Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book more. The cover and blurb were right up my alley but the book was just mine. The narration was great though. I really liked that. Overall, it was a fun rom com with banter and a lot of Shakespeare references thrown in. There are some times when the banter was kind of cringy unfortunately. I think a lot of people will love this book, it just wasn't a best fit for me in the end.

Cute story easy read story line and characters were super cute. Hockey player turns English professor falls in love with his the girl who’s supposed to be his enemy..

The way I SCREAMED when I got the email with my approval for this audio was unreal and the way I devoured this one?? That should tell you all you need to know about why you need this on your TBR.

Okay, I’ll dig more: the hate was HATING. The intimacy was 👩‍🍳 💋 and I could go on, but why spoil any of the bigger parts?? Read it for yourself!!

I was approved for the ARC, too, but audio is best for me when it comes to deadlines.

The narrators @cindykay_vo and @j.f.harding were incredible. They brought this book to life in the best way possible.

This book is out on May 27th so check it out!

Thank you to @harlequinbooks @netgalley and @authorsarahs for the early copies and for giving me everything I needed (and more!)

Enemies-to-lovers meets fandom in this spicy Shakespearean romcom, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver the swoony payoff I was hoping for.

The premise? Utterly fun—Micah, a financial auditor with a secret obsession for spicy fanfic, and Aidan, a grumpy professor who just might be her favorite fic writer. The setup had so much promise, especially with the Much Ado About Nothing inspiration. I expected banter, tension, and emotional depth, but much of the execution fell flat.

Micah’s job as the “bad guy” in an academic audit is used as a wedge between the leads, but Aidan’s reaction to her professionalism left a bad taste. His lack of support and emotional manipulation felt frustrating rather than romantic. Just because she’s doing her job (and doing it well) doesn’t mean she deserves to be villainized.

Narration-wise, I struggled with Cindy Kay’s performance—monotone and lacking emotional nuance, which made it difficult to engage with Micah’s POV. J. F. Harding’s chapters were more compelling, but not enough to carry the whole story.

The romance? Decent chemistry, but the spicy scenes relied on repetitive language that veered into blunt rather than steamy. The emotional arcs felt like afterthoughts—backstories were told, not shown, and didn’t shape the characters in meaningful ways. Everything stayed surface-level and centered mostly around the audit conflict, which didn’t hold enough emotional weight for a satisfying romantic arc.

I wanted to love this—I'm a huge fan of Much Ado About Nothing and love a good fanfic twist—but this one just didn’t land for me.

This book was cute! I love the spin with the MMC being the erotica author. It was a quick and fun read, with lots of spice. It was definitely focused on the spice, so if that's your cup of tea, this is for you! I love a good spicy book, but I love when there's a bigger story to tell.
I wish we had gotten a little more into the family dynamics and the siblings, I loved them.
The ending was very cute and I loved how it all came full circle!
I was granted access to the Audiobook and LOVE the narrators! I'm a sucker for dual POV, especially with multiple narrators. I also appreciated that they didn't force the "voices", I always hate that. I thought this was very well done.
I give it 3.75 stars.
I'll be posting my review to Instagram 5/20

This book was a fun, quick read. I haven't read much about these topics so it felt very refreshing. The characters were the perfect type of quirky. A great introduction to this author for me.

I enjoyed this one so much!!! I was starting to doubt that there was any good books on NetGalley. Highly recommend I need everybody to pick this book up immediately! Well, next week when it comes out.

This book was so much fun!!!! The main characters energy was amazing their banter, they hated each other the right amount! I’m not normally a person that loves retelling of classic literature. This one was so well done. It made me want to go back and read Romeo and Juliet, which is not something that I would normally want to do. But it was so cute and so much fun!!!

I had high hopes for this book. Enemies to lovers who discover they're more alike than they thought thanks to steamy fanfic retellings of Shakespeare? Sold. Unfortunately, I didn't make it past 30%. The concept was what drew me to the book, but the narration and the lack of character chemistry in the beginning led me to DNF.

J.F. Harding's narration was great, but I wasn't thrilled by Cindy's performance, especially when it came to reading the fanfic portions. For some reason, she pronounced "Gia" as "Jah" the whole time and it was a huge distraction for me. When narrators pronounce character names wildly different, I can't help but be taken out of the story.

