Accomplished, A Georgie Darcy Novel by Amanda Quain is so good. We know a tiny bit about Georgiana Darcy in Pride & Prejudice, and this book does such a great job of modernizing the characters and fleshing out Georgiana more.

Each modernization felt believable, especially Wickham. The author fleshed out his character to really show his narcissistic, gaslighting, manipulative behavior.

We see a lot of character development with Darcy and Georgiana, over the course of the novel. It felt authentic.

I do believe Pride & Prejudice fans will enjoy this modernization. It was clever and well done.

I love a good Austen retelling but this book fell short to me. It was a little depressing reading about a girl who is completely consumed by what others think of her. There is some growth but I think this would’ve made me so depressed as a teen

In this Pride and Prejudice retelling, Georgiana Darcy is trying to recover her reputation after an incident with toxic lover Wickham left her scrambling to cover up the fact that Wickham was selling drugs out of her dorm room. With the guilt of ruining not only her relationships at school but also the relationship with her brother Fitz, Georgie will do whatever it takes to prove to Wickham and herself that she can change for the better.

I want to go into this review with the preface that I have never read Pride and Prejudice. I know, it's absolutely awful of me. But if you're looking for how this book compares to the actual book it is based off of, I highly recommend checking out some other reviews from people who have read Pride and Prejudice.

Okay let's dive in. It was hard for me to root for Georgie at first. The first half or more of this book is swamped with her own self doubt and how she cannot trust herself, despite trying to make amends for everything that had gone wrong. As a result, I felt like I couldn't trust her as a reader, which is not really something you want to start off with right off the bat. Eventually I did grow to like her as a character, especially as we watch her participate more in the marching band and in her writing. I will admit that I think her writing did take a bit of a backstep in comparison to her love for marching band, so I do think that more could have been done with her writing besides it just being the fact that her fanfictions are almost famous.

That being said, I did love Georgie's character development. You do see her opening up more to people and actually putting in an effort to not only change but also to let people open up to her as well. I will admit that the slander and hate she received was really blown out of proportion, especially with Braden (he disappears somewhere after the second act and I wish we got to see more of him).

I absolutely loved the tension between Fitz and Georgie, it really brings in their powerful dynamic as a brother and sister that are unfortunately forced into a "father daughter" relationship with the passing of their dad. I do wish I understood a bit more why the Darcy family is so rich and influential, but that might be a lack of understanding for me because I never read Pride and Prejudice. I also loved Georgie's relationship with Avery and how the friendship reblossomed into something more, but also I'm always a huge sucker for friends to lovers.

One thing I really appreciate the author discussing in this story is how one bad relationship can really impact the things you love most. Georgie is a huge fan of this show called Sage Hall, and one of the relationships in the show is the driving force behind her fanfictions. She loses her drive to write because of what she had with Wickham, and the trauma and reactions to being reintroduced to Sage Hall after the Incident was really impactful to me, especially as someone who has been in previous toxic relationships. It takes a while for someone to recover from that, and that gradual progression from Georgie's end was really well executed.

Accomplished is perfect for readers who have not read the classics but still wish to be introduced to it in a more modern sense, and it's a great fast read.

I received a copy of this story as an ARC on NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a sucker for a Pride & Prejudice retelling, and Accomplished gave us a nice twist in not only being set in modern times, but also for focusing on Darcy's sister Georgiana as the main protagonist.

I loved Georgie! She was likable, but not without flaws. Growing up rich and sheltered, she doesn't pick up on social cues as well as others. This also makes me a bit gullible and we see why it's easy for her to get taken advantage of by Wickham.

As a former colorguard kid, Georgie being a band nerd also was extremely relatable to me. I don't know if Amanda Quain was in band herself, but this is the first time I've seen a marching band portrayed correctly in a book. It was so fantastic and made me really happy.

I feel like this book will be good for anyone that likes YA contemporary romance, and could be a gateway into reading Pride & Prejudice or other Austen stories.

