I love, adore, swoon for all things Jane Austen. Movie adaptions, spin-offs, and of course, retellings. I have this need to have it all in my life. When I saw that this was available, I needed it! I love the whole concept, it's contemporary and diverse.
The Wrong Mr. Darcy has so much potential. I liked most of it but at the end, it just wasn't my cup of tea. There were some missed opportunities. I wish there had been more character development and more background for chemistry with the characters. The hate to love is not a smooth transition. I missed that first proposal moment where you finally see that Darcy is into Elizabeth but her anger and resentment ultimately denies him.
TW - language and skippable steam
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Hara was ambitious but also cautious, Darcy was compelling and interesting. I enjoyed the spin on the classic, and kept turning pages to see what happened.

I have a big pet peeve about calling something what it is. Specifically, book blurbs being misleading about what I'm likely to find inside. That's not to say I want spoilers because I absolutely do not, but if you call a book a romantic comedy, on the very first line of the blurb no less, I darn well expect to laugh. The Wrong Mr. Darcy falls way short on that claim. I didn't find this story even particularly amusing let alone funny. That first line also calls this book a 'lightly inspired Pride and Prejudice,' and I suppose that's loosely accurate. As far as the story goes, I ended up being disappointed all the way around. I could sit here and list things that didn't work for me, but it wasn't just one thing, it was a combination of things that didn't work, and I ended up not caring for any of it. I feel like the initial push for this one relied heavily on Lozada's fame, but since I had never seen the first episode of Basketball Wives and had never heard of her, that didn't sway me in the least. What caught my attention was the cute cover and romantic comedy claim. I realize that humor can be pretty subjective, so maybe I just don't have the right kind of sense of humor for this story. That's the beauty of opinions. I don't have to like it and you don't have to take my word for what's inside. All I can say for sure is that I most definitely did not care for, nor will I be recommending The Wrong Mr. Darcy.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for my copy of The Wrong Mr. Darcy. I was intrigued by the synopsis and the Pride and Prejudice retelling. I have tried to pick this on up several times but just can not connect to the story and characters. Unfortunately, it did not work for me.

I won't be sharing my opinions outside of this Netgalley review. Thanks again for my copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I always enjoy a take on Pride and Prejudice. This one involves the sports world, which actually does accentuate the pride part very well. Hara is a budding sports writer when she meets rookie Derek Darcy. It was a fun read.

Super cute cover.
Great arrangement.
The blurb and inspiration called to me like a siren.
Those were all the reasons I picked up this gorgeous little book. Unfortunately, while reading it I just couldn't connect with the characters. The writing didn't work for me, so unfortunately, this just didn't end in the way I thought.

I am just a sucker for a hate to love rom/com, and when I read the book description I became very excited to get into it. The book began well, the groundwork was set and I became very invested in Hara’s character, however as the story went on the story felt a bit too much and yet not enough. The story did not drag however I felt that in some areas the author could have expanded for further character development. Other than that, I did like the story, it is a quick weekend, feel good read.
Thank You to Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was not the biggest fan of this book. In fact I didn't finish it to be completely honest. I just didn't connect with the authors writing.

I had a really tough time with this book. I say the title and read the blurb and was like yes, this could be a good book. But then I started reading it and put it down more times then I picked it up. The story was choppy and I had a hard time following along, not sure if we needed all the extra drama. I just started skimming at one point because I just wanted this to be over. Sorry, this was just not the book for me.

the wrong mr. darcy is a pride & prejudice retelling that tries to sneak in some intersectionalities on race and gender as well as some socioeconomic commentary. all these weighty issues serve to weigh down the story so that it never quite lived up to the sparkling chemistry of the original.
it’s always a big ask to live up to the giant that is jane austen. perhaps because the plot is essentially the OG enemies-to-lovers, but the real charm of pride & prejudice lies in the details. and some of the retellings lack that flash of brilliance that comes with the dry wit and clever social commentary of the original.

this isn't going to blow anyone's mind is all. it's perfectly enjoyable, and a good way to pass the time for some feel-good fun.

**the wrong mr. darcy will publish on august 25, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/st. martin's press (griffin) in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not familiar enough with the Pride and Prejudice story to say if this is a good retelling, but this book was okay.

I think that it was instalovey anda little not authentic after they got together, and some of the writing wasn't great - it kept calling Hara the reporter even though we were in her perspective. The ending came out of nowhere but it was also hilariously campy and a good romp.

Lord stop giving these authors money to write books. They are a terrible combination. I had to dnf the last book they wrote and will be dnfing this one too. This one just started off bad for me. A biracial Black and Asian woman with blue eyes??? This is basic research. Im not a big fan of people writing out of their racial experience and this is why.

Hara Isari is an aspiring sports journalist. She gets the chance of a lifetime when she is chosen to interview the elusive Charles Butler, a rising basketball star. When she travels to Boston to meet Butler, she also meets his best friend, Derek Darcy. They instantly can’t stand each other, but they keep getting pushed together as Hara follows the team to research her article. Soon Hara realizes there is a dark secret between Butler and Darcy, and she won’t stop investigating until she figures it out.

This story followed the general “enemies to lovers” plot of Pride and Prejudice, with Hara and Darcy not liking each other but slowly starting to fall in love. However, the other subplots of Pride and Prejudice were changed. Hara’s father was in prison, not a steady role model like Mr. Bennet was to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. Butler was hiding some scandalous secrets, such as cheating on his girlfriend. I can’t imagine Bingley from Pride and Prejudice ever doing anything like that. I was disappointed that the original characters were changed so much in this adaptation.

