Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House for my copy. All thoughts are my own.

Me, reading another modern Shakespeare adaptation? Who’s surprised? When I saw Ben and Beatriz come through my inbox, I knew I needed to read it. Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorite plays because of the banter between Benedick and Beatrice. But the story, like so many, is a little…problematic for women. Shocker, I know. So I love when authors take my favorite familiar stories and turn them of their head.

I’d say this book is entertaining, if not a little frustrating. But I really really appreciated the author’s note at the end of the novel. It’s got a mature YA vibe with the characters in college and it’s a quick read. Though be sure to check out trigger warnings!

Synopsis:
“Beatriz Herrera is a fierce woman who will take you down with her quick wit and keen intellect. And after the results of the 2016 election worked hard to erase her identity as a queer biracial woman, she’d be right to. Especially if you come for her sweet BFF cousin, Hero. Beatriz would do anything for her, a loyalty that lands Beatriz precisely where she doesn’t want to be: spending a week at the ridiculous Cape Cod mansion of stupid-hot playboy Ben Montgomery. The same Ben Montgomery she definitely shouldn’t have hooked up with that one time… The things we do for family.White and wealthy, Ben talks the talk and walks the walk of privilege, but deep down, he’s wrestling with the politics and expectations of a conservative family he can’t relate to. Though Beatriz’s caustic tongue drives him wild in the very best way, he's the last person she'd want, because she has zero interest in compromising her identity. But as her and Ben’s assumptions begin to unravel and their hookups turn into something real, they start wondering if it’s still possible to hold space for one another and the inescapable love that unites them.” —Goodreads

What I Liked:

The Concept—Here I am again to say: I love modern adaptations of Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare, okay? I love taking a story I know so well and turning it on it’s head with modern advances and influences.

The Ending—Hero gets a bad rep in the play for being boring so I was quite pleased with her ending. I was nervous how this storyline would play out since the ending can be a little…yikes in the play, but thought it was handled realistically and I was satisfied.

The Tone—It’s fun, youthful, relevant. It’s New Adult as the characters are in college (and there is explicit sexual content) but it’s still young and fun.

What Didn’t Work:

A Little Underdeveloped—I think the danger of taking a story we know so well and adapting it is that we know what’s coming to some degree. I felt things were a little underdeveloped and could have used a bit more explanation but i did like setting up Ben and Beatriz’s feud, since that’s only alluded to in the play!

Character Authenticity: 3.5/5

Steam Rating: 1/5

Overall Rating: 3/5

Content Warnings:

Racism, Colourism, Sexual harassment, Child abuse recounted, Alcoholism, Substance addiction, Attempted suicide, (off-page) ,Psychiatric hospitalisation, Revenge Porn, Classism

BEN AND BEATRIZ – Katalina Gamarra
Graydon House
ISBN: 978-1525899959
August 2, 2022
New Adult Romance

Massachusetts – Present Day

Beatriz Herrera, along with her cousin and best friend, Hero, attends Harvard University. A lot of people mistakenly believe Beatriz, a queer biracial woman, got into Harvard as a sort of “quota.” But she deserves everything she has gotten as she is intelligent and forthright. Hero is dating Claudio, a student visitor from Italy, whose roommate is Ben Montgomery, the quintessential white male from a privileged and wealthy family. A long time ago, Beatriz and Ben hooked up for a drunken one-night stand, but they can’t stand one another.

Ben invites Claudio, Hero, and Beatriz to spend Spring break with him at his family’s home on Cape Cod. Beatriz figures she will have fun even if Ben is there. However, the more she’s around the man, the greater she becomes intrigued—and attracted—by him. They’re soon exchanging hot kisses and spending a night together. But was it a mistake because they don’t like one another? Or is there a spark of something more between them? Meanwhile, Beatriz is learning to deal with the continued racism that happens around her. She should be used to it, but it can be off-putting when Ben’s brother, John, makes all kinds of insinuating remarks that she is only in Harvard to fulfill a race quota at Harvard. Then there are her mixed feelings for Ben. They go hot and cold. Once they’ve returned to the college campus, will they return to their love-hate relationship?

It's a complicated romance between young lovers in BEN AND BEATRIZ. They are so different from each other that one wonders how they can even make it work. Beatriz comes from a broken family and has spent her entire life being looked down upon because of her dark skin. Her cousin Hero has the better looks and whiter skin, so no one questions her credentials to get into a prestigious university like Harvard. But Beatriz? Everywhere she goes, she is dealing with snide comments from white folks. Ben is the epitome of what Beatriz is dealing with. Rich white family. Parents voted for the Republican in 2016 and Beatriz is feeling the outpouring of hatred from his supporters. Yet, despite the animosity, there is still a hum of attraction between Beatriz and Ben.

