Thanks so much for a wonderful read! Loved the interactions with main characters, the chemistry was on point. I would love to read more from this author! Great job!

This is not the book for me. I didn’t end up finishing it, it didn’t capture my attention. With so many modern pride and prejudice adaptations out there, I was hoping for a new and exciting take. Unfortunately, that’s just not what this was.

I received an early release copy from #NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I like all things Pride & Prejudice. I have read many a spin-off of the tale. This one was very different from what I was expecting, and it was still quite good. In fact, I might read the book again.

Hara is a budding sportswriter from small-town USA when the opportunity of a lifetime lands in her lap. The chance to interview a basketball star who hates the press. While in the interview, she can't take her eyes off his best friend Derek Darcy.

Yes, sparks fly!! The wit is amazing in this book. The pecking of our two main characters make this read well worth your time.

I also appreciated some of the unexpected detail of a basketball game and the different views of the characters. It was a great change of pace from going straight for hot and heavy.

Oh, and yes, the chemistry is smoking hot, and there are some really nice scenes in a kitchen and a bedroom. Not overly done, but enough to keep you excited for the next chapter.

This was a very pleasant surprise with some twists and turns that were well done.

At the library where I work, I was once investigating our reviews on Google, just to see. We had a four star rating, and I didn’t know why that would be. It’s a small town, and we’re pretty well liked by the public. Just seemed weird.

Lo and behold, some random stranger on the internet, clearly using a fake name, had given us one star and written just two words:

“Actually bad.”

And given our reputation, and feeling assured this was just some troll, my coworkers and I laughed and laughed about this choice of words. But now, friends, I’ve found a book worthy of this simple, yet effective review!

The Wrong Mr. Darcy: actually bad.

Nothing about this book makes much sense at all?? The romance is terrible and blahhhhh, and the story itself is just bizarre and wild. I’m all for suspended disbelief but y’all were asking a lot of me here.

Hara is a sports reporter, trying to catch her big break and make a name for herself. Her father is in prison for running huge bets on the sports world for years and years (and, unrelated: her mother is annoying as heck?). Hara is invited to Boston to do an interview with their star player, Charles Butler, who never talks to anyone. Things get shady. The owner is a bad guy. Darcy is a basketball player, and he’s mean at first, but then he’s okay? But seriously lacking the complexity of his namesake. Things just keep getting more and more dramatic while everyone keeps secrets, etc. etc. No real resemblance to Pride & Prejudice whatsoever, like pretty sure the authors never read it.

I’m trying not to make the plot sound so darn boring or confusing but it is exceedingly difficult. It was just not good dude. It took me days and days to read this even though it should’ve taken me one evening. I just couldn’t trudge through it. The lack of character complexity and likability, the absurdness of the entire plot, and just how boringly this team writes absolutely ruined it. This is actually similar to the way I feel about Christina Lauren (The Unhoneymooners aside – for some reason that’s a goody); the writing lacks a certain pizazz, like they didn’t really care enough about the story to put some heart into it.

Either way, this is two big thumbs down from me. Just skip this. However, if you still feel the need, it’s scheduled to be published August 25, 2020. A copy of The Wrong Mr. Darcy was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very different read for me. Some parts I liked and others I didn't. I don't follow basketball so that wasn't a theme that enticed me. Hara and Derek seemed like a couple that didn't fit at first but they worked hard to prove me wrong.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion. I was so excited about this one based on the cover and of course hello Mr. Darcy. The cover of this book is very well done and draws you into choosing it. This book was just okay for me. The story was rushed and chaotic. I finished it relatively quickly but think it was because I didn't want to not finish the book. Thank you for sharing but I think this was not in my wheelhouse.

I had no idea what to expect when I started this book. I can say, while not what I had expected based on the title, it was quite enjoyable.

A little choppy, the narrative changing and shifty timelines, this story had me reading lines multiple times to make sure I was still following along properly.

