Speak Easy, Speak Love

by McKelle George

Six teenagers’ lives intertwine during one thrilling summer full of romantic misunderstandings and dangerous deals in this sparkling retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

After she gets kicked out of boarding school, seventeen-year-old Beatrice goes to her uncle’s estate on Long Island. But Hey Nonny Nonny is more than just a rundown old mansion. Beatrice’s cousin, Hero, runs a struggling speakeasy out of the basement—one that might not survive the summer.

Along with Prince, a poor young man determined to prove his worth; his brother, John, a dark and dangerous agent of the local mob; Benedick, a handsome trust-fund kid trying to become a writer; and Maggie, a beautiful and talented singer; Beatrice and Hero throw all their efforts into planning a massive party to save the speakeasy. Despite all their worries, the summer is beautiful, love is in the air, and Beatrice and Benedick are caught up in a romantic battle of wits that their friends might be quietly orchestrating in the background.

Hilariously clever and utterly charming, McKelle George’s debut novel is full of intrigue and 1920s charm. For fans of Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, and Anna Godbersen.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Retellings, Romance, Historical, Shakespeare, Fiction

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 19, 2017

About the author

McKelle George is a reader, doodler, and associate librarian at the best library in the world. Her debut young adult novel Speak Easy, Speak Love is out from Greenwillow/HarperCollins, and she currently lives in Salt Lake City.

Reviews

[High Lady of The Night Court · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I love you.”
She closed her eyes and tucked his fingers close, right where they belonged. “Against your will.”
“With so much of my heart, none of it is left to protest.”

It shouldn’t be possible to love characters this much. This book was mind blowing and reading it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. The book is set in the 1920’s following a group of people who each somehow ended up at Hey Nonny Nonny. These characters have spent their lives fighting to survive, now more than ever, and they're not going to give up. Every single one one them is fierce and would do anything for the ones they love.

Hey Nonny Nonny is a speakeasy run by Hero Stahr after her mother’s death. Prince brings the alcohol, and is probably the only boy immune to Hero’s charms. Benedick comes from a wealthy family who want him to go to college and get a high paying job when all he wants is to become a writer. Beatrice wants to become a doctor, but her stepfather stopped paying for her schooling and she goes to her cousin Hero for refuge till she figures out how to get into college. Maggie is the speakeasy's singer with a voice that can charm just about anybody, but now the speakeasy is struggling and she must pursue her dream of singing at bigger jazz clubs.

Beatrice is naturally smarter than 95% of the population and will never beat around the bush. She will speak her mind honestly and will not think twice about emotions. She has a very scientific view of life and watching her and Benedick argue constantly and get nowhere is one of the most amusing things I’ve read because it’s so pointless.

Each of these people have the most amazing personalities and it made the story so much better. We watch these kids defy all social etiquette, expectations, and stereotypes and exhibit amazing skills. I love that the author didn't change their personalities drastically but rather focused on how their relationships evolved at the turning point in their lives. They each work extremely hard to achieve their goals and their relationship with Hey Nonny Nonny will never fail to make me smile. Their love for each other is touching and watching Beatrice find her place in this family is very charming.

The romantic relationships in this book are also written well, expected, but done very well. The characters complemented each other wonderfully and the pairs work out perfectly. I would have loved an epilogue further in the past showing us what the characters grow up to be but the ending that is provided is amazing.

I enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to reading more books by McKelle George. This story was fun and the characters were perfect, I give this book 5 stars.

[Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars. This is an incredibly creative and interesting concept for a novel - a 1920s Much Ado About Nothing retelling set in prohibition era? count me in. And I enjoyed this fine upon first reading, but I don't know... I think as time as has gone on, I've realized I found some of this sort of boring. 

This is definitely a character-driven novel; in fact, it follows seven lead young characters, not even including the adults - the flirty and worldly Hero, my aspiring-doctor icon Beatrice, aspiring writer and asshole Benedick, professional annoying rich kid Claude, dorky and sweet Prince, less-villainous-than-usual John, and my favorite singer, Maggie.

All that being said, aside from Maggie, Ben, and Bea, I found myself slightly disappointed on the character aspect. I liked Hero, but I definitely thought she could’ve gotten a more clear character arc; here, I feels a bit muddled at points, even getting into some implied slut-shaming that is only somewhat condemned.

There's one thing here I'm entirely confident in loving: the retelling aspect. This is one of the most fantastic retellings I have ever read - keeping all the good aspects of the original, and fixing the things that suck. Anyone who's read Much Ado About Nothing probably has a couple of complaints. First of all, why do Claudio and Hero end up together, and second of all, what the fuck is up with John? This novel solves them both. I also appreciated the expansion on characters who don't feature in the original much - using Maggie and Prince was an inspired decision. Maggie's struggle as a 1920s black jazz singer especially was so well-written that it quickly became my favorite arc of the book.

Unfortunately, it's not all good. The main issue here? Boredom. This comes from the fact that sideplots weren't established very well towards the beginning, leading to lack of tension and confusion in the latter half. And to be quite honest, the whole book felt sort of pat - I never truly worried whether it would hold up in the end. That could, perhaps, work if the book were just a bit funnier. But aside from a few humorous sections, I really didn't think this was all that funny.

All that being said, though, the setting was lovely, the characters were good, the romantic relationships were sweet, the dialogue was funny, and the retelling aspect is perfectly done - you'll definitely love this if you're a fan of Shakespeare's original play. It was a charming read and I'm glad I gave it a try.

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[♛ may · Rating 4 out of 5]

Besides the fact that enemies to lovers trope is totally the greatest trope to exist (there is scientific proof to back this up) this book is just SO FANTASTIC YOU NEED TO READ IT RIGHT NOW WHAT ARE YOU DOING

The Characters
- now, you should be aware that this book is very character driven and so the majority of the story surrounds my babies and their preciousness
- and now imma go into detail
- benedict: my writer son whos willing to throw his silver spoon for his dreams, also hes sassy and snarky and is the loveable idiot that everyone wants to succeed in life
- beatrice: an actual queen among us peasants. She comes from this rough background as an orphan but shes fought her way to studying to become a doctor (and the book takes place in the 1920s) :’) so much sass from this one too
- prince: a boi who is a MessTM but we still love and support and give lots of hugs bc hes trying his best (even tho, he gets shot at from time to time)
- hero: an actual diva queen this girl will literally flirt her way to the top like just move out of her way and give her what she wants bc shes getting it anyways 👏 👏 👏 shes everything I wanna be when I grow up
- maggie: the only saint in this disastrous family this girl needs love and support and some hot chocolate for putting up with this mess
- john: another walking disaster but give him credit hes trying his best
- claude: a basic rich boi, honestly he can take a seat

So basically it follows their lives and they’re all simultaneously falling for each other but everyones stubborn and would rather die than admit their feelings so lots of drama and lots of messes but Beatrice and benedict’s romance arc is actually hilarious (and my fav) bc they lowkey hate each other and theyre not subtle about it

Benedict the entire book basically, “Look here, he told himself, we’ve decided as a unified body not to be in love with her, so stop it.”

And not only is the romance hilarious and entertaining and angsty but the friendships and family is just so beautiful

Hero and Beatrice are cousins but theyre so caring and sweet to each other but they fight like sisters and at this point theyre practically twins I just, I stan so much 😭😭

“Are you tired of me?” Beatrice asked.
“Maybe I am just at this moment, but aren’t you a little tired of me, too?”
“I lost my temper.”
“So? Everybody does some time or other. Sometimes I’ll be sick to death of you and wish you’d jump out a window, but the way this works is that even when that happens, even if I actually tell you to jump out the window, you don’t have to. You can stay. I’ll expect you to stay even after I tell you to go away.”
That was the single most baffling and perfect thing Beatrice had ever heard. “That’s nuts.”
Hero laughed. She tucked her arm into Beatrice’s. “In normal protocol, I would take up not speaking to you for at least a day, except for an underhanded gibe at your hair over breakfast, but in this one particular case we’ll skip that step and go straight back to loving each other.”

