The Wrong Mr. Darcy is a heavy and emotional read from cover to cover. Although we’ll written, the characters are are busy and the scenes sometimes seem all over the place. I usually prefer lighter romance stories but this content weighs on the brain and gives your mind something to think about.

***May contain spoilers***

Hara Isari, twenty-two, is immersed in a Jane Austen audiobook. Thomas Isari, her father, has been at the Oregon State Penitentiary for ten years. Hara had been coming to see him. Her mother refused to see her husband, the man who'd ruined the reputation of their family. Her mother was a black woman married to a Japanese guy who was now a felon. Grandma Isari had Alzheimer's and was living in a home. She had not seen her son. Grandpa Isari never had the chance. He died at the sentencing of a massive heartache. Hara's grandparents had met as children, behind razor-topped fences in a WWII Japanese internment camp ten miles from the small Oregon hospital they'd been born in. The image of their adult child behind bars, sleeping on a thin mattress in a 5 by 10 cell with no window, permanently traumatized them. No one but Hara visited Thomas Isari. The man who'd wiped the gravel and blood off her dimpled knees when she fell off her bike, the man who'd taught her to swim with the current in the river behind their farmhouse. The man who'd lifted her to dunk the basketball into their garage hoop, again and again. The man who'd run the family apple orchard and taken care of his aging parents, and the man who was the reason the FBI flooded into their small town. The man who'd operated an extensive, illegal sports betting operation that when he was caught, ended several professional athletes' careers. Ended their families. Now, he sat in a cell, leaving Mom to run the farm. The first few months, her visits with one of the most hated men in sports history had been from behind Plexiglass. Then her father was moved to general population, C Block, and allowed to have visitations face-to-face, in a room filled with discarded school furniture. The early years had been particularly rough for him, but as time passed, the prisoners seemed to have settled down. It didn't hurt that the Asian-American man helped tutor inmates and was tall and built like a UFC fighter. Rita and Jonas have a little boy. Jonas is a large black man with a bad back and is Thomas Isari's cellmatefd. A few months ago, Rita had been caught bringing in pain pills tucked into their son's diaper. Hara's father had an empty cell for a while, with Jonas in solitary, but it looked like Thomas had his bunkie back. Hara is a new reporter. She's a sportswriter. Willa Isari is Hara's mother. Carter is Hara's boss. Madeline Bingley is executive assistant to the basketball team's part owner, Mr. O'Donnell. Derek Darcy is a rookie basketball player. Hara is staying at the O'Donnells's house. She is going to meet Mr. Charles Butler, the lead player, at the party. She won a writing contest. One of the owners of the Fishers called. She has an exclusive interview with Charles Butler. She's going to Boston. She is going to have a face-to-face with one of the biggest names in basketball. He's not very nice to the press. The owners of the basketball team thought Hara's contest entry was impressive. They need the basketball commission to see that the Fishers's star player will be compliant with the rules that he will talk to the press this year. Derek Darcy met Charles Butler when they were in second grade, attending the same basketball camp. Charles had kept the bullies away and showed Derek how to play with confidence. And joy--something his father could never understand. They grew up together, shooting hoops and eating dinner at Charles's mother's house. This was where he'd found love and acceptance, in an old, rickety house on a long street of old, rickety houses and cracked sidewalks. It had been a while since he'd been there; he hadn't realized how much he missed it. O'Donnell hasn't wanted Charles Butler talking to the press. But now the association was making a big stink about him not meeting contract expectations, so O'Donnell's got the exclusive set up, to appease the powers that be. Charles says that he hates O'Donnell controlling his reputation with the public. He says O'Donnell thinks he's going to say something offensive. O'Donnell might have been the one to hire Derek, but Derek knew it was most likely due to Charles's insistence that he'd been picked up by the Fishers. Derek appraised the twin butlers in gold livery, shiny tails, and white gloves at the entrance to the grand room, sentinels