novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 STARS
"Jill Strathern left town for the big city and never looked back-until she returned home years later to run a small law practice. It turns out her childhood crush, Mac Kendreck, a burned-out LAPD cop, has also come back to sleepy Los Lobos. Even though Mac had rejected her back in high school, Jill can't deny the attraction she still feels for him.
Now Jill and Mac are tangled up in enough drama to satisfy the most jaded L.A. denizens-Mafia dons, social workers, angry exes and one very quirky eight-year-old can make even the simplest romance complicated. And it all goes to prove that when it comes to affairs of the heart, there's no place like home." (From Amazon)
I really enjoyed this contemporary romantic comedy. Jill and Mac have great chemistry and I love the secondary characters.
"Jill Strathern left town for the big city and never looked back-until she returned home years later to run a small law practice. It turns out her childhood crush, Mac Kendreck, a burned-out LAPD cop, has also come back to sleepy Los Lobos. Even though Mac had rejected her back in high school, Jill can't deny the attraction she still feels for him.
Now Jill and Mac are tangled up in enough drama to satisfy the most jaded L.A. denizens-Mafia dons, social workers, angry exes and one very quirky eight-year-old can make even the simplest romance complicated. And it all goes to prove that when it comes to affairs of the heart, there's no place like home." (From Amazon)
I really enjoyed this contemporary romantic comedy. Jill and Mac have great chemistry and I love the secondary characters.
alwaysreadingreview's review against another edition
5.0
From my blog....
http://blessedx3ane.blogspot.com/2012/02/reading-challenges-review-3.html
Here is my third book review for the Romance Challenge, my sixth review for the Cupcake War Challenge, my second review for the 2012 E-book Challenge; the third one for The TBR Double Dare & my second one for Read Your Own Name Challenge. I decided to do this all in 1 post instead of 5 separate posts. I will keep the # read at the bottom for each Challenge so I know what I am doing!
For this Review: I chose the e-book, Someone Like You, which is the first book in the Los Lobos Series by Susan Mallery. Are you seeing a trend with me? Who is one of my favorite authors? Can you take a wild guess?
Spoiler Warning: If you have not read this book, stop! Read the book before reading the rest of my review!!
This is the first in the Los Lobos series. It is about an attorney, Jill Strathern, who walked in on her husband having sex in his office. What does her husband, Lyle, does he says to her? "Next time you should knock, he said he bent over to grabbed his pants." (page 18) All I have to say is what an ass. Sorry about the language. He just got caught cheating on his wife & that is the first thing he says to her. Jill got fired from her job. She got Lyle a job at the same law firm as her.
Jill left L.A. & went home to Los Lobos to figure out what to do. After Jill returned home & she moved in with her Aunt Bev, there are 2 quotes I want to share:
1. "But that wasn't what hurt the most" she continued, her eyes burning. "He stole my promotion. I'd been working so damn hard and I brought in all that business and he got my promotion and I got fired." (page 22)
Remember this quote for later on in the book. I think it has some key information in it, but I am not going to tell you what.
2. "And what I really d-don't understand is why I'm more mad than hurt,' she said, her voice cracking. "Why do I care more about my job than my marriage?" (page 22)
Jill asked this question, but more as a rhetorical one. She knew the answer!
Jill came to town with 3 things on her mind:
1. Revenge on her soon to be ex-husband.
2. Find out why she was fired.
3. Find a new job & get out of Los Lobos.
When Carly was talking to her ex-husband, Mac about their daughter & what he did. Carly said this to him, "Apologies don't work on an eight-year-old," Carly told him. "You disappeared from her life without a word and now you're going to have to prove yourself to her." (page 34) I have an almost eight year old. There are times where apologies don't work on him for minor things. Carly was right when she said this. Mac messed up big time & it will take sometime.
During the course of this book, Jill changed. In the beginning, Jill was focused on 2 things. Getting revenge on her soon to be ex-husband & getting a new job. Mac says to Jill "If the revenge involves breaking the law, I don't want to know." (page 43)
Jill & Mac both realize why they are both in Los Lobos- Her Father. I think her father did this on possible.
