I loved this book but also eye rolled a lot. I loved it because of the cliches and how adorable it was, but it’s also what caused the eye rolls. Sometimes the cliches were overdone. It was still sweet and enjoyable though.

This is a sweet Hallmark-esque romance with serious small-town charm. I've seen listings for vacation properties where you also work in a shop or something attached to the rental and none have ever tempted me but the one I saw that was attached to a bookstore. As a book lover, I'd love to run a bookstore, and know that I would really love to stay in a rental like this!

The town is sweet and charming, without being twee, and the townspeople really felt three-dimensional with a lot of backstory and character. The romance was believable and the tension built without being insta-love, which I appreciated. I did take some issue with how well things wrapped up in the end, especially after the big third act conflict, but I can forgive that. 3.75 stars

Much Ado About You
Thank you, Berkley Publishing, for the gifted copy of this book! {partner}

Genre: Romance
Format: 🎧
Pub Date: 2.2.2021
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆

"I know, the way the trees know they're rooted to the ground, that I'm rooted to you. That no matter your answer here this evening, I am yours until I'm nothing but dust in the wind. Maybe even then."

I loved Much Ado About You and could not understand why more people weren't raving about it. What wasn't to love about this feel-good romance featuring an incredibly charming farmer and his dog (who stole the show)? It was a delightful read, including themes of found family, female friendship, and finding your voice. Seriously, what is keeping people from loving this book?

Ah, yes… that third act break up//conflict stage of the book began, and I understood. It took such a strange and unexpected turn. I did not understand Evie's problem, and it took away from the magic of the story. Much Ado About You would have been a five-star read without the unnecessary conflict stage.

🏘️ Small town
📚 Bookstore setting
🥰 Swoon-worthy moments
👎🏼 Third act break-up

I recommended reading Much Ado About You if you're looking for a charming romance and don't mind a bit of unnecessary drama.

Is there anything Samantha Young can't write about?! Much Ado About You was an amazing read. From the start, I knew this was going to be a captivating story. Evie is my hero...hands down a real person dealing with real issues. Needing to find her place in the world, it seems her place is in another country, running a bookstore. Roane is my version of a book husband. Humble, sexy, amazing.... these two make an amazing couple. Much Ado About You made me laugh, cry, sigh, gasp, smile, and so much more. Another amazing read recommended by Samantha Young.

As someone who is constantly on the brink of some sort of life crisis, the entire concept that sparks the main story in Much Ado About You really appealed to me. Evie Starling is underappreciated at work, and is passed over for a promotion for a less-talented, less-experienced man, despite her decade of hard work, dedication, and stellar performance. So she basically quits on the spot. Couple that with another man who she had a great rapport with ghosting her with no explanation, and Evie is ready for a major change.

I felt this was relatable. Yes, nothing that happened to Evie is groundbreaking—these sorts of events are unfortunately things that so many women experience. But at the same time, we’ve all been there where it just feels like everything piled up at the same time and you just want to leave it all behind. Which is exactly what Evie does.

She takes a holiday package that lets her move to England and live above a small book store called Much Ado About Books and run the shop in it’s tiny English village. Soon after arriving, Evie fits right into the small town life in the village and meets a handsome farmer named Roane. Despite some great chemistry with Roane, Evie avoids getting involved because she has come to England to self-reflect about her life.

Still, eventually the two can’t stay away from one another. I was quite swept away by their story! Evie and Roane are both caring, empathetic souls. I loved all of the scenes with them helping the people around them. This holiday was healing for Evie in more ways than one.

I was also charmed by Roane! He was a sexy farmer with a heart of gold and who was a total gentleman (until maybe when they enter the bedroom finally…). The best part of the book isn’t the romance though, it is the journey of self-discovery and healing that Evie finds herself on. I will say the ending was a bit over the top, even for me. But as this is a romance book and we all join in wanting a “happily ever after”, I was ok with it. A few things made me roll my eyes, but nothing too much and I was glad Evie (who I adored) got her fairy tale after all!

