“I hardly ever hear him when I’m at the store.” I shrugged. Not that the store kept me busy during the winter months. I only opened it a few days a week, and even then I spent most of my days working on edits for my clients.
It didn’t matter. I trusted that between my rental income from the apartment and the good summer business, I’d make a success of my store.
Even if I didn’t, I thought as I looked around The Anchor at the fairy lights and Christmas decorations twinkling above the heads of my friends, my dog, and my husband, I wasn’t going anywhere. They were all stuck with me for good.
“Did you hear?” Milly appeared at the table, her hands resting on Lucas’s shoulders as she directed her words at me.
“Hear what?”
“The truth has come out about why Erin and Peter Branston separated three months ago. Erin apparently played private eye when her husband started working late. She found him at the Newton Arms with his head between another woman’s legs.”
“Ugh, Mam.” Viola made a face as Lucas’s shoulders shook with laughter. “That’s a sentence a daughter should never hear her mam say.”
“Never mind that.” Caro blushed but her eyes were filled with sympathy. “It’s something a wife should never see her husband do with another woman.”
“Poor Erin,” Dex tutted. “And the kids.”
Erin was the attractive blonde who’d ordered books from me all those months ago. I’d heard about the separation, we all had, but I marveled that it had taken this long for the truth to come out. “So they’re getting a divorce?”
“Aye.” Milly nodded in approval. “She says she’s taking the bastard for everything.”
“So she’s single?”
“Aye, that’s what divorce means, Evie.”
I ignored her sarcasm. “You know, my tenant Bryan is single . . .”
Milly’s eyes lit up.
Roane groaned and shot me a warning look. “Evie . . . don’t even think about it.”
Acknowledgments
While strolling through vacation listings, I came upon a bookshop holiday advertisement. To my delight I discovered there is a book shop in the lowlands of Scotland that offers exactly what Much Ado About Books offers in Evie’s story. This got my imagination firing, and before I knew it, Evie’s adventure in England was playing out in my head, desperate to be told. As for the story’s setting, I have long since hoped to set a book in Northumberland. It’s one of my favorite places in the world and one of the most beautiful counties in England. It was a no-brainer that Much Ado About You should be set there. It was a joy to send Evie there. When I wrote this book, I wrote it with the desire to create the ultimate romantic comfort read, and it was certainly a comfort write! I hope readers felt my love for the characters, the setting, and that it magically transported you all there.
For the most part, writing is a solitary endeavor but publishing most certainly is not. I have to thank my fantastic editor, Kerry Donovan, not only for helping to make me a better writer and storyteller, but for believing in me and in this book. Moreover, thank you to all the team at Berkley for your hard work on Evie and Roane’s story.
The same must be said for my amazing agent, Lauren Abramo. Lauren, thank you for always having my back and for making it possible for readers all over the world to read my stories. I know how lucky I am to have you.
And thank you to my bestie and PA extraordinaire, Ashleen Walker, for handling all the little things and supporting me through everything. There are no words for how much I appreciate and love you.
Thank you to every single blogger, Instagrammer, and book lover who has helped spread the word about my books. You all are appreciated so much. On that note, a massive thank-you to all the fantastic readers in my private Facebook group, Sam’s Clan McBookish. You’re the kindest, most supportive readers a girl could ask for and I hope you know how much you all mean to me.
In case I don’t say it enough, thank you to my family and friends for your never-ending well of support. I love you all so much.
Finally, to you, my reader, the biggest thank-you of all.
Readers Guide
Much Ado About You
SAMANTHA YOUNG
Discussion Questions
When we first meet Evie, she’s being stood up by a man she met online. At thirty-three, having dated for over half her life, she’s exhausted by it. Have you ever felt similarly to Evie about dating?
Evie leaves her job after a decade because she feels her career trajectory has halted there. She also feels she’s been passed over for a promotion because she isn’t male. Do you think she was right to walk away for these reasons, or do you think she should have fought harder for the position she wanted? Have you ever been passed over for a promotion because of gender discrimination? If so, how did you deal with it?
Greer’s pregnancy makes Evie feel as if she’s being left behind—everyone else’s lives are moving forward while hers stays still. Can you sympathize with Evie’s fear of being the last single friend or have you had a friend in that position?
Life in her thirties isn’t what Evie hoped it would be, and that’s why she decides to take a break from it by traveling to England to run Much Ado About Books. Have you ever considered or actually done something similar? What was it? Did you find it helpful?
Evie’s obsession with all things Shakespeare and Jane Austen led her to England. Have you ever been to the UK? Which part? What made you decide to choose that destination for your travels?
When Evie and Roane meet, there is an instant chemistry between them and a comfortable connection neither of them expected. Do you think Evie was right to friend-zone Roane because she was there to find herself, not love? Or do you think she should have engaged in a fun holiday romance? Have you ever had a holiday romance?
One of the deeper conversations Evie and Roane share is about Evie’s feelings regarding “singledom” in her thirties. She’s struggling to figure out if she’s unhappy being alone because society dictates that she should be in a romantic relationship to be happy, or if she’s genuinely lonely without a partner. Can you relate to Evie’s struggle?
One aspect of Evie’s personality is her inability to stay out of situations when people she cares about are involved. She gets involved in Caro’s life; the feud between the Taits and the Elliots; and Annie and Maggie’s conflict. Do you think Evie is running away from her own problems all the while trying to fix everyone else’s?