guiding and guarding at the same time. His mother would have scoffed and claimed this was new money, whispering loudly about the gaucheness. But Derek could respect that people wanted grandeur in their life. They wanted a sense of import. Of magnificence. The college that Charles Butler was going to bribed his mother with money as long as he went to that school. O'Donnell knows about it. It's why he doesn't want him to talk to reporters. Hara catches Derek's eye. She likes the way he looks. Hara is a reporter out of Portland, Oregon. The Fishers suffered such a heartbreak loss in the championship game last year. Hara asks Charles Butler if he had any predictions for his team in the coming season. He predicts that they're going to be a force this year. Their new guys are young, but they fit right in, filling the holes. The depth of the group is the most talent he's been with at any level. His boys worked hard these past months. The veterans, every one of them, is stronger and more amped than ever before. He's proud of his team, and says Boston is going to go crazy when they beat L.A. in the finals. Hara says he's a league MVP and considered the floor general for his team. She asks him how he feels about that kind of leadership role when he's so young and relatively new to his team. He works hard to deserve it. He'll make MVP again. But he has a ton of talent who keeps his ego in check. They've got personality skirmishes, but they respect each other, and they bring each other up. She asks him if there are any stand out players this year. If he's going to talk about someone who's almost as good as him, he's got to bring up Derek. With his shooting and Darcy's defense, they just can't be beat. Hara has a press pass to tomorrow's game. Hara had been so caught up in psyching herself up for the face-to-face interview, she hadn't even processed the extra thrill of getting to sit in an actual press row at and actual NBA game. Derek's and Hara's eyes meet again. An electric zap made her shiver. Though ten feet apart, she felt like he was touching her, holding her in place, peering into her. She'd never experienced anything like it before. If only his demeanor matched his appearance. She overhears Charles and Derek talking about the interview. Derek presses Charles again about telling his story. Hara's dad calls her from jail. Hara is determined to do another story on Charles Butler. Beat writers reported on the current roster of players, past performances, and current status. It was clear the town expected big things from Charles, as well as other players, but Derek Darcy was not one of them. The few times the second-year rookie came up, the writers hedged, saying, "We'll see." An article at the bottom of one the pages caught her eye: "Darcy Family Foundation Opens New Children's Wing at Mass Gen." There below the headline, was a picture of Derek in a fitted tux, alluring even with his brooding countenance. An older woman in a fur coat, who had to be Derek's mother, was at his side holding an oversize pair of scissors, ready to cut the ribbon. Hara had known Charles was from Boston, but she'd had no idea Derek was as well, and not just any local, one of the elite. A rich kid on the court. No wonder he acted so sullen, he was used to everything being handed to him. Hara clucked. You had to earn your success at that level of play, no matter where you came from. Derek doesn't trust Hara or any reporter, and he definitely doesn't trust O'Donnell. Derek can't go without insulting Hara. Boston lost the game by two points. A heartbreak, so close right up until the bitter end. Then, in the last few seconds, Derek had bungled a pass from Charles and that was it. The game was done. Too bad, too, because the rookie had played well up until then. For a defense guy, he'd scored quite a few points. Hara asks Derek about the game. Charles and Eddie chime in. Naomi waves Hara down. Naomi invites Hara to a nightclub. Hara wants to give Naomi a make-over. Hara thinks Derek's a snooty meat bag with money and the ability to play ball and that's it. She could probably forgive him for being an arrogant asshole if he hadn't insulted her. Derek told Charles she was a terrible reporter and he made fun of her blinking. It was mortifying. He thought she looked like an idiot. Derek stood up as Hara approached which surprised her. Despite her dislike of his personality, his physicality continued to throw her, with his solid, lean build and chiseled chest highlighted by a tight, black T-shirt and those impossible copper eyes, intent on her. He offers Hara his seat. She asks him about the game. He doesn't want to talk about it. She sees Charles and decides to talk to him. Charles was immersed in Naomi. Charles was ignoring her. Derek was ignoring her--and he could use some good press in order to build his reputation. The adrenaline high fro the intense game gone, and no winning glow to keep him going, he was bone-deep fatigued and filled with regret about decisions on the court that may or may not have cost the game. It wasn't just that Charles was getting away with breaking the rules. 