This is the sweetest English romcom I’ve read in awhile. Evie abruptly leaves her Chicago life behind for a 4 week stay in England. During her time there she discovers a quaint village filled with a cast of characters she is drawn to including the flirty farmer, Roane. Will she stay in this dreamy village to give love a try or flee back to the States? Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for am advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Samantha Young's books. This one was on the hearteye, all-the-swoons, I-loved-it-so-much side.

If you are looking for the best book boyfriend, the one that your mom would love for you to date prepare for Roane. He was AWESOME. There isn't a sweeter, more devoted hero from the get-go, so obviously in love with the heroine that you can already hear the wedding bells. He wants Evie and he's not afraid to show it. He wears his heart on his sleeve and, while being the most eligible bachelor of a quaint village in Northumberland, he values real connections and honest relationships. The way he was so very gentle with his cousin who'd been abused, gah. Just gah.

Evie Starling travels to the village in England to try to find herself. Relationship after relationship became dumpster fires and she needs a change of scenery. On her journey to self discovery no men are invited. At least not romantically. So when she meets her dream man the friend zone is the best place to put him. But Roane is just an all around amazing person so he gets under her skin pretty quickly. Yet, this is a rather slow burn romance with a delicious constant sizzle between the main characters. Of course there is a secret and if you pay attention it'll soon become almost too obvious what Roane is hiding.
"I love you. I wanted to tell you that I love you so much..."
He let out a shaky breath, something desperate in his gaze.
So much, Evie, I'm terrified you'll disappear. I didn’t know this much happiness went hand in hand with fear.”

One thing that I had a small issue with is Evie's reaction after finding out Roane's secret. While I did understand that she didn't give her trust easily and Roane lied to her by omission (which I actually understood), she overreacted in a BIG way.
The other thing that really annoyed me was Evie's best friend. Instead of being happy for Evie she was irritated with her best friend. I thought that was incredibly petty and awful for a friend.
“You’re not perfect, Evie, rationally I know that.” He let out a long sigh. “But you’re perfect to me.”

Overall I enjoyed my time in this charming English village, that had a character of its own. Samantha Young has crafted a beautiful, sweet and delightful rom-com about self discovery and healing. If the whole village is representative of Northumberland I'm gonna pack my bags and go. There were so many amazing side characters I wouldn't mind getting a story about. They even have their own Romeo and Juliet couple, of course, when a book title is based on a Shakespeare comedy. Viola and Lucas are so well fleshed out that I'd love to read their story. And Roane's cousin, Caro, she deserves someone to take care of her. I really hope Samantha Young listens to our pleadings to write more stories in this small community who doesn't accept outsiders easily but welcomed Evie with open arms. This story was the perfect escape from the craziness we live in at the moment.
“I don’t want you, or anyone, to wake up in ten, twenty years’ time, and wonder what could have been. Such benign little words – ‘what if’. But at some point in life, those two words become the scariest two words in the English language.”

This was a cute love story perfect for book lovers. A young woman quits her job in Chicago after being passed over by a less qualified and younger man. She finds a listing for a vacation rental that includes running a local bookshop in England. There she finds the community of people she was missing in the city. A handsome man starts as a friend and feelings build. There are references to Shakespeare plays though I was annoyed at the lack of accurate representation of the book's title's inspiration, Much Ado About Nothing. It is also a pet peeve of mine when bookshops or readers only mention classics like books haven't been written since Jane Eyre (but maybe that was for copyright reasons. The end was predictable and the romance was nice enough. It was a cute story but nothing that wowed or impressed me. Good if you're looking to play out any fantasies of running away to England and falling in love with a local and running a bookshop (we've all had those dreams, right?). But unfortunately, if that specific fantasy isn't your thing there's not much more substance to this one, and enough overly watered down literary references to annoy more serious book lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley & Samantha Young for my coy of Much Ado About You, for an honest review. Evie, is at a crossroad is life. Her dating life is terrible and she answers an add to live at & run a book shop, in Alnster Northumberland.. Such a huge leap of faith, Evie feels will give her the best chance for a change in her life. The bookstore is perfect but the town itself is as interesting as can be. The people are not openly friendly and they are suspicious of new people. To navigate this new life Evie gives it her all and good the go one her way. I loved the characters, there were some twists and turns. Overall it was an easy read, that was just what I was looking for. I also love a boom, where the town, plays a huge part of the story. I would read more books by Samantha Young. I have featured this on my Instagram page and shared my thoughts on Barnes &! Noble. This was a four star read for me, I hope you enjoy it too.

