October 2023 Reads

  October 2023 Reads 

This month I read 7 books 

These books were 86% fiction

The most popular genres were romance, contemporary, and young adult

My average rating was 3.68 stars

The Books

➽ The Guncle by Steven Rowley

➽ The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

➽ It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

➽ Guts by Raina Telgemeier

➽ Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

➽ The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown

➽ I Didn't Do It by Jaime Lynn Hendricks

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.5/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Strangers to lovers

➮ Banter

➮ International romance

➮ Nearly instalove

Synopsis

Evangeline decides to take a trip to get away from her chaotic life in Chicago. She finds herself in a small English village temporarily in charge of a small bookshop called Much Ado About Books. While working there she meets the charismatic farmer Roane and they quickly develop flirty banter. As Evangeline adjusts to a major life shift she finds herself falling more in love with life there as she gets to know the people of the town.  

Best Quote From the Book

“Such benign little words - 'what if.' But at some point in life, those two words become the scariest two words in the English language."

My Thoughts

Like other books from Samantha Young, the romance and banter elements of this book are top-tier! Young excels at creating characters that play excellently off of each other and feel very natural. Unlike many love stories, the quick attraction between Evangeline and Roane makes sense and doesn't feel forced. I appreciate that while the story is about them, there are other noteworthy characters that play a role in Evangeline's development. 

I will always be a sucker for a book that really brings you into the world of the characters as if you are living it along with them without providing too much detail that it becomes cluttered. Her writing style is witty yet comfortable which makes the story even more enjoyable. 

Do keep in mind that there are some brief spicy scenes in this book. They were not overbearing and did not feel like a fanservice plotline. The romance and other relationships in the book are much more the focus. 

Overall, I can say that this book confidently pushed Samantha Young into my list of favorite authors. Nobody does banter and realistic relationships like she does. I can highly recommend her books for fans of romance.