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The Baxters #30
Someone Like You
One frozen embryo.
Two families with secrets.
And a guy who never planned to fall in love again.
Maddie West is shaken to the core when she finds out that everything she believed about her life was a lie. Her parents had always planned to tell her the truth about her past: that she was adopted as an embryo. But somehow the right moment never happened. Now, the total stranger who confronts Maddie with the truth tells her something else that rocks her world—Maddie had a sister she never knew about. Feeling betrayed, angry, and confused, Maddie leaves her new job and fiancé, rejects her family’s requests for forgiveness, and moves to Portland, Oregon, to find out who she really is.
Dawson Gage’s life is destroyed when London Quinn, the only girl he had ever loved, is killed. In the hospital waiting room, London’s mother reveals to Dawson that London might have had a sibling—the frozen embryo she and her husband donated decades ago. When Dawson invites Maddie to Portland to connect with her long-lost relatives, the Quinns, her biological parents, welcome her into their lives. Maddie is intrigued by their memories of London, who was so much like her. Is this the family and the life she was really meant to have?
Now it will take the love of Dawson Gage to help Maddie find her way home.
Two families with secrets.
And a guy who never planned to fall in love again.
Maddie West is shaken to the core when she finds out that everything she believed about her life was a lie. Her parents had always planned to tell her the truth about her past: that she was adopted as an embryo. But somehow the right moment never happened. Now, the total stranger who confronts Maddie with the truth tells her something else that rocks her world—Maddie had a sister she never knew about. Feeling betrayed, angry, and confused, Maddie leaves her new job and fiancé, rejects her family’s requests for forgiveness, and moves to Portland, Oregon, to find out who she really is.
Dawson Gage’s life is destroyed when London Quinn, the only girl he had ever loved, is killed. In the hospital waiting room, London’s mother reveals to Dawson that London might have had a sibling—the frozen embryo she and her husband donated decades ago. When Dawson invites Maddie to Portland to connect with her long-lost relatives, the Quinns, her biological parents, welcome her into their lives. Maddie is intrigued by their memories of London, who was so much like her. Is this the family and the life she was really meant to have?
Now it will take the love of Dawson Gage to help Maddie find her way home.
295 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2020
About the author
Karen Kingsbury
210 books10.1k followersKaren Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. Her Baxter Family books are being developed into a TV series slated for major network viewing sometime in the next year. Karen is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University. In 2001 she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family in a matter of months. Today the couple has joined the ranks of empty nesters, living in Tennessee near five of their adult children.
See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/K...
See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/K...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 926 reviews
February 29, 2020
Here's my spoiler....KLEENEX, you are going to need ALL the kleenex!!!!
Beautiful and heartwrenching story, lovingly told.
Beautiful and heartwrenching story, lovingly told.
April 1, 2024
3.5
So I was scrolling through my feed and saw that a movie based on this book was coming out.
I downloaded the audio but had no clue this book is the 30th in this series! I know I probably missed a lot since I don't know the rest of the characters well.
The second thing, I didn't know was that it was a Christian book.
Anyway, back to the story.
Maddie West is excited to start her new job at the zoo after graduating college. She also is about to get married. Her fiancee seems to be a really sweet guy.
Then, Dawson Gage finds Maddie at the zoo and tells her that she is adopted and that London, her biological sister, and her parents live in Portland.
At first, Maddie believes he is a liar but after one conversation with her parents, she realizes he was telling her the truth.
Maddie decides to leave it all and go to Portland to find out more about her sister and her biological parents.
I ended up liking the book but did have some issues with Maddie's decisions.
First, leaving her job, her parents, and her fiancee abruptly without a good conversation felt wrong to me. Second, I'm not sure what new job will let you leave it for an unknown period of time just after your first day and they will hold it for you. Third, the way she refused to talk to her adoptive family despite all that they had done for her felt very childish. Lastly, the big decision she made in Portland that will affect her for the rest of her life felt very rushed. I'm not saying it was not the right one, but she didn't discuss it with the people who cared about her. She just informed them about her decision.
Cliffhanger: No
3.5/5 Fangs
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
So I was scrolling through my feed and saw that a movie based on this book was coming out.
I downloaded the audio but had no clue this book is the 30th in this series! I know I probably missed a lot since I don't know the rest of the characters well.
The second thing, I didn't know was that it was a Christian book.
Anyway, back to the story.
Maddie West is excited to start her new job at the zoo after graduating college. She also is about to get married. Her fiancee seems to be a really sweet guy.
Then, Dawson Gage finds Maddie at the zoo and tells her that she is adopted and that London, her biological sister, and her parents live in Portland.
At first, Maddie believes he is a liar but after one conversation with her parents, she realizes he was telling her the truth.
Maddie decides to leave it all and go to Portland to find out more about her sister and her biological parents.
I ended up liking the book but did have some issues with Maddie's decisions.
First, leaving her job, her parents, and her fiancee abruptly without a good conversation felt wrong to me. Second, I'm not sure what new job will let you leave it for an unknown period of time just after your first day and they will hold it for you. Third, the way she refused to talk to her adoptive family despite all that they had done for her felt very childish. Lastly, the big decision she made in Portland that will affect her for the rest of her life felt very rushed. I'm not saying it was not the right one, but she didn't discuss it with the people who cared about her. She just informed them about her decision.
Cliffhanger: No
3.5/5 Fangs
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
May 10, 2020
I really like Karen Kingsbury's older works. While I still read/listen on audiobook to her newest releases, they don't grip me in the same way. That being said, this book was interesting enough for me to want to keep listening to find out what happened. Even when it was clear where the storyline was going, I was curious how it would play out to get to that obvious ending. The story broached a very interesting and little addressed- at least in contemporary Christian fiction- topic of embryo adoption and I thought it was a great subject to be explored. Props to Kingsbury for tackling this topic! I also really appreciate faith being woven into a story and am thankful Kinsgbury does include faith and spirituality in her stories.
Though this book kept me interested, there were some things in this story that bugged me, but they are common Kingsbury occurrences. First, the concept of the fatalistic romance. In this story, like many of her others, characters are drawn together by "chemistry" or "electricity" and there's nothing they can do but be together. Kingsbury is especially fond of a man wanting a woman "more than his next breath." Regardless of whatever else is going on in life, EVERYTHING falls into place because they were meant to be together. In Kingsbury's defense, this is fiction and not everything has to be completely realistic. Many may enjoy this idyllic storyline. I just found it odd that with all the upheaval and baggage in her life, Maddie felt like it was the right time to start a new relationship so soon after ending her engagement. Considering her sudden and fairly extreme response to learning she was adopted, I really wanted her to get some counseling.
The other thing that bugged me was Dawson's relationship to London. I really wanted that guy to instill some boundaries in their relationship. She let him know she wasn't willing to date him and maintained that stance for 10 years, but his love for her kept him from being interested in anyone else. Furthermore, though he knew she was dating other men, they had an odd friendship and apparently she preferred to spend time with him rather than her boyfriends, she made flirtatious comments to him and Dawson never addressed it and said she needed to figure out what she wanted, and she and Dawson would even hold hands at times. London was stringing him along, Dawson let her do it, and it wasn't a healthy friendship. Maybe it's because I'm a social worker, but I didn't view their relationship as romantic or an amazing bond; I viewed it as extremely unhealthy and inappropriate.
