MUCH ADO ABOUT YOU by SAMANTHA YOUNG

‘Poor Evie. She’s in her thirties and still single. Shouldn’t she be working harder to find a man, not taking a break?’

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young is the most wonderful feel-good romance. It had us transported to a sleepy village on the English coast. We could smell the salty sea air, and the fish and chips dinners, whilst we read with a perma-smile on our faces. Really, it doesn’t get better than a bookworm heroine leaving her life in Chicago behind, flying cross the pond and renting a book shop, all the while falling in love with a bearded luscious farmer. No question about it, the picturesque and vividly written setting was a whole character just on its own.

‘He looked at me like a guy who wanted everything. It was seductive, compelling, and despite all my concerns about how a relationship might derail me from working out my future plans, I couldn’t deny myself him anymore.’

Evie is such a sweet, funny, and gutsy heroine, she was so real we immediately connected with her character. Her hang-ups, her struggles and her love for bookshops and disappearing into the written word. The realism of society’s expectations can be utterly ridiculous, yet they exist, and Evie is the victim of such nonsense. The judgements hurt and they cause anxiety and feelings of worthlessness. When you’re found wanting it’s easy to put that on yourself when really it has nothing to do with you, the problem is where the judgement originates from. We understood Evie’s need to find herself and figure her life out, away from everything and everyone, whilst doing something she loves. We were with her every step of the way.

“If you’re successful at something, celebrate that success. If you know you’re smart, then demand that other people treat you as someone of intelligence. If you look in the mirror and you like what you see, then halle-fucking-lujah!”

Roane was our kind of man, we could completely picture him walking through the hills of Alnster, Northumberland with his loyal sidekick, Shadow. Roane was a man who embodied loyalty and patience, and of course, we must mention the ‘tall dark and handsome’ with the yummy-licious beard too. The friendship between Evie and Roane was beautiful and it came with the addition of fiery sizzling chemistry that slowly burnt and singed the pages.

“Are you okay?”
“Are we about to have sex?” he asked bluntly.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Then, aye, Angel. I’m fan-fucking-tastic.“

Much Ado About You was just what we needed; a real comfort read indulgence. We didn’t just fall in love with Evie and Roane; we fell in love with the village, the people living there and the beautiful setting. We felt like we knew everyone who lived there and had our own bar stool in The Anchor pub, ordering ‘our usual’ and settling in for the evening for the daily craic. We really do hope there’s more to come from the good people of Alnster!

“So much, Evie, I’m terrified you’ll disappear. I didn’t know this much happiness went hand in hand with fear.”