Much Ado About Margaret: A Novel

by Madeleine Roux

Madeleine Roux’s next season in Regency England follows a rebellious writer and the man who risks everything to publish her.

Margaret Arden yearns to live like the passionate and daring women in her novel. The idyllic life at Mosely Cottage with her two younger sisters and mother is fine, but Margaret wants more than the demure and dainty existence she’s known. After a particularly brutal rejection from an annoyingly attractive publisher, Margaret fears being forced into marriage to protect her family if their financial situation doesn’t improve—until her cousin’s glamorous wedding masquerade brings her onto a collision course with scandal, notoriety, and even love.

Captain Bridger Darrow is starting over after fighting for his country. Now home, he is struggling to save his family from destitution and succeed in a new venture of book publishing. It’s all going rather poorly, until he stumbles upon loose pages of an astonishing novel while in attendance at his dearest friend’s wedding. Bridger knows he must publish it. But upon meeting the author, Bridger is stunned to discover that he—she—is a woman, and he has already told her off in grand fashion.

While Bridger is keen to gain her trust and rescind the initial rejection, Margaret can’t help but be skeptical of his intentions. Sparks fly between the two, just as the wedding of the season starts to descend into chaos when a masked dance leads to a case of mistaken identities.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical, Regency, Fiction, Adult

Audible Audio

First published October 22, 2024

About the author

New York Times Bestselling Author of the ASYLUM series, Allison Hewitt Is Trapped, Sadie Walker Is Stranded and the upcoming House of Furies series.

MADELEINE ROUX received her BA in Creative Writing and Acting from Beloit College in 2008. In the spring of 2009, Madeleine completed an Honors Term at Beloit College, proposing, writing and presenting a full-length historical fiction novel. Shortly after, she began the experimental fiction blog Allison Hewitt Is Trapped. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, bringing a unique serial fiction experience to readers.

Born in Minnesota, she now lives and works in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we Regency-era romance fans excitedly await the release of the last four episodes of Bridgerton's Season 3 in three weeks, the best way to pass the time and calm our excited nerves is by devouring another smart, stimulating, captivating Regency-era romance with Shakespearean references. This novel, with its "Much Ado About Nothing" vibes, is infused with feminist themes and blends into a delicious enemies-to-lovers trope.

Yes, Madeleine Roux’s smart and tempting formula offers an innovative experience for genre lovers. Two strong, resilient characters with troubled family backgrounds, a mysterious masquerade, and a heated argument that resolves into passionate chemistry make for a fantastic read!
I poured myself an Old Fashioned cocktail, paused "Maxton Hall" on Prime Video (which I also recommend), and jumped into this journey with high expectations. Thankfully, this captivating, one-sitting read did not disappoint me for a second!

Here’s the plot: Margaret Arden is born to be a writer but, unfortunately, born in the wrong century. Getting published under a female name can create conflicts, and only one man stands between her aspirations and her writing dreams: Captain Bridger Darrow. Bridger has recently inherited a book publishing business after returning from war and is eager to discover talented writers.

Margaret arranges a party invitation to meet him face-to-face and deliver her printed manuscript, but their meeting does not go as expected. Instead of a cute encounter, it's a disaster. Bridger insults her work after reading only a few pages, dismissing it without giving the story a chance. Their argument turns into a scandal, fueling the gossip mills of high society and affecting Margaret’s potential suitors. Her aunt Eliza pushes her hard to find a wealthy man to support her two younger sisters and widowed mother after their father’s death left them in financial trouble.

Margaret swears to prove Bridger wrong and show him how capable an author she is. Fortunately, her cousin Lane’s marriage to the innovative and eccentric Indian lady Ann crosses her path with Bridger, Lane’s best friend who fought alongside him in the war.

An unfortunate incident causes Margaret’s book pages to fly around the mansion where the wedding takes place, due to an innocent mistake by her aunt. One of the pages lands on Bridger, and he realizes his mistake in dismissing her work so quickly. Now determined to correct his error, Bridger faces additional challenges as his ex-lady friend tries to poison Margaret against him. The mysterious masquerade incident turns into a scandalous mystery that can only be solved by teaming up with Margaret to ensure the wedding celebrations proceed flawlessly, despite the disruptive presence of Bridger’s drunk and problematic brother, Paul.

Can Margaret and Bridger learn to work together, leaving their differences behind, as their palpable attraction threatens to cause further complications? Will they have a chance at their own happily ever after?

