*** I received this ARC copy of this audiobook through NetGalley thanks to Harlequin Audio and Sarah Echavarre Smith***

4/5 ⭐️
4/5 🌶️
5/5 audiobook

Tropes:
⭐️ enemies to lovers
⭐️ hot professor
⭐️ work romance

I didn’t know what to expect from this story and I was not disappointed! Micah is a financial auditor hired by a college to determine if staff cuts need to be made. In walks sexy AF Professor Aidan Scott. There’s immediate hatred for one another until they unknowingly form a flirty connection on a fan fic site they both share fiction on. When the sparks begin to fly they begin to exploooode!! The chemistry is off the charts for these two!

The ONLY thing I didn’t love is that Aidan essentially guilts her into quitting her job to write books, but she really hadn’t ever written much beyond some paragraphs here and there. That’s a lot of risk after just a few paragraphs.

Audiobook was amazing! JF Harding has my heart! He’s so swoon worthy!!

Narrators were well suited to the story, if not exceptional- they definitely did not distract from the story.

This is a quick and extremely steamy read, with a fun academia bent to it that I enjoyed. Despite being on the short side, there is decent character development and story.

I honestly thought this book was a really fun time. The chemistry between the two main characters was absolutely insane and so enjoyable to read through and go with. It had a lot of clichés and felt a little basic at points, but for me, I kind of went into it knowing that that was gonna be a possibility and when I go into something knowing that it’s gonna be a little cliché or a little basic, I’m going just for vibes just for a good time and this definitely did deliver. It was short sweet spicy Fun. It really was just easy and that was kind of what I felt. I needed right now it was a good short easy good time. I listened to the audiobook while I was at work or while I was driving and it was just a really nice thing to keep me company for a while. I really liked it. The two main characters have insane chemistry. They’re so fun and it’s wonderful to watch them. Go from their hate to love Stage. It really was well developed between the two of them in my opinion.

I really enjoyed the audiobook narrators and the story overall. If you want a fun, easy listen/read this is a great option.

However, if you want to dig a little deeper, I didn't believe that these characters would last in a relationship beyond the page. Their chemistry was okay, but they were mostly surface-level discussion (outside of Aidan's issues with his dad) and they jumped from "we enjoy somewhat spicy sex" to "we are in love" pretty quickly. They also gave into the attraction way faster than I thought they should/would.

Overall, a fun read with somewhat spicy sexy scenes, but not a read I will remember in a few months..

n. It was just very basic. The enemies to lovers was been there done that.
The writing was nice, though, and it was a quick read.

This was such a fun audiobook for me! I loved narrator Cindy Kay from the Twisted series, but I believe its my first time listening to JF Harding and he’s also fantastic! Loved them both!

On to the story itself! I’ve been LOVING an enemies to lovers troupe lately! There’s just so much tension and angst and this book didn’t disappoint! And ohhh boy there was definitely some spiciness going on here! 🔥🤭

Poor Micah! I really felt for her and how she got burned. I feel so much injustice towards her…. But this is a romance and things do tend to work themselves out 😅. I loved that Aiden knew what he wanted and literally just WENT FOR IT! 😆. This was a really fun rom com for me! So I hope you go read/listen to this too!

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸…
💚Enemies to Lovers
💚Workplace Romance
💚FMC finds her passion
💚Interracial
💚Fun Banter
💚 Dual POV
💚Open Door

I received an advance listening copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I love the super nerdy romance in this enemies to lovers story! Micah is the auditor who is consulting with the university to determine if Aiden’s department - the English Department is staffed appropriately among other things. Things are tense between this couple at work, but at home it is a different story. Aiden writes spicy Shakespearean fanfic and Micah is ann eager and unknowing reader. Sparks fly when revelations are made. Lots of witty banter in this engaging romance. The audio was great with J. F. Harding and Cindy Kay who brought the characters to life. Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the ALC. The opinions are all my own.

I wanted to love Much Ado About Hating You, but it...just didn't work for me. It had promise--enemies to lovers, a flirty connection online, Shakespearean fan fic! But yeah. I listened to the whole thing, but I kinda wish I'd DNF'ed. It felt like fan fiction about writing fan fiction, and it was ridiculously horny. So many steamy scenes. Sometimes several chapters in a row. But if that's what you like, then you might really love this one. Just like I sometimes use chips as a queso delivery system, this plot felt like its only purpose was to prop up an endless stream of sexy times. Maybe I just read it at the wrong part of my cycle, but I am not horny enough for this book. (That's my weird way of saying it might have been me, not the book, that had the problem. Or at the very least--maybe the book wasn't bad. Maybe I just wasn't the right reader for the book.)

Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the ALC. The narrators, Cindy Ka and J.. F. Harding, both did a great job. Unfortunately, I just didn't love the book.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story narrated by Cindy Kay and JF Harding. This story had some really good things and some that I didn't enjoy as much. I loved the narration. JF and Cindy did an amazing job with that. I liked the premise of secret writers that hate each, turned secret pen pals, turned lovers. Loved the smexual tension between them and I love how supportive Micah was of Aidan with his father issues, and how supportive Aidan was of Micah's writing. On the other hand, the steamy scenes didn't do much for me. I also disliked how childish Aiden was regarding Micah's job. Otherwise, the story does have some great banter and again, the narration was perfect.

3.5**
This was a fun and quick listen. The narrators did a great job making this book easy to follow and easy to fall into.
The premise alone was definitely silly and I really enjoyed the petty back and forth banter and prank wars.
That being said the progression of their relationship felt pretty rushed and lacked some much needed yearning/angst.
Even with the rushed progression I did fly through this in just a few hours and it would be a perfect vacation/travel read.

Much Ado About Hating You is a fun, flirty enemies-to-lovers romance that delivers on humor, heat, and heart. Sarah Echavarre Smith’s writing is sharp and witty, and the chemistry between the leads is undeniable. The spicy moments definitely lived up to the hype—there’s no shortage of tension or steamy banter here!

That said, while the story was thoroughly enjoyable, I did find myself wishing for a bit more character development. The emotional depth didn’t always match the intensity of the romance, and a deeper dive into the protagonists' backstories and motivations could have made their connection even more compelling.

Overall, it's a good read if you’re in the mood for something entertaining and steamy with a playful tone—but it might leave you wanting just a little bit more from the characters themselves.

Thank you to Sarah Echavarre Smith, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for the ARC!

I got this as an audiobook (ALC) and I actually really enjoyed it!!! This was 4.5 stars and 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️!! I couldn’t put this down and I literally listened to it in 4 hours because I needed moreeeee!!!

It started hot and ended hot! Although I don’t love miscommunication trope, everything else was so enjoyable. The spicy scenes were soooo spicy and I thought the drama between our FMC and MMC were very realistic.

I liked seeing their journey and navigating through the life struggles they have individually and how they helped each other. When it comes to dating and exes they say you shouldn’t compare but the reality is, we do. And what matters and what sticks with us is how those around us make us feel when life gets a little rough.

This was guaranteed HEA with forced proximity, rivals to lovers, and secret identity tropes. If you love Shakespeare, you’ll get some lovely fanfic in here as well!!

You’ll get some lovely snippets of life as a daughter of a really close knit Filipino family! The FMC was called “anak” by their mom, and there was some good food on display here and it was a million chefs kisses for me because that’s what my mom calls me and food is definitely Filipino love language!

I would say some of the spicy scenes had words that got a little repetitive. But otherwise they were pleasant and the narrators did a great great job setting the scene and atmosphere. I didn’t cringe and they didn’t annoy me like some narrators for romance books do.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC

Story 3 1/2⭐️
Audio 4⭐️

The narrators for this were excellent, and what really kept me invested in this book. The plot is enemies to lovers, but really more of enemies to insta lust to lovers, and I wish there had been more depth to their connection. I loved how supportive Aidan was of Micah’s writing, but that being said was extremely disappointed in how unsupportive he was of her doing her current job, knowing full well that she was there to audit his department and make recommendations that could result in cuts. The spice was spicy, but the ending felt off and I wasn’t thrilled with what felt like his conditional I love you.

I am going to be giving this a 3.75 and rounding it up to a 4 for reviewing purposes. I really liked the synopsis when it came to this. The idea of a English professor who teaches classic literature who writes spicy fanfic just had me screaming “YES! I need this!” I think both narrators in the audiobook did a fantastic job with the narration. It really locked me into the story. Now for around the first 60% of this book for some reason I found that when the two main charaters interacted I found myself annoyed with Micah. And I think it was with how she always reacted to Aidan. It usually seemed to go to the extreme and how her emotions seem to get the best of her. After that portion of the they really dislike and misunderstand each other got past and we really got into the stride of things I found myself smiling a lot more. Overall I really liked the story. I loved the interactions when they were talking to each other on the fanfiction website. I really liked Aidan as a character. I do see that this author has written two other books and I am curious to check them out and see if the few issues I had with this book I also have with others but overall I enjoyed my time with this audiobook and this story.
Thank you to Hareliquin audio for the complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio and Sarah Echavarre Smith for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

It's giving Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert with the anonymous fanfic writers, meets Denise Williams' How To Fail At Flirting in an academic setting confronts a cost saving consultant way, plus some pretty indulgent spice.

