sandraagee's review
3.0
It's a retelling of my favorite Shakespearean play ever mixed with a ton of fun nerdiness. Should be a match made in heaven, but a few things bog the story down for me.
Even with these flaws, I did enjoy the story well enough for the lighthearted nerdy romp that it was.
Spoiler
I found Trixie do be pretty unlikable in the beginning, though she grew on me a lot when she stopped being shrewish and obnoxious, well, pretty much once her romantic interest in Ben began. In general I'd hoped for a little bit more character development pretty much across the board with all of these characters. Finally, I was kind of confused as to why Jack - the Don John character - wasn't the villain. The actual villain - whose motives and methodology are pretty flimsy if you ask me - doesn't seem to have a counterpart in the play.Even with these flaws, I did enjoy the story well enough for the lighthearted nerdy romp that it was.
imashamedofmyoldreviews's review
4.0
Meg sank to the ground. “I don’t hate you, Trixie. You’re just the most bullheaded person on the face of the planet.”
“There should be a book about that around here,” I said, gesturing at the stacks. When her mouth twitched, I let myself smile at her. “You’re not a robot. And I am a bullheaded demon monster.”
“A minotaur?” offered B.
“The ancient Egyptians had a bull god, too,” said Brad.
“Apis,” Mary-Anne said.
“And this is what happens when you shove everyone from the top of the ranking list into one place,” Ben grumbled.
FOUR STARS AND MY WHOLE HEART.
After a long 8 years I have finally read this damn book and it's so good and fun. Everything I love about Much Ado About Nothing and then some. I love that even though of COURSE I knew what would happen I was so engaged the whole time, I love the whodunnit angle it took at the end, love the gang gang and their nerdery and the snappy dialogue style. The Mess and their not-normal normal world is also written cheekily but in a good way?? Only 1 very vile thing this book did was not let me READ what mary-anne wrote to fool Ben. Unbelievable
“There should be a book about that around here,” I said, gesturing at the stacks. When her mouth twitched, I let myself smile at her. “You’re not a robot. And I am a bullheaded demon monster.”
“A minotaur?” offered B.
“The ancient Egyptians had a bull god, too,” said Brad.
“Apis,” Mary-Anne said.
“And this is what happens when you shove everyone from the top of the ranking list into one place,” Ben grumbled.
FOUR STARS AND MY WHOLE HEART.
After a long 8 years I have finally read this damn book and it's so good and fun. Everything I love about Much Ado About Nothing and then some. I love that even though of COURSE I knew what would happen I was so engaged the whole time, I love the whodunnit angle it took at the end, love the gang gang and their nerdery and the snappy dialogue style. The Mess and their not-normal normal world is also written cheekily but in a good way?? Only 1 very vile thing this book did was not let me READ what mary-anne wrote to fool Ben. Unbelievable
aphelionated's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
irine_elle's review
5.0
Damn this was good!!! Crushed those expectations!!! The reveal at the end! Chef's kiss! I suspected something sus but not on both sides.
I just realised how annoying those references would be in real life. Not all of them but they could've been toned down a little.
I just realised how annoying those references would be in real life. Not all of them but they could've been toned down a little.
brokenrecord's review
4.0
This was cute! It’s an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing set in a high school, so I did spend like half of the book comparing it in my head to Nothing Much to Do, which was a webseries adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing set in a high school. I don’t know that the choices the two adaptations made were actually that similar, but the settings were so similar that it was hard for me not to constantly compare and contrast. While I do like the original Much Ado About Nothing a lot and am always up for a retelling of it, I’ve only read it once (and also seen the movie once), so as a result I wasn’t super nitpicky about how it was adapted since I don't know the story that well but also never got incredibly invested in the story? Trixie and West (aka Beatrice and Benedick) were super cute, and that’s basically all that I cared about. I did think the choice of how the Hero storyline was adapted was pretty smart; I feel like modern adaptations of P&P might want to consider trying to do something similar with adapting Lydia’s fall, where it doesn’t involve a sex scandal but does have similar ramifications. Also, as a side note, there were a lot of various geeky pop culture references that felt kind of forced to me? I mean, just generally, the things the characters were geeky about seemed to be fandoms that were at their height like 3-5 years ago but don’t seem to be AS popular now (although I am basically a fandom elder at this point so what do I know about what high schoolers are into). Cute overall, anyways!
winnzwordz's review
4.0
Not cliche but...
This was a good light read but I just didn't get the reason why the two protagonists hated each other. It seemed like a forced enemies to lovers trope. But I liked that the book wasn't cliche and had a good plot. The motive behind the hacking drama seemed quite far fetched but I still enjoyed it because I didn't see the twists coming.
This was a good light read but I just didn't get the reason why the two protagonists hated each other. It seemed like a forced enemies to lovers trope. But I liked that the book wasn't cliche and had a good plot. The motive behind the hacking drama seemed quite far fetched but I still enjoyed it because I didn't see the twists coming.
clari_'s review
5.0
This was a fantastic book! The banter between Trixie and Ben was so well-written and the references to Buffy,Doctor Who, and the like were superb.
I felt like reading the summary of the book left a lot out of what actually happened in the story which, in my opinion, only made the story even better.
I loved the writing. I liked how the author was able to convey important events in the characters' pasts without having to go into complete detail to show how the event shaped the person. The writing was amazingly witty! I can only dream of having as good of comebacks as Trixie's and Ben's. I found myself laughing out loud a number of times while reading this. I highly recommend this book and I will definitely be reading this book again!
I felt like reading the summary of the book left a lot out of what actually happened in the story which, in my opinion, only made the story even better.
I loved the writing. I liked how the author was able to convey important events in the characters' pasts without having to go into complete detail to show how the event shaped the person. The writing was amazingly witty! I can only dream of having as good of comebacks as Trixie's and Ben's. I found myself laughing out loud a number of times while reading this. I highly recommend this book and I will definitely be reading this book again!