Hara is a small time sports reporter living in Oregon when she wins the chance to interview the young star player of the Boston Fishers. She hops on a plane to Boston to stay with the team owner in his mansion and to interview the popular basketball star, Charles Butler. Once in Boston she meets Derek Darcy, another player on the Fishers and Charles' best friend since childhood. Hara and Derek both rub each other the wrong way yet are oddly attracted to each other.

The Wrong Mr. Darcy is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a cast of BIPOC characters and a sports theme. I liked that it was set in Boston and had some mentions of local sites, hotels, etc. The book is written by a "basketball wife" so she knows the subject of hanging out with professional basketball players. The story was cute but I didn't enjoy this retelling as much as I did the other 2 P&P retellings that I've read this year: Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors and Ayesha at Last. I just didn't find that characters as engaging. This book would be a good match for anyone who likes romcoms with a professional athlete character, like The Bromance Book Club.

A lot of people are comparing this book to Pride and Prejudice. Although I have heard of it, it's not a book that I've read, so I can't make that comparison. What I will say is that this is an enjoyable book. Hara Isari is a woman living in a male dominated field, a sports reporter. While interviewing a player, she gets an inkling that something else might be more news worthy and runs into ball player Derek Darcy. As much as the two try to deny their attraction, they move forward, but obstacles that are thrown in could make them realize they've might have to make an urgent decision.

Although I'm not a big sports romance fan, the story was cute. There was some action that did keep me wondering what was going to happen next. And although I read one of her other books previously a while ago, I believe that some of the characters (if not, at least the organization) appears in this story as well. It was a cute story

I want to preface by saying: we need diverse books! I really really wanted to like this book. The first few pages bad a decent set up. We had a multicultural lead with an interesting back story but the execution was pretty thin. There were a few parallels with Pride and Prejudice buy I don't thing this book really felt like a retelling and if it was I don't think the authors really understood the source material. There was very little description and a lot of very basic dialogue. The parts narrated by Darcy felt weird since he thought in the exact same voice as Hara and his "street" dialect felt very contrived. Overall, a good idea but very poorly written. Plot was slow until the last chapter when a bunch of things all happened at once but felt kind of like a forced ending.

All you wanted was to prove that you can do it. Hara Isari can’t believe that she won the writing competition and that she gets to interview Charles Butler the top basketball player but everything doesn’t go according to plan. She meets Derek Darcy and he is moody & not very nice to her but will she give him the chance to prove that he isn’t always this way? Derek knows that he needs to help Charles as this scandal could change everything and he knows that he needs to keep Hara away from this mess but she just won’t let it go. But they both realise that the story is bigger than both of them. Will they survive the storm. A good read. I was lucky enough to receive a copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Love, Basketball, Mystery, Suspense, Wives and Girlfriends, a storm, and more--this is not your momma's Pride and Prejudice variation, and I'm all for it. Multicultural characters give this novel depth and an edginess not found in the usual Austenesque-style books.

Hara Isari, a sports writer on the way up, receives VIP treatment and an interview with Derek Darcy, a rising basketball star. An aloof and broody man, Hara knows there's more to his story. As she becomes quickly entwined in his world, there's danger. The more she's around him, the more she's intrigued.

Derek is warned away from Hara, and he has secrets to hide, but there's something about her... He's not the kind of man to let a woman be ill-treated. Torn between his job on the court, his best friend, and pressure from the team owner is weighing on him.

They're from different worlds, and circumstances throw them together, but will it last?

**received an ARC from Netgalley**

I tried to read this book but sadly this book wasn't a good fit for me. While yes I did get into this book and loved any books on mr. darcy this wasn't it.

2.5 stars rounded up.

What I liked: the story is good. Not great, but entertaining overall if a little predictable. I loved that it was set in Boston, one of my favorite cities.