If you read 200+ romance books are year- check this book out. It's fun. If you read less and you like more substance- this one might not be for you.

Dual Narration was very well done. The male narrator didn't change his voice much for female dialogue- but honestly that was better than MOST male's TRYING to do a female voice, ya know?

3.5 ⭐️ // 2.5 🌶️

I really wanted to like this more - it has all the tropes I love:
-workplace/forbidden romance
-enemies to lovers
-hot professor who writes fanfic
- reverse grumpy sunshine
-forced proximity
-SPICE.

I think this would have been leagues better with some editing and if Micah wasn't so insufferable. There's grumpy and then there's insufferable and she was insufferable. I enjoyed the spice (both in the fanfic and with the MCs) and I thought the chemistry between both MCs was really evident. And overall this book did lots of things right. This is going to make a lot of readers really happy! And it’s DUAL NARRATED!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin audio for the ALC of this booking exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely could not stand the two MCs and the fan fiction plotline. It actually could've been adorable, but it wasn't.

I will wait to rat on GR until after the book is released because it might be for someone else.

This one had so much potential on paper with academic rivals, enemies-to-lovers, secret fanfic identities, and a Shakespearean twist. But unfortunately, it didn’t quite land for me. While I love this trope, I didn’t feel much chemistry between Micah and Aiden, and the banter felt more like ongoing workplace tension than romantic build-up. The twist about the fanfiction connection should’ve been a fun reveal, but instead, it didn’t add much depth or tension to the story and led to some frustrating decisions from the characters.

That said, the audiobook was the saving grace. The narration by Cindy Kay and JF Harding was excellent. They brought out the characters’ personalities and made the dialogue feel more engaging. Their performances added a layer of charm that made the story more enjoyable to listen to than it might have been to read. If you’re curious about this one, I’d definitely recommend going the audiobook route.

First I would like to thank Harlequin Romance and Harlequin Audio for providing me an ARC/audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5/5 Starts
What I Loved:
- Audiobook Narrators, I am such a huge fan of Cindy Kay and with J.F. Harding I couldn't stop listening to this audiobook they did an amazing job emulating Micah and Aidan
- Spicy shorts, Aidan is a popular author of spicy short stories on a fanfic site and I love how they are scattered throughout the story
- Auditor & Professor, Micah is an auditor and as a former auditor it was fun to see my job reflected in a story and Aidan is a professor which is still my dream job for when I 'grow up'
- Enemies to Lovers, Aidan and Micah had the opposite of a meet cute and really sets up a fiery enemies to lovers story
- Pranks, I got a lot of giggles out of the pranks these two play on each other and how Micah is coached by her twin sister
- Siblings, both Aidan and Micah are close to their siblings and I enjoy how they both torment and help in all the situations
- Spicy, just HOT

If you are looking for a spicy enemies to lovers romance with a lot of chemistry, great side characters, stories within the story and unique occupations then I would absolutely recommend this book. Audiobook readers the dual narration in this audiobook elevates the story even more and you can feel the chemistry from the narrators....RUN to get this audiobook!

If you enjoy a lot of office banter and sexual tension, this may be the book for you. Micah is auditing the school Aidan is a Literature professor at and there might be employee cuts might be coming. Even though Micah and Aidan are butting heads left and right, they won’t be able to hold back forever. When they discover each other’s personal hobby of Shakespearean fanfic, it’s too hard to ignore the attraction. They will enter into a lot of hot and heavy moments. But will Micah’s responsibility with work ruin everything.

Thoughts:
The relationship between Aidan and his dad was something I wish fleshed out a little bit more. Micah’s growth to realize she can have the job she wants rather than the job she thinks she wants was enjoyable. I love the movie Much Ado About Nothing with Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. It was my hope there would be wonderful back and forth, but it felt more like two college kids fighting than adults having quick wit. The plot got lost for me. Overall, this one just wasn’t for me.

Narration:
Cindy Kay was wonderful, and I enjoyed her vocal differences with the various characters. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the same with J. F. Harding. The characters didn’t have enough variation to follow which one was talking.

Thank you @netgalley and Harlequin for the ALC.