Love at First Fight is a remarkably faithful retelling of Much Ado Nothing, sometimes to great effect, and other times to its own detriment.

In the plus column is the inclusion of a second romantic plot -- Hattie and Cal's story is given weight and space to develop, something that is rare in modern romcoms, where most romance novels focus on one couple alone.

Unfortunately, some of the other holdouts from the original text don't hold up as well. The gender essentialism that main characters Ben and Bridie, as well as their friends, all engage in feels outdated and cringe-worthy, and while I enjoyed that the aha moments Shakespeare expressed through monologues weren't removed, they would have been better suited to a format other than just the characters thinking to themselves for long periods of time.

Add to this the fact that the characters were overwhelmingly white, straight, cis, and able bodied, and overall this book doesn't feel like a particularly modern adaptation of the Bard's work. It also doesn't seem to be saying much -- it's close to a blow for blow retelling, but without bothering to examine any of the themes in Much Ado. Not a terrible way to spend a few hours, but one might be better off simply rewatching the Emma Thompson classic instead.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC!

Light, fun, easy enemies to lovers romance. A modern spin on a Shakespearean classic. Great read for summer or to pull out of a reading slump.

Once I got over the slow start, I couldn’t put it down!

Bridie (never heard of that name!) and Ben and the banter was great. I did enjoy the side story for Cal, Bens brother, and Hattie, Bridies bestie and roommate. The girl friends and Pete were a wonderful addition to this story full of love, exes, frenemies to lovers and a good tight-nit group.

Very fun and quick read.

Thank you to the publisher for this ebook arc in exchange for an honest review.

Love at First Fight is Mary Jayne Baker's take on Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. Earlier this year I read The Runaway Bride and really enjoyed Mary Jayne Baker's writing style, so I jumped on this new book. Both the Runaway Bride book and this one are British Rom Coms. Love at First Fight follows two couples - Cal and Hattie and Bridie and Ben. Bridie and Ben have been at each other's throats for 10 years. Cal, who is Ben's brother and Hattie who is Bridie's friend and flatmate see through their animosity and think that there is something there deep down. The friends launch "operation cupid" to get them to realize that they are really in love with each other. In the meantime, Cal and Hattie have their own drama building.

I really enjoyed the way all the characters interacted as friends and how they all wanted the best for each other. Even though they could have been less meddling at times, they had their hearts in the right place. The banter was fun and the book read smoothly for me even though it is British and I had to get used to some of the slang. I need to read more from this author. Loved it.

My sincere thanks to Aria & Aries, Aria and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.

It’s unashamedly a modern take on a classic story and it works. It’s great fun and the characters are so easy to love even when they drive you crazy. An appealing book for people who like a light, fun romance, this is a perfect holiday read.

This was a charming romance with memorable characters and a well written plot. It’s a classic “frenemies to lovers” story. I really enjoyed it, I couldn’t put it down once I started reading!

Bridie has never had much luck with men, and she blames her old boyfriend Ben for the problems of the male species. Unfortunately, her best friend Hattie is engaged to Ben’s brother, Cal, who is a great guy. Bridie knows she’ll have to see Ben. Their friends know they have feelings for one another, and decide to step in to shake them up.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a sweet enemies-to-lovers story that was easy to read. I liked all the characters, even the two MC’s who were asinine and thickheaded. Hattie and Bridie’s friendship was charming despite playing Cupid for each other. Joanna was a total manipulative character that I loved to hate.

My only complaint is that I kept reading Birdie instead of Bridie lol. I also feel like some of the tension was resolved too quickly. There are two plot points going on but it was easy to follow. This is a British novel so it took me a bit to pick up on some things (I'm American); however, it was easily inferred from the book so I wasn’t confused.

Overall a good romance with some comical scenes thrown in. Everyone got a HEA and I loved the adorable ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Please see goodreads link for my review immediately after I finished reading this book. I gave it 4 out of 5 because there are some points that I wish I could change, like the ending, more specifically the epilogue.

Bridie Morgan is staging a last hurrah to the ‘dating’ stage of her life: she’s going on twenty dates in twenty days. If this ‘love’ thing really is a numbers game, then surely she’ll find The One.
But being love’s biggest sceptic is a challenge in the face of best friend Hattie’s upcoming nuptials. And as maid of honour, she really has to give it a chance.

