Someone Just Like You by Meredith Schorr
Romance/Rom-com
Pub Date July 25, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

This is Meredith’s second book, her first was As Seen on TV. Which I absolutely adored and was one of my favorite books last year! So as you can imagine I was so excited to read Someone Just Like You.

This is the story of Molly Blum and Jude Stark. They are former neighbors who were practically family. As young toddlers they were best friends but soon became enemies as the grew up. There were pranks, fights and constant one-upping between the two of them. A decade later brings up both of their parents wedding anniversary and all the children decide to plan a party for both families.

So Molly and Jude get thrown back together to help plan the party, but the pranks just start back up where they left off. Eventually a small friendship starts growing and some unexpected sexual tension.

This was such a fun book! I loved the nod to all the NYC spots! I always love stories set in the city, the late night hangs at the bars, walking around the city. Huge fan of our doggy friends in the book. I however hated Jude in the beginning, I was worried I wasn’t going to like him but he wormed himself into my heart after all.

I highly recommend this one! It’s the perfect summertime read, or really anytime! Just grab a pet, cuddle up and get reading!

Thank you so much @meredithschorr and @readforeverpub for the gifted copy! Also check out the second pic! Meredith thanked me in the acknowledgments!!! Ahhh such a great moment for me!! Thank you so much for being amazing!

This was a fun read. The friends to enemies to lovers trope is well done, as is the Jewish representation. In addition to a good romance, there are a lot of other layers to unpack, including our roles in our families and our places in the world. Both Jude and Molly are super cute together, and all of the Beatles references are fantastic.

enemies to lovers done right couldnt recommend more!!! Molly and Jude’s banter made this book. It was so quick witted and kept the story moving so well. It was great to watch them navigate their feelings and towards each other. You could feel he tension when reading. I also loved their friends and their involvement in the story. Plus the epilogue was cute!

Molly and Jude have been rivals since they were children. Their families have been lifelong friends and neighbors.

The siblings of both families have decided to throw their parents an anniversary party. This means Molly has to see Jude more times than she would prefer. She has been assigned the duty of finding the perfect venue for the party with Jude.

Cue the pranks and banter between them. I absolutely loved the back-and-forth pranks. Jude’s attitude and comments throughout the book made me laugh out loud many times. You could see that they both had some hidden feelings for one another.

This is a perfect enemies-to-lovers story with adorable dogs! You can’t go wrong with that!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @readforeverpub for this fun friendenmy to lovers story. I thought that Jude and Molly was very childish to each other but totally understand with how they grew up. I love seeing how they slowly changed their feelings towards each other and discovering their romance. Despite all the pranks, there were some tender moments too.

This is a sweet enemies-to-lovers romance with characters that have known each other their whole lives. Molly and Jude are charged with finding a venue for their parents' joint anniversary party but they can't stop pranking one another. When they finally call a truce they also fall in love and are forced to deal with long-held secrets and family dynamics. I will say these storylines felt a little familiar to other romance books I have read before. Schorr's writing and very likable characters kept me invested throughout and anyone who doesn't read a ton of romance with find this plot fresh and fun. I do recommend this one for a great summer read. Thank you to Meredith Schorr, NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.5 stars

This author is new to me. I was intrigued by the tropes: rivals, childhood frenemies to lovers and force proximity. Right off the bat I loved the dynamic of Jude and Molly. Their families were close growing up and they always didn't see eye to eye leading to numerous pranks on eachother. Their rivalry was funny and intense too. Then when their families decide to do a surprise celebration for both their parents they have to work along side eachother to find a venue to host the dinner.

I thought it was funny how they dated doppelgangers of eachother without realizing they were like them. I did struggle though with Molly. At times I thought her behavior towards her parents and Jude was too much. I thought her trying to control their choices in their lives had me a little disconnected to her character the most. I would of liked if she handled both situations differently.

Absolutely loved it! I love when you're reading and the title/cover art suddenly clicks in your brain, making you appreciate the story even more.

This was the best childhood enemies in their adult years, with so much witty banter and pranks that my cheeks hurt from laughing.

Perfect for fans of The Hating Game and 10 Things I Hate About You.

a cute and charming romcom that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

If you’re into enemies to lovers, this is absolutely your kind of book. Molly & Jude have been at odds since they were kids, and known each other their whole lives. The chemistry is apparent, and while the story felt a little predictable, it was still enough to get me hooked quick and keep me entertained. I did feel like the characters were a little childish, and wished I had seen more from some of the side characters - both friends and family. Overall, still a really fun read, with some Jewish representation in the main characters, so I still recommend adding it to your TBR when it releases on 7/25!

Book Review
Someone Just Like You by Meredith Schorr

Previous book: As Seen on TV

MCs
Jude aka Rude
Molly aka Mole

Tropes and Thoughts
Enemies toLovers
Childhood friends
Siblings are close
Two families that have become somewhat blended
Rat race of high stress jobs- prioritizing yourself, finding your passion ( I loved this story arc)
How kids interpet parental relationships; childhood trauma affects us as adults- shapes our decisions and actions
Loved the banter and pranking- allowed author to alleviate potentially heavier topics

Overall a great read.

Thanks to @netgalley @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub for my eARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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I hate having to be brutally honest but… here we go
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Someone Just Like You is not a book I would recommend and not one that I even feel truly deserves my time in typing up a summary for. It’s such a pick-me, “he’s mean to you because he likes you,” “I’m not like other girls,” tale with awful dialogue, unlikeable characters, no plot whatsoever, and enough Beatles references to make me permanently block them from my Spotify.

