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.

Much Ado About You was adorable and sweet, with moments of steamy swoonyness that had me fanning my kindle to cool it off!

My favorite parts of this story centered around the English Village and bookstore that are front center. It’s been a really long time since I read a book with such strong, meaningful supporting characters with brilliant storylines of their own. I’m hoping we’ll get more of these intriguing friends of Roane’s and Evie’s.

What can I say about Roane and Evie? I looooved how swoony Roane was at times. Evie was a great female character but at times, her personality irked me. It was no matter, because by the end I really loved these two. The twist at the end left me wanting to read more about what their lives would be like and I’m hoping at some point, Samantha Young revisits Roane and Evie in someone else’s storyline. Highly recommend!!

I am a big fan of Samantha Young, and MUCH ADO ABOUT YOU sounded like a “me” book. A single woman burned by love and fed up with dating heads to England to run a bookstore? Yes, please! Sadly, the execution didn’t work for me in any way.

Now, if you’ve read a Young book, you know she’s a superb writer. So that wasn’t the issue. The plot was fun too (hence two stars instead of one). But oh, my, GOSH, the heroine was excruciating. So let me get this straight. She’s a thirty-something on a man-ban because one man she didn’t even DATE turned out to be a jerk. But when she goes to England and meets the hottest farmer ever and pushes him away for arbitrary reasons. She doesn’t just push him away – she strings him along! Her motivations made no sense to me. The hero was literally perfect for her. PERFECT. So sweet, kind, totally into her, and has a cute dog. What more could she want?

In addition, the way she meddled in the town and made everything about her made me cringe so hard. Lots of “not like other girls” vibes mixed with a bit of “pick me” girl. Everyone is obsessed with her right away, and she basically fixed the whole town with her wisdom and wit – it was just too much and way too many sub-plot points. By the end of the book I was waiting on her to be named town mayor or kiss babies.

Overall, I don’t want to dwell on this book too much because Young has written many great books – just skip this one if you’re reading her backlist. There are better “finding yourself” romances out there.

**I received a free copy of this book in order to provide an honest review**

I need romance authors to do one thing immediately and always: when two hot, unattached, healthy people find each other, LET THEM BONE.

I really love Samantha Young and I desperately need to read more by her. Her writing is so fun to get swept away in especially this one and it’s location!! It was such a unique small town, angsty romance. I loved the book shop and the town and watching Evie bring down her walls and finally let herself fall in love. I really enjoyed the friends to lover slow burn in this one. Roane is so patient and I really liked that they genuinely became friends first and then fell in love!! So so sweet!! I love Samantha young’s writing of not only the romance but Northumberland itself, the scenery was so pretty and felt whimsical. Really different from other things I’ve been reading recently!! I hope this one’s the beginning of a series because I loved the town and all of the other characters as well!! Especially Lucas and Viola!!! I loved their banter and would love to read their story!! Highly recommend this one for a beautiful friends to lovers!

I love when people take a vacation from life and realize they weren't really living it to its fullest. This is exactly what this book was and I loved every page.

This book was so charming, such an escape and a book for book lovers! It doesn't get much better that that. Well developed characters and a sweet romance - I loved it!

Evie decides to upend her life and take a holiday trip to a small English village. While there, she takes a job at a book store, and falls for a handsome farmer who sweeps her off her feet.

It's a super cute story that will definitely give you a Hallmark movie vibes! It was a pretty predictable story, but it was cozy and just flowed nicely.

Thanks, Netgalley for the chance to review this story. All the opinions are mine.

I absolutely adored Evie’s and Roane’s characters. I’ve always been in love with small charming towns and this one is even better because it’s set in England. The author took me to a place I would want to settle in. Samantha Young described the setting perfectly that I fancied myself living there. It was also nice to read a lot of Chicago references because Evie lived there before flying to England to find herself. This book made me laugh and cry. The romance between Evie and Roane built up slowly but it was definitely worth it in the end. There was a surprise twist in the end which made the book even lovable. Evie’s character development also progressed well. If you’re looking for a romcom/contemporary romance read with lots of Chicago, England, and Shakespeare references, this is the book to read.

