Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

The first thing I should note is that I don't like sci-fi or the supernatural, so I don't really feel that I can give a fair review on this book. It was well written but not for me

This is the 4th book I have read by this author. It had me frantically turning the pages just as much as the other 3.
I love the bit of the super natural, Sci fi, out of the box ideas that the author brings to their books. They really make me sit back and think about different concepts and I love getting that from a story.
If out of the norm is what you like then this is a must read.

This book was a suspense ride and just as soon as you have it figured out, you get surprised again. It was well written and worth the effort. Recommended.

Blown away by the concept, and I've always loved Mike Carey's writing style; so detailed and conversational without ever being boring.
Wasn't sure how the ending would pan out and still mulling it over. Loved it overall, very cleverly plotted.

This book is one of those that starts off as one thing then becomes something else entirely. Initially I was hooked and was enjoying the read, the main character of Liz and her life. The character of Fran, another interesting character having survived being abducted in her early years. These two separate worlds collide in and that’s where I lost focus on what genre I was reading.

Personally I prefer my books to remain on one track and this didn’t, however I cannot fault the writing of this at all and would very much encourage others to read this, even if it wasn’t totally for me.

Absolutely haunting thriller - I never got around to reading the Girl With All The Gifts when that was massive but I definitely will now.

Someone Like Me has been sitting on my Netgalley shelf for a while because I completely forgot about it. Even re-reading the synopsis didn’t remind me of why I requested it.

This is one of those books where I’m not certain how I feel. It was also an unfortunate case where the formatting was off (always a risk with ARCs) and because there were no line breaks between the narration changes or chapters, there were several occasions where I had to re-read a bit because it had switched. It did impact my overall experience of the book.

The plot is interesting: a woman has an out-of-body experience and is able to defend herself against her violent husband. A teenage girl struggles to move on from being kidnapped as a child and confides in her imaginary friend to be able to deal with the world around her.

Both Liz and Fran have their demons. Liz just wants to take care of her family, even if that means being pushed around to avoid conflict. It was hard to relate to Liz because she is portrayed as being so weak for the majority of the book. But through an escalating cascade of events, you find yourself rooting for her. Liz has to overcome a darker presence, and must find the inner strength to do so. I didn’t like Liz, but I liked her more than her enemy and so wanted her to be victorious!

Fran is more relatable, mainly because she goes on more of a journey throughout the book and you feel like she is given the chance to confront her past. She finds the bravery to do what must be done, despite it terrifying her and, again, you want her to be able to face down everything that has haunted her. There were moments when you were reminded that she was a teenager; she reacts a little too strongly to innocent events that could have been irritating if they happened more often.

As mentioned, the plot was an interesting one. It’s about more than just facing your demons. It ventures into a fantasy route: for example, imaginary friends that may not actually be imaginary. Venturing out of normality helped keep the book more engaging: I feared to start with it was just going to drag and focus too much on overcome self-doubt (not that there’s a problem with that, it’s just not how the book is presented!).

The pacing felt slow but the tension does reach a strong climax. The ending left me quite dissatisfied though. Due to how circumstances come about, the “villain” of the piece cannot be punished without it ruining one of the main characters. But it was frustrating there seemed to be no fall-out or comeuppance after what had been some pretty drastic events up until that point.

The book could have been a little shorter and the pacing increased to keep it more engaging, especially to start with. It wasn’t a strong read for me personally.

From the very beginning I was totally swept away by this story. When Liz Kendall is attacked by her abusive ex-husband it is almost fatal. Liz is fiercely protective of her two children, Zac and Molly, and will do anything to protect them, even if that means taking the brunt of her husband's mood swings so they do not get hurt.

Meanwhile, a seemingly unrelated girl, Fran and friend of Liz's son, Zac, is recovering from a terrible kidnapping. To help her cope she has an invisible friend in the form of a warrior fox from a kids television programme.

But why was she kidnapped in the first place? Her kidnapper claimed to see something, or someone within her. and almost killed in order to free her from this ghostly thing. Immediately we assume he is crazy as no one sees things like that. However, back in the present day, Fran is shocked when she sees the same thing within Zac's mum. When she tells Zac, he of course doesn't take too kindly to these weird and wild accusations, but as the story unfolds he starts to wonder if there was any truth in what Fran was trying to tell him. Evil forces are at play and his mum is not the same person she used to be. When his own life and the life of his sister's is threatened by his own mother the truth starts to show its ugly head. But what can three kids do about something much bigger than themselves?

