Thanks netgalley for an advanced copy of this book for my review. So this book is one in a series and I think it's a perfectly good standalone. This is one of those will they,won't they? stories, it's fun,cute enjoyable read.

I liked the plot, but the execution could’ve been better. There was too much tell rather than show, which made reading a bit tiresome. The characters didn’t read as authentic.

Barker displays sensitivity when dealing with a best friend in love with her best friend who isn’t aware of it.
I liked how supportive and close Gaby’s family is.
Raff was a whiz in the kitchen but quite the slow learner when it came to women, including the one right next to,him.
I liked the friends to lovers trope although Gaby had to endure the endless pairings of Raff with other women.
This a warmhearted read with a very good ending.

Someone Like You by Sandy Barker

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

What do you do when you realise you've fallen for your best friend, but he sees you as the sister he never had? And to make things worse, you're stuck in the middle of a matchmaking scheme to find him someone else!

Best friends Gaby and Raff are inseparable and know each other inside out. But with Raff's string of disastrous relationships and his newfound fame as Britain’s Best Baker, it's time to enlist the Ever After Agency to help him find true love.

At first, Gaby is all in – Raff is a catch, after all. But as she secretly helps to find his perfect match, she’s hit with unexpected pangs of jealousy. And before she can act on her feelings, Raff falls for one of his dates.

Can Gaby keep her emotions in check, or will she risk ruining their friendship to find out if Raff feels the same way?

My Opinion

Someone Like You is the fourth book in the Ever After Agency series, and whilst I have read the books in order, I feel that this would work as a standalone. I sat and read this book in one sitting, and I was slightly sad when I reached the end as I wasn’t ready for it to finish. With some very likeable characters, Sandy Barker has once again written a great book.

Rating 4/5

Raff has just had another breakup, but the plan is to help Raff find love without him knowing about it but maybe the person he was meant to fall in love with has been there all along.

This is a great novel within the series. I love that we were back with previous characters and got to see a dual point of view with our main characters.

This novel followed themes of friendship, romance and family and I loved the scene with Gaby's family which just made me want to jump into the page and be a part of the scene,

This book was incredibly fun. I have read the first book in this series too and the interconnecting story to include the other characters made my day. Perfect for reading something light in the lead up to Christmas!

Thank you @netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review

Gaby and Raff work at a marketing agency; they are best friends with Freya, who now works at the Ever After Agency, an exclusive matchmaking service. Raff is recovering from his latest heartbreak, which happened when he won Best British Baker. As he contemplates a dream career move, Freya decides she needs to find him a match and enlists the help of Poppy, who regular readers of the series will know. It is a glamorous, lighthearted friends-to-lovers romance with many misunderstandings and humorous moments. I enjoyed catching up with Poppy's life and meeting Gaby's lovely family in Seattle. The romance is gentle and often conflicted as Gaby tries to understand her true feelings and what she is prepared to risk for happiness. I love the characters and their relationship dynamics. I also enjoyed the locations and the romance.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

‘Someone Like You’ by Sandy Barker is a really fun tale of matchmaking, friendships, baking and love! It’s the fourth book in the ‘Ever After Agency’ series, and focuses on marketing executive Gaby and her colleague/best friend/recent TV-baking show winner Raff… Raff is in love with the idea of falling in love but averse to endless dating. When his friend Freya - a professional matchmaker at the agency - makes it her mission to pair him up without him noticing, will he meet the woman of his dreams, or realise that the key to his romantic happiness is already within his reach?

One thing I really enjoy about the novels is how Poppy (matchmaker extraordinaire and the star of the first instalment) is deeply involved with each would-be couple and gets her own chapters. I adore hearing about her life with husband Tristan and cat Saffron, and even getting updates on her close friends.

The themes of family dynamics and career changes were interesting, and I really liked the chapters from the POV of our romantic leads. Both main characters were likeable, relatable and pretty well-developed.