Overall, this is a soft, swoon-worthy, sweet, and smart Regency novel with Shakespearean vibes that you shouldn’t miss!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine / Dell for sharing this addictive romance’s digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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[briar ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ · Rating 1 out of 5]

"enemies to lovers" and it's a man who thinks women are subhuman and a woman who has the audacity to exist. we, as a society, have evolved past the need for minority x guy who hates minority enemies to lovers relationships. i know hating a man for being misogynist in 1817 is like hating a dog for barking, but come on. seriously, he's so horrible, it makes the fmc look equally misogynist for liking him. i just genuinely despise the reforming rabid misogynists through love romance trope.

and that's not to mention how the two female "antagonists" are portrayed. ruby is a full indian who is portrayed as ugly and jealous of her half white cousins and white ass margaret. like do not write poc if this is how you're going to write us. "she didn't share ann and emilia's forthright beauty. [...]when she spoke, her lips protuded forward, giving the appearance of a bunny nibbling clover." okay?? but if EYE called margaret a lipless rabid orangutan...

meanwhile, regina's only fault that she was previously hurt by the mmc and she tries to warn margaret that he's a shitty person. unfortunately for everyone, margaret is one of those women who are like "i don't care if he abused you, he's nice to me!! 💘💘" margaret, in fact, spends the last fifty pages hating regina for... trying to protect her??? a weird bitch all around.

and finally, the writing itself was headache inducing. the plot was nothing like the blurb—half the book is about ruby's jealousy arc and the other half is about margaret is arguing with herself about whether darrow is an asshole or very secretly a gentleman and whether she should kiss him. very little has to do with margaret's writing career or darrow being a publisher.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy.

[amarachireads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay historical romance that had nice bookish vibes and a whole lot of family issues and an enemies-to-lovers. The fmc is a writer while the mmc is the publisher that is meant to publish her book. This book is also a much ado about nothing-inspired romance which brought about a nice aspect to the book. I like Regency books especially ones about rebellious female writers trying to make a name in the literary world. I loved that the romance went from enemies to lovers to friends to lovers and developed organically. I thought the family issues also added an interesting perspective to the story. Overall this is a good historical romance that readers of retellings and regency romance will probably like. Thank you Dell for this arc for an honest review.

Read if you like:
- Historical romance
- Regency time period
- Shakespeare retelling
- Enemies to friends
- Writer fmc/publisher mmc

[Jeannine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tough review to write because I felt like I read two different books. The first 60% is a two-star read (more on that in a moment) while the last 40% was much better, a 3 star read.

At the very beginning of the book, main character Maggie is dismissed when she attempts to present a second copy of her manuscript to publisher Bridger Dryden. You instantly feel for Maggie, who hopes to support her mother and sisters. They've been relying on the kindness of relatives since her father died. Maggie and her two sisters seem have been going to social events with an aunt as a chaperone. Her mother is completely absent from this book, even when they travel to a family wedding.

At the wedding, Maggie realizes that her cousin, the groom, is best friends with Bridger Dryden. Both men served in the war together (Side note: It's 1817, so they clearly served in the Napoleonic Wars. They mention being in France a few times, which is curious, as very little action was in France.) A scandal at the wedding prompts Maggie and Bridger to team up to investigate. Bridger thinks his wastrel brother is involved while Maggie wants to help Ann, her cousin's new wife.

At the 60% mark, Maggie and Bridger have had one conversation about her book and all other conversations have been about the scandal. There has been no relationship development. For some reason, he grabs her and kisses her. Maggie is scared (it was her first kiss!) and pushes him away, but is soon smiling at him again. It doesn't make sense. There was an opportunity for a declaration or just an acknowledgement on Bridger's part that he was rude to Maggie. That would have served the romantic storyline much more than grabbing our sweet heroine!

Shortly after, weather makes them stop at an inn during their investigation and we get a predictable scene where they pretend to be married to get the last room. They soon confront the villain in the scandal and ruin plans for further bad deeds. Our main characters spend a night together and Bridger must leave early to take the villain away. He promises to come back in a few days, but he doesn't.

Maggie's terrible aunt finds out that she's ruined and puts her on lockdown. No writing, no library, and her letters are screened. Bridger assumes that his returned letters mean Maggie is no longer interested in him. He makes a gesture, though it's done in partnership with a woman he used to court, so it falls a bit short of grand.

The woman Bridger courted before the war is present throughout the book. She cautions Maggie about getting involved with him. There are points when it felt like she was being cast as a villain when she was simply looking out for another woman. Bridger was a jerk to her, too.

The female characters, with the exception of two aunts, are appealing. If this is to be a series, I hope most care is given to crafting good men who are worthy of these fabulous women!

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly feels appropriate to have one final one star read of the year. More to follow, but yikes.

Alright, let's see how much I feel like deconstructing what went wrong here. (Spoiler alert: a lot.)

Very little of this story is actually about getting Maggie's (FMC) book published. Basically, disregard the book summary because yeah it's kind of there, but mostly this book is about something else. Namely, this book is about a scandal caused by Bridger's (the MMC) older brother (Paul, nicknamed "Pimm"), the heir who is presented for most of the book as a complete wastrel. Pre-story, Pimm got a girl pregnant in Bath and abandoned her, resulting in her family needing to be paid off. The problem is that Pimm and Bridger's family is in dire straights because Pimm is spending well beyond their income (which I was led to believe would be sufficient if not for Pimm's poor management and extravagant ways). So, Pimm went to Bridger's best friend Lane, who served in the navy (I think? Some branch of the military at any rate) for the money to pay off the girl's family. Lane does so because Bridger saved his life, but Lane also doesn't admit any of this to Bridger??? I don't really understand any of this (Bridger directly asks Lane, his supposed best friend, and Lane lies about it), but whatever. Bottom line is that Pimm is presented as someone with a drinking problem and a generally lousy person. Again, see ruining a girl in Bath and getting her pregnant and not marrying her.