It's been a minute since I've read an ethnic/multicultural novel but even with the hiccups in the writing style of this one, I look forward to reading more books like this.

A new spin on an old classic; a snarky heroine and aloof hero...a little wit, a little chemistry, and some interesting twists kept me turning pages wanting to know how it all ends. While the climax was a little surprising, and honestly I wish there was more elaboration on how that panned out...I am satisfied with a happy ending. Mostly.

I wasn't disappointed, and feel like this book was a cute little glimpse into the pro-sports world while we are all sitting idle in our homes (and the real-life action is suspended).

**3.5 Started from the Bottom, Stars**

Man, where do I start with this one? It was a mess although it had a promising start. The plot was completely non sensical, there was zero development and the cringe factor was high. Stuff kept happening left and right, there wasn't a defined tone with the book....I really can't recommend this. Don't waste your time.

PS: It really has nothing to do with Pride and Prejudice, so don't think (like me) this was a re-imagined version of the story.

This book was cute but not as well written as I expected.I thought the plot had a few holes that weren't well resolved. Overall, it wasn't terrible but it was not my favorite.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
This book was really well written. I loved the basketball player/ reporter spin on this Darcy tale.
Both main characters were perfectly prickly in the best way. Darcy is from a wealthy family, determined to make a name for himself on his own talent. ISara is a reporter whose father is in prison for an illegal sports betting operation. There’s an evil boss a charmingly irritating friend who thinks his fane means he can do what he wants.
I must admit that there was several uses of slang that i had to look up. It’s mostly because I’m old.

This took me a while to finish. I did not engage with the characters and the writing just did not flow for me. I know there are others who will enjoy it immensely.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you St Martins Press for the ARC.
DNF. Basketball romance. Sorry I didn't like it more.

Supposedly based on Austens Pride and Prejudice but I didn't see any correlations to the novel at all.

Like a lot of reviewers, I saw that the title was going to be a modernized Pride and Prejudice so of course I requested it. I thought it was a relaxing read but it was really lacking. It was nothing like Pride and Prejudice. Not even close. I am disappointed with this novel. Thank you though for approving me to read it though! :)

This was such an original take on Pride & Prejudice and I was hooked from the beginning. The Wrong Mr. Darcy was full of vivid characters and witty dialogue but also that pull of attraction that propels you along in the original P&P, but this time we get to see it fully fulfilled.

This is not a straight forward Jane Austen remake. It's incredibly original, with just enough source material to peak the interest of Austenites but be modern and original.

This was a fun Jane Austen-esque rom-com. I liked it but didn't love it, It was a fun, easy and very quick read, but I felt there could have been better character development, better dialogue and more fun and originality than there was.

Thanks NetGalley & St Martin Press for the ARC.
This one was a not much of a Rom-Com for me.....more of a dramatic quick read.
Just wanted to get thru this one.

ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Griffin via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

If y'all know me, you know I looooove Pride & Prejudice and I love retellings, so when I stumbled upon this book I was so stoked! A retelling of P&P is a big project already, so making it modern is truly an undertaking!

So what is this book about?

Hara Isari has always loved talking, rather than playing, sports. Her dad is a huge sports fan and it is one of the things that formed the backbone of their relationship when Hara was growing up... until it got her dad thrown in jail. His love of sports had spiraled into an illegal sports gambling ring. Ten years later, Hara is a recent graduate trying to make it as a woman in the sports reporting world, a tough feat for anyone, let alone one of sports' most hated man's daughter. When a writing contest leads to the opportunity to get an exclusive interview with one of basketball's hottest stars, notorious for not talking to the press, Hara thinks she's won the jackpot. Yet things aren't all that they seem when she arrives in Boston for her big break. The owner of the team is asking suspicious, the star player may be hiding a huge secret, and his best friend and rookie stark Derek Darcy might be the rudest, hottest person she's ever met. Secrets come out, things escalate, and love could be in the air.