What I didn’t like: first let’s start with the whole Mr. Darcy name. This is not a retelling of Pride & Prejudice and I feel like the character is only named Mr. Darcy so that all the Jane-ite’s will buy/read the book. Not a great idea because most Jane-ite’s I know would hate this book! Next, the characters are not very well developed and there’s just too much going on! Basketball, reporting, cheating (in multiple ways), miscarriages, murder. It was a lot! And lastly, stick with a name-the back and forth between Hara and The reporter, and Derek and The basketball player, was ridiculous! And these are educated people but the way they talked was awful! And very distracting!

Overall, I did think the plot had some good things about it, but the author needs to work on tightening up the story.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of #thewrongmrdarcy

I was really hoping to love this, but it fell really short. The writing and plot was clunky, unnatural, and cringy. I do not recommend this one.

Seriously this book isn’t even good at all. I couldn’t even get past 10%. I am so sad because it really sounded like it would be a fantastic book.

This was labeled a romantic comedy but I didn't find any humor in this story and feel like I am not the targeted reader for this urban interracial sports romance. I did like Hara Isari who dreams of leaving her small town to become a female sports reporter and loved her attraction and undeniable chemistry with basketball rookie on the rise, Derek Darcy. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

While I do think The Wrong Mr. Darcy is miss marketed as a romantic comedy when it is actually a romantic drama, it’s a surprising, thoughtful, angsty, and entertaining multicultural romance. The authors explored issues facing Hara Isari, a young, small town, newspaper reporter trying to break into the male-dominated field of sports writing, and Derek Darcy, a young, basketball player trying to prove himself in his sophomore season with the NBA after an injury derailed his rookie year, whose paths keep crossing much to their dismay. On their rocky road to romance, the least of their obstacles is their own pride, prejudice, and sheer stubbornness. Their worlds collide when Hara wins a contest for an exclusive interview with Charles Butler, Darcy’s teammate who is basketball superstar.

Supposedly this is inspired by Pride and Prejudice and I can see that mostly in Darcy’s character and their interactions. I think more than anything, Hara’s love for Jane Austen and her desire for a relationship/love/romance was woven through the story and Darcy’s grumpiness was embodied in Derek. The way that Derek and Hara kept letting their emotional and parental baggage lead them to jump to conclusions and form all these prejudices against each other and allow their pride to keep them from stepping back and seeing each other for real also was very much in keeping with Pride and Prejudice. As Jane Austen was a source of comfort and safety for Hara when things got too much for her, as well as a source of strength, I thought that opening each chapter with a relevant quote from the novel also was a nice touch. For the most part though, The Wrong Mr Darcy has its own story to tell. From the middle to the end it just kept getting crazier and more dramatic. The Wrong Mr Darcy is an unexpectedly suspenseful, at times angsty, steamy, romantic, sports drama that offers an outsiders’ POV into the professional basketball lifestyle with some thoughtful ideas about self-esteem, friendship, loyalty, feminism, professional sports, the commodification of Black bodies, cultural heritage, and cultural expression.

Hara is a biracial woman of African American and Japanese American descent who grew up in a small town with dreams of becoming a sports journalist. She’s smart, ambitious, kind-hearted, imaginative, surprisingly naïve, and way too trusting and sheltered. Her relationships with her parents are a source of a lot of emotional baggage and self-esteem issues that make it difficult for Hara as she pursues her dream and forms relationships with people. Hara’s Japanese father is in prison for sports betting, which interferes with her building a name for herself because it’s been tainted in the sports world already. Her African American mother is always on her case trying to make her dress up more, date, and find a wealthy man to marry and take care of her. Although Hara does want to fall in love and have someone in her life, she wants to prove that she can become a successful sports journalist and take care of herself first.

Derek is an African American man who comes from a wealthy family, but he’s set on proving himself as a basketball player, showing the world that he earned his position on the team all on his own. While he doesn’t reject all the trappings that come with being a professional athlete—money, a nice car and place to live—he doesn’t want to be his father. He tries not to let his wealth and position own him by giving in fully to materialism and is down to earth. He may be an excellent basketball player, but he needs to work on his communication skills, especially with women he might be interested in dating or sexually. He’s arrogant, handsome, proud, blunt, and too honest for his own good, but he has insecurities he keeps well hidden.