The actual story mostly takes place at the wedding celebration of Lane (the aforementioned best friend), who comes from a fairly wealthy family. He also happens to be the cousin of the FMC, Maggie. Maggie's mother and Lane's mother are two of three sisters. Maggie's mother married for love, and the other two married for wealth. The other two sisters view this as a betrayal, and constantly are saying terrible things about Maggie's mother. (Maggie's mother does not actually appear in this story at all.) The third sister (the one who isn't Lane's mother) is supporting Maggie's family (Maggie, her mother, and her two younger sisters) since their father died, leaving them with very little. That support comes at a price though, which is that the aunt expects Maggie to give up her writing dreams and marry well. Maggie would rather not marry just for money, and would rather try to support her family by writing novels. Maggie's two aunts quite frankly were terrible people - shallow, selfish, and uncaring, and had no redeeming qualities - and I suppose I'm grateful that the author didn't try to redeem them. Since redeeming terrible people (Pimm, specifically) is a thing this author did try to do.

ANYWAY, Maggie's cousin Lane is getting married to a lovely woman named Ann, who is one of the few characters in this book I liked without reservation. Ann was great, and she and Maggie got along very well. At the wedding, a scandal breaks out because someone impersonates Ann and is seen kissing another man. Maggie is really the only person who stands up for Ann. Even Lane doesn't seem to be 100% on her side. (This did not leave me feeling great about that particular marriage, even though Lane is supposed to be one of the "good" characters.) Maggie and Bridger end up trying to figure out what really happened. Bridger is convinced his brother had something to do with it. Maggie just wants to clear Ann's name. A good portion of the story deals with the scandal and sorting it all out. It was, in fact, Pimm who caused the scandal, along with Ruby, one of Ann's cousins, who just wanted to be noticed and felt overlooked. Pimm and Ruby plan to get married, and ultimately Maggie and Bridger stop them.

In around all of this, Bridger's ex-betrothed (I think??? Former love interest at any rate), Regina, is also there, and she despises Bridger because, well, he was pretty cruel to her when he decided to break off their relationship. Regina is frequently kind of treated as a villain or a would-be villain, but to be 10000% clear, she is entirely justified in her dislike. Years ago, Bridger, the supposed hero of this story, decided to break off their relationship when his father (who is also terrible, more on that in a bit) told Bridger that Regina's family wasn't noble or rich enough. Instead of being honest with her, Bridger was cruel and belittled her in letters to the point that Regina broke it off herself. For example, Regina also loved to read and write and I guess also had aspirations to be an author, but after his letters, she lost all her confidence and felt put down. What he said to her was never specifically mentioned, but it's clear enough that he behaved very badly. What's not clear is what the point of all this was, except that Regina becomes something of an obstacle to the romance since she warns Maggie away from Bridger. (Again, feels justified as a woman looking out for another woman who wants to be an author.)

As far as the Maggie trying to publish her book part of the story went, I don't even know. Bridger hated the first few pages when he originally read it, but then he catches a single page when it blows out of Maggie's window at the wedding and suddenly he knows this book is incredible and publishing it will save his family???? (Oh, he also received another manuscript that's going to help save his family. Turns out that was written by Regina. [Insert Phoebe Buffay shocked face gift here] Yeah, it really was that obvious.)

I can't even really put my finger on why this book was such a mess, other than that the characters were largely unlikeable (the male characters especially) and most of the plot really made no sense. The character motivations were poorly drawn out, and there was too much going on for any real character or relationship development. (Like, there was also a side storyline about Maggie's paternal aunt, who ran away to become an actress and was never heard from again. That story was fine in the grand scheme of things but also why, when there were twenty other things going on.)

After everything Pimm did, including getting the woman pregnant in Bath and causing the scandal at the wedding, then the author tries to humanize him by having him explain to Bridger that he took beatings as a kid and intentionally screwed up to attract their father's attention away from Bridger. That's all well and good, but it doesn't excuse all of his screwed up behavior as an adult? He caused/potentially caused the ruination of multiple women. Significantly more work needs to be put into trying to redeem a character like that?? And what was the point of trying to present Regina as a villain? Largely that whole episode makes Bridger look pretty bad. I don't know what the author was trying to do there???? And then there's Ruby, who so much wanted to be noticed that she caused scandal for her cousin, potential ruination for herself, and after Maggie and Bridger rescued her, went and told Maggie's aunts about how Maggie and Bridger spent the night together, thereby causing Maggie's aunts to go ballistic on Maggie. (All this while Maggie was doing everything she could to minimize the scandal/damage to Ruby's reputation by keeping a bunch of secrets about what Ruby had done.)