This gets four stars from me! I would have loved to see a few more chapters at the end versus just an epilogue. The taster of Book 5 has me excited already…

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Boldwood Books via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Despite loving books one and two in the series (you can read my reviews of those here and here) – I have somehow missed out on book 3. I will remedy this oversight as soon as I can but haven’t had time to do so yet. I was worried this would affect my enjoyment of Someone Like You – What had I missed? Would I be confused? – I should not have been concerned, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment one bit. This works perfectly as a standalone (although I do recommend you read the others too as they are too good to miss!)

The book took a little while to warm up for me, not sure why exactly but, once I was a couple of chapters in, I was hooked and I read the book cover to cover in a single day. I am a bit of a sucker for a friends-to-lovers story and this is one of the best examples of it that i have read recently. The friendship between Gaby and Raff is so genuine and gorgeous that even I was a little worried of her doing something to spoil it. When an author has you this invested in the characters and their relationships, they have got you and they must be doing something right.

Gaby is such a lovely character. You know you have a real friend who they are willing to put their own happiness on the line to further yours and I was totally in love with her quite quickly. In fact, all of the female characters in these books are wonderful – warm, supportive, generous, fun – the kind of people you want to have in your own life. Then we have the male love interest, suitable swoon-worthy but also with a lot going on behind the good looks, because who falls in love with a one-dimensional pretty boy? Certainly not me, or any of Sandy Barker’s heroines.

My favourite thing about this whole novel though was the interlude in Seattle with Gaby’s whole family. The warmth and love and familial closeness oozes off the page and into the hearts of the reader, where it will melt the iciest of hearts. I loved the glimpses we had of Seattle, all the wedding planning and, particularly, Auntie Christine! I could just imagine the scenes exactly and wished I could be in the midst of it all, sounds very like my family tbh!

This is another great addition to the romance canon by Sandy Barker and I can’t wait for her next book. Perfect seasonal reading for the old romantic in you.

Oh my goodness, that back cover summary makes it so difficult to review this lovely book – there’s a lot more to the story and I SO wanted to tell you about some of its later twists and turns, but really don’t want to spoil any of the surprises! But just a quick summary of where it all starts…

Gaby and Raff are the best of friends – but despite his newfound fame as Britain’s Best Baker, his romantic life is a bit of a disaster area. One of their other friends, Freya, works at the Ever After Agency and when she suggests they put plans in action to find him a match, Gaby’s happy to help – although things prove a little difficult when he’s not too keen on the idea, so they need to put the potential matches in his path without him knowing, and with varying degrees of success. But our favourite matchmaker Poppy is on the case, and she sees what’s really going on before they do – Gaby’s realised that she and Raff really are the perfect match for each other, but she can’t act on her feelings because she’s afraid of losing him as a friend.

Now, what can I safely tell you about what comes later? Well, Poppy’s on the case – her point of view punctuates the story, as she quietly lends her expertise to the difficult situation – so we know they’re in safe hands. And it was particularly lovely to see how her own life has progressed – with appearances from friends we’ve met in the earlier books and spending time at home with her gorgeous partner (and diva cat Saffy, naturally), as she has thoughts about what her own future might hold. And there is the most wonderful romance – with times when things are particularly difficult for Gaby, while Raff remains blissfully unaware, until…

And it’s Christmas – with all the feels – and in a beautifully drawn location that the author plainly loves, and with that focus on the warmth of relationships with family and friends that she always does so very well. There’s plenty of her trademark humour throughout, but some really moving emotional moments too – and the ending is so totally perfect that it really can’t fail to delight. The most wonderful addition to this excellent series – and yes, perhaps my favourite so far…

Someone Like You by Sandy Barker is the fourth book in the Ever After Agency. In this book we learn a new word HE’s which stands for happily ever after.. Freya‘s cousin Raff has won the Big British Christmas Bake Off and on the same day, his girlfriend Winnie breaks up with him in a text. At the viewing party she decides it’s time for him, to find his own HE and lucky for him. That is the business she is in. Because he is her friend she must enlist the help of Poppy. greta, Raff and Freya have been best friends ever since Greta started working with them at the advertising company where they worked and is an American who’s been living in Britain for the past eight years. although she has been best friends with Raff the same amount of time it isn’t until he starts getting matched up unbeknownst to him that she starts to realize she may not want him to find his HE or at least not with anyone else but her. The only question is does wrath feel the same way. I love this series and love that we get to see characters from past books such as Gretchen, Tristan and Chaz. It is like visiting old friends and doing a catch up. this book can be read as a standalone, but reading the books in order in my opinion makes it that much better. however, it is only in regard to recognizing past characters and really nothing to do with the plot line. This book is funny. The characters are lovable, and I always look forward to the next one. #NetGalley, #BoldWoodBooks, #SandyBarker, #EverAfterAgency, #SomeoneLikeYou,

