The description of "The Wrong Mr. Darcy"
sounded interesting, usually books inspired by Jane Austen are a fun read, so I was looking forward to this one. I know the author had some perosnal interest in the PNW area and I was happy to see Oregon mentioned. This storyline really had potential, a female sports reporter who discovers a scandalous story, unfortunately the plot took a turn towards corny and unbelievable. This book had too many inconsistencies and repetitive details. I didn't like the condescending way the author described people, especially the elderly and the patrons in the arena below the owners box.
Hara's blue eyes were mentioned so many times, they could have had their own chapter. Overall, I wasn't impressed with this modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Okay so I tried. And failed hard on this one. It was full of tropes and stereotypes but not interestingly at all. It was just like “insert stereotype. Do nothing.” The main character was interesting I guess but it went no where. So much time spent over such a short period. So many unanswered questions. I really couldn’t get over the tropes though. Highly recommend that you avoid this one.

This was an interesting read. I wasn't sure what to expect going in to this book. It is a sports twist on Pride and Prejudice. I love basketball which made this book that much more interesting to me. Hara, the female character, is a reporter for a little town in Oregon and she wins a writing competition. The prize is the chance to interview a big time NBA star. What she isn't ready for is the change to her world that will happen.

This is a great book and I definitely would suggest it to my friends to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins' Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Hara Isari's goal is to be a big-time sports reporter for a newspaper. She gets a once in a lifetime shot at a story when she is chosen in a contest to write about an elusive basketball star. While interviewing the star, she meets Derek Darcy, an up and coming basketball player. Will Hara truly be able to get to know the "wrong" Mr. Darcy? And will she be able to come out of the trip alive when she finds out more than she should?

This book started out really great - romance, basketball, mystery, drama - everything a good book should have. About 80-90% of the book was well written. What is causing me to give this only three stars is the ending. It felt very rushed and not cohesive. I love the Pride and Prejudice theme throughout the book but it could have been better executed.

This book was given to me an an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

I was so excited to read this because I loved the description but unfortunately, I just did not like the book. It read more like a first draft than a finished piece with tons of plot points that weren't fully fleshed out. I am not sure whether the authors wrote it together or just mashed their individual parts together but it seems more like the latter. Lastly, the descriptions throughout the book referred to the main characters as 'the basketball player' and 'the young reporter' and it was strange. It was as though the authors felt the need to constantly remind readers of the characters' careers as though it wasn't a central part of the story.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Unfortunately this title didn’t grab my attention enough to finish

Oh dear. When I first started this one, I thought, well, this is a bit info dump-y, but this is an interesting enough set up for a P&P retelling. Sadly, those opening chapters and their promise were the high points of this one. I'm afraid I can't really find much to recommend this book. The plot was not really what was advertised- this is only a P&P retelling in the most broad sense, and what plot there is comes across as wildly improbably and inconsistent (why is this struggling small town newspaper spending all this money for this sports story?). The writing is... let's go with uneven. And the characters are thinly drawn at best (how does this sports reporter know almost nothing about the subject she's covering?) and play off of dubious racial tropes at worst (the biracial Asian character with blue eyes? honestly, it's 2020) .

Sadly, all in all, this does not have much to recommend it other than a nice cover & a well written back copy that promises more than it can deliver.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am rating The Wrong Mr Darcy 3 stars. While I enjoyed the basic premise, it felt like the plot line lacked enough depth. I liked the main character, Hara, and felt she could really be a strong protagonist, but it just fell a tad flat.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. Wow what can I say about this title it was just an awesome read. This book was just something so wonderfully different I’ve never quite read anything like this. You should read to find out you won’t be disappointed. I’m definitely going to read more by this author.

There can never be enough Austen inspired romance. This book took Mr Darcy and completely upended and rewrote this beloved story into something fresh and new and exciting. I cannot wait for this to be in readers hands.

The Wrong Mr. Darcy follows Hara Isari, a struggling sports reporter trying to find her footing in a male-dominated career. She gets the opportunity of a lifetime to get an exclusive interview with one of the player’s on a basketball team that has been silent for a long time and then she also meets his teammate and friend, Derek Darcy, and romance may or may not ensue.

First off, I want to make something very clear:
I don’t know a lot about the basketball world.

I think that’s an important distinction to make, as there is not only a bit of basketball talk which I cannot confirm is accurate or not, and therefore didn’t bother me. But, also, there was a lot of drama from the wives/girlfriends of the basketball players and I don’t know if that was realistic or not, and it did effect my enjoyment of the book.

Let’s start with the good:
I really enjoyed some of the points the author was trying to make. Hara is a female reporter covering basketball in a male-dominated field, and throughout the whole book she has to deal with some very sexist comments. Because of this she also has some doubts about herself and her talents.

Was she here because of what she looked like, rather than her talent as a writer?

