***Spoiler Alert***

I don’t usually do spoiler reviews, but this is one.

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So, I tend to hate multi-verse books. And it irritates me when a book’s description doesn’t tell me that it’s a multi-verse. So….THIS IS A MULTI-VERSE BOOK.

That being said, I actually ended up mostly liking it.

It’s not perfect. I liked our main protagonists, but didn’t like our other main characters. The thing is, you’ve got to love to hate your villain. In this case, there was no hate just…meh.

But our protagonists, especially one, kind of saved it for me. I kept reading, hoping that they would end up okay.

I’ve enjoyed the author in the past and I don’t think this is his best work, but it was an enjoyable read.

3.5 Stars.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

The concept of this novel is definitely unique and I have not read anything like it. Liz has been a victim and a survivor of domestic abuse, and part of her survival hinged upon a version of her from an alternate universe taking control in the fight against her abuser. This alter ego of hers is named Beth, and I loved that the author had both names be different versions of the full name Elizabeth. The problem is that after Liz's survival against her ex-husband, Beth begins to take more and more control of Liz's daily life.

Liz's son Zac befriends Fran, a teenager who has experienced trauma herself. Fran has her own "imaginary friend" named Lady Jinx, who is a cartoon-like fox who is a knight (haha). I loved the characters of Fran and Lady Jinx, I thought the author did a great job with their development.

If I could, I would probably give this novel 3.5 stars but I didn't feel like I should round it up to 4, because it did have some very slow moments. The last 15% was very fast-paced but the middle of the book could have used some editing down. It was also ultimately hard to suspend my own belief for the multi-universe characters, so I think additional world-building or explanation of the concept would have helped.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the ARC!

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

M.R. Carey is known for writing "The Girl with all the Gifts" among many others. His latest, "Someone Like Me" has been shelved on Goodreads as fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller, and mystery. "Someone Like Me" is hard to categorize but easy to get sucked into. It is a long book with 500 pages so, if you have plans, make sure to set a timer. It was easy to keep reading without a break. I do not want to give too much away. It's a family drama about Liz, her children, her abuse ex-husband, and her neighbors but it is also much more. If M.R. Carey had left out the rest concerning Fran and Liz's alter-ego, the story would be a well written story about a single mom trying to raise two kids. It is the rest that makes the story extremely interesting. I have always been fascinated with Psychology, thrillers, and fantasy. Mix the three together, add some good writing, and an interesting story and I'm hooked. Carey's writing is descriptive but he does not overdo it.

If you like a book that opens with action and requires you to figure what is going on then this is for you.

4.5 I love Carey's writing and was overjoyed to get the digital ARC and dive right in. And I wasn't disappointed 😀

This was a great read. I'm not sure I can say much without spoiling the very specific, very unique plot. So I'll complement Carey's range instead.

I first read his Felix Castor series, which people always compare to the Dresden Files, but good fuck, I've tried to read Dresden books like 3 times and they're just shit. But I digress. Anyway, Carey's Felix Castor series is fun in an it's cold in this old movie theater because the zombie who lives here is trying to slow down his decomp kind of way.

Then I read The Steel Seraglio, which was a goddamn sweeping epic fantasy 😲

Then The Girl with All the Gifts was a quiet human drama where the zombie apocalypse regularly fades into the background as you experience all the people feels.

And now this. This is something completely different again, yet somehow still really good and totally Mike Carey ❤️

The one thing that was a little distracting while reading this, which I hope will have been corrected before it goes to print, is the British feel the dialogue has. I kept forgetting that it was supposed to be in Pittsburgh because of subtle little bits of non-American word usage and sentence structure. I'm just chalking that up to this being an ARC.

What is the connection between Liz and Fran? How can a mother of two and a teenage girl have so much in common?

This was my first read by M.R. Carey, and I enjoyed it. It just didn't GRAB me as much as I had hoped, and it felt slow at times. I think it will grab other readers more readily than it did me; it just was a bit confusing for me to catch up to.

Much thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2562806736

First, I have read and enjoyed all of M.R. Carey's books - and this was no exception.

