A sharp and interesting modern adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing that may appeal to adult fans of Ibi Zoboi's Pride. There seems to be an expectation gap created by the early marketing, however, and readers expecting a rollicking, bantering, enemies-to-lovers romance in the vein of Shakespeare's cleverly sniping Benedick and Beatrice may be unprepared for so much past and present trauma, drinking, drugs, and sex. There's sniping, and it's clever, but the tone here is dark and earnest, not playful. Please check the content warnings and read with care. 

As for my personal reaction — I was expecting something a little more lighthearted and humorous and tried to adjust my expectations as quickly as possible. I appreciate what the author accomplished in creating complex and nuanced characters dealing with contemporary issues. Beatriz and Hero are both pretty badass. But parts of the story and the main romantic relationships don't work for me. This is a new adult book — with our characters in their senior year of college — and sex is very much at the forefront. I don't mind steamy romance, but I'm not wired to understand intense physical attraction between people who genuinely don't like or trust each other, so I don't get about 85% and Ben and Beatriz's dynamic. Ben's character growth seems lightning fast. Yes, he's a fantasy nerd at heart and a never-Trumper who loves Jane Austen and has one good friend who he genuinely, (but ineffectively) cares about, but we see his smarmy, sexist, uncaring thoughts at the beginning and it's not pretty. Meg's storyline is horrifying (even more so when it feels like she's sacrificed to accelerate Ben's growth). Hero's reunion/breakup sex with Claudio is intensely cringey and confusing. I'm delighted to think of them all benefiting from therapy, though, and loved to see the positive therapy rep and all the conversations and demonstrations of subtle racism, feeling unsafe in your own damn country, colorism, biphobia, safe sex, addiction, anxiety, trauma, and legacies of abuse.