I didn't love this one as much as Meredith Schorr's first book but it's still an enjoyable read! Funny, lighthearted, and a perfect quick read!

3.5 STARS

I had high hopes for this book, being a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers stories. The idea of archenemies teaming up intrigued me, and I couldn’t wait to dive into this story (I also really loved the cover of this book)!

Molly and Jude, despite being enemies since grade school, felt stuck in their immaturity. The character growth was lacking, which made it hard to connect or root for their romance. The concept had potential, I did enjoy the realization that they were dating “clones” of each other, but the execution of this story just didn’t deliver for me.

I’m open to reading more from the author, but this one just missed the mark for me.

🤍 Thank you so much to the publisher @readforeverpub and @netgalley for this advanced reader copy!

⚠️TW: bullying, toxic relationship, alcohol, emotional abuse, gaslighting

Someone Just Like You was such a sweet read. I love stories that center around a family event, so the forced proximity during a joint anniversary party for the FMC and MMC’s parents was perfect.

Meredith has the best Jewish representation in her books, and the NYC setting was great.

I thought that the realization that they’ve both been dating versions of each other was hilarious. During one scene, the doppelgängers they’ve brought to a party hit it off, which was hilarious.

Some of their pranks were a little juvenile, but I’m not a prank puller. I would’ve liked a bit more character development, but overall this was a quick read and enjoyable story.

Thank you to Forever for an eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Molly and Jude have known each other for what feels like forever. Their families have always been entrenched in one another's lives and they can't remember a time when they didn't make fun of each other or pull pranks. They've always been in one another's lives in some way. But now their siblings have decided that they should work together to plan their parents' combined anniversary party and Molly isn't sure that she can trust Jude to plan anything with him - - let alone an event like this.

But as they start spending more and more time together, she starts noticing things that surprise her - - like that she kind of enjoys being around Jude. That he actually has good qualities when he isn't trying to "pull one over on her." But it always seems like there is some other woman hanging around him and Molly knows he doesn't feel anything for her. He pranks her too often.

But as you go through the story, it become more glaringly noticeable that they both have types....and their types closely resemble each other. Everyone else can see it, but they don't.

This is a cute story with some elements thrown in that will tug a little at the heartstrings too. Nicely done. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

Thank you to the publisher and Meredith Schorr for the opportunity to read the ARC of 'Someone Just Like You'. I have read Schorr's work before and was not disappointed, so I was confident this would be another winner. And let me tell you... it was!
A good enemy to lovers/second chance romance can't go wrong! The two main characters grew up in families who were very close growing up. Initially best friends, then enemies at a young age and into adulthood. After being paired up by their siblings to work on their parent's joint anniversary party, sparks fly and they realize they might not hate eachother as much as they think they do.
For me, this was a past-paced, enjoyable read. I loved the characters and all the pranks they pull on eachother throughout the story. Schorr was able to express/discuss divorce and years of hidden guilt in a way that any reader could feel what these characters were going through. I would highly recommend this book!

4 starssss!

meredith schorr did such a great job with this enemies to lovers trope! their past of childhood neighbors and enemies leading to their adulthood where their families are still close and friends was such an interesting detail to their story. i loved reading molly and jude with their banter and pranks and how they unraveled.

schorr was able to write a balance of romance with life and it made the story that much better. i adored molly’s search for a true career while trying to divert from her workaholic/best daughter routine while jude’s laidback lifestyle was able to inspire and teach meredith. they balanced each other so well and i loved that it wasn’t just for the relationship but an extension of it.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review!

The Blums and the Starks have been neighbors forever.  The parents are best friends, the kids are best friends, and then... the younger set of kids, Molly and Jude, are enemies.  Forced together to plan a combined wedding anniversary party for the parents, Molly and Jude re-ignite their childhood rivalry. Full of pranks and backstory, will the party be a success?

This rom-com was a success!  Who doesn't love an enemies-to-lovers trope?  This was my first novel by Schorr and I'm ready to read them all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the premise and idea for Someone Like You, Meredith Schorr's sophomore novel. However; I found the characters, (Molly and Jude), to have any chemistry and their pranks in their adult years to be childish. The storyline felt like it kept moving back and forth between ideas and it wasn't one I was interested in continuing. Sadly, I "did not finish" this novel at thirty eight percent.