Second, while this book certainly has fantasy elements, I think I'd call it horror if I had to give it one word. And, I normally do not read horror books. This book, however, kept me engaged - perhaps because the fantasy elements kept me thinking.

I'm one of those wimpy readers who will say "oh, no, I think something bad is going to happen," wishing I could close my eyes like I do in the movies! But, I couldn't stop reading this book and I'm glad of that! So, for the rest of you wimps out there - keep reading, it's worth it!

In addition to the non-stop action, I kept pausing to think about this one. I'm not certain I quite understand how it all works - and I don't want to go into details because I don't want to include spoilers. But, rest assured, it will give you something to think about!

By the time this book gets good I was already wanting to bang my head against the wall! It shouldn’t take 300 pages of essential crap to get to the grit and meat and goods of a novel! I wish it had been shortened or livened up faster.

I really liked this book. Thanks Netgalley for giving the opportunity to explore a genre that I normally would have overlooked. I thought all of the characters were interesting and that kept me wanting to read more. I’ll definitely check out more by this author.

This was a very emotional read for me. Trying not to give spoilers I can say it is about two different women who have each gone through changes and difficulties in their lives. There are some triggers that may be difficult for some readers to deal with , so be warned.

I can say, however, that his book was a thriller and suspense novel from my perspective. I could not put it down as it had me riveted and sucked in from the very beginning. I would highly recommend it for suspens lovers.

In short- I thought the story and the characters, whom you really grow to care about, to be intriguing using and captivating from beginning to end,

This book was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

This review or portions thereof, will be posted (when able) on Amazon,Goodreads, Litsy, IG, B&N, Pinterest, Facebook, Kobo, BAM, and my own blog. Unfortunately I am unable to provide all links at this time as I am using my phone.

This book had an interesting premise. Both Liz and France were interesting characters and seemed to be alike in many ways. They both had protectors and pasts that were difficult. There was a lot of symbolism about what strength and weakness is. This is the first book I have read from this author and am interested in reading more. Thanks for the arc, Net Galley.

Interesting book. It was NOT what I expected at all, but that's not a bad thing. Very unique concept and found myself having a hard time putting down the book.

I really like the concept of the story. It is a story about two people who are a little supernatural (let's say). First you have Liz, a middle aged divorced mother of two, who survives an attempted murder in an unusual way. Then you have Fran, a teen-aged girl, who survived a kidnapping when she was six. Someone Like Me is about how these characters are connected and how then survive.

The story is a multiple POV narration with four narrators. This story is hard to describe without giving away part of it. But I will say I was over 80% done and I was thinking how is this going to wrap up, there is not a lot of time left to finish it. The ending though did not feel rushed though.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes supernatural stories or suspense. Definitely pick this one up.

The nitty-gritty: M.R. Carey once again proves how consistent a writer he is with his latest, a suspenseful, mind-bending novel full of realistically nuanced characters.

I’ve loved every M.R. Carey book I’ve read, and I’m happy to report that his latest is just as thrilling, strange and mind-bending as I’ve come to expect from him. Someone Like Me is very different from The Girl with All the Gifts, which is probably his most popular book, but for me that shows Carey’s range as a writer. Readers who like straight-forward plots and easily solved mysteries may have trouble with this book, because the mystery here is sometimes twisty and confusing, and even by the end I’m not sure I completely understood what had happened. But such is the magic of stories, and Carey’s ability to suck me in simply proves what a wonderful storyteller he is. My mind is still reeling from the events of this book, and believe me when I say this is very hard to classify. Part horror, part psychological suspense, part paranormal mystery, you can't really pigeonhole this story, nor should you try.

The story is told—at first—from two alternating points of view (two additional POVs are eventually added). Liz Kendall is a divorced mother of two, struggling to pay the bills and living in constant fear of her abusive ex-husband Marc, who continues to have shared custody of sixteen-year-old Zac and six-year-old Molly. Fran Watts is also sixteen and is the survivor of an abduction when she was six years old. A disturbed man named Bruno Picota kidnapped her and held her in an abandoned motel for two days before police found her. And even though she wasn’t harmed, Fran bears the emotional scars of the event and has been having mental health issues ever since. The only thing that keeps her sane (ironically) is Jinx the fox, the imaginary friend she conjured after her ordeal with Picota. Jinx is unwavering in her devotion to Fran and becomes Lady Jinx, complete with armor and a sword, whenever Fran feels threatened.

