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.

Rachel Dove’s Someone Like You is an inspirational account of a single mother, Hannah, who flees her abusive husband in search of a new life.

The topic of domestic violence is serious and heavy. It can be traumatic for some readers, so proceed with caution.

While the plot is riddled with triggering events, Rachel Dove does a beautiful job of taking the difficult subject and infusing it with hope. Hannah manages to create a community for herself and her daughter. She slowly gains independence and learns to trust herself along the way.

I especially loved that a man is not the hero. Hannah is the hero of her own story. While she has others whom she can count on for support, she manages to put an end to her own abuse.

Someone Like You does have a love story. It is a super sweet romance between Hannah and Brody. Brody understands that Hannah is vulnerable and needs to take their relationship slowly. This is a very slow burn, but super realistic and satisfying!

Special thanks to NetGalley.com and HQ for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

Hannah leaves her husband without warning and without telling him where she’s headed with their daughter, Ava. Hannah begins a new life only with what she was able to squirrel away while she worked up to leaving. She finds a new job with the help a good-looking police officer and it brings her back to something her husband had taken away from her… books!

Someone Like You will have you turning the page wanting more! I read this in one sitting, and I may or may not have ignored my family to get through it. No regrets. I loved every minute of it.

Posted to good reads 9/18/2022

I simply could not put this book down! I finished it in a day because I just had to know what happened next!
This story had my heart breaking over and over and over... but in the best possible way. See in my opinion, if my heart is not being broken, then I'm not connecting with the story. Along with the breaking there was also a whole lot of swooning!
Andrew is basically perfect and THE dream guy. I would fall for him in an instant. I wanted to find Hanna and hug her tight and hold her close. I really truly felt like I knew these characters - they felt relatable and down to earth.
The story line was all to real, stuff like this does still happen in today's day and age. I do wish there had been at least a little as part of the story that focused on what women in these situations can do... But it didn't ruin my view of the book - and there was info included at the end of the book.
While this was a story of love, it was also a story of a young woman finding her own way in the world and learning who she was outside of a violent relationship. Every moment between Andrew and Hanna is precious and every moment between Andrew and Ava is endearing.
Sometimes it's nice to get away from those hot and steamy books and this one provided the perfect break!
I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book and add it to my bookcase! 100% a book worthy of reading over and over!

The cover of this book gives the impression it’s a cute Rom com type story, but it is much more than that and deals with some very difficult topics.

Hannah and her daughter Ava have managed to escape Hannah’s emotionally and physically abusive husband, Victor. They settle in the small town of Leadsham with the difficult task of starting to try to rebuild their lives while Hannah is constantly looking over her shoulder. When she least expected or wanted to, she meets Brody, a local policeman and a relationship between the two starts to develop.

This book is a slow burner, and at certain points I felt it needed to pick up the pace a little, particularly towards the second half. I also struggled with the dialect at times, how it switched between characters halfway through a chapter unexpectedly, making it hard to understand who was saying what.

Overall, I thought this book was ok, and it was a pleasant read. I liked the characters Hannah and Brody, and the supporting characters in the small town were also great. There was just something lacking somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it because the plot line had the potential for this to be a fantastic read.

I thought the book was very cute, but I couldn't vibe with the point of view at all!! If the book was written from the first-person point of view, I feel like I would have connected with the characters more. I hope she has more books in the future with a different POV. If you enjoy a single parents romance, with some adventure then this is the one for you! (just remember its written from a 3rd person perspective)

Someone Like You is a slow burn, emotional romance novel. I enjoyed how well developed the main characters were and how well the author wrote the female main character’s character growth throughout the book. I loved the setting of the small town and enjoyed all the secondary characters in the book. However, I really did not care for the third person point of view that the book was written in. It felt clunky and confusing at times. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it had been written in dual first person point of view. Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a slower paced, emotional, and well fleshed out romance novel. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for a quick, fast paced read or if you’re looking with something with spice. I would give this book 3.5 stars.

A good read all in all, but at times I found the dialogue confusing with regards to who was speaking. I wasn't always sure what they meant either - this applies to Brody in particular. I thought it was unrealistic the speed at which Hannah and Brody's relationship developed. Brody, for me, was too intense at times. Loved his dog Bullet though! Hannah was a great character. Overall, her story of trying to make a new life for herself after escaping from an abusive relationship, was a compelling one. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Get ready for the emotions!

This book tackled a very tough subject, PTSD as a result of domestic violence, and it handled it very well. Hannah and her baby daughter Ava have run from her violent husband, Victor and landed in Leadsham, a small town, with the help of her midwife friend Kate.

Hoping to live a quiet, unremarkable life in Leadsham, Hannah and Ava stay mostly at home, venturing out only when necessary. One day Hannah decided to take a chance on a visit to the park, and an attempted mugging cut her plans short, and also brought her to the attention of a local policeman, Andrew Brody. There's an unmistakable attraction between Hannah and Brody (as locals call him), but Hannah is still so afraid of men that she's reluctant to take a chance.

This story has a mix of emotions...fear, distrust, friendship, strength and love. Hannah has to learn to trust again, open her heart to others, find a way to survive on very little (including find work with no ID) and raise Ava as a single mom.

