Stuck Up and Stupid

by Angourie Rice, Kate Rice

A modern trans-Pacific twist on Pride and Prejudice, from an authentic team of debut authors who know their material, and deliver it heartwarmingly and hilariously

Inspired by Pride and Prejudice this modern tale captures the spirit and energy of Austen's original satire of manners, while updating and developing it for contemporary audiences, coming of age in the 2020s.

The quiet coastal community of Pippi Beach is rocked when a party of young Hollywood movie stars and influencers arrives for the summer. Like most of the locals, mum Lydia is thrilled but her teenage daughter Lily finds the Hollywood types are superficial and arrogant – especially Dorian Khan, the most famous of them all. Lily’s opinion is confirmed by handsome backpacker Alex, who has quite the story about Dorian’s past. On a holiday to Los Angeles, Lily stays with family friend Wilson, an ambitious player who introduces her to powerful movie producer Stacy Black. Lily is in turns amused and appalled by the excesses of the movie business, and more than a little surprised when Dorian Khan seeks her out. Could they actually become friends? And what’s more, has she been what she hopes never to be ... stupid?

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Audiobook, Contemporary, Fiction, Chick Lit, Retellings

320 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2025

Reviews

[Poppy Solomon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ohhhhh nooooo. I was excited for this one, so I was genuinely shocked when it was ... so ... bad.

I feel bad writing such a negative review because I so wanted to love it, and I always try to support Aussie YA, but I just can't recommend this. Unfortunately I think this novel is just a money grab because of the authors' success in the film industry. No care seems to have been taken to edit it up and make sure it's readable and enjoyable. It's a shame because it's an interesting premise -- a ghostwriter's help could've gotten it a long way, or a lot more editing.

The characters? Flat. The pacing? Off. The writing? Oh lorde where would I even begin.

I appreciate that the authors would be the right people to write on this sort of topic (though it didn't really go too in depth on the film/celebrity things - anyone could've managed writing about it with some research) but just because someone is successful in one industry doesn't mean they're qualified to write a novel about it.

Because ... ick. From the incredibly basic and underdeveloped writing style (I read a proof copy, but even for a proof the writing was in pretty bad condition) to the millions of characters, none of whom had any personality (barely even surface level), there's just nothing to find in the book.

Thank you to Walker Books for my ARC.

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence)]

Could not get into this book and dnfed after a couple of chapters.

It was difficult to get into with a tonne of character names without much introduction and stunted dialogue. The characters were also quite shallow and vapid, who only cared about getting close to an actor.

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Madeleine Knutsson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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.

[Iris Bicho · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5✨
Hummmmm as referências ao original foi o que salvou

[ems ₊⊹ · Rating 1 out of 5]

nope.
There was like three pages of romance and thats it. Also Lily had never actually admitted to herself that she liked Dorian and then all of a sudden she loved him??? They literally spent no time together alone and anytime they did it always ended in a fight. How did she fall in love with him again???
The ending was severely rushed and the pacing of the book was weird.

All in all. I did not like this book - and I somehow forced myself into reading this.

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

run.

[Ashley]

This modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice was very enjoyable. I thought using the famous of Hollywood as a way to create class difference worked really well, and I loved the descriptions of Pippa (small vacation town) in Australia beautiful and made it a lovely summer read.

[Rachel Roy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reese pick?? Unreadable! The writing was some of the worst I’ve tried to get through.

[Sara Garrity · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - a nice little fluffy book to read in the week between Christmas and new year. I really liked the first half of the book, but felt it got a bit rushed and random towards the end. However, I very much enjoyed the experience of reading this book! I want to go to Pippi Beach 🌊 🐚

[Mayflower (xaden's ver.) ೀ⋆｡˚]

𐙚⋆°｡⋆♡ 𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 ♡⋆°｡⋆𐙚
Im bored and may or may not be in a slump, so I hope a cute romance book will help!!!! <333

⤷Estimate Rating: 3.5-4


dnf at 15%
I can barley read and understand this. It could have been a fine book if it wasnt for the writing style which hurt my head........

[Samantha Ridenour · Rating 1 out of 5]

i just hated this. i am offended on behalf of jane austen.

[Bec · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the small town beach setting and the direction the story was taking, but the pacing was off and the characters didn’t have ANY chemistry at all. It took far too long to get where we were going, and when we got there it was like okay????

