Here Goes Nothing

Take a little Shakespeare.
Make it a modern retelling.
And make it gay.
This book does all three - and does it well.

Beatrice is such an engaging character. And she comes alive in these pages. I absolutely adore her.

"When Hero's name is being tossed on the ground and stomped on, I will speak for her. When there is no one around, I will support her. I will pay her bills and do her laundry and make her dinner and take her to cheer practice and help her when people hurt her, because there is no one else in this house who will."

The book itself is not too long, just perfect for YA readers. In a voice that reads true.

And the chapter titles are all Shakespeare. Bonus win.

It’s an easy to read book. The flow is great. It focuses only on things that move the story forward instead of having fillers that ruin the pace.

The characters are not stereotypical so they feel real. I became really invested in them and wouldn’t mind having a sequel, a series even if that’s an option.

I love the modern retelling and queer perspective of Much Ado About Nothing.

My only real complaint is that I wish we learned more about the feud with Beatrice and Bennie. She only briefly talked about it and that wasn’t enough evidence to make me dislike Bennie.

I’ve made a more in depth review on my Goodreads page but that contains spoilers so I didn’t want to include that here.

This is an amazing book about first love and exploring one's sexuality whilst navigating the trials and tribulations that is high school. However, the book also navigates the challenges that come from sisterhood and how a bonds between sisters is unbreakable, no matter now many fights they might get into. The book also details a very adorable and strong friend group, which made this book so much more enjoyable and heartwarming. This book was super cute and had me kicking my feet until the wee hours of the morning. It was super fun and such a feel-good and comforting book. I really enjoyed the current pop culture references as I found it more relatable and entertaining. However, there are some difficult topics handled in the book, such as bullying, family issues, and more. These topics were handled respectfully and carefully, ensuring that younger readers will be able to learn from these topics and deepen their understanding on these social issues. Overall, such a great read and I highly recommend it to people of all ages, not just teens, who are interested in a coming-of-age enemies-to-lovers queer romance book that will make you cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.

Much Ado is such a fun play and as a thespian myself, I love reading reimaginings and retellings of classic plays. This one I felt was well done and imaginitive without forcing the story to be something too different from the original. I felt the unique story shining through, but the Shakespearean elements also had their moments in the sun. I think sometims the balance between the two can be tricky for authors but Emmma K. Ohland did a fantastic job of marrying the modern world with the Shakespearean. Well Done!