This book has been on my TBR for a while now. I don't know why I found myself not picking it up but once I did, I couldn't put it down. This book was so entertaining and I loved the whole vibes of this book! Definitely recommend!

Definitely a YA book --tons of cringe and fluff. A bit slow for me, a bit too corny at time, but definitely a safe read for YA readers who are fans of classic lit.

This was a cute, light read. I did find the beginning of this book to be a bit slow, but the second half of the book did pick up some. I thought I would enjoy it more. I mean a book about a girl who loves books, who wouldn't want that? I wish it had been a little more interesting from the beginning.

I have always loved books with a take on the classics like Austen, Shakespeare's, Brontë’s, and Louisa May Alcott's. So, when I saw this cutesy YA read "A Date with Darcy" I knew I had to give it a go and read it. I liked this YA read as it had a magical spark to the book that reminded me of Cara Lockwood's Bard High series. In A Date with Darcy, we meet Merrilee and her best friend Eliza. They have recently transferred to a new private school. For Eliza, her parents are happy as they are famous scientists but for Merrilee, she loves the literary side and the English syllabus. Her English teacher takes teaching and reflection to the next level as she has her students writing as they read. Merilee's English teacher talks about how they are living their versions of the classics and how they can be related to life in today's world. The first book that gets read in class is Romeo and Juliet and Merrilee will be caught up in her own Romeo and Juliet tale with school hottie Monroe as she discovers his father is her sister's MIL opponent for the Senator seat - thus warring families. The relationship is also very intense and moves very quickly. The second half of the book is the reading of Pride and Prejudice where she discovers that maybe Monroe was her Wickham and that the boy, she hates with a passion who always seems to rile her up - the headmaster’s son might be her Mr. Darcy. If you love Literary classics that are given a 21st-century spin then check out the Bookish Boyfriends series by Tiffany Schmidt. It also features diversity, different personalities, and LGBT+ strands.

I really enjoyed this book and all of the characters! They were incredibly relatable and I think a lot of young adults will be able to see themselves in this story. It's a perfect read for anyone looking for something light and fluffy to read over the weekend.

I thought this was going to be my perfect light read, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I found myself really pushing to finish it and couldn't really connect with the story.

I have been a fan of Tiffany Schmidt books since her debut novel, Send Me a Sign. I love the variety of stories that she tells but at their heart there is always this fun, heart-achy story and Bookish Boyfriends is no different. This book is perfect to read while sitting on the beach or curled up under a blanket on a cold winter's day. Its sunshine in a novel and it had me grinning from ear to ear from the first page to the last. Bookish Boyfriends is a modern retelling of Romeo & Juliet and Pride & Prejudice so its a perfect companion to those classic reads. Its such a fun mashup of those two stories but also shines in a unique way thats all its own. I found it hard to put this book down and my only complaint is that it wasn't longer as I hated to say goodbye to these characters!

I think that Bookish Boyfriends had a lot of potential to be a great novel, but it was just a bit juvenile for my tastes

I enjoyed this book quite a lot! It was instantly intriguing for me as it is based on a character who loves reading classics, like me. Also, for me, any mention of Mr Darcy is enough to make me want to read it!
I think it perhaps aimed at a slightly younger audience, perhaps more teens that YA, but that’s ok, sometimes I enjoy reading lighter books too. Sometimes the character came across as slightly childish to me and the romance was a bit too perfect and cheesy, but that might just be because I’m slightly above the intended age bracket. As the book went on though, I think it got better and less cringey, and I got really invested.
I definitely liked the references to books, and characters like Romeo and Darcy, and some more subtle references which were added in well! I found it easy to read, well written, however I think perhaps for a YA contemporary it could have been a bit shorter? Not that they can’t be long, however for this book I do think it could have been condensed a bit, the first half was slightly more boring and dragged a little bit for me. I’m glad I stuck with it though because I definitely found myself enjoying the second half more
I perhaps would have liked a bit more about struggling in high school or more issues, because everything seemed a bit too happy and perfect, so in that way I found it a bit unrealistic/ a bit harder to relate to the story. On the other hand, sometimes it is nice to be able to escape into a book like this that makes you smile while reading it.
I really enjoyed this book overall, it was light and fun and I loved the literary references. I would recommend it to friends, but perhaps a slightly younger audience might like the aspects of instalove and cheesiness a bit more.

