Meg is an English professor and an authority on Pride and Prejudice. She expected to represent her university with her future husband, Harrison, at the Jane Austen Festival in England. Harrison is coaching an actress on the remake of Pride and Prejudice, so Lacey will be his partner. Meg has worked hard on this festival and is extremely competitive. Determined to attend, she decides to hire a Mr. Darcy and coach him. Her brother, Luke, encourages Meg to take his best friend, Jeremy. I loved this book! Jeremy is a quick learner and has always had a thing for Meg. Jeremy’s influence helps Meg to follow her dreams!

Meg Knightley is a college history professor and has always loved Jane Austen. When her boyfriend, Harrison Macomb and fellow history professor tells her he has to take movie star, Lacey Lewis, to the Jane Austen Festival and Games, instead of her, Meg is livid. She decides instead to find another guy who can be her Mr. Darcy......Jeremy Remington, her brother Luke's good friend.

Jeremy may have left his six figure salaried IT job to do woodworking but now he is happy. When Luke tells Jeremy that Meg is looking for a Mr. Darcy and it pays money, he jumps at the chance. He has had a crush on her for years and would love to spend time with her.

As Meg and Jeremy spend more time together, feelings start to get blurred. They blur even more when Meg finds Harrison in an awkward position. Meg needs to decide if she wants a safe, sedate life with Harrison or an exciting, unpredictable life with Jeremy. Meg will need to do some soul searching to decide which life she wants and who she wants to find her happy ending with and in the end, she will get her happy ending!

I really liked this story. Meg always thought she wanted complete control over her life but when things started getting a little messy, she found out she actually liked it. I really loved Jeremy. He was just such a happy-go-lucky guy, while Harrison was nice and the safe choice. It was fun watching Meg go through the motions to find her true love. Overall this was a sweet, entertaining story.

Jane Austen inspired anything is an easy sell but this wasn't a romance story or I couldn't perceive it as such. Meg is a snob, obsess with her ex, petty, and the list goes on main character that's not endearing at all. Jeremy was a dreamboat of a character and deserve better.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a cute concept, but the execution didn't work for me. It didn't have the light-hearted tone I expect from romantic comedy. The heroine was self-deprecating, but not so much in a funny way as in a "woe is me" way.

I enjoy Valerie Bowman's Regencies, so I was looking forward to this book. However, humor is subjective, and I'm not the right audience for this story.

I love it . Two amazing people find love . A truth or dare game .
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This was a cute, quick read. I was able to read it in one day. It was almost a reverse modern day Pride and Prejudice since the main female character embodies many of the proud characteristics that Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy does in the original Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I enjoyed the dynamic relationship between the two main characters, I also enjoyed the setting partially taking place in Bath, England. It was fun to visit the Jane Austen Festival for a portion of the story and imagine what it'd be like to be surrounded by people in period dress living as people did in the early 1800s. Overall, a light, short and sweet romance. Thanks to netgalley for the free arc.

Absolutely loved this book. I am a Jane Austen fan and this book at times had me laughing out loud, cringing with sympathy, and wishing it would never end. The chemistry between Meg and Jeremy was amazing. Excellent read and I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

I thought this book was alright it just wasn’t amazing. I thought the heroine was meh the hero was alright

This book started out a little too slow for me. I wasn’t sure I’d continue, but I got sucked in when Jeremy entered the picture. I love all things P&P, so I couldn’t put it down. Cute, fun read.

Started a little slow for me but it picked up fast! Learned a little something about Whist! As many Historical Romance books I've read, many by this author, I didn't realize it was a game like Spades! I love that game!!

As to the story. It's told in the heroines POV and she is definitely quirky and flawed and she knows it. Her boyfriend is a douche and is NOT the hero thank goodness. The hero has known her since they were kids and she falls for him as she teaches him to become Mr. Darcy.

It was a cute story and I think all the Austin fan's will enjoy it!.

