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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Blog Tour · Book Review · Books

The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery [BLOG TOUR]

I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery! Huge thank you to the team at Mills and Boon, for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About The Book:


Publisher: Mills and Boon

Pages: 385

Format I read it in: Paperback

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

★★★

Synopsis:

When Daisy’s dad married Sage’s mum, Daisy was thrilled to get a new sister. Except Sage was beautiful and popular, everything Daisy was not, and she made sure Daisy knew it.

As a young girl, Sage found herself living in a palatial home where she didn’t belong. Intimidated by her new sister’s intelligence she used her popularity to put Daisy down. After their parents’ divorced, the stepsisters’ rivalry continued until the final straw: Daisy married Sage’s first love, and Sage fled to Europe.

Years later, Daisy never expects – or wants – to see Sage again. But brought together by an accident involving the little sister they have in common they must learn to put aside their differences. Slowly the stepsisters begin to view the past through one another’s eyes and long buried secrets are revealed. Until their fragile truce is threatened by one careless act that could have devastating consequences…

My Thoughts:

When I heard about the author, I knew I have heard that name before and I thought I have read some of her books. It turns out, I have “The Friendship List” in my library, but I haven’t read it yet. As soon as I finished “The Stepsisters”, I was full of regret that I haven’t read the other one as well. That is about to change soon.

The Stepsisters is such a relaxing novel, in the sense that it provides a certain sense of comfort while you’re reading it. I found myself flying through the pages. The stories intrigued me and every chapter ended with me wanting to read a little bit more. The beginning was a bit hard for me to get into. It felt like a lot of characters were introduced very quickly. However, as soon as you get through the introductory part, everything goes smoothly.

Even though the synopsis focuses on the two sisters, Sage and Daisy, we also have the third sister – Cassidy. All three sisters have different qualities, and even though for some time, they were all living in the same household, they all have different experiences growing up. Sage and Cassidy were always close to each other. Sage bullied Daisy, which led to Cassidy also hating Daisy, with no real reason. And all of these feelings somehow stayed with them in the years to come, creating a very complex and fragile relationship between the three of them. Throughout the book, circumstances will make them cross paths again. This will give them a change to rekindle their relationship and either change or stay the same.

I really enjoyed the story as a whole.

The relationship between the stepsisters really intrigued me. I loved how their differences were explored, alongside with their opinions and past and current choices in life. However, there were a few things I didn’t enjoy, such as the random racist accusation that was thrown, and how both stepsisters handled this issue. It left me very confused. The other part was Sage’s story, and how it ended. For what she did and the people she hurt in the process, forgiveness shouldn’t have been served to her on a plate. There should have been a bigger road to redemption, and it’s just not a reality that I believe in.

To conclude, The Stepsisters is a very good choice of a book to dive into this summer. The variety in characters and their storylines, as well as the relatively small chapters will definitely keep you hooked and entertained.

About The Author:

SUSAN MALLERY is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women’s lives—family, friendship, romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations,” and readers seem to agree—40 million copies of her books have sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live.

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