NetGalley review
I originally gave it 4 stars, but after thinking about it, I'm giving it a 3.5.

I loved the relationship that they had at the beginning of the book when they were rivals. It felt like a true enemies-to-lovers romance was taking place. The characters are all very solid, and I really enjoyed the side characters as well. I would absolutely read a story about their own romances and lives.

It did feel like the romance part of the book took off very fast after being such adamant enemies. But I also enjoyed their soft and sweet moments of vulnerability together.

The reason that I gave 3.5 stars is that the romance seemed to come out of nowhere. I didn't really feel any tension between them ahead of time. It also felt like there was almost no conflict in this book. You go into it knowing almost exactly how it's going to end, and the little conflict that there is is extremely short.

That said, I really enjoyed the book and blew through it in a day. I think I was just hoping for a little more depth in the relationship and conflict for them to grow from.

This was an enjoyable enemies-to-lovers office romance. It was a nice touch with the MCs both interested in fan fiction. While the story was pleasant and had a decent amount of spice, the ending felt rushed with unnecessarily dramatic/conflict.

This book had everything I wanted in a book... academic rivals... shakesperean drama, fanficss. secret/hidden identities.. but for me the characters felt a little flat. I wish I could have loved them.. but no.. but if you are looking for smutty book with no depth just because you want to.. this is it for you.

2⭐️

I really love this Shakespeare play and I have really enjoyed some retellings, however this was a big let down. I found the characters to be so insufferable that I just didn't care and couldn't wait for it to be over.

I'm really sorry, I had to DNF this. I just can't read books about hot people who think wearing glasses makes them unattractive anymore!

If you're looking for an inspired Shakespeare romance, this is it for you. Very spicy and doors are open for all the scenes. Some logistics had me rereading because I felt like they could have been flushed out a little more. I appreciated the quick read, making it a fast and easy go of it. You can tell there is definitely a set up for book 2, presumably with the brother. I enjoyed myself but at times couldn't get past their banter and them acting like they were 16 in some arguments. These are adults, after all.

I was happy to read the reconciliation with his father the most. The HEA was cringy but cute, and fit who the characters were - maybe just not for me.


Formatting issues that I hope will be addressed by publishing date: missing quotation after "forgot" on page 124 and a quotation facing the wrong direction that same page after "hours." Read on e-reader on iPhone.

The premise of Much Ado About Hating You had me chomping at the bit to get my hands on a copy. Fanfic authors? Shakespeare? Spicy enemies to lovers? Sign me up on all of those. That being said, I could not get into this book. I tried, forcing about 40% of it; but just struggled to continue. I suppose I didn't vibe with the tell vs show style of writing, and while each character had facets I liked, they also had bits that kept me from really liking them and wanting to know more.

Will I keep this in my recommendations queue? Yes, because I know there will be people I talk to who will enjoy this 100%.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the eARC!

3.5 / 5 ⭐️
3.5 / 5 🌶

I love good enemies-to-lovers, especially when they both have good reasons to be enemies. This book does a great job of the trope while also creating characters with believable backstories. This was a good spicy palette cleanser for all of the fantasy that I have been reading lately.

Enemies-to-lovers, insta-lust, hot professor (not professor-student), Shakespeare puns, hockey adjacent, spicy, HEA.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for the eARC of this book! I really enjoyed it!

As for the enemy to lovers trope, this novel started out very well, but somehow lost steam during the pages and disappointed me a bit in the end. I couldn't really explain why, given the simmering chemistry between the two main characters, but perhaps the constant repetition of both words and situations tired me a little bit.

Per quanto riguarda il tropos enemy to lovers, questo romanzo era partito molto bene, ma in qualche modo ha perso smalto durante le pagine e alla fine mi ha un po' deluso. Non saprei bene spiegare perché, considerata la chimica bollente tra i due protagonisti, forse peró le costanti ripetizioni sia di parole che di situazioni, mi hanno stancato un pochino.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

If you love Shakespeare, fanfic, enemies-to-lovers, and workplace romance set at a university, add Much Ado About Hating You by Sarah Echavarre Smith to your TBR list. This gem publishes on May 27th and it is HOT! Micah is hired to audit the English department, and Aidan is the professor who gets off on the wrong foot and quickly gets under Micah's skin. Both characters are working through their own issues, but as Micah's twin points out, hand and mouth stuff is just fine when you aren't ready for a relationship!

Hotness ensues when our main characters secretly converse on a fanfic site, bonding over Shakespearean erotica. This was a quick read with unique elements, great banter, and chemistry between the main characters and the fanfic stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance Publishers for the opportunity to review this advanced reader copy of Much Ado About Hating You.

