Automatic request for any Sarah Echavarre Smith book. Much Ado About Hating You can be added to my reread pile in a few months (which I do with all of her novels). A super cute, steamy enemies to lovers book.

A spicy enemy-to-lover romance in academia setting? Of course I had to read it. While I know some Shakespeare, I must admit that Much Ado About Nothing is not a story that I was familiar with.

So Aiden, the MMC, is a professor who teaches about Shakespeare and also writes spicy Shakespeare retelling fanfic in is free time. (yes, please!) And then you have Micah, the FMC who is an auditor and is here to audit the English literature department. The enemy-to-lover part of the book is spot on. The spice is good and the fanfics are cute. BUT... I struggled with the writing, and I found the characters quite blend. I really wanted to love this book, and I couldn't. I had to force myself to finish it in case it got better but, for me, it failed.

Listen, I hate to leave a bad rating and you have to keep in mind that I read an ARC of this book. Maybe all the grammatical errors I saw (and I usually don't really see them because English is not my first language) will be fixed before the book gets published. I also think that new adults might be the right public for this book, even if the characters are in their thirties.

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.

#NetGalley #harlequin #MuchAdoAboutHatingYou #realtorreads #booktok #bookstagram #books #booklover #book #bookrecommendations #bookish #bookstagrammer #bookworm #reading #bookreview #bookaddict #booknerd #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #bookcommunity #romancebooks #bookblogger #romance #read #bookshelf #bibliophile #reader #fantasy #bookrecs #kindleunlimited #booksofinstagram #bookclub #bookphotography #booklovers

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.

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.