I attempted to push through the narration hiccups because I was curious how it would play out, but the animosity the characters had for each other and the constant complaining made it feel like there was no way they'd actually fall for each other in any true convincing manner.

Thank you Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

Much Ado About Hating You kicks off with a meet-cute that’s equal parts awkward and electric.

Micah is an auditor—aka the person everyone loves to hate at work. Her job? Show up, crunch numbers, and figure out where to make cuts. Not exactly a welcome presence, especially at the college where she’s just been assigned. Enter Aiden Scott, a literature professor with a sharp tongue and no patience for corporate meddling.

The two cross paths in an elevator, and Aiden, unaware of who Micah is, scoffs at the idea of an “auditor” stepping foot in his academic domain. What could a numbers person possibly know about the arts? Cue sparks—and not the romantic kind. At least, not yet.

What really turns things upside down is the juicy twist: Micah’s guilty pleasure is reading steamy Shakespeare-inspired fan fiction… written anonymously by none other than Aiden himself. Now we’ve got enemies-to-lovers tension, mistaken identities, and literary smut all rolled into one.

It’s a witty, banter-filled rom-com that brings the heat and a healthy dose of Shakespearean flair. Perfect for fans of slow burns, sharp dialogue, and a little academic drama.

Audio Notes: I listened to the audiobook version of this story, narrated by Cindy Kay and JF Harding—and honestly, they were fantastic. Both narrators brought the characters to life with just the right amount of emotion, wit, and personality. JF nailed Aiden’s dry sarcasm and charm, while Cindy perfectly captured Micah’s sharp edge and inner vulnerability. Their chemistry really elevated the story and made all the banter and tension that much more enjoyable. If you’re into audiobooks, this one is definitely worth a listen.

Thank you Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

As a Shakespeare reader, I looked forward to a fun modern take. Acknowledging the fanfiction community was great. However, there was not enough plot (for me) to enjoy. Readers who prefer spice over plot will enjoy this book.

Much Ado About Hating You by Sarah Echavarre Smith is the story of Micah Mila, a financial auditor brought in to evaluate the local university's English department, where Professor Aidan Scott works. This story is narrated by narrated by Cindy Kay and J. F. Harding, who are both good narrators.

From the start, Aidan is both chilly and rude toward Micah. Micah leaves in the evenings defeated. To relax, she reads online spicy Shakespearian fanfic. Unbeknownst to her, the author of said fanfic is no other than Aidan.

The beginning of the book was good. There was development of the character with much background information. But then, boom, these two people who despise each other get busy, and there is no further development of the story. It's basically smut and just a whole lot of spice. It was too much. It's like the story ended and now it's porn. I did not listen intently during several chapters. It was too much. After a whole bunch of spice, the story wrapped up with a decent ending. It was the 50% in the middle that had me cringing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the advance listen in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Always a fan of books about books, Much Ado About Hating you has an interesting meet cute.

Micah, an auditor, is often loathed by those she works with. Her job is to report to a facility and figure out how to cut the fat. In this case, she reports to the college where Professor Aidan Scott happens to teach literature.

When Aiden hears an auditor is coming in, he mocks the process in the elevator up to work one morning...
What could a business brain like an auditor have to contribute to the academic world he quips, loudly, with Micah in the elevator.

And so the spicy hatred between these two begins. Add in the layer of smutty Shakespearean fan fiction that Micah reads at night, which happens to be penned by none other than Aiden... and now you've got quite the conundrum.

It's a fun little rom com with lots of banter and Shakespeare thrown in.

I ended up really enjoying this book! It was super smutty, and I liked the characters.

The story follows Micah, who is a financial auditor, and her latest work assignment has sent her to the local university’s English department. That is where Micah meets Aidan, who ends up being a thorn in Aidan’s side as soon as she steps through the front door. Both Aidan and Micah like to blow off their steam by reading and writing smutty fan fic, and when Micah discovers that the man getting under her skin is the man writing her favorite fan fic- their hate for each other becomes something more…

I enjoyed the pacing of the book, it didn’t linger too long on the characters being enemies, which kept the story moving and allowed plenty of space for their relationship to grow. The chemistry between both Aidan and Micha was electric! That intense kind of hate that often masks the characters’ deeper emotions, so that when they finally admit they liked each other, it creates the perfect amount of spice!

