Name: Sofia Nunes's review of Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George
Item: Speak Easy, Speak Love
Rating: 5
Author: Sofia Nunes

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.

Speak Easy, Speak Love

Andrada D

Sofia Nunes

Family, romance, finding yourself, all set in the 1920s Prohibition Era? WHAT MORE COULD I ASK FOR? This was as fantastic as you would dare hope for a retelling of Much Ado About About Nothing set in a Long Island 1920s speakeasy. Hilarious, charming and the characters were everything, inspiring and human. Wow. This is an amazing debut novel.


  “He felt like climbing a mountain, not for any heroic reason but for something stupid, like picking her a flower; he felt subservient to her whims, desperate for her not to command anyone but him; he felt terrified for feeling all those things after a tiny kiss, a nothing kiss, a fraction, a weed, a sneeze, compared with a dozen other tokens of affection he'd received in his life.”







  “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.”

Alice

Do you know that feeling when your mouth is dry so you get a glass of fresh water and it's just wonderful and healing and- heaven? Speak Easy, Speak Love is the literary version of it.

Yes, I am obsessed with this book.
It was just... *fangirls*

⋆1920s
⋆retelling
⋆clever banter
⋆THAT COVER
⋆bootlegging tips and tricks
⋆feminism
⋆sass and sparkles
⋆jazz
⋆love

What else could you wish for?

I've talked about it in more depth over here.

Blog | Twitter

Caitlyn DeRouin

You can read my full review here: https://teatimelit.com/2021/04/21/rev...

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What initially drew me to this story was the fact that it’s set in the 1920s. I really love the aesthetic of the 1920s, so I enjoy reading stories set in that time period, and I really liked the idea of a Much Ado About Nothing retelling set in the 1920s. Something I loved was how much research went into Speak Easy, Speak Love. I’m not a 1920s history buff by any means, but all the details felt very authentic. McKelle George clearly did her research when writing. I particularly enjoyed that she had included information about the 1920s and how they inspired her writing choices in the author’s note. 

I absolutely love retellings. I love seeing how an author pulls inspiration from the original work and the twists that they put on the story. I think that George did a great job of making the story her own while keeping the characters recognizable to lovers of the original story. There were also little shoutouts to Shakespeare’s comedy throughout the story. The chapter titles were taken from lines in Much Ado. The speakeasy being named Hey Nonny Nonny comes from lyrics of “Sigh No More” in the original story, Hero saying, “well, it’s not Shakespeare” after reading one of Benedick’s poems — those little things added a lot to the story for me and I loved it. 

I was really a fan of the characterization, particularly that of Beatrice, Hero, and Maggie. I felt that George added the rising feminist movement into the book without it being preachy or falling far into the “not like other girls” trope – though at times I think that came from some of the male characters a bit, but not the female characters. Beatrice, Hero, and Maggie all had their own distinct personalities, their own voices, and motivations. They were fully fleshed out and developed, though in my opinion Hero less so than Beatrice and Maggie.

laura

I wanted to adore this book. I really enjoyed the first half of this read. But i struggled with these and half so much. I think this book would have been much better at series rather then a super long standalone. There was so many POV and they were not distinct enough to make it clear with person head I was in. I liked all the characters, but did not feel super connected to them all. It did not grab my attention and did not keep me focused. I stuggled with the last half of the book!

Paula Espinosa

I LOVE IT SO MUCH! The plot development (along w character development), the parallelism to Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing was incredible, with many amazing plot twists and differences, along with incredible historical accuracy. 10/10 recommend!!!

Andrada D &
Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George

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Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George