There were other things that seemed unrealistic, such as how did Maddie afford a plane ticket to Portland and a hotel there when she had just graduated from college and worked at her job for about a week before taking a leave of absence? And would someone in her situation really be more interested in spending most of her time with the friend of her biological family instead of her actual biological family as she did with Dawson during most of her time in Portland?
Again, the story was interesting enough that I kept listening to the audio book and in fact, looked forward to hearing more of the story. It was an entertaining book, but definitely shouldn't be the road map for healthy relationships. I also will say that in some ways I can defend Kingsbury's seemingly rushed storyline. Dawson flying out to Indiana with hardly any evidence Maddie was the person he was looking for, Maddie flying out suddenly to meet her birth parents, etc., seemed sudden and impulsive, but to actually play out the realistic emotions and the process of those events would have made for a very long novel and would have had too many storyline directions.
Overall, I'd say this book is worth a read for entertainment and to dive into the topic of embryo adoption. I still am a Karen Kingsbury fan, but definitely prefer her older works to her newer ones.
Though this book kept me interested, there were some things in this story that bugged me, but they are common Kingsbury occurrences. First, the concept of the fatalistic romance. In this story, like many of her others, characters are drawn together by "chemistry" or "electricity" and there's nothing they can do but be together. Kingsbury is especially fond of a man wanting a woman "more than his next breath." Regardless of whatever else is going on in life, EVERYTHING falls into place because they were meant to be together. In Kingsbury's defense, this is fiction and not everything has to be completely realistic. Many may enjoy this idyllic storyline. I just found it odd that with all the upheaval and baggage in her life, Maddie felt like it was the right time to start a new relationship so soon after ending her engagement. Considering her sudden and fairly extreme response to learning she was adopted, I really wanted her to get some counseling.
The other thing that bugged me was Dawson's relationship to London. I really wanted that guy to instill some boundaries in their relationship. She let him know she wasn't willing to date him and maintained that stance for 10 years, but his love for her kept him from being interested in anyone else. Furthermore, though he knew she was dating other men, they had an odd friendship and apparently she preferred to spend time with him rather than her boyfriends, she made flirtatious comments to him and Dawson never addressed it and said she needed to figure out what she wanted, and she and Dawson would even hold hands at times. London was stringing him along, Dawson let her do it, and it wasn't a healthy friendship. Maybe it's because I'm a social worker, but I didn't view their relationship as romantic or an amazing bond; I viewed it as extremely unhealthy and inappropriate.
There were other things that seemed unrealistic, such as how did Maddie afford a plane ticket to Portland and a hotel there when she had just graduated from college and worked at her job for about a week before taking a leave of absence? And would someone in her situation really be more interested in spending most of her time with the friend of her biological family instead of her actual biological family as she did with Dawson during most of her time in Portland?
Again, the story was interesting enough that I kept listening to the audio book and in fact, looked forward to hearing more of the story. It was an entertaining book, but definitely shouldn't be the road map for healthy relationships. I also will say that in some ways I can defend Kingsbury's seemingly rushed storyline. Dawson flying out to Indiana with hardly any evidence Maddie was the person he was looking for, Maddie flying out suddenly to meet her birth parents, etc., seemed sudden and impulsive, but to actually play out the realistic emotions and the process of those events would have made for a very long novel and would have had too many storyline directions.
Overall, I'd say this book is worth a read for entertainment and to dive into the topic of embryo adoption. I still am a Karen Kingsbury fan, but definitely prefer her older works to her newer ones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2020
I started reading Someone Like You not fully realizing it was a Christian book, it is not my usual genre but i enjoyed reading about Maddie and Dawson and the things they went through. The religious aspect of this book was done very well, I've found that quite often religious books can be overly preachy and focus more on God and less on the actual storyline. Karen Kingsbury managed to flawlessly weave God and Faith into the storyline without it being pushy or sounding false and that truly helped me to enjoy the read much more than I initially expected. Now about the story, i literally has tears brought to my eyes at the beginning of this book and was genuinely happy for all of the characters upon conclusion. It takes you on an interesting ride through the ups and downs of two families and a man who lost so much. The religious aspect may not be for everyone but if you're someone willing to read a Christian book I'd urge you to give this author a try.
March 8, 2024
“You don’t lie to someone you love. And you don’t love someone you lie to.”
I read this for an in person book club. Maddie West has just graduated college and gets engaged to her boyfriend. She also lands a job she really wants. Life is good for her. Then she finds out that she was adopted as an embryo and her whole life is turned upside down. The worst part? She learns about from a stranger rather than her parents. That stranger is Dawson Gage. He loved Maddie’s sister, London who passed away. Dawson invites Maddie to come to Portland, Oregon to meet her biological parents and learn about her sister. Maddie tries to figure out where she belongs.
The premise of this book sounded great. And that part of the story line was really good. I understood Maddie’s reaction when she found out she was adopted. I liked the topic, I especially loved the scenes at the zoo! I want to go on a walkthrough with kangaroos.
My issue with the book is this: there is SOOOO much talk about religion, God, Jesus, praying and the Bible. Honestly, it was like every other line or paragraph one of the above was mentioned somehow. Now, I wouldn’t have had a problem with this IF this was in the description of the book. But it wasn’t. The amount of religion and religious talk in this book was OVERKILL to the max.
This was my first time reading this author, but with all of the religion in this book, I doubt I’ll read another one by this author.
I read this for an in person book club. Maddie West has just graduated college and gets engaged to her boyfriend. She also lands a job she really wants. Life is good for her. Then she finds out that she was adopted as an embryo and her whole life is turned upside down. The worst part? She learns about from a stranger rather than her parents. That stranger is Dawson Gage. He loved Maddie’s sister, London who passed away. Dawson invites Maddie to come to Portland, Oregon to meet her biological parents and learn about her sister. Maddie tries to figure out where she belongs.
The premise of this book sounded great. And that part of the story line was really good. I understood Maddie’s reaction when she found out she was adopted. I liked the topic, I especially loved the scenes at the zoo! I want to go on a walkthrough with kangaroos.
My issue with the book is this: there is SOOOO much talk about religion, God, Jesus, praying and the Bible. Honestly, it was like every other line or paragraph one of the above was mentioned somehow. Now, I wouldn’t have had a problem with this IF this was in the description of the book. But it wasn’t. The amount of religion and religious talk in this book was OVERKILL to the max.
This was my first time reading this author, but with all of the religion in this book, I doubt I’ll read another one by this author.
May 24, 2020
Sigh. If you want a book that feels like a subpar Hallmark movie, this is it. I know. That sounds harsh. But I really, really, REALLY struggled with "Someone Like You."