Another point the author was trying to make was how some schools (like an Ivy League school) are starting to pay athletic stars in order to get them to come to their school. However, this means that public schools and also HBC’s also a lot of the times can’t afford to recruit the star, and therefore lose funding when they don’t do as well in the athletic field. This is a serious topic and deserves a lot more discussion then it gets. But I applaud the author for trying to go after it. I just wish it hadn’t been surrounded by so much drama.

When his mother took that money, she became part of a growing national controversy, a trend that could ruin colleges and kids’ lives. If an athletic kid could be bought, then the rich schools were going to get the best players. The colleges that couldn’t afford blackmail bids would lose the ability to draw athletes, and then their funding was going to go down the toilet. Which would affect all the students at that school.

The things I didn’t like:
Drama. Drama. Drama. There was a lot of drama in this book. Way too much. I can’t say if it was realistic or not, but I highly doubt there’s this much drama that would happen in less than a month. The main character’s dad is in jail, and she and her dad both get blackmailed while he’s in prison. There’s almost an abortion, and then there’s a miscarriage. A crazy storm that starts flooding the city. Someone almost dies, and then almost dies again when they try to commit suicide. One of the girlfriend’s of the basketball players, literally takes her earrings off and shoes at a bar in order to start a fight. And more.

Also, the main character is described in such a way that she’s a special snowflake.

”Nah, my dad is Japanese American and my mom is African American. Guyanese, actually, but like four generations back. If I did one of those DNA tests, I think they’d find a little of literally everything.”

I understand that she’s mixed. But I couldn’t understand how someone could say this out loud to a person, and then later mention how they hated people asking her about who she is?

People were constantly asking her where she was from, or, more rudely, “What are you?”

This is something awful that people in this world have started asking, and I hated that this social commentary was lessened by her constant verbal diarrhea.

Hara liked to find reasons to be happy, not emo.

”But just because I like sports doesn’t make me gay.”

I don’t understand how the above lines were even considered for publication.

And the final issue I had was with the romance. :(
I really liked Derek and Hara as a couple and I thought that most of their romance and their connection with each other was done right and believable. But, they get together intimately a couple of times, and all but one time was glossed over. And the one time was not so great.

Overall, I really liked what the author was trying to say. But I didn’t enjoy the execution. The Wrong Mr. Darcy is not a direct retelling of Pride and Prejudice but does take some inspiration from the classic. I think there is an audience for this book, and definitely for the content.

If you’re interested in a Pride and Prejudice retelling, pass on this one. I have read the classic many times and I love reading retellings - I am very confused as to how this story qualifies as one. The male protagonist is named Derek Darcy. There’s a character named Kitty. That’s about it. It’s barely even hate-to-love.

There is SO much going on in this book. Trigger warning for suicide, miscarriage, and general violence. In my opinion, it was doing a bit too much. The female protagonist, Hara, is half Japanese and half African-American and her father is in prison for running an illegal sports gambling ring. She wants to be a sportswriter. The general plot of the book is her attempt at making it big by interviewing a player who never agrees to interview (not Darcy). The romance felt forced and insta-love to me.

I liked the premise of this book: sportswriter and player. I liked the drama with the other player’s wifes and girlfriends. I liked the friend, Naomi, but I wish she had more depth beyond wanting to hook up with players. I liked the anticipation for the story to blow up.

I wish the male protagonist wasn’t named Darcy to give the expectation that its a retelling. He could’ve been named Mr. Right or something (The Wrong Mr Right cmon now that’s pretty good).

I usually love any P&P retelling, I've literally read dozens. But I couldn't get into this one. I don't know if it was the sports business (I'm not a huge sports fan, but going in I expected the Austen influence and the woman working in a man's field to carry it for me.) or the awkward telling instead of showing. I didn't feel like I connected with any of the characters, probably because readers are told about their personalities and priorities, instead of letting them come out naturally. The P&P connection was too slim to carry this for me.

I requested this ARC through NetGalley because the twist of the main character being a sports writer and Darcy being an NBA player seemed like a version of Pride and Prejudice that I might actually enjoy.

(full disclosure: I only like the BBC version because Colin Firth. Otherwise I am not an Austen fan. If admitting that gets me thrown off GoodReads, oh well.)

Unfortunately the hope of this sports loving reader only lasted through the first 15% of the book.
I honestly don't think the author is familiar with how the NBA or sports reporting works. There are so many errors in so few pages.
* Players coming out of college aren't "hired" by owners based on recommendations of other players, they are drafted. Maybe if Darcy was a free agent that line would work but he's a 2nd year player.
* Players don't win "numerous" titles in college these days. It's one and done for the stars of Charles' caliber.
* Players also aren't "fired" from the NBA if they broke college recruiting violations (see Marcus Camby and Zion Williamson)

Also, a nationwide ESSAY CONTEST for professional sportswriters to win the opportunity to interview this fictional LeBron-like character? The winner stays at an NBA owner's HOUSE? It's so cringy.

