasn't anything glaringly wrong with it.

Author Amanda Quain embraces a contemporary background in order to reimagine Georgiana’s story. Told from Georgie’s point-of-view, readers gain a different view of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Elizabeth Bennett, Charles Bingley (a frat boy) and Wickham. Their motives are all similar to source material, but told with a real behind-the-scenes point of view.

And, of course, the story’s main player is Georgie. And because there’s not a whole lot of background material on her, Quain gets to really make Georgie her own. In many ways, Quain sticks to the presumed — Georgie’s sheltered and naïve and much loved by her brother. She’s also a band geek — she loves playing the trombone — bright, but not exactly book smart, and defiant.

Georgie learns that she can’t depend on her brother to fix everything — she’s got to make up for her own mistakes.

Accomplished is a successful foray into Jane Austen’s world that can be read with or without reading the original. (Although knowing the story makes for some inside elements that just won’t be as fun without prior knowledge.)

Quain has created a unique narrative that remains true to the heart, wit and romance fans have come to know and love. While not my favorite retelling, Accomplished is still enjoyable and features a few “swoon worthy” moments.

This was a creative retelling of Pride and Prejudice turned into a contemporary YA, so I couldn't wait to pick it up.

The story centers on Georgiana Darcy, who has made a true mess of her school year. There was an incident surrounding Wickham Foster, who Georgiana was involved with, that would have gotten anyone else expelled ffrom Pemberley Academy. But due to Georgiana's family name, she was still there even though the other students ostracized her. Georgiana was determined to redeem herself in the eyes of her big brother Fitz and her former friends. She will become the perfect Darcy by following a plan to rebuild her reputation with the marching band, forget about Wickham and all his lies, and distract her brother Fitz by getting him to fall in love with his classmate, Lizzie. Nothing ever goes as planned and Georgiana is having difficulty with following through with being the perfect Darcy. She has to get a handle on this before she loses it all permanently, including the one guy who truly understands her and cares about who she really is.

This was a fun YA read. Teenage angst and blowing things out of proportion is par for the course of growing up but there are some real reasons for it in Georgiana's case. Her rebellion just makes things more difficult for her. She struggles with her choices and tries to do what's right, but sometimes gets side-tracked. I think all teens deal with this to some extent - it's part of growing up and finding out who you are. I had some trouble really liking Georgiana though, but in the end I did.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on July 26, 2022.

I love an adaptation. Even more, I love that it’s only the essence of the original characters that are used, and not a play-by-play remake. Wickham is literally the worst, Darcy is stoic, Lizzie is delightful, and Georgie lacks confidence and has a lot of growing up to do. And it’s all set at a super prestigious private boarding school - genius. Avery is definitely one of the best OCs introduced into a P&P adaptation, too. Just a great story.

This was such a neat idea, a YA spin on Pride and Prejudice. Rather than a retelling, it focuses on Georgie Darcy, Fitzwilliam Darcy's younger sister. In a contemporary boarding school setting, it picks up the year after The Incident with Wickham. All of the Lizzie and Darcy plot of the original book becomes a side plot while we focus on how Georgie fares.

Some of the set up required a large suspension of disbelief. I didn't understand why Georgie was blamed for The Incident or why Fitz felt the need to transfer schools, rather than having her transfer. That made it tough for me to get behind her quest for perfection, as it seemed rather unnecessary. Reading from her first person POV was difficult, as Georgie had such negative self-talk.

However, I really enjoyed some of the jokes, especially those that played on Pride and Prejudice. And I loved the descriptions of Bingley and Avery. The second half of the book opened up and started being more interesting to me.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Georgiana Darcy has always been an underrated character in my opinion, given how little time she’s given to shine in her own right in the original. Subsequent reimaginings and sequels have done a good job giving her a bit more grit, but Accomplished allows her to take center stage, transplanting the action to a modern elite prep school.
Amanda Quain depicts a modern Georgie as a flawed teenage girl, dealing with the aftermath of what she calls The Incident with Wickham. The darkness of P&P!Georgiana’s narrative is alluded to in the original, so it spins off from that, with Georgie reeling from being taken in (and steal being in the orbit of) Wickham and his drug dealing and control, and chafing at the large presence of her overprotective brother, Fitz and the judgment of her classmates. I really liked that she was allowed to be a bit messy and grapple with what she had gone through. She also imparts a lot of insight into what it’s like to be a “legacy” student in one of these prestigious schools, and how you have your family name to live up to (much like in the Regency era), so switching schools wasn’t an option, even if it meant she would save face.
I really liked how her relationship with Fitz evolved over the course of the book. There’s a lot of tension between them at the start, but over the course of the book, Georgie comes to appreciate that Fitz wants what’s best for her and helps her put things into perspective.
While the book does veer more toward the serious side (much more so than the marketing lets on), there are some cute elements too. It’s fun to see Georgie’s perspective of Darcy and Lizzie together and how she meddles to get them together. And while the book is largely about Georgie‘s journey toward healing on her own terms, she does also develop a romance with one of her classmates, Avery, who is the sweet antithesis of manipulative Wickham.
I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Austen retellings and reimaginings.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for ARC, in exchange for an honest review*

Splendid.