When Mac first found out about his daughter's, Emily, & her color issue & food. Carly told him it was her way of controlling something in her life & she did not have a say in the divorce plus she is punishing them. Here are my favorite quotes between Mac & Emily:
(Emily) "The color's wrong" she said, try to speak a little louder. "I'm wearing purple."
(Mac) "So?"
(Emily) "If I'm wearing purple I can only eat purple."
(page 49, 50)
I wonder how I would feel if I had to work in an office with fish staring at me. Ok, I know how I would feel----> they would have to go. I would think they were watching me. Love this quote! "Jill glanced around the office. It was like standing in the middle of an aquarium for decreased fish." (page 60) It puts a smile on my face!! =0) Does it for you?
The first time that Mac met the social worker, Hollis, the only thing I could think of was this guy can not truly think this. Here is the quote: "I'm glad we're clear." Hollis closed the folder and leaned forward. "Mac, I'll be blunt with you. I don't think men in law enforcement make good fathers." (page 83) My question is what evidence is he basing this on. If you use logic on this, All men in law enforcement are bad fathers. You know this is not a true statement, but if you say, Most men or some men then it could be true. You can not say ALL. Just because Hollis's men that he has dealt with in his work were bad fathers & are in law enforcement does not mean ALL men are bad fathers, too. What about those men that are in that field of work that he never met? We did learn something about Mac during this first meeting with Hollis. Mac worked in the gang unit, which caused his divorce & his leaving his daughter.
In the beginning, I said that Jill came to town for 3 things on her mind:
1. Revenge on her soon to be ex-husband.
2. Find out why she was fired.
3. Find a new job & get out of Los Lobos.
During this book, those 3 things changed.
#1, she did not care about anymore. She just wanted to get rid of him. Not rid of as in rid of, but as in divorce. She did not love him.
Her dad asked her "What happened to the plan for revenge?" She shrugged "I don't care anymore. I have no energy where Lyle is concerned. Marrying him was a huge mistake and now I'm fixing the problem. That makes me feel good. As for Lyle, I can't tell you how much I'm not interested in him or his life. He's buying me out of the condo, I'm getting a cash settlement for the car and fifty percent of everything else." (page 350)
#2 She still wanted to find out why she was fired & she did.
Lyle showed up & said to Jill "You ruined me." Jill replied back to him with "I think you have me confused with, oh, say yourself. I've been here in Los Lobos for the past several weeks, trying to put my life together. You've been in San Francisco. How exactly could I have ruined you? Everything is gone. My job, my career. There's talk of disbarring me." (page 384-385)
I love the one other scene with Lyle, but I will let you read it. It is very funny! It is one of my favorite Lyle moments. I think it deserves what he gets!!!
#3. Jill wanted a new job & out of Los Lobos, but that changed. She did not want to leave Los Lobos or Mac.
Mac says to Jill "You love me a lot and you don't want to go anywhere, but you didn't want to come out and say that. You want me to ask." He kissed her again. "You wanted me to prove you were more than a convenience and that I thought you were worth fighting for." (page 394)
This was the part of the book I was crying! Be prepared to cry, too!
I think the one thing that surprised me in the whole book was that the social worker, Hollis, spoke on Mac's behalf. He even got Mac's ex-wife on his side, too. My favorite Hollis quote is "He was trying to protect a young woman's life. A pregnant young's woman. He stepped in when my department did nothing. For all we know, he saved Mrs Murphy's life." (page 389)
Carly spoke at the hearing, too, asking not to have Mac not being taken from their daughter. "She's only eight and she needs her father." (page 390) This hearing was because Mac hit a man who beat up his wife, but the man died because of what happened at the beach. I am going to let you read it.
Keeping reading!
This took me awhile to get done. I am working on the second book of the series, too, Falling for Gracie. That will be posted soon. I hope.
Melissa
P.S. Something for you!
