Someone Like You by Victoria Bylin (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

My thoughts-

Single mom Julia Dare has a lot on her plate. A brand new Christian, she's busy trying to run her own business, spend time with her widowed mother, and raise her young son, Max, despite his father's less-than-ideal influence on him. When a big account from her event-planning business sends her to the Caliente Springs resort, she's shocked to come face-to-face with Zeke Monroe, the resort's general manager and her college sweetheart.

With his faith in tatters, Zeke Monroe is determined to keep the historic Caliente Springs resort running despite financial difficulties. But when Julia walks back into his life, he can't ignore the feelings she stirs up. As they work together on an important client's dream wedding, the fate of the resort soon depends on their success. When Zeke and Julia are pushed to their limits both personally and professionally, will their history put up walls between them or bring them together?

My thoughts-

I was drawn into Someone Like You from the very beginning. Julia and Zeke are both easy to relate to, one who has come to faith as recently and one who grew up in the faith but it is now struggling. These characters seemed like they could be real people. Many of us have probably  wondered about a past love or maybe even have given an old flame a second go round, but even if not it is incredibly easy to get wrapped up in the romance of these two characters both having pretty instantaneous feelings for each other upon their running into each other. Beyond the love story of Julia and Zeke, there are also other love stories in the book that are just as romantic, as well as some great humor. Some of my favorite parts of Someone Like You involve a goat named Ladybug. When she shows up, hilarity ensues! Like any good book there is also a villain and this guy is just the worst. Hunter is Julia's ex-boyfriend and the father of her child and as poorly as he treats her (and their son many times) it is difficult to see what she ever saw in him. I enjoyed that the book was set at a resort and that a big part of it was the staff planning a wedding. There is definitely a lot of mentioning of faith and loss of faith and restoration of faith in the novel and the ending may tie up everything a little too neatly that makes it lose a little of it's realness, but there are some great moments of  forgiveness, faith, and of course some swoon-worthy romantic scenes. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good love story.