Author: Karly Lane
ISBN: 978-1-76029-689-6
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Someone Like You is the latest release by Karly Lane, an author I have been following for a few years now. I haven’t read all of her books but I have tried to keep up with the ones which have been released since I discovered her.
I have always found Karly Lane novels to be a little quirky, contain more than a hint of humour and often draw inspiration from Australia’s history. In these respects, Someone Like You fits perfectly in the Karly Lane catalogue, but this one has something extra, something deeper and I was completely enthralled.
Hayley Stevens is a Sydney author who is recovering from the breakdown of her marriage and suffering writer’s block with her agent calling to chase the opening chapters of the new book. She decided that a fresh start was in order and ended up buying a house in a small country town basically on impulse. She had stayed in the town as part of a Writer’s Festival and fallen in love with it.
I really liked Hayley as a character but I think one of the things that really drew me to her was she’s an author who has just moved from the city to a small country town. She gave us an insight into the publishing industry and the writing process, and I couldn’t help but draw comparisons in the early chapters. I couldn’t help but wonder how much of Karly Lane found her way into Hayley Stevens, how much they had in common and how much of what frustrates or drives Stevens are issues Lane has. It certainly kept me thinking as I was sinking deeper and deeper into the narrative.
Karly Lane writes beautiful small towns and she loves a small town with history which can be woven into her contemporary storyline. Lochway is a tiny town with a huge history that is explored thoroughly. It is a town in close proximity to St Albans, which Lane discovered and was enchanted by, that was settled around the time of the first settlers.
What we know of history is only what has been recorded and what’s been passed down through the generations. There are no eyewitnesses left to attest to the truth so how do we truly know that recorded history is correct?
There was so much to love about Someone Like You and I really did. The characters are lovable and diverse, there’s some definite quirkiness happening here, and not all of her characters are people.
Hayley is a city girl through and through but she moves to the small town and starts collecting animals, even before she checks out whether she has anywhere secure to keep them. Quirky personalities aren’t limited to the human characters either, the menagerie that Hayley collects is filled with personality and she talks to them all.
The romantic storyline also contained its fair share of humour, and tragic near misses. The chemistry sizzled off the page but Lane reminds us that sometimes chemistry isn’t enough to ensure a happy ever after. Lane writes great steam without gratuitous details and a minimum of questionable language; which is something I wouldn’t usually even notice unless it was excessive but it was brought up as a discussion this week on Facebook.
I am struggling with this review because there is a whole element I don’t want to touch on so I am not quite sure what to say. An element that is a little out there but I really enjoyed and one that has always fascinated me. It was interesting to come across it and I really enjoyed the way that Karly Lane explored it.
Someone Like You has past and present colliding, an exploration of history, a tree change and an amusing and insightful look at the life of a work-at-home-full-time-author. Lane shines a light on small town gossip, PTSD in returned servicemen and reserving judgement to make up your own mind rather than being turned off by gossip.
I love this story, I love these characters and though we have an epilogue I would love to see this town and these people revisited so I could learn about the fallout and all the things that came about after the events of Someone Like You. I would recommend this one to anyone who loves some humour with their romance and doesn’t need a HEA Guarantee.
Someone Like You is book #20 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2018.
Karly Lane loves to hear from her readers, you can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and her Website.
Someone Like You is published by Allen & Unwin and available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin 50 of our Beauty and Lace Club members are reading Someone Like You so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Karly Lane’s books are always delightful slices of rural romance. So it should come as no surprise that “Someone Like You” is no exception. There is the city-turned-country girl, Hayley who is initially left broken hearted by her husband. She meets her neighbour, the gorgeous Luke Mason, a man who proves a wonderful cure for her past romantic ills.
While I commend Lane for weaving in some Australian history into this book, I did find the notion of the past-life stuff a bit hard to swallow. This is a minor gripe though, because otherwise this novel is a fantastic one with really well-developed and interesting characters that hook you in to a pleasant story.
Someone Like You is a new novel from bestselling author Karly Lane and is a love story about bestselling author Hayley Stevens.
Hayley moves, on impulse, from the city to the country after the end of her marriage. She is fairly unprepared – like driving an Audi Coupe and not owning sensible country footwear and as a result has some interesting encounters not least is with her handsome neighbour Luke Mason. She slowly adjusts to country life and begins to be accepted by the community. While her relationship with Luke is fairly predictable there is an interesting side story which intrigued me.
Karly’s descriptions of life in a small community certainly rang true – I am sure many readers will think yes we’ve got someone like that in our town too! The prejudices and judgments that often arise in small communities were addressed in the story and are food for thought – sometimes an outsider spots something locals have missed and because they don’t have preconceived ideas can make a difference.
I enjoyed the descriptions of country life and identified with Hayley’s frustrations of trying to deal with the bird life. The characters were generally likeable and it was an easy, enjoyable read.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace book club and publishers Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this novel.
Someone Like You by Karly Lane. I enjoyed the story about farming , coming up with ideas for a business in the country and being a writer. Hayley has her hands full with making the farm work then comes Luke to help her with everything in her life. A good read thankyou.
