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.

I thought this was going to be a cute romance but it was really a hot mess. Hara wants to be a sports reporter and she wins a writing contest and goes to Boston to interview Charles Butler, the star player on the Fishers basketball team. There was just too much going on. Hara befriends Naomi who is sleeping with Charles and ends up in the hospital after a bad storm. Then no more was said about Naomi. There is intrigue about the team and the owner, O'Donnell, is a pervert. Derek Darcy plays ball and is Charles's best friend but there is more about Derek that is never explored. Hara and Derek were okay but I was not feeling any kind of connection and the ending was just a hot mess.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I tried really hard to like this book. However the plot was so jumpy and the characters were not the most likeable, and honestly I care zero percent about basketball. So there was already alot of reasons for me to not like the book however it had a good ending and overall it was okay. If you are looking for a really quick romance that you can skim and not be too invested in this one is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book as a quick read to get my mind off of what was going on in the world but I did find that it seem very amateur and not realistic. Huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this opportunity!

This is the second book that I'm reading from this author and I'm sad to say this didn't work for me!The only good thing about this story is the fact that through the story and the characters made me feel the vibes of Pride and Prejudice .I just couldn't get into it.It was hard to connect with everything.I don't give up I'm going to try again this author at some point!

Interesting. I don't normally read books that are centered around sports; just not my thing. I guess I didn't think that sports would play (pardon the pun) into the story as much as it did based on the blurb I read. That said; it is also the story of personal development and stepping out of one's "comfort zone". This is about a young wannabe female sports writer (Hara Isari) with a huge chip on her shoulder and a basketball rookie (Derek Darcy) from a wealthy family trying to prove his worth to his team. I liked the parallels with Pride & Prejudice and the short quotes on each chapter page. Each of the main characters has issues with their family and their chosen professions. I enjoyed this story; especially seeing Hara and Derek each starting to evolve.

This is a well written book, with good main characters. There are "behind-the-scenes" looks at the female support system of Basketball's elite and some current day news topics.

This is an easy read. Not exactly a retelling of Pride and Prejudice but more an updated rom-com of characters with the same names. I did enjoy it and thought that the characters were interesting. It was a fun, light read.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a pride and prejudice retelling set in modern times with basketball players and a reporter as main characters. I didn't care of this novel as it was too much from Austen. It also has language and some sexual content I didn't care for.

I was eager to read this as "Pride and Prejudice" is my favorite novel of all time, and I was looking forward to a re-telling set in the world of basketball... Unfortunately, the author did not deliver a retelling of the novel, except for using a few of the same names (Darcy, Bingley) and a female lead. I appreciated the diversity in the story, but there is a lot of lack of respect for females in general through the book, which was just unneeded. Lots of times I found myself confused as to which character was speaking as well, as the POV shifts were not clear, either. Some things in the book really didn't add up - like Charles and Derek's friendship, or how Hara's father was pulling strings... overall, I found the plot devices to be a bit weak. I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher/NetGalley in exchange for my honey opinion

The Wrong Mr. Darcy promised to be a charming Pride and Prejudice inspired rom-com. I thought it would be a great break from all the thrillers I have been recently reading. However, I am sad to say, I just couldn’t get into the book and I don’t understand the comparison to the classic.

Thank you Netgalley and Evelyn Lozada for the ARC for an honest review.

This was misleading. It is not even closely a retelling if pride and prejudice. I didn’t understand how she even is holding her job.

Five stars!
When Hara, an aspiring sports writer, wins a writing competition to interview a much sought-after professional basketball player she jumps at the chance. Charles, who isn't typically interviewed, is a real score for her and she hopes to break open a story on him despite the restrictions placed on her interview. However, Charles teammate and heartthrob, Derek, is instantly attracted to Hara...and the feeling is mutual. The story twists and turns through a storm (literally) of events....

Lozada and Lorincz have penned an edge of the seat action thriller of a romance. A pleasure to read a story about complex characters driven by their perceptions and seduced by others’ deceptions and transgressions. About small town a sportswriter, daughter of a convicted sports felon, and the game of basketball and it’s players, the story expertly blends the myths of sports figures with realistic humans seeking connection in a world where people are driven by suspicion of others’ motives.

I've been reading a lot of crime, thriller, and horror books lately and wanted to read something light-hearted. So, I tried the rom-com genre. It has been such a long time since I read any rom-com or romance fiction - the last romance fiction I read was P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern - so it was like 16 years ago!

The Wrong Mr. Darcy is a quick, and light-hearted rom-com with a little mix of mystery. Any books that are inspired by Pride and Prejudice or with the name Mr. Darcy will grab my attention! The Wrong Mr. Darcy tells the story of Hara Isari, an aspiring sports reporter who meets basketball superstar Charles Butler, to do an exclusive interview. She is also introduced to Derek Darcy, a rookie on the rise. Hara finds Darcy to be obnoxious and infuriating. However, their paths keep crossing and Hara begins to see Darcy in a new light.

From the characters to some scenes in the book, I could definitely feel the Pride and Prejudice vibes in this book and that held my interest! Besides the vibes, I liked it that it was a quick and easy read story. Truth be told, there are some parts that did feel repetitive, or is this how a rom-com should be? I am not sure. I'd say it is a clean read, since the intimacy between Darcy and Isari is not steamy at all. Overall, this is just a so-so read. I wish there is more depth in the characters because honestly, I couldn’t connect with any of them. I am not fan of the writing either - it felt elementary - or again, is this how a rom-com should be written?

Pub. Date: 9 June, 2020

***I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.***

I will be honest, I was intrigued by this book because of the title and the cute cover. Any romance lover would be pulled in by a title that includes one of the most beloved Book Boyfriends of all time. But that's where the intrigue ended. I really try to be tactful in my reviews, but this one just was not good. It was poorly written, tone deaf, and pandering. I have a feeling a lot of other readers will feel the same way.

The Wrong Mr. Darcy is a fascinating romantic comedy about two strong-minded individuals who realize that they have more in common than originally thought. The story is about love, friendship, and loyalty. It is page-turning and unputdownable.

The story follows Hara Isari, an aspiring sports writer, as she gets a huge break in her career. She gets the chance to interview on the NBA's most popular player. There are so many who are hoping she fails but she is ready and prepared to make the most of the opportunity.

When she meets Derek Darcy, an NBA rookie, she is thrown for a loop. Hara is attracted to him, but he is so standoffish. He can come across as rude and bratty.

They both make their judgments of each other based on their first impressions but realize that they shouldn't always judge a book by its cover. When they begin to spend more time together, they start to develop a sassy and witty bond.

I loved that Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz gave us another strong heroine who perseveres through all the obstacles she faces. There is a slight nod to Pride and Prejudice with the theme of the main characters having differing opinions of each other as they get to know one another. I am such a fan of a sports romance and feel like Evelyn and Holly have found their sweet spot with this trope.

I give The Wrong Mr. Darcy 4 stars. It is a captivating romance with charming characters. This writing duo continues to impress me and I can't wait to read more from them.

Blurb:

The Wrong Mr. Darcy is a charming, multicultural, Pride and Prejudice--inspired romantic comedy from celebrity Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz...

NO. Nothing about this was Mr. Darcy worth. There were so many triggering events in this book that there must have been a contest to see how many random and awful things could fit into one book billed as Pride and Prejudice with Basketball.

Let me just say that is you are triggered by anything, it's in here. And they all were truly awful.

NetGalley/St. Martin's June 9, 2020