There are many things I liked about this book, but unfortunately the retelling / Pride & Prejudice aspect was not one of them. While there are a good number of similarities between the two books' characters, the plot has virtually no part of the plot bears a resemblance to that of P&P, aside from a few parties. While this can sometimes be the case with retellings, for me it wasn't enough to necessarily brand it as such. Within Hara, we find the closest resemblance to our leading lady Elisabeth Bennett. She is strong-willed, smart, judges people harshly, and offers no second chances.

"It wasn't that she didn't want a boyfriend. But she didn't want someone because they were rich, nor did she want a man drawn to her only because she was thin and had shiny hair. She craved a man who would be drawn to her because she was talented and smart"

This gives us a beautiful look at the similarities between Hara and Elizabeth. However, one aspect that I didn't like about the book was how Hara was consistently described as model-perfect, hot, and a knock-out. While a beautiful main character is by no means a crime, it felt like her constantly being described as such cheapened the romance that later would develop. This, among other things, set me off the retelling, as there are many aspects of the original story that do not function the same in modern society. Whereas in P&P, Mrs. Bennett is seen as overly invested in marrying her daughters off to rich men, it was understandable given the society of the time, as rich men would mean the women would be well cared for and move up in society. In our story here, Hara's mom pushing her to wear skimpy dresses and parade herself in front of rich men takes on a much different feel.

Yet as this book written in a dual-POV switching between Hara and Derek, the author automatically gives us a new perspective that we never had in Pride & Prejudice, and that is the POV of Darcy. This is very clearly a time saving choice, as it allows the readers to connect with the character and understand his side without the drawn out process that happens in P&P. It is through this POV, too, that we get to truly analyze the relationship between Hara and Derek as it develops. This, too, is a contention point for me, as the relationship between the two seems to be 90% sexual attraction and 10% mutual respect / admiration. One scene in particular caught my eye; in P&P, we all remember the scene in which Darcy helps Elizabeth into her carriage while neither is wearing gloves, causing the first skin-to-skin contact that shocks the both, a very intimate gesture for the time. While Lozada surely needed to modernize this interaction for us, as touching a man's hand is nothing to swoon about nowadays, this scene seemed overtly sexualized (I won't spoil the scene for ya).

Surprisingly enough, it was where the plot diverged from P&P that I enjoyed the book. The secrets of professional basketball players, the complex hierarchy of their wives and girlfriends, and the pressures they all face, was incredibly fascinating. The plot that evolves from this is reminiscent of a thriller, and I believe it should've leaned into that. Rather than being a modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice, I think it would've done much better as a sports-world thriller, harping on the dangerous power that rich men wield and the lengths they will go to in order to keep their wealth.

All in all, if you are looking for a P&P retelling, look elsewhere. But if you are interested in the sports world and the pseudo-thriller feel that this book can offer, then read on my friend. Final rating 2.5/5 starts

I didn't know what to expect going into this book, but it has Mr. Darcy in the title, so I was optimistic. The majority of the story was fine. I didn't hate the characters, but I didn't love them either. The authors did get Derek Darcy right as far as being like Mr. Darcy. The writing style was very well done, however, the overall plot and logic didn't work for me. The ending seemed very unrealistic and dramatic compared to the rest of the book. Overall, I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked to.

I don't see myself finishing The Wrong Mr. Darcy. I read a few chapters and was confused by the tone and the strange underhanded misogyny. It's maybe just not the book for me, hopefully it will connect with readers who like it more than I did.

I couldn't get through this book. It wasn't that the writing wasn't trying hard enough, but more like it was trying too hard. It was so jam-packed, that I couldn't stay interested. I felt like I could see the writing organizer where all the boxes were checked to modernize, diversify, and touch upon key issues. A more streamlined story where the story arc didn't get lost in the everything but the kitchen sink approach would have been more enjoyable, especially since the famous story arc is part of the selling point of the book.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.