This was such a cute book! I'm definitely a Pride & Prejudice girlie, so this was spot on for me. I really love when a character starts with a few flaws and then works their way through them throughout the book, and that's what I loved about this one. Amanda Quain did a phenomenal job with her character development, and I'd absolutely read an entire book about this version of Charles Bingley. 5/5 would recommend, especially if you have a love for Pride & Prejudice!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a Pride & Prejudice reimagining/retelling from Georgiana's point of view. I am all for P&P retellings and have enjoyed many of them. This one had an interesting premise - Georgiana is having difficulty at school (socially and academically) after a year where she almost got expelled after being tricked into some stuff by Wickham. I just didn't really like the main character. She seemed pretty young, clueless and kept making bad decisions and complaining about how tough she had it. There was a romance for her as well and I liked her love interest but overall this book was ok but not great.

I love Jane Austen, but this book just wasn’t my style. I expected a sweet, meek Georgiana. This one was angry, depressed, and more gutsy. She got into more trouble. She cusses (moderate swearing throughout including the f-word). Her relationship with her brother was more strained.

My favorite modern retellings are from Rachel John, Jenny James, and Misty Dawn Pulsipher.

There have been many retellings of Pride and Prejudice, but what made this one refreshing was getting to see the story from Georgiana's point of view. Some characters in P&P are not deserving of their own story being heard, but Georgiana is not one of them. This modern take on her relationship with Wickham, his betrayal of her trust, the fallout, and eventual way forward was realistically handled and well done. The growth of Georgiana as a character and the repairing of her relationship with her brother was great to see. Hope to see more of Georgie Darcy in the future!

“Accomplished” is going to live in my English Lit Major heart rent-free for the foreseeable future. I expected to read a stuffy take on the classic novel by Jane Austen from a different character’s perspective, but I was so pleasantly surprised to be WAY WRONG.

“My big brother, Fitzwilliam Darcy, could suck it.”

This classic retelling with a twist really combined the “Pride and Prejudice” characters we know and love and remolded them within the scope of a modern soap opera… or might I say a CW show. IYKYK.

My Take-Aways

High School is the worst. Kids are so mean.
Georgie got mixed up with the wrong sort, made some mistakes, and lost some cool points with the kids in school. Rather than just move on to the next person’s goof up, her fellow students opted for the cold shoulder or worse.

Quain writes passive aggressive and spiteful dialogue so well. There is no grace given by the young. They see all your scars, your fears, and insecurities flashing light a billboard in the middle of a dark highway, and they use whatever means necessary to turn those feelings into ammunition to hurt you. It’s easy to lash out and hurt someone else before they hurt you. I really felt for Georgie and hoped as I turned page after page that she’d somehow find her footing (like all the non-popular kids do in the real world as they grow up and glow up) and start to trust herself.

Grace costs you nothing, and that’s a lesson that seems to take some longer to learn than others.

Elizabeth Bennett reading a novel
First Love
“It has been intoxicating, to have someone look at me like that. I missed it.”

Quain really captures the yearning and pinning of a teenage girl’s heart. I have to admit that reexamining my crushes from back in the day makes me cringe. Not the people itself, they’re all still pretty lovely, but more the embarrassing feelings and actions that went along with it. Even now twenty years later my face is turning scarlet from the memories of just how awkward and ridiculous I acted because I was a smitten kitten.

Georgie is no different as she reflects back on her behaviors when she was with Wickham, though I think she might be more mature than me because she definitely shows more resolve and backbone throughout her story. I wish I could have had some of her self-awareness, but hindsight is 20/20… ish.

Final Thoughts
Quain’s debut novel sparks joy in my book-loving heart, and I hope that readers will enjoy a growing list of titles from her in the future. “Accomplished” has the original plot lines and character combinations and has recreated them with modernity that makes reading a classic story fun. I’m so excited for all the readers who will get to experience Georgie, Fitz, Charlie, Lizzie, Jane, and Wickham in this new way. Even better, if this is their first time meeting these characters, maybe they’ll like it so much that they’ll want to pick up Pride and Prejudice and start at the beginning.

