3 ⭐️

This is total cringe if you’re not into it. Fortunately, I was into it at least 50% of the time. If you’re looking for plot over spice, you won’t find it here. If you’re looking for a rushed ending with insta-love, you will find it here. Despite the insta-love, I have to say these two main characters reallllly found each other.

I found it reminiscent of Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey (both of whom I’ve read and enjoyed on plenty of occasions)


Thank you to NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A riff on Much Ado About Nothing between a Shakespeare fanfic-writing English professor and a harassed, repressed financial auditor who’s just trying to do her job - which might mean putting the professor out of his? And it’s got a dollop of You’ve Got Mail (née The Shop Around the Corner) in there as well, with the two protagonists swooning over each other’s anonymous prose. Sign me up for this nerdy tropefest, am I right? I’m pretty much the target audience for this premise, which underscores my disappointment in the reading. There was some banter in this book (gotta get those Beatrice/Benedick vibes in), some hot scenes, and the main characters actually had independent lives (key in an enemies-to-lovers narrative where they spend so much time not together). But the protagonists also acted incredibly childish, I would have liked to see the narrative voice differentiate more between POVs, and I couldn’t buy the ending. Have a couple free evenings and want to be a luxurious Shakespearean bed-presser? You may find the passing fancy of this book enjoyable enough.

I’ve been obsessed with everything Sarah Echavarre Smith has written for years now, and this book is no different. Much Ado About Hating you combined the tension of enemies to lovers with two fanfic writers online flawlessly. We love a man who can write fanfic for women, and Aidan definitely can.

Listening to Aidan and Micah complain about each other TO each other was so funny. I love the use of technology and anonymity. It always adds a fun layer of entertainment when the characters are forced to rectify the person they know in person with the person they know online.

And of course, as a self-proclaimed Shakespeare girlie, I looooooved all the references here!! It fully tracks to me that these two Shakespeare nerds would ultimately fall for each other, despite their initial resistance.


Thank you to Harlequin - Romance and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book! I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I wanted to like this. Enemies to Lovers? Yes please! And this cover is beautiful. But the story just wasn’t it. Gave up after 30% because it was so boring. Zero chemistry between Micah and Aiden. They were both childish. There was so much unnecessary exposition about the most boring things that didn’t move the story forward. And the writing was not great. Someone will like this, but it just wasn’t for me.

Well that was quite a delightful way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I could not put this down. The hate tension, the clandestine pen pals, the workplace prank shenanigans, the fanfic aspect, the bossiness (iykyk), SO GOOD!

Aidan really is a bit of a bastard, to the point where I almost had the ick, and I really didn’t know if he could redeem himself. But then his alter ego, ShakespeareInLust, stepped up and saved the day, being so kind, supportive and encouraging.

Absolutely loved Micah’s character arch as a budding writer. 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!!

Thank you Net Galley for ARC, this was so fun, short, and spicy.

Arc review for Much Ado About Hating You.

This book moved VERY fast. And unfortunately not in an enjoyable way. The characters just seemed to be very immature and focused on sexual attraction, that it didn’t make the ending feel legitimate. The premise is a great idea but sadly the execution just left so much to be desired. 2.5 stars

Unfortunately, I found the writing, character development, and plotting to be incredibly juvenile and lackluster. There were moments, mostly when the characters were arguing, that the writing actually flowed, but the rest of it was trite and read like fanfiction, and not the good kind. The idea was there, the setting and characterizations were there, but this fell short.

I gave this book more chances than I should have, but I loved the concept so I wanted to give it a fair shot.

My biggest issue with this is the undeveloped tone of the writing. There’s a lot of paragraphs that give a little too much detail for the moment they’re included. It reads as overwritten. There’s a fine line between too much and not enough that can only be found through practice.

Smutty books are something I am usually fine with, but I feel like there was more smut than plot substance and maybe that was the point, I just wish it was more story focused.

I really wanted to love this book, and I am glad that I got to read it, but it was a little disappointing for me.

Not my favorite romance. Cute concept but the pacing didn’t do it for me. Didn’t love the dialogue either. Honestly, maybe workplace romances aren’t for me,

I really enjoyed the premise of Much Ado About Hating You—the storyline had great potential, and the tropes used are some of my favorites (enemies to lovers, workplace tension, etc.). The pacing was solid and the setup kept me intrigued. That said, I struggled to fully connect with the characters. Their emotions and chemistry didn’t quite land for me, and some of their development felt a bit surface-level. Overall, it was a fun, easy read with a good plot, but I just wish the characters had a bit more depth to really pull me in. Thank you NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for gifting me with an advanced copy!