And whats the most amazing is that it’s a retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and I actually enjoyed it :’)

The only points where I feel this story lacks is the plot, its very very very character driven and so while we’re focusing on the characters, the snippets of the plot that get featured are kinda masked and I kinda didn’t even pay attention to them until I pretty much had to (and that was only for a short bit)

In conclusion,,,,,this book was SO MUCH FUN

Buddy read with the sweetest, marygrace⚽

[McKelle George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book's wit is as blunt as the fencer’s foil, which hits but hurts not.
This book wears its faith but as the fashion of its hat; it ever changes with the next block.
I would my horse had the speed of this book's tongue.
But by this day! I do spy some marks of love in this book...

....okay I'll stop. (¬‿¬)

[mith · Rating 4 out of 5]

you can read this & other reviews on my blog!
---
THIS BOOK. Oh my gosh, this was just so charming. I was already drawn to it because have you seen that cover?! I want a poster of it on my wall. I want to look at it FOREVER because it is just so pretty, bless the artist. Everything about it--the author's name in that font, the typography, THE HAIR THINGS, the shadowy wisps, the 1920's feel--IS PURE PERFECTION.

Now, about the book itself! It is beautiful. Full of finding yourself, romance, SO MUCH BANTER, and faaaaamily. I loved it. Honestly, it was just such a book.

I will admit, the plot is a bit slow, but that's because there's a few other arcs in the book. There are several POVs--primarily Beatrice and Benedick, with some Maggie--and they each have their own issues they need to battle through. I thought George seamlessly did this and it totally added to the book. It made each character, not just the three who got their own chapters, come alive.

Speaking of, the characters definitely made this book! I adored each and every one of them! Hero, the flirt, and, personally, an Inspiration (tm), was beautiful and dedicated and just plain amazing. I loved her style, her ability to put herself out there, just everything. Then there was Beatrice, my fierce, feminist darling! She was never afraid to voice her opinions and to stand up for herself. She said whatever she wanted, consequences be damned. Benedick was a smart, sassy writer and I liked how George wrote him! He was so sweet, funny at times, and adorably awkward with his feelings! Prince and John weren't were a pair of brothers that were so different, it's surprising they were related at all! I wished we'd seen more of John, but they were both complicated and admirable in their own way. And finally, Maggie, my loooooove. Her POV was probably my favourite. There's just so much about her I love, I could go on for ages.

Okay, okay wrapping up here, but before I go: ALL THE SHIPS. THEY ARE SO GOOD. ALL OF THEM. Oh my GOSH, they were so cute, so perfect, SO WELL DEVELOPED. I loved them. All of them. Particularly Bea and Ben, because you see most of them, BUT YEAH. They're all!! So!! Goood!!

And to end this not-so-mini-review (lmao sorry), READ THIS BOOK. It is so charming, so funny, and so, so good!
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this is my new favourite cover i am in love

[Jaime Arkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I first fell in love with the cover of this book and then I fell in love with the words that make up this amazingly told retelling of Much Ado About Nothing. Speak Easy, Speak Love is set during the 1920’s in New York… a time of prohibition and secret clubs called Speakeasy’s, mobsters and bootlegging, and all make for an entertaining and captivating read that I couldn’t put down.

The story itself revolves around six teens whose lives tangle one fateful summer. Told from three points of views (Beatrice, Benedick, and Maggie) I found myself so invested in their fates and the amazing, layered, stories that made up each of their arrivals and time at Hey Nonny Nonny that even when I turned the last page, I wanted more.

George’s writing was just lovely… I loved how she captured the feel of the time period and I couldn’t get enough of delving into the 1920’s. She took me back to the jazz age with her gorgeous writing and I found myself slowing down just to immerse myself in her words and sentences… going back to read them again and again and highlighting so much that just struck me.

“Maggie got a bit closer until she was able to just see into the room. Prince stood at his window in slacks and an undershirt, the smoke of the cigarette between his fingers drifting our through the open crack.”

I cheered for each character in this book… from Prince, to Maggie, to John, to Hero… I loved them all, but I was especially enamored with Benedick and Beatrice. The banter was so fun and witty and seeing these two people from two different worlds find a common thread among the people they cared for was lovely.

"Miss Clark," he said, "have we just made the hard turn from enemies into friends?"
"I'd like that," she said. "If you don't mind being wrong and inferior most of the time because that's not something I can help."

I just couldn’t get enough of Beatrice and her solid acceptance of who she is… no trying to change just to gain the acceptance of those around her. When she & Benedick butted heads I loved the quick witted banter… when they supported each other, I loved the quiet way they connected. The end of the story was absolute perfection for me.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention John and Maggie. I loved them and I cheered for them and the situation they are in. Their relationship was heartbreaking at times, but ultimately uplifting and so beautiful.

I also have to mention the research that George did on this book – It’s apparent in every description, and detail and once you read the Author’s Note at the end of the book I think you’ll be blown away to see how she tailored this story. I definitely was and I am so excited to put a copy on my bookshelf. I’m also very excited to see what she writes next.

If you’re looking for something that perfectly captures the spirit of Much Ado About Nothing, with amazing crafted characters, and a unique setting and plot then I highly recommend Speak Easy, Speak Love.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally reviewed here @ Angieville

I am having difficulty achieving some semblance of coherence when it comes to this beautiful book. My feelings for it are threatening to overwhelm me on every level this morning. I didn't sleep last night. And I mean that literally. I didn't sleep a wink. Twice, I tried to force myself to do the right smart thing and wait to finish on the morrow. But my head and my heart would have none of it. They were both buzzing far too loudly to even think of sleep. I bought McKelle George's debut novel Speak Easy, Speak Love on the day it released based on three things: it has easily my favorite cover of the year (I swoon, I swoon over this cover), it was edited by my Martha (say no more), and it is a Roaring Twenties adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (as Ms. George herself puts it—Shakespeare's most romantic comedy). I really feel like I could just leave it there, and that those of you in possession of a soul would immediately run to the bookstore (as one does) and set about doing yourselves the massive favor of devouring this story. In case any of you are forcibly housebound or bedridden (been there), I shall expand.

Benedick Scott is one hundred percent over it. He's leaving his posh prep school and his autocratic father once and for all and is bound for the only place (and people) that have ever really felt like home. Hey Nonny Nonny—the Long Island speakeasy run by the jovial (if rarely sober) Leo Stahr and his glittering daughter Hero—is home to a number of other rapscallions ever on the down and out. Chief among them are Benedick's best friend—the mercurial Prince—and Hey Nonny's star crooner—Maggie Hughes. What Benedick does not expect is to be followed into the night by his fellow trust fund kid Claude Blaine or to encounter one Miss Beatrice Clark—aspiring medical student and sometime boarding school reject. Beatrice, like Benedick, is in need of a home. Kicked out of boarding school just before graduation, she is determined nothing will stop her from getting into medical school and pursuing her dream of being a doctor. Beatrice has always been different from others, and she takes the unusual denizens of her Uncle Leo's home (and their various highly suspect and massively illegal activities) in absolute stride. And before any of the others realize it, Beatrice has made herself an indispensable member of the small group of outsiders desperately trying to keep the struggling speakeasy afloat.

Benedick Scott was on his way to freedom or profound failure or, if the usual order of things held up, both. Two chests, strapped closed and marked for delivery to an apartment in Manhattan, sat at the end of his bed. On his person he needed only his typewriter, slung over his shoulder in a battered case. He'd stuffed the case with socks to cushion any dinging, along with his shaving kit, a worn copy of Middlemarch, and thirty-four pages of typed future.

I read these opening lines aloud to Aaron as I began the book, and his eyes widened slightly, his head tipped knowingly, as he quietly bid me farewell and Godspeed. He knows. He knows because it's as though that first paragraph was tailor fit for me. After a handful more pages, I gave up trying to muffle my exclamations of delight. Speak Easy, Speak Love had clearly announced itself as an experience and I gave myself over to it entirely. McKelle George's writing is exquisite. Every line feels at once effortless and meticulously crafted, to the point that I, who never go slowly, was slowing down and savoring each rich turn of phrase. By the 100-page mark, I was beside myself in love with these characters. They were so dashing, I was afraid to let them out of my sight.