Oh, and after all this happens, Maggie's aunt takes her to her house in Mayfair and starts reading/returning her mail, thereby separating Maggie and Bridger. Bridger learns pretty soon after that Ruby spilled the beans and Maggie's aunt forced her to leave the wedding/house immediately without even saying goodbye to her cousin, and then just keeps writing letters, not for once thinking that Maggie might not be receiving them even after all of the signs that her aunt might be interfering???? You'd think that he'd have learned a lesson in all of this about taking some action, but no, he did not.

I'm completely rambling and probably not even making sense, but this book was a mess. The plot was not what was advertised, the entire drama with Ann and Lane and Ruby and Pimm was frustrating at best. A large number of characters were difficult to root for, some (like Pimm) were terrible people whom the author tried to redeem, and others (like Regina) were presented as villains when it was actually the supposed hero of the story who was in the wrong. Giving a big YIKES to all of this, and putting this author on my "never waste my time reading them again, thanks" list.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Arden is a writer in Regency England who wants to get her work published. She is turned down spectacularly by publisher Captain Bridger Darrow. When they later meet at a wedding, he finds loose pages from a story and realizes he must publish it, only to learn that the author is the woman whose writing he rudely rejected. Can he reverse course and win her over, saving both of them from difficult life circumstances? A delightful romantic escape set in my favorite era!

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Δείτε επίσης και στο Chill and read

Ένα από τα είδη που απολαμβάνω να διαβάζω και να χαλαρώνω είναι τα ρομαντικά βιβλία εποχής, που μιλούν για αθώες νεαρές ή ίσως και πιο ατίθασες και τολμηρές, που ερωτεύονται κάποιον ευγενή ή όχι και τόσο, Άγγλο ή Σκοτσέζο, τέλος πάντων, αυτά που μιλούν για μια άλλη εποχή, αυτή της αντιβασιλείας στη Βρετανία. Και πιστεύω πως, μετά την επιτυχία που γνώρισε η σειρά Μπρίτζερτον, το συγκεκριμένο είδος έχει πάρει τα πάνω του γενικότερα και πολύ το χαίρομαι!

Σε αυτή την ιστορία γνωρίζουμε την Μάργκαρετ Άρντεν, τη μεγαλύτερη από τρεις αδερφές, η οποία λατρεύει τα βιβλία. Λατρεύει να τα διαβάζει αλλά και να φτιάχνει τις δικές της ιστορίες. Η αγάπη της αυτή έχει την πηγή της στις ιστορίες που της διηγούνταν ο ναυτικός πατέρας της και που την ενθάρρυνε να κυνηγάει τα όνειρά της. Η Μάργκαρετ έχει ολοκληρώσει κάποια μυθιστορήματα όμως το τελευταίο της είναι και το καλύτερο που έχει γράψει. Όμως δυστυχώς, θα δεχτεί μια ιδιαίτερα σκληρή απόρριψη από έναν από τους πιο γνωστούς εκδοτικούς οίκους του Λονδίνου, κι αυτό θα κλονίσει την αυτοπεποίθησή της. Έτσι θα αναγκαστεί να κάνει αυτό που της ζητούν οι θείες της για το καλό της οικογένειάς της, έναν καλό γάμο.

Ο λοχαγός Μπρίτζερ Ντάροου δεν είναι πλέον λοχαγός, έχει επιστρέψει από το μέτωπο κι έχει επανέλθει στη διεύθυνση του εκδοτικού οίκου που του άφησε ο μέντοράς του. Όμως έχει αρκετά προβλήματα να τον βαραίνουν, με τη φθίνουσα πορεία της υγείας του πατέρα του και την άσωτη ζωή του μεγαλύτερου αδερφού του, δεν του μένει και πολύς χρόνος να ασχοληθεί με τις εκδόσεις. Όταν όμως φτάνουν στα χέρια του κάποιες σελίδες από ένα πολύ ενδιαφέρον μυθιστόρημα, θέλει πολύ να διαβάσει κι άλλες και, γιατί όχι, να το εκδώσει.

Πρόκειται για μια από τις πιο κλασσικές ιστορίες, όπου ο πατέρας έχει πεθάνει και η μητέρα και οι ανύπαντρες κόρες της εξαρτώνται από τους πλούσιους συγγενείς για να μη μείνουν στο δρόμο. Η μόνη λύση που διαφαίνεται εκείνη την εποχή είναι φυσικά ένας πλούσιος γάμος που θα αποκαταστήσει τη μεγαλύτερη κόρη, η οποία θα πάρει υπό την προστασία της την υπόλοιπη οικογένεια. Πολύ ξένο ακούγεται αυτό στις μέρες μας, αν και εδώ που τα λέμε, δεν είναι και τόσο ξένο για τους μεγαλύτερους από εμάς. Έχουμε ακούσει παρόμοιες ιστορίες από τους μεγαλύτερους και γνωρίζουμε ποια ήταν η θέση της γυναίκας στην κοινωνία.