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. Derek shut his eyes and had a brief flash of intense hatred for. . . not for Charles, but for the ethical quandary he'd put Derek in the middle of. Hara catches Derek's eye again. Tina, Charles's "ex" goes forcefully against Naomi because she was cuddled up to Charles. Hara is at the bar again when Derek shows up to engage her in conversation. Charles interrupts the conversation. Charles sees Naomi coming out of the restroom and goes to check on her. Tina comes back to wait for Charles, and Naomi notices her. Derek gives Naomi and Hara a ride home. Hara and Derek are about to say goodnight when a magical spark is lit between them. Mr. O'Donnell, one of the owners of the team, wants to speak with Derek, Madeline announces. Hara overhears Derek, the O'Donnells, and Madeline discussing how she won the writing contest, and discussing her father who's in prison. She flies home after this debacle, and is content with her small town life. She has to spend a night in the airport. Her flight to Portland, Oregon has been canceled due to the weather. She goes to Naomi's house, and runs right into Charles Butler, the basketball player she had interviewed. Naomi and Charles had been hooking up. Charles is in a hurry to get out of there, so he ends up taking the Uber Hara had used to get there. Hara spills her heart out to Naomi about what she had found out at the O'Donnells about her father setting her up with the interview with Charles Butler and how Derek was mean to her and had been sending her mixed signals. Naomi is secretly seeing Charles Butler because he's left Tina, but she won't accept it. He wants her to keep it secret until it's worked out. Derek's his best friend and doesn't know yet. Charles wants to be with Naomi. Hara is thinking about leaving her sportswriting career. Eddie, a beat reporter she'd met at the game, takes her on a tour of the City Gazette. Hara decides to try her luck while she's stranded in Boston. Someone makes a snide comment about her breasts, and she throws it back at Eddie. Hara applies for a job at the City Gazette in Boston. Hara goes back to Naomi's. Naomi's pregnant. She told Charles, and he left right after she told him. Hara will be attending the basketball game that night. She expects to get a story out of it. Naomi is afraid of Tina and expects Charles to take care of it. Hara receives a call from her father and gives him what for. Hara calls her boss checking in, and tells him about the opportunity to go to another game. She texts her mom saying she'd be home tomorrow and she was going to another game that night. Hara is going to cover the game and she was going to write a story that would go viral. It would be good enough to prove her father wrong. But Hara was not offering herself as fodder to the O'Donnell contingent again. Eddie, her reporter friend from the Gazette, had saved her a seat. Tina, Charles's on-again-off-again fiancee is in the owners' box, so Hara has to deal with her again. Tina and Hara play it cool. There is a nor'easter that is going to swing back over Boston and bring some nasty weather with it. She runs into Madeline and O'Donnell. Tina comes to Hara's rescue. Charles becomes a little aggressive with three minutes left by shoving his own teammate out of the way to get to the ball. Derek had just rebounded the ball and was stepping back for a shot when Charles used one hand to push him to the side hard, and plucked the ball from his hands before driving back to the basket, swarmed by the opposition. The foul whistle blew. The lights go out. The generator kicks in. They have to suspend the game, but they're recording the score as is. There's a small fire at Naomi's. Derek is going to get Hara and Naomi somewhere safe. Naomi falls down the stairs and is knocked unconscious. Derek ends up having to take her to the hospital. Hara lets the doctors know that Naomi's pregnant. There's fluid in Naomi's lungs. They put her on IV antibiotics and other medications, including medications that made her sleep. The biggest threat was to the baby. They wanted to