Much Ado About You

This book is so ridiculous and so all over the place that I couldn't help but grab hold and read till the end. Seriously, I couldn't put it down. It was silly, romantic, sexy, and just plain fun. At the same time, James discusses some pretty deep topics such as grief, loss, addiction, and familial love and obedience. Even if you're not looking for something emotional and philosophical, you'll come away with something from this book.

That said, I would BARELY classify this as a romance. In the author's note, James says she wanted to write a book that was about more than a woman's life being forever changed because a man walked into it. She wanted to show women camaraderie in the face of love, and while that's noble, it detracted from the show more romance. I actually couldn't tell who the hero was even supposed to be until a third of the way into the book. James's constantly shifting POV also made figuring that out difficult because everybody had something to say.

I got used to the writing style, and I figured out whom I was supposed to root for in this book, but it was the ending that truly annoyed me. It was hardly an ending. The ending of a romance novel is supposed to be the moment when the hero and heroine realize they love each other body and soul, but there was still so much unresolved by the end of this book to the point where I felt the heroine was back where she started. The family issues between Lucius and his parents aren't resolved. The hero and heroine still spend most of their days apart despite her clearly wanting to be more involved in his life, and the only thing that's really changed is when the two of them get it on. The first couple sex scenes were great, but it was starting to get repetitive before long.

Overall, if you want something fun and light, sexy and somewhat emotional, this is the book for you. But, if you need something a little more serious or consistent, maybe you should take a pass on this. show less

I like how this book started out with describing the Essex sisters and how they are all different. Series which have lead ladies with different personalities are always fun reads for me. (Wallflowers anyone?)
 
I don't mind when it becomes apparent right off the bat who the heroine is going to fall in love with, in fact I kind of enjoy how giddy I get when they are about to meet or are meeting for the first time. When Lucius is about to walk into the dining room and meet a slightly tipsy Tess the smile on my face was unstoppable.
 
The discourse between Derwent, Lucius's manservant, and Lucius is hilarious. I definitely hope Derwent sticks around in this story. I love how Derwent's eye twitching means to him calamity in the worse form, or show more to him marriage and just wants to escape the house while everyone is still a bachelor.
 
I'm quite enjoying the feistiness between Lucius and Tess, especially when Tess responds with "Much ado about nothing.." in regards to their kiss and Lucius's marriage proposal because of it. I love when author's work in the title of the book into the story somehow, adds a little something for me.
 
Such a plethora of characters that the main ones, Lucius and Tess, get lost in the mix at times. There is not much interaction between the two, but boy howdy when there is action it is intense. This is the first book in a series, the cast of characters are just getting introduce which is why Tess's other sisters get so much attention. Usually I get annoyed when the author gets to busy pimping her other characters for future books but the characters here are so interesting and intriguing as to where they could possible end up that I didn't mind…..at times.
 
I don’t know, after I finished reading the book I felt like Lucius and Tess's story was unfinished somehow. I felt like this couple had so much more to give! I would have also liked to have had more of Lucius and his thoughts and feelings throughout the book. The whole deal with Lucius and his parents felt completely unsettled, in fact the whole ending felt unsettled. There was a cutesy epilogue but it didn't satisfy me. This was a really good book but like I said before Lucius and Tess were pushed to the back by everyone else's drama. (My God Tess's sister Imogen certainly stole the show towards the end of the book for sure). Lucius was such an intriguing sexy character that for him not to be rewarded with a bulk of the spotlight, in his own book no less, was a shame. I would have loved to have read the conversation between Lucius and the Earl of Mayne on Tess's wedding day; at the end of the book we learn Lucius told the Earl of Mayne "to leave" but I still would have liked to read that scene!
 
This was once again sooo close to being a keeper for me; if only Tess and Lucius had spent more time together! I am excited to read the next book in this series, it's Annabel's story. Hopefully, with one sister out of the way that book will be less crowed and there will be more focus on who are suppose to be the main characters.
 
Oh, I almost forgot! What the hell happened to Derwent!?! I hate when authors introduce characters, get you interested in them, but never mention them again. Derwent and Lucius needed to have many more witty misogynist slanted conversations! show less

The most fun I've had reading a book in a long time. Much Ado About You is a pure delight. I was laughing, sighing, even tearing up a bit. It is witty, intelligent, humorous, light and fun, but underscoring all this is a keen insight that gets to the heart of human emotion and tragedies both small and large. I loved how this book provides a diverse range of characters - it's just as much about the recently orphaned Essex sisters Tess, Annabel, Imogen, and Josie, their guardian Rafe Jourdain, the Duke of Holbrook and his friends Garret the Earl of Mayne and Lucius Felton, along with an engaging cast of other secondary characters, as it is about the primary romance between the hero and heroine. I thought James balanced these many show more different story threads very well. The book is enthralling, entertaining, and original, a refreshing take on the usual stereotypes. Part of the fun of Much Ado About You is that you never quite know how things are going to turn out and the characters are always surprising you. For a while I wasn't even sure who would end up with whom - a remarkable feat in a book. James deftly explores the sundry relationships among her characters. The sisters' relationships in particular were spot on, so genuine and real - their love for each other bound up with playful squabbling and heartbreaking ruptures. And the romance isn't half bad either, full of touching moments that are breathtaking and beautiful. My only complaint is that we don't get inside the hero's head enough - though this slight imbalance didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the book at all and I was able to get a good sense of his character anyway. To put it simply, I loved this book. It's my first by Eloisa James, and I'm definitely going to track down more. show less

Deeply amusing regency romance -- somehow manages to take the usual romantic comedy mix-ups (and yes, it is very like Much Ado About Nothing in that respect) and pulls them into a pleasing new story. I like, also, how James works within the series format, and how the sisters' relationship is at least as important as the romantic one.