I am, admittedly, an enormous fan of Much Ado About Nothing. But as I read, I kept thinking to myself—she took the bones, yes. But this achingly gorgeous slip of magic and mirth is all hers. And I knew it from the moment I met Prince—there in the darkness, leaning against the tree, cigarette dangling, eyes flashing, waiting for Benedick. Prince is the early warning signal that beyond this point there be dragons. Dragons and heart-stopping jazz, inexplicable longing and the sharpest of tongues. The trio of romances in this tale are absolutely not for the faint of heart. What I mean by that is, they are so ineffably real and so elegantly delineated that I choked back thick and sudden tears on more than one occasion. The thing is—I had heard reviewers describe this book as "light" and "romantic" and "fun" and "witty." And it is all of those things. But make no mistake—just like its source material, it is so much more. So much more that I don't think those four descriptors would even make it into the top fifty terms I would use to describe it. What I'm saying is, I was nowhere near prepared for how consummate the storytelling would be. "For fans of Stephanie Perkins and Jenny Han," the blurb read. Yes. Okay. Sure. But I feel compelled to say that the caliber of writing and the emotional weight in this volume put me in mind of Megan Whalen Turner and Robin McKinley, which is to say wordsmiths in possession of the deftest of touches and the most expansive of souls.

For example:

Benedick opened his door and stood up, keeping one elbow on the doorframe, the other on the Ford's roof, shedding his exhaustion like a winter coat. His eyes brightened, and his pale, clammy skin managed to defy medicine and glow. "Have I got a story for you!"

And it was a story—in that it was not quite the truth.

But it wasn't a lie either.

Listening to him, Beatrice experienced the afternoon all over again, but this time there was no real danger. There was a boy who'd had a terrific idea that went a little off the rails and a girl who was a good sport and just the kind of sidekick you'd like to have along. Beatrice heard herself laugh when Benedick described her shooting off a man's hat, but it hadn't seemed that funny when it actually happened.

There was a sunniness in his words that somehow even disguised his appearance, erasing the boy shaking with exhaustion, flattening all his mercurial layers into one outfit of razzle-dazzle. But the razzle-dazzle was also real. That was the most baffling part of all. He was this, too.

She let him do it, not only because she came out looking all right in his story, not a clock-throwing ruin of a girl, but also because Benedick's talking about her as if she were already one of them made her one of them.

Words.

What a tricky, tangled science.

I am physically restraining myself from sharing more passages just like this one. Because honestly? This passage is just one of a thousand that left me gasping on the floor with their acuity. McKelle George has fleshed out my favorite relationships and forged new connections I couldn't have seen, but that felt right and real the moment they landed. Which brings me to John and to Maggie, who I find I can't even talk about just yet—so fresh and lasting are my emotions regarding them. Just know that I am not overstating things when I say that their respective arcs are arguably the most compelling and ethereal of all in this novel bursting at the seams with compelling and ethereal character arcs. Likewise, know that you ought to discover them for yourselves. Go find them. Find them all, and come back and tell me. And maybe by then I'll have summoned a bit more in the way of coherence. Until then, adieu.

[Stacee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love MAAN and I legitimately didn't need to read anything else to read.

I loved this Beatrice and Benedick. Of course the rest of the cast of characters is fun, but I was obsessed with the banter between Bea and Ben. She's so smart and he's so stubborn and it was absolutely glorious.

Plot wise, it was a slow and perhaps dense in a few sections. There are a few working threads of story that make it feel well rounded, but it's also a lot to keep track of.

Overall, it was a fun read with a creative setting and characters I couldn't get enough of. I could have done with a million more pages of banter and it wouldn't have been enough, but the ending was perfection.

**Huge thanks to Greenwillow Books for providing the arc free of charge**

[✶Rachelle✶ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars


“I'm penniless, alas. If I win, I want a dance. If you win, I'll give you a kiss."
"I don't suppose it occurred to you I might not want your kiss."
"If you don't want it, you can give it back.”


This book is by and far one of my absolute FAVORITES of 2018 😁



Shakespeare can be hit or miss for me. Romeo and Juliet, for example, annoying the living crap out of me. Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, The Twelfth Night....these are my babies. Wit, humor, and massive confusion all resulting in a happily ever after is my dream book, and these plays deliver them all. So naturally when I find a YA retelling I'm all over it. And just like Shakespeare, some of these retellings are hit or miss. I'm pleased to say that Speak Easy, Speak Love is firmly in the hit camp for me. I mean, I even went to Barnes and Noble and bought a physical copy today, so there's that.

I'm not going to get into plot here, because I think it's fun to go in blind to this one. This book is set during the 1920's Prohibition era, and it has all the charm and fun that the 1920's brings. It follows Much Ado About Nothing pretty well, but it has it's own twists and turns that make it it's own story. The wit and snark in this book is at full speed, and I love all the interactions between all the characters. Even our villain gets his own little happily ever after =)

Off to watch the Joss Whedon version now. Oh, you haven't seen it? GO WATCH IT and then read this book =)

[Jessie Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was as fantastic as you would dare hope for a retelling of Much Ado About About Nothing set in a Long Island 1920s Prohibition-stricken speakeasy. It was shippy and banter-y and so much fun.

[Katie Hanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

*deep sigh* Oh, boy.

Please prepare yourself for the liberal application of Salt (TM). All opinions hereafter expressed are my own, and carry no obligation for others to agree.

Speak Easy, Speak Love is a retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It's set in America during the 1920s (so, Prohibition Era) at an illegal speakeasy called--in a nod to Shakespeare--Hey Nonny Nonny. Hey Nonny Nonny is struggling financially and on the cusp of closing down permanently. The teenagers in charge of the place (yes, teenagers running a speakeasy, this is Fine :-P) are at their wits' end to save this beloved establishment. We're supposed to ... root for them ... because we all know nothing is better for America's young people than a little illicit drinking.

Or maybe a lot of illicit drinking. Enough to give you a hangover and make you say nasty things to the girl you're supposed to be in love with.

(Why was this ever pitched as a YA novel??? I have questions.)

These kids have the same names, or very nearly, as Shakespeare's original cast. So there's Hero (the girl in charge), Prince (her right-hand guy who's in love with her I guess??), John (Prince's half-brother who's in the Sicilian Mob), Benedick (spoiled rich kid who think he can make a living writing novels), Beatrice (she wants to be a doctor), Maggie (the blues singer), and Claude (even spoilt-er rich kid). I will say for the author that she's done a good job fleshing out and tweaking her versions of Shakespeare's characters, so they do feel entirely her own.

But why did they have to be children ... running a speakeasy?

Look, maybe you think I'm being puritanical. Maybe you think I'm exaggerating the dangers of bootleg liquor. So let me set this scene for you a bit more plainly.

Within the first couple chapters, these teenagers have been shot at MULTIPLE TIMES, with ACTUAL BULLETS, by the BLOODY MAFIA, and also nearly drowned and fallen off a cliff, all for the noble goal of obtaining extremely poor-quality moonshine which (by their own admission) tastes & smells like kerosene, was brewed under unspeakably unsanitary conditions, and could easily give them heart failure within five days. They then haul their merry load back to their little speakeasy and mix it with the juices of rotten fruit ... and proceed to get drunk.

See, these kids aren't just serving alcohol to enable other people's addictions: they're doing this to enable their own.

And yes ... I think that's a problem.

What's worse are the author's persistent efforts to romanticize this whole business. To paint Hey Nonny Nonny as a 'spot of magic' into folks' lives, or what-not, and to expect us to feel SADNESS at the prospect of the speakeasy closing down and the kids taking up respectable, legit careers. I don't feel any such sadness. I'm sorry. I don't. As someone whose family has been haunted by alcoholism for generations--as someone who's dealt with alcohol abuse within my own home environment--you will pardon me if I fail to recognize the "poetry" in this spectacle.

In my own opinion, no one, not even adults, should be drinking this much; no one should be risking their lives for the sake of drinking. But when you bring teenagers into the mix??? Nooooooooooooooope. Just, nope.