In addition to Beatriz and Ben, there is a side romance between Claudio and Hero. He will be required to leave the country once he graduates from college in a couple of months. They are wondering what they can do to avoid that. Hero is holding out on lovemaking because she is a shy, sweet girl. Ben’s best friend is Meg, a girl who has a lot of problems, including drug addiction and a feeling of low self-esteem because she is only working at a McDonald’s. Ben’s brother John is manipulating Meg. John is not a nice person and thinks Beatriz is inferior to everyone in the Cape Cod house. All of these characters provide for an intriguing circle of characters in BEN AND BEATRIZ.

It’s a bumpy week of shenanigans and romance in BEN AND BEATRIZ. This tale is based loosely on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and provides for an intriguing read.

Patti Fischer

This is a strong, compelling, entertaining, and well written books that deals with serious topics like politics, abuse, and druges.
It's a light retelling of Much Ado about Nothing featuring an Afro-Latinx Beatriz and WASP Ben. They could be the impossible couple but somehow they make it work.
There's a lot of funny moments, there're witty banters, and a well plotted story.
I liked how the author was able to keep the plot light and introduce some very serious topics.
It''s a bit slow at the beginning but once I was hooked read it in one setting.
It's an entertaining story that i recommend.
Many thanks to Graydon House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love Beatriz and Ben! Beatriz is so strong and doesn’t take crap from everyone and I always love a strong female main character! This book was giving me a lot more than I had expected and I was so happy to be able to read this early! Thank you for the ARC NetGalley!

Ben and Beatriz is a pleasurable yet powerful read that really delves into the political climate of 2017 after Trump became president and also the complex dynamics of the friend group this book follows. This is also an own voices story that really forces the reader to confront the endless microaggressions people of color constantly deal with. Add to all of that, that this book is also a Much Ado About Nothing retelling, and you have a compelling enemies to lovers contemporary story that deals with a lot of hard and relevant topics.

The way that Gamarra tells this story with quick dialogue and fast pacing really helped balance out some of the darker themes of this story so I was fully engaged the whole way through. Ben is a cinnamon roll hero with a heavy dose of toxic family, trauma, and privilege that prevents him and Beatriz from connecting after a disastrous one night stand the first night of college. Beatriz is also dealing with her own childhood trauma and trying to find her way in a world she no longer feels safe in. When Ben and Beatriz are forced to spend time together at Ben’s childhood home during Spring Break it was fun to see their banter and eventual walls coming down. I also loved all the many literary references in this story and Ben being an Austenphile was just another check in his cinnamon roll box.

One big downside of this story for me was that while Ben does a lot of maturing and realizing that he has some flaws that same doesn’t hold true for Beatriz. Even when Beatriz has conflict with her cousin she is never the one to apologize which became annoying after awhile. There is a lot that Beatriz shouldn’t be sorry for but for someone who is in therapy to never recognize the part they played in a fight or argument makes it start to lean into the “not like every girl” trope. And by the end of the story Beatriz was pretty much the exact same that she was at the start of the book and it was everyone that orbits around her that changed or matured.

Another aspect of the story that I need to mention is that it covers quite a span of time and because of that it feels lacking in developing some of the characters and sub plots. I feel like more time could have been spent expounding on these themes and ideas because a lot of the topics talked about are important. For example, Ben’s best friend, Meg, is dealing with a lot of trauma and is constantly in terrible situations that Ben and at times Beatriz are aware of and yet she is ignored until she is convenient for the plot. Meg and Beatriz are both dealing with a lot of the same themes and issues but yet no time is spent on delving deeper into Meg. Gamarra was so focused on Ben and Beatriz that a lot of story was left dangling and it had the potential to be so much more.

There are quite a lot of trigger warnings for this one, such as: toxic parents, racism, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, overdose, suicide, anxiety, panic attacks, mentions of abuse, toxic family, microaggression, colorism, sexual harassment. However, Gamarra does a great job of balancing all the hard aspects of the story with the spicy and sweet moments between Beatriz and Ben. For a debut novel (and one written so quickly as we found out in the author note!) this is a good entry into the talent Gamarra has and I can’t wait to see what she does in the future.