I can't say I particularly enjoyed this. I generally love Eloisa James but this was bland. I didn't really feel a connection to any of the characters. There was some funny banter but not enough to overcome the lack of depth. Which was kind of surprising anyway because this was really long. Too long without really going anywhere. A lot of the action happens at the end and isn't really resolved. i.e. the rift between Imogen and Tess over Draven's death, the fate of Something Wanton (the horse), Lucius' relationship with his parents, etc. There's also no real sharing of dreams or thoughts or conversation between Tess and Lucius. They really connect on anything more than a superficial level. So not my favourite Eloisa James book. 2 stars. show more Edging on the lower side of 2. show less

Much Ado About You
3 Stars

Following the death of their father, the four Essex sisters become the wards of the Duke of Holbrook who soon realizes that they re not the demure children he was expecting. The eldest, Tess, has her hands full keeping exquisite man-magnet Annabel, foolishly romantic Imogen and highly intelligent Josie under control, so it comes to as no surprise when all hell breaks loose and Tess finds herself married to someone completely unsuitable in order to save her family from disgrace. However, Lucius Felton, a man disowned by his own mother, may just be exactly what Tess really needs …

Tess and Lucius are exceedingly likable characters and their romance is sweet and steamy. They have some really wonderful banter show more going.

Unfortunately, the rest of the cast leaves much to be desired. Annabel is a mercenary wench, Imogen an ungrateful and obnoxious cow and Josie a sulky brat. The male characters don’t fare much better as Rafe is drunken sot and Garret a womanizing adulterer. Both seem to care more about their horses than their fellow human beings.

It is difficult to see how these characters can possibly redeem themselves but as I have the rest of the series on hand, I will probably be finding out. show less

I wanted to like this book, I really did! But, it fell short of my expectations, I thought it was a pretty ho-hum regency romance. I've decided not to read further about the exploits of the Essex Sisters (there are two sequels out there). The characters were undeveloped and the romance was lacklustre at best - there wasn't even much humor in the book to make up for the lack of passion! The sex scenes were in that vague sort of manner - nothing explicit but they still had a hint of raciness in them. Overall, they were wanting in feeling.

This book was about a family of four sisters who are orphaned when their horse-mad father dies. He was a nobleman who was addicted to horses and racing, although he had the good sense to ensure they'd be show more cared for by the Duke of Holbrook, a horsey friend of his. At first, I was thoroughly confused by which sister was who. Who was the pretty one? Who was the oldest? Who was the mercenary one - who was in love with Lord Maitland? I just couldn't keep them straight, there seemed to be so many of them! After I settled into the book I got them straight, and I can't say I liked any of them except Tess, who was the main heroine of this book.

The setting of this book centers on horse racing. All the men in the book are really into it and will do almost anything to get a good racehorse - including marrying. Each of the sisters has a horse for her dowry and naturally they are all great equestriennes themselves. I must admit, I'm not that interested in horseracing and Lord Maitland, one of the men that younger sister Imogen is madly in love with, is hopeless when it comes to horseracing - the worst of the lot. He has a one track mind and comes across as shallow a bit stupid. He was just annoying to me and I didn't have any sympanthy for him until the very end (I don't want to spoil it.) I felt sorry that Tess' sister, Imogen, was so in love with him.

I also had a problem with our hero, Lucius Felton. Good looking, blonde and rich as anything, I found him annoying because he kept on insisting he was incapable of feelings - well, maybe he was right! Why would someone want to read about an emotionless romance hero - we barely got inside his head so we could tell what he was really feeling. There wasn't enough to interest me. It's one thing for a Mr. Darcy to come across as someone who's emotions are always in check - but Pride and Prejudice is not a romance novel and we don't get Mr. Darcy's point of view in it either. In this book we do, but it was sadly lacking - sometimes he'd do something unexpected, but not until the end did he finally come to life and show some passion - but that was the point - he finally came around. It was just kind of dull getting to that point. And whatever happened to his valet? We see him in the beginning bemoaning the fact that his master is in a houseful of unmarried women on the marriage market, and then we never see or hear from him again. Not even much later in the story - I think he became a lost thread.

Tess, the eldest of the quartet, seems to be the only normal one of the lot and the only character I liked. She has a romantic streak in her and learns how to get her way with her husband eventually. Is she witty as the description of the book on the back of it suggests? Maybe, but I don't recall any real indication of it. She's got a good head on her shoulders - though she has her lapses of reason. She seems to think she should marry Lord Mayne, even though the handsome Mr. Felton had asked her to marry him and she keeps kissing him (what is it with some of these nit-wit regency romance heroines who continue to kiss the men they don't want to marry?) I was so relieved when Lord Mayne ran off - sketchy about why he did, though we sort of get our answer at the very end of the book. Which reminds me, the ending really seemed to read as if it was just tacked on, kind of a family related, money doesn't buy happiness sort of thing. It ends satisfactorily - but it's not totally resolved and the epilogue is predictable. Mr. Felton still has his family problems and Tess' sisters are still up in the air - leaving room for the sequels - of which I have no interest in reading.

Another little gripe I have is that I felt this book was disjointed - there were so many different characters and their little plotlines going on, some of became lost threads - Tess and Felton, Tess and Mayne, the Duke and Maitland's mother, Imogen and Maitland, young Josie, the youngest sister still in the schoolroom, Miss Pythian-Adams (Maitland's fiancee) and the fact she really doesn't want to marry Maitland - it was such a jumble - and not in a good way like a Shakespeare comedy (which I guess the Much Ado title is supposed to allude to.)

I didn't dislike this book, but I felt it was a waste of my time. There are much better regency romances out there than to read this disjointed, dull and passionless *code for not enough sex* romance novel. Much ado? Hardly. show less