‘Someone Like Me’ by Marian L. Thomas: A Healthy Dose of Women’s Fiction with Disappointing Romance

‘Someone Like Me’ by Marian L. Thomas: A Healthy Dose of Women’s Fiction with Disappointing Romance

Many thanks to NetGalley, DartFrog Blue and the author for an advanced copy of Someone Like Me in exchange for my honest review.

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Since her mother’s death, Mýa Day has been no stranger to loss. But with a budding new singing career on the horizon and help from Jack and Mary Tanner, a couple that understands from experience how a troubled past can prevent someone from having a better life, Mýa finally gets a fresh start.

A new romance with Michael Davis, a handsome real estate agent, also has Mýa doing eighty miles per hour down Love Lane. That is, until a painful memory throws up a roadblock and causes the couple’s joyride to come to a screeching halt.

Enter Matt Tanner—Jack’s nephew with magnetic blue eyes and a welcoming smile. He slowly works his way into Mýa’s heart, showing her the kind of love that fits like a perfect pair of blue jeans. But when a tragedy strikes and Michael reappears, Mýa must choose between the men in her life, come to terms with her grief, and seek out an answer to the question that’s been burning in her heart.

Can you love someone like me?

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I pretty much requested this ARC as soon as I saw that gorgeous cover! Isn’t that cover stunning? If I had enjoyed the story a little more, I would have totally bought a physical copy to appreciate how beautiful that cover would be on my shelves! Also, I haven’t read enough women’s fiction, so this with a side of romance seemed the perfect choice.

  • The author uses some beautiful language at certain points of the novel and I love how beautiful the words feel on my lips!

I try to force a smile, like the moon sometimes does when the air is just right. I always swear you can see it smiling even when everything else is a mess.

Quotes are taken from an uncorrected proof and may differ from the finished copy of this novel.
  • Mýa’s growth from shy and meek waitress to an independent and beautiful woman who enjoys her life was truly wonderful to read about. The author does an excellent job of using words to show how Mýa’s thoughts and actions change with time.
  • The story is set in the mid-1990’s and I loved the vibe of the jazz bars. Of Mýa shopping at Goodwill and working at a pancake restaurant. I do wish that there had been more detail on the fashion trends of that time.
  • I loved the dynamic and energy that Jack and Mary brought to the story. They really deliver the parental support Mýa needs and some great cute, funny scenes for the reader.
  • There is this huge plot twist that I never saw coming! And I loved it!
  • My biggest problem with this book was that the synopsis covers the whole plot until maybe up to the last couple of chapters. In my opinion, a story should reach way beyond the synopsis and present us with a lot more story and world-building. But when it comes to Someone Like Me, the synopsis is the whole plot of this book!
  • The romance was sorely lacking here… and confusing. The major twist that is hinted at in the synopsis happens at like the 60% mark of the story and we hardly get to meet Matt much. Instead, we got numerous slow chapters of Michael and Mýa. Also, the romance was limited to their conversations and vague mentions of them kissing, and um, that felt so dry to me!
  • I got real tired of Mýa’s obsession with ‘Love Lane’ and ‘Marriage Lane’! Those two phrases were way overused!
  • Some lines felt so scripted. I genuinely had a hard time imagining characters actually speaking like that.
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I loved the premise of this book and what the author aimed to do with it, but I find the execution sorely lacking and it ended up not meeting my expectations. It is a great read to anyone who loved watching the main character grow and thrive along with some wholesome scenes, but I wouldn’t stick around for the romance.

Have you read Someone Like Me or do you plan on reading it?

4 thoughts on “‘Someone Like Me’ by Marian L. Thomas: A Healthy Dose of Women’s Fiction with Disappointing Romance”

  1. Pingback: Sunday Sum-Up #16: Stormy Days and a Downtown-esque Whodunnit

  2. Sounds like it was more of a character-driven story…I’m glad there was a plot twist you hadn’t expected. I hate it when the blurb gives away too much. I guess not everyone likes surprises in real life and reading too.

  3. I’m sorry to hear that the romance in this book was such a disappointment. Mya’s journey of growth sounds pretty interesting, but I’m not sure I could get past some of the issues you pointed out, especially the romance and the way the characters speak like everything is scripted.

    1. Yeah I liked it for some of the characters and what the author was attempting to do, but yeah the execution wasn’t up to my expectations.

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