Book Review · Books

Much Ado About Hating You by Sarah Echavarre Smith [BOOK REVIEW]

Much Ado About Hating You by Sarah Echavarre Smith [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

Much Ado About Hating You by Sarah Echavarre Smith [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 288

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Publisher: Afterglow Books / Mills & Boon

Format I read it in: Uncorrected Proof

Rating: ★★★


I enjoyed “Much Ado About Hating You”, but I found it very frustrating at the same time. It’s a lovely fast-paced office romance and what you see is what you get, but as soon as I dive a bit deeper into the details, I cannot help but find many flaws.

Aidan Scott is an English Professor, who also secretly writes steamy romances on a writing app. Micah Mila is a financial auditor that is tasked to review the local university’s English department and find ways to cut costs. She also enjoys reading steamy Shakespearean fanfic.

When Aidan and Micah meet, there is hostility. She’s there to cut costs, which in Aidan’s world means – she’s there to try and take away his job, which he very much loves. Both characters have huge egos, and what starts as bickering and general hostility, quickly turns into competition and them becoming sworn enemies for life.

But the twist is – their hate turns into tension. And their connection on the writing app is about to get deeper. As time goes on, they are starting to push the boundaries of what they should and shouldn’t be doing, and lust gets the better of them. 

As for the story, unfortunately, it didn’t connect with me.

I found the characters slightly childish and immature. Their office encounters are completely unprofessional, and their writing app conversations cringey and over the top. The only bit I did like was the suspense in the real world and the tension between them. And also maybe Aidan’s relationship with his father and how that progressed throughout the book. 

I have to be honest and say that the book had a lot of typos and grammatical errors, and what I believe to be one plot hole, that also diminished my reading experience. I think I noticed around 6 typos in the book, which I will flag to the publisher, so they can hopefully rectify in the next edition.

All in all, “Much Ado About Hating You” is a fast-paced romance that will appeal to some of the romance lovers. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but hopefully the synopsis will pique your curiosity. I really do hope you enjoy it more than I did. 

About the Author:

Much Ado About Hating You by Sarah Echavarre Smith [BOOK REVIEW]

Sarah Echavarre Smith is a copywriter turned author who wants to make the world a lovelier place, one kissing story at a time. Her love of romance began when she was eight and she discovered her auntie’s stash of romance novels. She’s been hooked ever since. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, eating chocolate, and perfecting her lumpia recipe. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband and her adorable cat, Salem.

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Book Review · Books

My Rules by T L Swan (Kingston Lane #2) [BOOK REVIEW]

My Rules by T L Swan (Kingston Lane #2) [BOOK REVIEW]

I knew “My Rules” would be filled with spiciness and red flags and boy, oh, boy, it still surprised me!

About The Book:

My Rules by T L Swan (Kingston Lane #2) [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 465

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction

Publisher: Montlake (Amazon Publishing)

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

It started with a list.

Tired of meeting nightmares, I decided to study the dos and don’ts of dating.

And who better to help me with my master list than the king of red flags himself?

Blake Grayson—neighbor, friend, mischief maker, and player extraordinaire.

He knows how to spot a playboy from a mile away. He is the prime example, after all.

So when he offers to help me avoid Mr. Wrong by sharing what to look for, I have no choice but to take him up on it.

We start a game.

He will become my wingman, and I’ll become his.

He coaches me through my singledom, while I go on his journey of play.

We double-date, eat ice cream at midnight, and laugh.

Boy, do we laugh…

But while I watch every woman he meets fall madly in love with him, I stumble across a major problem: I know exactly why they fall.

Because I can feel it too.

His charm is intoxicating, and damn it, the man is addictive as drugs.

But it’s not happening. I won’t let it.

I’m not that gullible young girl anymore.

Blake will never settle down, and I know in my heart he’s not the man for me.

I have one go at this second chance of happiness, and I am not going to mess it up.

This time, I play by my rules.

Even if he won’t.

My Thoughts:

I was reading “My Rules” as part of a book loop with the team at Tandem and a number of other bookstagrammers. The aim was to read the book over 14 days and annotate whilst reading. I failed both. In truth, I binged the book and finished it in two sittings. I am also too afraid to write inside a book, so I didn’t permanently ink it. I did, however, leave a lot of sticky tabs and pencil annotations so I feel like I did artistically contribute to the cause.

The story is spicy and toxic and at times very unbelievable, but I didn’t really care. I was invested in Rebecca and Blake’s story. I was consuming the words, chapter after chapter, desperate to know how their story ends.

One park I really loved was the neighbourhood. On the street they live on (Kingston Lane), everyone is friends and gets on well with each other. This also meant a good support network when things went south. We meet a lot of the characters that live on Kingston Lane, and it turns out that this book is part of a series, but can be also read as a standalone. Each book in the series focuses on one character from the street, so everyone you meet, you are likely to meet again if you continue with the books. 

“My Rules” ended with a hint that the next book will feature Antony’s story, and I am very much looking forward to that.

If you love smutty romance books, you’ll very much enjoy this one. It does exactly what it says on the tin! A tin full of spice, may I cheekily add.

About The Author:

My Rules by T L Swan (Kingston Lane #2) [BOOK REVIEW]

T L Swan is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and #1 Amazon Best Selling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty languages and have hit #1 on Amazon in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Germany. Tee resides in Sydney, Australia with her husband and their three children where she is living her own happy ever after with her first true love.

Author Website

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