Την επανάσταση φέρνει η Μάργκαρετ που κάνει κάτι που καμιά ευυπόληπτη γυναίκα της εποχής της δε θα τολμούσε. Γράφει βιβλία! Αν είναι δυνατόν! Η άμεση οικογένειά της τη στηρίζει πολύ, όμως η θεία της, που στηρίζει οικονομικά την οικογένεια της Μάργκαρετ, δεν εγκρίνει αυτή την ασχολία. Και δεν έχει σκοπό να συνεχίσει την οικονομική ενίσχυση και τη φιλοξενία της, αν η Μάργκαρετ δεν βάλει μυαλό!

Στο κτήμα της άλλης θείας της Μάργκαρετ όπου όλοι συγκεντρώνονται για το γάμο του ξαδέρφου της του Λέιν, η ηρωίδα μας θα μάθει κάποιες αλήθειες που πονάνε πολύ, θα υποστηρίξει το δίκαιο και το αληθινό και θα γνωρίσει τον έρωτα εκεί που δεν τον περιμένει!

Αν σας αρέσει να διαβάζετε για δυναμικές ηρωίδες σε μια εποχή που οι γυναίκες δεν είχαν και πολλές ελευθερίες, τότε επιλέξτε αυτό το βιβλίο!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this after watching the new season of Bridgerton. I wanted to be transported back to Regency England.

In the beginning, Bridger was definitely a jerk who clearly made mistakes in the past. And he didn't approve of female writers?! I wasn't sure if I could get behind him as a MMC (I expected better). In his POV, he made it sound like his ex was crazy/jilted for warning Margaret about him, but if you think about it, she was in the right after what he did and said to her. By the end, I did see some character development on his part.

I thought this book would be a romance focused on Margaret as a female writer and how she breaks into the world of writing against societal's expectations of her. But most of the book focuses on this scandal/mystery revolving around two other people. Margaret and Bridger are two people who initially misjudge each other, working together to solve this scandal, which brings them closer together. Margaret's writing becomes a side plot.

Coming into this, I had higher expectations of this book and saw the potential of what it could be. I was a little disappointed with the direction it took instead.

Thank you to Random House Publishing/Dell and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[eyes.2c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreams and challenges!

Margaret Arden had been encouraged by her father all her life to write.
Now he’s dead, Margaret, her mother, and her sisters are living off the charity of her mother’s sister, Aunt Eliza. There seems to be a strained atmosphere between her aunts and her mother. Margaret plans to save the family through her writing endeavours. She needs to have her novel published
Only when she takes it to a friend of a friend's publisher, Bridger Darrow he scorns her, belittles her, and tosses her out.
Mind you Darrow had been having a bad day. He’s just discovered his brother Pimm has been taking money from the business.
Of course Margaret and Bridger meet again at her friend Lane Richmond’s wedding house party to Ann Graddock. Not happy!
The dour aunts are there too. Margaret is being pressured to marry for wealth like they did. Her mother had married for love. Now look at her! They are threatening to cut off the funds they give to her mother and send them all to a very small cottage in a very far away place! That novel being published has just tripled in importance!
That’s why Margaret’s brought her writings with her. Somehow that precious manuscript is swept out of the window by a malignant wind, assisted somewhat by Aunt Eliza we all suspect. Pages are snatched up by guests including Bridger who now decides he likes what he reads. He wants it! It might just save his business! Good luck!
The wedding celebration becomes a hot pot of family jealousies, spurned ex-loves, misunderstandings, affronts to the aunts and their petty retributions. Indeed the whole scene seethes underneath. True love is trampled upon, fought for, denied and pretty much killed.
A mass of emotions and situations that bloodies all the heroes, both primary and secondary.
A tale of deceit and love, of happiness almost lost.

A Penguin Random House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

[Heather Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this regency-era romance if you like:
✨dual pov
✨enemies to friends to lovers
✨publisher x rebellious writer
✨high English society
✨scandal and mystery
✨Shakespearean themes/references

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

My thoughts 💭
•A modern regency-era romance that's perfect for classics lovers! Think Little Women meets Pride and Prejudice meets Bridgerton in a take that's fresh, yet familiar.

👍🏼
•Our FMC was perfectly Jo March/Lizzie Bennett coded

👎🏼
Much like Kate Winslet's accent in Titanic, this book felt like it didn't know whether it wanted to be modern or a classic and kept switching back and forth, both with the language and the actions of the characters.

Favorite character:
🖤 Violet Arden..."Violet had no patience for primness and modesty." SHE'S A RIDE OR DIE, FOR REAL

HYPE UP QUOTES:

"I love you for so many reasons, you wicked girl l, I shall never have time to list them out."

"Of course I will marry you. For who else would publish my books?"