Molly and Jude are lifelong childhood friends turned rivals - always pranking and trying to outdo the other. Until they get tasked to work together to help plan a joint anniversary dinner for each of their parents.

I admit - I can’t decide whether I want to rate this book a 2.5 or 3. I love the enemies to lovers, childhood friends to lovers trope, but this book was a struggle for me.

The characters felt like they had absolutely zero chemistry. There was no slow burn leading up their getting together - instead it was a wham, bam, thank you ma’am. Both characters were in their late 20s but acted as though they were in their pre-teens. None of the side characters even caught my attention. With the way that the characters continually changed with how they felt towards each other, I felt like I was experiencing whiplash.

This was my first book by Meredith Schorr and I was hopeful that I would like it. I will eventually read her previous book, “As Seen on TV”, and I’m hopeful I will enjoy that one a little more.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh Molly and Jude. These two have been playing pranks on one another since they were adolescents but they're 27 now and it's getting old. It's also time that they realize that they like one another in a romantic way. They both have adult issues- Molly is struggling at work among other things-and good friends but now they have to work together, To be honest, this is a big trope, the practical joking got to be a bit much, and they're awfully immature. That said, I did like the inclusion and the NYC references. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fast read.

First off? We need to talk about Esther. If she doesn’t bring the ultimate bff energy, then I don’t know who does. I loved their pranks, enemies to lovers and childhood almost second chance love story. This was a great read and I loved the family dynamics. I’ve read two great Meredith Schorr books now and I have a feeling she’s just warming up! She’s fantastic.

This was my first book by this author and I read it in anticipation of meeting her at an upcoming book convention. Someone Just Like You had so much potential and I enjoyed the last half more than the first, which was filled with pranks that I felt were really immature and caused the plot to drag. I had a hard time figuring out when the switch in the relationship between the two main characters occurred and there were some parts that felt clunky to me. I loved the premise of the story of childhood friends turned enemies turned lovers but was disappointed in the execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publisher for the digital copy.

Molly Blum knows everything about her lifelong nemesis, Jude Stark. With their families so close, they should have been best friends. Instead, she thinks he’s a too-charming slacker, and he thinks she’s allergic to fun. After years of one-upping each other’s prank, one high school joke went too far, and they stopped speaking completely. But now that they’re supposed to help plan a massive party for their parents—together—there’s no better time to resume their war. And it is on. Only somewhere between all the sniping and harmless hijinks, a reluctant friendship develops, along with an unexpected spark of sexual tension. It might have to do with the fact that they've been dating similar type people. Or the fact that neither of them is nearly as horrible as they thought. All Molly and Jude know is that they’ve mastered the art of hating each other. Falling in love, on the other hand, is a whole new battlefield.

This was a classic enemies to lovers romance. I really loved the build up between Jude and Molly and their prank wars like it was starting up old high school hi jinx. But they both showed up for each other when it really mattered. I loved the foreshadowing that both Molly and Jude were dating very similar partners and never really noticed it. It was pretty funny. I never saw the family drama at the anniversary party coming. It was such a great conflict. Once Molly and Jude got together though I felt like the relationship was kinda hot and cold, and little toxic. I get they were supposed to be treading waters and figuring it out, but after knowing each other their whole lives I thought it would have been a little smoother. I also felt like maybe it would have benefited the storyline for them to be a little younger as some of their actions seemed a little immature. Overall I'd give this book a 3.5. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 7/25!

I really wanted to like this one, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I enjoyed more of the later parts of Molly and Jude’s relationship but their pranks were so immature and sometimes harmful. It was a little challenging to see how quickly their relationship shifted. There were times in the book that I wasn’t sure how there was still that much story to fill and it felt like it dragged on. I enjoyed Schorr’s last book so I’ll definitely check out future ones, but this one wasn’t for me.

Fun, easy to read romcom. It’s light enough of a read to not get bogged down, but not so fluffy that there’s no character development. I loved Jude!



Spoiler-ish below…
I’m not a fan of the third act breakup, but honestly I didn’t mind because I didn’t want the book to end and it was clear their relationship wasn’t quite solid yet. That breakup made them step back and figure out what they wanted and if they could be okay with each others’ imperfections. I actually liked it in this story. :)

Last year I really enjoyed As Seen on TV by Meredith Schorr, and once again I'm charmed by her writing! But I didn't love the use of pranks in this enemies-to-lovers romance.

With the Blum family and Stark family being neighbours and incredibly close, Molly Blum and Jude Stark have known each other since childhood. Now as adults, the combined six children are planning an epic dual-anniversary party—Molly and Jude tasked with choosing the venue.

Like I said, there's pranks. Lots of pranks. Combined with the teasing between Molly and Jude, it was hard to find a genuine connection underneath the immaturity. I did think it was cute (and funny) that Molly and Jude had been subconsciously pining after each other for years—often dating their doppelgängers—but I never got a sense of where their love stemmed from.

Their relationship felt like the equivalent of a playground bully tormenting someone because they have a crush. I just ... didn't love it. Or understand it.

With that said, once the pranks toned down, I enjoyed the story a lot more. I especially felt for Molly. Her guilt-ridden secret was a conflict I couldn't wait to see play out. And her need to constantly follow a plan, struggling to colour outside the lines, was really relatable for me.

A good book overall, but I'm very hit-or-miss with pranks being used in an adult romance.