In Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz’s lightly inspired Pride and Prejudice romantic comedy, two unlikely people discover the error of judging by first impressions and the beauty of family, friendship and love. This book will entice you through the last page. Hara Isari has big ambitions and they won’t be sidetracked by her mother’s insisting that she settle down soon. She dreams of leaving her … dreams of leaving her small-town newspaper behind, as well as her felon father, and building a career as a sports writer, so when she is chosen to exclusively interview a basketball superstar, she jumps at the chance. It’s time to show the bigwigs what she’s truly made of.
At the same time, she meets a rookie on the rise, Derek Darcy. Darcy is incredibly handsome, obnoxiously proud, and has a major chip on his shoulder. Hara can’t think of a man more arrogant and infuriating. However, fate keeps bringing them together–from locker rooms to elegant parties, to the storm of the century–and what begins as a clash might just be more complicated than Hara anticipated. When she begins to see Darcy in a new light, Hara is not quite sure if she should drop the ball or play the love game.
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2.5 Stars
Hara Isari has big ambitions and they won’t be sidetracked by her mother’s insisting that she settle down soon. She dreams of leaving her small-town newspaper behind, as well as her felon father, and building a career as a sports writer, so when she is chosen to exclusively interview a basketball superstar, she jumps at the chance. At the same time, she meets a rookie on the rise, Derek Darcy. Darcy is incredibly handsome, obnoxiously proud, and has a major chip on his shoulder. Hara can’t think of a man more arrogant and infuriating. However, fate keeps bringing them together.
Mmm I saw the title & thought anything with Dr Darcy has got to appeal – it didn’t & the first time in ages I struggled to finish this book. This is the first book I’ve read by the author & I don’t think I’ll be reading any more. It totally wasn’t my cup of tea, the writing was Ok & so was the pace but I couldn’t relate to the characters & frankly didn’t care what happened to them
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I read this book in a single day. Once I got started I didn’t want to put it down. Hara is an awesome character. She was extremely likable and I wanted to know what happened next for her. The rest of the cast of characters were interesting. The plot had lots of twists and the ending was quite a surprise. I was satisfied with the way it ended. The story did illustrate the problem with making snap judgements. I received a copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a 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.
Unfortunately this was not what I had hoped for.
Billed as (VERY loosely) following the Pride and Prejudice story, Hara is a biracial young woman trying to make a name for herself as a sports journalist with a father serving time for heading an illegal sports betting operation. Derek is an up and coming rookie on an NBA team. After winning a contest, Hara travels to Boston for an exclusive interview with Derek’s star teammate. She uncovers more than she
bargained for including bribery, fraud, betrayal, etc.
This was just too over-the-top for me with a little of everything thrown in. I found the writing uneven and the characters not very engaging. Just not entertaining. I would probably have given it up but was committed for a review.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada and Holly Lorincz is definitely not what I expected. The cover is what drew me in and I had high hopes for this book. The story started out great and then it just died. It is not a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It was a very quick and easy read. The story was choppy and had way too many things happening all at the same time. The romance was just not there. I really found it hard to finish this book but I did. Sorry this was just not for me.
Hara is a small town journalist who is looking to become a big city sports journalist but because she is young and she is a woman, those two things makes her job much too difficult for her. Never mind, that her dad is in jail that wronging the sports industry, that makes her pursuing her dream job even more harder. But she is not one to quick and she will do anything to accomplish it. When an opportunity comes to her to interview the big and quiet Boston NBA star, she jumps at it right away and when she is the one to win that competition, she packs her bags and goes to Boston to do the interview.
There she meets not only the main star but his best friend and side kick, Derek Darcy, who she hits off right away, but things are not what they seem like it and as the days go by Hara starts to find out things that she shouldn’t and she decides to stay a few more days to find out what really is going on.
Alright, I’m going to say, the mystery was good, I was intrigued and I wanted Hara to go and figure all of that out. Derek, he was more of a side kick and anything else for me, who else thinks like this?
And most importantly, I’m from Boston and I just couldn’t let it pass everything that was wrong about MA…uh I just can’t.
The romance was just meh for me too.
I got an eARC from Netgalley.
2 starts out of 5 for me.
This was a very different read for me. Some parts I liked and others I didn’t. I don’t follow basketball so that wasn’t a theme that enticed me. Hara and Derek seemed like a couple that didn’t fit at first but they worked hard to prove me wrong.
Interesting. I don’t normally read books that are centered around sports; just not my thing. I guess I didn’t think that sports would play (pardon the pun) into the story as much as it did based on the blurb I read. That said; it is also the story of personal development and stepping out of one’s “comfort zone”. This is about a young wannabe female sports writer (Hara Isari) with a huge chip on her shoulder and a basketball rookie (Derek Darcy) from a wealthy family trying to prove his worth to his team. I liked the parallels with Pride & Prejudice and the short quotes on each chapter page. Each of the main characters has issues with their family and their chosen professions. I enjoyed this story; especially seeing Hara and Derek each starting to evolve.
This is a well written book, with good main characters. There are “behind-the-scenes” looks at the female support system of Basketball’s elite and some current day news topics.
There is all kinds of wrong with this book. (Not the writing… but with what happens with the characters in the book.) Lots of secrets and hidden agendas. As far as the romance factor, it’s a slow burn, enemies to lovers. (Yet even then, things are a little shaky for the couple in question.) There is a small amount of violence. (Nothing extreme.) There is also a troubling scene or two, where tissues might be needed. There are the good guys and the bad guys, and while some are easily distinguished, some are hiding their true selves, only to be discovered later in the story. The book is centered around an NBA star, and the woman who is chosen to write an article about him. Of course that is just the beginning. While its not really a rom com, it is a fairly lighthearted read, yet at the same time there are serious subject matters within. There is a minimal amount of sexual content. (For the most part it starts with kissing and then kinda fades to black.) It reads easily, with a small exception… when it switches POVs, it just happens. One paragraph it is her POV and the next it is his, without a break. Having said that, I read an ARC and that may change by the time final editing is done and the book goes live. It reads quickly as well.
*I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley.
I had high hopes for this story as it sounded like a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice with a sports twist. While I think that basics of the story are here I think that the execution leaves much to be desired.
I liked few aspects of this story, like the idea of a sports writer finding her love with a basketball star, I liked the diversity in the story and characters, I liked the way the main character Hara was presented and detailed (with a few misunderstandings), and I liked the development of the romance as it felt fluid and true. Also for a sports story there is a severe lack of sports knowledge that went into the story, even just the basics like what a specific sport is called.
I didn’t like the way the character traded perspectives within the story without any clear delineation; it caused me to get confused at times with who was speaking. I didn’t like some of the choices the authors made in regards to furthering the plot; they simply did not make sense in a realistic way. I didn’t like the lack of respect for the other woman in the story. I didn’t like the way the authors seemed confused over their own characters and story ideas. For example: Hara is from a small town but gets first class tickets to fly, stays at high end hotels and the like all paid for by her boss, even thought there are only two employees (small business), the fact that Hara doesn’t know the origin of her name or cultural aspects of her linage. That didn’t jive for me.
This story read to me more like an outline and not at all a final version. I hope the authors take some time to revisit their story and fix a few of the issues to make the story smoother. It has great potential but was not one I enjoyed. This is not Pride and Prejudice, not even really a re-telling. I think the only thing in has in common is the use of the Darcy name. I received an ARC via Net Galley and I am leaving my honest review.
This is a winning novel that will appeal to everyone. It has wit, sassiness and a captivating plot.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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.**