Ultimately, Derek and Hara aren’t all that different. Each is so weighed down by the past and the emotional baggage from their childhoods and parental expectations that it’s keeping them from freely living their own lives open to possibilities without always expecting the worst and judging others so harshly. Both just want to be appreciated and loved for themselves and are desperate to prove themselves worthy to their parents by proving they are worthy in the eyes of the world. They also both have some maturity issues as well. I loved that both the characters are hot messes who were just incapable of getting out of their own way to have a conversation without getting into an argument. They spend a lot of the time taking their issues out on each other. Most of the novel was dramatic and far more serious than expected. But the moments between Derek and Hara provide a break from some of that, especially when they’re having their miscommunications, which are often, and provided the main, if not only, source of humor in the novel.

The cast of characters is diverse, and the authors did a nice job of using the setting, dialogue, language, character interactions, and story to develop the characters. Additionally, each of the characters pivotal to the story are differentiated and are effectively used for exploring the various themes of the novel. Vivid and lively description makes the craziness of this story work as well as the chemistry and attraction between Derek and Hara believable despite their combativeness. The plot, pacing, and the novel moved along at a good pace with surprising twists and turns that took me by surprise, connecting nicely to other parts of the story and character in unexpected ways. Though I do think the story and plot could have been tightened up a bit in some areas as well as some of the dialogue. Lastly, I think you can maybe piece together why Derek and Hara are set on pursuing the career paths that they took, but I think a little more backstory on why they are so specifically dug in on those specific paths to prove themselves and their worth would give the characters and the novel a bit more depth.

Overall, The Wrong Mr. Darcy is a fairly interesting and entertaining read that may have you thinking deep thoughts about basketball that are not focused on game play, so long as you don’t go into it expecting Pride and Prejudice and a laugh out loud romantic comedic.

Here we have a book that was given to me by NetGalley for a review.
An here we have a book graciously accepted because it just sounded so darn cute.
••••
Thank you so much NetGalley for giving me a great opportunity to review it. Not so many thank you’s to Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz for writing it.
I mean come on guys! This is a hot mess. A mess of a hot mess, if that’s possible.
This concept is cute right?
Hara Isari is a sports reporter (admittedly a really crappy sports reporter) from a small town newspaper. Who just so happens to win a contest to interview a big time basketball star. During the interview she meets the bargain basement Darcy who is obnoxiously sexist and not the least bit charming (oops I’m pretty sure that’s not cute to any normal person).
When a writer claims the book is “lightly inspired by Pride and Prejudice” and names they male protagonist Derek Darcy I expect some charm. Not some moody ass guy who constantly calls Isari and and the knock of Jane Bennett sluts. No, this is not just his own internal dialogue, he does this throughout until probably the last few chapters. It’s ridiculous!
The saving grace in this book is Charles (very, very, very loosely based on Mr. Bingley) and also the sassy basketball lady, I forgot her name (testament to this book there for sure, especially if I can’t remember names.... not that I can even on a good day, haha).
Despite these two characters, I just wanted to scream why would you do that to Charles!? Why!? The authors completely tarnished a great character, not only for the tragedy that is this book, but the infallible good that is Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudice.
This book, by far, one of the most disjointed books I have EVER read.
My only hope is that the finished copy fixed that because, maybe, the last 3 chapters is one of the worst parts of a story.
The “final” (I swear there are five endings) conflict is so damn far-fetched and ridiculous that I convinced my eyes rolled so far in the back of my head that they got stuck there for three days.
The authors have had their fair share of problems with trying to figure out where the story was going and that was no more evident than towards the end.
It’s as if they didn’t read what the other wrote and just smashed them together. It’s puzzle pieces that just don’t fit, but damn if you aren’t going to force it messing up the edges of the puzzle pieces.
So, after all this ranting and raving why 2 stars?
Honestly, I just like the cover. To hell with the contents.
P.S. I’m going to be honest with you I forgot half the book so here is a half ass review. Enjoy it!