30 year-old Hayley Stevens decides to make the move from the city to the country after her marriage of 5 years came to an end after her husband cheated on her with her supposed best friend.
Hayley is an author and is hoping that the lovely sandstone cottage she has purchased will offer some inspiration for her next novel.
Before she knows it, she is filling her property with a menagerie of animals including a donkey, cat, and chooks, to name a few!
It isn’t long before she meets her new neighbour Luke Mason, who lives on a farm with his parents, brother, sister-in-law and Grandmother.
Luke gets to know Hayley and the two form a connection that neither of them was expecting. But it is not all smooth sailing!
I think that there are some really great characters that seem quite real. I liked Jason, the handyman that Hayley hires, and would’ve liked to find out more about him, I felt as though he just sort of blended into the background and was forgotten about a little bit which was a shame as he was a really interesting character.
It would be great to see him feature in another book.
There is a supernatural element to this story that I found was told well but that I couldn’t quite buy, but that is just my own personal opinion.
But the book was very enjoyable and an easy read too. I finished it within a couple of days. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Having lived on a small farming property, I could relate to almost everything in this fabulous story. The stray animals wanting a loving home, building pens for the animals, and a touch of past life memories, made for an intriguing read. Bungled romantic moments added a good giggle. It was so easy to become wrapped up in each and every one of the characters, so much so, that you have to keep turning the page to see what will happen next.
Friendships broken and then mended. True love found again, made this a heartwarming story from beginning to end.
Thank you for the opportunity to read it. I will be on the look out for more of Karly’s books, as she has been added to my short list of favourite authors.
Someone Like You by Karly Lane is a gread book to read.
The marriage breakdown is the push for Hayley to leave the city and move to a small country town.
Having a donkey dumped on her and it escaping and getting bogged in her neighbors dam
is a disater with a silver lining, she meets gorgeous Luke Mason.
Moving to a small community is so different to all Hayley knows.
She collects animals, they are not what they seem but fit.
The budding romance with Luke has it’s ups and downs.
Karly Lane writes with an understanding of country small town closed minds and how hard it is for someone who isn’t born there to try to belong.
The small town was not expecting a city raised writer who is determined to make the best of her new begining,
but they begin to accept her.
The past lives intruding on modern times brings an interesting twist.
A very easy book to read with quite a few funny little bits that will make you have a small chuckle to yourself.
Enjoyable and highly recommended to read.
This was a great read!! I love Karly Lane generally so I had high hopes but she definitely delivers..
Would recommend!!
I’m a big fan of Karly Lane books, she has varying story lines, you never quite know what tack she’s going to take with each book, in saying that this was not one of my favourites of Lane’s but it was still a nice read.
Someone Like You touches on the supernatural with Hayley having visions of a couple alive 200 years ago!
An award winning author Hayley makes a tree change after a turbulent year, getting divorced from her husband after he cheated on her.
Abby Cottage in Lochway beckons to Hayley and after having a weekend here years ago when she discovers its for sale she buys it on a whim and packs up her life in Sydney and heads west.
The day after her arrival shes left with a donkey Errol, this is the beginning of a menagerie for Hayley. Errol decides to escape and gets himself stuck in her sexy neighbour Luke’s dam. There is an instant connection between Luke and Hayley, with Hayley feeling that Luke is familiar to her.
As Hayley settles into the slower lifestyle of the country she struggles to push past her writers block as her deadline for her latest book looms, all the while she is still having strange visions that are somehow connected to Luke, but upon broaching the subject with Luke he doesn’t want to know. What is it about Hayley’s visions that scares Luke so much and can they work through it and start a relationship?
An easy to read book, touching on the supernatural world without being too surreal, as well as many other issues that happen in a small town and how farmer is changing to include more diversification. A huge thanks to Beauty and Lace and Allen and Unwin for the chance to review Someone Like You.
This was the first time that I read a book by Karly Lane and boy did I love it!!! It was an easy read and I loved her humour!
The story is about Hayley starting a new life in the country after the breakdown of her marriage. It’s a big leap moving to the country from the city but she throws herself into it with enthusiasm. Along the way, she collects a myriad of animals and takes a fancy to the good looking neighbour!
I loved how there was a mystery behind the cottage that she bought and it wasn’t just a “boy meets girl” type thing.
I would highly recommend this book!!!
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Allen & Unwin for introducing me to a great Australian author!
The story focused around Hayley and Luke where city girl, Hayley who is a novel writer,, after a marriage break up, purchases a country cottage where she meets farmer Luke. An instant attraction occurs but does it develop into a long term relationship? This is the question which remained open as I read the story. A story of intrigue of past life and history, perhaps between the two, and immediate friendships of time and past. Relationships in the family which Luke deals with while trying to get past his own fears. Hayley appears to also be a lover of adopting unique animals who become her aim to befriend while she overcomes her writers block. Connecting farms mean that Hayley and Luke will keep having to meet and there comes the hard part. How do they overcome some of the emotional obstacles they have?
Karly Lane, I love this story and thank you for sharing it.