MUCH ADO ABOUT MARGARET, by Madeleine Roux, Dell, Oct. 22, 2024, Paperback, $18 (young adult, ages 16 and up/ new adult/ adult fiction)
A female author pushes against Regency norms in hopes of getting published in Much Ado About Margaret, by Madeleine Roux.
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 passion: 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. —Synopsis provided by Dell
Author Madeleine Roux captures the Regency era in a mix of classic and modern sensibilities. Her premise is enjoyable. The book is fast-paced, and you care about the characters, though there could have been more growth.
Set in Regency England, Much Ado About Margaret starts out feeling very much like a sweet, slow burn romance. Things change about two-thirds of the way through, that changes. That’s when a very, very steamy scene comes into play. And this scene seems to come out of nowhere. It doesn’t really fit with what comes before. If it wasn’t so jarring, the scene wouldn’t have bothered me. But as it is, I felt like I was suddenly reading another book.
Not everyone will have a problem with this. However, I recommend it as a library read to see if it’s a good fit prior to purchasing.
*Cracking the Cover occasionally highlights adult fiction novels that may be appealing to young adults. Due to sexual content, Much Ado About Margaret is not appropriate for younger YA readers. I suggest ages 16 and up.
Copyright © 2024 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