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Can 100% relate to working a soulless analytical career, but secretly being a creative. And of course, since it’s fiction, happy endings are delivered on every level!! I loved this book! It was a cute quick read.

This ARC read was equal parts slow burn and 0 to 60. Enemies to lovers with an office rom twist. If you ever wanted to follow on the behind scenes of fanfic author byline, and love several 'omg this can't be real' events, come this way.

I found myself loving the dichotomy, but unsure about the conviction. Overall, we love a go for your dreams story with risky moments slipped inbetween. Most of all we love a HEA. I could see being invested in this world as a shared universe so we can only hope for that from Sarah in the future.

This was exactly what I needed, lighthearted and fun with good banter, enemies-to-lovers. Amazingly quick read but so very much enjoyable, I didn’t want to put it down. Plus the spice was definitely spicing!

That thing said there were a couple times the actions of the characters made me groan and just get slight ugh vibes, but it was so very minimal. I adored a couple of the side characters and I’m hoping we get a follow up story about what’s going on between Liam and Kendall, because you just KNOW there’s something there and I definitely want to be able to explore these characters AND this authors writing just a little bit more!

A very huge thank you to netgalley for hosting this ARC and for the publisher for approving my request for this one!

This book was so much fun to read. I read it in one sitting! Thank you to Netgalley and Sarah Echavarre Smith for an ARC.

Let me start off by saying that enemies-to-lovers is my *favorite* trope to read. So, you can imagine my excitement when I received a copy of this book. Not JUST enemies to lovers, but a hot professor, office hijinks, Shakespeare fanfic and secret online chemistry between the main characters! This had everything I wanted. Maybe I shouldn’t have allowed myself to get my hopes up so high for this book because I was very, very disappointed.

My biggest issue with this book is the behavior of the two main characters, Aiden and Micah. They despise each other pretty much immediately after an altercation during a meeting where Micah, the new auditor for the university where Aiden is a professor, is introduced to the staff. And while it started off great with vicious glares and funny, not-so-subtle digs at each other, it quickly took a turn for the worst. Aiden and Micah are just MEAN. Their interactions felt more like high school bullies than adult coworkers. Is the professionalism in the room with us? No? Didn’t think so.

I didn’t feel like their relationship developed at a natural pace, either. Too much was forgiven much too quickly. Aiden constantly undermines Micah’s skills and abilities and rather than our FMC stand up for herself and prove him wrong, she suddenly completely agrees with him, refuses to turn in her audit and takes his advice to QUIT HER STABLE, WELL PAYING JOB to pursue her dream of being an author. But don’t worry, he gets to keep his job (of course).

I will say I enjoyed the spicy scenes and I don’t think those type of scenes are done enough in books. Those were really fun – and HOT!

I think this book is undeveloped. The overall writing wasn’t my favorite and with so many grammatical errors throughout the book, it was difficult to read. I think this story had the potential to be good, and I really wanted to love it, but I’m sorry – I didn’t.

Thank you to Netgalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the ARC! All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you Harlequin and netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced eARC in return for my honest review.

1st im a huge lovers of fanfiction. These 2 are fanfic writers with major chemistry online but as coworkers, true enemies.. they do not realize that the other is who they are. Corresponding with online. This was a fun read and I liked the fanfiction spicy side of this story

It was steamy with gooey sweetness. I loved this story, starting with the enemies' to lovers' trope that was delivered so well. I also enjoyed that they were pen pals on an app, but they didn't know that they were talking to each other, being coworkers who were bumping heads at work. It was mega spicy here, both writing erotica romance online. I loved how they both opened up for each other, and it helped their character growth. And the happy ending was perfect.

“I’m warning you, Micah. If you bite your lip again, I’m going to kiss you.”

While I did not enjoy the MMC, I always enjoy an enemies to lovers romance! I especially enjoy when a romance has characters in their thirties-even if they did feel a bit immature sometimes…

In a nutshell, this was porn with almost a plot sprinkled with porn without plot. This was not for me. I have nothing nice to say about the story or the characters, so I’d rather leave it at that. Thank you for the chance to read this ARC.

Thank you to Harlequin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I had a fun time with this. The fanfic premise of this was different and I wish that we would've gotten more of them communicating through fic. The tension and the spice was delicious - the enemies to lovers really did its thing and I loved every second of it. Both of the MCs were likeable and found myself empathizing with Aidan's family issue more than I expected. The thing that really bothered me about this was the food tampering between the MCs earlier in the book - it felt very immature for characters who were meant to be in their 30s. The pacing also felt off for me but it didn't take away from enjoying the book.

Overall I did enjoy this and would recommend it for anyone looking for something quick and spicy!