Sometimes, this little intro blurb comes to me without any problems. Other times, like today, it is a struggle to think of anything to write. Should I talk about the weather? Summer flying by? Fun trips I have planned? Fun trips I hope you have planned? Or maybe I should just get to it. I think I’ll go with the last option.

Book Read: Much Ado About You
Author: Samantha Young
2021 Book Count: 30

Evie Starling’s life in Chicago isn’t doing it for her. Her friends’ lives are moving on, she feels stuck, and a promotion was given to someone else. Evie is ready for a change; she finds a vacation opportunity in a small village in England. With the booking comes a temporary job at Much Ado About Books, a local bookstore and a rental apartment above the store. Evie can’t think of a better opportunity.

When she finds herself loving the village, Evie also finds that local farmer, Roane Robson is harder to resist than she expected. Despite her “rules” for dating, Evie finds herself drawn to Roane and to the village itself. But her holiday is just that - a holiday; or could it be so much more?

For someone who can read others so well, Evie finds herself on a trip, learning how to read herself.

Honestly, I had such high hopes for this book. The synopsis sounded so promising before I eventually gave in and requested the ebook from the library. I waited months. It wasn’t worth my wait. Maybe it was worth a 2 week wait.

I ended up kind of liking the storyline overall, but it was, most of the time, boring. I expected so much more. I liked Evie’s involvement with the town and its people, and how she blended right in. But I finished Much Ado About You feeling let down. It felt one dimensional, predictable (although it is a rom com and I love rom coms!) and just plain eh.

Some characters were better than others. For instance, I liked seeing Caro get out of her shell. Evie, even as the main character, annoyed me the majority of the time. Viola was a welcome surprise; Roane had his moments both ways. I caught myself having conversations with myself about how I just wasn’t feeling it multiple times.

The end was predictable, as I thought it would be. While I love a predictable ending, this one felt like everything just magically worked itself out. The conflict was, frankly, kind of lame. It happened, didn’t seem like that big a conflict, and worked itself out.

I’m sure down the line, I’ll give Samantha Young another chance. But it’s hard to think that far ahead when Much Ado About You left me wanting so much more.

Next Read: Everything After by Jill Santopolo