Questions for you:
1. The first time Jill met Mac since coming back to town, what was Jill doing?
2. Why did Jill come back to town besides to figure things out?
3. What does Mac do?
4. Who said this quote "I wanted a change."
5. What kind of car did Lyle drive?
6. What was the attorney's name that had the practice before Jill?
7. What is the name of the secretary & do you think she does to keep her job?
8. Name some of Jill's strange cases.
9. What did you think of the social worker for Mac?
10. Who is Gracie Landon?
11. What happened to Lyle when he was trying to leave Los Lobos?
12. What is your favorite part of the book?
http://blessedx3ane.blogspot.com/2012/02/reading-challenges-review-3.html
Here is my third book review for the Romance Challenge, my sixth review for the Cupcake War Challenge, my second review for the 2012 E-book Challenge; the third one for The TBR Double Dare & my second one for Read Your Own Name Challenge. I decided to do this all in 1 post instead of 5 separate posts. I will keep the # read at the bottom for each Challenge so I know what I am doing!
For this Review: I chose the e-book, Someone Like You, which is the first book in the Los Lobos Series by Susan Mallery. Are you seeing a trend with me? Who is one of my favorite authors? Can you take a wild guess?
Spoiler Warning: If you have not read this book, stop! Read the book before reading the rest of my review!!
This is the first in the Los Lobos series. It is about an attorney, Jill Strathern, who walked in on her husband having sex in his office. What does her husband, Lyle, does he says to her? "Next time you should knock, he said he bent over to grabbed his pants." (page 18) All I have to say is what an ass. Sorry about the language. He just got caught cheating on his wife & that is the first thing he says to her. Jill got fired from her job. She got Lyle a job at the same law firm as her.
Jill left L.A. & went home to Los Lobos to figure out what to do. After Jill returned home & she moved in with her Aunt Bev, there are 2 quotes I want to share:
1. "But that wasn't what hurt the most" she continued, her eyes burning. "He stole my promotion. I'd been working so damn hard and I brought in all that business and he got my promotion and I got fired." (page 22)
Remember this quote for later on in the book. I think it has some key information in it, but I am not going to tell you what.
2. "And what I really d-don't understand is why I'm more mad than hurt,' she said, her voice cracking. "Why do I care more about my job than my marriage?" (page 22)
Jill asked this question, but more as a rhetorical one. She knew the answer!
Jill came to town with 3 things on her mind:
1. Revenge on her soon to be ex-husband.
2. Find out why she was fired.
3. Find a new job & get out of Los Lobos.
When Carly was talking to her ex-husband, Mac about their daughter & what he did. Carly said this to him, "Apologies don't work on an eight-year-old," Carly told him. "You disappeared from her life without a word and now you're going to have to prove yourself to her." (page 34) I have an almost eight year old. There are times where apologies don't work on him for minor things. Carly was right when she said this. Mac messed up big time & it will take sometime.
During the course of this book, Jill changed. In the beginning, Jill was focused on 2 things. Getting revenge on her soon to be ex-husband & getting a new job. Mac says to Jill "If the revenge involves breaking the law, I don't want to know." (page 43)
Jill & Mac both realize why they are both in Los Lobos- Her Father. I think her father did this on possible.
When Mac first found out about his daughter's, Emily, & her color issue & food. Carly told him it was her way of controlling something in her life & she did not have a say in the divorce plus she is punishing them. Here are my favorite quotes between Mac & Emily:
(Emily) "The color's wrong" she said, try to speak a little louder. "I'm wearing purple."
(Mac) "So?"
(Emily) "If I'm wearing purple I can only eat purple."
(page 49, 50)
I wonder how I would feel if I had to work in an office with fish staring at me. Ok, I know how I would feel----> they would have to go. I would think they were watching me. Love this quote! "Jill glanced around the office. It was like standing in the middle of an aquarium for decreased fish." (page 60) It puts a smile on my face!! =0) Does it for you?
The first time that Mac met the social worker, Hollis, the only thing I could think of was this guy can not truly think this. Here is the quote: "I'm glad we're clear." Hollis closed the folder and leaned forward. "Mac, I'll be blunt with you. I don't think men in law enforcement make good fathers." (page 83) My question is what evidence is he basing this on. If you use logic on this, All men in law enforcement are bad fathers. You know this is not a true statement, but if you say, Most men or some men then it could be true. You can not say ALL. Just because Hollis's men that he has dealt with in his work were bad fathers & are in law enforcement does not mean ALL men are bad fathers, too. What about those men that are in that field of work that he never met? We did learn something about Mac during this first meeting with Hollis. Mac worked in the gang unit, which caused his divorce & his leaving his daughter.
