Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Much Ado About Lady Macbeth
AUTHOR: Rebecca Cohen
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 220 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2022
BLURB:
Jacob Milner might have the face of an angel and the legs of a sinner, but his poisonous tongue would taint even the prettiest visage.
A Shakespearean era enemies to lovers MM Romance
David Bell has risen from the London slums to be one of the up-and-coming stars of the King’s Men, the company of players at the Globe theatre. On the cusp of being too old for female roles, he yearns to play one more part before he leaves the skirts behind: Lady Macbeth. But he is not alone in that desire, and his nemesis, Jacob Milner, a soft-bellied popinjay who has never known day’s work in his life, is also vying for the part.
Sparks have flown between them before, but the fiery barbs and risqué name calling are hiding a different passion. But even if they do manage to put their animosity behind them, Jacob has another problem, his father is trying to marry him off to the daughter of Baron Runcorn.
REVIEW:
The time for playing the theatre’s young maidens was coming to an end. David needed to prove his acting skills to continue with other paying roles. Unfortunately for David, Jacob is a rival and annoying distraction. The two had been striking off one another for a while – hailing from opposite ends of the social scale didn’t help matters. But could they find common ground or something more?
Much Ado About Lady Macbeth is told in the third person from David and Jacob’s viewpoints. The location is historical London, and the differences between the theatre, the alleyways, and upper-class living made for some excellent scenic contrasts. The story is dialogue-heavy, and fans of old English will relish the ancient version of bitching barbs and sarcasm. For those new to the historical genre, the language takes some getting used to, making it difficult to connect to the characters.
David and Jacob are lovely. They hail from different backgrounds, but the love of acting and the theatre environment erodes the class barrier. Their story is a truly sweet one, with a mostly small theatrically dramatic cast, for which my reading brain power is always thankful. However, when comparing the story to life on the high seas, the waters were calm enough for the majority to enjoy sunbathing on deck. Where drama happened, a solution soon followed – a factor angst-shy readers will relish. Others, me included, may prefer a slightly rockier voyage or at least one with more cloak and dagger.
I think my regard for this story is somewhat tainted because I loved the original Earls of Crofton book – any else pales in comparison. A classic case of sequelitis where nothing quite measures up to the first book. Consequently, it didn’t draw me in as much as I wanted. I found the story easy to put down and return to it another day. I think I’m searching for another holy grail of Crofton stories and haven’t found it yet. It was sweet enough and Rebecca Cohen is an excellent author, but my heart rate hardly changed.
RATING: 
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