Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Much Ado About You

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Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

9 reviews

fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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. My only gripe

is how the whole town kept Roane's secrets and how easily she forgave him and the town. It felt too perfect. Those are huge secrets to keep and honestly I'm not sure I'd be able to forgive like that.

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lacrimaeignis's review

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I absolutely adored this story! Is it cliched? Yes. Is it predictable? Most definitely. Is the development of the plot unbelievable? Yes but that's kind of the point as this is intended to be a comfort read. Was it still a fun read? For me, yes.

While the book is a Contemporary Romance/Rom Com, it is probably more accurate to call it a Slice of Life book. Which is to say if you're expecting a book with a lot of plot or exciting events, you'll likely be disappointed. Character development is also focused more on the side characters rather than the main couple.

I very much identified with our protagonist Evie - and not just because she decides to rent out and run a bookstore in England to escape her everyday life (which is totally something I would do and frankly would love to do right now). I really enjoyed taking this relaxing trip to England with Evie. It was nice to see her interactions with the various villagers and how even in a seemingly perfect village everyone still has to deal with their own issues (some way worse then others). But what I loved most was how supportive the majority of the characters were to each other.

I do wish that Roane had been given more flaws because the "flaws" he had weren't even really flaws especially because it had nothing to do with his personality but were based on arbitrary circumstances. I loved Roane but he was too perfect and therefore felt very unrealistic. And while it wouldn't have changed much about the story I wish the "spice" had been a bit more... well spicy. Not to say a romance story can't be good without it. But the tension that had built up between the characters and their chemistry was great but then when they finally got together, it felt like they had completely lost that spark.

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lizzieb29's review

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adventurous inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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imds's review

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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mswarning's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't know, this was just sweet. Both characters were likeable. I checked out two different romances set in a bookstore, and I liked this one more. It made me feel like I was in north England, which would be pretty nice right about now.

Also liked the non-petite/short protagonist. This year I've read romances that have featured characters of different ethnicities, various sizes and shapes, chronic illnesses, mental illnesses, etc. Representation does matter.

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coacklebee's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I really enjoyed this book at the outset, but it ended up falling short of what I had been hoping it would be. I'm not a huge fan of the lying because you think the other person won't like you trope, and by the time I realized exactly where it was going, I was just frustrated, waiting for the eventual reveal of

how old (or should I say, young?) and how rich Roane was. The lying about the age difference in particular felt really immature and soured what had otherwise been a cute, fluffy romance.

There were some genuinely fun moments, but also some really cringe-worthy moments too, especially when it came to issues of race. All in all, a little disappointed.

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bookedupchick's review

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

The English countryside, a quaint little bookshop, and a hot farmer….could it get any better? 😅

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun escape to the countryside. I liked all the different side stories to the story. There was a lot of little side dramas.

Read if you like ⤵️

📚 Slow Burn
📚 Friends to Lovers
📚 Age Gap Trope
📚 Steamy Scenes 🔥
📚 Small Town Drama
📚 Country Setting

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

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mollywill's review

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I loved the premise of this book but it just didn't live up to the potential! The writing is cringingly heavy-handed, especially the dialogue, and the characters/plot were not compelling enough to overcome that particular pet peeve of mine. Evie is self-sabotaging but so unaware of her flaws that it's difficult to root for which made the novel drag - and she wasn't much better by the end of the book. Giving 2 stars mostly because Roane is a great character (wish he had been the narrator!) & I'm still in love with the concept of a bookshop-for-rent.

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lexa's review

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have so many mixed thoughts in this book. I love the premise (kinda gave The Holiday vibes), I love the small town cozy feel, I love the main characters (and the dog). However, there were so many side stories and adjacent dramas that it was distracting. Also, the main conflict was predictable and made me roll my eyes. Overall, it was fine. A cute, cozy story.

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