Woza! Do you like mystery? Do you like paranormal elements? Do you like romance? Do you like to start a book and immediately get sucked in and end up ignoring everything you were supposed to do that day and read the entire thing in one sitting because you simply HAD to know what was going to happen next? Then LAYLA is the book for you!

I loved everything about this book from the characters, to the setting, to the mystery surrounding out hero and heroine. It’s hard to describe this book because it really has so many elements to it but they all add up to one heluva story I KNOW you will love.

Thank you, Colleen, for a FAB read!

Okay firstly, I’d like to know where I can rent a bookshop in England and run away from my life for a while... is this an actual thing? Can it be an actual thing??

Evangeline (Evie) Stirling is tired. She’s tired of being the last single friend standing, watching all her friends get married and have babies. She’s tired of constantly being passed over for a promotion to editor at her job. So when her tinder date stands her up and she gets passed over once again, it’s the last straw. Honestly, who could blame her? So when she finds this incredible opportunity to escape to a picturesque village in England to run a bookshop for a month, she’s on the next flight out. The absolutely beautiful farmer she meets her second day in town definitely helps to sweeten the deal. Ronan Robson is awestruck at the stunning woman who saved his dog from being hit by a car and begs Evie to give him a chance. Will he wear her down from her men-hiatus? Besides, vacation flings never end well... right?

My feelings were all over the place with this book. I loved the premise so much. But Evie might be the worst part of this book. Everyone else is amazing. Girl, I get that you’re on a break from men. But this guy is literally throwing himself at you, you want him, and just push him away for what?? You’re there for a vacation... wouldn’t becoming friends with someone be way more permanent than a vacation romance? Anyways, Ronan is wonderful and I adore Caro. In the end, I did really enjoy this book and definitely recommend!!

Thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I just adored this book!
Evie rents out a flat above a bookstore that she will run whlee she figures out what to do with her life and the direction she wants to take it.
Enter Roane, the handsome English farmer, whose dog Shadow is saved by Evie from being hit by a car.

The place she goes is a tiny village where everyone knows your business and there's even a legendary feud among two families. Of course, when Evie and Roane become friends, the town wants to get involved!

I love how quickly Evie helps out some people in the village from some very bad situations. Especially Caro, I loved (and a bit hated, for good reason) her storyline. There is a major strider at the end that I didn't see coming which I loved!

While a story about a woman renting a bookstore in a quaint English village and finding love sounded right up my alley, this book ultimately fell flat for me. The characters seemed like cardboard cut-outs with no personality, and the writing didn't sparkle for me at all. More than once, the main character referred to her "favorite playwright, William Shakespeare" as though she was name-dropping an underground indie artist that only cool people had heard of. Like many of the contemporary romance novels I've read over the last year, this one fell victim to a strong hook with a disappointing execution.

33-year-old Evie Starling has finally started dating again after a self imposed hiatus on men. Things aren't going well. Just when she thinks she's found someone interesting enough to want to meet, he stands her up. Not only is her dating life a mess though, she got passed up for a promotion at work - again, so when she comes across a vacation package where you rent and run a bookstore in a village in England she jumps at the opportunity to get away and figure out what she wants to next, but she will not be looking for a man. It's too bad there is a very sexy farmer in this village who has made his intentions plainly known.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

This is a fun romance with great chemistry between the two leads. But even more, I enjoyed the community and larger cast around the couple. The conflict of the story is fairly predictable, but the execution was great, so I enjoyed watching it all unfold. Great for romance readers who enjoy a fun, robust cast and story that is larger than just the central couple. (Language, sex, sexual references, LGBTQ+, racism, recovery)

Once again, Samantha Young has knocked it out of the ballpark with this stunning story! It has amazing depth and great fluidity that will keep you fully engaged from start to finish. I love that it is a play on Much Ado About Nothing but still has that Samantha Young spin. Amazing characters with great development with that layer of angst. I love the connection between Evie and Roane as their relationship develops as well. There are just enough little moments that will keep you on your toes and so much more! I found that this story had the feel of the Hart’s Boardwalk series which is one of my faves by Young. I really enjoyed this one of a kind story!

Delightful.