Cute cute cute cute - I loved that the premise remindedme a bit of The Holiday.

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

It's not often that this happened, but every once in a while I'll read a book that makes me happy to read. This was one of those books.

I enjoyed every second of reading this. It felt like a true rom-com and it was exactly what I needed to read to lift my mood.

I instantly fell in love with Evie and Roane and everyone else in that little English village. It made me want to pack up my things and fly to England and have an adventure all my own.

I liked the writing and plot and was definitely a fan of the romance.

One downside is that the book was predictable, then again, all contemporary romance novels are. There's only so much novelty that can come of two people falling in love.

Also, certain things were rushed, but I honestly didn't even mind it. I loved the characters and the town and all the different personalities in it. Now I really want Violet and Lucas to have a story. I was so invested in those characters that I would gladly read a book just about them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and completely recommend it to any romance readers.

I'm a sucker for a Shakespeare inspired love story, and this cozy small village delivered. So charming, so refreshing to see a slightly older heroine.

I loved Much Ado About You! Samantha Young has a way of creating characters that you can relate to connect with to make the story that much more meaningful. Evie swears off mean after many bad experiences, decides to quit her job and take a trip to a small town in England. While on her trip she has a position running the bookstore, which Evie is excited to use this time to figure out what she wants out of life. However, when she arrives she gets pulled into the small town drama, lives, and starts to build friendships with the locals. One in particular is Roane, she tries to keep him at arms length to protect herself, but the constant flirting and connection can't be ignored. Will their romance be the forever kind or will past experiences and the ways of a small town impact their future? Read and find out what happens between Roane and Evie!

I tried, over and over, to find something I liked about this book. I wanted to like it, but it just wasn't to be. Part of it is found in way too many romcoms, and another part is just too unbelievable for words. I don't go into this genre looking for realism, but when the suspension of disbelief needs to be this big, that's a problem. I really hoped it was just me and I wasn't in the right mood for the story, but after several retries to get through the book and like something about it, I guess it's past time to call it a day and just move on. I managed to finish, but honestly, I started skimming after our main character solved like the 4th or 5th problem in this small town.

I started to read this a few times and could never get into it. It looked like it would be something I'd be into, but I guess it just isn't for me after all.

Content warnings: alcoholism, past death of a parent, emotional abuse, ghosting, trust issues in relationships

Evangeline "Evie" Starling is done with dating. She's just been ghosted during her first face-to-face meeting with someone she met online and had already started to care for. When she starts to have issues with her editing job, she takes it as a sign and moves from Chicago to a small town in northern England.

The apartment Evie rents is above a bookstore, and running the bookstore comes with her rental. Evie runs the bookstore while doing freelance editing and she begins to fall in love with the small village feel of Alnster. The people accept her as one of their own, and she feels contentment she doesn't have in Chicago.

Even though she's sworn off dating, Evie can't help but be drawn to local farmer Rowan. He's nice to look at and very friendly, so they begin a friendship that feels like it should be something more. Evie and Rowan's romance is the main tale in the story, but the richness of the side characters' narratives is what really makes the book shine.

Recommended for contemporary romance readers, especially if they're anglophiles.

Representation: Black side character, mixed-race side character, interracial romance

I'm a big SY fan, but this book just didn't work for me. It was aggressively fine, but also boring, and I just couldn't keep going. Since I'm unable to finish, I will not be rating or writing a full review.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Once again Samantha Young has given us another amazing book. I absolutely love Roane and Evie’s character. Let me just tell you, it had me hooked from start to finish. It’s a beautiful story. There is goody tension going on. Overall it’s a must read now!!!

A sweet novel about a young woman who changes her life by taking over a quaint English bookstore; a comforting read!

I ended up not finishing this book. It wasn’t a favourite and I didn’t enjoy the characters so I DNF, the book.