Unlike many others, I never read Pride and Prejudice; it was on my list, but I never got around to reading the book. I am aware of some of the information, but not too much. However, I had always loved retellings, and after reading the summary of the book, I became curious about book. Not being familiar with Pride and Prejudice didn’t stop me from falling in love with the story. Accomplished made me want to go and read Pride and Prejudice and learn more about her brother Fitz and what had happened between him and Lizzie. I loved watching the character’s development, especially Georgie. Despite everything that happened to her, she didn’t give up, I know that she wanted to at the beginning, but she didn’t. Of all the characters from the book, Georgie was one of my favorites, and I found myself rooting for her; I wanted everything to turn out for her in the end. I was curious about the title, Accomplished from the moment I came across the book, and when I started to read the book, the title fit perfectly.

I loved the friendship that formed between her and Avery. It seemed as if he was the only one that didn’t judge her entirely on what had happened with Wickham. Instead, he listened to her and even helped her play matchmaker for her brother. Georgie needed a friend like Avery. I believe that having Avery in her life that year helped her more than Avery might have realized. The two had their moments throughout the book, but they were always there for each other in the end. Although I am curious about what happened to them once the book ended, I couldn’t help but be curious. I loved the jokes and how the two of them teased one another without taking it personally. It was impossible not to love them.

There is also Fitz, and I could go pages listing everything I loved about him. There is a reason that I want to read Pride and Prejudice and find out more information about him. I loved the relationship that he had with Georgie. I did feel that he was a bit overprotective and hard on Georgie, but I knew he did that because he loved her. I had a feeling that he was afraid to lose her. There are not many siblings out there that are close like Fitz and Georgie were. I loved reading about their relationship. I’m hoping that the two of them would stay that close for long after the book was over. I loved so many things about Accomplished making it hard for me to put the book down. All the characters came to life for me and had me transported right into the story. I wanted to see how it would end, but at the same time, I didn’t want it to end.

Accomplished did have a slow beginning, but it didn’t take me long to get engaged in the story. A fantastic debut novel by Amanda Quain, and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next. I’m excited that I got a chance to read an early copy of the book. Even if you haven’t read Pride and Prejudice it’s a story you will fall in love with, a book that will stay with you long after turning the last page.

This was cute in its way, but I'm not the target audience. Wickham's bullying of Georgie was too disturbing for me. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This was a cute modern Pride and Prejudice-adjacent retelling centered on Georgiana Darcy. Georgie attends Pemberley Academy, but has gotten herself into some trouble with, you guessed it, Wickham. She needs to find a way to redeem herself in the eyes of her brother and rebuild her reputation at school. I enjoyed this modern take from Georgie's perspective. It was fun to see the characters from a different angle and Quain did a great job of keeping them pretty true to their character profiles for the most part. A great summer read!

Unfortunately had to DNF this one. I would LOVE to say that its just because it feels to juvenile for me as a 23 year old, but there is still PLENTY of YA fiction that interests me so it's clearly not just the genre. I sincerely hope this novel is able to be enjoyed by a 13 year old somewhere and this opens the world of Jane Austen up to them. Just wasn't the book for me.

A modern telling of Pride and Prejudice with the new added twist of being told through Georgiana Darcy’s perspective? Whats not to love?

A fair amount for me if I’m being honest. I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. I will say that had I gone into this with the fresh eyes of an actual “Young Adult” who had not yet read Jane Austen’s work; I would probably have quite a different take on this. I also think if I was a younger adult than I am, the traits of Georgie might not be ticks in the negative column.

Georgie is 16 going on 12 in this story; she comes off as whiny and immature in ways that I could forgive in a pre-teen and can’t tolerate in a “pre-adult”. The near constant “whoa is me” perspective and her way of making Fitz the bad guy feels false in a way I can’t move passed. Straying so far from the original work is bold but this book felt like a little bit of a letdown for me.