Evangeline Starling is fed up with where life has taken her in her thirty-three years, and after yet another failed date and being passed over, yet again, for a promotion by her misogynist boss, she is done. She is done with her stupid job. She is done with trying to find love. She is done being the only one of her friends who isn’t married and having babies. Evie needs a break from her life, and she finds it in a little town by the sea in England where she is going to run a bookstore for the next four weeks. A few weeks away from Chicago, doing something fun for her inner nerd is just what she needs to hit the reset button so she can figure out what to do with her life. Evie just didn’t realize that her vacation break would feel more like home than home ever did.

The little town of Alnster has embraced Evie like she was one of their own instead of vacationing tourist. Everyone is lovely and so friendly, especially local farmer Roane Robson. If Evie hadn’t sworn off men in an attempt to clear her brain, she would be so tempted by the soulful eyes that Roane directs her way. Especially since they have such a connection that it feels like she has knowns him forever. But right now, the only thing wants from Roane is friendship, and if she keeps telling herself that every day, maybe she might even believe it. When an opportunity comes for Evie to extend her vacation for another three months, she jumps at the chance, but can she hold back the attraction for Roane or is she going to give in to his sweet smiles. But a relationship with Roane is so much more complex than a simple summer romance should. Falling for Roane means upturning her life permanently or returning home to Chicago and leaving them both broken hearted. Can she take the risk or is all this just much ado about nothing?

Samantha Young is channeling Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as well as Beatrice and Benedict with her newest release but I found her also channeling a little bit of Jane Austin’s Emma in Evie’s desire to matchmake and fix everyone’s problems. As a stranger in this small village, Evie isn’t constrained by old family grudges. She can’t understand why someone can’t look past thirty year old hurts and simply do what is right. So like Emma, she whispers in the right ears and tries to get everyone to make the right decisions.

The only thing I found frustrating, as I have in several other stories, is the fact that Evie has sworn off men because of her bad experiences but when she meets Roane and they have such a instant strong connection, she can’t see that he is the complete polar opposite of all the bad relationships she has ever had? If you know what bad looks like, you should be able to easily recognize good when it is staring you in the face or at least give him a chance rather than holding him at a distance. Evie also has no strong ties to Chicago, except her estranged mother and her college BFF who I thought was very selfish and self-centered in that she doesn’t want Evie to abandon her but Greer has a husband and a baby on the way and her life doesn’t center on Evie, so why be so selfish and not encourage Evie to find a new life. Evie instantly finds her place in this adorable town that has welcomed her with open arms. While I could understand that she wouldn’t want to base her life changing decision on a maybe romance with Roane but what’s the rush to go back? As hard and frightening as it may be to uproot your entire life might, it was all working out for her so why was she planning to leave so quickly instead of embracing this new possibility. It’s time like these where you want to be able to jump in the story, pull these characters aside and go “Stop being a dumbass!”

I actually found some of the “conflict” to be incongruous with the Evie we are introduced to and who tells Roane that she is trying to figure out of she is truly lonely or does she think she is lonely because people make her feel that she should be part of a couple, and is also smart enough, when she decides to give her and Roane a chance, to say I might be leaving when my time is up or I might stay, let’s wait and see where our relationship stands at the time rather than putting so much pressure on it right now. Evie is quite level-headed, which I really liked about her, so when she finds out that Roane is much younger than her and didn’t mention it, because she initially declared that she would never date a younger man again since they are so immature, she completely overreacts from the level-headed Evie who should have immediately realized that Roane never ever acted immature which is why she is surprised to learn his age. She can be shocked but having a fit goes against character. Again, I understand a need for plot and conflict to make for an interesting story but there were moments of that conflict which made Evie go against the character we were given.

This is the perfect book for any book nerd. Really, which one of us wouldn’t dream of taking a vacation where you just got to play with books for a month. This story was simply so enjoyable with Evie being embraced by this adorable small town, even though we do see some of the downside of living in such a small town all of your life, but for us booklovers, it would be the perfect place to escape from our ordinary ho-hum lives.

This is a perfect summer read that you can't get enough of. A beautiful small town romance that gives you all the feels. Evie and Roane have the best chemistry and you just want to nudge them together quicker! I fell in love with them both, the seaside town along with all the side characters. I hope you love their story as much as I did.

Thank you netgalley for a copy.

Sandy M’s review of Much Ado About You by Samantha Young
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 2 Feb 21

While this book is a bit more lighthearted, which is what Ms. Young set out to do, than other books in her backlist, for me it also loses a bit of the punch she normally delivers in her stories. Now, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. I absolutely did. Both Roane and Evie are likeable characters. Roane is a true romantic hero, despite a secret or two he’s keeping close to the vest. It’s Evie who has to work twice as hard for me to warm up to her. And she almost waits too long.


