Review of "Somebody Like You"

Rating: 4 Stars

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Review:  Beth K. Vogt puts a big spin on typical romances in "Somebody Like You."  Neither the love story nor the female lead, Haley, can be called completely traditional. The concept of a pregnant woman falling in love with her deceased husband's identical twin sounds contrived, but Vogt makes a story that plays out like a television movie. I wondered if the identical twin aspect would make the growing love between the Haley and Stephen awkward, but Vogt develops the romance well and creates distinct differences between Stephen and his twin.  

It would be difficult not to like Stephen and his persistence to reconcile with his brother's widow despite Haley's stubbornness. Initially, I was a bit put off by Haley's tough exterior and no-nonsense attitude.  As the story progresses, Haley's character softens and becomes more relatable. Haley and Stephen have problems and pain to work through, which both hinder and help their relationship.  There is a ongoing emotional dance around their growing mutual attraction, which left me anticipating a happy conclusion to Haley's and Stephen's stories.  True to real life, readers cannot expect a perfect happily ever after ending.  They can expect a journey of forgiveness, reconciliation, self-discovery,  and the promise of a future shaped by lessons from the past. 

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Howard Books through Net Galley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Summary from Howard Books: Can a young widow find love again with her husband’s reflection?

Haley’s three-year marriage to Sam, an army medic, ends tragically when he’s killed in Afghanistan. Her attempts to create a new life for herself are ambushed when she arrives home one evening—and finds her husband waiting for her. Did the military make an unimaginable mistake when they told her Sam was killed? 

Too late to make things right with his estranged twin brother, Stephen discovers Sam never told Haley about him. As Haley and Stephen navigate their fragile relation­ship, they are inexorably drawn to each other. How can they honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together—and whose ghost could drive them apart?

Somebody Like You is a beautifully rendered, affecting novel, reminding us that while we can’t change the past, we have the choice to change the future and start anew.