A huge thank you to Afterglow Books and NetGalley for early access to “Much Ado About Hating You” by Sarah Echavarre Smith. I absolutely loved the setup and premise of this book and found the characters to be sexy, fun, and at times difficult – basically your perfect Shakespearean retelling plot pieces ready to go. Also, steam from the get-go is something I can get behind! I honestly loved most of the book, until they walked away from the office and took their relationship to the real world (78% ish through). From there until the end, things felt hurried. The lovers’ weekend that changed everything, the “breakup” essentially the next day, and then the resolution that involves her giving up her career (albeit one she didn’t love) for a man who had a selfish enough motive to pressure her into it (reminding me a lot of the previous boyfriend who mocked her out of a creative career). It felt like it needed more time to breathe in the end. Which honestly could have been a trick on me because of the suggestion early in the book about the pace of Romeo & Juliet. So maybe it was supposed to mirror that? Either way LOVED the enemies-to-lovers setup and thought that the first ¾ of the book had really rich and fun scenes that I enjoyed.

Thank you to Harlequin/Afterglow and NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5 stars

I am an avid fanfiction reader, so when I saw the blurb for this book, I thought, “Yes, absolutely, I am the target market for this book!” I was really looking forward to reading it. And there were several parts of the story I enjoyed, but overall it unfortunately fell flat.

The banter and hatred between Aiden and Micah in the first half of the book was amazing. You could feel the animosity and tension, it was delicious! I loved the passion and was anxious to see how the tension continued to build between them before finally snapping. And while I know the line between love and hate is razor thin, it still felt like the flip happened very abruptly here. I felt like I wanted another couple of chapters building anticipation between the two, where the cracks are starting to show. Instead this turned on a dime and felt a little out of left field. That said, I did like how their post-intimacy argument got resolution. I’m a sucker for forced proximity!

The back half is where things really fell apart for me. I am all for books that are smut with little plot, but this book spent the first half building up a plot and then just left it there for most of the back half. It felt like the author wanted there to be emotional depth and complexity to the characters later in the book that the reader never saw on page. It made me think of the saying “it’s better to show than to tell.” It felt like we were getting a lot of telling, rather than getting to see things play out.

Because of that, Micah suddenly quitting her job (after understandably giving very practical reasons why she shouldn’t) didn’t feel believable. While I thoroughly enjoyed the spice and thought it was very well written, I wish we had fewer chapters of it and instead dedicated those to developing the characters more.

This probably feels like a really critical review, and maybe that I didn’t like it. That’s not the case. I actually really enjoyed the book, loved the premise, and felt the story had so much available to it. I just ultimately didn’t LOVE it the way I’d hoped to.

This was a fun, quick read!! I love the idea of shakespeare spicy fanfic and this perfected it! And those spicy scenes were HOT! Just a fun palate cleanser and I loved these characters! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!!

This book absolutlely fits the enemies-to-lovers trope. The characters have this amazing chemistry and rapport that comes across well and the sex scenes are absolute fire! My only issue is the ending. It is completely unrealistic. I can understand suspending belief to a certain degree, but the reasoning behind what the FMC does and without consequences, is outside of that degree of disbelief.

<i> "You could write the most perfect piece of prose and I guarantee some sad sack would find some ridiculous reason to dislike it." </i>

It's me!! I'm the sad sack! I'm a hater! (Although this is far from a "perfect piece of prose.")

These two children and their stilted laughter (“We laugh.” “We both laugh.” "He laughed." etc) have absolutely no business being in a romance novel. Their behaviour <b> *at work* </b> is absolutely shocking, particularly the MMC's behaviour - <spoiler> who in their right mind would try to get someone they've just met fired, and then, no less, bitterly complain about the possibility of losing their own job?! And why on earth would you speak to someone in that way in a staff meeting?! </spoiler>

The concept of the FMC <spoiler> quitting her well-paying, stable job with <b> no back-up plan </b> is also insane. I'm glad that it all worked out for her in the end with her writing career taking off etc., but who does that?! </spoiler> <spoiler> I was also absolutely sick of the two MCs spending all of their time congratulating each other on their writing - I really do get being supportive of your friends and their writing etc. (I would like to think I am a supportive friend!!) but I don't really see the point of being like "wow, that's amazing!" every time you read a mediocre paragraph where nothing happens. Also, can these two please stop being turned on by their own writing?? ("Damn, that was pretty hot" - was it, my dude?) And, while we're at it, could they not have had their own authorial voices, rather than just repeating the exact phrases used by the author of the novel they are in to describe them and their sex lives? </spoiler>

And don’t get me started on the continuity errors and the typos on nearly every page (my rough count got me to 61, and that's if I'm being generous about comma usage). (Honourable mention here to the FMC for "read[ing] over" her work to "make sure there aren't any typos." At least someone does.) I know that some typos might appear in an ARC (although it didn't say this was an uncorrected ARC), but this many is ridiculous, and the continuity errors should have already been dealt with by now. The pacing was also totally out of whack, while the stilted dialogue, insane miscommunication, telling rather than showing, and repetition right from the first page (the third sentence, in fact) drove me up the wall.

