Wow wow wow

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to receive an ARC of this book. I admit I went to it blind, as I do with most books, but I was attracted by the cover so much.

I was very surprised to find out from the start what the book was about. I feel absolutely in love with Hannah and her story, she has the strength I hope to have if I ever find myself in a situation like this.

Rachel Dove has an amazing way with words. The storyline kept me interested all the way through and watching Hannah recover from her past experiences, deal with her trauma and grow back into the incredible and strong woman she was was an incredible journey.

Ava and Bullet will absolutely melt your heart and so does every single character in this story.

And Brody… well. I can’t say it better than Hannah did herself “He really was a teddy bear, with a gruff grizzly coat”

I wish we had a bit more of this fantastic book.

—————

Review posted on Goodreads.

There were some sweet moments and I felt for Hannah's struggle to get away from
her abusive husband, but I just didn’t feel connected to this story and almost didn’t finish it. I didn’t feel the romance or chemistry between the characters and wasn’t compelled to find out what would happen. I knew her ex wasn’t out of the picture, which just gave me anxiety and didn’t make me want to find out. It was sweet that Brody treated her so well, but I didn’t feel a strong bond between them other than they both wanted someone to be with. The depiction of domestic violence was well done, but I didn’t realize that would be the center of the story.

I seen the cute cover for this book on netgalley and that is why I requested to read it - love a good romance novel with a cute cartoon cover, I wasn't expecting this book to be so much more than your typical romance novel.



The story follows Hannah and her young daughter Ava as they navigate their life in hiding after fleeing an abusive household. They end up in a small village town and try to lay low not wanting to burden anyone with their problems when Hannah meets a cop named Andrew (but everyone calls him Brody).



I expected this novel to then just lead into Hannah and Brody's love story - but it ended up being a story of perseverance, found family and love of all kinds. Hannah ends up finding a solid group of people who stood by her and believed her when she opened up about the abuse her and her daughter managed to escape from.



This book made me laugh and made me cry, my only real issue was that the dual POV was not separated into chapters that easily stated which characters POV was which.



Overall, I loved the story and the depth of all the characters.



Thank you to NetGalley and Rachel Dove for allowing me to read this book early 😊

Hannah is running from an abusive marriage with her baby, Ava. She's determined to give her daughter a better life regardless of what Hannah has to sacrifice to give it to her. When she finally lands in a small town that seems safe, Hannah finds an unexpected community of support. Keeping her identity a secret is a must, so when she meets police officer Andrew Brody she tries not to get too attached to the stoic, kind, gentle giant of a man.

I really loved Hannah and her resilience. I loved Brody and his patience. I loved the community of friends that Hannah built around her. And you can't beat a loyal police dog named Bullet.

The story of Hannah and Brody. Hannah is new in town with her young daughter. After what has happened to her, she has a distrust of the police, so will she be able to learn to trust PC Brody? An enjoyable read.

A book to shine a light on domestic abuse and hope for a better life for those who manage to escape. It takes a lot of courage to disappear with your child, as this is often a dangerous time for abused women. Hannah manages to get away with the help of her midwife who is her main support. Being mugged and questioned by police soon after relocating makes her more fearful of being found.

Despite the circumstances the characters find themselves in, i found Someone Like You to be a very emotional but contentful reading experience.

It is a heartbreaking story as it follows a woman on the run from her abusive husband - constantly looking over her shoulder, while also having to protect and care for her infant daughter.
Hannah and Andrew are both soft characters but fierce and loyal to those they love and appreciate.
It also doesn't hurt that Andrew is a policeman, with a dog for a partner ;)

There were moments i struggled with the writing, and apart from a few rushed and dramatic scenes, it still made for an enjoyable and quick read

trigger warnings for domestic violence

*𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘘 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

did not finish.. i couldn't connect to the characters so this book was just not for me. It was not that interesting and didn't pull me in

This book is about Hannah a single mom to baby Ava, who is running away from her previous life.

She begins from zero, not knowing anyone in a strange new town. Knowing there is a lot at stake.

Then there is Brody who is a cop with the best partner in history aka Bullet his trained K9 dog.

Brody is kind of a lone wolf with far and few people he trusts.

I liked how they cross each other on a regular basis. Makes it so cute.

I liked how Rachel really thought out the relationship, not insta love.

Like how Brody didn't rush Hannah up to open up. He knew something was up but still he was patient.

He only wanted her to be happy and that made my heart melt.

I loved that we got a view of Hannah's thoughts from being a survivor of domestic abuse.

I feel for her that she doubts her own choices at all times.

This book felt so real and I believe that the author did an amazing job at portraying it.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of "Someone Like You" written by Rachel Dove. It is scheduled to release on September 21st, 2022!

Overall, I rated the novel a 3.5/5 stars!

This book centers around Hannah and her young daughter Ava, who move to overcome physical abuse. Despite that there is some heavy information discussed throughout the novel, I feel as though it was dealt with and written well. This novel focuses on rebuilding a life for yourself where no one knows who you are or where you're from - a clean slate kind of perspective. She meets Brody, who is a cop - which is probably the best type of person for someone like Hannah to fall for, quite honestly.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for a e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book follows Hannah as she leaves her abusive husband with her young daughter. So it’s important that readers are aware that there is discussion of domestic abuse and violence.

Read this if you enjoy:
- Small town setting
- Single parent romance
- Slow burn

There was one thing that really kept me from connecting with this story. I struggled with the writing style, I didn’t realize this book was told in third person.

