A Review Of “Someone Just Like You” By Meredith Schorr

A huge thank-you to the author for this advanced reader copy of Someone Just Like You by Meredith Schorr.

Why “Someone Just Like You” is the Most Fun Enemies-to-Lovers Romance You’ll Read by The Espresso Edition cozy bookish blog

Looking for your next enemies-to-lovers romcom? Let me tell you why it should be Someone Just Like You by Meredith Schorr.

Last summer, I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of As Seen on TV by Meredith Schorr and it didn’t take long for me to completely fall in love with the story and the author’s writing style. I knew right away that it would be a book that I’d recommend time and time again (and that has definitely been the case over the last year)!

When I found out about Meredith’s next book, Someone Just Like You, I immediately added it to my StoryGraph TBR and planned to snag a copy as soon as I possibly could. You can imagine my surprise and excitement when I won a giveaway and the prize was an early copy of the paperback! Once I picked up this book, I had a tough time putting it down. It made me laugh so hard and it was filled with so many cute and cheesy moments that I absolutely adored.

Someone Just Like You hits shelves on July 25, 2023. Make sure to order a copy to enjoy on your next summer holiday, when you’re in need of a reading slump-buster, or just because you’re craving an enemies-to-lovers romcom!

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My honest review of Someone Just Like You by Meredith Schorr.

Synopsis:

Sizzling chemistry and tender friendship develops between two childhood rivals in this hilarious rom-com from the author of As Seen on TV.

Jude Stark is the bane of Molly Blum’s existence. The former neighbors and complete opposites began a rivalry in grade school that continued all the way through high school, consisting of fights, pranks, and generally one‑upping each other–until one over-the-top prank changed everything. A decade later, their siblings have forced them to collaborate on a surprise co‑wedding anniversary celebration for their parents, and soon Molly and Jude are reverting to their old tricks.

But eventually, a reluctant friendship develops…along with an unexpected spark of sexual tension. The two come to discover they have more in common than they thought, including continually dating doppelgängers of each other, raising the question why are they seeking in romantic partners what they claim to hate about each other. They finally give in to their growing feelings, but will that old competitive spirit take over, or will they finally realize being on the same team is a lot more fun?

Content Warnings: (major) Sexual content, Bullying, and Toxic relationship, (moderate) Alcohol, (minor) Emotional abuse and Gaslighting

If anyone can get me to enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, it’s going to be Meredith Schorr!

Even if this isn’t a trope you typically prefer (I know, I know, I’m in the minority with that opinion, but it’s just not my cup of tea), I still beg you to give this book a try because you might be pleasantly surprised like I was! Someone Just Like You takes enemies-to-lovers and makes it witty, cute, and very clever. They hate each other but they date one another’s doppelgangers? Hmm… could it be because they secretly loooove each other? The drama!

There was a level of cheese to this that made it all the more enjoyable. It felt like the epitome of a romantic comedy: making me actually laugh out loud in between the moments of swooning. I appreciated that it wasn’t always serious, but that there was a great deal of depth to it as well.

At the beginning of the story, I felt like the characters had a lot of room for growth and I was very satisfied that as things progressed, they actually did grow and learn and experience a lot of fantastic development. By the end of the book, they had learned so much, processed grief (and maybe a little bit of trauma too), and found themselves in their own ways.

I’ll admit that a few of the hijinks made me cringe a little bit (as did the first “spicy” scene), but I also didn’t feel like they were meant to be taken super seriously, so I was able to pretty quickly look past it and enjoy it for what it was. In fact, I can imagine that if I had been listening to the audiobook, I would’ve been laughing out loud at the purposeful unseriousness of it all and loving every second of it. I really only mention this in case someone is going into this thinking it’s going to be super deep and intense. That’s not what you’ll find here and that’s okay!

I really connected to Molly’s character on a personal level. A lot of the feelings she experienced and her desire for control were things that I’ve personally wrestled with, so I found myself rooting for her tenfold. I was desperate to see her grow and find her happiness–and (not really spoiler alert because it’s a romcom so a defining factor is a HEA) I was extra satisfied when she did grow and find her happiness. The ending of the book was sweet and cute and full of good vibes!

I can definitely see myself reading Someone Just Like You again in the future. Maaaybe around April Fools’ Day? For… reasons? We shall see.

SIDE NOTE: I had absolutely no idea about this prior to winning a paperback ARC of the book, but I’m mentioned in the acknowledgments! It was one of the best surprises ever to be flipping those final few pages and see @theespressoedition mentioned amidst so many other names that I admire so much. Thank you, Meredith! You made my entire month!