Childhood friends to enemies to lovers is always a journey but I'm here for it! Jude & Molly have known each other forever, love constant competition, and play pranks on each other. Like As Seen On TV, the characters were really well developed and had a solid storyline, this one fell a little short for me. I just struggled to enjoy some of the games that Molly and Jude played, which really played into their characters. I just never felt like I saw the relationship between the two. It was still a fun read and I liked the side characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh Jude and Molly. I do love them. They’re so immature but I do love them. Jude and Molly have known each other their whole lives and have spent most of that time in constant battle with each other and you can feel that in each one of their interactions.

I loved how messy and fun and unhinged they were and I had a ton of fun reading this.

3 stars.

"Someone Just Like You" by Meredith Schorr is a relatively cute read that will also leave you pulling your hair out at the actions of the main characters. Molly and Jude may have been friends when they were very little, but have been antagonists and enemies for many, many years now. They constantly try to play jokes and pull pranks on each other with increasingly higher stakes. When they get reluctantly paired up to help find a location for their parents' surprise joint anniversary party, they agree to form a truce to get the job done. When Molly starts seeing a new guy, she slowly realizes that her type is exactly Jude...and discovers that Jude often dates women who look exactly like her, too. As they are forced to spend more time together, and their walls slowly crumble, they might just realize they have been right for each other all along.

This is a forced proximity childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers that kind of reminded me of a less successful, less chemistry-filled version of "The Plus One" by Mazey Eddings. While the premise is solid, the characters are mostly well-written, and the banter is pretty good, I just couldn't get past the childish games Molly and Jude played on each other throughout the whole book. Am I supposed to believe that a former lawyer/current legal recruiter really cares about pwning (yes, pwning) their childhood enemy so he goes to the wrong location of a restaurant late?! It just felt so silly and immature to me. Jude's gags and pranks are equally as infantile. It also felt like there were too many tricks being played between the two of them. The doppelganger subplot is also a little silly and made me roll my eyes. The dialogue ranges from being really good to cheesy and hide-your-face-in-your-pillow embarrassingly cringe. The slow-burning romance felt more realistic the longer the two main characters grew up over the course of the story if you can agree that they did, in fact, grow and learn from their rivalry...jury's still out (HAHAH GET IT, LAWYER HUMOR). I didn't totally care for the ending, but it wraps up fine in the end. Still, I did not absolutely hate reading this, so that's got to count for something, but I also don't recommend it as essential reading, either.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Meredith Schorr for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

Summary
Molly and Jude's families have been best friends for their whole lives, but the two of them have been enemies. Now the siblings from both families want to throw both sets of parents a joint surprise anniversary party and Molly and Jude have been tasked with working together to secure a location. After years of avoiding each other, they are forced to spend time together and the fighting, pranking and arguing picks right back up.

Review
I read As Seen on TV last year and while I enjoyed it, I didn't feel like it reached it's full potential. Someone Just Like You hit that potential and more! The tension between Molly and Jude was perfection. I loved the 'I hate you, but everyone I date is similar to you' vibes. The story is perfect for those who like the tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Childhood Friends (to enemies)
Opposites Attract
Molly and Jude both have some insecurities they hold on to that they need to do process and work through so they can move forward with each other. While I enjoyed the story, the pranking went on for a bit too long and I wish there was more communication as Molly and Jude transitioned into a relationship. It went from hating each other, to realizing they date each other's doppelgängers to being head over heels. Feel like they needed a bit of transition time. Overall, the banter was on point and it was an enjoyable story with heart and laughs.

Someone Just Like You is an adorable read! It's a sweet childhood friends to lovers story that pulled me in from the beginning. The pranks were funny and the side characters were exciting as well. The romance was sweet but there were moments where it just didn't feel like the two really connected with one another. I kept wishing that the romance between them could have been a bit stronger. Overall, it was enjoyable and sweet and I am definitely looking forward to whatever Meredith Schorr releases next!

This was cute while a bit immature. I found the pranks and playfulness to be endearing. Discovering that your childhood rival and neighbor is your soulmate and then unconsciously pursuing someone who resembles them is pretty intriguing.⁠ Definitely worth a read. Highly recommend for people who like more closed door books. There are two spicy scenes but they are short and not overly descriptive.

Thanks so much NetGalley for the ARC! Honestly this book was not my fave but not because of the writing or plot really, it just wasn’t something I was necessarily interested in but I wanted to give a try.