All right, you get the picture. Let's talk about the romantic pairings for a minute.

Romance-wise, I could only whole-heartedly support John & Maggie. Both of them have a far more level headed view of bootlegging than the others. Maggie only sings at the speakeasy because she's Black and has trouble getting a job anywhere else. John is only involved in liquor smuggling because he's from a Sicilian mob family, was trained up in their secrets since birth, and doesn't have the option to just "walk away." But he fully recognizes how sordid & disgusting such criminal activity is. So yes, we stan John. And we stan Maggie. And we stan them together.

Beatrice & Benedick argue and bicker far too much for me to believe they could ever be happy together: Hero, Prince, and Claude are embroiled in a RIDICULOUS love triangle which does NOTHING to change my opinion on love triangles in general.

So, yeah.

*dusts off hands*

[Aleksandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!!!

I was hoping I would love the book, but I didn't expect Speak Easy, Speak Love to be this hilarious, charming and all round entertaining read!

The story takes place in 1920s New York during the Prohibition era. The events occur in the speakeasy Hey Nonny Nonny in Long Island. There are three pov characters.
Beatrice is aspiring doctor and high school drop out because her step father couldn't afford to pay for her education. She moves to live with her Uncle Leo and his daughter Hero, owners of the a abovementioned speakeasy. Beatrice is smart, outspoken and kind. I love her sense of humor and I love her. She's amazing protagonist.
Benedick is aspiring writer from a well off family who drops out from school to write novels and he lives at Hey Nonny Nonny. He's tender-hearted and smart and his sense of humor matches Beatrice's. No wonder the romance happened. Ben is a god guy and it's been fun reading his pov. I want to mention that his father turned out to be a better man than I expected.
Maggie is blues singer, she's seventeen year old black girl. She lives in Hey Nonny Nonny too and performs in the speakeasy. She's ambitious, driven and talented. I loved reading about her path towards career and seeing her being the heart of the Hey Nonny Nonny.

The cast of characters consists of Beatrice, Ben, Maggie and Hero and Prince, an Italian young man who helps in the speakeasy. I loved reading about their dynamics and dialogues. They were so well-crafted.

The romance is swoon worthy, tender and subtle. There's three romantic plot lines and all of them are top notch exciting. My only complain is I wish they were lgbtq+ characters & romances, but alas.

The humor deserves a special mention. The book is out of the world hilarious. I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud on multiple scenes during the book. The dry sarcastic humor was right up my alley.

The author creates a very vivid atmosphere of the time, with its ups and downs. I honestly was surprised when I got notifications on my phone or somebody distracted me from reading. I felt like I was really in the book, reliving the events and hanging out with the six of them.

Highest praise to McKelle George for writing this strong debut! I will be on a lookout for more of her novels.

I highly recommend to read Speak Easy, Speak Love. If you've read and loved TGGTVAV or The Diviners, I'm sure you'll love this wonderful standalone YA historical fiction retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

4.5 stars

[MaryGrace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish more people would read this book. It was so FUN

Speak Easy, Speak Love is a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing set in prohibition era Long Island. That’s the only thing I needed to know and I was sold.

The plot may be a little lacking but the characters were spectacular. We’ve got a rich boy who doesn’t want to be useless and is trying to find his purpose (sound familiar?) A feminist girl who’s brilliant and wants to go to medical school, her spunky energetic flapper cousin who just wants to be loved. A black female jazz singer trying to make it in a world set against her. Two boys from an Italian crime family. And all the characters who love and care for each other so much and are trying to the best of their ability to keep themselves together and to save a speakeasy that’s become a home to all of them.

Through the summer spent in a house on Long Island DRAMA ensues. This book is funny, it’s fun, it’s romantic. There’s witty banter everywhere which is the surest way to bring about my death. There’s angst. There’s hate to love. It’s a great time. It’s certainly better than the last adaptation I’ve seen of this play aka a movie featuring the same 5 British actors featured in every Shakespeare retelling ever ( The people who play Gilderoy Lockhart, Professor Trelawney, Professor Umbridge, and Carson from Downton Abbey)

My favorite part of this was the setting of Long Island, which is just so close to where I live that it was just a total joy to read about. Tons of books take place in New York, but always the city and how glamorous it is. So for once this was really refreshing. It’s so nice to see a place like Roosevelt Field, where Charles Lindberg took off from for his trans-Atlantic flight, as an actual air field, and not the shopping mall that’s there currently.

There was also a subtle touch on topics such as racism and feminism in the 1920s, and society’s expectations on young people.

Anyway, if you’re in the mood for something lighthearted and easy to fly through, but you aren’t a big contemporary reader, then I’d highly recommend Speak Easy, Speak Love. Also Mackenzi Lee blurbed it so there’s that.

Buddy Read with Canada's only soccer fan


This is supposed to be a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, which I don't remember at all except for I read it in high school and I played Beatrice and had a large crush on the boy who played Benedick, conveniently. fun times

[Myrn🩶 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quit a retell with a mix of prohibition, speakeasies, mobsters, class, race, and breaking gender roles. The author did her research quite clearly and gave the novel an authentic feel regarding the events and times. On one hand, I liked reading about the characters’ (especially Benedick and Beatrice) love, friendship, dreams, connections, and the discovery of each other's strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, this one had too many chapters on prohibition for my taste but the book overall was an escape which a good book provides. A must read for fans of the 1920s and Shakespeare buffs.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m finding it hard to fully fathom and express what it is I truly loved about this book so much. Aside from the fact that it’s a SHAKESPEARE RETELLING set in the ROARING TWENTIES (this fact alone should make you want to read it) my love for this book can be summed up in these 2 words: THE CHARACTERS. So I’ll just give you a walking tour of our six human disasters, because, boiz, this book is C H A R A C T E R D R I V E N:

BEATRICE: Aspiring doctor, the cleverest person you will ever meet, looks good in dungarees and is also rather handy with a rifle. Beatrice is the definition of an Actual Idol: She is smart and determined to go to medical school, with a tendency to run her mouth because she’s usually the smartest person in the room and is Frustrated With These Idiots. Which sometimes gets her into trouble. (Spoiler: Not sometimes. Often. Very often.) I love Beatrice because in an era that emphasised heightened female sexuality, she’s not afraid to be unfeminine. She knows she’s not stereotypically pretty, or delicate or girlish, but she doesn’t give a single damn about that, nor does she drag other girls down for being more feminine than her. Her cousin, Hero, is more stereotypically glamorous and good-looking, but did Beatrice ever once compare herself negatively to Hero? N O P E. In fact, she adores and admires her cousin, all while staying completely comfortable in her own self. No girl hate whatsoever. ANYWAY Beatrice is a sassy queen and I’d probably thank her if she shot me or sumthin.

BENEDICK: Lovely boy who wants to be a writer. Talks in clever, pretty sentences and loves his friends with his whole heart. His father sent him to boarding school but he ran away to help his bros run an illegal speakeasy and if that isn’t goals then I don’t know what is. Falls in Dislike at First Sight with Beatrice, thus ensues many witty arguments and pages of sexual tension. Honestly I just adore everything about this little disaster of a boy, especially because I could relate so hard to everything he said about writing, about his insecurities and wondering whether he was good enough to make it as a novelist or whether it was just a pipe dream. FOLLOW YOUR BEAUTIFUL DREAMS, BENEDICK.
(Also catch me sniggering at the second half of his name because apparently I am 5 years old.)

MAGGIE: A black jazz singer and the love of my life. Maggie is probably the purest person in this entire novel, and all I want in life is for her to succeed and become the most celebrated jazz singer in the world because it’s what she deserves. Also I LOVED how Maggie wasn’t afraid to follow her aspirations in the Cotton Club because it meant leaving the speakeasy behind; like, YES GURL you are allowed to be a little selfish and I’m so happy none of the other characters got mad at her for wanting to leave and pursue her career. Also she has the voice of an actual angel (I mean, her singing voice made a tough mafia mobster fall in love with her so you know it must be sent from the Heavens Themselves.)

