Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux - Book Review

Publication Date: 22nd Oct 2024

Genre: Historical Romance 

2.5 Stars 

One Liner: Unfortunately, not impressed 

1817

Margaret Arden would rather be known as a famous author than become a dutiful wife. However, her family needs money, and she needs to marry well to provide for her widowed mother and two younger sisters. Yet, Margaret cannot give up on her dream. She even dares to approach a publisher with her latest manuscript only to be insulted. 

Captain Bridger Dryden is starting over as a publisher after his days in the war. With a wayward rogue for a younger brother, a father suffering from illness, and a crumbling estate, he has much on his mind. When he finds a stray paper with a fragment of a story, he is determined to publish it. Turns out, it was written by none other than the woman he insulted a prior. 

With Margaret and Bridger attending the same wedding at Pressmore Estate, can they find a truce or will things get worse? 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Margaret (Maggie) and Bridger. 

My Thoughts: 

Based on the premise and cover, I had some expectations about a young woman trying to establish herself as a writer and finding love along the way, with some drama, of course! However, the drama part took over and diluted the rest of it. 

The beginning should get a solid 4 stars. It establishes the FMC’s situation and character. Though it doesn’t show the MMC in a good light, I was hoping for a good enemies-to-lovers romance and some banter. 

However, too many elements enter the plot – the rascal brother (the MMC’s), an annoyed ex, a dear one sabotaging the new bride’s life, and more drama! While the end lessons are important, they come at the expense of the main characters. 

I could never really feel the hero and heroine’s relationship. It seemed to progress, but I felt nothing. Bridger wasn’t the kind of grump I like, though he ticked all the boxes. I just couldn’t connect with the developments. 

Despite this, I loved the scenes with Violet and Whinny. The book would have been even more boring with them and Ann. 

As an Indian, I appreciate Ann’s backstory. However, I’d have liked it if she and Lane got their own book to explore the details. This wasn’t the book to make a subplot take over the main theme. 

Unfortunately, we don’t get more than a surface-level detail of the hardships faced by women writers to publish their pieces. I don’t need a thesis, but I would have liked it more if the MCs had a short discussion about the process. Even when they actually discuss poetry, we are told they spoke about it. 

There are a couple of love scenes (moderately graphic). Since I didn’t connect with their romance, these scenes didn’t really feel emotional. 

One thing I did like was how the aunts were depicted. Yet, the person who was responsible for all this doesn’t even get a single word! Where is Margaret’s mother? What does she have to say to her daughters? Does she agree with her ‘savior’ sisters? Does she want her daughters to be happy? Is she conflicted and guilty? We know nothing. We only hear the aunts bashing the poor woman because she married for love and was left penniless after her husband’s death. Her active presence would have enhanced the story a lot. That was more important than the scandal and drama. 

A good thing is that the book is fairly easy to read. I finished the majority of it in one sitting. Also, there are tiny quotes from Shakespeare’s works at the beginning of each chapter and many mentions of his plays. Enjoyed those! 

To summarize, Much Ado About Margaret has a great premise but ends up underwhelming with a bigger subplot than the main plot. It’s a small book, so that’s something. 

NGL, I’m surprised that a book by a bestselling author reads like a rough first draft (I know this is uncorrected proof but both are different). Maybe coz this seems to be her first lighthearted romance (GR shows dark historical fiction on her list of works) and the shift in genres wasn’t smooth?

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group (Ballantine| Dell), for eARC. 

#NetGalley #MuchAdoAboutMargaret