Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

* * * *

The cozy comforts of an English village bookstore open up a world of new possibilities for Evie Starling in this charming new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young.

At thirty-three-years old Evangeline Starling's life in Chicago is missing that special something. And when she's passed over for promotion at work, Evie realizes she needs to make a change. Some time away to regain perspective might be just the thing. In a burst of impulsivity, she plans a holiday in a quaint English village. The holiday package comes with a temporary position at Much Ado About Books, the bookstore located beneath her rental apartment. There's no better dream vacation for the bookish Evie, a life-long Shakespeare lover.

Not only is Evie swept up in running the delightful store as soon as she arrives, she's drawn into the lives, loves and drama of the friendly villagers. Including Roane Robson, the charismatic and sexy farmer who tempts Evie every day with his friendly flirtations. Evie is determined to keep him at bay because a holiday romance can only end in heartbreak, right? But Evie can't deny their connection and longs to trust in her handsome farmer that their whirlwind romance could turn in to the forever kind of love. 

*Source: ARC provided in exchange for an honest review

There's always joy to be found in reading a Samantha Young book so this was an automatic request for me without even giving the premise a second thought. This is one of those instances I'm glad I didn't pay attention to it because the story unfolding in the first two chapters was all I needed to be swept up in Evie's journey.

Evie is an editor in her early thirties who's angling for a promotion at the magazine she works for and also venturing out into the world of online dating. The opening chapters see her hitting her rock bottom - her date the night before was a no-show, then next day she's passed up for a promotion that she has rightly earned. After being passed over so many times she abruptly quits. Since she's feeling spontaneous, she books a trip to Northumberland in the north of England to live above a bookstore and manage it for a month. This is the perfect soothing balm for her Shakespeare-loving soul. All this sounded like a dream and I was so ecstatic for Evie to live it. That's why we read, right? To live vicariously through these characters.

Evie assimilates to life in the small village of Alnster surprisingly fast. She's welcomed immediately by the locals and but for the few phone calls with her best friend back home, it seems like her life back in Chicago is firmly in the rear view mirror, even if it's supposedly temporary. It gets slightly complicated when she meets an attractive farmer, Roan who's just as quickly taken with her. She's committed to not dating or getting romantically involved so her attraction to him has to be bottled in. The longer she stays in Alnster, the more she falls in love with the village and becomes attached to her new friends.

It was amazing how easily I was able to picture this cute little village in my mind. I felt so at home there. And okay, while I did love the story but there was a tiny bit of something that troubled me. I did get a bit uneasy when I felt Evie got a bit too involved in other people's business. She's living her best life and she's happy so I suppose she wants that for everyone as well. In a way, she's like a modern day Emma in those instances. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me and anytime she started meddling I thought it was presumptive on her part. I fully recognize that this is simply my discomfort of Evie's behavior. The good news is that this didn't take away my love of this story because Evie has so many redeeming qualities, and hey, she's freaking badass for dropping everything to find her bliss!

I would recommend Much Ado About You in a heartbeat to anyone who's seeking adventure, self-discovery and a dream romance.

~ Bel

The Darkest Evening (Vera Stanhope #9) by Ann Cleeves

* * * *

From Ann Cleeves--New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows--comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel, The Darkest Evening.

On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.

Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It's also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there's a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow.

As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family's complicated past.

Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review


Truthfully, I was kind of hesitant about reading this because when I requested the ARC, I’d mistakenly thought I was getting book #2 in her newest Two Rivers series, but I managed to land in #9 in the Vera Stanhope universe. Oops! After peeking around I saw that a few other readers said it works as a standalone which encouraged me to read it anyway. I had absolutely no trouble at all getting in to this. Cleeves has a very inviting way about her stories and I never felt that I was missing anything that was pertinent to Vera’s background or that of her inspectors, Joe and Holly. I’ll add that I’ve seen maybe two or three episodes of the Vera TV series so having those images in mind helped me picture the setting better.

The story itself is what I love about mysteries - tantalizing, suspenseful, thoughtful. Vera, who’s such a unique personality, adds humanity to the victims and I love how she can barrel through and not give any f’s. Her detective work is fascinating as she's a no frills, gritty kind of personality. She’s not infallible but there’s something at once admirable and intimidating about her. The dynamics between Vera, Holly and Joe are equally interesting as they show how they work in unison and independently of each other. I also liked gaining insight as to how Vera relies on each of them for specific things e.g. Joe is always good about reeling her back in if she gets too far ahead of herself. In return, she encourages but doesn't coddle. I also liked getting a peek into Vera's family's background as there's a sort of unexpected reunion thanks to their links to the murder victim. 

I was able to guess the ‘whodunit’ though I came to that conclusion from a different angle; I don't think my guesswork would hold up to Vera's standards 😉 The Darkest Evening is what I enjoy best about British mysteries. It's compelling without relying on being graphic. The characters gradually shed their layers as they react to tighter scrutiny, and that's what makes Cleeves stories so exciting to me. I will absolutely go back and start this series from the beginning!

~ Bel