HERO: You know that quote from The Great Gatsby where Daisy wishes that her daughter will be ‘a beautiful little fool’? Well, catch me wondering whether Hero Stahr is actually Daisy’s daughter in disguise. This girl is basically the humanization of every 1920s flapper stereotype that exists. She’s beautiful, she’s a flirt, she loves dresses and dancing with boys and drinking champagne. She’s also vulnerable, emotional, strong and determined to save her father’s speakeasy. It was easy to see why multiple boys fell in love with her in this story - she’s like a bright flame in a dark house where everything else has gone cold. You know those sorts of people you think you’ll never be able to keep up with, who seem to be running on a hidden electric current? That’s Hero. But just because she’s beautiful and wild doesn’t mean she’s an airhead,.

PRINCE: My suffering son who is just trying his best ok. Lowkey a bit of a mess but also determined and the hardest working boy in the world. Prince is actually the loveliest disastrous cinnamon roll and he did NOT receive enough page time in this book. Spent a good chunk of the story getting shot at (that’s just how he lives his life ok) while trying to single-handedly save a failing business all whilst being in (supposedly) unrequited love with the most Extra girl in the world,, like just give my boy a BREAK, he is going thru a lot right now. Just an all around Pure Boy.

JOHN: Big tough guy (supposedly) who is connected to the Italian mafia and cares far more than he will let on. Basically John puts on this cold distant persona to hide the fact that he is a SOCIALLY AWKWARD BEAN who does NOT know how to handle his feelings. He is Prince’s big bro and their relationship is, shall we say, complicated (read: understatement). He’s basically the definition of a tsundere and I absolutely LIVED for the moments when he forgot to put on his cold exterior and his emotions were naked on his face (usually when a certain awesome girl was around). I really loved this characterization of John; he’s a straight-up villain in the original Shakespeare play, but this book gave him so much humanization and showed how he’s more complicated than he lets on.

There’s aso CLAUDE, a rich boi from Ben’s boarding school, but there’s not really much to say about him. He’s basically the epitome of every coddled white boy - harmless but not really that interesting.

Basically I just adored these characters and I loved reading about them falling in love with each other and being Literal Human Messes. Plus the 1920s is my absolute favourite decade in history. Kind of sad that there weren’t any LGBTQIA+ characters but we can’t have everything we want.

4 stars because I suddenly find myself extremely reluctant to give any book I read 5 stars (I will find you again one day, elusive 5 star read).

[Zoe Stewart (Zoe's All Booked) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so well done! Beatrice and Benedick frustrated me to no end but in the best possible way! I would have loved to be a part of a group of friends like this ( aside from the getting shot at and breaking the law ).

Personally, I've always been interested in the prohibition era, mostly because I'm from Windsor, Ontario and Windsor had a significant role with regards to rum-running, so it's always been a part of local history I grew up with. I remember being a little kid and seeing the picture of a car driving across the Detroit River smuggling alcohol. This book appealed to the history nerd in me! (One of my professors wrote this book! The Rumrunners: A Prohibition Scrapbook) I don't know much about the mafia in the 20s, and I haven't read Much Ado About Nothing in a very long time. After reading the author's note and looking up some of the music she mentions, I love how close she stuck to history and the play. Speak Easy, Speak Love makes me want to reread Shakespeare and brush up on my history, local or otherwise!

Honestly, Beatrice and Ben bickering, trying to outsmart one another, and how fast they could whip out insults reminded me a lot of some of my favourite Dramione fanfics. Anything that reminds me of those is good in my books (all of the puns intended).

I had high expectations going into this book and all of them were met. I'll definitely be rereading this one day!

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have struggled to know what to say in this review. Because when a story is this good?! All I can seem to come up with is: YOU'LL LOVE IT, GO READ IT. So you can understand my turmoil, right? ;) For your sake, I'll attempt to be coherent, though...

First, the setting. I never knew that taking Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and placing it in the Roaring 20s would be so completely perfect. But it IS! It really, really is. All the foibles of these characters just absolutely make sense in a prohibition time period. From the Hey Nonny Nonny, to Prince and John and the mob, to the glorious and wonderful bickering into love of Benedick and Beatrice, to the constant fear of the prohibition agents, it just fits so seamlessly together! Sheer perfection, I tell you.

And then there's Benedick and Beatrice. They are, naturally, two of my very favorite characters ever. But if I thought I loved them before, well! These versions made me love them more, a thing I didn't know was possible! Their chemistry is explosive and intense, even as they do all they can to deny it. Oh my heart, how they deny and it is lovely and awesome and hilarious to watch them circle each other and try so very hard not to engage the other in conversation in the beginning, but one says something that the other just can't leave alone and oh my word, friends, I love every single bit of interaction they have!

And John and Maggie....ah, how I didn't expect to fall in love with these two! I was appropriately wary of John every time he came on the page, oh but not Maggie. Never Maggie! She is fierce and amazing and anything but scared of John. And he's a guy that is worthy of fear, let me tell you. He wields his power with control and his facial expressions rarely relax. But oh his soft center that only a certain someone is privy to? Ah, I don't know what to say about these two characters except that you have to meet them! I never in my wildest dreams expected to like Don John, but John Morello? Oh, just go meet him and then you'll see what I'm talking about.

Then there's all the other vast array of characters with their heartbreaks and happiness and all manner of goings-on. They have such relatability, even though I am nothing like nor do I understand anything about how they lived their lives. Yet that didn't matter, because I knew their hearts. I fell in love with so much of this book because Ms. George's words, people. I kept highlighting multiple sentences and whole paragraphs and just simply being blown away by the sheer charm and delight of being swept up in her ability to smoosh together a mere twenty-six letters to create such beauty.

This book, y'all. I could probably spend ten or twenty more paragraphs trying to expound on how much I loved it. (I won't. :) It's definitely more a character-driven story surrounded by a glorious setting, which is always a big draw for me. And just trust me! If you like Much Ado, I think you really ought to give this one a try! It's just SO GOOD, PEOPLE. So, so good! :D

[Rachel McMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope you guys aren't looking for deep thoughts or even coherent ones here because you have come to the wrong shindig, kittens. So get ready for this tipped-over-glass of rambling loquaciousness:

---from my blog----


I am DRIPPING with love for this book. ACHING with love for this book. GIDDILY FALLING OFF MY CHAIR for John Mor--erm--- I mean this book.

Yes. this book

(also, for John Morello)

and also for the voice--- the narrative voice-- cajoling and teasing and warm and knowing and like a sly wink --- ugh! these are the voices that wrap and keep you and make you feel all tingly to your fingertips like a first sip of wine after a long day.


This is the most delightful surprise ever. What larks to have the mind of a genius who decided "know what would super duper work? If I took Much Ado About Nothing --but without any of the douchebaggy Claudio bits --- and reworked it into a 1920s speakeasy-set treatise on outsiders, gender and race relations amidst a shifting age resplendent with historical awesome --- and highlighted by the mob!"


WHAT LARKS!

Okay, SO, Beatrice (wanna be doctor and long lost cousin to Hero)stumbles into the craftily named Hey, Nonny Nonny, replete with the most amazing cast of homage characters to the original. There's the vivacious and lovely Hero, there's Pedro "Prince" Morello and his half-brother (and my true love) John Morello, there's Maggie, a torch-siren-voiced headliner for all manner of jazz aged ditties mellowed into microphones whiskey-sopped and whose breathy voice finds the corners of the darkened joint ( THIS NOVEL IS SO ATMOSPHERIC YOU WILL DIE). Benedick (of course!!!) is a Scott Fitzgerald wannabe holding tight to his typewriter, Isabella, and tighter still to his belief that to truly be creative he should shirk his family posterity and, you know, rough it with some rum runners at a gin-soaked hop. There's dalliances and mob run-ins and terribly sour watered-down gin and there's mishaps and shootings and there's misunderstandings and dark corners and silhouettes of a couple to instill jealousy in another all amidst the true bond of family.