When the story opens, Marc has just brought the kids back from their weekend visitation, but an argument between Liz and Marc escalates, and Liz finds herself fighting for her life when Marc reacts to something she’s said by grabbing her by the neck and trying to strangle her. Liz realizes she’s about to die, but before that can happen, an odd and forceful presence seems to take over her body, which compels her to grab a broken bottle and smash it into Marc’s face, giving herself just enough time to escape. This terrifying experience leads Liz to seek psychiatric help, and she winds up in the same waiting room as Fran, who just happens to have an appointment with Dr. Southern, the man who has been treating her since her abduction ten years earlier. This encounter will have long-lasting effects on both families, as Liz, Fran and Zac begin to realize that there is a dangerous intruder in their midst, a woman who shouldn’t be there at all, yet has the ability to ruin all their lives.

I realize that recap is pretty vague, and I’m going to try to keep my review as spoiler free as possible. I enjoyed discovering all the twists and turns without spoilers myself, and I feel this story is best experienced when you don’t know much about the plot. Carey’s story made me very uncomfortable at times, and I’m not even talking about the inevitable violence that crops up. His characters are excruciatingly human. They bully each other and throw insults around. They are weak and scared and often make the wrong choices. But they are also fiercely devoted to those they love and will do anything to help them.

All the characters are fighting demons of one kind or another, but Liz in particular gets my sympathy. She was in an abusive relationship for so long that she’s decided the only way to survive is to not make waves, to not make Marc angry, to not draw attention to herself or the children. She’s walking a very fine line, and although I wanted to scream at her in the beginning to “stick up for yourself already!” she does get her moment, and by the end of the story she’s become one of the strongest characters in the book. Carey really puts her through the wringer, though, and I loved her story arc, even though it was very painful to read.

Fran was probably my favorite character, simply because it’s hard to resist a damaged but spunky teen who has the self-awareness and maturity of an adult. Fran is pretty sure she’s crazy, because hey, she has a cartoon fox following her around! She’s also missing chunks of her memory, which scares her. For one thing, she can’t remember the details surrounding her mother’s death when she was eight, but she chalks it up to her mental illness. She experiences odd shifts in reality at times, like an object in the room will suddenly change color. She also notices there is something very wrong with Liz when she sees her for the first time, but it isn’t until later that she finds out what that is.

And then there is Jinx, who stole my heart from the beginning. Jinx, who is supposed to be nothing but Fran’s hallucination, but who was just as fleshed out and delightful as any “real” character. I had my suspicions about Jinx’s purpose in the story, but the reveal still gave me goosebumps. I also loved Zac, who is probably the only “normal” character. I think Carey used him to ground the story, as he’s not only the go-between for Fran and Liz, but he’s almost blissfully unaware of the dangers swirling around him.

As for villains, there are several in this story. Marc, of course, the nasty wife abuser who is a terrible person, but believe it or not, isn’t the worst one. Even Picota makes a brief appearance, but the winner of the nasty award goes to the “intruder” who I mentioned earlier.

This is a fairly long book, and I think some readers might complain that it’s too long and could be shortened in spots. There is a lot happening in the story, but I was so invested in finding out what the hell was going on that I could barely stop turning the pages. The ending was a bit over-the-top, but I felt as a reader I deserved it after everything Carey had put me through! My only criticism is purely personal: I thought the last few chapters should have been ordered differently. I wanted the book to end with the scene between Fran and Jinx, which brought tears to my eyes and would have been a punchier ending, but Carey chose to end it with a short scene between Liz and Zac. Which was still pretty good!