monitor Naomi, make sure she was stable enough to keep the fetus. It was far too early to hear a heartbeat or see anything with an ultrasound, but she wasn't bleeding, so that was a good sign. Derek invites Hara to come back to his house. She texted her boss and mother to let them know she was safe. She's only living with her mother until she can find a job with a city paper. Hara and Derek make love. O'Donnell texts Derek telling him to come to the residence as soon as possible that they needed to talk. Charles calls Derek. O'Donnell's sending someone to take care of Naomi's baby. Hara wakes up and asks Derek if Naomi is okay. Hara heads off to the hospital to check on Naomi. O'Donnell's people got to Naomi and had her sign a non-disclosure agreement and scheduled her an appointment for an abortion. Hara called her boss about a potential story, so he canceled her flight home and got her a hotel room. Derek shows up at the O'Donnells. O'Donnell gives him advice on being a team player. Hara goes to Charles's mother's house. She declines the interview. Her next stop is the library archives, to find any old articles that might have featured Charles back when he was a high school phenom. Later, she'd dig up Butler's high school coaches, to see what they had to say. She was going to have to interview college coaches and managers, but those questions were going to have to be carefully curated, if she had any chance at all of getting them to talk to her. There's a message for her when she gets back to the hotel. O'Donnell wants her to leave Boston immediately before she picks up another story and ruins everything. Charles shows up at Derek's house. O'Donnell told Derek to lay off, to not play so hard. To feed Charles the ball and not to take so many shots. He said Charles started the conversation. That Charles told O'Donnell Derek was hurting the team. Of course, Charles denies everything and tells Derek that O'Donnell's trying to control him and Charles. He says that O'Donnell's even trying to control Naomi. He tells Derek that O'Donnell sent his woman to try to make Naomi have an abortion. O'Donnell had Madeline tell Naomi that her next stop was Tina's house, to tell her about the affair with Charles. Then Madeline told Naomi Charles would be fined most of a year's pay if the papers made a big deal about it. Maybe kick Charles off the team. They got Naomi set up with an appointment, even though she was still hurting from the night before. Charles told Naomi to do it, that it would solve everything. He had to go and tell her he wouldn't be able to see her anymore, at least until everything settled down, and she threw a glass at his head. He tells Derek that Hara is trying to find a story. First, she was sticking her nose in Naomi's business, getting her all wound up, and then she went to his mom's house. Derek asks Charles if he's going to give her a beatdown before she finds out about his mom. Charles says no that O'Donnell's the one she has to watch out for. Derek says it's only going to get worse if Charles doesn't take care of things and that the consequences are bigger than him. Charles says his mom still doesn't get it. Only a few people know, and he's just looking at it like no harm, no foul at this point. He says O'Donnell will chase Hara off that he can't afford to have her around. Derek tells Charles just to tell Naomi she can do what she wants to do, and that he'll support her. He tells Charles they aren't going to fire him and that if it does become some crazy big story, he can pay the fine. Charles can afford it. Charles tells Derek his life would be a lot easier if Derek could just do what O'Donnell asks. To dial it back a little. Charles tells Derek he just wants--needs him--to calm down, and stop going for the gold on his own. O'Donnell needs to see that Charles is in charge on the floor. Otherwise, he's in trouble. Hara calls Derek. She tells him she's in his lobby. She needs to talk to him about O'Donnell. Naomi's father calls letting Charles know Naomi miscarried and that they had to sedate her, only Derek is the one who gets the message. Hara's going to see Naomi. Derek offers to drive Hara to the hospital. Naomi had tried to commit suicide. Hara found her just in time. The doctors pumped nearly half a gallon of blood into Naomi before they were sure they had her back. Naomi's dad is on the way. Hara decided to go back to her hotel. Focus on her job. She needed to work on the story about the arena's power outage and the flood, write it up as a feature this time since a simple recap wouldn't do a day after the game. Then she could try to find