Thank you to Netgalley and June Third Enterprises (#HiringMrDarcy #NetGalley) for the opportunity to get an e-ark for an honest review.
Any Pride and Prejudice fans out there? This contemporary romance will fill all your dreams of a modern Mr. Darcy.
I liked the dynamic change Meg undertook throughout the book to better herself and to become a woman who knows she deserves a right, honest, and true kind of love. Yes, she is judgmental, and a bit mean at the beginning of the book (she's very much like Austen's Darcy), but we learn through tidbits that these are defense mechanisms from a rough childhood. To me, Meg felt very real and relatable. The story is told entirely in first person POV from Meg's perspective.
Jeremy is swoon-worthy. He's sweet, kind, loyal. He's not afraid to put Meg in her place. He shakes up her world, and it's a joy to read. The supporting characters were funny and got just enough page time. I loved the competition in Bath. This was a slow burn romance for Meg and Jeremy. Their journey takes a while for them actually to get together and admit their feelings. So if I had one complaint, it's that I wish we would have had more scenes of them together, as a true couple.

DNF at 77% because the heroine still insists on marrying the pompous ass who constantly belittles her instead of what I'm hoping is the book's real hero. No rating

The one thing I truly enjoyed about this book was the guy the heroine hired to be her Mr. Darcy in a Jane Austen competition after her boyfriend lets his boss pressure him into entering the competition with an actress they both have been tutoring for a role in a Jane Austen movie. I can't really call him a hero yet, because after 77%, nothing happened between them. He really is the sweetest, kindest, and nicest guy.

But then there's all the things I didn't like. Starting with the heroine.

She makes both Darcy AND Elizabeth seem reasonable and nice. She's the most judgmental, petty, elitist snob I have seen in a long time. She constantly makes snap judgments about people and sticks to them, doesn't apologize for always assuming the worst about people, and I got tired of it. Yes, she has trust issues, and I get where she comes from, but still. It was too much, and it just felt really annoying to me. And I don't care if, in true Darcy fashion, she sees the light in the last chapter and comes up with a stupid grand gesture. It's not enough for me.

She also has absolutely NO self esteem. She constantly belittles herself and lets others talk badly about her, joining in with constant reminders of her "ugly Hobbit feet", her "ugly pot belly", and overall general uglyness and how unworthy she is. And again, I got tired of it. After 77%, I still don't see her even starting to get over her issues.

She also loved to judge other women about their choice in clothes. A waitress she meets gets judged for wearing a skirt that is "way too tight" and having her hair in pigtails. I wish women would stop writing women that keep bringing other women down. It's just not cool.

Another thing that bothered me was how she always described her desire for neatness and order as OCD. I wish people would stop using it jokingly. It's not a joke.

I also wish we didn't have to spend all the time in her head. Going only by her actions and the things she says, it was really hard for me to see why the hero would put up with her. A few chapters from his PoV could've helped me a lot.

Then there was the consent debate. The heroine relates how her boyfriend asked for permission before he kissed her to a friend, and the friends response is this:

"Hot is hot, Meg, and if a man wants me, and I'm obviously digging him, I don't want him to ask my frickin' permission first. That's just so..."

I find that attitude appalling, let's just leave it at that.

Then there were little things like a Professor of Literature telling someone to practice their "English accent" (sigh), and saying this: If you like poetry, you should try Shelley," I said. "Shelley who?" she asked. "Mary Shelley," I replied.. Either she is being a cruel snob on purpose (which would be in line with her character) or... Someone mixed up their Shelleys?

All in all, I did not enjoy what I read of this book. But if you like Pride and Prejudice retellings and just LOVE an ass of Darcy-ish proportions, you might? I seem to be in the minority, anyway, in not loving this one.

This is a fun and somewhat quirky read. Megs and her nerdy and fellow history professor fiancé have been planning to compete in the Jane Austen Festival in England. Except two weeks before the event, her fiancé decided to ditch her to partner up with a young celebrity starlet who is in town learning (from said professor) to prepare for her role in a new adaptation of Pride & Prejudice movie. Being not only angry at him for his actions, she is mad that she put so much time and work into getting ready for the contest, she takes her brothers advice and finds herself a new Mr. Darcy to her Elizabeth Bennet. In addition to working so closely with her new partner (who happens to be her brothers longtime childhood friend, and who also happens to be smoking hot,) she is dealing with the jealousy over her fiancés gorgeous partner as well as her feelings about being tossed aside so easily and her overall need to win. She has only two weeks to turn her new temporary Mr. Darcy into a believable Mr. Darcy. As she goes through all the prep work and the competition itself, with the help of her new Darcy, she rediscovers herself and see's her past behaviors in a new light. She realizes what she thought she had and loved in life isn't what she really wants anymore.