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting the cartoon cover to reflect the contents of the book, but there is very little in the way of humor. In the book is angst, prejudice, family control, child abuse, false assumptions and sexual discrimination. Last but not least, is a romance. A young lady who longs to get her book published, but the man who owns the publishing company refuses to publish her book, because she is a woman. They clash but it isn't long before he is humbled to admit he was wrong. Mild descriptive sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

[Sharyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book except: for the ending, because that was too much time passing without a resolution. And, the Audible narrator (sorry!). She did Indian/South Asian accents really well but otherwise, everyone sounded small and squeaky. I appreciated the references to Shakespeare and how it tied to the storyline.

[Mads Finster · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I do appreciate receiving this as a free giveaway something about this book just fell flat for me.

I struggled finding a way to like either of the main leads and found them quite insufferable at times to be quite frank.

This book had a similar issue that another book from this author did for me, where scenes would be happening but I just couldn’t bring myself to be interested in it. Again, something was just missing for me overall and I found myself struggling to even pick it back up and ended up DNFing about 30% ish

Really sad about this experience as I was quite excited for a regency romance but this just wasn’t it for me

[Sue (BeautyBookCorner) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun regency romance! It started off a bit slow but this book gets progressively better. By the end, I fell in love with Margaret and Bridger and the side characters. I’d love to read a companion novel from this world. Maybe one of the sisters, Regina, or Primm. I think he could have an interesting character arc!

[Tonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy pub Day to Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux. This was a fun historical romp loosely based on (surprise!) Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It wasn’t a straight retelling which kept me on my toes and left room for new characters and different plot lines.
I love a good enemies to lovers storyline! Margaret (Maggie), an aspiring writer, submits her novel for publishing to Dockarty & Co and it is swiftly rejected. (Did they even read it?!) Fast forward to a house party where Maggie realizes one Mr. Bridger Darrow of Dockarty & Co is in attendance. She boldly introduces herself with the hope of giving him her book again but he resoundingly shuts her down. Oof!
From there we dove into lots of shenanigans a la Shakespeare – a good-for-nothing brother, mistaken identity, feigned illness – all while Maggie and Bridger overcame their hatred for eachother and played Sherlock Holmes.
I really liked these main characters – Maggie was plucky, independent, and talented. She was between a rock and hard place – wanting to pursue a career as a novelist but also being expected to make a successful match as the oldest daughter from a poor, fatherless family. It took me a little longer to warm up to Bridger but by the end, I was all in. Lots of great side characters too which is super important to me – they added depth to the novel. Maggie’s sisters Violet and Winny were great comic relief. (I would gladly read ‘their’ books if this ends up being a series.)
Pacing-wise, it was a lovely slow burn. Things kicked into high gear though at two thirds and got steamy which in all honesty, given the pace up until that point, felt a little fast and forced? They went from misunderstanding each other at dinner to the vicar’s spare bedroom within 2 hours. But with that said, they had experienced a traumatic experience together which is often the catalyst for ‘reckless’ behavior . (I say ‘reckless’ because does no one think about how babies are made?!)
Evil Aunt Burton was really terrible. I felt for Maggie – I can only imagine how impossible it was to be a woman living in 1817 with the dream of independence (and little to no agency!) when you were living under the thumb of your horrid Aunt and feeling the responsibility of your sisters and mother.
I was frustrated in the third act but understand why it went that way. The reunion was perfect though – romantic and heartfelt, some groveling and a lovely grand gesture. (You know I love a grand gesture!). The actions Bridger took to prove his love and devotion to Maggie were swoony.
I especially loved the ending. Just two people making their way...
Four stars!

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for the e-arc.

[Stephanie Gillis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you netgalley for the arc. This was okay. I wished it had been more Much Ado than it was. It's my favorite Shakespeare play and while this had elements there was so much else thrown in I'm surprised the page count is only 272 because it felt so much longer. I don't think this needed to be spicy either, it felt like those scenes were just thrown in for the sake of selling as a spicy read but the narrative didn't really call for it. It didn't hold my attention as much as it should of as I usually love historical romance retellings but I can't even really pinpoint what went wrong for me other than vibes. Maybe Roux is not the author for me, I've read one of her young adult books as well and just wasn't into that either, so it might just be a case of mismatched reader and author.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Arden wants to be a writer. She's put her all into writing a novel that will get her name in print. But her father's death left her, her mother, and her sisters dependent on their aunts' generosity to survive. And the aunts are tired of Margaret not acting like a lady and making an advantageous marriage. A particularly brutal takedown from a publisher has Margaret deciding that it might just be time to give up her dream, but a family wedding puts her in the same house as the unfairly handsome publisher and on the way to a scandal. Bridger Darrow was a captain in the war with France who wants nothing more than to put that behind him. He works as a publisher now and his only hope of saving his family is to find the next, great novel. After rudely and brutally turning down Margaret, he finds himself in close quarters with her and the novel he didn't even bother to read. It's a clash of personalities and obligations that will force both to decide what they really desire.