When Rafferty is crowned the winner of the Britain's Best Bakers: Festive Baking Spectacular, he should have been on top of the world. After all, not only did he win the competition, but he was planning to propose to his girlfriend Winnie. Except....she dumped him via text leaving him heartbroken.



Gaby never liked Winnie, but she knows that Raff is happiest when he is in love, so she agrees to their friend Freya's suggestion that they use her work perk to use a matchmaker to find Raff his one true love, once and for all. Freya works at the Ever After Agency, and once a year they are allowed to refer a case. Of course, it would be unprofessional for her to be too involved due to a conflict of interest, so the case is assigned to Poppy Dean, who we have met in the previous books in the Ever After Agency. There is one condition though. Whilst Raff has in theory agreed to this plan, he doesn't want to know that it is happening. So, any introduction can't be on a date. It just has to seem to happen organically.



In order to try to make this happen, Freya calls on Gaby to help fill in the questionnaire that will help Poppy understand what kind of person Raff is and what kind of person he is looking for. When Freya announces that they need to find the right person before Christmas, the pressure is on for Poppy. The only thing is that Poppy sees that Gaby may have feelings for Raff herself, but just doesn't realise it.



Gaby finds herself roped into assisting with the case more than she would have liked. Thank goodness it is only a few weeks before Christmas, where she can go home to Seattle to the warm cocoon of her family, and attend her cousin's wedding which is going to be quite the affair given the bride's mother is going all out. Mom-zilla here we come! In the mean time, there is also the stress of a potential promotion at work. There's a lot going on. She doesn't have time for an emotional crisis when she realises how she feels about Raff.



Raff's family situation is more complicated. He was practically raised by his aunt and uncle but they are going away this year, something that was a last minute surprise and so he has nowhere else to go. Gaby unthinkingly asks him to come home to Seattle with her, to an already overflowing house. So now, she has nowhere to hide as she watches him, start to fall for one of his matches. It's a terrible situation to be stuck in.



I really enjoyed this instalment in the Ever After Agency series. Raff sounds seriously dishy, and seems like a really nice guy, even in the face of his new found baking fame. I liked that he really respected his family (as in his aunt and uncle) and that he was prepared to change his life as he wanted to rather than just do what was expected from him by his distant parents. There was also a lot of delicious sounding baking in this book, and it was also seriously Christmassy. I really liked the way that the action was split between London and Seattle!



Sandy Barker has announced that he next book will be the last in the series and it will be sad to say goodbye to Poppy and her friends. I did read the excerpt for the final book and I now want to read it all! Bring it on, and whatever comes next.



I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and the Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.

I’m really enjoying the humor and banter in the story, but I feel like the pace is a bit slow for me. I'm already 50% through, and I find myself getting a bit bored with the progress.

I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC, all opinions are my own. Thank you so much!

After Raff is dumped by his girlfriend his friends decide to use the Happy Ever After dating agency to find him the perfect girlfriend. They enlist his best friend Gaby to help set him up with the carefully chosen matches, however she finds that she is developing deeper feelings for him and has to go through the agony of trying to arrange these meetings despite this.
I've read and enjoyed two of the three previous books in this series, although I somehow managed to miss book three, and it was great to catch up with the previous characters again. This is a slow burner, so don't expect a lot of action, but it did work for me. I liked Raff, totally oblivious to his attraction to women and a is a master baker, but I really felt for Gaby, seeing him starting to fall for someone else. It was great meeting her family and how it contrasted with Raff's, and the winter scene brought home to Christmas feel, although it can be enjoyed at any time. There is a sneak peek at the next book in the series and I'm really looking forward to reading it. In summary a nice friends to, hopefully, lovers story.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

I've loved the rest of Sandy Barker's books, but did I love SOMEONE LIKE YOU? Unfortunately not

I just wasn't a fan of this one - I kept reading because the blurb seemed really interesting but it seemed to drag unnecessarily.