Classic Lit is just the groundwork, the foundation, the jumping off point. It’s where the stories go next that keeps us on our toes.

“I struck my final pose, shoulders back, eyes lit up with pride. Not just Darcy pride, or Pemberley pride. Georgie pride.”

Super cute fast read about one of the loveable side characters in a classic. Quain puts a unique spin on Georgiana Darcy in the modern world and makes her a quirky, cute protagonist with good intentions and a tendency to not see the forest for the trees. I really loved the integration between Georgie's plot and the little hints of the original novel that felt like such delightful easter eggs. HOWEVER, the crux of the book relies on Georgie understanding her privilege and I don't think she ever gets a chance to truly understand everything she has. The revelation is given to her in a.... skeletal manner through Darcy... but isn't really fleshed out or explored by Georgie after enough for me to buy her growth.

I really liked this whole new angle to a story that's been told a million times over. Focusing on Georgie instead of the more well-known Darcy gives it a whole new level of originality than just bringing it to modern times would. It also fills in a backstory to a character that always seemed to be a big motivator for Darcy.
Georgia is incredibly likable and relatable in that awkward, introverted way that makes it hard to socialize and make friends, which is even harder for her because she has a brother who's her closest confidant in school and then meets the awful Wickham who messes her up even worse than her privileged upbringing already did.
Following along as Georgie tries to figure herself out while navigating a school that has judged her just on her name and some unfair rumors makes for some great character study, and it's just plain fun to see her slowly realize that friendship requires her to open up and let people in.
This one's fun, original, and full of great emotions, so I highly recommend it.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the interesting read!

The younger Darcy sibling steps into the spotlight in Accomplished. Amanda Quain’s modern take on Pride and Prejudice is a delight, thanks to its likeable protagonist and fun twists on Jane Austen’s beloved characters.

After the incident with Wickham Foster last year, Georgie Darcy is persona non grata with her Pemberley Academy classmates. Her brother, Fitz, is frustrated with her and is helicopter parenting from the nearby college. So what will she do to gain his trust and win back her classmates’ affection (or at least dampen their disdain)? Georgie will become the Perfect Darcy. Except it’s not as easy as it looks and her efforts seem to be hurting rather than helping. The only person willing to talk to her is band leader and all-around good guy Avery. Still, if she can keep her grades up, charm her marching band team, and distract her brother by matchmaking him with his classmate, Lizzie Bennet, then all should be forgiven, right?

Georgie is kind, determined, and a little naïve. She’s grown up in the lap of luxury and doesn’t quite see her own privilege, though she starts to learn over the course of the book. Because Georgie is a nice protagonist who was taken advantage of by Wickham, who fed on her loneliness, it was heartbreaking at times to see her iced out by all those around her when she tried so hard. I liked seeing Georgie come into her own over the course of the book. She makes mistakes, yes, but she learns from them. By her side is Avery, her incredibly sweet best friend who isn’t put off by the drama Wickham caused. Also by her side (though she can’t always see it) is her brother, Fitz. The elder Darcy is doing his best to take care of his sister and though he makes mistakes as well, I loved watching their relationship develop.

Accomplished focuses on a relatively minor Austen character but there are plenty of spins on Pride and Prejudice that will delight any Janeite. I absolutely loved Bingley being a frat boy – any scene with him is sure to make the reader smile. The references to Lady Catherine de Burgh also made me laugh. I thoroughly enjoyed Accomplished and appreciated how Amanda Quain paid homage to Austen while still creating a story and a heroine that could stand on their own.

Georgiana Darcy should have been expelled from Pemberley Academy last year, after her boyfriend Wickham was caught selling drugs out of her dorm room, but she wasn’t because she’s a Darcy. Now everyone at Pemberley hates Georgie because she’s responsible for getting Wickham expelled. Georgie wants to gain back her friends and reputation by becoming the perfect Darcy. She changes all of her classes to AP, focuses on playing trombone in band, and even tries to match her brother Fitz with his classmate Lizzie. With the help of her friend Avery, Georgie attempts to be the perfect Darcy, until she can’t handle the pressure.

