Review: Someone Just Like You

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.*