I loved the relationship between Freya, Raff and Gaby, but found the pacing was lacking.

I also loved the hints of Poppy throughout and loved seeing all my favourite characters throughout.

This is a great friends to lovers book but just didn't hit the mark for me!

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC! Opinions are my own

Back to the matchmaking agency with Polly and her coworkers including Freya. Freya wants to matchmake one of her best friends, Raff and Polly takes on the case. Polly enlists the help of Freya and Raff's other best friend, Gaby to help since Raff doesn't want to know anything about how this will happen. While searching for Raff's match, Gaby discovers she herself is in love with Raff, just as he starts dating the agency's third option, Gaby doesn't want to reveal her feelings and possibly ruin Raff's new relationship and their friendship if he doesn't return her feelings.

Not having read any of the other books in this series, it took me a moment to establish who was who amongst the substantial cast. It was easy to identify Raff as the male lead as everything pointed to him being the hero of the hour as he won a baking competition and then was dumped by his girlfriend. Thankfully, perhaps, his best friend can help him find his perfect match as she works at the Ever After Agency.
Gaby is totally invested in the process of finding Raff a perfect match right up until she realises that he would be perfect for her. What follows is excruciatingly painful as I imagined how awful she felt, watching him dating other women until he developed feelings for one of them.
I immediately took to Gaby and can remember being invisible around guys I fancied and even giving relationship advice to them; it hurts. Thankfully, I was never as invested as Gaby, even though I can imagine her pain watching him fall for other women. Despite her own feelings, she remained focused on helping Raff find his perfect match.
Raff was a typical oblivious man. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body or any self-awareness to see what was right in front of him. That said, with Gaby pushing him in another direction, it would have been hard to spot that his best friend could be the one.
Sandy Barker creates some fantastic characters, and this book is a testament to her skills. Freya, Poppy, Saskia and Paloma add a wealth of depth and provide some excellent banter as they debate what is best for Raff.
If you want to know whether Gaby gets her man, you’ll need to read it yourself.

After winning the Britain’s Best Baker competition, Raff seems to have everything he could want... apart from a relationship. After some disastrous attempts at love by himself, he agrees to let a matchmaker set him up with the help of his best friend, Gaby. However, amid the matchmaking process, Gaby realises that she has feelings for Raff — and she is now stuck helping him find a girlfriend. Can she ignore how she feels and watch Raff meet someone else, or will she tell him how she feels before it’s too late?

Five stars!!!! An easy five stars!!!! I really did love everything about Someone Like You. From the friends-to-lovers, slow burn romance, to the chaotic family Christmas dynamic, I found every aspect of this book to be a joy to read. I thought the take on dual POV (not being the two romantic interests) to be extremely refreshing and i also appreciated the emphasis that Sandy Barker places on platonic love throughout the story. Admittedly, I haven't read the rest of this series, but after reading this one, they are queue-jumping my TBR!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Sandy Barker for this advanced readers copy. Please read it when it releases on the 12th! 💌

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I absolutely loved reading this book.

Raff was crowned winner of Britain’s Best Baker, and on the same day, his relationship ended.

His friends decide to find him a match and enlist the help of Poppy The Ever After Agency.

When things start moving to find Raff a partner, Gabby, who’s been his best friend for ages begins to feel a bit jealous as she sees him meet other women.

She’s unsure of what she should do, tell him how she feels or sit back and see him meet the wrong person?

I loved the way the story was written, with lots of funny moments as well as the cookery side which made your mouth water.

I highly recommend this book.

Sandy barker cannot disappoint with this next book in the series. Its a lovely christmassy romance with friends to lovers, a one bed trope, id say found family, and many more of your favorite tropes. These characters are so likeable and relatable and also kinda dumb ngl and i loved it. It was the perfect vibe for november and probably december as well.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review