contacts from Charles's past. Tomorrow, there was an early game, the last before the team went on the road. She'd go, sit in the press row with Eddie, and see if he knew anything about Butler's time in high school and college. Hara texted Derek telling him that Naomi tried to kill herself. O'Donnell calls Charles's phone. Derek tells him he can't come to the phone. O'Donnell won't accept that and tells Derek to go get him. Derek tells O'Donnell that Charles is sleeping. O'Donnell jumps to the conclusion that they're a couple, and Derek got Naomi pregnant during a three-some. Derek tells O'Donnell that Naomi miscarried. O'Donnell is unconcerned and just tells Derek that that's one less abortion to worry about. He then tells O'Donnell that Naomi tried to kill herself. O'Donnell says it's too bad that she didn't die. He says that would've been one less whore on Butler's scoreboard, and that that wouldn't be a bad thing. He says that Derek and his teammates are commodities and he protects his commodities. He texts Hara to tell her not to come to the game. He's trying to warn and protect her from O'Donnell. She thinks Derek doesn't want to see her. She calls the hospital to check on Naomi, but she has been transferred to another hospital. Her mom calls. Her dad is in the prison infirmary. His roommate found him unconscious in their cell. He'd been beaten pretty badly. Her dad is awake and had been asking for her. She tells Hara that she can call directly into the infirmary. They had to intubate him while he was unconscious. Some broken ribs punctured a lung. Hara wants to go to him, but no one is allowed in to see him. But she can call, talk to his doctors. She calls the hospital. They've taken the tube out of his throat and he's awake. He's stable, but started coughing up blood. He's got internal bleeding. They've got an ambulance on the way. They're sending him to Salem Hospital. Thomas wants to talk to Hara. Her dad tells her that O'Donnell did this to him. O'Donnell said if Hara doesn't leave and stop investigating Butler, O'Donnell's going to kill him. He's going to hurt Hara if she pursues it. O'Donnell's been rigging games. He was doing it years ago; Hara's father took his bets. But he didn't turn him into the Feds when he was arrested. Thatwas how he talked him into giving the contest interview to Hara, figured he owed him. Thomas didn't know O'Donnell had started rigging games again, but he thought he knew, once Hara started asking more questions. He didn't know about O'Donnell's gaming until he started getting roughed up in prison, told he needed to keep his mouth shut. One of O'Donnell's hired goons let it slip. Charles is throwing games. O'Donnell is afraid that's the story Hara's chasing. Hara calls her boss Carter. He gets her on the next flight out. She had to talk to Derek. He had no idea how dangerous O'Donnell was. If he decided to defy the owner and go for the shots, he could get hurt, too. O'Donnell had a lot riding on these games and wasn't afraid to use force to get his way. Hara had no doubt O'Donnell would have her father killed if he heard another peep from another Isari. But would he go after someone high profile, like Derek? She had no way of knowing. O'Donnell operated so far outside of her normal, she had no idea what to expect. Her calls and texts continued to go unanswered. Derek was either ignoring her or he was at the stadium, warming up. He wouldn't get her messages until after the game. Hara heads to the game. Madeline sees Hara and tells her Mr. O'Donnell wants to speak to her. Hara is dragged out to the parking lot. Hara is straining to get away from O'Donnell. The old man was behind her, gripping her arms behind her back. Madeline is holding up a picture. The photo looked to be of a bloody, beaten man. Derek goes over to O'Donnell and picks up the old man by his shirt, breaking his grip on Hara. He threatens O'Donnell. Just then, something crashed into the side of his temple, and his world went gray, then solid black. Hara watched in horror as Derek's long frame teetered and then crumpled to the ground. Charles towered over his friend, holding a short steel pipe. There was blood on the tip. O'Donnell yells at Charles, "What the hell, boy! He's supposed to play tonight!" Madeline was wide-eyed, and says "This is not supposed to happen." Hara is ready to break into a sprint, when here arms are pinned behind her back once more. She kicks Madeline in the crotch. Hara bent forward at the waist then whipped her head back, smashing O'Donnell in the face with the back of her head. He shrieked, high pitched, and suddenly her arms