Speak Easy, Speak Love – eARC Review & Giveaway!

Hey guys! I’m back with another review for a very interesting book I had the pleasure to read! I’m here as part of the Speak Easy, Speak Love blog tour hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club!

CLICK HERE to see the complete blog tour schedule!
It’s full of interviews, reviews, a character quiz, and more!

Speak Easy, Speak Love
by McKelle George
360 Pages
Expected Publication: September 19, 2017.
Goodreads Rating: 4.46 stars ( 54 Ratings )

My Rating: 4.0 stars (⋆ ⋆⋆ ⋆)

Goodreads | Amazon | Indie

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.

I feel scared to review this book… specially because it’s a retelling about a play I know NOTHING about (yes, I’m talking about Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare). So… sorry, but this review will be from an outsider’s perspective. Buuut, with that in mind… it’s surprising how much I enjoyed this book! This is great, because it’s the perfect way to show that this book is not only is an amazing adaptation of a play, but it’s also amazing on it’s own!

The story revolves around a group of teenagers in the 1920s that live in Hey Nonny Nonny , which is a speakeasy. All of these characters are charming in their own way. I loved EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! That’s something that I don’t think I’ve ever felt with a book… EXCEPT with Six of Crows. I had that in mind all through the book and couldn’t stop comparing them. So, if you’re a fan of SoC, ignore the rest of this review and just trust these words: This book is for you!

Now, back to the setting. Hey Nonny Nonny (which was always funny to pronounce for me lol!) is a speakeasy, meaning, it’s a place where alcohol is sold (illegally). These teenagers are living in a place that’s close to being shut down for doing something illegal, and yet, they remain there because it feels like their home. They don’t care about the dangers and the things they go through, as long as they remain together.

The story begins when Beatrice’s leaves school and gets sent with her Uncle, (who runs a speakeasy but shhh… because Beatrice doesn’t know this! Yet.) The speakeasy is the home to 6 teenagers who don’t share blood, but consider themselves family. These kids fought, hated, loved, and laughed so much together! THEIR INTERACTIONS ARE ALWAYS SO FRESH AND FUN! In the group, there’s a few couples, because WHAT WOULD YA BE WITHOUT SOME ROMANCE?! No, but for reals, there’s some super adorable romance going on, and then there’s also some drama, and some hate to love romance going on. Every relationship is so different and fun to watch.

To be honest, I can’t really explain what happens through the book! There’s just so much going on, but at the same time, the book would be nothing if the characters weren’t as full of life as they were writen.

Our six main characters (which reminds me of Six of Crows, AGAIN), are so unique, we see a lil bit of everything; from the aspiring writer, to the poor girl aspiring to be a doctor, to the bad boy and the gorgeous fashionista. All of their POVs make the story worth reading.

Before I finish, I gotta say, I’ve never read a story that took place in the 1920s, so as I read, I did a bit of “research” –which is me just basically googling stuff– and I gotta admit; the language, the slang, and the setting definitely give a whole new meaning to the story.

It’s AMAZINGLY ON POINT!

Fans of Shakespeare’s play -and those that never heard of it but are still intrigued- will find this book fresh and fun.

Overall Rating: 4.0 stars

BUT WAIT! THIS ISN’T OVER! We promised you a giveaway, and a giveaway you shall get!

Click Here for the Rafflecopter Giveaway!

• 1 ARC of SPEAK EASY, SPEAK LOVE by McKelle George
• Pre-order swag including:
• 1 SPEAK EASY, SPEAK LOVE bookmark, signed bookplate, and signed postcard
• The full set of SPEAK EASY, SPEAK LOVE character cards
• Link for more details about the swag

About the Author

McKelle George is a reader, writer of clumsy rebels, perpetual doodler, and reference librarian at the best library in the world. She mentors with Salt Lake Teen Writes and plays judge for the Poetry Out Loud teen competitions (but has no poetic talent herself). Her debut young adult novel Speak Easy, Speak Love comes out from Greenwillow/HarperCollins in 2017, and she currently lives in Salt Lake City with an enormous white german shepherd and way, way too many books.