But! There were some things I did like:
- The MMC, who is an English professor, saying "I don't get a lot of compliments in my job." Relatable and accurate, tbf.
- People assuming the auditor would be male (although the point was kind of laboured after being made four or five times in a single page).
- The ubiquitous third act breakup was blissfully short.
- The we-actually-know-each-other-IRL-but-don't-realise-it-yet trope wasn't dragged out for too long, which is something I unfortunately see a lot.
- I liked the overall concept, which is obviously why I picked the book up (although now that I've finished the book, I do have some doubts about the professor/auditor relationship concept...)

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am leaving an honest review.

✨ARC Review✨

As a lover of all things Shakespeare, this was such a fun read! Think”You’ve Got Mail” crossed with steamy Shakespearean fanfic and you get Much Ado About Hating You! This forced proximity, ENEMIES to lovers romance is so fun! I cackled so hard while reading this! My one complaint was the lack of references to Much Ado About Nothing itself. That’s my favorite play and while the banter was definitely reminiscent of the play there were no direct references which I was a little disappointed by. Seeing past that this was a really fun read that I would totally recommend!!!

- Forces Proximity💼
- Enemies to Lovers 👔
- Hidden Identity♥️

Thank you NetGalley and Afterglow books for the ARC

I'm so sorry to say this, because the premise promised me everything I could have every wanted and more: but the first chapter is where I stopped on this book. Unfortunately, I have read fanfiction that seems more natural and mature than the stilted, juvenile writing this book offers. When the word "yeah" features in every paragraph, in the narration, not the dialogue, I have to be skeptical. I love the tropes this promises to deliver, and if I could get past how cringe inducing the writing is, I may be able to enjoy this novel, but unfortunately I wouldn't recommend it for a library. Those unbothered by clunky writing may have a ton of fun with this.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I was anticipating from other reviews. I liked how fast paced this was while also not being insta-lovey. I believe this book could benefit from a more prominent focus on dialogue, but I was captivated by the narrative throughout my reading experience. I also loved the inclusion of the fanfic’s throughout the story because that gave more depth while reading. I also really loved the connection this book had to Much Ado About Nothing but was a modern take on it. Overall I really enjoyed the book/plot it was entertaining in all the right ways it had me laughing and blushing at certain points in the book. I loved Aiden he was so funny while also being rude at some points but he made up for it by the end.

Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Much ado about hating you, is a classic enemies to lovers story with a meet cute twist and a healthy erotic appetite. The story follows Micah and Aiden as they duke it out in a searing workplace battle with tons of hateful tension that eventually explodes into pages upon pages of smutty fun. As a bonus feature, the characters also unknowingly share anonymous conversations on a fanfic site where she is obsessed with his writing and he inspires her to write herself. So by day, it’s the anger bang office romance and by night they accidentally build a relationship and fall in love. The premise is just too cute.

Additionally, the read was easy, fast paced, and surprisingly full of great character building, given the relatively short page count.
My only critical note was that the banter during the fanfic DMs felt a little shallow. They’re both educated adults in their 30’s and some of the exchanges read like young teenage kids. Which feels even more strange when you read their interactions by day and they’re well spoken sharp witted adults. In my opinion, the contrast made the relationship feel less realized. A little more substance and i think it would have connected a bit better for me.

Micah, una audaz auditora financiera, descubre que su mayor enemigo en la universidad, el profesor Aiden, es también el escritor anónimo de su fanfic erótico favorito. La trama comienza con una dinámica algo forzada, donde los enfrentamientos entre ambos resultan algo inmaduros y difíciles de digerir, pero a medida que se revelan sus identidades secretas, la historia toma un giro más íntimo y apasionado.

El toque de la literatura shakesperiana reimaginada como erotismo le da un giro único y divertido. Aunque la primera mitad puede sentirse algo lenta, la segunda parte compensa con mayor desarrollo emocional y una conexión más auténtica entre los personajes. Ideal para quienes disfrutan de romances con un toque de picante y secretos compartidos.



Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.