were free. Hara jumped away. Charles was there, between her and the door, holding the pipe in his hands, but he was swaying and staring down at Derek. She tried to leap past him, but he caught her. She tells him to let her go, twisting and trying to find a bare patch of flesh to bite. O'Donnell tells Charles not to let her go. O'Donnell tells Hara to calm down, and Madeline to stop whining. Madeline goes to get the car, limping away while glaring at Hara. Charles had his arms wrapped around Hara like steel bands, holding her firmly against him. Derek groggily got to his feet, and tells his teammate to let Hara go. Charles tells him he'll take him down again, and to stay down. Derek calls him a backstabber and asked Charles if he thinks he can take him if he doesn't have his back turned. Derek leaps onto Charles knocking Hara out of the way right back into O'Donnell's path. She swung around, fists up, and planted her feet. But the old man faced her calmly, his arm outstretched, a small silver pistol held in a steady grip. Aimed at her. Derek and Charles fought furiously. O'Donnell tells Hara she did this. He asks her if she thinks a couple of blackmailers are going to outsmart him. She tells him she didn't know anything. She didn't know the contest was rigged, and she didn't know his games were rigged until an hour ago. She was simply doing her job. Derek had Charles in a headlock, and they had stopped fighting. Derek asks Charles about the games being rigged. Derek shoves Charles to the ground and scoops up the pipe. O'Donnell cocks the trigger, the gun remaining on Hara. Charles tells Derek he had to do it. O'Donnell's been making Charles tank shots. Either that or he was turning Charles and his mom in for accepting the bribe. O'Donnell would bet against the team, knowing they were going to lose. They lost the championship by two points because of O'Donnell. Derek tells O'Donnell to give him the gun. He then points the gun at Derek. Hara started again to dart out from behind the brave basketball player when there was a blur of motion in her periphery. Charles landed in front of O'Donnell grabbing for the gun. The gun went off. Charles took a few stutter steps and then fell. Hara froze, confused, terrified. Before she knew how to react, Derek moved quick as a lion, this time grabbing O'Donnell by the hair and yanking him off his feet at the same time, he knocked the gun out of his hand. He yells asking Charles if he's okay, though not turning his attention from O'Donnell. He threw the team's owner roughly to the ground and tapped the pipe next to his head, making the owner flinch. Hara ran to get the pistol and came to a stop a few feet from them, just out of reach, while training the gun on O'Donnell's head. Her hands were steady, though slightly sweaty. She tells Derek that it's okay, that she has this. She grew up on a farm, shooting rodents. She tells O'Donnell that she loves shooting rats. Charles is on the ground, holding his chest, in the same fetal position Hara found Naomi in yesterday. The blood pooling around him was just as dark and disturbing, as was the cloying smell of iron. Derek removes his knee from O'Donnell and slowly stands. He tells O'Donnell that he'd listen to her, though he wouldn't mind seeing him get shot. O'Donnell tells Derek he doesn't have to do this. Derek has a lot to lose if he lets this go down. O'Donnell wants to clean up the mess and then they'll all come out winners. Even Hara if she can keep her mouth shut. In a split second, the bloated old man was writhing on the ground, spitting out blood and howling like a rabid animal. She'd kicked O'Donnell in the teeth. She moved back to a safe distance, the gun still on him. The stadium security, police, and emergency medical personnel did a delicate dance around Derek and Hara. Charles Butler was dead. O'Donnell killed Charles. O'Donnell was arrested. Madeline was apprehended and sang like a canary when asked about her boss and his nefarious dealings. Hara bent over Thomas Isari's inert body, hooked up to tubes and monitors on a bed at Salem Hospital. He wakes up, and thinks he's dreaming. He can't believe that Hara, his daughter, came to see him. Hara's mother comes to see him, too. Derek shows up with a bouquet of flowers. Derek had put Naomi into private care, and he'd hired a lawyer for Charles's mother. Derek wants Hara to interview him. To write the story of what happened. To write Charles's story. The news outlets are getting it all wrong. From the beginning, Charles trusted her to do a good job, and he was right. Only she can tell it the way it needs to be told.

