Pemberley Beach

by Elizabeth Famous

In Pemberley Beach, worlds collide at a high-society party where Will Darcy slights Elizabeth Bennet’s looks, setting the stage for their tumultuous relationship, fueled by wit, pride and an undercurrent of desire.

A contemporary twist on Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice, Pemberley Beach is set amongst the sun and sand of a modern seashore resort where Elizabeth’s quest to escape the trailer park she grew up in leads her into the path of arrogant Darcy, owner of beachfront Pemberley estate.

Elizabeth’s playful, teasing remarks are hard to ignore, and Darcy battles his unwitting attraction to her as his best friend starts dating Elizabeth’s older sister Jane. Suspicion about the Bennet girls’ reputation as “gold diggers” triggers controversy and misunderstandings.

After some verbal sparring at a private pool club, Darcy propositions Elizabeth — not with marriage as in the original Pride and Prejudice but with sex. She turns him down, giving him a tongue lashing he’ll never forget.

Contrite, Darcy apologizes and invites Elizabeth to a swanky jazz party at Pemberley. Sparks fly. What would their families and friends say if they started dating?

Enter seductive Wickham, Darcy’s nemesis, who poisons Elizabeth’s mind with outrageous stories about Darcy’s cruelty toward “his social inferiors.” Wickham, who’s as handsome as Darcy, does more than flirt with Elizabeth, and then uses his allure on her 18-year-old sister Lydia, weaving a web of deception and indiscretion that jeopardizes not only Elizabeth’s reputation but her burgeoning career as a music teacher.

Amid the escalating scandal, which has the whole town whispering, Darcy is confronted with a give up on his undeniable feelings for Elizabeth or take a stand against the idea that Pemberley Beach would be polluted by someone like her.

Genres: Jane Austen

306 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 23, 2024

About the author

Elizabeth Famous, a bestselling author celebrated for her evocative love stories featuring authentic, imperfect characters, revels in navigating the complexities often sidestepped in traditional romance. Her debut novel, Love and Candy, was a poignant exploration of first love, and her second work, Light, Bright & Sparkling, followed the compelling tale of an aspiring singer/dancer.

With an unwavering passion for Jane Austen, Famous draws inspiration from the iconic author in her latest endeavor, Pemberley Beach.

Reviews

[Katja]

I read the free sample and put this down as a maybe. The style of this contemporary variation is readable and well edited. Will Darcy insults Elizabeth but out of her hearing, it reaches her ears through gossip. The Collins character does a very awkward marriage proposal, sort of. Jane and Bingley are dating. The Bennet ladies have a reputation as gold diggers and the amount of slutshaming in the beginning stressed me out a little.

[Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Risk and Reputation

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Source: Review Copy from Author

TYPE OF NOVEL: Modern-Day Pride and Prejudice Adaptation

THE PREMISE: In the beach town of Derby, being a Bennet comes with some notoriety. The past generation had their share of salacious behavior and scandalous drama. Yet that doesn’t seem to deter the new owner of the beautiful Victorian beach house, Netherfield, who seems to be falling fast for Elizabeth’s sister, Jane. But will it deter Will Darcy when he finally admits the effervescent and sharp-witted Elizabeth Bennet has captured his interest like no other woman has…

WHAT I LOVED:

- Clever, Fresh, and Reinterpreted: Such a fun and entertaining modern romance! Full of summer fun and festivities, family drama, and flirtations. The Bennet clan is small – just three sisters and Mrs. Bennet. But their situation and reputation are far below that of the illustrious, silver-spoon Darcys. The Bennets are low-income, absentee fathers, and assumed promiscuity. The Darcys are yacht clubs, palatial homes on the waterfront, and charity fundraisers. This was such an interesting dynamic to explore, and one that translated really well to modern times.

- Elizabeth: She is prickly, but she has reason to be. She is striving to improve her life, trying to protect and improve her family, and has had her fair share of men disappointing and hurting her in her life. She hates when people make assumptions about her based on her family and is very wary of anyone’s intentions actually being honorable. But seeing Elizabeth work so hard to change her life, fight against the gossip, and rise above the past just made her all the more admirable to me. I loved that she is a music teacher! And I love that she made her own past mistakes and has learned from them.

- Kooks vs. Pogues: It’s the “haves” vs. “have nots,” the East Egg vs. Valley of Ashes – and it worked really well in this setting. The Bennets being more low class and their past behaviors added some interesting new texture to the story, not to mention their past drama with members of the Darcy family! Talk about scandal! I enjoyed seeing Darcy and Elizabeth deal with this bigger chasm and different set of obstacles. As one might expect, it takes a lot for them to get on the same page, and the journey felt very natural and authentic.