My favourite stories take the most unlikely cast of characters and smoosh them together in a colourful kaleidoscope of adventure. Each person is so well developed in this perfectly realized world, I dare you not to look up from the fresh and period-perfect descriptives and not find them starting across from you. I loved, loved, loved how it awakened Shakespeare's treatise on belonging, equality and love in a dazzling and wholly unexpected way. Once you start bounding along in this wingdinger of a hoodless jalopy, you're never quite sure where it will swerve and fork and I LOVED THAT!


And the language hints at the meted measures of the original but in a soft and accessible way so that you fall into its rhythm and are visited by the source phantom without ever thinking that she just stole a line and modernized it. LIKE HOW BRILLIANT IS THAT????? ugh ,read it for examples there are too many. TRUST ME! --but this is one "the world always took on a different shade after you'd failed." and "a girl might consider him handsome were she so inclined" and it is pinged with the same tell tale wisdom and social observance on the human condition; but somehow still more in its lovely, tangy pulse.

This, my dear readers, is not (thank highball glasses) an "updated classic" that aligns perfectly each and every character and plot point transposing it into a modern setting. NO!!! What George does swimmingly is take everything that the play should have been and play with it in the brilliance and light of a more contemporary setting. The restrictions of gender and class indigenous to the 1920s era ---as well as the progression for women and minorities-- are a springboard for working through what Shakespeare could only experiment with in embryo given the rigid structure of his time and experience ( this, guys, is the scribe who thought a great idea for an Italian name was "servantio" -- you know what we are working with here). Meaning, George is able to add several layers on her colourful cake and in the meantime work with the shifting dynamics of one of the most fascinating and pivotal decades in modern history. And she does this through the lens of the very feminist hero, the philosophical observer, Benedick and the mixed race pairing of my boyfriend/true love John Morello and Maggie.

And before you can think "Tonight, on a very special episode of Blossom", not once does she make this an "issue" or "statement" book; rather just a lens moving over a shifting moment in time and flesh and blood characters. There is not one stand-in archetype here. EVERYONE is developed: from "rum running thug #2 on the dock" to the revelers at Hey, Nonny Nonny

And it is stark and lovely and surprising and funny as all get out and DEAR HEAVENS READ THIS BOOK AND GIVE IT TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!!


You know how it is irreverent to say that you like something better than the Shakespearian source material because that makes you dumb and not smart enough and probably not deserving of the eight billion (approximate estimate ) dollars you spent on University? well, whatever guys, I am a grown adult woman and I LIKE THIS BETTER THAN READING THE PLAY. so there! Also, I will take out loans and life insurance to sponsor this netflix series.



"There was John, as if her singing had conjured him"
And now a special moment, nay, an ode, for John Morello and Maggie. He understands her core through music. He enables her to speak for herself and find her voice through song. He strips her to the understanding of the beauty of her own natural simplicity. There is a scene ( you will die, guaranteed) where she is trying on one of Hero's wigs ( all sleek and Cleopatra) and John ( unwitting mob boss who looks all surly but is actually a tortured bunny) beseeches her to take it off and be herself and THERE IS KISSAGE

I just ... Maggie and John are my heart's language " I can feel when you sing." HE CAN FEEL WHEN SHE FREAKIN SINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and what John does for his brother, Prince, and how he believes in him and how he sacrifices for him like a TORTURED BUNNY "I am not a good person, Margaret, but if I can let Prince stay one, the world is a better place."
UGH! DEATH! THUD!


"For someone who said he didn't care" (JOHN YOU PRECIOUS BUNNY LET ME FEED YOU LOLLIPOPS AND PULL YOU INTO THE SUNSHINE), "he sure put a lot of effort into not caring. Sometimes she could trick him into admitting she was as charming as she thought she was; but most of the time, it was like dancing around a cinder block."

"When the song was so perfect, he couldn't help himself, his usually barred eyes opened up like clear lakes" (ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME??? GIVE ME MORE) --she could see the music in him. She aimed for that look every time she sang in front of him because then she knew she'd struck gold."

For a relationship that on paper has a bazillion barriers--- mob guy, black woman, 1920s nonsense and social and racial and gender hurdles--- they speak and understand and love through music! KILL ME NOW!



"She'd walked by him and not noticed and normally she was aware of him like a moon to her tide." I need my JOHN AND MAGGIE BOOK NOW!

Like, observe: "So what if they'd had whole conversations without saying a word--- using only music?"

HEART THUD! I die, Horatio.

So, do we want some more quotes? Yes, yes we do!

ALL THE QUOTES

"Her stare was direct--channeled through absurdly big eyes, the kind a more inclined man might trip and drown in, if he weren't watching his step--but she was not exceptionally pretty. She was just aggressively there"



"The heart was an organ of instinct over reason"


Trouble, in other words. And like trouble, sometimes a girl found herself looking for it, wanting it, even when she knew it was a bad idea."


"Secondly, we both know 'special automotive toolbox' was your name for whatever distraction you were going to cook up to keep me away from the car, and of course now we see why"


"Words, what a tricky, tangled silence."


"Next to Anna, who met her own husband by accidentally clocking him in the face with a women's rights poster), Ursula appeared like the dour face of reality"


"You shoot things and don't fear spiders and are about as sweet as a lemon. What would a man even do with you?"
"The better question is what I would do with a man."


Frig. Don't even get me started. I could talk forever. If you're a teacher and are like "I need a new fun lesson plan and comparative study", I know Bloom's Taxonomy. I used to write lesson plans. Hit me up, I will give you ideas if it makes you buy this book because I love the experiencing of reading and discovering new things and it is my duty as a human to share experiences with you

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

{May 2024 Reread}

if I had a nickel for every time a version of Much Ado About Nothing made me fall in heavy like with Don Pedro, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice

(Speaking of which, one of my only complaints about this book is the Hero/Prince romance. I'd forgotten about John, so going into this reread, I was under the impression that it's Maggie who ends up with Prince, and I loved -- and still do love -- that idea. Of course, I also love that George rehabilitates the Pedro/John relationship for this retelling, and while I think that there's definitely a way to rehabilitate Claudio, as well, I don't mind him not getting the girl in this instance. And, in fairness, I did like Maggie and John together, as a second choice. Still, Hero and Prince as a couple didn't quite convince me. I love Hero and I love Prince, but not necessarily together, and I still think that Maggie and Prince are better suited to each other than to the characters with whom George pairs them.)

4.5 stars

{Original March 2019 Review}

What terrific fun!

(I would have much preferred to not have the free-flowing abuse of God's name, but other than that . . . Quality stuff.)

[Tiff]

Much Ado About Nothing retelling set in Prohibition-era New York?

[Brandy Painter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

I LOVE Much Ado About Nothing. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. That is 100% due to Beatrice and Benedick being one of my all time OTPs. (I've written about them before here and here.) There are parts of the story I would, of course, like to change for a more modern sensibility (such as everything with Hero and Claudio). I am therefore completely and irrevocably in love with McKelle George's clever retelling Speak Easy, Speak Love. She fixed everything I wanted fixed, and gave me things I never dreamed I wanted from the story but now can't live without.

Benedick Scott is finished. He is saying good-bye to his old, privileged life and taking off to live the remainder of his days at the "boarding house" Hey Nonny Nonny! While making his escape to meet his friend Prince, a schoolmate named Claude catches Ben leaving and tags along only to find himself completely captivated by Hey Nonny Nonny's young mistress Hero Stahr. Ben is unsurprised as he seems to be the only male he knows immune to Hero's charms. But Ben has another surprise waiting for him in Hey Nonny Nonny's newest full-time resident. Hero's cousin Beatrice has come to live with them. She is a freight train and a tornado wrapped up in human girl form, and she knocks Benedick completely off his feet.

Beatrice Clark has dreams and ambitions that do not involve rich boys slumming it on their whimsy. She is going to be a doctor. Just as soon as she straightens out her financial and educational standings. Helping out at her family's "boarding house" that fronts as one of Long Island's most famous speak easies in the meantime just seems logical. They need help, and as capable as she is practical, she can provide help in abundance. Too bad most of her help puts her in the company of the one person in the household she would most like to avoid...