1.) Everything felt incredibly rushed. I kept reading and noticing the Kindle telling me I was almost done with the book. Which meant everything for our characters would get rushed. AND I really felt we missed some important storylines. For instance, Maddy's decision to give her kidney.........we didn't get any scenes in the hospital. We hardly felt understanding. The decision for Dawson to love to Indianapolis. Well, we all saw that happening.
2.) Characters felt totally different representations of themselves. I can't help but feel like Karen Kingsbury has screwed with the Flanigan family. Think about it, Bailey was all set to be with Cody.....and then that changed. Now we get Connor out of his "happy ending" with the Baxter's. In fact, the entire book I felt like Karen made the scenes between Maddy and Connor intentionally terrible. Again. Harsh. But still.
3.) This was a book where I didn't like any of the characters. Maddy was a bitch to her parents and readers were deprived of the restoration. I get it. She had no idea that she was an embryo adoption. She was hurt. She didn't know how to move on. Still.....I wanted to see her transformation arc and not "Dawson told me to forgive you." Yeah. The Baxter's took a backseat. Brooke and Peter finally got some "screen time" but I wanted more.
4.) A little thing. But the scenes that took place in Portland: the descriptions were off. Karen has lived in the Pacific Northwest! She should know that Portland really smells of pee and weed and NOT pine trees. Granted, Multnomah Falls is beautiful. And I loved a scene set there. Still
So if you can't tell, Karen Kingsbury is getting on my last nerve. I love her as a person. But her novels are feeling like a money maker. She's dialing it in....which makes me sad.
1.) Everything felt incredibly rushed. I kept reading and noticing the Kindle telling me I was almost done with the book. Which meant everything for our characters would get rushed. AND I really felt we missed some important storylines. For instance, Maddy's decision to give her kidney.........we didn't get any scenes in the hospital. We hardly felt understanding. The decision for Dawson to love to Indianapolis. Well, we all saw that happening.
2.) Characters felt totally different representations of themselves. I can't help but feel like Karen Kingsbury has screwed with the Flanigan family. Think about it, Bailey was all set to be with Cody.....and then that changed. Now we get Connor out of his "happy ending" with the Baxter's. In fact, the entire book I felt like Karen made the scenes between Maddy and Connor intentionally terrible. Again. Harsh. But still.
3.) This was a book where I didn't like any of the characters. Maddy was a bitch to her parents and readers were deprived of the restoration. I get it. She had no idea that she was an embryo adoption. She was hurt. She didn't know how to move on. Still.....I wanted to see her transformation arc and not "Dawson told me to forgive you." Yeah. The Baxter's took a backseat. Brooke and Peter finally got some "screen time" but I wanted more.
4.) A little thing. But the scenes that took place in Portland: the descriptions were off. Karen has lived in the Pacific Northwest! She should know that Portland really smells of pee and weed and NOT pine trees. Granted, Multnomah Falls is beautiful. And I loved a scene set there. Still
So if you can't tell, Karen Kingsbury is getting on my last nerve. I love her as a person. But her novels are feeling like a money maker. She's dialing it in....which makes me sad.
April 10, 2024
When, as an adult, Maddie West learns she is the result of an embyo adoption, it throws her world into a spin. Trying to figure out who she is, Maddie moves away from the only family and home she has ever known. She moves to where her birth parents are from, wanting to get to know them, but also Dawson Gage who told her the truth. Dawson is mourning the loss of his love of many years and best friend, London Quinn. Maddie reminds Dawson of London in many ways, but in other ways she is so different from London. London was the sister Maddie never knew. How will Maddie cope with the changes life has thrust upon her?
From the outset I was emotionally involved in this story. Hard not to empathise with Maddie and the way she feels after learning of her beginning. It is a long time since I have read a Karen Kingsbury book, a long while before I joined a Goodreads, so I had an idea what to expect. I knew she writes Christian centred fiction. However, if you just picked up the book and read the blurb there is no indication of this Christian aspect. So as a reader it depends how comfortable you are with that, as it is overtly Christian in content. For me it was not an issue. I was right in tune with it. The characters acted, I felt, in line with their beliefs. The story drew me effortlessly in and held me throughout. Perhaps a bit predictable and neatly tied up at the end but I still loved it. Be prepared to keep the tissues handy as there are some tissue worthy moments throughout. Just the type of book dealing with faith, life choices and hope that I needed to read at the moment. I highly recommend it.
From the outset I was emotionally involved in this story. Hard not to empathise with Maddie and the way she feels after learning of her beginning. It is a long time since I have read a Karen Kingsbury book, a long while before I joined a Goodreads, so I had an idea what to expect. I knew she writes Christian centred fiction. However, if you just picked up the book and read the blurb there is no indication of this Christian aspect. So as a reader it depends how comfortable you are with that, as it is overtly Christian in content. For me it was not an issue. I was right in tune with it. The characters acted, I felt, in line with their beliefs. The story drew me effortlessly in and held me throughout. Perhaps a bit predictable and neatly tied up at the end but I still loved it. Be prepared to keep the tissues handy as there are some tissue worthy moments throughout. Just the type of book dealing with faith, life choices and hope that I needed to read at the moment. I highly recommend it.
April 13, 2021
WHYYYYYYYYY did I waste the few hours it took to read this book? I am slapping myself silly for reading beyond page 10. I was interested in the concept of embryo transplants, which is the only reason I can give. First, and foremost, this novel should NOT be listed as mainstream women's fiction in reviews. It is meant for people with a sixth grade reading ability who are evangelicals, who spend their days talking to their God or Jesus instead of to human beings in their midst. There were no more than 2 or 3 paragraphs per page without some religious preaching. The book belongs in a "Christian" church library, not as one marketed to women looking for good, catchy, interesting, sophisticated writing with vocabulary beyond what a 12 year old would know. I am not about slutty books at all, but this was so G rated that there were only one for two very chaste kisses towards the end. These were adults. Nothing about it was realistic or believable.
I was fuming that the author kept having the main character, Maddie, refer to her parents as her adoptive parents. My husband and I have three children, all adopted in infancy. They are our CHILDREN, not our adopted children. We are their PARENTS, period!
I was also quite angry that these parents who were infertile, or so they thought, thus they did embryo transplant, failed to mention that their daughter was not biologically theirs. Maddie was 22 years old, and they still had not bothered to mention it! Who does that??????? Two of my children are Chinese, (we are caucasian). Over the years, there were always those idiots who would ask, "Do they know they are adopted?" I would say, "No. I am telling YOU, a total stranger, but not them." OF COURSE THEY KNEW. I also added each time, "We DO have mirrors in our house, and clearly we are NOT Chinese!" The level of ignorance astounded me then, and angers me now. In this waste of time novel, Maddie (of course) finds out about the circumstances of her birth, feels totally betrayed, and rightly so. The plot was so far fetched and ridiculous that it defied credulity.
If you like to read for pleasure and to expand your knowledge, look elsewhere. If you want to have someone preach to you about Jesus and miracles, and quite unbelievable scenarios, and if you never got beyond 6th grade, this is the book for you. UGH!
I was fuming that the author kept having the main character, Maddie, refer to her parents as her adoptive parents. My husband and I have three children, all adopted in infancy. They are our CHILDREN, not our adopted children. We are their PARENTS, period!