- Derby: Beyond the interesting economic dynamics and friendly denizens – I loved all the sites and scenery mentioned in this story – I want to see the lighthouse near Netherfield, wander through the gardens and find that cozy bench built into a wall at Pemberely, and ride Elizabeth’s vespa all over! Elizabeth Famous did a marvelous job of bringing the setting to life in this story.

- Not Perfect Sex: I appreciated what the author did here. This felt real. There are many times when sex scenes are portrayed in the most perfect way possible, and I like how this story did the opposite, and portrayed times it isn’t perfect. There are emotional and mental components involved that impact the experience. This again made the story more authentic.

WHAT COULD’VE BEEN BETTER:

- Some Quibbles: With some characters, it felt like their personality was cranked up to the extreme – Collins was nonsensically ridiculous, Darcy was very stiff with almost Regency-like formality. Some of the characters’ repetitive baser thoughts felt a little jarring and deflated the romance sometimes. And while I enjoyed a lot of the Wickham storyline and the new differences with his relationship with the Darcys, I did find it a little far-fetched when the plot-lines still included marriage or elopement schemes.

NOTE: Withe the use if strong language, adult situations, and a few intimate scenes, I’d recommend this novel for Mature Audiences.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

👙 Summer sun and flirty fun – this is the ultimate Austenesque beach read!

😎 Not too light and bright – this story displays the struggles and rewards of overcoming the past, discovering your worth, and opening yourself to others.

🤞🏼 As a girl who loves her some contemporary Austenesuqe, I sincerely hope we see some more from Elizabeth Famous!

Austenesque Reviews

[Jen B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
I'm a little torn - some scenes and dialogue is reset quite cleverly and convincingly and others are not - that don't quite make sense (either generally or just in the context of the story). If you've read P&P then you'll understand the re-framing I think (even if you're not convinced), but if you haven't I imagine the reader would be perplexed.
I suppose that some of my being torn comes from my finding Lizzy not very likeable (she was a self confessed bully as a child/teenager, but even now (I'm currently about 1/2 the way through) doesn't really own it (ah... the letter ... seemingly out of century - she does realize that she's a twat), I think excusing it because she's insecure and was bullied herself because of some of her family's well earned reputation of stereotypical trailer trash); she is at times hyper sensitive, hyper-defensive (by being quite aggressive/mean-girl/rude/needling and judgmental based on her warped world view); immature and frankly a little unhinged in her reactions at times (take her reaction to Bingley's distancing himself from Jane because she was not candid about her family history and he found out through town gossip - which was *everywhere* and demanded details from Will who reluctantly finally told Bingley after repeated badgering which Lizzy knew based on texts shared by Jane) . That being said, her character development was totally believable (I just didn't like her, here's to hoping that Will - stop calling him Darcy as he has asked you a zillion times Elizabeth!!! - will be a maturing and stabilizing influence on her). she writes of a fictional character so I cannot argue that I got pulled in which is why I rounded up the review to a 4 - just overlook some of the anachronisms (oddly to the past) in some speech patterns an some not so convincing recasting of canon events
I received an free copy from the author and this review is voluntary.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was led to this book through a Jane Austen group and I fear that was a mistake. The author has taken Jane’s much loved characters and stripped them of any honour and likeableness.
The book already wasn’t sitting quite right when I was hit in the face by unexpected profanity. This continued through the book, with profanity and pornography popping up in various places.
There was also misused terminology (walkabout), and some punctuation mistakes (a full stop when it should have been a question mark)
I think the book doesn’t know what it wants to be. In places, characters talk with regency phrasing, then with expletives and sexual explicitness. That doesn’t mesh.
I know all about the authors characters but I liked none. I didn’t care how each storyline ended - was not invested at all.
I understand the idea of taking Austens characters and putting them into a modern day setting, but this all felt crass and absurd.
I love reading Austen fan fiction and modern retellings of her works, but they need to capture the essence of her characters and storyline. This book sadly didn’t.
My one word summary: uncomfortable.

[Auj · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 stars

I don't think I've ever read a book like this before. I haven't even read Pride & Prejudice, though now I want to.

This book was the slowburn to end all slow burns. Elizabeth and Darcy resist even remotely liking each other for most of the novel, though Darcy warms up to her first.

