Someone Like You

by Elaine Coffman

For Susannah Dowell, a life of self-imposed spinsterhood and hard work in the parched plains of West Texas cannot erase the pain of a shameful past. Then she meets Reed Garrett, a man also burdened by hurt. Tentatively, two lost souls dare to reach out, at first offering nothing more than simple human kindness, only to discover a reason to live and to believe in the power of love.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Westerns

345 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 1997

About the author

Barbara Elaine Gunter was born in San Diego, California, to William Samuel Gunter, Jr., a naval officer and Edna Marie (née Davidson) Gunter, a homemaker. From the age of three she lived in Midland, Texas and graduated from Midland High School. After she received a degree in elementary education from North Texas State University, she taught elementary school in Midland, Texas, while working on her Master’s Degree and certification for Language and Learning Disabilities at Texas Tech in Lubbock.

Elaine currently resides in Austin, Texas, where her son, Chuck, also lives. She has two daughters, Lesley who resides in Raleigh, N.C. and Ashley, who lives in San Diego, California.

Elaine Coffman is a New York Times bestselling author with a large international following. She has penned novels in both the historical romance genre and suspense. A lover of history, she has penned several novels set in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the American West. To date, she is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.

While writing her first novel, My Enemy, My Love, she found herself inspired by a letter her great-great grandmother, Susannah Jane Dowell Shacklett wrote in 1920, telling about her journey from Brandeburg, Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas, and then going with an army escort to El Paso, Texas, where her brother, Ben Dowell, a veteran of the Mexican War, was El Paso's first mayor.

Elaine continued to write best-selling, award-winning books until the publication of her eleventh novel, If You Loved Me, which was the last book of her beloved Mackinnon series and her first book to hit the New York Times bestseller list.

Her first suspense novel, Alone in the Dark, was published by Pocket books in 2006.

Reviews

[Cherokee Ford · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shouldn’t have wasted my time

[Alison Vanderwerf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that love comes in many ways and that you find someone that will love you back when your not looking for love. When you look for love all you get is regret, bad memories, and hard times. When you let love find you its wonderful and everything you dreamed it would be.

[Courtney Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started out slow but I quickly got into it. I have to thank my grandma for this.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kept me flipping through the pages. I really enjoyed reading a story of both the characters. They both had a painful past, but they got over it together. I really like Susannah's character. She is innocent, yet not with her knowledge of things. Reed also notices Susannah's puzzling personality. He notices the different sides that she keeps hidden and the sides she chose to show others. He doesn't stop until he knows what cause Susannah to be like this and Susannah also doesn't stop until she knows what Reed is hiding from her. Susannah's 2 aunts made the story so much better. This book was a great read for anyone who just feels like reading a good book.
This book is not my favorite of romance, but I wouldn't say it was the worst. This book probably hits around the average rating for me.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story opens with two great-aunts searching for their niece and her daughter. They find their niece dead in a New Orleans brothel and her daughter (9-year-old Susannah), alone. Susannah has grown up too fast in the brothel and is scarred by her experiences. The aunts take the child to Bluebonnet, Texas.

When Reed Garrett shows up in Bluebonnet and asks for a job on Susannah's farm, she turns him down. A few miles down the road, Reed is robbed and beaten. The aunts hire Reed and give him a place to stay; Susannah is not happy.

From the opening pages, the reader knows that Reed is not what he seems. The reader also surmises that Susannah has been hiding from men because of her early childhood. This story shows how each character faces the past to build a future. The subject matter is handled very well.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, old-school western historical romance. Not much heat in the love department, but Susannah and Reed's romance was a testament to overcoming past scandals and a deep-seated fear of reaching out for love. Three stars.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story.

[jps_steamyreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!!