I don’t see how this was a pride and prejudice retelling. It was extremely disappointing.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

finally read a book lol

I LOVE HOW ALL THE BENNET SISTERS WERE AUNTIES AND THAT MR DARCY WAS UNCLE FITZ THATS THE CUTEST THING EVER 😭😭😭

absolutely loved this book

[Cláudia Oliveira]

Dnf - did not finish 😕

Isto foi tão inesperado!! 🙆🏽‍♀️ Eu tinha expectativas muito elevadas para este livro e achava que ia adorar! Estava na minha wishlist há imenso tempo!!!

Contudo, a principal razão que me fez dar dnf foi a escrita. É uma escrita na 3.a pessoa (que eu amo) mas cheia de narrativa, onde às vezes não vemos as coisas a acontecer porque estamos a ler alguém a contar o que aconteceu (perceberam? 😵‍💫) Ainda por cima, no início temos logo imensas personagens (que se tornou muito confuso) e também altera o pov muito rápido. Tanto estamos na cabeça dela como, de repente, já estamos na cabeça dele sem qualquer tipo de pausa ou indicação (o que se torna ainda mais confuso).

Infelizmente, não foi para mim… adorava ter gostado☹️

[Mila ~ We're just dancin' to the siren sounds~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pre-read:

Okay, soooooooooooo I found this book while scrolling through libby and I just want a short lighthearted stupid read and I hope this work

HOLY SHYT(keeping it pg guys) THE REVIEWS ARE TERRIBLE

[Ema S.]

DNF

(Não resultou para mim, muitas personagens e muita confusão...)

[Taffin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Cute take on Pride & Prejudice. Set in Australia for the most part and fun back and forth banter!

[tessa (jeremy jordan’s version)]

i fear i’m a mood reader

i got three pages in and i was like “i really don’t feel like reading this” so i didn’t!

soft dnf so i might pick it back up later

the end 🤗

[Tal Sheleg · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty fire. read it in one day

[Bryleigh Norris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent modern day take on Pride and Prejudice told in ways I think would be really easy for a younger audience to dissect and understand. This would be a good introduction into the classic for young adult readers. Pride & Prejudice is one of my all time favourite novels and I loved being able to see the connections between this and the classic. Thanks to Harper Collins NZ for my gifted advance copy of this one.

[hannah ♥︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it for sure, but third person perspective was not working for me. I also felt like Lily was lacking a fleshed out personality? Like it followed Pride and Prejudice a bit too strictly, more liberties could have been taken. I still think it’s a good read, just lacking a few things I typically enjoy.

[Lindsay Theaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am never, not ever, not once in my life going to scoff at an Austen retelling. But this one missed the mark for me in its modern Aussie setting. Beginning with Lydia’s offspring was an interesting take on a “history will repeat itself” motif, but that’s about where it ended for me with its cleverness.

[melodie | readingwithmelodie · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5

yeah pretty much the whole book & every character can be summed up by the title

[Melissa Barraza · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was way too many POVs, I had a hard time knowing whose POV i was reading.
Characters were dry and lacked chemistry.

[Elisabete Cunha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Orgulho e falta de jeito é uma reinterpretação juvenil e contemporânea de Orgulho e Preconceito, passada entre a costa australiana e o glamour de Hollywood. Lily, a protagonista, é uma jovem que não se deixa encantar pelas celebridades, mas cujo caminho acaba inevitavelmente ligado ao do arrogante Dorian Khan.
Gostei do conceito e da forma como a história trouxe elementos familiares do clássico para um cenário moderno, mas com um toque australiano. A presença de Mr. Darcy como estrela de cinema foi uma reviravolta divertida, e o ambiente de praia no verão é perfeito para uma leitura leve.
Ainda assim, para mim, a narrativa em terceira pessoa e o excesso de personagens, não me conquistou totalmente e senti que algumas personagens, especialmente Lily, podiam ter sido mais desenvolvidas. A relação romântica pareceu um pouco apressada e faltaram momentos mais pequenos e significativos entre os protagonistas.
No geral, é uma leitura leve, com humor e um olhar curioso sobre o mundo das celebridades. Ideal para fãs de Orgulho e Preconceito que procuram uma adaptação jovem e descontraída para o verão.
Não posso deixar de referir como a capa deste livro está absolutamente linda.

[Bec Condran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based in Australia and LA this is a light hearted feel good book. After thinking that both Lily and Dorian were from 2 different worlds and nothing like, the romance slowly grew. Easy to read but also pulls you in wanting to know more.
The start was a bit confusing trying to work out who is who and who is actually the main characters.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 stars - it was entertaining enough!

[Imogen · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was so cringe but I think I needed a book that wasn’t too serious so hurrah

[jurdan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow

[Carly Blaho · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping this would get me out of my reading slump and it simply did not :/