I was also quite angry that these parents who were infertile, or so they thought, thus they did embryo transplant, failed to mention that their daughter was not biologically theirs. Maddie was 22 years old, and they still had not bothered to mention it! Who does that??????? Two of my children are Chinese, (we are caucasian). Over the years, there were always those idiots who would ask, "Do they know they are adopted?" I would say, "No. I am telling YOU, a total stranger, but not them." OF COURSE THEY KNEW. I also added each time, "We DO have mirrors in our house, and clearly we are NOT Chinese!" The level of ignorance astounded me then, and angers me now. In this waste of time novel, Maddie (of course) finds out about the circumstances of her birth, feels totally betrayed, and rightly so. The plot was so far fetched and ridiculous that it defied credulity.
If you like to read for pleasure and to expand your knowledge, look elsewhere. If you want to have someone preach to you about Jesus and miracles, and quite unbelievable scenarios, and if you never got beyond 6th grade, this is the book for you. UGH!
September 2, 2021
I enjoyed listening to SOMEONE LIKE YOU by Karen Kingsbury and read by January LaVoy and Kirby Heyborne. The narrators were splendid!
Karen Kingsbury has written thirty books about the Baxter family, and like most of them, this book can be read as a standalone.
Brooke and Peter haven't told Mandy Baxter West that she was an embryo baby. She is engaged to be married and still does not know that her mother and father are not her biological parents even though Brooke gave birth to her.
When will Mandy's parents tell her?
How will Mandy respond to hearing the truth about her existence?
Dawson Gage is one of my favourite characters in the story. He seems to be steady, kind, intelligent, caring and understanding.
3.5 stars
Karen Kingsbury has written thirty books about the Baxter family, and like most of them, this book can be read as a standalone.
Brooke and Peter haven't told Mandy Baxter West that she was an embryo baby. She is engaged to be married and still does not know that her mother and father are not her biological parents even though Brooke gave birth to her.
When will Mandy's parents tell her?
How will Mandy respond to hearing the truth about her existence?
Dawson Gage is one of my favourite characters in the story. He seems to be steady, kind, intelligent, caring and understanding.
3.5 stars
May 27, 2020
Round of applause to Karen Kingsbury for tackling the novel topic of embryo adoption in her new novel Someone Like You! I listened to the Audible edition and loved the alternating voices of January LaVoy and Kirby Heyborne. I appreciated Kingsbury’s grappling with the question of when/if to disclose the details of conception and the ramifications of those choices.
However, true to form, Kingsbury condenses a complex topic into a saccharine superficiality, in which death and deception are wrapped up into a simplistic novella tied with a bow of Christianity and a happily ever after ending. Kingsbury misappropriates the privacy of keeping information among family as secrecy withholding information from everyone including family. The biological mother berates herself for giving up her three embryos and condemns herself as selfish for not implanting them herself, even though her IVF pregnancy with London was risky and she may have lost all three of the embryos had she undergone another round of IVF. She never acknowledges the gift of hope and a family that she offered to Maddie’s adoptive family, who would not have had the privilege of being parents at all had they not received the donated embryos.
After her death, London’s love interest Dawson is quick to redirect his undying affection for London to her newly discovered biological sister Madison (also quaintly named after a city), who in turn rejects her current fiance for an instinctual undercurrent of attraction for Dawson that she is powerless to control. Although initially hurt, Maddie’s fiance Connor quickly acquiesces and accepts that he will always love Maddie but they were probably never meant to be. He’ll probably find true love in Kingsbury’s upcoming novel Truly, Madly, Deeply due out at the end of the year. (Doesn’t Savage Garden hold the copyright on that title?!!) When Maddie discovers her origins and flees to find her “real parents” in Portland, OR, the reader is left to wonder what did she do about her new zoo job that she so badly wanted?
In a conversation with her (adopted) parents, she later references that her supervisor offered her a leave with a return in the fall. I was disappointed that Kingsbury did not develop this conversation between Maddie and her supervisor. Kingsbury had no trouble stereotyping Maddie’s boss Ms. Barber (a thinly veiled symbol of her butch/barbarous character) in a cursory introduction as a single, forty something, no nonsense feminist. She initially warns Maddie about the importance of taking her time before getting married and enjoying her independence, but her advice is portrayed as bitter, cynical and selfish. By imagining the conversation between Maddie and Ms. Barber when Maddie requests a leave of absence and explains that she is questioning her engagement and needs to find her identity, Kingsbury could have redeemed their relationship into that of a mentorship versus vilifying singles as two dimensional selfish, bitter spinsters.
All in all, I can offer Kingsbury two stars for effort.
However, true to form, Kingsbury condenses a complex topic into a saccharine superficiality, in which death and deception are wrapped up into a simplistic novella tied with a bow of Christianity and a happily ever after ending. Kingsbury misappropriates the privacy of keeping information among family as secrecy withholding information from everyone including family. The biological mother berates herself for giving up her three embryos and condemns herself as selfish for not implanting them herself, even though her IVF pregnancy with London was risky and she may have lost all three of the embryos had she undergone another round of IVF. She never acknowledges the gift of hope and a family that she offered to Maddie’s adoptive family, who would not have had the privilege of being parents at all had they not received the donated embryos.
After her death, London’s love interest Dawson is quick to redirect his undying affection for London to her newly discovered biological sister Madison (also quaintly named after a city), who in turn rejects her current fiance for an instinctual undercurrent of attraction for Dawson that she is powerless to control. Although initially hurt, Maddie’s fiance Connor quickly acquiesces and accepts that he will always love Maddie but they were probably never meant to be. He’ll probably find true love in Kingsbury’s upcoming novel Truly, Madly, Deeply due out at the end of the year. (Doesn’t Savage Garden hold the copyright on that title?!!) When Maddie discovers her origins and flees to find her “real parents” in Portland, OR, the reader is left to wonder what did she do about her new zoo job that she so badly wanted?
In a conversation with her (adopted) parents, she later references that her supervisor offered her a leave with a return in the fall. I was disappointed that Kingsbury did not develop this conversation between Maddie and her supervisor. Kingsbury had no trouble stereotyping Maddie’s boss Ms. Barber (a thinly veiled symbol of her butch/barbarous character) in a cursory introduction as a single, forty something, no nonsense feminist. She initially warns Maddie about the importance of taking her time before getting married and enjoying her independence, but her advice is portrayed as bitter, cynical and selfish. By imagining the conversation between Maddie and Ms. Barber when Maddie requests a leave of absence and explains that she is questioning her engagement and needs to find her identity, Kingsbury could have redeemed their relationship into that of a mentorship versus vilifying singles as two dimensional selfish, bitter spinsters.
All in all, I can offer Kingsbury two stars for effort.