I think perhaps I tried Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt at the wrong time. The premise sounded really interesting and utterly adorable ... and every time I sat down to read, I couldn't really get into this as I expected. I'm sure this was a case of wrong book at the wrong time but I'm hoping it finds the right audience.

A Date with Darcy follows a young woman named Merrilee who is transferring from an all-girls school to a co-ed school. It is a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice that is more accessible to a younger audience. The story is very cute with quirky characters. Merrilee is very well-read, especially when it comes to classics, so it's somewhat surprising to find out she has not read Pride and Prejudice and we end up explore the story along side her. I think if you really enjoy Pride and Prejudice and are looking for a quick, light-hearted read then you might enjoy this.

This series is so much fun! I am so glad that two more are coming out this year. I love that this book focuses on retelling Pride and Prejudice, and that there is a bit of magic realism. I kind of want to know the teacher's story and see a book from her eyes! i'm so curious what is real and what is imagined.

Tiffany is local, and I always love chatting with her about books and recommending her at work. I have been hand selling a lot of A BOY NEXT STORY right now with the Little Women movie recently coming out, but have both books in the series on a display!

romance novel. Merri can hardly walk across the quad…

This book started out a bit rocky for me. I didn't immediately connect with Merrilee, which is a little odd considering I was just like her when I was her age... obsessed with romance and reading. But as Merri grew into herself, she also grew on me and I ended up enjoying the story and rooting for her.

I took an immediate dislike to Monroe, an opinion that did not change throughout the story. In fact, my opinion of him may have worsened as the story progressed. His character is well-written, he's just unlikable.

I did not become really vested in the story until about the half-way point. The beginning set some things up, but didn't really draw me in. The focus was on Monroe and Merri and provided the impetus for growth in Meri and some of the other characters, but it wasn't the real story in my opinion.

The relationships between Merri and her friends and family were good. I felt that her relationship with Rory was realistic and honest. Eliza and Toby were both great friends with her, but not so much with each other. Their other friends were interesting and fun, as were some of the teachers and the senator.

Another unlikable character that I feel like never redeemed themselves in the story was the Headmaster. I'll be interested to see if he grows and changes as a character through future books in the series, especially in his reactions to Merri and her sister.

I am trying to not reveal any spoilers, and I'm sorry if any of my reactions spoils anything, but since I always base my reviews on characters and how I relate to them, more than the plots, sometimes things slip through.

That being said, there is one character I haven't mentioned... Fielding. This story is told in Merri's first person POV, so we only see her reactions to Fielding throughout the book. And in the beginning, he makes a horrible impression on her, but had me intrigued from his first appearance. I didn't understand him any more than Merri did in the beginning, but I definitely wanted to know more and I became impatient for them to have scenes together.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the book and look forward to continuing the series.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through Net Galley and the publisher {ABRAMS Kids & Amulet Paperbacks} in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Note: This book was originally titled Bookish Boyfriends, but is now known as A Date With Darcy.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

I'd had this book for over a year before I picked it up, and, honestly, I'm kicking myself for that because it was just so good! I knew going in that there would be some element of Pride and Prejudice retelling - which is my favourite classic, and any retelling will automatically draw me in - but also have a hint of Romeo & Juliet in too. Boy, was that an understatement! Merrilee is starting at a new prestigious school, Reginald R. Hero Prep, because her oldest sister (Lilly) is marrying the son of a senator. Because she and younger sister, Rory, are late additions, and also seem to have skipped the usual waiting list, they have some haters as soon as they start, including the headteacher's son, Fielding. However, Merri is such a prolific reader of romances, and the brooding boy she saw on day one, Monroe, intrigues her, and soon they get together. In English class, with Ms. Gregoire, the books seem to come alive, and while reading Romeo & Juliet, Merri starts to think she is living the play, with her in the titular role, and Monroe playing a very obsessive Romeo. She doesn't connect with the book as much as she, or Ms. Gregoire, wanted, so they decide she should move onto Jane Austen's greatest work. This book connects so much more with Merri, and as she and Fielding overcome their differences, and grow closer, it seems as if she has met her Darcy, after all.

