Two Stars
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**
Romance Reader 