Review: Someone Like You by Victoria Purman

Title: Someone Like You {Boys of Summer #2}

Author: Victoria Purman

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA February 2014

Read an excerpt

Status: Read from January 31 to February 01, 2014 — I own a copy — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}

My Thoughts:

I was charmed by Victoria Purman’s debut, Nobody But Him, the first in her Boys of Summer trilogy set in a small fictional town on the coastline of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, and totally adored this second installment, titled Someone Like You.

Those familiar with the first book will remember the frisson of attraction between the best friends of Julia and Ry, Lizzie Blake and Dan McSwaine. Picking up just a short time after Ry and Julia found their happy ending in Someone Like You, we learn that Dan, having been involved in a horrific car accident, has become a virtual recluse in Middle Point, struggling with the trauma of his experience. Desperate to provoke Dan into some sort of action, Ry and Julia send Lizzie to his door, ostensibly to deliver dinner from the pub Ry owns and Lizzie manages, but hoping that seeing Lizzie will reignite his interest in the world outside his door. Lizzie, who hasn’t laid eyes on Dan since the accident, is shocked to find Dan resembling the Wild Man Of Borneo more closely than the charismatic GQ model she remembers. When he slams the door in her face, Lizzie is willing to respect his desire to be left alone but it isn’t in her to give up that easily and Dan needs her help.

Purman creates appealing characters with credible motives for their attitudes and behaviour and I really liked the way in which Lizzie and Dan grow and change in Someone Like You. The romance that develops between the pair builds on their initial attraction in Nobody But Him, but evolves slowly as they struggle with their own problems. While Dan deals with the physical and emotional repercussions of his accident, Lizzie’s issues are less obvious, revealed gradually by the author over the course of the novel.
Though the relationship is beset by the usual obstacles plaguing the romance genre, the push and pull builds the romantic tension without turning it into a farce. It’s important to me that I believe in the reasons for conflict between the couple, and their chemistry, and Purman achieves this beautifully.

Ry and Julia were more than cameo characters in this novel and it was lovely to see them blissfully happy with one another. I look forward to catching up with Dan and Lizzie in the third book which I’m guessing will focus on Lizzie’s brother, Joe, and perhaps Dan’s ex, Anna.

I was glad for the opportunity to revisit the beautiful coast of Adelaide and enjoyed losing myself in the romance, drama, humor and heat of Someone Like You. A delightful read, so far this is my favourite romance novel of the year.

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