Though Young has written several other books, I've never read anything else by the author.

Evie having gotten fed up with her life has decided to go on holiday in the English countryside. Not only did she go on holiday, she has quit her job. Whilst on holiday, she is tending a local bookshop and doing some editing work on the side. Not long after her arrival, Evie stumbles upon a local farmer and his charming dog, making a connection she wasn't expecting. What Evie also doesn't expect is to become close to the other locals and become so embroiled in some of the local drama along the way. Is this just going to be a holiday or has Evie finally found something more?

I will say that this book kind of took me by surprise. I originally thought this might just be a throwaway book lovers book, but it ended up being a little bit more. First, we have Evie who is a true book lover, Shakespeare fan and someone who truly wanted to find more out of her life than to just live. I really could see pieces of myself in her. Then we had the cast of characters in the town, who really rounded out the story and added some depth to the story and the town as it was. Lastly there was the romance and the unexpected levels of the farmer, Roane. Sure, he did have some surface level stuff that was normative in a romance. But I loved that there was the flip of them being different ages and he was younger. That doesn't happen often enough in romances.

Overall, I really loved this. Thanks so much for the ARC!

I’ve enjoyed Samantha Young’s books for 10 years, but it’s been a while since I read her. Much Ado About You was just the kind of feel-good book I like to read, so it seemed like it would be the perfect book to get back into reading her work.

While I enjoyed it the entire time I listened, I have to admit, it was high on the cheese scale. It was a bit like a predictable Hallmark movie, but that’s OK, it was still a fun listen. Evie is 30. Her friends are all getting married and having babies, and she just got ghosted by another guy. She’s also just been passed over again for a promotion she deserved. It’s time for her to get out of Chicago for a bit and make a change.

Evie finds an ad to run a bookstore and live above it in a small town on the north coast of England for a month. She swears off all men (of course), and sets off to find herself. On her first day in this small, quaint English town, she meets Roane, the sexy, sweet, single farmer. But of course she’s sworn off men.
“Becoming friends with an English farmer was definitely a new experience. Who cared if he could grace the front cover of “The World’s Hottest Farmers” calendar?”

Evie got friendly with, and got involved in all the townspeople’s lives. In fact, she seemed to be the town savior, mending years-old rifts. Her and Roane were a little too good to be true. But I still listened to the whole thing with a smile on my face.
"Curse my luck!
I swear off men. I book a trip to England to find myself.
Instead I find a sexy English farmer who looked at me like he wanted to kiss my feet in thanks and then strip me naked to thank me some more."

Though high on the predictability scale, I didn’t see a last twist that happened, so I was glad there was a little surprise.

“You’re not perfect, Evie, rationally I know that.” He let out a long sigh. “But you’re perfect to me.”

Likes:
•The Shakespeare themed bookstore.
•It’s any book lover’s dream vacation.
•I loved all the townspeople and secondary characters.
•I smiled the whole time.

Dislikes:
•A little cheesy and predictable.
•I ended up really hating her best friend Greer.
•Though I loved reading about the townspeople, it took away from the time that should have been spent with the main couple, they seemed to fall for each other very fast with little page time together.


The Down & Dirty:
Much Ado About You by Samantha Young is a booklover’s fantasy romance. It was light, a little cheesy and predictable, but I still enjoyed listening to every word. Samantha did a fabulous job of transporting us to this little English town and falling for the townspeople and the bookstore. If you’re looking for a light and easy read that will keep you smiling, I think this would be a good choice.
Rating: 4 Stars, 3 Flame, 5 Narration

I chose this book purely for the cover, and this definitely did not disappoint. Not quite sure if this is a first purchase, but definitely a backlist bump

As someone who also had a breakdown in Millennium Park, I felt deeply connected to this main character. My favorite part was the small town village filled with nosy but lovable characters, which makes this world feel undeniably cozy.