A sweet romance that addresses some fairly deep issues, but still staying mostly light and frothy. (This is a compliment, btw). The main character is one of three daughters born to a happy but impoverished couple. They are now dependent on their two aunts, who married well, but unhappily. They are determined that these three girls will not make the same mistake their sister made, marrying for love.

The MC Margaret is a writer, which the aunts find abhorrent. They intend to find her a "good" husband, and the wedding of Margaret's cousin Lane. Of course, Lane is making a "love match" to a wealthy but rather unacceptable woman who is half Indian. There is an enemies-to-lovers romance in store for Margaret.

I didn't particularly like the two younger sisters, Winny and Violet. There were glimmers that they will be formidable young women, but they did too much galloping about and shrieking in each other's arms - they became one kind of unruly character in my mind.

But, all in all, an enjoyable read.

This Georgian romance was racier than expected — Jane Austen would have been shocked. In other respects the book follows in the footsteps of many others and offers little that is unique. The denouement is extremely short, and this reader wanted more details as the story wound its way to the abrupt conclusion. Still, readers will enjoy the characters and the melodramatic plot right through the end.

What happens when you've closed down the best thing that could happen to you? I laughed aloud, chewed my fingernail, and rooted for both the Captain and Margaret. I closed the book with great satisfaction.

If you like a historical she-can-do-it-despite-the-odds story about a women with brass and courage, you'll have fun with this one.

Took me a while to get into this one, but once I did I thought it was cute! It’s not a style of writing I usually like (very wordy in places), so I think that’s part of why I struggled with it. Still a sweet feel-good story!

With a Regency romance story, a retelling of Shakespeare and great characters, what's not to love? A fun book with masked balls and a courageous young woman writer who defies her family's expectations.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I think this book was super cute, a nice quick read! It’s fast paced, with enough storylines that make the book interesting not confusing. And they all pretty much tie together at the end. Anyways would recommend it’s a fun read!

I enjoyed the story. It had several villains to be upset with, brother against brother, cousin’s betrayal, snobby aunts., vindictive ex. I felt that the epilogue could have elaborated more on the happy couple. The heroine was strong but duty to her mother and sisters held her in chains. The hero had to overcome guilt. The secondary characters added a lot to the story so it wasn’t just about the couple.

"Much Ado About Margaret" is a charming and heartwarming story of love, ambition, and the courage to defy societal expectations. Madeleine Roux delivers a captivating read that will appeal to fans of Regency romance and those who enjoy spirited heroines and dashing heroes.

Margaret Arden is a writer and life with her mother and sisters is lovely...but getting rejected by a publisher brings the risk of a forced marriage to firm up the family finances.
Captain Bridger Darrow has returned after serving his country and finds he enjoys the work of a mysterious writer, who isn't only a woman, but a woman with whom he has a negative history..
The road to love is never smooth, but between a mistaken identity and the "wedding of the season", ANYTHING is possible.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions are strictly my own in this review.
I can't say enough about this book. I absolutely loved it and the characters. I'm not big on historical stiff but this book drew me completely.
I.loved how Margaret was a woman ahead of her time. The blossoming love between her and Bridger was so sweet to follow. Will probably reread this at some time.

This was an okay historical romance that had nice bookish vibes and a whole lot of family issues and an enemies-to-lovers. The fmc is a writer while the mmc is the publisher that is meant to publish her book. This book is also a much ado about nothing-inspired romance which brought about a nice aspect to the book. I like Regency books especially ones about rebellious female writers trying to make a name in the literary world. I loved that the romance went from enemies to lovers to friends to lovers and developed organically. I thought the family issues also added an interesting perspective to the story. Overall this is a good historical romance that readers of retellings and regency romance will probably like. Thank you Dell for this arc for an honest review.

Read if you like:
- Historical romance
- Regency time period
- Shakespeare retelling
- Enemies to friends
- Writer fmc/publisher mmc

This book is cumbersome to get into and it took me a while to care about the characters in any way. The author also seemed to have a hard time sticking to the regency time period and some parts of the book read more like a contemporary romance. But overall, it was an enjoyable read.

This book was an unexpected delight. The characters were engaging and I loved the similarities to Much Ado About Nothing, which is one of my favorites. The writing was such that I felt I could sometimes see the places described, such beautiful imagery of the English countryside. There was fun banter and the action in the story was well-paced. This book was a first for me by this author and I will look for more from her in the future. Disclaimer I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. Big fan! I really enjoyed this book!

