I loved this book ,

Such a great story . I was glued to this and couldn’t stop listening .

Didn’t love the narrator but kept going as the story was that good

This story had it all , suspense , friendship , murder , horror, love .. didn’t want it to end

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Interesting Idea but a Slow Mover

In the end, a fairly good listen. Some parts quite gripping but others so slow they nearly made me abandon ship! Some reviews mentioned a fantastic twist but I’m wondering what. You could totally see everything coming, just perhaps not the “how”. Ok to while away (quite) a few hours.

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Really disappointed with the end...

I loved 'The girl with all the gifts' and love Michael Carey's writing style do this was a no brainer to pick up.

The story is well told with vibrant characters and a great narrator. I really enjoyed the book until the last chapter where I just thought 'is that it? That's how you're going to end it?'

Don't get me wrong...if I've missed the point I hold my hands up but without spoiling it for others I don't get how the police issue wasn't resolved. Apologies for ambiguity but I really don't want to spoil it because it is a great sci-fi story.

I won't be claiming a refund for that reason, it was well told and Michael Carey writes true to life female characters...which is rare nowadays.

Shame.

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4 Stars but Disappointed

I'd like to start by saying how much I loved both "The Girl With All The Gifts" and "The BOy on the Bridge" - both of which I gave 5 stars and would highly recommend. I think it's for this very reason that I was so disappointed with "Someone Like Me". It's not that the book is bad - far from it. Instead, it's that my expectations were so high.

"Someone Like Me" is engaging and I kept listening because I had to know what happened. It's well paced, the characters are well drawn and the story is intriguing. I think I have two problems with the book. The first is that the antagonist is unbelievably bad - "bad" as in evil. You'll certainly find yourself hating her. But she's also incredibly stupid and careless. I found myself not only hating her but feeling utter contempt. She is almost cartoonishly evil and I think this detracts from the story. To begin with, I felt sympathetic for her and I think Carey could've tried to keep the reader slightly on her side for longer.

My second problem with the book is the, to my mind, ad hoc "fantasy rules". I'm not bothered by fantasy in books, as long as it's internal logic holds and the fantasy elements aren't sprung on the reader unexpectedly. "Someone Like Me" is not guilty of the latter - it's evident from the start that there's something supernatural afoot - but the rules of the supernatural mechanics don't seem to be consistent.

I enjoyed the book but wouldn't recommend it. I hope that makes sense.

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Ingenious, touching and at times, scary

I loved Girl with all the Gifts because it mixed horror with a deep human connection. The protagonists were so relatable and real and interesting, which makes the twists and moments of horror so much more meaningful.

Someone Like Me takes that formula and cranks it up a notch. The fantastical element is super interesting and a new take on an existing idea, just like Girl with All the Gifts. But it is also about parenthood, mental health, spousal abuse and the balance between standing up for yourself and being selfish.

I LOVED this book. There is not a flaw in it.

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Another clever story....

I had so been looking forward to this audible. well worth the wait.
I did take a little time to get into this one, but was glad I stuck with it. The narrator took a bit of getting used to.
great characters. As always with M R Carey the story line is gripping & pure escapism.

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5 people found this helpful

Unusual Sliding Doors story with a difference.

There is great potential for readers to get bored with this one early on. Although Carey feeds enough teasers to hook initially, there are a hundred or so pages when nothing much happens. Hopefully you have read other Carey stories and enjoy letting his words wash over you for a while to get you through this period. His writing quality is of the usual standard and paints some lovely interesting characters.

Shortly before half way the action heats up. On my part, some preconceived ideas I had regarding Liz/Beth and Fran/Fox alter egos was blown away and the story got interesting. It had quite a dark turn that left me a little stunned for a while even.

My only bug bear was with the ending. Originally I thought that I couldn't give higher than three stars overall, due to this problem, but I re-read the last few chapters and have softened to four. Not to give away too much, but it was a little too "Halloween" ish for me. Yes, if it had seemed easy for the "good" guys to win, it would have been dull. Yes, no-one in this universe is an expert on how the alter ego thing work and what rules are in play. Yet for me, there was a little too much of those that did know, not telling those that didn't, because if they knew, it could all be fixed faster. Also a little too many false endings. When exactly is an alter ego beaten. Even now, I'm not sure it's over. It would be entirely possible for Carey to write a new rule and Spring something on us.

The most satisfying books of this kind give you all the information and rules early on and then produce a clever twist that you didn't see coming. There was one little twist here, but it wasn't powerful enough for me to redeem the ending.

**** spoilers ****

Another gripe if I'm on a roll here, would be with the aftermath. Much of the book is involved with Beth's situation getting worse and worse. The tension is generated because *spoilers* we assume it will be ok for Liz at some stage, and we don't want Beth blowing everything for her. Yet, once things are resolved, all the issues just fall away. No problem nothing to see here. So, all that tension for much of the book was rubbish then?

I disagree with some other reviews that the narration was poor. I enjoyed it and I think any more grandiose acting would have detracted. The differences in the characters were sometimes subtle and I liked that.

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story unfolds at a steady pace

great story with a few twists, stick with it as it does take a bit to get there but well worth it

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Difficult

I found this difficult to finish.
maybe the problem is that audio books take me weeks to finish instead of days for reading a book. But audiobooks are what I have time for now.
I loved The Girl with all the gifts. I also listened on audiobook.

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Brilliant so much more than the synopsis

This is about a woman going through physical abuse BUT A so much much too
It’s also about a young girl (14 ish) who went through a horrific ordeal when she was 6.
Both lives collide in a jaw dropping way. It’s si fi shodingers cat in a listen in one go page turner
Highly recommended give it a try you can alway return it I don’t want to add spoilers.
So glad I chose it
Narration is BRILLIANT 10/10 ditto the book
Ps not like her previous books I think that’s important to note as many people will have been turned off.she really is a great writer!!! Personally loved all her books

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1 person found this helpful