I enjoyed this book. I received a complimentary copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

There were parts that I really enjoyed about the story, while other parts felt outlandish.

The dynamic between Hara and Derek, the heat was there. The attraction felt plausible, and their interactions did align with a Pride and Prejudice Mr. Darcy type of brooding. The head-butting, at times, felt over the top, but it made sense as you got to know the characters.

The story of Hara's father, and how he landed in prison, along with the history of her grandparents, was interesting, though it felt like there were gaps. It also felt at times that Hara was over-exoticized. Born to a Guyanese mother and a Japanese father, she somehow has these incredible cobalt blue eyes, but there's no talk of anyone else in her family having them. No talk of dominant genes. She's just magically blessed with blue eyes that are touched upon over and over again in the book. And Derek's eyes are copper?

The story itself feels implausible at times. Without vetting or security, Hara is invited to stay in the home of a basketball team owner for multiple days. If the owner and his wife were concerned about Hara's background, why keep her in the house, when they really wanted her at arm's length? Why not a guest house or a nearby hotel?

There's one steamy love scene, but readers are robbed of the coming together following the darkest moments - the intimate moments and sex are alluded to, but it takes place off of the page in a summary. There's no epilogue to say whether they end up together in Boston, so the end feels much more like a HFN than a HEA.

I’m a sucker for a sports romance. I’m glad this book didn’t exactly follow the path that many Pride and Prejudice inspirations do as they often get repetitive and boring. I came in with low expectations so I was pleased with this beach read. I can’t stay I necessarily loved the characters or the story as it was all over the place, but I did enjoy the drama. So I’d give it a solid 2.75 stars.

This is a heavy read. I’m unsure if I would pick up another form this author if this is their style of writing. It was a good book and well written but the weight of the book was a bit much for me.

This was a well written story that was very heavy and emotional from start to finish. It's not normally what I would read, because it was so heavy. I did enjoy it. I'm not sure if I would read more from this author though, because I like a lighter read. If you enjoy heavy emotional romance stories then you will like this book.

*2.75 Stars*

Hara Isari is a sports reporter. She has won a competition to interview a very allusive NBA players.
She goes from a small town to Boston to do this interview and is being hosted by the team's owner. Loads happen, including natural disasters, prison visits, sexist comments, clubbing and so much more.

I was upset by loads of things in this book, but what upset me most has to be that the heroin called her father "Daddy" and her mother "my mother." And she was a grown ass woman. It just weirded me out. I also found the main couple to fall for each other very quickly and I just didn't feel what they felt. I also found most of the plot to be too far fetched. I guess it just wasn't for me.

I'll admit, I'm a sucker for anything Jane Austen related. You show me a re-telling of one of her books and I'm there. That being said, I'll admit that I ran hot and cold with this one. Honestly, I figured that it was just because I'm not a basketball fan (although the explicit scene in there didn't help either). Something kept me going, though, and I found myself caught up in the intrigue, wondering where the story would go next. The conclusion truly caught me off-guard. I was re-reading a few pages like, "holy... did that just happen?!" and by the final page, I was actually wishing for a few more pages so that the tale could tell me what happened next. I may not out this one in my list of 'I'll read again', but it's definitely one where I'd read a sequel!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1NEVZO56S7NV7/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B07YJHR39Q

CathyJ
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Unexpected
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2020
The Wrong Mr. Darcy sounded like a cute read and I was intrigued by the author, Evelyn Lozada, and her background as a TV personality and a star on Basketball Wives (aired in 2010 although I'd never heard of that or seen it). I probably read Pride and Prejudice at some point but don't remember anything about it, so that connection wasn't the draw for me and I don't know if the book followed that story line because I didn't care.

Here's what I do know: The novel didn't follow normal story lines for romances and there were things that were jarring about it. The writing didn't always flow smoothly, the story was convoluted, and there were actually some words that weren't used correctly (I was reading an Advanced Reader Copy so hopefully those were fixed).

That said, the book isn't stale and similar to all the books out there. It's fresh in the sense that you never know what is going to happen next. It deals with some heavy topics, and you get a peek at the inner workings of a professional sports team as well as insights on the life of a sports writer. Once I got past the expectations of how the story would go, I actually got more into this novel. Toward the end there's a brawl in a parking lot, something I wouldn't expect in rom com, but I was just able to go along for the ride until the conclusion. It was entertaining, I'll give it that, and if you're looking for something that will pass the time for a few hours and cover topics not normally found in the typical rom com, then I'd recommend this book. Sometimes the expected can get a tad boring, and once I strapped in for the ride, there was not a dull moment with The Wrong Mr. Darcy.

I appreciate the opportunity to read an advance copy of the book, provided to me by the publisher. This is my honest opinion.

I loved this twist on a classic! I am a huge sports fan so having that story line was so fun to read. It was light, easy to read, and the characters were relatable!

The first thing you should let go of with this book is the impression that it has anything whatsoever to do with Pride & Prejudice. Apart from a few character names and the hero and heroine not liking each other very much at the beginning, the two stories have nothing whatsoever in common.