I' was going to give it another few chapters but after reading the author's bio, I know I can't finish this book. Clearly she never paid attention to basketball during her time as a Basketball Wife?

This is a good idea but falls flat in execution. Which is my nice Chopped judge way of saying What a mess! Don't bother.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law. *

read this book in a day...so I did find it entertaining. But there were so many things going on this book, and all at once! The main character Hara has parent issues, her dads in jail, she’s falling for an NBA player, there’s a torrential storm, she meets a random girl that happens to be involved w another NBA player, there’s NBA wives, a crazy owner, his mean assistant, prison violence, suicide, deaths. It’s too much. It ended up being a hot unbelievable mess.

The romance of this book is supposed to between Hara and Derek, but these two are the most cringe worthy couple ever. They make no sense together. Their “relationship” doesn’t make sense at all.

Then the story gets just bonkers, with owners killing players?! It went completely off the rails.

I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone looking for a good romance. That aspect just isn’t there.

I also had no idea who the author was until I finished reading this book. I feel a little duped by requesting it.

Thanks to @Netgalley and St.Martins Press for the ARC.

I honestly enjoyed this book more than I thought I would??? Wow, such a shocker. And I am surprising myself with this as I write this because the characters, their dynamic and the overall plot of the story isn't one I typically enjoy. When I first received this book I expected it to be quite different and wasn't expecting a sports romance. I was expecting some sort of twist relating to Pride and Prejudice. The description is quite misleading I'm not going to lie, and what I read was the LAST thing I was expecting to read. The characters were slightly underdeveloped and I felt as if their stories have just been left out in the open. So take this as you will, but this book could easily be a lot better because it does have good characters and a well-thought-out plot.

2.5/5 Anything Pride and Prejudice, Lizzy and Darcy, or Jane Austen, I am totally here for and get very excited about! The Wrong Mr. Darcy was no exception... until I started reading it...

The story follows Hara, a sports reporter, who finally gets the opportunity she has been waiting for- the chance to interview one of the biggest NBA players. Enter Derek Darcy- injured during the previous season, but ready for a come back. If you know P&P, you probably have an idea of the rest.

Okay, so I will say that the thing that this retelling has going for it, was that it was pretty unique. You were able to see connections between characters and those they were based on, without it being a modernized carbon-copy. The plot was different, but had factors that mirrored the original. It was a good mix of new and old.

Other than that though, I found the story boring and choppy. Now I’m not sure if it was because this was an ARC, but the story is told through two POVs and there was nothing to show that the views had changed. It didn’t go by chapter and there was no break... this confused me throughout the whole book.

Then there were the characters... I just did not like them as much as I would have wanted to. Hara is okay, but I felt like she started as a strong lead and then it didn’t seem like she did anything on the job. And Derek was not as mysterious as I would have liked, but I did actually like his character more than Hara. But, they did not seem to click like the original pair. Almost seemed forced.

Its a fast and somewhat easy (once you can figure out who’s POV you are reading) read, and I did like the originality. It just had me questioning why I had chose to pick it up.

So I didn't love or hate this book. I could give or take it. The one thing you have to remember when reading this book is that they are the ages of 22 and 23. This helped when reading and wondering how naive these people could be. There were many times though that the wording didn't feel right and it was hard to read. Like I said the book wasn't horrible and it wasn't fantastic. It was really weird reading about a basketball team from Boston not named the Celtics though. I do understand why they did, it's still weird though.

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily giving my honest opinion*

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book.
I found I liked Hara as a character. She was strong, without being too obnoxious, and had a depth to her due to her father being in gaol. Derek himself was a bit too cold and I'm not sure we really got to see their relationship develop enough.
It was a bit different to pride and prejudice, which was fine, however the events of the last 15-20% of the book had me feeling that this book probably wasn't for me. Sorry for the low stars, I probably won't post this to other outlets.
2.5 stars

I’m still not sure what I just read. I thought this was supposed to be a vague Pride and Prejudice retelling, but I couldn’t tell you how the plots were connected…at all.

Hara is a reporter who won a writing contest where the prize is interviewing this “reclusive” basketball player. 1) this is not plausible. 2) they pre-approved her questions, this feels like fake reporting. 3) not that I’m an expert, but not sure the author has ever watched an NBA game.

While there she bumps into Derek Darcy, the reclusive BB player’s best friend and teammate. Our Mr. Darcy Hero that shares a name but that’s basically the only thing in common to the original.

So I don’t know. A lot of characters are introduced and yet they really aren’t important. I hated that the Italian Kitty didn’t actually speak Italian, and instead had some Spanish words interspersed in her five sentence dialogue.

How did Hara and Derek even become a couple? She was all “FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER” and he was all “SHE’S A REPORTER AND CAN’T BE TRUSTED” and then BOOM: in love.

Add in Hara’s weird genetics that don’t seem realistic and then I’m out. Science all the way, baby. Break them rules, and Queen B is out.