September 28, 2020
This book mistakenly had a "mystery" sticker in my library, so I picked it up, even though I knew the author specialized in religious romances. Maybe she was venturing out of her comfort zone; I would venture out of mine. But the label lied: this had no mystery, except the mystery of why I finished it. One of the junior members of the extended, successful, devout Baxter family has a crisis that makes her doubt her engagement, her family, her very identity, but never her faith (Maddie is not that kind of girl!). She falls in love with a (handsome, successful, devout) man from Portland, OR but they both know it never came be--Maddie belongs in Indiana and Dawson's job, and father, are in Oregon. (Book of Ruth, anyone?) To quote Abraham Lincoln, if you like this kind of thing, this is the kind of thing you'll like.
May 22, 2020
Brooke and Peter West had always planned to tell their daughter Maddie that her birth originated from an adopted frozen embryo. The guilt of not telling Maddie has haunted Brooke, but she was always putting off telling her, waiting for a "better time". Maddie is now graduating from college and Brooke knows she must tell Maddie the truth. But before she is able, Maddie is confronted by Dawson Gage. Dawson is seeking the biological sister of his best friend, London Quinn, who had recently died from a tragic accident. Maddie was devastated by the revelation and when she tells her parents, they are forced to reveal the truth. Angry and lost Maddie heads to Portland to meet her biological parents who had released the embryos to Brooke and Peter. As Maddie spends time with the Quinn's and with Dawson, she is able to reflect on the true meaning of family and find peace and the ability to forgive. A special relationship forms between Maddie and Dawson as they spend time together, Dawson sharing his bond with London and the depth of her loss.
While I always enjoy spending time with the Baxter family, I felt there was a predictability to the story.
3.5 stars.
While I always enjoy spending time with the Baxter family, I felt there was a predictability to the story.
3.5 stars.
July 17, 2020
This one hovered between 2 and 3 stars most of the way through, so I'm giving it 2.5. I've never rated a KK book that low before, and tbh, it kinda made me sad.
I did not like the way Maddie was portrayed in this novel. Yes, I understand that she'd had a very important piece of her history withheld from her. I 'get' that she would have been hurt and upset by that fact. But, for her to fly off the handle and state that she didn't belong to the Baxter/West family flies in the face of her own extended family story. What? Because Malin and Johnny were adopted, does that mean THEY don't belong in the Baxter family? And Erin and Sam had 4 adopted daughters. Adoption is not a new concept in the extended Baxter story, and for Maddie to reject her heritage like that just made me mad.
Add to that her relationship with Dawson. Girl, do the words 'guard your heart' mean NOTHING to you? You were engaged, for goodness' sake! And, as far as that goes, Dawson is far from innocent in all that himself.
So, all in all, wholly unimpressed with the main character in the book, even if the ending did redeem it somewhat.
I did not like the way Maddie was portrayed in this novel. Yes, I understand that she'd had a very important piece of her history withheld from her. I 'get' that she would have been hurt and upset by that fact. But, for her to fly off the handle and state that she didn't belong to the Baxter/West family flies in the face of her own extended family story. What? Because Malin and Johnny were adopted, does that mean THEY don't belong in the Baxter family? And Erin and Sam had 4 adopted daughters. Adoption is not a new concept in the extended Baxter story, and for Maddie to reject her heritage like that just made me mad.
Add to that her relationship with Dawson. Girl, do the words 'guard your heart' mean NOTHING to you? You were engaged, for goodness' sake! And, as far as that goes, Dawson is far from innocent in all that himself.
So, all in all, wholly unimpressed with the main character in the book, even if the ending did redeem it somewhat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2020
Someone like you⭐️
Maddie‘s parents aren’t her parents they’ve been lying to her her whole life so she picks up and leaves to try and find some security in her once stable world.
She leaves her family her job fiancé to meet her sister.
She feels betrayed that they lied to her and needs something secure.
But when she gets to her ‘real family’ a socking surprise awaits. She meets Dawson her new sisters best friend and he shows her how to love again and what her sister was like. Giving her an unforgettable friendship.
This is about finding family and trusting the family you already have, forgiving them.
Maddie‘s parents aren’t her parents they’ve been lying to her her whole life so she picks up and leaves to try and find some security in her once stable world.
She leaves her family her job fiancé to meet her sister.
She feels betrayed that they lied to her and needs something secure.
But when she gets to her ‘real family’ a socking surprise awaits. She meets Dawson her new sisters best friend and he shows her how to love again and what her sister was like. Giving her an unforgettable friendship.
This is about finding family and trusting the family you already have, forgiving them.
June 24, 2023
I read Karen Kingsbury’s Truly, Madly, Deeply, which I thought was poorly written, but it mentioned Maddie and Dawson’s story, and I wanted to see how Kingsbury treated the subject of embryo adoption.
Someone Like You tells of Maddie, whose parents, Peter and Brooke, had her through an embryo adoption. She’s graduating college, and they’ve kept this information from her because, well, life got in the way. Yes, life happens, but how can you keep this from your child? And they lied to her, making her think she’s their biological daughter. But that Brooke didn’t believe in God or prayer back then seems like an acceptable excuse not to tell anyone the truth. I don’t care if you’re atheist, Christian, Muslim. Tell your adopted child about his/her roots from day one.
The other plot line involves London, who’s mother had a difficult first pregnancy, so she donated her other embryos. London’s boyfriend, Dawson, is a believer, and she occasionally mocks him for his faith. London is hit by a truck, and her parents want to tell her in the hospital that she has a sibling, but she suddenly tells them she knows this and has a death bed conversion, which I know can happen, but London suddenly knowing about Maddie was unconvincing. Kingsbury tends to make important things suddenly happen in her book to drive the plot instead of fleshing out the situation to make it believable. The descriptions of London’s accident and injuries were unrealistic, and the writing was amateur.
Dawson learns of Maddie’s existence and goes out to find her in Indiana. For some reason, her new job at the zoo was newsworthy enough to have an article written about it, which is how Dawson tracks her down. He tells her about her adoption. Maddie confronts her parents and travels to Oregon to meet her birthparents with Dawson’s help. I thought her anger toward her parents was the most well-written dramatic scene in the whole book. Maddie doesn’t know Dawson from Adam, but it’s okay to trust him.
As the story goes on, Maddie and Dawson develop a quick friendship. Dawson constantly compares and contrasts her to London, which is shallow. And Maddie’s doubt about her fiancé, Connor, is growing stronger. The way Connor spoke to Maddie was emotionally abusive sometimes. Earlier in the book, he doesn’t think her adoption is a big deal. This upsets her, and she wants to leave, but Connor says she can’t, because he’s her ride. (Take an Uber.) And when Maddie calls him from Oregon, their conversation is strained, and he demands she call him earlier next time. Maddie’s dealing with discovering her real identity and meeting her birthparents, and this is how he treats her. Maddie never brings these incidents up, but they could have been used for a reason why she breaks off their engagement.
Maddie is somehow allowed to take a bulk of time off from her new job to stay with her birthparents for a while, and she and Dawson quickly fall in love. They don’t want to have a long distance relationship, and Maddie returns to Indiana.
I won’t reveal the ending, but this book was a sloppy story with Bible verses and preaching woven in. I once heard that Christian fiction is supposed to tell a story of how having faith in God transforms and changes characters’ lives throughout the plot, and sadly, Kingsbury doesn’t seem to know how to do this. I understand this is a light read, but too much happened too quickly. Kingsbury also writes…like this…and puts ellipses where it doesn’t…make sense. Or like this. Chopping up sentences. In random places. It’s a distraction, and I don’t know why her publisher thinks this is quality writing.