George's versions of Beatrice and Benedick are just top notch. It never would have occurred to me to take Benedick and turn him into a wannabe novelist who has a love affair with his (named-feminine, of course) typewriter, but it is just so perfect in every way. It takes all of his philosophical insecure ramblings and gives them a purpose and a psychology that absolutely fits the original intent of the character and the 1920s setting of this iteration perfectly. Beatrice is as ever highly capable and painfully honest. She is a practical girl who yearns to go to medical school and be a doctor. Following her ambitions has lead her to learn a great deal on her own already. She lugs around a trunk full of medical study materials and diagnoses everyone she comes in contact with who seems remotely suffering from an unknown ailment. When he meets her, Ben is feeling rather purposeless even though he's trying to invest his life with meaning by running away from his rich father to be a writer. For her part, Beatrice is trying to find her place in a world that doesn't seem to want her and is simply grateful to her uncle for taking her in. Sparks fly between the two immediately and the banter is wonderful and clever and amusing in every way the banter between these two is supposed to be. Though a few choice lines from the source material are used, George adds her own spin to their dynamic and makes their banter relevant to the setting. I would have kept turning pages just to keep reading their back and forth.

The supporting characters that round out the cast are also well done, and it is here that George changed things up a bit. John is not the unscrupulous villain of the source material, and the fraught relationship between him and Pedro (Prince) is explored in more depth. Maggie (Margaret) has a far more prominent role and is not the hapless dupe she was in the original. The sub-plot of her relationship with John is my second favorite part of this novel. I would love to read another book just about them. Claude isn't much changed from Claudio except he is very much put in his proper place by the end. Hero is far more rounded a character. George spends a considerable amount of time focusing on how the absence of Hero's recently deceased mother has affected everyone. Anna is almost as much a character as all the living characters of the story. There is much acknowledgment that things with Hero would go much differently if her mother were still alive. Prince is the secondary character I feel the least amount of connection to, but I was very content with the way his story concluded in this version. I thoroughly loved what George did with the magistrate characters. The addition of Ben's father as a character is a stroke of genius. (Also I loved him. I could read more of him too please.)

The 1920s setting is inspired. Bringing all of these characters together for the purpose of running a speak easy is a brilliant twist. Prince is the one who does the majority of the smuggling as Leo grieves the death of his wife. Hero is determined to keep it all going and runs the place. Maggie is the singer. Ben just tries to help without getting in the way. John is an Italian mobster trying to protect his little brother from getting in too deep in a world that could kill him. Beatrice ends up there because she's related, but she fits in right away and begins helping without batting an eye.

I can't in anyway pretend objectivity with this. It is exactly so much a me book that I was bound to love it no matter what. The banter lives up to its predecessor, the dynamic between Beatrice and Ben is perfect in every way, the setting pleased me, and I loved every single character.

My only regret is that I waited this long to read it.

[anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

rep: Black character, half-Italian character

ARC provided by the publisher.


First things first: I have a confession to make. I know the plot more or less but I've never actually read Much Ado About Nothing... In my defense! We don't read that much Shakespeare in school here! But honestly, even with that in mind, I absolutely Loved™ Speak Easy, Speak Love which I feel only means that it holds up wonderfully on its own, not only as a retelling!

If you've read my Waiting for September '17 post, you already know this was one of my most anticipated releases of next month. And oh boy, was I right to be excited about this! What I liked most before I started reading, was the setting. I mean, it's the 1920s! With their charm & glitter but also downsides. And we get all of that in the book! The whole plot resolves around teens living in Hey Nonny Nonny - which, apart from a mansion with lots of rooms for boarders, is also a speakeasy. We get a pretty close look at prohibition and the fascinating culture that sprang to life around it.

A lot happens in the book - there are wild parties, shootings, deals with mafia, bloody accidents - but it still feels a lot like it's mostly characters driven. Which for me personally is a great thing. And oh god, the set of characters we meet here! Of course first the most important pair: Beatrice & Benedick. They're ridiculously attuned to each other from the very start and honestly just such a joy to observe. All their interactions are quotable, it's like magic!! Beatrice wants to become a doctor and already is the most brilliant girl around. Benedick comes from old money and dreams about being a writer. It's amazing to see them navigate their totally different backgrounds and clash time and time again. They always come back to each other though...

And then we have a beautiful Hero, daughter of the Hey Nonny Nonny's owner, who's all sugar, spice and everything nice; Maggie, the talented black singer & a shining star; Prince, half-Italian boy who's basically the brain behind the speakeasy's operation and John, his half-brother, your obligatory Bad Boy. There are others of course, but those are the ones we get to see the most of. And the POV changes from chapter to chapter which allows us to learn more & more about each character. If I were to find a flaw in the novel, it would be at this point and it would be that no character canonically belongs to the lgbt community. But then I wish that every single character in every single book did.

The six main characters are not all connected by blood but they might as well be for all the love they have for each other. It's the most beautiful family, that sticks together through good and better and everything in between. As a sucker for found families trope... Yes, I found my safe haven. And they're all so bright and warm! And funny!! The writing in Speak Easy, Speak Love is incredibly fresh and indeed it shows best in dialogues, most of them truly hilarious. The 1920' slang is always present and never feels out of place and it adds so much flavor to the story as well.

You know the great thing about fanfiction? Apart from being able to read more about your favourite characters, of course. It's that fics are almost outrageous in the choices of tropes they serve in one story. They spoil us & they're not afraid to do it. And Speak Easy, Speak Love is a lot like that too. There were so many scenes where I just couldn't believe what I was reading was really true! To name just one: a pretend date. It all felt like the author's love letter to the readers, like she actually took time to notice what the audience enjoys and then decided to give it to us. That doesn't happen often and it only makes it that much more beautiful. And put together with a wonderful cast of characters, it created an unforgettable story.

Also, the pun in the title!

 

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 1920's retelling of Much Ado About Nothing. What a ride!
I stayed up far too late last night finishing this book because I could not put it down. It is not that the writing was that enjoyable (it is okay but sometimes a little cluttered) or that I needed to know what happened to the characters (honestly, Beatrice was kind of annoying?) but somehow all together the good and bad come together to create something really delightful.
I like how the author dropped (or maybe never had? that was part of the confusion) the Hero POV and focused on African-American Maggie, the jazz singer, POV and her relationship with the Italian mob agent, John. I think, more than anything, that side romance kept me reading. Hero was intense and grand, and Beatrice and Benedick were witty, but Maggie and John pulled my heartstrings.
I like the other characters, though. I liked Benedick and his relationship with those around him. He really is a sweetie. I liked Prince. I like that the question of what is he doing now permeates the book but doesn't take over. It adds a spot of mystery.
Same with the prohibition era agents.
I think what makes this book work so well is that it is so well developed. It is a character driven story but they are very well developed characters. It is easy to like and sympathize with them and want to read on. Side tangents and romances and plots flit here and there but it stays true to its core.
A worthy retelling!

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this book was going to be spectacular, but I was not prepared for this.

This book was Six of Crows meets Shakespeare plus The Great Gatsby. I have no clue how that even works, but OH MY GOSH IT DID. I'm in this stunned stupor from it. Everything about it was so good: the writing, the characters, the setting, the descriptions, the parallels between the original play. Everythinggggggggggggggggggggggggg. I never thought these words would ever come out of my mouth, but this book really makes me want to read Shakespeare again.

Where do I even begin? George has a wonderful voice. The writing in this novel was superb. I am in disbelief this is a debut novel, because it seems like this book came from a writer who had been knocking out books for years. She has perfected her art already, and she got me to read every little bit of this 432 page book. I will be buying anything from her in the future.

The characterssssssssssssssssssssssss. She gives us a large cast of them, and they were each intriguing, dynamic, and complex. I kept thinking, well, I only liked Benedict and Beatrice from the first novel, so I will only like Benedick and Beatrice here, but instead she gave us SO MANY TO LOVE. Prince, Hero, Maggie (I LOVE LOVE LOVE HER), and the delightfully complicated John. I was even invested in Claude, Dogberry, and Leo. This is where I get the SOC vibes from - George put that level of dedication and detail to each of these characters, making them feel lush and alive. I backed and rooted for each one of them.