#BenAndBeatriz:⁣
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Fire up the coffeemaker and brew your best pot of Cafe Duran. While Ben and Beatriz is a retelling of Much Ado, this little book packs such a big punch. It is a page Turner that I was able to finish in 24 hours. ⁣
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I did like how this was very linear to Much Ado About Nothing. The similarities were easy to follow and I was able to track along the way. The adaptation was perfect to give it that fresh take for today. ⁣
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I will say this is very NA. It read a bit of YA with some saucy scenes, so NA seems perfect. I did like how we were able to connect with them as graduating seniors and the struggles of being kicked into that next phase of your life. I was able to connect with Hero because of her conversations whitewashing and being laughed at when told “no, really. I’m Panamanian” ⁣
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This book tackled some major topics in such a short time. Drug abuse (heroin), colorism, racism, DACA, self harm, family expectations, ableism, safe sex, therapy as taboo, I could literally go on and on. But with all these major topics, it didn’t dilute from the story line, and it helped solidify some of the character’s personalities and actions. ⁣
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I love Author’s Notes and Acknowledgements. This truly gave me the best understanding of how Beatriz was formed. The quote for never apologizing for being smart is something I tell E and it makes me so happy that someone told Gamarra that. ⁣
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Thank you SO MUCH @htpbooks for the gifted copy. My Panamanian heart was so full reading Ben & Beatriz, and I hope y’all will pick it up too! It’s out today! (8/2)⁣
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QOTD: What is a dream job for you? No degree or experience hinderance.

Where to begin? Read. This. Book. Seriously!

Beatriz is legit amazing. She is a strong woman who takes no crap, is loyal to her beliefs and to the family she has. Ben is the stereotypically rich white guy who has everything handed to him. Below the surface, they both have a bit of baggage from their family lives that causes them to wear a mask. One night they hooked up and it ended in anger and neither talking to one another. A spring break in the same place throws a wrench in their mutual dislike, but it is better than you can imagine!

I love a retelling of a classic, and this is certainly one of my favorites. I appreciated the complexity of the characters and the modernization into 2016.

It took me ages to get into and read this one, but when I got there it was really good! I adored the characters more than anything, and I hope other people enjoy it as much as I was able to.

Ben and Beatriz is a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, and I have to admit that I'm not that familiar with all of the bard's works to have picked up on that. While Much Ado is a comedy, I didn't really find anything particularly funny about this book. I was initially very intrigued by the premise of this very relevant scenario where it seems people now have never been more divided down political lines and that aspect of it was definitely evident in the story.

I appreciated the diversity and conversations that the author infused into the story, although at times it felt a bit too heavy-handed and in-your-face about it. It was great to address the differences between people and perhaps use some situations as education moments for characters and readers alike, but because of Beatriz' personality perhaps, her "education" moments came off very preachy and judgemental. Even when, for example, one character seemingly genuinely was trying to learn what biphobia was. I totally get that it isn't Beatriz's responsibility to have to educate others about that and in the context of the story sure but, I thought, if a reader also didn't know what that meant, they'd feel chastised by that kind of harsh response and also not want to ask any other questions to educate themselves in the future. 

While I found the first half felt very long to get going, I did think the second half picked up a bit more in pacing. I felt some characters had a bit more depth to them than others, where it quite literally felt like their only attribute was always being drunk or high and ODing. That being said, it was an interesting story that had obvious relevance to the modern day. I did like that it potentially intends to make the reader open their minds about others and consider what they may be wrestling with despite how they look or what their family's political beliefs are. But this is definitely more of a heavy story than a "comedy" like the Shakespeare play that it's supposed to be a retelling of. The potential of this story was there but, for me, the execution was a bit hit or miss.

I LOVED this debut #ownvoices novel that has so many layers my review can't nearly to justice to all of them.

On the surface this Much ado about you retelling is a new adult, coming of age, interracial, opposites attract, second chance romance between two college students, Ben and Beatriz. After a disastrous one night stand that Ben doesn't remember and Beatriz remembers all too well, these two haven't seen each other for years only to get stuck together for a week at a Cape Cod mansion.

From a wealthy, conservative family, Ben seemingly lives a life of privilege and ease but struggles to fit in or accept his place, whereas Beatriz is a queer (pansexual), biracial woman from much humbler means dealing with life in America under Trump.

What I loved:
- the relationship between bestie cousins Beatriz and Hero
- the strong mental health rep (Beatriz had a past suicide attempt, and Ben suffers from anxiety)
- the value and importance placed on therapy
- that the two MCs bond over a shared love of Jane Austen
- the queer and dyslexia rep
- the steamy open door romance with open communication and consent
- the great author's note included at the end

While this book tackles heavy topics including racism, microaggressions, mental health, addiction, sexual harassment, suicide and childhood abuse/neglect, it is also at the core, a beautiful story about two very different people finding a deep bond over shared interests and empathy.

This is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. Highly recommended for fans of Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola, Elle Kennedy or Kennedy Ryan. Much thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a creative and thought-provoking modern retelling of Much Ado About Nothing. Ben and Beatriz, now both seniors at the same college, first met each other freshmen year. Since an encounter in their early days of college, they have largely avoided each other, made easier by the fact they hardly run in the same circles. Beatriz’s cousin, best friend, and roommate, though, is dating Ben’s roommate, and they are all invited to spend spring break at Ben’s family’s mansion. Together for a week, the tensions are at first high, until Ben and Beatriz realize there may be more to their mutual hostility than either had acknowledge or would like the admit.