And a final note about the author’s letter to the reader: she describes the inspiration for Someone Like You, and states that implantation is quick, often painless, and cheaper than other forms of adoption. I’m a transnational adoptee, and her word choice makes children sound like objects for sale. I don’t usually write reviews, but as an adoptee and a Christian, this book troubled me, and I don’t plan on reading anything else by this author.
Someone Like You tells of Maddie, whose parents, Peter and Brooke, had her through an embryo adoption. She’s graduating college, and they’ve kept this information from her because, well, life got in the way. Yes, life happens, but how can you keep this from your child? And they lied to her, making her think she’s their biological daughter. But that Brooke didn’t believe in God or prayer back then seems like an acceptable excuse not to tell anyone the truth. I don’t care if you’re atheist, Christian, Muslim. Tell your adopted child about his/her roots from day one.
The other plot line involves London, who’s mother had a difficult first pregnancy, so she donated her other embryos. London’s boyfriend, Dawson, is a believer, and she occasionally mocks him for his faith. London is hit by a truck, and her parents want to tell her in the hospital that she has a sibling, but she suddenly tells them she knows this and has a death bed conversion, which I know can happen, but London suddenly knowing about Maddie was unconvincing. Kingsbury tends to make important things suddenly happen in her book to drive the plot instead of fleshing out the situation to make it believable. The descriptions of London’s accident and injuries were unrealistic, and the writing was amateur.
Dawson learns of Maddie’s existence and goes out to find her in Indiana. For some reason, her new job at the zoo was newsworthy enough to have an article written about it, which is how Dawson tracks her down. He tells her about her adoption. Maddie confronts her parents and travels to Oregon to meet her birthparents with Dawson’s help. I thought her anger toward her parents was the most well-written dramatic scene in the whole book. Maddie doesn’t know Dawson from Adam, but it’s okay to trust him.
As the story goes on, Maddie and Dawson develop a quick friendship. Dawson constantly compares and contrasts her to London, which is shallow. And Maddie’s doubt about her fiancé, Connor, is growing stronger. The way Connor spoke to Maddie was emotionally abusive sometimes. Earlier in the book, he doesn’t think her adoption is a big deal. This upsets her, and she wants to leave, but Connor says she can’t, because he’s her ride. (Take an Uber.) And when Maddie calls him from Oregon, their conversation is strained, and he demands she call him earlier next time. Maddie’s dealing with discovering her real identity and meeting her birthparents, and this is how he treats her. Maddie never brings these incidents up, but they could have been used for a reason why she breaks off their engagement.
Maddie is somehow allowed to take a bulk of time off from her new job to stay with her birthparents for a while, and she and Dawson quickly fall in love. They don’t want to have a long distance relationship, and Maddie returns to Indiana.
I won’t reveal the ending, but this book was a sloppy story with Bible verses and preaching woven in. I once heard that Christian fiction is supposed to tell a story of how having faith in God transforms and changes characters’ lives throughout the plot, and sadly, Kingsbury doesn’t seem to know how to do this. I understand this is a light read, but too much happened too quickly. Kingsbury also writes…like this…and puts ellipses where it doesn’t…make sense. Or like this. Chopping up sentences. In random places. It’s a distraction, and I don’t know why her publisher thinks this is quality writing.
And a final note about the author’s letter to the reader: she describes the inspiration for Someone Like You, and states that implantation is quick, often painless, and cheaper than other forms of adoption. I’m a transnational adoptee, and her word choice makes children sound like objects for sale. I don’t usually write reviews, but as an adoptee and a Christian, this book troubled me, and I don’t plan on reading anything else by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2020
Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite authors, and this book won't change that.
What did I love? I always love seeing the Baxters. John Baxter, every scene that man is in he nails. I loved the new character of Dawson. Such a good guy, depth... I'd love to see more of him.
But I did find it lacking in some areas. There might be a few spoilers below, if that's a concern.
1. Considering Karen is an adoptive mother and the Baxters are a deeply invested adoptive family (many of the adult children have adopted children, adopted cousins have grown up together etc.), setting this book in the heart of the Baxter family I expected a lot better language surrounding the struggle with Maddie's embryo adoption. Sure I can understand deep feelings of deceit at the lie... but to have so many of the characers using logic reasoning she might not be a Baxter or a West, they weren't her "real" family, brooke and peter weren't her "parents" and even the people who claimed she was used only the logic that she grew within Brooke... big dissappointment!
2. The middle of the book was missing. We didn't get to see whatever magic Dawson worked to bring Maddie to conversion in her mindset. We didn't get to see that change in her, just told it happened. We didn't get to see her decision/louise reaction to the donation. We didn't get to see the depth of growth between Dawson/Maddie... just told it happened. We had one city tour, then bam i t was 3 months later and all the important changes had happened.
The end was heart warming, but it would've been so much more powerful if we'd seen the change.
What did I love? I always love seeing the Baxters. John Baxter, every scene that man is in he nails. I loved the new character of Dawson. Such a good guy, depth... I'd love to see more of him.
But I did find it lacking in some areas. There might be a few spoilers below, if that's a concern.
1. Considering Karen is an adoptive mother and the Baxters are a deeply invested adoptive family (many of the adult children have adopted children, adopted cousins have grown up together etc.), setting this book in the heart of the Baxter family I expected a lot better language surrounding the struggle with Maddie's embryo adoption. Sure I can understand deep feelings of deceit at the lie... but to have so many of the characers using logic reasoning she might not be a Baxter or a West, they weren't her "real" family, brooke and peter weren't her "parents" and even the people who claimed she was used only the logic that she grew within Brooke... big dissappointment!
2. The middle of the book was missing. We didn't get to see whatever magic Dawson worked to bring Maddie to conversion in her mindset. We didn't get to see that change in her, just told it happened. We didn't get to see her decision/louise reaction to the donation. We didn't get to see the depth of growth between Dawson/Maddie... just told it happened. We had one city tour, then bam i t was 3 months later and all the important changes had happened.
The end was heart warming, but it would've been so much more powerful if we'd seen the change.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2020
Ah...another Kingsbury book! I am a person of faith and love her books. This one took me a bit. Started a little too "everyone talking Jesus and just LOVING each other every moment of every day". A little unrealistic. In my world anyway
Maddie West, daughter of Brooke and Peter, finds out she was adopted as an embryo. Goes apeshit, abandons her family and meets up with her "real" family. Soul searching ensues, heart to hearts with Jesus.
I found this one to very predictable. As each character was introduced I could see how it would play out. How the relationship would be. I found Maddie's thoughts to be unrealistic . I also found the ending jarring. She does a complete 180 and it ends.
Kingsbury's Redemption series was my favorite out of her books. I found thd dilemma here presented interesting but her take on it in this story was predictable
Maddie West, daughter of Brooke and Peter, finds out she was adopted as an embryo. Goes apeshit, abandons her family and meets up with her "real" family. Soul searching ensues, heart to hearts with Jesus.
