I haven’t read Much Ado About Nothing and I doubt I ever will, unless it’s part of the British Literature class I’m taking this semester. I didn’t actually know this was a Shakespearean retelling until after it piqued my interest and I put it on my tbr. Despite my unfavorable experiences with Shakespeare’s work in the past, I decided to give this a try.

I won’t say that I wish I hadn’t, but I would’ve been okay if I didn’t ever read this book. It was rather average and not much of it appealed to me.

The one thing I genuinely liked was the setting. This novel is set in the late 1920’s, in the Prohibition era, and it was interesting to read about. I’m not hugely into history, but lots of different aspects were woven into the story in some way. I liked it and I think it was done well.

The characters are what ruined this book for me. I found both Beatrice and Benedick quite irritating. Beatrice wants to be a doctor, something that’s not accepted in her time. She’s intelligent, capable, and quick-witted; she’s also brutally honest. None of those are bad traits in a character. What turned me off was that she clearly thought less of other girls for not being as smart or logical as she is, that she was superior. Get off your high horse, thanks. As for Benedick, the last half of his name says it all. I liked some of the side characters, but I don’t think their subplots or character arcs got enough page time. Give me less of B&B bickering and denying their feelings for each other, and more of the side characters with actually decent personalities.

The writing itself was good. As I said, my biggest problem was with the protagonists. If McKelle puts out another book, maybe I’ll check it out. But this one, though I liked the setting, was mainly a “meh” read.