I liked the story, although the dialogue was a bit hard to follow at times without identifying who is speaking. This may be fixed before publication, though, so don't worry.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

Someone Like You
by Rachel Dove
Pub Date: 21 Sep 20

I wasn't sure what this book was about, but it had a cute cover, and I was intrigued. While there are some dark issues dealing with domestic abuse and living with the shadows of that trauma, there are plenty of light, rom-com moments. This book is the journey of Hannah finding herself and opening up to the possibility of love, friendship, and a happily ever after.

Someone like you is such a beautiful book to read, I loved watching Hannah flourish into herself. The writing itself was really easy to follow and didn’t drag. The story is so much for than a romance novel, it's an emotional, layered story of self-rediscovery.
Rachel Dove is really good at making you fall in love with characters, you just want to give Hannah a big hug and tell her everything is going to be okay. Brody is so compassionate and caring, you just want to keep him forever.
I very much enjoyed the way it processed to the end, it wasn't a stereotypical ending but so much more than that. My only reason for not giving it five stars is the pov is not separated by chapters which took some time getting used to.

Overall, this is a really lovely book to read.

Please note that this novel involves physical abuse and overcoming it. Always check Trigger Warnings

Thank you to Netgalley & Rachel Dove for giving me an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Someone Like You follows Hannah who is leaving an abusive relationship with her daughter Ava. She has to rebuild her whole life while trying to keep a low profile- Hannah moves to a small town where gossip spreads fast, and keeping a low profile is difficult when Hannah has caught the attention of the charming Police Officer in town.

This book had a lot of potential, the characters were so loveable (except for one) and not only was the story a romance, it was also a book about rediscovering and new beginnings for a brave mum wanting to provide her daughter with a better life. Dual pov, guy falls first, great side characters… all the things I love. Also, the fact that Andrew was there to support Hannah and Ava in making her own decisions while not asserting himself was refreshing.

However, I felt that it was a bit choppy sometimes and Hannah and Brody didn’t really have any meaningful meetings before he was trying to ask her out. For me, it felt like they met 3 times before she stayed over to help him, and yet none of those 3 meetings were cute or included any romance. It sort of just happened, but it felt very rushed to me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review. This book is set to release September 21, 2022.

Do check TW before reading.

A fairly decent read but it didn’t seem plausible in the timeline. Hannah just arrived in town and then bam is in love and sleeping over with a guy before she mentions to him she’s actually married. Being on the run from domestic abuse she’s had to change her name and such, luckily her new man is a cop. The timeline just didn’t work for me, too much too fast and the ending was too abrupt and clean.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the novel in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the start of this book with the suspension and fear Hannah had no I no the story along.

I liked the inclusion of Bullet but felt he could have been utilised more as the story progressed. I think this was also true of the character of Kate.

The relationship between Brody and Hannah moved a bit quickly for me personally, but I do think that the author created characters that were well matched. The drama at the end of the story seemed slightly rushed to me, and could have been drawn out more over multiple chapters, including the fall out caused by the events.

Overall I’d say this was a decent story which touches on some difficult and challenging topics, but I think I personally wanted more - more development, more time spent on certain events, and an extended epilogue (I think I’m just a greedy reader!). I enjoyed parts of this and will consider trying other stories by the author in the future.

I love a single mom trope and this thing was so perfect!
Hannah, the female character is such a strong woman. I love that she finally put herself and her kiddo first. She was kind of closed if and scared in the new please she found for both of them, but with time and slowly getting to know more people, trusting them she opened herself up and finally because the version that she wanted to be.
And Brody is the best man you’d even want! Sweet, caring, he can see your mood change and try to make you feel better.
Their banter was so great, love their chemistry. Such a fluffy and cute romance.
I kind of got confused with the dialogue between them and who said what. But it still was so enjoyable.

I loved this book from the very beginning! I loved watching Hannah/Erin come to find herself and stand on her own feet. What an empowering story! I loved that she felt empowered, but still accepted the help of this village that became her chosen family! You can be strong and still accept the kindness and generosity of others! Hannah and Andrew are just such a joy to read about! I loved everything about their relationship! I just loved everything about this book! I couldn’t put it down!

I went into this book thinking it was a romcom. That couldn’t be further from the truth. This was an emotional read! I loved the story line but it felt a bit slow at times. I kept waiting for something to happen and it at times felt drug out. The writing style was also a bit hard to follow. Even though it was dual pov, the povs weren’t differentiated in any way.

Hannah is running from her abusive husband and ends up in a small town. She just wants to feel free and raise her daughter in a safe environment. Brody is a policeman in this small town and notices right away that something is off with Hannah. I loved the personal growth with Hannah and how much she had overcome. And Brody was totally smitten with her from the first time meeting her. I loved all the friendships that Hannah was able to make and that she had so many that had her back.

I did enjoy this story and recommend if you are looking for a clean, small town romance with a fmc that grows stronger throughout the book and with the help of new friends.

This was such a sweet book, it had some tough topics throughout but it had the best most touching message