Much Ado About Margaret is the perfect example of a modern regency romance. Madeleine Roux honors the spirit of the time while knowing exactly what needs to be altered to fit the modern era. The heroine is brave, bookish and assertive. The man, flawed and wrong at times but will see the error of his ways throughout the course of the book. The need of marrying for financial gain, mistaken identities and elopement plot devices are executed with perfection! The cast is diverse and engaging – I could have read a spin off book about any of the secondary characters. I couldn’t put this book down!

Margaret (Maggie) Arden is an impoverished almost-spinster who writes novels and resists marriage because she fears that she will be forced to give up her passion, Mr. Bridger Darrow is a former army captain who runs his own printing company and discovers that the novel he wants to publish was written by a woman. He rejects the notion that a woman can write anything of substance, an opinion that helped destroy a previous relationship,
When they meet at a house party to celebrate the wedding of mutual friends, a romance starts to develop between the two. However, other incidents occur during the party that threaten the newlyweds before their wedding night that Maggie and Bridger feel compelled to resolve.
I enjoyed the writing by Ms. Roux and the plot in general. However, there were extraneous characters and subplots which I feel detracted from the story of Maggie and Bridger. In addition, some of the characters were called different names (Paul /Pimm, Mrs. Richmond/Aunt Mildred) which I found confusing. The explicit sex scenes added nothing to the story and felt like afterthoughts. For these reasons, only 3 stars from me.

My biggest issue with 'Much Ado About Margaret' by Madeleine Roux was the unlikability of the characters. While there was a satisfactory conclusion, and admittedly the characters grew and progress, it was not enough for me to overcome my initial dislike. Too much angst for too little payback.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Read this regency-era romance if you like:
✨dual pov
✨enemies to friends to lovers
✨publisher x rebellious writer
✨high English society
✨scandal and mystery
✨Shakespearean themes/references

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

My thoughts 💭
•A modern regency-era romance that's perfect for classics lovers! Think Little Women meets Pride and Prejudice meets Bridgerton in a take that's fresh, yet familiar.

👍🏼
•Our FMC was perfectly Jo March/Lizzie Bennett coded

👎🏼
Much like Kate Winslet's accent in Titanic, this book felt like it didn't know whether it wanted to be modern or a classic and kept switching back and forth, both with the language and the actions of the characters.

Favorite character:
🖤 Violet Arden..."Violet had no patience for primness and modesty." SHE'S A RIDE OR DIE, FOR REAL

HYPE UP QUOTES:

"I love you for so many reasons, you wicked girl l, I shall never have time to list them out."

"Of course I will marry you. For who else would publish my books?"

This book has it allll. Complicated family dynamics, a mystery to uncover, rivals, forbidden love. It was such a fun read and I miss Maggie already!

I love books about books, but I really love Maggie's desire to write during a time where that isn't celebrated and encouraged. And the relationship between our strong and determined Maggie and her sisters and friends is so sweet and enjoyable to read. There were a few times where I just wanted the story to tell me more (particularly at the end), but overall a really sweet read that I sped through in two sittings!

I wasn't really prepared for the mystery aspect, but it reminded me of my favorite Miss Tilney & Mr Darcy series by Claudia Gray. If you're a fan of those books, you MUST read this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

It's 1817 and Margaret Arden wants nothing more than to become a published writer. Margaret's mother wishes Margaret would stop writing and marry a wealthy man. The family is experiencing straitened circumstances since the death of Margaret's father. The budding author hopes that her new novel, "The Killbride," will relieve their monetary woes.

To that end, she submitted her book to a publisher. He never responded. Margaret is determined to try again. This publisher, Bridger Darrow, is in her aunt's circle of friends and Maggie and her two sisters connive to get him invited to an upcoming wedding.

Maggie learns two unpleasant truths: 1) Darrow did not have a high opinion of her book and 2) Darrow is an extremely disagreeable man. Extremely handsome, but disagreeable.

I enjoyed reading how Maggie and Darrow get to know each other by solving a family problem that occurred at the wedding. The writing reminded me of other stories set in that time period that I enjoy.

However, I found the explicit sex scenes jarring and out of place. I still do recommend the book since so much of it is extremely well-written.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader's copy. This is my honest review.