This was a great retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I haven’t read an adaptation that focuses solely on Georgiana. She’s an interesting character who wasn’t featured much in the original story, but she’s important to the end of the plot.

While Georgie’s story was happening, the romance between Fitz and Lizzie was brewing at SUNY Meryton. I liked that this story was happening simultaneously. If you know the story of Pride and Prejudice, you can figure out what was happening between Fitz and Lizzie, with some help from Georgie.

I appreciated the discussion of privilege in this novel. Georgie and Fitz had a lot of privilege because of their name and money. One benefit of their privilege was that Georgie didn’t get expelled when anyone else would have. Their privilege wasn’t a fault of theirs, but it did give them opportunities that they wouldn’t have without it.

Accomplished is a great contemporary Pride and Prejudice retelling!

Thank you Raincoast Books and Wednesday Books for sending me a copy!

I'm a fan of retellings and genuinely enjoyed Amanda Quain's take on Pride and Prejudice. I loved the character of George Darcy and how she struggled to live up to the "Darcy name." The characters were well developed and felt three-dimensional. I was rooting for Georgie all the way through. A fun read and nice homage to Jane Austen.

An endearing contemporary take on Pride and Prejudice, focused on Darcy's younger sister, Georgie. While the emotional beats for a teen trying to leave an emotionally abusive relationship were for the most part solid, the arc in the end was unfulfilled, and a few plot points along the way cling to the edge of plausibility. The book would have been stronger without the "pact" made with Wickham near the beginning.

Charming, heartbreaking, sharp-witted, and full of everything I love in an Austen adaptation. This was a phenomenal take on Georgie Darcy and I loved every page. What a wonderful debut!

While this retelling of Pride and Prejudice was not bad, it was not my favorite. I found the move to a modern setting interesting, but in a lot of ways it lost the charm of the original. I ultimately found Georgie's story to be a little grating, as she mostly came off as depressed and no one really noticed. I did want to root for her, but it also made me dislike everyone else to some degree. For a story based on Georgie, I also still didn't always feel like she was at the center of things. Her matchmaking was an interesting twist to the Darcy/Lizzie story, but I most of the time just felt like I wanted to know what was happening with them. Wickham also did not have the charm that he does in the book and in other versions. He was just slimy and there didn't really seem to be any reason that anyone would have liked him, other than we were told that they did. While I did ultimately enjoy parts of this book, and the idea of the book in general, I wanted a little more or a little something different out of it that I never quite got. I would be interested to read a story by this author about the Darcy/Lizzie and Bingley/Jane storylines, as I did enjoy the writing in general.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book! This was such a cute, charming little read and a clever take on characters from Pride & Prejudice. Georgie is such a smart, fun little heroine and her journey of growth and understanding her privilege is a delight. The characters are unique enough that everything feels fresh and new, but the references are all there for a devout Austen fan. I also thought the romantic aspect of the novel was handled well and felt realistic.

My only real quip with the novel was that the ending felt rather rushed - it could have been drawn out over other chapters, or some realizations could have been made to make it seem less sudden. The lead up to the resolutions weren't bad, but the resolutions themselves felt a little too fast.

This book intrigued me at first since it’s set in a boarding school and I’ve always wanted to go to one, ever since I was child after watching wild child. I did get bored of the main character at the beginning because I just could not understand why she couldn’t leave foster alone. I did finish the book though, so I can tell you that it’s a nice read but I predicted everything that was going to happen before it happened so it lost its appeal many times. If you’re a lover of romance books or teens being teens then this the book for you.

I would like to say thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s press, and Wednesday books for allowing me to read this in exchange of my honest opinion

DNF at 34%
I will always and forever love a retelling or spin off of a Jane Austen book. It could be my mood, it could be the book. Either way, I wasn't invested in Georgie. I wanted more of Fitz if anything and Wickham was completely slimey.
I attempted to read and then listen to the audiobook. Deva Marie Gregory is well suited for a young voice and POV. I would be willing to try another audio featuring her narration.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy and Macmillan Audio for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.