I couldn't read this fast enough! Someone Like Me had me totally enthralled, and I cannot wait to read whatever this author comes up with next. What an exciting,cleverly written, supernatural story! I do hope this one is turned into a film.

I always know I’m going to get a book from M R Carey that stretches my imagination, keeps me guessing and makes me late for work (actually, that last one isn’t so good, to be honest). I don’t want to say too much about what actually happens in this book at the risk of giving the whole plot away, but here goes!

Liz is a single mother with two children, and the book starts with their father returning the children late from spending the weekend with him. When Liz points out that they have school in the morning, he snaps. He starts to strangle her, and just as she thinks he’s going to kill her, she senses an outside influence taking her over. This ‘influence’ saves her life.

Fran is a teenager coping with the PTSD and hallucinations caused by her kidnapping as a six year old. Their paths cross thanks to Zac, Liz’s seventeen year old son.

This is a story that requires the reader to leave their rational, logical mindset at the door - and I’m all for that! I loved everything about this book. I don’t know how M.R. Carey comes up with the ideas for his novels, but I’m just incredibly glad that he does!

Liz and Fran are formidable characters. Both as equally strong, but in different ways.

This book blew my socks off, I kid you not.
As the story builds so does the plot, the reader is slowly getting into this unique and mesmerising story until you can’t believe what you read without gasping.

This author really has a way of whetting a readers appetite and keeping you thoroughly invested.

I’m not sure if this is thriller alone, it verges on horror. But not in the sense of horror genre fans, it’s difficult to explain without giving the story away.

I’ve written this review in a way that I’m saying how it made me feel, not so much of the story as the blurb gives enough.

Absolutely loved it

I’m a huge fan of MR Carey’s books – The Girl With All The Gifts is fantastic, and the follow-up, The Boy On The Bridge is possibly even better. So it was with some excitement that I was given the chance to read his latest, Someone Like Me, a little early.

As I said in my post about favourite dystopian fiction, The Girl was good, and The Boy was astonishing, but Someone Like Me is on another level entirely, and will easily be topping the Books of 2018 list come December.

It’s a fantastic, complex book with so many layers and depths to the characters that it just takes your breath away. It’s often said that there are two sides to every story, and that’s literally the case here.

"I see the world changing its mind."

But those two sides twist and turn and mesh and fold around each other like a kind of intricate literary origami, where each movement reveals a new facet of the story, bringing into question what you’re reading. Tiny moments have huge repercussions, and seeming throwaway lines come back to haunt you later.

It’s so beautifully done, so skillfully plotted that you just have no option but to put everything else on hold and just immerse yourself in the book. The characters will take you on an emotional wringer of a journey, with a breathless finale. And what characters they are. The blurb above talks about Liz, but she’s just one of a host of brilliant people who inhabit this book. My favourite of which must be Lady Jinx. But I’ll let you find out about her for yourselves.

Very very highly recommended.

Did not finish. I started this book, but could not get into it. Because I was on a blog tour for the book, I did not feel it was right to give the book a bad review. I won't post a review on Amazon. I did post a promo for the book on my blog, which I posted the link below. I rated the book 1 star on here because it is required.

M.R. Carey is a writer with a proven track record having already penned the excellent The Girl With All The Gifts. Someone Like Me is a worthy addition to that catalogue as it showcases a writer who is going from strength to strength.

Liz Kendall has recently extricated herself from an abusive relationship with her ex husband. When the end of a weekend custody visit for their children turns into a violent attack, Liz fights back in a way that shocks her to her core. Meanwhile teenager Fran Watts is still trying to recover from a terrifying ordeal she suffered years earlier. Guided by what she presumes is a hallucination of a warrior fox, Fran is also beginning to see and feel a lot of strange things. When her and Liz’s teenage son Zac strike up a friendship the strange pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place.