There were some dramatic scenes at the end of the book. There are also some trigger warnings, such as suicide, abortion, murder, and assault. These events seemed to be just thrown into the story for a shock effect. These things didn’t add to the plot, and they didn’t make sense for a Pride and Prejudice adaptation.

This book didn’t work for me.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this Pride and Prejudice inspired book, but unfortunately, it was a bit of a miss for me. I thought the characters' backstories were interesting and well thought out, but unfortunately, the writing kept me from really getting into the book. It felt clunky to read and the dialogue was inauthentic.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I received a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Wrong Mr. Darcy
By: Evelyn Lozada, Holly Lorincz


REVIEW ☆☆☆

If you say Pride and Prejudice retelling, I'm definitely there for it. The Wrong Mr. Darcy didn't come across as a Pride and Prejudice retelling. If it is, it's just way out there, and I didn't get it. I'm not a fan of sports romance, but I wanted to try this one anyway. This story is a typical romcom chicklit variety story, and it wasn't memorable for me. I think a sports fan would like it much more or someone who is not picky about their Pride and Prejudice retellings. This book didn't work for me.

This was a complicated angsty sports Romance. This is another supposed PMP retelling, but even with my very limited knowledge of PMP I don’t think this worked. What I liked about this book was the enemies to lovers relationship between Hara and Derek. They both had preconceived ideas of the other that were later proven wrong. I also really liked the friendship between Hara and Naomi, although I’m not certain it would have formed quite as quickly as it did? The rest of the book was very busy, it was like a smorgasbord of plotlines. A dad in jail pulling the strings. A professional basketball player involved in illegal gambling. Sexism in the world of sports reporting. Cheating. An unwanted pregnancy. The storm of the century. Flight delays. Murder. With all of this going on I still enjoyed the book, I just think it could have been so much better.

This book in emojis 🏀 🗞 ☔️ 🌊

*** Big thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

I was so excited for this book, as I love a P&P retelling. This is not that! The author simply uses character names from Austen's work and has a hate to love relationship. Pride and Prejudice is more than a hate to love relationship and often this is not translated to so called 'retellings'.

I really found there to be too many conflicts to follow. The drama between the women was a little too cliche--oh my friend likes this guy so his girlfriend is obviously a terrible person--let's be more original!

Perhaps this was just the e-copy ARC but I found the transitions between Hara's and Derek's point of view to be very confusing. I often did not realize I had switched characters and had to reread some paragraphs.

There were other parts of the story that just didn't make sense following previous events. The ending was also so odd. It went from the worst to the best in two pages...I am just not sure how that is possible.

Either I don't understand Pride and Prejudice, or this book is not a retelling. I did not like our heroine, Hara, and most of this book felt poorly researched, especially the parts about being a sports agent. The quotes from the actual book seem to be the only accurate parts.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Hara Isari is an aspiring sports journalist, who wins a contest to interview basketball star Charles Butler. Her father is in prison for some sports betting fiasco. Her mother runs an apple orchard and is obsessed with Hara finding someone rich to marry. Hara, on the other hand, still lives with her mother in the town where she grew up. She works for her hometown newspaper, and is very anxious to prove she has what it takes to make it on a big city paper. When she flies to Boston for the interview, the owner of the team puts her up in a posh guestroom. Soon after arriving in Boston, she meets Derek Darcy, Charles's longtime friend and teammate. From there, it's pretty much a whirlwind of rich people and rich people drama.

I think the kindest thing I can say about this book is that it's a quick read. Derek Darcy is actually a fairly likable character, but Hara really isn't. She keeps focusing on what a jerk Derek, in spite of a significant amount of evidence to the contrary. And then there are some scenes that seemed wildly implausible to me. Primarily, a nor'easter hits during one of the basketball games that Hara attends. As a native Gulf Coaster who has been through many hurricanes and tropical storms, I can tell you that literally none of that would have happened. Another example is the entire character of Hara's boss. He's the editor of a small-town newspaper with one other employee (Hara), yet he can somehow afford to hire limos for Hara, put Hara up in fancy hotels, and dress Hara up in expensive clothes. Just ... no. These are just a couple of the WTF moments in this book. It's chock full of them.

But I think the thing that irritated me the most was the incredibly abrupt transitions. I sincerely hope this got fixed in edits, because it was extremely jarring. The author frequently jumped from Hara's head to Derek's head in the span of a paragraph, with absolutely nothing to signal that we were switching perspectives.

And lastly, the idea of comparing this book to Pride and Prejudice is laughable. "Lightly inspired" is still being pretty damn generous. I'm not even sure the authors have read the book. It feels like they read the Cliff Notes version, borrowed some of the character names, pasted some quotes at the start of each chapter, and called it done.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

DNF after chapter 1. I'm so sorry. I have never DNF'd a book from NetGalley and I've never done so after one chapter of any book. I'm afraid to say this book is just NOT for me. With all due respect, I do not think the writing is very good. It's a bit choppy. The descriptions of characters baffled me (can a half black half Japanese woman even have almond shaped blue eyes?). I just did not care. I can tell I won't enjoy the writing in this book and life is too short :)