I loved the ending. I liked that they were both able to do something that they were passionate about together. Especially after everything that her ex said about her writing. I think that Aidan was able to really help her see her potential and pushed her to do scary things.

Overall, this was a really cute book, and I would recommend it! It’s a super quick and fun read. 4/5 stars~

2.75 Stars. I got an advanced copy of the audio for this through NetGalley and based off of the description I was really excited, but after finishing it, I was a little disappointed. The plot had great
potential and the characters had some potential, but I feel like the plot and the character development were both sacrificed for the sake of spicy scenes. And don’t get me wrong. I love a book with good spice, but this one felt like it was trying a little too hard When it came to the spicy scenes and then not trying very hard at all when it came to the plot. I also just don’t quite see how these two characters would make it work long-term because their communication was terrible even after they get together and I just don’t see it being something That would be a healthy relationship long-term. I feel like there’s a lot of little hints dropped in this book about character backstory that had some serious potential to make for a really interesting plot, but those tidbits were not really expanded on or even really talked about much beyond the moment that they happened in, and that led to a lack of true character, growth or development and the story kind of unsatisfying. I feel like if this book had been 75% plot and 25% spice. It could’ve been great but it was a little bit more 50% plot 50% spice and the plot definitely was what suffered.

WE NEED MORE BOOKS ABOUT FANFICTION!!! This was very fun and cute and spicy! The concept of this book was so fun however the pacing was a bit jarring. While I love a good instant connection turned sour when they open their mouth and even workplace enemies to lovers, the transition between these phases was almost non existent. It wasn’t even hate sex to a stronger connection it was just wow they might not be as annoying as I thought after the first sexual encounter. I also really struggled with the MMC who was instantly rude to the woman just tweeting to do her job. He kept blaming it on her specifically as if her not having this job would mean none of this would have happened. If she wasn’t auditing then someone else would and the audit doesn’t automatically mean she’s getting everyone fired. His verbal aggression towards her was very unnecessary and flipped on and off at the weirdest times.

On a more positive note I did appreciate how straight forward they were when finding out certain secrets about the other. In a lot of books they’ll let it fester leading to future miscommunication but they talked through almost everything instantly (besides her job). I did think their relationship was sweet and I zoomed through this book almost entirely in one sitting.

Overall this book was cute and fun but I think it could’ve benefited from adding maybe 100 pages allowing them to slowly transition their feelings.

The enemies vibe was strong here and I lived up every moment. Poor guy could not catch a break, he kept putting his foot in his mouth. So many laughs. He writes fanfic in his down time and posts it online and she reads and comments. They become online friends who vent about their annoying co-worker, while in real life they hate each other, her more than him. Fast paced workplace romance and they get stranded one night together after a storm. Fun times.

This was cute and simple and I definitely found myself cackling in the beginning with the characters hot sauce antics.
I loved that we had them interacting in the fan fic space and getting to know each other, i do wish that that would have gone on longer and so been more of a reveal than what we had.

Needs unite! As someone who is writing a smutty novel myself this is so perfect. It’s smutty and sexy and the banter is so perfect. The hatred they feel towards each other in the beginning and I can’t get enough! Their dirty talk is so hot and I just can’t handle it.

Also… JF Harding is PERFECTION. I would listen to him read a phone book. The narrators were a perfect match and I loved them together.

Workplace enemies? Check
Secret Fanfic writer identities? Check
Banter and Tension? Check
Slow burn with some serious spice? Check
A damn fun read? Double Check!

This was such a fun and unique book! I loved the dynamic of enemies by day but spicy fanfic writers who enjoy each other’s writing by night.

This is very fast paced, the writing is well done and I had a fun time reading this (even though I have some issues with the ending but I won’t spoil it).

The audiobook by Cindy Kay and JF Harding is such a good time and I highly recommend listening to it!

Thank you Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for an early listening copy!

⭐️⭐️💫 | 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I wanted to love this so much more, but it just fell really flat for me. I felt the characters lacked depth and development. Then the plot and pacing was so surface level.

The spice was great, I enjoyed the aspect that they’re fanfic and romance writers. So, reading their stories in this book was a lot of fun, but I felt those stories had much more page time than I think made sense. But they were my favourite parts too, so no complaints I guess hahah.

Overall, was a quick smutty read, but was lacking some depth and dimension to have really reeled me in.

Thank you Harlequin Audio for this ALC!