Then Bridie’s lifelong nemesis Ben Kemp returns home to join the wedding party. Ben, who left her waiting outside their leavers’ prom in a brand-new dress, alone. Ben, who triggered the sorry state of affairs that has been Bridie’s love life ever since. Ben, the best man to her maid of honour.

This was a fun and enjoyable read.
But I wished to see more of hate to love romance aspects.

Bridie Morgan is looking for love, and she even challenged herself to 20 dates in 20 days to push things along. However, by the end of it, she still hasn’t found anyone BUT she does run into the guy who broke her heart in high school. Everyone knows these two should be together, but they can’t get over their pride and insecurities to see it themselves. To remedy this, their friends start scheming ways for them to realize it for themselves in the midst of their best friends’ wedding planning.

This book had a lot going for it, but it really felt like there were two separate storylines going on, and I didn’t know who I was supposed to be caring about. Half of the book was focused on Bridie and Ben, but then it somehow switched to all about their friends Hattie and Cal. I really wish the plot stayed based on Bridie and Ben and lived up to what I was hoping to read in my head. If anything, Hattie and Cal’s story could have been a sequel to this one.

Overall, I did like the writing style and the characters were fun, but the organization definitely takes some stars off of this rating. I definitely see potential in the author, so I will be on the lookout for more by her.

⭐⭐⭐

I was excited because enemies to lovers is my favourite trope and I haven't come across all that many that knock that necessary tension out of the park.

Unfortunately, the book was a little too long, especially in the second half. I wish it had focused more on the primary characters and Ben's redemption because I was not a fan of his character throughout the entire novel. I actually think enemies to lovers is a misclassification - it is more like old friends and there was very little tension before the characters reconnect and then it jumps right in to the drama between Cal and Hattie. The second half also felt like a different book - perhaps it should have been the sequel - because it didn't add anything to Bridie and Ben's narrative and I mostly lost interest.

Apparently this is based off Much Ado About Nothing which I am not familiar with so perhaps the storyline is an excellent modern retelling but I can't speak to that.

This one was a miss for me but I would definitely consider reading another by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, publishers and to the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

There were a few things I liked about this book but unfortunately the things I disliked outweighs and it resulted in me not being able to enjoy the book.

I enjoyed the banter between the main love interests. When you have the enemies to lovers trope, the funny banter back and forth is always something that I enjoy and I felt that this book did this well. But I struggled to like the main characters and the whole plot for them just felt off. Also, the fact that the book doesn’t primarily follow these two despite the blurb saying say.

There was a comment on ‘notallmen’ that felt completely unnecessary and I highly disliked it being used in a book, especially in such context. There was also comments on men not being able to enjoy a spa weekend, ITS 2021?! And also bringing other women down by their looks in order to feel better about themselves.

None of this is needed and completely ruined the book for me. Unfortunately just didn’t work for me.

This book was read thanks to NetGalley, however it didn't intervened with my review.


This is a sweet book of people who met from a very young age and grow together hating "each other" I love this kind of stories because lets me questioning how we fall in love and how we develop feelings with someone.


I really recommend this book for those who love sweet love stories.

This was a cute and fun read. Love at Frist Fight was a good storyline and relatable journey about friends trying to meddle in pushing two stubborn people together to reconnect after losing their way due to lack of communication. The book was pleasant with humor and heartwarming predictable moments.

This book was so much fun. LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT is a contemporary retelling of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, set in the Yorkshire seaside town of Messington (Messina? See where this is going?) It's a very comparable and modernised retelling, hitting very similar beats and plot points as the play but spinning it to be contemporary. It's funny, because I didn't click it was MUCH ADO until just shy of halfway through and then spent the whole time thinking HOW DID I NOT REALISE THAT MR DUXBURY IS DOGBERRY???

I had a few minor issues with comments made, and for people in their late 20s, some of the language they used seemed a bit outdated by a decade or so which for me just took me out of it. Other than that, I think this was a fun rom-com that had me cackling away to myself and filled with the desire to keep reading.