Elizabeth's intimacy problem isn't seen in most romance novels. Though it might have taken away from the sexiness of a sex scene, I appreciated that being shown. In most romance novels, the heroine has no problems having sex or orgasms.

It was quite interesting and I wish there was a sequel as I'd like to spend more time with these characters. I guess we can assume that Jane and Bingley end up together, but it'd still be nice to know for sure.

[Erna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a unique setting for a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice, at a beach along the southern East Coast. The characters followed many of the original P&P tropes, which was very enjoyable to anticipate. Wickham, Collins, Lady Catherine and others were true to form and added to the main characters in the beloved P&P that are also found in this book. There are some differences in the plot, to modernize and reflect the current culture of young adults in America.

I recommend this book as a fun, engaging read! I like the author's conversational style, and I read a previous book by her that I also enjoyed.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so I knew that I didn’t like modern variations of Pride and Prejudice. This one didn’t change my mind

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bennet sisters have a reputation: they are said to be fortune hunters and only to sleep with men to get their bills paid. When Elizabeth hears that the rich Will Darcy had said something like this to his friend Charles Bingley she decides to despise Darcy. Due to Jane's and Bingley's growing relationship Elizabeth is nevertheless constantly thrown in Darcy's path. She dislikes him even more but Darcy's admiration for her grew steadily, leading him to ask her out on a tryst. But Elizabeth, due to Bingley's abandoning of Jane and Wickham's stories about Darcy's bad treatment of him, hates Darcy even more and voices her hatred in unmistakable terms. Darcy apologizes the next day for his dubious proposal and the two start to converse in earnest, understanding each other better. But then Lydia runs off and a compromising photo of Elizabeth and Wickham appears. Is there a chance for a relationship between Will Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet? Or will circumstances prevent them from discovering if they share a love worth fighting for? And what about their scheming relatives?

The book is well written by Elizabeth Famous and a modern retelling of Pride and prejudice. The book takes place in America in the year 2019 and is transformed in this time period very well.

There are some changes from the original but this does not affect this modernized plot of Pride and prejudice. For example in Pemberley beach there are only three Bennet sisters, Jane, Elizabeth and Lydia, and Darcy's parents are alive. These and other changes are made in a way you do not have the feeling that something from the original is missing.

I like Darcy and Elizabeth in this story. In my opinion they are less prideful and prejudiced than in the original and therefore they better come to know and, later, appreciate each other. Therefore we do not need to wait exceeding long before they have a sort of understanding (I especially liked the jazz concert where they definitely have a better understanding of one another 😉). Naturally they still have obstacles to overcome but they can do this knowing what the other means to them.

I was sometimes a bit annoyed about how often the characters in this book think or speak about marking love to someone, sometimes multiple times per page and in situations I surely would not think about this topic. In my opinion it was a bit too much, one got the impression that is all the characters think about. I am surely not opposed to open door books but a bit less would have been enough for the story because these scenes were not necessary for the plot development. But if you are able to overlook this, it is an enjoyable read.

If you like to read about Pride and prejudice taking place in a modern American society you should definitely read this book.

I recommend it.

The book is for a mature audience.

I received a free copy of the book via book sirens and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

In “Pemberley Beach,” Elizabeth Famous puts Jane Austen’s classic tale in a modern setting. Regency romance intertwined with contemporary life.

Famous’s narrative captures the wit and elegance of Austen’s characters like beloved Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, while infusing them with modern sensibilities. The story unfolds with new complexities and contemporary dilemmas.

The author demonstrates her love for Austen’s original ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ making “Pemberley Beach” a must-read for fans of classic literature and modern romance alike. The novel promises a delightful escape to a world of love, society, and self-discovery.

[Ivory Clair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creative new imagining of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice!
Elizabeth Famous takes many of the familiar dynamics of the original novel and transforms them into a modern context. I enjoyed the beach setting quite a bit and the summer vibes are delightful. The setting is well developed and it was a pleasure to see how the original romances unfold in this one.
I was given an ARC by the author in exchange for an honest review. I greatly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more of the author's work in the future!

[Tzippy Sheffi Elgar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Pemberley Beach. It is a wonderful modern take on Pride and Prejudice. The plot was very realistic, clever and fresh. There is some spice which was written with great sensitivity. The past of both the Bennets and the Darcys is very complex and moving. The story is captivating and sweet, with a lot of family drama and a villain we all love to hate.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sierra Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of P&P retellings. This is a great summer read!