This is a book with a lot going on. It’s by turns suspenseful, magical, frightening and heart warming. Sometimes it feels like a horror novel and other times like a murder mystery. It’s a whole melting pot of ideas and genres and is quite the ride to read. I’ve seen a few comparisons to The Shining Girls and it’s definitely in that ballpark. There’s a real heart to it too, Liz’s relationship with her kids formed some of my favourite passages and her kids, Zac and Molly are written really well and with character. Fran is a great character too, her interactions with her companion Lady Jinx were a joy to read. The switches in character perspective kept me on my toes too. In short this book is a real rollercoaster ride and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s on the lookout for something different with quite a few scares but a whole lot of heart. M.R. Carey is a great writer and is obviously bursting with ideas. I’ll be keeping a keen eye out for his next book.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

I have to start by saying that I expected this book to be a straightforward thriller but it's actually a thriller with supernatural, borderline-horror elements at times, which is not a genre I like to read. I will say that once I got to understand what I was reading I did come to enjoy it, it definitely had me gripped and it was hard to put down so on reflection I’m glad I (albeit somewhat unwittingly) gave this a go. Liz is struggling as she lives with her abusive husband and is trying to protect her children from seeing the worst of his behaviour. I did love the way Liz and Fran’s life became so entwined and blended, and the way one dominated the other’s personality was fascinating. I was engrossed and this kept me turning the pages as I just couldn’t see how the situation was going to be resolved. The ending was hugely satisfying and I would read more books by this author.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group, Orbit and the author, M. R. Carey, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Someone Like Me in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I really struggled to get into this story I was initially drawn to this book by the premise of the storyline. Unfortunately, I felt it did not deliver. Not a book for me.

I. Loved. This. Book. Carey writes such great characters and always brings a fresh take to everything he writes. The twists were amazing and I really couldn't put this book down. Or when I did put it down, I couldn't stop talking about it

Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey is an impressive psychological book which tells the story of Liz Kendall and her family as well as teenager Fran Watts and her father.
It starts off with Liz being strangled by her estranged husband and finding the ability from nowhere to fight him off. Following the aftermath of this, both families come together with Liz slowly discovering more about this mysterious fight within her which she learns comes with consequences.
The supernatural element slowly builds throughout the book with Liz’s and Fran’s experiences (from Liz’s husband and Fran’s abductor paranoid about the extra shadow within Fran) and it is too M.R. Carey’s credit no matter how fantastical the story gets he never allows it to become straight fantasy. Much like his The Girl With All The Gifts take on the zombie genre he has grounded this paranormal story to produce a fascinating book. Sometimes a little slow but well worth it.

Mild mannered Liz Kendall is pushed too far when attacked by her abusive ex husband. Liz is shocked at her response and questions her actions , was she in control or did some other ‘force’ guide her. Seeking help from a psychiatrist she comes across a troubled teen, Fran, also looking for answers in dealing with her own trauma. When Liz’s son befriends Fran, their two lives become intertwined and not for the better.

This is the author of the Girl with all the Gifts, a book I massively enjoyed. The author has strayed from the post apocalyptic genre to a book that crosses genres. Perhaps it’s a thriller or horror or supernatural, perhaps all three.

The book starts off at a terrific pace and we are flung straight into the story. A great beginning that had me instantly hooked. Unfortunately this pace is never really maintained for the rest of the book.

We end up with a great premise that ultimately turns out to be slow, drawn out and a novel that is overlong. There is a lot of repetition until we get to the end and it is a long wait getting there.

This could have been so much better if it had the energy of the author’s previous novels. The mix of horror, the supernatural and thriller could have been golden. Addressing themes of mental health and domestic violence within these crossed genres could have been interesting but, for me, does not work as well as it should.

I’ve not discussed the plot much as I don’t want to provide any spoilers. I do give the author great credit for consistently creating and writing really interesting, strong female characters that refuse to be beaten and continually question and challenge.

Another overlong novel that slightly disappoints especially considering what had come before. I’m hoping for a return to form with the author’s next novel.

This was a completely different read, not my usual kinds. The story was about Liz who was a single mom with an abusive violent ex who decided to teach her a lesson whom she killed and that was the opening scene which led the story..
Fran was an abused 16 year old trying to find her life back with the help of her dad and imaginary friend.
The story then went on with Liz and Fran's POV slowly building the plot till they intersected. The book has a psychological and slightly supernatural tinge to it. But it was a very long read with some parts were extremely slow, took me a long time to read it but it had its intriguing moments which made it enjoyable.
I liked the paranormal and psychological mix in the story.