Despite starting out looking like it was going to be a very generic story, Roux quickly takes things into a fun and empathetic territory where things are still familiar, but feel new as you experience them with the characters. Both Margaret and Bridger have strong personalities and watching them first clash and then fall in love was a treat. The way the story focuses so much on how awful women have it in society could have gotten preachy, yet it feels like something that needs to be navigated smartly and following your heart. A much better way to get the point across.

Overall, it was a super engaging read with characters that I cared about.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Dell for the great romance read!

[Kate Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun Regency period romance ala Jane Austen this book is, with all the misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and missed opportunities we've come to expect from such books.

The year is 1817. Margaret Arden, ("Maggie") has made her debut to the Ton and has found no suitable partners. Frankly, she'd rather be left alone to pursue her dream of being a writer of novels. But so much of the Arden women's survival depends upon Maggie making a good match with a wealthy suitor. She and the other Arden women are invited to a country estate for the nuptial celebration of their cousin and his bride. Turns out, their cousin is best buds with the publisher, Bridger Darrow, who turned down Maggie's manuscript without a care. So you can just imagine the sparks flying between these two on such an auspicious occasion.

Ms. Roux has done a lovely job of capturing the Austenesque vibe of the period. Her writing is solid and her character development quite good. She paints her scenes with lovely expression and one can just imagine the lush gardens so beautifully appointed for such a special occasion. The romantic scenes were chaste. The poignant Shakespeare quotes at the head of each chapter were suggestive of that which is to follow. All in all, this was a pleasant diversion and thoroughly enjoyed.

I am grateful to author Madeleine Roux and her publisher, Dell, for having provided a complimentary uncorrected proof of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.


Publisher: ‎Dell
Publication Date: ‎October 22, 2024
Number of pages: 272
ISBN: 978-0593499399

[Darcy DecantingBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much Ado About Margaret was a cute, fun read for the most part. Margaret is the eldest of three sisters who depend on their bitter and somewhat cruel aunt after their father's death left them with very little money or security. Margaret is under pressure to marry well and save their family financially, but she fears having to give up her passion for writing and that she'll become miserable and bitter like her aunt.

Bridger is the younger son of a horrid man and has an equally horrid brother who's bent on destroying the estate and the happiness of many people. While Bridger is trying to curb his brother's awful ways at his best friend's wedding, he comes across Margaret (who he's already brutally insulted before). As they're forced into close proximity with each other, things begin to change...

I loved Margaret's spirit and love for her writing and her sisters. I also loved Bridger's growth and development throughout the book. However, the characters often annoyed me with their lack of backbones as well as various miscommunications and lack of perseverance. No one is willing to really fight for anything, which at times I understand given the society of the time and fear of losing everything. But there were just too many annoying instances of that. Still, the ending was very cute and overall it was a fun book.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Much Ado About Margaret is a regency romance which follows writer Margaret Arden, whose fateful encounter with publishing partner Bridger Dryden changes the course of both their lives.

A thing that I think is remarkably difficult to execute well in a Regency romance is crafting a male lead who feels truthful to the conventions of the era but doesn't come off like the founding member of the He Man Woman Haters Club. Unfortunately, Bridger Dryden did not successfully hold this line for me. By the end, I didn't hate his guts, but it's hard to root for an enemies-to-lovers plot where the reason they're enemies is blatant misogyny.

Beyond that, the pacing of this novel just felt a bit unbalanced for me. The side characters didn't have quite the room to grow as much as I would have liked, and some of the plot points felt a bit hurried. That said, I do think the book overall was relatively easy to sink into, striking a solid balance of Regency era vibes without feeling overbearing or lethargic. I definitely did enjoy my time reading it! I would have just liked a bit more polish to the final story and our leading man.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet romance that addresses some fairly deep issues, but still staying mostly light and frothy. (This is a compliment, btw). The main character is one of three daughters born to a happy but impoverished couple. They are now dependent on their two aunts, who married well, but unhappily. They are determined that these three girls will not make the same mistake their sister made, marrying for love.

The MC Margaret is a writer, which the aunts find abhorrent. They intend to find her a "good" husband, and the wedding of Margaret's cousin Lane. Of course, Lane is making a "love match" to a wealthy but rather unacceptable woman who is half Indian. There is an enemies-to-lovers romance in store for Margaret.

I didn't particularly like the two younger sisters, Winny and Violet. There were glimmers that they will be formidable young women, but they did too much galloping about and shrieking in each other's arms - they became one kind of unruly character in my mind.