I initially requested this on NetGalley because I liked the look of the cover. By the time I was approved to read and received the book, I had forgotten all about the plot of the book so I wasn’t sure what I was in for at all.

The town of Leadsham is full of fun characters and I really loved the community feeling of this book. Lola, John, Ruby and Martine are great characters and I really enjoyed reading about them. As the book deals with domestic violence survival, these characters added some light to what could have been a much darker story.

I struggled to get into the story at first due to the switching between dual POV’s with no warning, however, by the time I was halfway through, I was hooked on Brody and Bullet and what happened next in their story with Hannah and Ava. I’m glad I persevered with it.

I gave this book 3 ⭐️ as I did enjoy it a lot, but the switching of POV’s and at times difficult to follow dialogue (due to the lack of ‘he said/she said’) took away from some of my enjoyment.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a (mostly) happy love story.

Someone Like You is a novel that follows Hannah, a woman who has been abused by her husband, and her daughter as they escape from a very dire situation. She meets Brody, who helps her to see that not all men are like the monster she married. I found it refreshing that the story seemed more about Hannah finding herself and not just finding a HEA with Brody. And let's not forget about Bullet, the pup that steals your heart! Overall, this was a good story and one that I would recommend to others looks for a book that gives you all the feels.

This book was one I had a hard time reading. It was what I had hoped going to be a book about a woman who knew the only thing she could do was to escape from her abusive husband. She has a daughter she has to keep safe and find true happiness in her own life.
The story for me was a little slow and the romance in it was flat. I wanted to feel a connection between Hannah and Brody but never got that.
Thank you NetGalley and Rachel Dove for the ARC of Someone Like You. This is my personal review.

Someone Like You has the makings of a good romance. A mother who has fled her violent marriage with her young baby, a small village of lovely helpful folk and a cute policeman with a dog. However, it ended up being a fairly average read.
I was really enjoying things up until about halfway – we had a surprisingly shocking meet-cute (our Hannah has to wrestle with a bag-snatcher in the park) and a little hesitant dancing around each other between her and the lovely copper before they admit feelings. But from there things were just flat – they move in together REALLY quickly, sleep in the same bed but don’t touch each other (is this common in “proper” romance? I must admit I’ve only ever read closed-door before), and hanging over it all is the looming threat of Hannah’s very bad, very violent ex finding her. I really didn’t understand why the main characters weren’t sleeping together – there was no religious element, only a vague excuse of “not wanting to pressure you when you’re still finding your feet”.
It wasn’t hard to guess what the climax was and I was not looking forward to it. If I want monsters battering down doors I’ll read a thriller. But no worries, everything comes up roses and we get our HEA.
Only recommended if you’re a fan of proper romance, but be aware this isn’t overly sweet or cute – the aggressive acts that move the plot along – the abusive marriage (remembered vividly at points), the bag-snatcher and the extreme escalation of her ex in the finale – give the book a darker tone.

This book has trauma, growth and love all wrapped in an adorable little town. We meet Hannah and her daughter Ava as them embark on a journey to finding their happiness and peace after living through hell. I love the growth I see in Hannah and seeing her become stronger and more confident. And a hunky police officer with a heart of gold is a bonus!

Someone Like You was an easy read although it felt a bit drawn out in places and too much inner monologuing that I tended to skip through it as I didn't feel like it added to the story.

I was hoping that we would have been told more of Hannah's back story, and how she met and fell in love with Victor but this was glossed over. The fact that she had no family support wasn't really delved into either apart from a bit towards the end regarding a rubbish childhood. I guess I was looking for the complexities, what made Hannah tick but this is a rom com with a happy ever after ending which is nice but not really for me.

Someone Like You by Rachel Dove • ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

- single parent
- small town

TW: domestic violence

Hannah and her daughter, Ava, run away to a small town to start afresh. There she meets Brody, someone who she keeps pushing away, someone who she shouldn't like. However the more she pushes him away the more she's drawn to him.

Really enjoyed this book, I loved all the characters and how supportive they were to each other, even when they didn't know the full story with Hannah and loved that it allowed her to grow and become this new version of herself.

Brody might be my next fave book boyfriend, he was so kind and supportive and gave Hannah the space she needed to move on and fall in love again.

I loved how chaotic the childminders are, some of their outfits had me laughing out loud

Also the friendship between Ava and Bullet was adorable

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for allowing me to read and review this book :)

I thought this was a great novel. I loved the character depth and it was certainly a page turner.

I don't think I would use it for educational purposes. However, I would recommend it as a read for older students during self reading time.

I felt it was slightly slow to begin with, but once I got to 100/150, I was hooked!

Hannah and her baby daughter, Ava have moved to Leadsham, to get away from an abusive relationship. Soon after their arrival, Hannah meets Andrew Brody, a police officer. Brody has a sense that there is more to Hannah’s story and Hannah, given her past, pushes him away.
This is a story, that tackles domestic abuse yet does so with sensitivity. Not only was the romance between Brody and Hannah lovely, but the added layer of complexity whilst examining the issues that Hannah faces, gave greater depth to the story. Brody is the true hero, giving Hannah strength, when all she has had in her past, is pain. With the added support of the local residents, Hannah can finally overcome her battles, and her strength as a single mother finally pays off. My one criticism would be that I found the dialogue a bit confusing, not knowing who was actually talking at the time. Overall, a great read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.