The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada with Holly Lorincz ~ 288 pages ~ to be published 8/25/2020 by St. Martin’s Press

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this 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 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.

 

What I Thought:

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*

I am a giant Pride and Prejudice fan, so when I saw that this book was inspired by one of my favorite books I was excited! I did go into it knowing that it was not going to be as good as the original, but I was very curious to see how Lozada would translate Regency-era England to modern-day America in the basketball world. It was certainly an intriguing premise.

First, I did like Hara. I thought she was a fairly good Elizabeth Bennet-esque character without trying to be exactly like her. She was independent and witty, as well as quite a bit prejudiced. I enjoyed that she had a diverse background, being half Japanese American and half African American. Also, the fact that her father was in prison for sports betting was an interesting way to incorporate the original storyline of the family being in financial stress and a little looked-down-upon. Derek Darcy was an interesting character. I could see how she was trying to tie in Mr. Darcy to his character, but I actually found him a little more unlikeable than the original.

The fact that Hara didn’t have any sisters was a little too far from the original for me. We missed out on those close relationships, especially with Jane, and it made Hara feel a little more distant than I was hoping for.

Now, for the storyline. It was an intriguing premise…but one that I don’t feel delivered super well. The beginning gave me high hopes with the setup of Hara meeting Darcy and Charles (who I didn’t realize was supposed to be the Wickham character until about halfway through the book, I thought he was supposed to be Bingley…maybe she did this on purpose, but I didn’t enjoy it). Once the big storm happened though, I felt like the book went a little off the rails. It felt so out of the blue and out of place. It didn’t really help the story along, apart from throwing Hara and Darcy together for the night. I felt like this could have been achieved in a far less clunky way.

*Lightly Spoiler-y: Beware!*

Then, we start getting this storyline where not only is Hara being threatened, but also Charles and Darcy. This was weird to me, in relation to the original story, but at this point the original story had basically been thrown out of the window. She continued to tie it in with some strategically placed famous lines from the original book, but it just felt a little contrived by the end of the book.

Overall, I think this is a fun, contemporary romance if you go into it not expecting Pride and Prejudice. I thought the romance was a little rushed, but it was still cute, apart from some of the weird plot choices. If you enjoy sports romances, this is a cute little read, but don’t expect anything of the Austen style.

 

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I gave The Wrong Mr. Darcy 3 STARS!

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Are you interested in learning more about this book? Check out the links below! 

Evelyn Lozada’s Website

Evelyn Lozada’s Twitter

The Wrong Mr. Darcy on Goodreads

Pre-order The Wrong Mr. Darcy from BN.com

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Are you a fan of Pride and Prejudice retellings? What about sports romances? Are there any books from either of these genres that you think I should pick up? Let’s talk in the comments! 

 

Love and happy reading,