But, all in all, an enjoyable read.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much Ado about Margaret is a slow build romance set in Regency England about a girl Margaret as she navigates finding a husband at her Aunts demanding demeanor she must marry well because, Margaret a d her sisters are living under her Auit's roof.
Margaret is a different woman and lives reading and writing books, which is looked down on by the community she is from. Margaret meets a Mr. Darrow finds that at first, he is a dreadful man who basically tells her the same as her aunt.
This book had the possibility and the basis of a romance, family drama, and drama surrounding the main character. For me, it fell a little flat. It started off slow and stayed that way until I found it rushed in the end. Three star read for me because I would have loved to have read more about the couple in the end instead of abruptly ending.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this first book for me by Madeleine Roux. On the surface its a fantastical enemies to lovers Regency romance but it was very HIGH drama, had a large cast of secondary characters and felt like an over the top fairy tale type romance filled with evil aunts, dastardly relatives, vindictive exes, kidnappings, gunfights and so much more. I did love that the FMC, Maggie, loves books and writing and her biggest desire is to get her first story published. Just okay on audio (the narrative wasn't my fav), this was a slog to get through at times but I'm happy I stuck it out to the end. Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Steam level: some open door scenes

[Kate]

I just care about my well-being too much to finish bad books.

The premise of this sounded fun, but I feel like the author got too caught up in the complexities of writing historical fiction. The tropes felt tired and the writing over-complicated itself to the point of being annoying.

Also, on the subject of annoying, our love interest was actually the worst. He has a fairly low opinion of women as a whole and while I do believe people can change and that growth happens, I struggle to believe that he would flip his opinion so quickly.

I just felt tired and uninspired by this book, probably because it was tired and uninspired. I do think some people will like this, unfortunately I am not one of said people.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Allyce | · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so intrigued by the premise of Much Ado About Margaret that I'm sad I didn't enjoy it more. The author has a beautiful way of painting a picture of a scene but part of the book felt like it was striving to be like a classic, while other parts felt like it was leaning to modern. There were so many character names to keep track of. I felt a little whiplash when out of nowhere Margaret and Bridger share a kiss. I think this book could be enjoyed by many, but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Randon House Ballentine / Dell for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Much Ado About Margaret is available on October 22, 2024.

[Vaso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Η Μαγκι, λατρεύει τα διάβασμα και να γράφει ιστορίες τις οποίες προσπαθεί να εκδώσει αλλά μάταια. Στο γάμο του ξαδέρφου της, συνάγεται τον Μπριτζερ Νταροου, τον εκδότη που την απέρριψε με υποτιμητικά σχόλια αλλά ένα ατυχές περιστατικό, τους βάζει να συνεργαστούν για να αποκαταστήσουν την αλήθεια. Ο Μπριτζερ, γοητεύεται από την εξυπνάδα και την ευστροφία της κι η Μαγκι, νιώθει ότι βρήκε τον άνθρωπο που την καταλαβαίνει περισσότερο από όλους.


Ξέρετε πόσο απολαμβάνω τα ρομαντικά εποχής. Κι εδώ έχουμε μια ηρωίδα που θέλει να κυνηγήσει το όνειρο της, αλλά η αγάπη για τις αδερφές και τη μητέρα της την κρατούν πίσω. Ο ήρωας μας, έχει άσχημη γνώμη για τις γυναίκες γιατί ο ίδιος του ο πατέρας τον μεγάλωσε να πιστέψει κάτι τέτοιο. Όμως, η επαφή τους κι η ανάγκη της Μαγκι να υπερασπιστεί τα γραπτά της αλλά και η στήριξη που δίνει στους ανθρώπους που την αγαπούν, τον κάνουν να αναθεωρήσει.

Μια ευκολοδιάβαστη ιστορία, που δείχνει τα στερεότυπα της εποχής εκείνης αλλά που αφήνει και την ελπίδα για το διαφορετικό να ανθίσει!

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was disappointing for me. I wanted to love a book with a fun premise like this and a titular Margaret, but the story lacked cohesion and plot propulsion. Characters made decisions that didn't make sense to me and led to more overall plot-action than needed.

Much Ado About Margaret is probably better for a reader who reads less historical romance than me, as it lacked the structure of a histrom novel and in its quest to be different crossed over whimsical and into a lack of chemistry and a book that didn't hold my attention.

[Megan Hawley Steinfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the Much Ado About Nothing of it all, and that it's set up as a parallel that then because actively acknowledged by the characters, so you're not left just re-creating the plot point for point. I enjoyed our female heroine and her sisters, and her friendships. The mechanism by which they're set up as enemies doesn't work for me if I get it any thought at all, because it's not developed/resolved enough (he ... hates women? Or did? Or at least went along with it in a way that's only redeemed because he says it is?), but I just ignored that part and enjoyed the rest as a regency romp. The second half had some plot and pacing challenges, but I still had a good time.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madeleine Roux’s next season in Regency England follows a rebellious writer and the man who risks everything to publish her.
-
Love retellings and Much Ado is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. This takes place in the country at a house party. It does follow the original story points but is very unique to this time period. Love that Margaret (our Beatrice) is an author trying to get her book published and the man she’s talked with thinks it’s absurd until he reads a random page of hers. So much drama, expectations and notes passed around.

[Jessie Carvalho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Random House Publishing for the gifted e-book ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this if you like: Slow burn, steamy, enemies to lovers

This was an okay read. It was very slow going for me. I liked the drama. I liked the couple together. I didn't like the MC and his attitude towards women.