⫷ The ARC copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Aria & Aries in exchange of an honest review ⫸

Like I said writing style was annoying. But loved the characters and the plot. It could've been a five star read. It had the potential. But yeah, I thought it was unnecessary portraying Ben as a manwh*re. I liked that it had two love story going on at the same time. Overall, I liked this book. It was an okay read.

Birdie Morgan is ready to give up on love, but first she's going to work hard in the next 20 days just to see if love really is real. Her plan is to go on 20 dates in the next 20 days. To add to her stress, her best friend is getting married with Birdie as maid of honor and her nemesis Ben Kemp is back as the best man. With Ben Kemp back and Birdie ready to give up on love, will she find her match in her biggest enemy?

Enemies to lovers is a personal favorite troupe of mine. Mary Jayne Baker did such a great job making this one engaging and hilarious. The book is also based on Much Ado About Nothing and who doesn't love some reimagined Shakespeare? If you're looking for a fun quick read, you'll love this book.

I really wanted to enjoy this one because I like the author and I love a good enemies to lovers trope but this did not work for me. It felt to me like Bridie and Ben decided they were in love because other people told them they were rather than the pair actually falling in love during the course of the story. There was also a shift in focus which was not mentioned in the blurb. I would have preferred more time on the how and why of B&B’s feelings and relationship changing. An okay read that others might enjoy but only 2.5 ⭐️ for me.

“Love at First Fight” by Mary Jayne Baker
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: 08/05/21
Genre: romcom

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. I found this book witty and funny. There were multiple parts I was laughing or chuckling. It was a cute romcom story. I wasn’t 100% sucked in, but I liked the characters and storyline. I contemplated between 3.5 and 4 stars. I would probably rate it 3.75 if I could, but I’ll round up.

Bridie Morgan is ready to swear off men. She made a pact to do 20 dates in 20 days. She’s on date 18 and they have all been terrible. After date 20 she is done dating and trying to find love. She’ll just have to live vicariously through her Roommate Hattie and her love with Cal. Cal and Bridie have been friends since they were young. She even kind of dated his brother Ben. Problem is Ben broke her heart when he stood her up for a dance when she was a teenager. Now Ben is back in town from a year abroad and she doesn’t want to see him. A decade later and she is still haunted by past. Ben and Hattie are in the wedding party and have to plan the Stag and Hen. They just didn’t know it was going to be a combine party forcing them to communicate. Can these enemies become friends or even lovers?

Bridie Morgan has decided she is done with looking for love, so as a last ditch effort she plans to go on 20 dates in 20 days. Surely she will find the one, right? With the dates drawing to a close she has had no luck. And to top it off, her nemesis, who also happens to be the brother of her best friends fiancee, is back in town to wreak havoc on Bridie's life.
But of course, Ben Kemp isn't just a nemesis is he. It's slowly revealed that these two have a history that is complicated, but also heart wrenching on both sides. With a wedding fast approaching and so many feelings in the way, will Bridie and Ben be able to set aside their differences, solve more than their far shares of problems, as well as rekindle their sparks?

I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! When it comes to the age old trope of teenage fling-to enemies-to lovers I find a lot of stories come off childish and can get very tiring. The banter and the quips that pass between Bridie and Ben are not only witty, they are entertaining! They made me laugh out loud and not once made me roll my eyes and go "Really? You are adults you know!" And the banter was consistent, another issue I find a lot of stories struggle with.
One thing that did get annoying was the fact that Bridie was very unwilling to put aside these differences in the beginning when her friend asked her to be her maid of honour. Like girl, come on! It's her special day, let her and her fiancee do as they wish and just cooperate. In the end it works out but there was a few times I wanted to knock some sense into Bridie.
Cal and Hattie were an amazing addition to the story as well! Though the whole 'crazy/evil ex' bit was becoming a bit overplayed. Cal, as a grown man, needed to learn to just tell someone no and to bugger off; rather than being so naïve and letting things happen the way they did.
I don't really get how this is based off Much Ado About Nothing, though I am not super familiar with that story. Other than the two sets of couples I see no real connection. So the mention of that in the description kind of misleading and wasn't really necessary.

This is definitely a very classic rom-com that I could see fans of The UnHoneymooners really enjoying! A book like this just never gets old and is very rarely not entertaining.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria and Aries for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own!