As I said, this is a fun read. There is lots of humor, mostly due to the characters self-deprecation. The characters are portrayed as you'd expect for their roles. There is the 'mean girl' Hollywood Starlet, the proper quiet, straight-laced fiancé, the supportive older brother, a couple of the eccentric friends, and of course the hunky, reasonable and good humored friend who helps more than he knows. This is a clean read. No sexual content and safe for teens and up. It reads quickly, and there is no 'down' time in the book. The story just keeps flowing.

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

This book is so cute. As soon as Meg described her boyfriend I was like NOPE to that guy. Jeremy is peak book boyfriend material. The first time we meet him, he was the epitome of everything I wanted for Meg, a character I'd met like 20 pages before, and as they interacted more I knew it was meant to be. The revelation from I am getting engaged in a few months to I hate my ex-boyfriend to I am in love with my brother's best friend was a little sudden for me but overall it's a super cute trope. This book is FILLED with the best tropes and it's a super quick fun read.

I loved it!
Romance! A smart, nerd-fabulous heroine! A sexy, strong gentleman hero! And lots of JANE AUSTEN!!
Loved it!
I laughed, sighed and cheered!
I can’t wait for the next one!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.

As with nearly every book that is either a Pride and Prejudice remake or at the very least references it, I excitedly picked up Hiring Mr. Darcy. Meg and her boyfriend Harrison, both history professors, have plans to compete at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, UK until Harrison dumps her as a competitive partner to instead compete with beautiful actress Lacey. He’s been hired by her to prepare for her upcoming role as Lydia Bennett in the newest P&P adaptation and their college’s department head thinks it will be good publicity if Harrison and the famous actress win.

Meg is a very competitive person, and truthfully she seems more upset about not going to the festival versus her boyfriend’s disrespect. Somehow her brother’s best friend Jeremy volunteers to be her new Mr. Darcy and it’s a short two weeks as she’s training him in how to play whist, dance the waltz, and to look like a broody Colin Firth.

Meg was not a strong heroine. She was so judgemental and snobby; to be fair, a perfect Mr. Darcy. Meg blames Lacey for her own feelings of jealousy and insecurities, instead of facing the problems in her own relationship with Harrison. I did enjoy Meg’s inner monologue and I thought she was truly humorous. Some of her thoughts had me chuckling out loud. Jeremy, on the other hand, was a sweet character. He was helpful and gentle, and he was able to force Meg to see her snobby ways while staying diplomatic.

What brought my rating down was the ending. It felt like a Hallmark movie where everything gets resolved in the last 8 minutes of the movie. It felt rushed and extremely unrealistic and I had a hard time believing in their love. Truthfully I don’t know why Jeremy loved her at all; they hadn’t even interacted in nearly a decade, yet he continued to carry a torch for her.

I would have loved a few chapters from Jeremy’s point-of-view, as I wish I could have gotten to understand his feelings a bit more. Overall, I felt disappointed.

FUNNY! It has been a while since I have read a story that made me laugh out loud. This contemporary romance from Valerie Bowman hit the spot for me. This is NOT a retelling of P&P. What is it? A delightful romance about a self proclaimed nerdy history professor and her substitute Mr Darcy for the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review,

I really wanted to like this. Great premise but poor execution. I found Meg a totally unpleasant and boring heroine. Jeremy was sweet, but why he would be attracted to Meg remained a mystery right till the end. There was no spark, no excitement between them and as for the other characters? They were so stereotypical, cardboard cut outs and failed to engage my interest at all. What on earth Meg had seen in her boyfriend I just could not see.
It’s a shame as the author can write but I just did not enjoy it. I am clearly an exception since so many other reviewers have given this 4/5 stars. Just not my cup of tea.

A delightful, light story about a history professor who needs a last-minute Mr. Darcy in order for her to compete at the Jane Austen festival in England. She gets much more than she expects from the woodworker! You don’t have to be a Jane Austen expert or fan to enjoy this book. I received an ARC from NetGalley and une Third Enterprises for my honest review.

I finished this book and found it fine. There was just too much of everything: Meg’s judgment when it came to Jeremy and the comparisons between him and her ex. Too much of her internal monologue about why she shouldn’t do things or how Jeremy was proving not to be like her father. I really wish the writer would have scaled it back a notch. Also, Jeremy was too perfect. Why put up with her? Also, the too-frequent mentions of Megan Fox and how beautiful she was compared to Ellen Page. Yuck. Why pit women against each other?