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!
This is one book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I love how the author Karly Lane really gets inside the minds of the characters and expresses them so well.
Someone Like You is a heartwarming story of city meets country, with the two main characters, being Hayley and Luke. We are taken on a fabulous journey of rich history and beautiful country landscapes. Hayley tries to fully embrace her move to the country, which includes taking in all the unwanted and stray animals imaginable.
There is a large focus on the history of this little town called Lochway, but this isnt just your average love story. I wont spoil this, but I had a lot of laughs, and was glad that this wasnt a standardised ending. I will say that I would love to see a follow on from the author, as others have mentioned.
Thank you to B&L and Allen & Unwin for the chance to read and review this book.
Highly recommended.
This is not the first book that I have read from Karly Lane and I am sure there will be many more to come as Karly is such a fantastic Australian author.
The moment I started reading this novel, I was captured by the storyline.
We are introduced to Hayley Stevens who lives in Sydney and is an author of crime novels. She thought she had this forever marriage only to find out that her best friend and her husband were now people she wanted out of her life forever.
Hayley moves to a place country town called Lochway and I could visualise the whole area of places that are mentioned in the novel such as Wiseman’s Ferry, Windsor and St. Albans. St. Albans hold many memories for me and those walls inside really do whisper. Such beautiful surroundings for the story too.
I loved Hayley’s character, she has such a warm personality and her love of animals jumps through the pages as you read. I found myself giggling at her antics. The donkey in the dam is hilarious and you could just imagine every step she went through with that.
This is such a brillant romantic novel and the character of Luke Mason whom Hayley becomes involved with is magical, although there are ups and downs which make you want to jump into those pages and push them together.
Luke’s family have been on the land since early settlement so there is lot of family history and secrets happening. I loved the character of Gran. All the characters in this storyline are lovely in their own quirky way.
There are humorous lines in the story which had me laughing also. I could visualise the scene on top of the gate so well. You will have to read the story to know what I am talking about though.
I loved how we deal with the perceptions of what an author feels through Hayley and this then shows us what Karly Lane and other authors succumb to all the time. Writer’s Block. We always assume as we read these novels that the storylines must just flow but Hayley’s character shows us that there is a struggle that writers face. I found it all really fascinating and I got the feeling that Karly has based the character of Hayley on herself.
I absolutely loved this book and I do have to say that I have read novels for so many, many years now and once upon it was only UK and American authors but since being with Beauty and Lace, I love seeing the abundance of Australian authors that have been making their appearances on our shelves. Woohoo.
Thanks again Beauty and Lace for another wonderful novel and Allen & Unwin for your generosity of being able to read this book. I also love the cover too. Definitely a page turner.
Thank goodness to beauty and lace for sending me this book. Within minutes of picking up the book i was sent to into the world Karly Lane created, barely able to put it down I finished the entire book at work.
I was upset to have it end, wanting more adventures with Hayley and her army of pets she acquired.
I was drawn along on the journey Karly wrote, twisting between the origins of Lochway, and the modern timeline. Despite being a fictional town I can understand the beauty of it, having lived near some of the places mentioned it. It warms my heart how much Hayley appreciates the history of the area, and the families in the area. History is a passion of mine and I felt even more connected to her.
The relationship that builds between Hayley and Luke really gets me all giggly and excited. I love how it shows not all couples are completely sexy and have great moves. That some of us are clumsy and laugh and create bleeding noses, but it doesn’t take away from the moment and the romance in it.
I laughed so much during this book, Karly did an amazing job of describing situations, and had me picturing them as if I was there. I love that her writing isn’t all serious all the time, or completely romantic. There’s a wonderful balance between romance, mystery and humour.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to review Someone Like You by Karly Lane.
I loved how Karly transported us to this beautiful little town and I felt like I was really there.
Someone like you is the story of Hayley and the decisions she makes to move from the city to a little place called Lochway. There she builds a life and meets Luke. I won’t give too much away but I found it a very engaging read with lots of humour throughout.
As the book got closer to the end I felt I was going to be disappointed but the epilogue made sure that wasn’t so.
Thank you again.