I found this one to very predictable. As each character was introduced I could see how it would play out. How the relationship would be. I found Maddie's thoughts to be unrealistic . I also found the ending jarring. She does a complete 180 and it ends.
Kingsbury's Redemption series was my favorite out of her books. I found thd dilemma here presented interesting but her take on it in this story was predictable
February 25, 2024
Should I be embarrassed I read this? Or just incredulous that she has fans? Maybe I should just accept my own naivety in not realizing how religious people really are. I just can't with this book. Every other line was a Bible verse. Seriously. Besides the absolute ridiculousness of the plot everyone was somehow transformed by reciting Bible verses.
May 6, 2020
Honestly, this was super predictable and quite boring. Everything that happened was something you could see coming from many chapters back. Not impressed with this one at all. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
September 19, 2020
DNF- I didn’t realize this was a Christian book when I started and I just wasn’t into it. I picked it up since it has one of my favorite audio narrators. Next...
June 10, 2021
4 STARS
Karen Kingsbury never lets me down (even if I read the books out of order lol) - always sweet, loving and faithful characters who cherish the good in their lives.
Karen Kingsbury never lets me down (even if I read the books out of order lol) - always sweet, loving and faithful characters who cherish the good in their lives.
August 12, 2022
Christian fiction is hard for me because I am not a fan of the preachy, christian-ese talking books, I prefer the ones with just good messages and godly values and some prayer and church. I want my Christian fiction characters to act like real people—the kind of Christians we really know. The good, the bad, and the ugly, sure. But real people like in any other genre. And in my opinion, Karen Kingsbury doesn't do that. Her Christian characters are super Christians. Always praying. Always quoting scriptures, always evangelizing. Maybe that's how she is, but I don't know a lot of children and teenagers and young adults who talk like that and I've grown up in church, been in ministry and am married to a man in ministry. Its just not realistic to me. The little girl who talks to her on the phone sister for the first time in weeks and says, "I asked Jesus to have you call me." I mean, really? Many other examples too, just that’s one I really remember.
Also, some of the time/date confused stuff me. The girl is getting married but asks her mother if she's heard junior bridesmaids? Those existed when I got married 20 years ago. Of course her heard of them mom's heard of them . Also the whole idea of the embryo in vitro didn’t seem weird to me. The plot makes such a big deal about it, like it is completely unheard of, but I’ve heard of it…often. And I just don’t think people would exact the way everyone did about it. I can’t imagine people being surprised or confused, but not appalled that they didn’t say anything for this long. It’s their business. I don’t know, that was the big gotcha moment and climax and it just didn’t seem all that much of a twist. Like I saw it coming a mile away…within maybe the first chapter or so.
Lastly, this is the second KK book I’ve read recently, and both of them alluded to and angel showing up as a earl person. This is the exactly the kind of thing that annoys me about Christian fiction. I have very rarely—in 39 years of being a Christian and in ministry—heard of someone believing a person that showed up in their life was an angel. And yet that seems to be a common theme in her books. Proven or not.
All in all, solid book, if you like this of thing.
Also, some of the time/date confused stuff me. The girl is getting married but asks her mother if she's heard junior bridesmaids? Those existed when I got married 20 years ago. Of course her heard of them mom's heard of them . Also the whole idea of the embryo in vitro didn’t seem weird to me. The plot makes such a big deal about it, like it is completely unheard of, but I’ve heard of it…often. And I just don’t think people would exact the way everyone did about it. I can’t imagine people being surprised or confused, but not appalled that they didn’t say anything for this long. It’s their business. I don’t know, that was the big gotcha moment and climax and it just didn’t seem all that much of a twist. Like I saw it coming a mile away…within maybe the first chapter or so.
Lastly, this is the second KK book I’ve read recently, and both of them alluded to and angel showing up as a earl person. This is the exactly the kind of thing that annoys me about Christian fiction. I have very rarely—in 39 years of being a Christian and in ministry—heard of someone believing a person that showed up in their life was an angel. And yet that seems to be a common theme in her books. Proven or not.
All in all, solid book, if you like this of thing.
February 8, 2023
Loved this book! I’m looking forward to reading more about the Baxter family.
April 28, 2020
This is a story that used to be in the news a good bit. A young woman finds her parents got a frozen embryo and never told her she wasn't their biological daughter. Maddie is surprised when she is confronted by a man, Quinn, who claims he was engaged to her sister. Hurt by the news, she quits her job, shuns her family and heads to Portland where Quinn introduces her to her biological parents. They accept her with open arms. Now she and Quinn are in love but she has to reconcile with both her families and her dead sister. Karen Kingsbury is a Christian author but this book is a good read with only mild references to God, prayer and religion. Anyone will enjoy this story. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
April 28, 2020
In defense of this book, I am not an avid Christian fiction fan. So that could have something to do with what I’m about to say.
I strongly disliked this book. It felt out of touch with reality. It felt like it was attempting to be deep but just came across as vapid. The characters seemed shallow and poorly developed and I guessed the ending in the first third of the book. The spirituality lacked substance and seemed very unrealistic.
Overall, not my cup of tea. But this easily could have been a qualm with the genre as a whole. And not this specific book.
I strongly disliked this book. It felt out of touch with reality. It felt like it was attempting to be deep but just came across as vapid. The characters seemed shallow and poorly developed and I guessed the ending in the first third of the book. The spirituality lacked substance and seemed very unrealistic.
Overall, not my cup of tea. But this easily could have been a qualm with the genre as a whole. And not this specific book.
May 12, 2020
It had a really good topic, but for me overall there just wasn't enough substance, Too much time in my opinion was focused on whiny Maddie. It could have been much better.
March 16, 2024
2.5⭐️
" You deserve better. Someone like me... but with your faith and goodness. "
My Thoughts
I feel like I just read a Hallmark movie, written by a very sheltered 12-year-old girl. 🙄 Clearly, this book was written for someone with a 6th grade reading ability, if even that. I couldn't even get behind the premise of the book. The whole thing felt flat and unbelievable.
The girl who doesn't believe gets hit by a car. She cries out for Jesus! And just like that, she is saved! 🙄 because of course she can't die unsaved, it's a Christian book!
Then, if that isn't cliche enough, the doctors tell her family that she has hrs, maybe, to live and she wakes up?!?! WHAT?! Just long enough to say I love yous and she found Jesus, and oh wait, God told her she has a sister!!! Asinine. Pure and simple, it's ludicrous, ridiculous, absurdity.
At this point, I wanted to chuck the book and howl in frustration of bad writing.
But this brings us to Maddy......
Maddy, as a character, is insufferable. She is everything I dislike in an FMC. So she found out she was adopted as an embryo. So what? Lots of kids are adopted. For her, it made her turn on her parents?
" They aren't exactly my parents, you know? They're my adoptive parents."
BULL. They gave birth to her. They raised her. They loved her. They are her parents.