Are you ever convinced you’ll love a book based on the premise, but the story falls flat?

I recently finished MUCH ADO ABOUT YOU and first I have to say: it took me over two months to read 😫 I could not get into it but I was determined to finish. I know, I know, I’ll DNF the next book that is like that 😬

📚 In this book, a thirty-something woman who is unlucky in love decides to escape her life by taking a vacation to the English seaside.... where she rents an apartment above a bookstore and gets to run the bookstore while living there. That sounds like a dream — and it’s why I was interested in the story.

🐶 It’s a romance, so of course she has a dog-related meet cute with a hot farmer who seems perfect in every way, but she is determined to not date anyone in England while she is there.... and the entire book is spent waiting for her to get over that plan 🤣

If you’re looking for a super cheesy, Hallmark-like romance in a beautiful setting, then you’ll enjoy this. Just don’t go in expecting a realistic tale.

What a delightful book this was! It’s the story of a young woman from Chicago who, after several personal disappointments in her life, decides to take a chance on a bookshop holiday advertisement and book a holiday in the lowlands of Scotland. But her plan to swear off men for a while is foiled the moment she meets a sexy farmer with a heart of gold, their growing attachment, as well as all the friendships she forges along the way, showing her that home is truly where the heart is. I never wanted to leave these characters!

I loved this. Evie loves books and hates how lonely she feels, booking a bookish vacation in England. I loved the writing, sucking me in from the minute I started reading, I loved the setting and the characters that Evie meets. Caro and Viola are sweet and funny. I love Millie and Dax. Roane is amazing. This was so great!

is this the best contemporary romance book out there? no - I wouldn't say so. Is this easy, breezy, cliché cute? You bet your ass it is. If you enjoy hallmark movies, and all the cheese, I'm sure you will enjoy this.

This book was not for me. It seemed very focused on the main character being perfect and not slutty and honestly just felt kind of regressive. There are a lot better fun and upbeat romance novels out there.

Going into this book, I was pretty nervous. I’ve read a lot of books that fall in this category that have missed the mark for me. They’re either super cheesy (and not in the good way), the writing doesn’t work for me, or the characters are unbearable. I am happy to say that was not the case for this sweet, fun romance. While I (embarrassingly) didn’t get the reference to Shakespeare, I still very much enjoyed it.

I loved both the main characters. The audio was absolutely fantastic following all their accents, which I think added an extra layer to the story. I really sympathized with Evie and was totally jealous of her opportunity to run a bookshop in England - actually in a town where a lot of my family lives! I loved the references to places I know of and dream of visiting! Now, there was a bit of cheese and dramatics to this one, but it worked for me and I really needed this sweet romance.

This book is a hidden gem -- I don't hear enough people talking about it! The romance was intense, beautiful and full of depth (and not to mention the setting -- everything about this book was perfect and I need more people to discover it!)

Different than Flight or Flight, this one is a great rom-com from Samantha Young! Great level of steam for this romance loving reader.

Thank you to the publisher for my digital review copy. All opinions are my own.
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Ok, Let's be completely honest. I'm going to say for a solid 75-80% of this story.... Much Ado About You could do no wrong. Sincerely. A woman travels to England to run a bookstore in a tiny waterfront village. Cue quirky characters, beautiful scenery, and a delightful hot farmer. Do we need more? No, no we don't. Let the book get a lil steamy and we have the perfect storm.
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I found a few flaws as we proceeded into the conflict phase of the romance.... did that change my opinion? Nope. Stayed strong. IYKYK. I received my happily ever after and was left with a title to recommend to all my Jenny Colgan peeps.
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The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan.....if you liked it....pick this one up. Trust me.

4 ½ Stars rounded up!