I'm a big fan of all things Austen and this did a good job of adapting it to a teen audience in a fresh way. I loved the Aussie backdrop and the focus on sisterhood amongst the crossroads of post-high school life. I think Rice did a better job portraying the family relationships between the characters as opposed to the romantic ones though.

⭐⭐
Me personally, I’m sorry I could not get into it I often found myself skimming through this novel, the writing was quite confusing and choppy, and the chapter transitions were all over the place. I didn’t find myself excited to find out more. I couldn’t keep up with all the characters. I felt like there were way too many stories being told and it confused me. Also, to me the characters were toxic and never listened to the girls' problems, they always blamed her or put her down. This was upsetting because the book had potential, I don’t think the Pride and Prejudice twist was hit very well, it felt rushed and forced. The chemistry between love interests felt awkward and boring like they didn’t care for each other, and she was there just for the status. It had a cool concept but unfortunately, the plot was weak. As always thank you so much to Net Galley for an ARC of this book. Stay blessed everyone 😊🙏

The premise of this book really caught my attention in the first place and really made me wanna read it! The characters seem interesting as well as the location of Pippi. The shoes and the injury, the fact that this is a normal thing? Wtf! Dorian having to work while on their trip and then staying at theirs for the time being while Juliet is healing. The hot tub scene. Why is Dorian looking at her like that?? Cecelia is jealous! Very attention seeking. Casey seems very genuine. They left?? Did he really get him fired? Cecelia warning her about Alex? Fake and sharp? Wilson! Just left out of nowhere? No contact either is very odd! They are now in LA staying at Wilson's place. The sunset room sounds interesting. The party! I don't know if I trust Stacy Black.. omg the kiss! He's so sus!! Woah Franklin exposing the truth!! He helped him save? Wilson and Nicola??!! Dorian showing up!! He wants her to stay? Damn that was rough. Alex is insane for doing that, Inez just spilled it all. Now she's back home! Him warming up to her/her warning up to him more in Australia versus the other locations that they saw each other at. The whole movie industry part was so interesting! The fact that the mom got sucked in by that Alex dude and then she just left her teenage daughter at a place she didn't know, wow. Them having to go back to pippi and pack what they could was very heartbreaking, I felt their pain. She came back? I wonder what happened out there! Police and actually getting justice? I knew Stacy was sus!!! They kissed!!! I loved this book way more than I expected to, the ending was sweet!

Quote: "not everything women do is for the benefit of men, you know"

I rated it four out of five stars!!

Lily is unhappy to see dorian, a famous superstar, invading her hometown. But as she sees him more, she realizes that she was wrong about him.

Reminds me a lot of Pride and Prejudice. Lily is great and so is Dorian. Honestly, you can't go wrong with the pride and prejudice formula. Enjoy it a lot.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I really wanted to like this book as I love anything Jane Austen and this is a modernized version/heavily inspired by Pride and Prejudice, but it was a bit of an effort to finish. The writing style wasn't overly gripping, but it was a sweet, light story overall so I recommend it for that.

Many thanks to the publisher, the authors and NetGalley for the complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I wanted to like this book. I thought the conceit was great, but it unfortunately didn't hit the mark. It didn't feel like a Pride and Prejudice.

If you’re looking for a really fun summer read, this is absolutely it! I laughed, I got goosebumps, and I fell in love with the characters. Just such a fun read!

Sadly it was a DNF for me I stopped after a couple of chapters. I couldn’t get into the characters, it seemed like they only wanted to get close to the actor.

Oh nooooo. I had high hopes for this one, but it really didn’t deliver. The writing style was my first issue—I hated it. It switched between characters in third person without any breaks, so one minute you’re in Lily’s head, and the next you’re suddenly in Dorian’s or Casey’s. It was so jarring and confusing that I could barely keep track of who was speaking.

As for the characters? I didn’t feel like I knew any of them. Lily’s “I hate Hollywood” attitude was repetitive, Dorian had zero personality, and I couldn’t care less about the rest of the cast. The plot was meant to be a modern twist on Pride and Prejudice, but it missed the mark completely.

I wanted to love this, but it just ended up feeling flat, forced, and difficult to follow.

I really wanted to like this one but it fell flat for me. I struggled with the characters and the pacing. It was a let down for me unfortunately.

I unfortunately had to DNF at only 11%
I really did not enjoy the writing style at all and I felt like I knew nothing about any of the characters. It was in third person POV, but kept switching with no breaks between the characters. One paragraph it would be talking about Lily and the next (with no space breaks at all) it would be talking about Dorian or Casey.
Honestly, it's just not something I wanted to keep reading. I was not interested to see where it went.

What I really loved about this book was how it stayed true to the essence of Pride and Prejudice while adding that modern flair that makes it so relevant to today’s generation. It’s full of heart, humor, and just the right amount of swoon-worthy romance. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud and falling head over heels for these characters.

Stuck Up and Stupid was a cute book that was a quick read. I found the characters likable, and I loved the setting of Pippi Beach. It sounded like paradise, and I understood why Lily, the main character, loved calling it home. I also loved the theme of serendipity- how the universe keeps bringing people into our lives even when we think we’ll never see them again.

I found some of the story a bit redundant, and while I love a character as independent as Lily, I did sometimes find her desire not to accept help a bit tiresome.

Still, the book was a really good read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.


I received an advanced copy from Holiday House/peachtree/ Pixel + ink and Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.