Pride & Prejudice in the modern world of basketball! I expected this to be a fun and quick read, and I wasn't disappointed -- an interesting take on the classic and modernized addressing themes such as bi-cultural lineage, small-town girl, bribery in sports, prisoners, and of course the classic female strength.

Give me a Pride and Prejudice retelling anyday and I'm a happy girl. In this version, which was full of representation and a culture as different to me a regency era England, we find Hara a budding sports writer trying to catch her big break.

It is always weird to me when P&P retellings have the characters mention the book, in this case it was doubly weird to have Hara able to quote from Austen's work, but didn't seem to recognize the names from the book in the people she was meeting. Bingley and Darcy are pretty rare, and at no point did Hara notice or comment. It was strange to me that Hara, who is a self proclaimed professional at juding poeple on first impressions, seems to miss the biggest and most obvious message in the original work.

Overall, most of the differences made the story brighter for a modern age while others left me feeling heart broken. The shocking moments held no purpose for the main characters development and seemed there only to shock the readers.

The reality tv lifestyle most of the women portrayed in this book live is shallow, and I don't think it really represents the breadth of women who make up the WAGS groups. After learning one of the writers is famous for sports-related reality TV it seemed to make a little more sense as characters were probably caricatures of real life women.

An interesting modern, sports twist on the classic Pride and Prejudice. I’ve always loved basketball so it was nice to see a novel well done about the sport though I would have liked to see more about the game itself instead of all the peripheral details.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had mixed feelings about this book that I can't entirely sort through.
The Story: This is a take off of Pride and Prejudice. Sort of. The Elizabeth character, Hara, is a sportswriter visiting Boston for a story. Darcy is a pro basketball player and best friend to Hara's interview subject. Lots of drama, both interpersonal and dangerous ensues.
The good: I liked the setting a lot. Hara goes to games and behind the scenes in locker rooms, nightclubs and owner's boxes. It was interesting to see that world, and clear the the author had firsthand knowledge of the setting. Hara's character was half black and half Japanese and her father was in prison. These are character traits that are less common in romance novels, so that was welcome, although they could have explored even more

The bad: Wow, there was a lot of drama! There was much more plot than one book required.
The characters really lacked depth and the connection to P&P was really strained. There was a lot of exposition to explain Hara and Darcy's thoughts and try to connect to P&P, but it didn't feel natural or authentic

The weird: There were a lot of very specific details that sat awkwardly. The owner has some very creepy and overly explained sex fetishes. The Boston details were SO specific, it felt like someone took a research trip and jotted down every cool place they saw (as a Bostonian, the relative geography bugged because nothing was in the right place in relation to each other. No big deal except as compared to the excruciating detail about the IRL bakery/coffee shop and cool hotel)

All in all it was a book with a lot of ideas that needed paring and deepening

Thanks to St. Martins' Press and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
I've never read a Jane Austen novel, only seen some film adaptations. Don't know if this makes a difference about what I think of this story and these characters or not. But I was intrigued about the plot.
The biggest issue for me with this story is that there isn't a clear divide between the different POV's. The POV's can change almost in the same sentence and I find this really annoying.
There's a lot going on in a short amount of time. Mr. Darcy is a little too "hot and cold" but all in all, I liked the plot but the story could've been better executed

Had I not read the author bio I would have sworn to you that the person who wrote this has never attended a professional sporting event, met a journalist, or had parents. I'm really only about 85% they even read Pride & Prejudice.

I am not a sports fan so that whole angle in the book held no interest. I did like the book tho. Her life isn't perfect and she is hard on herself. But she has a chance for a big break in her career as a sports writer. She stumbles into a much bigger story than the one she was asked to write. She finds herself involved with a couple of the players. Interesting cast of characters doing unexpected things. A pretty good story.

This very quickly veers away from the story of Pride & Prejudice, so if you're looking for a modern variation, this isn't it. We've got our bold but judgy heroine and the rich, broody hero who insults her, but that's where the similarity ends. P&P mashed up with basketball players could be really fun and the story starts off entertainingly, but then the plot instead goes for high drama and over-the-top situations that just don't make sense--e.g. why doesn't Hara consider that her name would be a stumbling block in her future career, given her father's past? Why do the O'Donnells invite her to stay at their house when they could've put her up at a hotel and not had her--A JOURNALIST--around to discover potential stories when they talk secrets with open doors (or at least non-soundproofed rooms)? There are so many situations and reactions of the characters that just wouldn't happen realistically. (Also, how is there not a condom or any mention of protection in a sex scene in 2020?) The story is all over the place, the main characters aren't terribly likeable, and there's a lot of lazy stereotyping. There is so much potential in the premise, but the story doesn't live up to it.

2.5 stars

‘The Wrong Mr. Darcy’ is a modern retelling of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ set in the world of professional basketball and sports reporting. Unfortunately, it does not quite live up to its source material, though it could still be an entertaining read for some. (Especially those who love a good reality TV-type story.)

Hara Isari is a budding sport reporter who wins a contest to interview Charles Butler, one of the NBA’s biggest stars. In the process, she meets Butler’s friend and teammate, Derek Darcy, whose aloofness and intense scrutiny she finds grating. As Hara tries to unearth a more substantive story than that fluff piece she was assigned, she’ll find herself thrown into Darcy’s orbit… and maybe into a little bit of danger as well.

First off, I find it so refreshing that the romance genre continues to diversify and give more of a voice to women of color and their stories. I applaud Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz for doing so. However, this novel didn’t quite do it for me. There are some compelling ideas there, but they get lost in the choppy shift in perspectives between Hara and Derek (the use of third person narration made it slightly less confusing, though I think Lozada and Lorincz should have used chapter breaks to denote which character we’re following at what time) and in the oft times oversimplified plot. There were also a couple of heavier topics that kind of got thrown into the story without a lot of context or preamble, which I think could be triggering for some readers. There are some entertaining moments that kind of reminded me of what you'd see on reality TV shows, which infused some life and fun into the plot. And there's also an interesting father/daughter dynamic that is as complicated as it is lovely.

At the end of the day, it’s not quite my cup of tea, but I think it could have an enthusiastic audience.

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

What the fuck did I just read? This would make Jane Austen weep if she was still alive today. It was God awful and my brain is still processing what I just read.

"The Wrong Mr. Darcy" was too choppy at parts for my liking and didn't flow consistently. Moreso the sentences and most scenes ran into each other alongside the pov of the lead characters who were less impressive than most. It was like too much was happening all at the same time that it just became off putting. Like how much could happen in the span of 2-3 days? Plane delays because of rain, severe storms, unexpected pregnancies, and all around sports drama. About ¾ was unnecessary which includes the sex scene that was unexpected and would have been better if the author left an illusion that 'fun times' occurred. I was cringing throughout this Jane Austen inspired modern piece and needless to say, this missed the mark.

This one definitely wasn't for me. The protagonist with her "I'm not like other girls, I like sports and don't care how I look" attitude felt like a played out trope. The book had good pacing and the author did well at describing the scenes but I honestly hated the characters.

This is your typical rom-com book. It was a cute fun book and easy read about a journalist trying to make it big as a sportswriter for a major newspaper after winning a contest.
I thought Hara was extremely fun.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz is a stand-alone rom/com . It's a charming, witty and fun read that gave me all the feels. I liked the characters and the storyline, I liked the charcters and the writing just fine. You could call it a basketball soap opera with ties to Pride and Prejudice.
All in all I enjoyed this read, 4 beautiful stars.