The second expectation to lose is that you’ll find anything funny about this supposed rom-com. I never even cracked a smile, never mind laughed. In fact, there are an awful lot of terrible, triggery things that happen, from blackmail, cheating, miscarriage, attempted suicide, violent assault and more. From the opening scenes, when the heroine is visiting her father in prison, it’s gritty and dark, and there’s never more than a thin veneer of gloss put over it when Hara is brought into the glitzy world of a pro basketball team. There’s infighting (especially between the wives and girlfriends) at least one of whom is depicted as dangerous. And considering that Hara thinks Derek Darcy “must have had a hundred one-night stands” and his condemnation of women as “wannabe baby mamas” the complete absence of even a conversation about contraception before they have sex is glaring.

Apparently Evelyn Lozada has dated several pro sportsmen, but from this, you wouldn’t think she’d got any closer to that world than watching episodes of Ballers. Frankly, that’s exactly how this reads, only told from the perspective of a wannabe WAG rather than a sports agent.

And I didn’t even touch yet on the disturbingly racist and genetically inaccurate half African-American half Japanese heroine having “caramel skin and translucent blue, almond-shaped eyes”.

This is a hot mess and I cannot believe anyone has DARED to market it as a “charming, multicultural Pride and Prejudice-inspired romantic comedy”. It is absolutely NONE of those things and it’s getting a one star from me.

This book was adorable. I don't read very many contemporary novels set around sports so this one was fun. I especially enjoyed the Pride and Prejudice references in some of the chapter headings and could pick out some of the sections of the book that related to the original story.

Hara is an aspiring sports reporter and when she lands an interview with basketball superstar she can't pass it up. While in Boston she runs into rookie Derek Darcy whose cold demeanor is a bit off putting but as she gets to know him more she realizes that there may actually be some softness under that hard exterior.

There are some good supporting characters like her friend Naomi and her father who shared his love of sports with Hara growing up. He's in prison but it hasn't stopped him from supporting her dream.

Overall I enjoyed this chick lit and would recommend it to other readers looking for a quick and fluffy read. I would have liked a bit more romance but given it's a P&P retelling it makes sense for it to not lean too much on the romance. I would check out more books written by Evelyn Lozada in the future.

This wasn't great. There were a lot of inconsistencies and I found it hard to believe someone who was supposed to be a sports reporter was so ignorant of so many basic sports facts. It's a real pet peeve of mine when a woman "loves sports" but doesn't know anything past her favorite hot pink jersey. Disappointing.

This was marketed as a Pride and Prejudice retelling but I found no similarities. The only connect I could find was the random quotes from P&P thrown in either at the beginning or end of chapters.

You cannot write a main character as a sport's reporter and the main character know nothing about sports. The mere suggestion is ridiculous and plays out as such in the book.

There are too many big ideas thrown in to the book that it makes the book seem over-the-top. Suicide, miscarriage, abortion, prison, and violence. The author needed to pick one and stick with one and not throw the entire kitchen sink at the book.

I can usually find something positive about a book even if I have to dig deep but the only thing I can find about The Wrong Mr Darcy is the cover. It is typical of the trend for rom-coms these days but the book is pitiful. I am not sure I have even handed out a one star before but there is a first for everything.

Content warnings for partner abuse, forced abortion, suicide, and miscarriage.
If you write a romance that requires this many content warnings, I do not believe you have read a romance or understand romance readers. Giving a book a light, cartoon cover and promoting it as a romance and then include this amount of violence and trauma is harmful to readers. I get it, there has to be conflict, but not like this.
Also, the characters didn't have any chemistry and felt forced together.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

This one was.... rough. I couldn't get into it AT ALL. How does a sports writer know nothing about sports?! I felt like there was no attention to detail throughout this book and found it to be disappointing. The love interest was bland, and that's the reason I had picked this one up.

What a fun rom-com Evelyn Lozada has written with Holly Lorincz.

Hara Isari did not have an easy life and being a reporter in the sports world was no easy task for her. She commandeered through the challenges and managed to have some fun along the way.

“The Wrong Mr Darcy” was an engaging action packed novel that kept me entertained. The characters were witty and interesting.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for fair and honest 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.

Not quite....

What I was expecting.
The book feels bogged down with too many angles.
But wasn't so much a Pride and Prejudice retelling or twist.

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.