Merri was such a fun character! I loved how wishful she was in her romances, and how much she cared for all of her friends. Eliza, her best female friend, is a genius, and very matter of fact, but they care for each other so much, and being at school together is perfect for them. Merri's male best friend, Toby, is a bit more complicated. He is her next door neighbour, and has had a crush on Merri for years, but is firmly in the friend zone, and it seems to be working. Both Toby and Eliza don't really get on - both too jealous of the attention the other is getting off Merri - but they will be civil for her case. Both of her sisters are wonderful characters too, and I'm glad the second book will be Rory's story, because I have so many questions I need answering about her, especially considering events towards the end of this book. I also need to make a special mention to Ms. Gregoire too, as if I had had an English teacher like her at school, I might have actually liked the subject. She honestly cared about her pupils, and I don't know if she is actually magic or what, but she just understands the pupils so well!

Now, onto the romances. I'll talk about Monroe first, mainly because of how much I hated him. From the get go, he just keeps appearing at Merri's window, and is completely obsessive over her. He's texting all of the time, won't listen to her, and doesn't want to talk; instead he just wants to kiss all of the time. When Merri finally gets rid of him, I wanted to cheer, but that wasn't the last we saw of him. No spoilers, but if you know P&P, you'll probably be able to guess what role he fulfilled, and he did it so well! Fielding, on the other hand, was the perfect Darcy! From the first few connections we see of him and Merri, he insults her, makes a comment about not wanting to see her, is completely aloof, and then embarrasses us all by asking her out in the most insulting manner. When the iconic email arrives, I even felt myself swooning a bit, so completely understand why Merri starts to, too. Every interaction between them is sparking with chemistry, and I just hope in book 2, The Boy Next Story, we see more of them, because they are my OTP for this book, and likely the whole series!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Technically, yes I did receive this copy from Netgalley a year ago, and I got so overwhelmed with life that I just stopped reading altogether. It was a rough time, one that I'm still going through today but I'm doing better at reading more and getting through my ARCs. So I'm considering this an ARC review even though it was published last year, since I still have to give feedback on Netgalley.

Moving on.

I thought this was one of the cutest books I've read this year. The main character Merrilee (Row, Row, Row your boat...) reminded me of me when I was her age - the young age of 15 - where I believed that books in general were way better than real life. In Merri's case, guys were better in the books than they were in the real world. Which is why when she gets her "first boyfriend", she thinks she's living in a world of Romeo and Juliet.

It was actually really fun to see how Schmidt drew parallels from both Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice into this world, and how she made it in a way that would make total sense in the real world. Well, not to mention Merri was 15, and she saw the world through her books, so all she could see was how her life was mirroring those books (not at the same time, but you'll see that when you read it).

In short, I can't speak more on this without spoiling some of the novel, which is never my intention. Lilly was my favorite sister, being the oldest and one that I could relate to in some aspect. Merri was adorable with her love for books, and I do think she found her niche towards the end of the novel. Rory was the sister that just wanted to be included every once in a while, but also stood her ground on different things that happened, and I was very proud of her.

Toby was an amazing best friend, and part of my heart breaks for him. Eliza was the all star best female friend to Merri, but my heart breaks for her too for another reason. And of course the rest of the characters... well, you'll see!

I have tried reading this twice and both times I haven't made it past chapter 4. It's just really not for me. I feel like the characters are unrealistic and I don't like the writing.

I DNF'd this one after struggling for a long time to get into it. I know most people were very interested in this title and that they enjoyed it but I couldn't get into it at all. I could not relate to the characters or the story, and thought the writing was average at best. No disrespect to the author or readers who liked it, but I, personally, did not.

this is definitely geared more towards the younger end of the YA scale. it's a lighthearted, fun read, but it seemed weird that the MC had read so many old and classic books and yet saw romeo and juliet as the pinnacle of romance. that didn't work for me.

I wanted to like this book so BADLY! Unfortunately most things about it annoyed me and made me roll my eyes so hard that I almost saw my brain.

1. Names. Merilee, Monroe, FIELDING. Bc YA apparently.
2. The main character is so slappable it's not funny anymore. She's supposed to be super smart with IQ so high it would kill her if she jumped off it and yet she makes the stupidest decissions, misinterpretes what people do/say and then fixated on it, she's boy-obsessed ans she falls in looooooove on her first day of school.. because YA.
3. Monroe is such a villanous villain that the only thing he lacks is a mustache that he would curl while creeping through the night laughing maniacally.
4. People becoming friends in like 5 seconds.
5. Merrilee is new at her school and after like a week of it every teacher there is gushing about how good and smart student she is. Let's be honest, nothing happens during the forst and he last week of school, so unless Merrilee exceeded in reading syllabi then I don't believe that for a second.

This book had so so so much potential! I loved the concept but the execution didn’t live up to my expectations. Just not for me. A real shame!