The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz is a fun romantic comedy, with a modern take on Pride and Prejudice, and my first book by this author. This book was an easy read and perfect for an escape from hot weather or the pandemic. I will be reading more books by this author, I highly recommend this book if you enjoy romances with a sport theme, in this case, basketball.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hara Isari is a reporter for a small newspaper, but her dream is to become a sports writer and now is her chance. She wins an interview with one of the NBA’s hottest superstars Charles Butler. When she shows up for the interview, she is quite taken with Charles’ long time friend Derek Darcy, who is handsome but also a little arrogant.

Fate intervenes and Hara and Derek keep running into each other and maybe, just maybe they had misjudged each other. With a few twists and a few turns, the real reason for the interview comes to light and leaves Hara with a decision to make.

The books description states that it is “lightly” based on Pride and Prejudice. Leaving that aside, the story is sweet and sassy, and I quite liked the book. I thought it was well written and I would like to thank y the authors Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.

The bright, flirty cover and blurb promised a unique sporty take on the classic romance; however, it failed to deliver. I really struggled through the chapters and felt the writing, character development, and storyline were underdeveloped resulting in my difficulty staying engaged and wanting to continue reading the story. The pacing was also unbalanced, resulting in a long, drawn out build up to their interactions and the Pride and Prejudice influences were weak, feeling more like an afterthought. While the characters had their moments, it was just too little too late. If you are looking for a sports romance or Pride and Prejudice retelling, I’d suggest passing on this one.

*I received an ARC copy from NetGalley, all opinions expressed are my own.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an early copy of this story. Let me start by saying that when I signed up for this book I just saw Darcy and I was sold. I went in with an idea of what I thought this would be but it was a little different than what I expected. I believe that's why it took me a minute to get into the story and connect with the characters. I kind of want to wait a while and then read this again. I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this because everyone reads a completely different story. I will be visiting this again. Definitely give this story a chance.

This book was not for me. The writing seemed too juvenile and clunky. I didn’t like Hara and Derek as characters. They didn’t hold my interest, story was just ok.

I'm always up for a good Pride and Prejudice retelling, but unfortunately The Wrong Mr. Darcy just didn't work for me. Neither of the characters really reminded me of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy from the original Austen book and aside from the use of the enemies to lovers trope, I just didn't feel the whole retelling vibe either. There were definitely some good moments in the story but those were mixed in with many other moments that didn't work as well for me because I wanted light and fluffy and this got a little dark at times. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more without the P&P angle.

As an aspiring sports writer, Hara Isari is thrilled after winning a contest to interview Charles Butler, one of the most sought-after basketball players. Hari knows she has folks back home rooting for her as well as a father in prison for sports betting offenses and a mother who thinks it is time for her to settle down with a nice man. While on site to interview Charles Butler, Hara meets his teammate and friend Derek Darcy, who comes across as arrogant, snobby, and definitely not very likeable. In fact, she finds him extremely irritating. Nevertheless, as Hari works to get past the story fluff to the real meat of the story, she finds herself becoming more involved in Derik’s space more often than not. Then, she gets caught up in a storm and must work with Derek to get out of trouble and save a friend.

This is an interesting story. Am not sure I would call it a comedy, as it really does not have many comedy elements. I think it is more like a drama. I found Hari an interesting character. She is beautiful, but tries to cover this up with her clothes and glasses. She also does not do a lot of the investigative work I would expect of a reporter. Of course, she is not a pro, so might grow into this as time passes. Also, there was a lot of implausibility thrown in along with craziness and cringe worthiness. The writing is well done, however, since I had no difficulty getting through it (in fact, it was quite easy). Still, I think the book could find an acceptable audience. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

The Wrong Mr. Darcy was an enjoyable read. I liked it much more than Evelyn's debut novel. I am a sucker for sports romances and will pretty much pick up anything that is classified as one. This was pretty well done and I am happy I opted to read it. I will be on the lookout for Evelyn's next book!