In the beginning, I said that Jill came to town for 3 things on her mind:
1. Revenge on her soon to be ex-husband.
2. Find out why she was fired.
3. Find a new job & get out of Los Lobos.
During this book, those 3 things changed.
#1, she did not care about anymore. She just wanted to get rid of him. Not rid of as in rid of, but as in divorce. She did not love him.
Her dad asked her "What happened to the plan for revenge?" She shrugged "I don't care anymore. I have no energy where Lyle is concerned. Marrying him was a huge mistake and now I'm fixing the problem. That makes me feel good. As for Lyle, I can't tell you how much I'm not interested in him or his life. He's buying me out of the condo, I'm getting a cash settlement for the car and fifty percent of everything else." (page 350)
#2 She still wanted to find out why she was fired & she did.
Lyle showed up & said to Jill "You ruined me." Jill replied back to him with "I think you have me confused with, oh, say yourself. I've been here in Los Lobos for the past several weeks, trying to put my life together. You've been in San Francisco. How exactly could I have ruined you? Everything is gone. My job, my career. There's talk of disbarring me." (page 384-385)
I love the one other scene with Lyle, but I will let you read it. It is very funny! It is one of my favorite Lyle moments. I think it deserves what he gets!!!
#3. Jill wanted a new job & out of Los Lobos, but that changed. She did not want to leave Los Lobos or Mac.
Mac says to Jill "You love me a lot and you don't want to go anywhere, but you didn't want to come out and say that. You want me to ask." He kissed her again. "You wanted me to prove you were more than a convenience and that I thought you were worth fighting for." (page 394)
This was the part of the book I was crying! Be prepared to cry, too!
I think the one thing that surprised me in the whole book was that the social worker, Hollis, spoke on Mac's behalf. He even got Mac's ex-wife on his side, too. My favorite Hollis quote is "He was trying to protect a young woman's life. A pregnant young's woman. He stepped in when my department did nothing. For all we know, he saved Mrs Murphy's life." (page 389)
Carly spoke at the hearing, too, asking not to have Mac not being taken from their daughter. "She's only eight and she needs her father." (page 390) This hearing was because Mac hit a man who beat up his wife, but the man died because of what happened at the beach. I am going to let you read it.
Keeping reading!
This took me awhile to get done. I am working on the second book of the series, too, Falling for Gracie. That will be posted soon. I hope.
Melissa
P.S. Something for you!
Questions for you:
1. The first time Jill met Mac since coming back to town, what was Jill doing?
2. Why did Jill come back to town besides to figure things out?
3. What does Mac do?
4. Who said this quote "I wanted a change."
5. What kind of car did Lyle drive?
6. What was the attorney's name that had the practice before Jill?
7. What is the name of the secretary & do you think she does to keep her job?
8. Name some of Jill's strange cases.
9. What did you think of the social worker for Mac?
10. Who is Gracie Landon?
11. What happened to Lyle when he was trying to leave Los Lobos?
12. What is your favorite part of the book?
leahkarge's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
I have read many, many books by Susan Mallery and she is one of my favorite authors. I love her stories--even if they can be a bit clichéd at times--and I always love all her characters (with only a couple exceptions).
Someone Like You is a story about two people--Jill and Mac--who return to their hometown after years away and for vastly, yet similar, reasons. Despite complications like mob bosses, custody battles, and struggles to reach their dreams, Jill and Mac find their way to each other and manage to create something beautiful.
As I mentioned above, Mallery often creates wonderful characters that I become invested in. Even characters who barely appear, like Gracie and Riley, and now I am super intrigued and can't wait to read the sequel, Falling for Gracie.
I have read many, many books by Susan Mallery and she is one of my favorite authors. I love her stories--even if they can be a bit clichéd at times--and I always love all her characters (with only a couple exceptions).
Someone Like You is a story about two people--Jill and Mac--who return to their hometown after years away and for vastly, yet similar, reasons. Despite complications like mob bosses, custody battles, and struggles to reach their dreams, Jill and Mac find their way to each other and manage to create something beautiful.
