Maybe Someone Like You, by Stacy Wise

Publication: Entangled: Embrace; April 16, 2018

maybe someone like you About the book:

Katie Capwell is a bright and accomplished recent law school graduate, and she has her shiny future all mapped out. It’s brimming with courtroom victories and creating change. Ryan Brincatt is a tattooed and impossibly cool martial artist, and he’s mastered a fierce roundhouse kick.

Their paths never should have crossed.

But when Katie lurks outside the kickboxing gym where Ryan works as a trainer, she’s immediately drawn to his casual confidence and playful green eyes. Without making her usual list of pros and cons, she impulsively signs up to train with him.

She never imagined that one decision would change. Absolutely. Everything.

My Review:

Today I am happy to bring you my review of Stacy Wise’s upcoming novel, Maybe Someone Like You. This novel about Katie and Ryan tells the sweet story about two seemingly unlike people who stumble upon one another, become friends, and test Katie’s boundaries of her perfectly organized life.

After a job opportunity falls through and she breaks up with her boyfriend, recent law school grad Katie Capwell is drawn to a boxing gym one day while on her way to a yoga class. While looking through the windows to the gym, she’s approached by the sweet, sexy trainer, Ryan Brincatt. After signing up for some training sessions with Ryan, Katie quickly finds herself drawn to him, while struggling with how different he is from what the appropriate, perfect guy has always looked like in her mind. While building her boxing skills, Katie also begins a new job where she, unfortunately, begins to realize that she may have been wrong about her dreams.

I loved Katie because she seemed so incredibly real, just like someone I would be friends with. She longed for career stability and happiness, and also longed for love and romance – the problem was, she had built up so many “perfect ideas” regarding a career and a man that she continually found herself disappointed when that fairy tale didn’t come true. Katie was funny, smart, driven, insecure at times, and very vulnerable at times – again, making her a very relatable character. Ryan almost seemed too good to be true and honestly, I wasn’t sure about any of his feelings until almost the end of the novel (which was frustrating). However, his sweet and caring nature, along with major sex appeal, maintained my interest from the first to last page of this book. My only criticism of this novel was how elusive and mysterious Ryan was. I was never sure of his intentions, feelings, other women, etc. for most of the novel but then I realized that the author prompted me to slowly gain his trust and faith in the good man that he was, just as Katie had to do.

Poor Katie had several things going on in this novel regarding some serious “dating fails,” her best friend getting married, a new job with a very scary boss, discovering new interests, longing for her mother’s approval, and coming to terms with her true feelings and interests both personally and professionally. I have seen some reviews alluding to the slow pace of this novel but I couldn’t disagree more. The girl was trying to find her place in the world professionally while crushing on the total opposite type of man she had pictured herself with, missing loved ones that had died earlier, and just overall struggling to get her footing in the world. Attention other readers and reviewers this takes time and it may not always be mind-blowing excitement, however, I enjoyed being a part of her journey of self-discovery, confidence, and love.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.