No she up and leaves cross country to stay with her bio parents. Leaves her fiancé to spend time with her dead "sister" love interest. Jumping right into her life. Not for a day, not for a week, but months😒 ( Did I mention she also left her dream job that she had wanted and worked for her whole life? A job she had only had a few weeks! SMH)
The naivety and selfishness was off the wall. I couldn't stand any of the characters. Maddy, for just leaving her family and fiance to go off and meet her BIO family. She doesn't know them. Knows nothing about them. Barely know their names but hops on a plane and Flys cross country to stay with them because some handsome guy shows up and tells her she is adopted? Thank goodness this is a Christian book because that's how bad stuff happens to people.
The Quinns and Dawson are portrayed to be these good loving people.... but who looses their daughter/love and just welcomes in a look alike replacement. They give her their daughters' room, job, and car. Basically, try to replace London with Maddy.
Yeah, they tell her to go home to her family but not very forcefully. They don't bother to call her mom and dad and let them know she is safe, even though they KNOW she isn't calling them herself. The toxic Christianity drove me insane. Just because you believe in God does NOT make you a good person.
Dawson, our MC, is the "good guy" meme personified. He's not actually the good guy the author is trying desperately to make us believe. What kind of person turns another's world upside-down because they are hurting and want their lost love back in the form of a look-a-like human?
He spends so much time comparing Maddy to London that it's almost like he is falling in love with her for her similarities, not her uniqueness. It's even in the title of the book. SOMEONE LIKE YOU. Someone like London, only Christian.
The writing is subpar and repetitive. Every chapter seems to spout the same information over and over again. Grammatically correct trite. I felt unable and unwilling to connect with any of the characters. They all felt shallow and bland. No soul in the writing of them.
I'm a Christian myself, but the amount of Bible and Jesus talk in this book is over the top. Not so much as a paragraph goes by without mentioning Christianity in some way, shape, or form. If I wanted the gospel, I'd go to the gospel, and I do. I wanted more story and less sermon.
" You deserve better. Someone like me... but with your faith and goodness. "
My Thoughts
I feel like I just read a Hallmark movie, written by a very sheltered 12-year-old girl. 🙄 Clearly, this book was written for someone with a 6th grade reading ability, if even that. I couldn't even get behind the premise of the book. The whole thing felt flat and unbelievable.
The girl who doesn't believe gets hit by a car. She cries out for Jesus! And just like that, she is saved! 🙄 because of course she can't die unsaved, it's a Christian book!
Then, if that isn't cliche enough, the doctors tell her family that she has hrs, maybe, to live and she wakes up?!?! WHAT?! Just long enough to say I love yous and she found Jesus, and oh wait, God told her she has a sister!!! Asinine. Pure and simple, it's ludicrous, ridiculous, absurdity.
At this point, I wanted to chuck the book and howl in frustration of bad writing.
But this brings us to Maddy......
Maddy, as a character, is insufferable. She is everything I dislike in an FMC. So she found out she was adopted as an embryo. So what? Lots of kids are adopted. For her, it made her turn on her parents?
" They aren't exactly my parents, you know? They're my adoptive parents."
BULL. They gave birth to her. They raised her. They loved her. They are her parents.
No she up and leaves cross country to stay with her bio parents. Leaves her fiancé to spend time with her dead "sister" love interest. Jumping right into her life. Not for a day, not for a week, but months😒 ( Did I mention she also left her dream job that she had wanted and worked for her whole life? A job she had only had a few weeks! SMH)
The naivety and selfishness was off the wall. I couldn't stand any of the characters. Maddy, for just leaving her family and fiance to go off and meet her BIO family. She doesn't know them. Knows nothing about them. Barely know their names but hops on a plane and Flys cross country to stay with them because some handsome guy shows up and tells her she is adopted? Thank goodness this is a Christian book because that's how bad stuff happens to people.
The Quinns and Dawson are portrayed to be these good loving people.... but who looses their daughter/love and just welcomes in a look alike replacement. They give her their daughters' room, job, and car. Basically, try to replace London with Maddy.
Yeah, they tell her to go home to her family but not very forcefully. They don't bother to call her mom and dad and let them know she is safe, even though they KNOW she isn't calling them herself. The toxic Christianity drove me insane. Just because you believe in God does NOT make you a good person.
Dawson, our MC, is the "good guy" meme personified. He's not actually the good guy the author is trying desperately to make us believe. What kind of person turns another's world upside-down because they are hurting and want their lost love back in the form of a look-a-like human?
He spends so much time comparing Maddy to London that it's almost like he is falling in love with her for her similarities, not her uniqueness. It's even in the title of the book. SOMEONE LIKE YOU. Someone like London, only Christian.
The writing is subpar and repetitive. Every chapter seems to spout the same information over and over again. Grammatically correct trite. I felt unable and unwilling to connect with any of the characters. They all felt shallow and bland. No soul in the writing of them.
I'm a Christian myself, but the amount of Bible and Jesus talk in this book is over the top. Not so much as a paragraph goes by without mentioning Christianity in some way, shape, or form. If I wanted the gospel, I'd go to the gospel, and I do. I wanted more story and less sermon.
March 29, 2024
3.5⭐️ (rounded up)
I received the movie edition version from my local library and I just feel like I was left hanging. 😓
I received the movie edition version from my local library and I just feel like I was left hanging. 😓
January 7, 2024
I didn’t realize this was a Christian story . I found it to be rushed and predictable. The idea was great but could have been a much better story.
March 28, 2020
I was excited when I won a copy of this book on Goodreads because I recognized the author's name from a Hallmark Movie and the anticipation for a good story got me through waiting for its delivery.
I expected to like this book as there were interesting themes and I'm always on board for a good love story, but this fell disappointingly flat.
How can you justify the death of a beautiful vibrant human being and say it's - ok she's dead - in a most violent way-because she got Jesus in the end??!
I was sobbing for London and hurting for Dawson until I gagged on the part where suddenly, because she asked about Jesus, it was alright. There's no way that parents would stop grieving for their child because she found Jesus. As if the death could be excused because He became part of her life.
And the guilt faced because of the embryo adoption? Seriously? Such judgement!
Not to mention the family drama where everybody had to get together to pray? And when you break off an engagement it's also OK because you can go home and pray about it?
Every time prayer was invoked instead of thought this story slipped farther away from reality and I liked it less.
I'm only giving it 2 stars because it had potential.
I expected to like this book as there were interesting themes and I'm always on board for a good love story, but this fell disappointingly flat.
How can you justify the death of a beautiful vibrant human being and say it's - ok she's dead - in a most violent way-because she got Jesus in the end??!
I was sobbing for London and hurting for Dawson until I gagged on the part where suddenly, because she asked about Jesus, it was alright. There's no way that parents would stop grieving for their child because she found Jesus. As if the death could be excused because He became part of her life.
And the guilt faced because of the embryo adoption? Seriously? Such judgement!
Not to mention the family drama where everybody had to get together to pray? And when you break off an engagement it's also OK because you can go home and pray about it?
Every time prayer was invoked instead of thought this story slipped farther away from reality and I liked it less.
I'm only giving it 2 stars because it had potential.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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