I found Linux Mint familiar but also setup by default the way I always liked/wanted my Windows system to look. With Windows I was constantly wrestling with the machine, changing things to make it look and function better for me, only for Microsoft to screw it all up again after an update. Whatever distro you choose I’m confident you’ll be fine. Only issue I had with my girlfriend’s Lenovo laptop was getting into the Bios to change the boot order to boot to USB. Make sure you shut off fast boot on your Windows system (it’s under Power Management settings) otherwise it might lock you out of the Bios.
And welcome to the wonderful world of Linux, where the most difficult thing about it is often trying to get rid of Windows which will cling on to your system for dear life. When I was dual booting and didn’t boot into Windows for a couple of months, the first time I did so I was greeted with a friendly message thanking me for being a loyal Windows user. The bastards clearly know even when you’re getting ready to jump ship. Regarding your reboot issue, just do what I did and keep monkeying about until it does what you want, or take the hard drive out and scrub it completely.