George also did an amazing job between weaving the original tale and the new elements. I loved picking up on the little mentions of the story that she added in. Much Ado About Nothing is one of the only classics that I really, really enjoyed, and it is by far my favorite Shakespeare play. She took what made that story so great and then added her own flair. It was brilliant.

And the new setting? Omigosh, it was brilliant. One of the main reasons why I enjoyed The Great Gatsby more than the other classics was because it introduced me to the time of The Roaring Twenties. It was a time of glitz, glamour, new beginnings, shady dealings, crazy parties, and revelations. I truly felt like I was back in time with the ease and beauty that George created. She is a master of setting, and I was obsessed with this one.

AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE FEMINISM IN THIS BOOK???? Maggie, Beatrice, and Hero are some of the best YA heroines I've seen in a long time, and they are such great role models. Hero tackles double standards in the way that women are treated compared to men, and Beatrice and Maggie are sooooooooooooo kickass. It also celebrates female friendships in the best way possible, and it's so rare that we see that nowadays in YA. Gosh, I love how much George focused on it.

And the shippppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppps. I loved every single one. In the beginning, Benedick and Beatrice were my favorite, but Maggie and John were my obsession. They had me longing for them together. Benedick and Beatrice do hold a special place in my heart, though. And whoever Hero is with is so much love, too.

This book was amazing. It's been a very long time, since I've added a book to my favorites shelf, and this book did it without even trying. It took me a while to read and even though I didn't pick it up for a long time at parts, it never bored me or made me not want to. This book is a favorite for so many reasons, and this is easily in the top 5 books I've read in 2017. Can't wait to see what George does next! 5 crowns and a Tiana visit and a Rapunzel, Mulan, and Aurora rating!

[Danielle (Life of a Literary Nerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The line between like and dislike is almost invisible when attraction is involved.”

This was such a fun book. It was glitzy and charming and had all the whimsy you would hope for from a 1920s Shakespeare-inspired retelling. With strong personalities and insane chemistry, this story captivates you from the first page. Speak Easy, Speak Love follows the lives of 6 teens in the summer of 1920s New York as their lives converge in the rundown and past-its-prime Hey Nonny Nonny mansion, with it’s own struggling speakeasy. The group spends their summer trying to save the speakeasy and wonderfully misguided misadventures ensue.

Things I Liked
I really loved all of the characters in the story! They all have such strong personalities, and are clearly distinct individuals. I thought the story was incredibly well-balanced for having such a large main cast of characters. I really loved Beatrice - she was so inspiring!

Along with the fantastic characters, the relationships in the story were so dynamic and vibrant! I love that the story focused on romantic AND platonic relationships. Yes we get amazing flirting and witty banter, but we also have wonderful friendships and found families too. And all of the relationships feel genuine.

I love that we get to see characters confront the less glamorous side of the time period. We get to see how the characters confront racism, classism, and sexism in their lives. It created an earnestness and honesty to the story that was great in the midst of the glitz and glamour.

One of my favorite parts of the story was definitely the setting. Hey Nonny Nonny was an inspiring location! It was a home for the misfits and the downtrodden, and really because a character all on it’s own.

Things I Didn’t Like
Hero fell out of favor with me a bit in the last half of the story. I just started to like her a little less. I also felt like the other characters pandered to her a bit, even through all of the misunderstandings.

This was such a bright and happy read. I had such a fantastic time. This might just cement the 1920s as my favorite historical time period to read. And I always love a retelling! Speak Easy Speak Love has all the shine of the 1920s to captivate you - the energetic characters and the lively setting all create a rich world you want to be a part of !

I received a copy of the book from Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are taken from an ARC and are subject to change.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So basically, this is a YA retelling of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. Set in the Prohibition Era just outside New York City. But it's much more than just a transportation of the characters to a new setting. It takes the basic premise of the play -- can two people who verbally spar and butt heads be convinced to fall in love? -- and runs with it.

Beatrice gets kicked out of school and winds up at her cousin Hero's home, hoping her uncle and cousin will take her in. She doesn't know it until she gets there, but they run a speakeasy called Hey Nonny Nonny in their basement. A lot of other people live there too, including Maggie, Prince, and Benedick.

Benedick wants to be a Serious Writer. Maggie is a jazz singer and Hero's dear friend who provides the entertainment for the speakeasy. Prince tends bar for Hey Nonny Nonny, and he has a half-brother named John, who is... not a Good Guy, but still a good person deep inside. John ties with Beatrice for my favorite character, I think.

Benedick's friend Claude and Hero get all infatuated with each other. Federal agents try to close down the speakeasy. Hero and Maggie try to convince Beatrice and Benedick they love each other even though they spend basically every waking moment annoying and being annoyed by each other.

And if that sounds kind a fluffy and not really the sort of thing I read... trust me, this book is deeper than I'm making it sound. It's got all kinds of stuff about race and class differences and ethics, not to mention some Very Wonderful character explorations. And then there's the writing! Snappy, insightful, witty, and profound by turns. I bought my own copy of this book already, that's how much I loved it. I couldn't be without it. I'm quite sure I'll be re-reading it soon.

[Rosalyn Eves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. Much Ado has always been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and I love it when adaptations get it right (see also: Lily Anderson's The Only Thing Worse than Me is You). I wasn't sure how Much Ado would translate to the 1920s and a speakeasy, but it turns out it translates brilliantly, with Beatrice as a young woman with ambitions of becoming a doctor, Benedict as a wealthy heir about to be cut off if he doesn't give up his dreams of writing, Hero as a young woman struggling to keep her parents' speakeasy open, Margaret as an aspiring jazz singer--and even John becomes more than a flat, Keanu Reeves villain, as an Italian boy with ties to the mob.

The plot is a clever riff on the original, but what I fell in love with was Beatrice and Benedict's prickly repartee, and their slowly evolving relationship. It has all the delightful banter of the original with a sweetness that is all its own.

The period setting is also delightful--well-researched, fresh, and lending itself to some sharp, vivid descriptions.

A wonderful story--I was sad when it ended.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars-- pretty damn close to 5. I ADORED this book! What a surprise, I hadn't heard of it but am so happy to have discovered it and receive an early copy! I'm a big fan of anything to do with the roaring 20s, add speakeasy' s and mobsters alongside brilliant, quirky characters and fabulous writing-- guys it's a total, total win in my book. The story moved at just right the pace, the drama and comedy gelled perfectly, the romance was amazing and the banter top notch. But come on, it IS a retelling of the Bard's Much Ado About Nothing after all. But even with that as the backbone I do feel that Mckelle George TOTALLY made this all her own and did so pretty much perfectly. I can't wait to read more in the future (isn't discovering a talented new author just the BEST?!!) and encourage all you YA fans out there to pick this jewel up as soon as you can! <3 <3 <3

[Chesca (thecrownedpages)]

DID SOMEONE SAY "1920s" AND "SPEAKEASY"??? *shelves* I may be the only here who shelved this not because of the mention of a Shakespeare retelling.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow. A retelling of Much Ado About Nothing set in New York during the 1920s, everything about this book was fantastic. This story follows six characters during the summer of 1927 - Beatrice, Benedick, Maggie, John, Hero and Prince - as their lives converge at Hey Nonny Nonny, a Speak Easy on Long Island. Drama, romance and hilarity ensue as these characters navigate running a nightclub during the prohibition era. The language in this book is seriously so good, most especially the snappy dialogue between Beatrice and Benedick both of whom I couldn’t get enough of. I could roll around all day in their conversations. I say this all the time, but my favorite retellings are those that take a story and make it their own and George does exactly that. I felt present in this 1920s setting and invested in these characters lives. I didn’t want it to end! There’s so much more I could say about this book, I feel inadequate to describe how amazing it is. Also goodness gracious, isn’t that cover gorgeous! I can just picture Beatrice and Benedick facing off!


Love Triangle Factor: 2 of the couples (my favorites) - None. One of them does, yes. But totally worth it.
Cliffhanger Scale: Standalone. I cannot wait to find out what else this author writes!