In the end, Someone Like Me will make you think hard about what’s real and what’s not. Carey touches on the theme of mental illness, but that isn’t the focus of this story. His characters may be mentally ill, but what they are experiencing isn’t clear cut at all. Are Fran’s and Liz’s minds playing tricks on them? Or are the things they’re seeing and feeling actually real? You may not get all your questions answered, but that's OK. You don't need all the answers to enjoy this well-written story.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

3.5
Wow, that was not what I was expecting! This really isn’t a mystery/thriller but more a supernatural story. Both Liz and Fran are interesting characters. The violence that they both have endured was difficult to read at times. The way they end up tied together and the resolution of the story is cleverly done. It isn’t my usual fare but it was quite the story and I would recommend it for anyone that wants something quite different.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Orbit Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

Liz. A single mother, making ends meet as best as she can, a violent ex husband and two wonderful kids.

Fran. Teenager, survivor of a childhood kidnapping, a loving father, and a imaginary fox named Jinx.

That's about all I can tell you, without telling you about this book. It's best to be experienced. M.R. Carey has a way of writing that bring you, the reader, directly into the story, fully immersing you into the daily in and out of Liz and Fran. (and Beth and Zac and Jinx and Lady J...)

Someone Like Me defies a genre. It's fiction, a thriller, and frankly a horror story, all wrapped up into one beautiful book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for this review.

Those of you who have followed me for a hot second know about my complex relationship with thrillers. Me and thrillers Facebook relationship status: it’s complicated. If the feelings between me and thrillers were a math equation, they’d be a super long one.

To sum up my relationship with thrillers: When it’s done right, I LOVE IT. Like, more than any other genre. My perfect book is probably really good retelling but that is almost never what happens. I don’t know what it is, but I’m rarely content with the stuff in this genre. And I tend to get way angrier when it’s bad. Like, YOU WERE SO CLOSE! You could have been so good.

I’m thrilled to inform you that Someone Like Me surpassed my expectations.

This is a story about two women who are struggling with day to day life when suddenly there lives connect in an almost supernatural way and well, it's so hard to explain what happens next without giving anything too detailed away but IT'S GOOD!!! It is wondrous, and beautiful, and even dramatic. But it’s also dark and scary sometimes. Inexplicable things happen, and the world seems uncontrollable

WOW! I really did not know what to expect from this book, but I was blown away by the characters, the attention to details (I especially liked the drawings on the chapters to know which character was talking), and just the overall plot of the book.
This book hooked me from the moment I started reading it. I was wrapped up in Liz and Fran's stories and I could not get enough. Overall this book is a fresh take on multiple personalities, alternate universes, and a great friendship book.
I think that this is one of his best works to date!

Wow!! Someone Like Me was my first introduction to M.R. Carey’s work, and I was completely blown away. It starts simply enough, with one of our main characters, Liz, feeling the presence of someone else lurking beneath her skin. The other being emerges during a traumatic assault, and Liz tries to explain it away. But it just won’t go away, and Liz starts to worry that it’s dangerous.

Our other main character, teenage Fran, is just trying to keep her head above the surface. She survived a terrible ordeal when she was a child, and should be better, but instead she’s starting to experience hallucinations. When she meets Liz in a doctor’s waiting room, she knows immediately that something is wrong with the other woman.

There are a lot of sci-fi elements in this book, but it takes place in the very real city of Pittsburgh, in a very real neighborhood. I think the best speculative fiction takes a very unreal situation and draws parallels about the world we’re living in now. Someone Like Me does this in an interesting, thought provoking way.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.

I'm always excited when I get my hands on a new book by M R Carey. After reading The Girl With All the Gifts, I've been completely besotted with his writing. Always deliciously creepy and painfully human tied together in an intricate, intriguing story.

Having an alternate version of yourself in your body was a interesting concept, and the painfully slow way Liz and Fran eventually figured out the battle in their minds was maddening, but clearly that's what the author does best. Makes you wait for it.

I enjoyed reading this book and will heartily recommend it to customers who enjoy fantasy.

Another wonderful book by an author who never disappoints. M.R. Carey is rapidly becoming an auto-buy author from me. I’m always drawn in quickly and have trouble putting the books down!