As I mentioned above, Mallery often creates wonderful characters that I become invested in. Even characters who barely appear, like Gracie and Riley, and now I am super intrigued and can't wait to read the sequel, Falling for Gracie.
karak's review against another edition
4.0
I've read and enjoyed many books by Susan Mallery, yet somehow managed to overlook this short series. I finished Book 1 last night, and started Book 2 this morning. So much fun.
verityw's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this, although I was somewhat dubious about the mob subplot and I wanted more comeuppance for Jill’s ex. But it was a nice relaxing read that I raced through.
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
Jill Strathern has just been dumped by her husband and fired from her job. She is going back to her hometown Los Lobos, the place she had sworn never to return to. She is going to fill in for the town's only lawyer who recently passed away. While in Los Lobos, Jill is living with her aunt who claims to be able to read the future. Her aunt is living next door to Jill's old crush, Mac Kendrick, who is also divorced and now the town's sheriff. His troubled daughter is in town for the summer and Mac has asked Jill's aunt to help.
Years ago, Jill had embarrassed herself trying to seduce Mac, but now he's attracted to her. And her crush has never gone away. Throw in an ex-(supposedly)Mafia boss who moves to town and starts dating Jill's aunt and you've got some big excitement.
Cute story, typical Mallery. Not one of my favorite authors but usually pretty enjoyable. And, apparently, forgettable. I didn't remember reading this book at all. At all. But I did.
Years ago, Jill had embarrassed herself trying to seduce Mac, but now he's attracted to her. And her crush has never gone away. Throw in an ex-(supposedly)Mafia boss who moves to town and starts dating Jill's aunt and you've got some big excitement.
Cute story, typical Mallery. Not one of my favorite authors but usually pretty enjoyable. And, apparently, forgettable. I didn't remember reading this book at all. At all. But I did.
amshofner's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a long time since I picked up a contemporary romance, but my mood said contemporary and contemporary I got. I was particularly intrigued by the Mafia dons and angry exes. HECK YES DRAMA.
But what could have been gritty drama was relatively harmless, making it more of a fluff read than suck-me-into-it escape read. The secondary characters were more interesting to me than Jill and Mac--I especially liked Bev, Jill's aunt, and Emily, Mac's daughter. Every time there was a chance to dig a little deeper into the characters, the story pulled back and moved on.
Jill's character got on my nerves a little with her "boring" brown hair and crazy "frizzy" hair that needed to be straightened. (Hey. Curly hair is awesome and brown hair isn't boring.) And her belief that she wasn't sexy (and her obsession with having Mac say it) because she was flat chested. Spoiler: if you've got boobs, men usually like that. Another spoiler: if a guy is going to judge you based on your cup size, you need a different guy. Give me a confident and secure brunette heroine any day. Mac was pretty decent though.
I did, however, like how Someone Like You sets up the next book, which had a tendency to intrigue me more than the story I was reading. If someone threw Falling for Gracie at me, I'd catch it instead of bat it away. So while Someone Like You wasn't exactly my favorite book ever, it was an enjoyable way to spend an evening without getting too tied up in huge emotional upheavals.
But what could have been gritty drama was relatively harmless, making it more of a fluff read than suck-me-into-it escape read. The secondary characters were more interesting to me than Jill and Mac--I especially liked Bev, Jill's aunt, and Emily, Mac's daughter. Every time there was a chance to dig a little deeper into the characters, the story pulled back and moved on.
Jill's character got on my nerves a little with her "boring" brown hair and crazy "frizzy" hair that needed to be straightened. (Hey. Curly hair is awesome and brown hair isn't boring.) And her belief that she wasn't sexy (and her obsession with having Mac say it) because she was flat chested. Spoiler: if you've got boobs, men usually like that. Another spoiler: if a guy is going to judge you based on your cup size, you need a different guy. Give me a confident and secure brunette heroine any day. Mac was pretty decent though.
I did, however, like how Someone Like You sets up the next book, which had a tendency to intrigue me more than the story I was reading. If someone threw Falling for Gracie at me, I'd catch it instead of bat it away. So while Someone Like You wasn't exactly my favorite book ever, it was an enjoyable way to spend an evening without getting too tied up in huge emotional upheavals.