Someone Just Like You is Meredith Schorr’s second published book and to say I was excited for it is an understatement. As I said in my review of As Seen on TV (here), I’ve been reading Schorr’s books for years (she’d self-published and worked with small presses before being published with Forever) and she’s always been a favourite. Her latest is perfect for all the rom-com lovers out there who are looking for a new book to devour this summer.

Here’s the book’s description:
New Yorker 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 pranks (chocolate-dipped cat treats are not as delicious as they appear), 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 she’s been dating Jude-lookalikes and he’s been dating Molly doppelgangers. 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.
Molly and Jude are far from perfect. The story’s told from Molly’s point of view but you can get a really good sense of Jude based on her stories and what she shares about their past. I couldn’t really get behind their hatred of each other, how it started, and how long it lasted. The pair are 27 at the start of the novel and, to paraphrase Molly’s mom, their prank war wasn’t a cute look for them. They had their moments of realizing how ridiculous they were being and things were a lot smoother once they figured out their animosity seemed to be covering up years of pent up lust. Enemies to lovers isn’t always a favourite trope of mine but the history between Molly and Jude had me convinced they really were meant to be together. As Nani tells Molly, she needs Jude so she can loosen up, and he needs her because she helps keep him on track. She just has to let go a little of her plans and he has to stop acting like a teenage boy. You know. Easy stuff!

The pace of the novel worked really well. I knew when Schorr was going to hit the highlights of a typical rom-com (including, yes, the third-act breakup) but I wasn’t at all bothered by it. It showed that Schorr knows her stuff and knows how to write a rom-com that readers will be satisfied with from the first page to the last.

There’s a solid cast of secondary characters without it getting too overwhelming. I loved that the families grew up together and were all still so close, both within their own units but with each other too. Jude has two roommates who are clearly good for him and Molly’s best friend Esther is perfection. (You know, as perfect as a human can be which actually means that she’s not “perfect.”) There’s a lot of love surrounding both Molly and Jude and that made me happy.

I really enjoyed reading Someone Just Like You. I think readers will be more than pleased with Meredith Schorr’s second novel - I know I liked it more than the last. It’s the rom-com you need if you want to laugh, cringe, and swoon while reading this - perhaps poolside?

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Someone Just Like You by Meredith Schorr!

“What if this has been a prank all along? His biggest one yet. Making Molly ‘Mole’ Blum fall for him so he could break my heart.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parental divorce and parental separation. Talks about life-changing physical injuries after an accident. Contains sexual content.

“Someone Just Like You” follows Molly Blum and Jude Stark, two childhood frenemies who now, a decade later, have to cooperate through the planning of their parent’s conjoined wedding anniversary celebration. But what if their rivalry and dislike came from a place of love and not so much of hate? That’s for them to decide.

This was a fun and relatively fast-paced read, yet I couldn’t look past how immature the main characters were most of the time. They were supposed to be in their late twenties/early thirties but it felt more like late teens to me. There is just no way someone my age would act the way they were acting, is all. This made it a little harder to read along but all in all it wasn’t a bad read.

Definitely grab this book if you’re a fan of the childhood enemies to lovers trope, you won’t regret it.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Forever Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: July 25, 2023

A witty, romantic, fun loving read that inspires you to open your heart and mind to all the possibilities of life.

I really enjoyed this book! From the start, it held my attention, and the quick wit humor made it a fast page turner for me.

• Forced Proximity
• Friends to Enemies to Lovers 🙃
• Witty Banter
• Slow Burn Romance
• Family Dynamic

Grab this one to lay by the pool with when you need a stress-free read 🙌🏼

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of this book! This one is out NOW for you to grab and check it out for yourself!

I really, really disliked this book which I hate saying because it had so much potential. Childhood antagonists to reluctant allies to lovers. Subconsciously dating people exactly like the other. All great in theory but it just did not work. The main characters were so deeply unlikeable and childish and there was no real growth throughout the book. The conflicts seemed so easily resolved when they did come up without too much effort (even though it was written like a grand gesture). Don’t even get me started on the sex scenes. Just why? Why even have on page sex? It was so perfunctory and strange, I would have actually preferred it to be closed door and I don’t usually say that.

All that being said, I didn’t DNF it so I guess that’s worth something.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central) for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.