Someone Like You by Karly Lane was such a lovely read. This was my first book of Karly’s that I have read, and I think I would actively seek out her other books now after finishing this one. I think I would enjoy them too and would definitely recommend Someone Like You to others I know who would like this type of story. It was an easy flowing book to read which makes it even more enjoyable I think, and I liked how it was set in Australia and to me this makes me be able to absorb the story and characters more when it is set in our location. The rural setting was interesting and it is always good to read stories in those settings. I did quite like the characters of Hayley and Luke, there was something about them that clicked with me. I also really liked the added romance but also the intrigue and surprise of bits of history and supernatural sort of elements. Karly Lane wrote these in, as well as the insight into being an author and writing a book and it all just gelled together. The family and also the animals in the town, they were a joy and interest to read about also.
I would definitely recommend Someone Like You by Karly Lane and enjoyed reading it a lot.
AWESOME.
I really feel like I could just leave a post with simply that one word as Awesome really does cover it. I loved every thing about this book.
Hayley is a strong woman and wont allow others to lead her down their path. She has her own thoughts on things and she will make up her own mind on people. She is not a follower and I love that. After her marriage falls apart she decides to live her dream and move to a location that she feels will give her the change she needs. Moving from the city to the country provides some challenges but she tackles each one with a positive attitude. Meeting her neighbour Luke at what could be considered a bad time when shes covered in mud and soaking wet and trying to drag screaming donkey from a dam proves to be a changing point in both their lives and takes them both on a journey where the present overlaps with the distant past.
I really delighted in this story and would love to read more of Karly Lane’s books. This was a very easy book to read and provided a few giggles here and there.
One year after walking in on her husband in bed with her best friend
author Hayley Stevens says goodbye to the city and heads to Lochway
a small colonial village on the Macdonald river where she impulsively
had bought a cosy sandstone cottage with lush rose gardens which she
felt would be a wonderful place to continue her writing.
It’s here she acquires some unexpected animals and meets her new
neighbour Luke Mason who seemed to be familiar to her.
Things are not all that they seem as Hayley experiences visions or flashbacks.
‘Someone Like You’ by Karly Lane is an intriguing, funny and romantic story
about past lives and new beginnings with heart- warming characters that
are well-defined and very likeable.
This novel is such an excellently written story that contains excellent descriptions of the tranquil setting and the storyline is compelling and uncomplicated.
I just loved it!!
It is a very easy read and engaging from start to finish.
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Someone like you is a romance that follows Hayley, a writer who has left her troubles behind in Sydney and moves into a small rural town where she discovers her love for peace and quiet, farming and her neighbour!
I really enjoyed reading the story between Luke and Hayley however I found that I didn’t really like the historical parts of the book- both Hayley and Luke have a connection with a couple that died 200 years ago and they have flash backs of their deaths and snaps of their lives.
Perhaps its because I dislike anything that is unrealistic or farfetched that I didn’t really get into it. When it was focused on romance and daily life in outback Australia Id happily read chapters at a time, when they started on Visions and past lives I had to force myself to read a chapter in one sitting.
All up it was a lovely book but not my cup of tea
Someone Like You. By Karly Lane
A year after her husband cheats on her, best selling author Hayley impulsively buys a cottage in the country that she sees on line. She packs her bags, and heads off to her new life away from Sydney, at her own personal writers retreat.
Adjusting to her country life, Hayley begins to settle in, and adds a collection of animals to fill her few acres. The way she acquires each of these makes great reading! But writers block troubles Hayley, and sometimes the country noises don’t help.
Hayley meets her neighbour Luke in an unusual way, and visits his family who run a brewery, restaurant and and reception centre. I liked the way that this showed how farmers sometimes now have to diversify to make a living from the land..
I love the descriptions of the people of the town: I can just picture the blokes at the Rural Supply store, especially when Hayley drives up in her Audi Coupe to buy food for her animals. Jason the handyman is also a wonderful character, and I enjoyed the warmth and understanding that Hayley shows him..
There are many laugh out loud pages in this easy to read book.. Karly Lane writes in a way that makes you feel like you are sitting beside a friend, listening to her tell you a story. Her books are always much more than a rural romance, and Someone Like You is another great read.
Thanks to Beauty & Lace Book Club, and Allen & Unwin books for the chance to read this wonderful book.
I really enjoy Karly Lanes writing style she is able to carry you away to a small town in rural Australia. This book gets you thinking about past lives and how you can meet your love in the strangest ways. A really lovely book to sit by the fire and get transported to another world