This novel is full of strongly drawn characters and a compelling story that will keep you fully engaged through the up and downs of Ben and Beatriz’s relationships and their discoveries about each other and themselves.

Highly recommended!

This book was really infuriating. It lost me as soon as Ben's "redeeming" quality was liking Harry Potter. I felt as though this book was scrambling to make sense but I found myself frustrated to a point with the characters that went beyond standard Much Ado frustration, and I could really no longer suspend my disbelief about a lot of it. The characters were almost obnoxious archetypal versions of these Much Ado About Nothing characters crunched into a real-world scenario but lacked nuance and grounding in reality. I also frankly couldn't find it believable that Beatriz would associate, much less sleep with, someone who comes from the background he does. As a visibly marginalized person, I stay as far away from people that seem remotely connected to conservative values as I can because being in proximity to them in and of itself is endangering. It all just felt too convenient to serve the concept of the retelling and didn't work.

I very much appreciate the arc given to me by Harlequin Trade Publishing, and I was excited for a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. But it was clear in the first few pages that I am not the audience for this book. The swearing and crass discussions immediately put me off, although I can see that it’s a fair adaptation, knowing how raunchy Shakespeare actually was and how misogynistic Benedick was in the original as well.
But this update is not for me. Thanks for the opportunity.

Read the beginning, and am not sure I like where this is going. I’m all for a book that reckons with the 2016 election and Trump presidency directly, but I don’t know if this is the book to do that. At best, this is going to be a “progressive queer WOC has to educate privileged white boy on how to be a better person,” and I just can’t with that plot.

I love "Much Ado About Nothing," but this book was not a good fit for me. Too much profanity and casual sex. It's got more of a New Adult vibe, and I was expecting it to be more of a rom com.. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Ben and Beatriz is smart and sexy modern retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Beatriz is such an awesome female character. She's intelligent, doesn't take any shit and funny. I seriously loved her so much. Ben is ridiculous attractive rich play boy and Beatriz can't stand him. Except that one time they hooked up when they most definitely shouldn't have. Their friendship grows and Beatriz realizes there's more to Ben than this white privilege. Ben is very much struggling with expectations and the politics of his very conservative family. When Ben and Beatrix come together it's like two very sexy world colliding. This story was surprisingly deep and very very sexy. I love it.

This one covers a lot. Politics are a main theme in this book but i don't think it takes anything away from it. I think it's a good view of how they affect family and people around them.
Ben & Bea are both dealing with a lot but they find guidance through the other.
An in depth read with hints of Shakespeare's Much Ado.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was nervous going in about how the politics would be involved but when it became apparent the Ben did not share the views of his family I was relieved. Aside from that I love the representation and Beatriz's sex-positivity.

Ben and Beatriz is a smart, modern adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing featuring college-age characters and a story that tackles class, race, and politics in the United States.

Ben and Beatriz are classmates in their senior year at Harvard. But while Ben comes from a privileged white family that voted for Trump (he did not), Beatriz is a plus-size, pan-sexual Afro-Latina (who cannot BELIEVE she's into a cis white boy!). Freshman year they had a one-night hookup and now Beatriz wants nothing to do with Ben. But they end up together at his family home during spring break because his roommate and her cousin are dating.

The story follows most of the plot beats of the original (with some changes that I liked but won't spoil). So if you're a fan of Much Ado, you'll enjoy seeing how the author played with and updated the text. Ben is a playboy and not very likable at first, but we learn more about his messed up family dynamics and how he's been forced to change things about himself. Bea is open about being sex-positive and down for no-strings-attached fun, but she has walls a mile high and vulnerability scares her. I really enjoyed seeing them slowly move toward each other as the sex becomes something a lot more. Heads up that the direction this took with John and Margaret gets dark: tackling addiction, revenge, and toxic family dynamics.

I wasn't expecting this to have characters quite so young, though it makes sense for the plot choices. Just know that this feels very New Adult, like a mature YA reader could pick it up despite the sex and drugs. I did like the spin this author put on the story and look forward to more from her! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Although this is meant to be a retelling I found it had its own spin on it which kept me engaged. I found it a bit slow at the start but once I was in it I really enjoyed it. I loved Beatriz as a character especially since Beatriz was unapologetically herself and bold. I enjoyed seeing the journey of Ben learning and observing other peoples perspectives since he was privileged and only really thought about how own life and experiences. Overall I enjoyed the book and it is something I would read again and recommend to a friend.