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.

Someone Just Like You is a cute read. Jude and Molly are former childhood friends turn enemies that are thrown together to help plan their parents party. The banter will have you giggling along with the antics Molly and Jude get into. Ever the pranksters Jude and Molly have always tried to one up one another. Jude and Molly have had feeling for each other for years even as they deny them. The flirtation and being thrown together send sparks flying like crazy. I love their up and down relationship and the chemistry build. Molly and Jude are amazing together. I really enjoyed this one so much. I could not get enough of Jude and Molly. You need to meet them today.

3.5 stars rounded up. I wanted a light, easy read, and for the most part, this book fit the bill. When Jude and Molly were sweet with one another, they were really sweet, and I really enjoyed watching them fall for each other. But a lot of the times that they weren’t so nice made me cringe. The pranks were juvenile if (mostly) harmless. But it was the end that was hard for me to get over. Their fights were brutal, and I really don’t know if I buy that they could have made their HEA work.

Thank you to Forever and Hatchette for providing me with this NetGalley ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Molly Blum and Jude Stark have been pranking each other their whole lives. Their families grew up close to each other and they attended school together. Now she is a lawyer who left working for a big firm and instead does job placement in the legal field. His goal was to be a major league baseball player but an injury in high school cost him his college scholarship. Now he is a bartender with dreams of owning his own pub.

The now grown kids from both families get together to plan a combined surprise anniversary party for their parents. (One the 40th the other 35th.) It puts Molly and Jude together to look at venues and for planning. A running joke is that the two always seem to date a person similar to each other. No one is surprised when sparks finally fly between the two.

I enjoyed the authors first book, As Seen on TV a bit more. This story is a good sophomore novel but I really hate pranks. These two still doing it as adults and calling each other childish nicknames is a yuck for me. (The pranks don’t continue through the whole novel.) The heat level is low to medium with a mix of open and closed door moments. I really like and understood Molly but wasn’t as big of a fan of the smooth, laughs at his own jokes Jude. But I knew all would work out in the end.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review. (3.5 Stars)

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read and review this new release.

This is the second book by this author that I have had the opportunity to read. I enjoyed the last book, so I was delighted to have another chance to explore her work.

This book delves into the lifelong friendship and conflict between Jude Stark and Molly Blume. Their parents have been neighbours and friends for many years, resulting in the two of them spending a considerable amount of time together over the years. Molly and Jude were friends as children until a pivotal moment transformed their bond into a rivalry that persists to this day. Jude is a bartender living a bohemian lifestyle, while Molly has achieved her ambition of earning a law degree and now works as a recruiter helping lawyers find jobs.

The upcoming wedding anniversaries of both the Stark and Blume families prompt a decision to unite the families in a grand joint celebration. Each family member is assigned a specific task to help coordinate the event. Due to an unexpected turn of events, Molly and Jude find themselves tasked with securing the party location, which necessitates setting aside their rivalry to work in unison.

The story has several humorous moments, making it a fun, quick read that I finished over a few days. Some parts were predictable, but overall, it was an enjoyable experience, and I would recommend this book to anyone seeking a light-hearted romantic comedy to read this summer. The book offers a little bit of everything: a touch of steaminess, humor, the 'enemies to lovers' trope, miscommunication, and a dash of puppy love.

10* stars. This was such a wonderful love story that showed us what you plan for and think is best for you isn't always the case. I truly enjoyed going on this journey to see how these two characters came together and reached their happily every after.

Molly knows everything about Jude, their families have been friends since before they were born. They used to be best friends, until something happened, and Jude turned on Molly – she doesn’t know why even all these years later. Now their siblings have thrown them together to throw a surprise anniversary party for their parents. Despite all their pranks and disagreements, a friendship starts to blossom. Is their hatred for each other sexual tension in hiding? Seems they’re falling in love…will they be able to set aside their differences and go with it?

This book started off not really for me, but I am glad that I stuck with it as it got better. I saw some reviews that the pranks between Molly and Jude was childish and they’re almost 30 – yes they were. However, I have done stupid child like stuff like this when I am around the right person, and that was clearly the case here. Molly and Jude are such opposites, like very extremely. Id did work, though I wish that there would have been a little more about how they worked out their differences in the ending of the book. I enjoyed the sibling relationships in this book, it was interesting to hear all the different roles the siblings played in life. I really do wish that we had had some of this one from Jude’s point of view, it would have helped create a more balanced book. However, this was still an interesting book and I enjoyed it, I just wanted a little more.

If you are looking for an opposite attract, enemies to lover’s rom com, then check this one out.

Thank you to @GetRedPR, Forever Publishing, and Netgalley