Evie has just had another disappointment in the dating game, stood up by the latest jerk who didn’t start out that way. Then she’s passed over for a promotion that’s ten years overdue. So it’s time to move on and do something just for her to get her head back into life. I have to give Evie props here. She discovers a little bookstore in a small village in England that she can rent for a month and run it the way she wants – her dream come true. Books and Shakespeare are her passion. So off she goes, and life begins to take on new meaning for her. Exactly what she needs.

What she doesn’t need is the gorgeous farmer who now flirts with her after she saved his dog Shadow. Roane is immediately taken with Evie and tries his best to give her the space she needs from men. It’s a good thing fate and local villagers somehow keep throwing them together. Roane is determined to wear Evie down before she has to head back to the U.S. I really adore Roane. He’s easy going, takes care of anyone and everyone when he can, and he knows what he wants and needs in life. And I love his dog too.

Evie is just as kind and nice as Roane. What got my dander up after a bit is the fact she takes swearing off men much too far, especially when it comes to Roane. All his good points stand out for her just as they do for the reader, so letting things go a bit sooner would have been nice. Pulling teeth takes a lot of energy. And when she discovers Roane’s secrets he’s not been sharing, she runs. All the way back to Chicago. A little extreme to me. Check into a B&B down the coastline and think things through for a week or two. As much as she’s gotten to know Roane and the townsfolk, she takes her discoveries a bit too much to heart and overreacts. More energy expended when not necessary.

All of the secondary characters are wonderfully written. I would love to live in Alnster with all of them too. A good portion of them, along with Evie, grow into their characters throughout the story, giving it all a few extra layers to enjoy. That’s one thing Ms. Young is very good at giving readers. I’m only slightly disappointed with the Evie aspect of this book. Otherwise, I still had a terrific time like I always do when reading Samantha Young.

Grade: B

This was an adorable romcom! It was fast paced, fun, and had me hooked from the beginning! Once I started, I couldn't put it down, I loved Evie and getting to know her. She was fun and I felt like I could relate throughout the book! This made me want to drop everything and move to England to find myself. This was overall an adorable book and I highly recommend to anyone who loves romcoms!

What a delightful book! I wanted to live Evie's life, not just read it! Who wouldn't want to move to Europe for awhile and run a bookstore? I loved the town, the characters, Evie and Roane. It was such a charming, wonderful story that was a perfect pick me up between heavier themed books. If you love a good bookish rom-com, this book is perfect!

This was incredibly cute. I enjoyed the story line and the other aspects that didn’t revolve around the romance. I felt like it added to the story and main character. I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to others like like rom coms or books set in England.

I am such a fan of Samantha Young's and was not disappointed with this story. It is a standalone. I loved Evie and Roane, I couldn't put this book down. I loved the witty banter between these characters. Great pacing throughout. It is surely a feel good romance you want to get your hands on.

I've been fan of this author since day one, and Ms. Young does it again. Much Ado About You is a quick, romantic, sweet, low-drama read that will have you wanting to move to England and find yourself your own, farmer Roane Robson! There's not much to say, but it's a cute book with quirky characters!

4.5 /5 stars


Much Ado About You is a romantic comedy. This book is so wonderful and charming. And the cover is so gorgeous! I loved this book so much!

The narrator is 33 year old Evie (1st person POV). She loves books, especially Shakespeare. She is frustrated with her love life and her work life so she decides to make a change.

There is so much about this book to love. I especially adored Evie's best friend in Chicago, Greer. I love seeing two female friends who are like family. And Greer was Evie's biggest supporter.

Some of the story takes place in Alnster in Northumberland (England). And this setting was epic. This was for sure one of my absolute favorite parts of this book.

Evie meets such amazing people in England. This was my other favorite part of this book. The supporting characters were fantastic. There is a handsome farmer Roane (pronounced Own with an R). Caro. Milly. Viola. They are all so amazing. I can't say enough great things about them. And Roane's dog Shadow. Loved him!

I also love the independent bookstore in England called Much Ado About Books. And the fact that Evie was an editor. There really was so much for a booklover to enjoy.

This book made me so happy. Between all the books and the English countryside. It was just so enjoyable.

The author calls this book "the ultimate romantic comfort read" and I can't think of a better description. If you're looking for an amazing setting and a fantastic romance this book is for you.