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Accomplished by Amanda Quain

About the Book

Title: Accomplished: A Georgie Darcy Novel
Author: Amanda Quain
Genre: YA Fiction
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: July 26, 2022

Georgiana Darcy gets the Pride & Prejudice retelling she deserves in Amanda Quain’s Accomplished, a sparkling contemporary YA featuring a healthy dose of marching band romance, endless banter, and Charles Bingley as a ripped frat boy.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Georgiana Darcy should have been expelled after The Incident with Wickham Foster last year – at least if you ask any of her Pemberley Academy classmates. She may have escaped expulsion because of her family name, but she didn’t escape the disappointment of her big brother Fitz, the scorn of the entire school, or, it turns out, Wickham’s influence.

But she’s back for her junior year, and she needs to prove to everyone – Fitz, Wickham, her former friends, and maybe even herself – that she’s more than just an embarrassment to the family name. How hard can it be to become the Perfect Darcy? All she has to do is:

– Rebuild her reputation with the marching band (even if it kills her)
– Forget about Wickham and his lies (no matter how tempting they still are), and
– Distract Fitz Darcy — helicopter-sibling extraordinaire — by getting him to fall in love with his classmate, Lizzie Bennet (this one might be difficult…)

Sure, it’s a complicated plan, but so is being a Darcy. With the help of her fellow bandmate, Avery, matchmaking ideas lifted straight from her favorite fanfics, and a whole lot of pancakes, Georgie is going to see every one of her plans through. But when the weight of being the Perfect Darcy comes crashing down, Georgie will have to find her own way before she loses everything permanently—including the one guy who sees her for who she really is.

Purchase your copy here!


About the Author

Storyteller.
Adventurer.
Enthusiasm Enthusiast.
Collector of too many mugs.

Born in Orlando, Florida, Amanda Quain has spent most of her life figuring out the best way to tell stories. Whether it’s best suited for the page or the stage, she’ll follow the thread of a story wherever it takes her. In addition to her work writing both YA novels and plays, Amanda is a bookseller at One More Page Books in Arlington, VA. She is represented by Moe Ferrara at Bookends Literary Agency. She lives outside of Washington, D.C. with her husband and her cat.


My Review

Accomplished: A Georgie Darcy Novel
by Amanda Quain
Rating: 4/5

As someone who loves Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice, I was super excited to read a contemporary retelling but from Georgiana Darcy’s perspective. Due to the YA setting, I expected there to be teenage angst but the character development was a nice touch too.

Georgie was a typical teenager with a lot of privilege who trusted in the wrong person, Wickham, and is now trying to navigate her junior year of high school. Her struggles are real but got a little annoying and unsympathetic after she kept bringing up her woes. The immaturity and naiveté was relatable though and the author relates her obsession with her crush in a very realistic way. (I’m so glad I don’t do that anymore ;)) The story is a bit heavier with the situations Georgie ends up in – I thought her schoolmates were super mean and elitist bullies. There is a sweet love interest for her though which the original story did not have so that was nice. I loved Lizzie’s character and the advice she had for Georgie. Fitz’s character development was also a nice aspect of the story – his relationship with Georgie had its own progression that was very touching.

P.S. I also loved Charlie’s character so much! 😉

Highly recommend if you enjoy a modern, YA take on Pride and Prejudice from Georgiana Darcy’s perspective.

Content: 23 “f” bombs and some other swearing but not overwhelmingly so. No sex scenes.

My thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice by Gemma Barder

Pride and Prejudice
Adapted by Gemma Barder
Rating: 5/5
Release Date: September 29, 2020

I am such a huge fan of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice including all the movies and mini-series. I was curious to see how the author would adapt the material for children, and I was not disappointed. The author is able to clearly tell the story without some of the extra flowery language and simplifying some of the scenes. She keeps the lovely humor and her tone light. I was very impressed with her ability to get all the emotions correct and keep the characters as true to the original as possible. I also loved the illustrations. They were similar to anime and delightful portrayals of my favorite characters.

I highly recommend this adaptation for those that want to share the brilliance of Pride and Prejudice with children.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.