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Something like Normal
I have a secret...And I've kept this secret hidden since I was eight years old. But I'll no longer allow my past to define me.A fateful decision has left me a fugitive on the run. I should be afraid, yet I've never felt more alive.My name is Mia Lee, but that person died the night I spilled blood and didn't feel a thing. I'm on a Greyhound bus, ready to start a new life. A life that includes finding my mother, who left without a word when I was three. But I end up meeting four people who change my life forever. And one person, in particular, shakes things up beyond repair. Quinn Berkeley. He's just as damaged as I am. And harbors secrets just as dark as mine. But he gives me hope that living a normal life is within reach. However, the blood on my hands has forever stained my soul. No one can outrun their past. Especially one filled with bitter memories that refuse to remain...dead.
356 pages, Paperback
Published August 14, 2023
1 person is currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Monica James
60 books25 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 24, 2023
When 19-year-old Mia Lee becomes Paige Cassidy, she changes so much more than her name.
I was so engrossed in this story of courage, growth, and coming of age that I was flipping to the last page before I even realized it. The ending was one I wasn’t ready for and I need to know what happens next … like now!!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Burn: 🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩🤫☺️😳😭
Ending: 🧗🏻♀️ {Cliffy}
POV: 🧍🏻♀️ {Single}
🗂 Genre: Contemporary Romance
✨ Tropes: Alphahole, Found Family, Secret Identity, Virgin h
💋 Kinks: n/a
⚠️ Warning: The angst in this slow-burn will edge you to the point of combustion!
🚩 Safety Squad: Cheating (Sorta), SėxuaI AśśauIt (Attempted, Not by H), UnaIiving, VioIençe, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Something Like Normal is part of the Something Like Normal series and ends on a cliffhanger. This series must be read in order.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
I was so engrossed in this story of courage, growth, and coming of age that I was flipping to the last page before I even realized it. The ending was one I wasn’t ready for and I need to know what happens next … like now!!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Burn: 🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩🤫☺️😳😭
Ending: 🧗🏻♀️ {Cliffy}
POV: 🧍🏻♀️ {Single}
🗂 Genre: Contemporary Romance
✨ Tropes: Alphahole, Found Family, Secret Identity, Virgin h
💋 Kinks: n/a
⚠️ Warning: The angst in this slow-burn will edge you to the point of combustion!
🚩 Safety Squad: Cheating (Sorta), SėxuaI AśśauIt (Attempted, Not by H), UnaIiving, VioIençe, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Something Like Normal is part of the Something Like Normal series and ends on a cliffhanger. This series must be read in order.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
August 12, 2023
Something Like Normal #1 by Monica James.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️
Tropes
Slow burn
Hidden identity
Found family
Small town
Tragic past
Virgin mmc
What a great start to a series! I read this book so quickly as I just needed to find out what happened next. Mia is so strong in many ways but also naive to “normal, everyday life”.
Arriving somewhere new, getting a job and making friends is a complete contrast to her previous life she is running from. Here she meets brothers Tristan and Quinn both gorgeous but she is drawn to Quinn, like attracting like.
Things do not run smoothly for these two and at times I wanted to shout at Quinn! But at the same time he is such a protective, sweetheart. I can’t wait to read more about their relationship.
Monica has managed to weave her magic again, creating a story that has left me craving more! I recommend reading this book.
**Remember it’s a series and does end on a cliffhanger.**
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️
Tropes
Slow burn
Hidden identity
Found family
Small town
Tragic past
Virgin mmc
What a great start to a series! I read this book so quickly as I just needed to find out what happened next. Mia is so strong in many ways but also naive to “normal, everyday life”.
Arriving somewhere new, getting a job and making friends is a complete contrast to her previous life she is running from. Here she meets brothers Tristan and Quinn both gorgeous but she is drawn to Quinn, like attracting like.
Things do not run smoothly for these two and at times I wanted to shout at Quinn! But at the same time he is such a protective, sweetheart. I can’t wait to read more about their relationship.
Monica has managed to weave her magic again, creating a story that has left me craving more! I recommend reading this book.
**Remember it’s a series and does end on a cliffhanger.**
August 11, 2023
Well written suspenseful thriller.
Amazing characters and a story that sucks you in.
Mia is trying to have a normal life.
On the run and changing identity, can she get the life she has always wanted.
Slow burn romance, angst, secrets and a hope for a better future.
Will Mia get what she has always wanted?
This book ends on a major cliffhanger. Cannot wait for book 2.
I was given a complimentary copy but voluntarily chose to review
Amazing characters and a story that sucks you in.
Mia is trying to have a normal life.
On the run and changing identity, can she get the life she has always wanted.
Slow burn romance, angst, secrets and a hope for a better future.
Will Mia get what she has always wanted?
This book ends on a major cliffhanger. Cannot wait for book 2.
I was given a complimentary copy but voluntarily chose to review
August 15, 2023
4.8 stars
“The hardest part of the journey is taking the first step.”
This is the first book in the Something Like Normal series and it is an intriguing dark romance. I will caution those with triggers to proceed with care. Mia, aka Paige, is a young woman who lived a cruel life with a drug addicted father who only cared about his next fix. When opportunity presented itself, Mia did the only thing she could do and that was to up and leave to find a new start somewhere else, but it did not come without a cost. Quinn is a man with his own demons and secrets with a strong attraction to Paige. These two are pulled together by an unknown force.
From the beginning, Ms. James has weaved a tale of heartache, struggle and transformation that digs into one’s skin and sinks deep. One can feel Mia’s pain as she grapples with issues of trust and whether or not to let her guard down and “be normal.” It does end in a bit of a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to see how this storyline plays out.
Sometimes there are those quotes that resonate and here are some of my favorites:
“We both have secrets, things we both wish we could take back but can’t. And that’s okay because those secrets don’t rule me when I’m with you. They don’t define me. And I hope you feel the same with me.”
“We’re both broken, attempting to become unbroken, but somehow, together, we fit.”
“I never really understood the saying, “I’d rather die fighting than die for nothing at all.” But now…now, I get it.”
“Red, no one knows what happens next. That’s the mystery of life and all that philosophical s**t. But the here and now, that’s what we can control. Each day is a test, it’s a lesson, and it’s a future memory we will return to when we feel sad or lost.”
“The hardest part of the journey is taking the first step.”
This is the first book in the Something Like Normal series and it is an intriguing dark romance. I will caution those with triggers to proceed with care. Mia, aka Paige, is a young woman who lived a cruel life with a drug addicted father who only cared about his next fix. When opportunity presented itself, Mia did the only thing she could do and that was to up and leave to find a new start somewhere else, but it did not come without a cost. Quinn is a man with his own demons and secrets with a strong attraction to Paige. These two are pulled together by an unknown force.
From the beginning, Ms. James has weaved a tale of heartache, struggle and transformation that digs into one’s skin and sinks deep. One can feel Mia’s pain as she grapples with issues of trust and whether or not to let her guard down and “be normal.” It does end in a bit of a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to see how this storyline plays out.
Sometimes there are those quotes that resonate and here are some of my favorites:
“We both have secrets, things we both wish we could take back but can’t. And that’s okay because those secrets don’t rule me when I’m with you. They don’t define me. And I hope you feel the same with me.”
“We’re both broken, attempting to become unbroken, but somehow, together, we fit.”
“I never really understood the saying, “I’d rather die fighting than die for nothing at all.” But now…now, I get it.”
“Red, no one knows what happens next. That’s the mystery of life and all that philosophical s**t. But the here and now, that’s what we can control. Each day is a test, it’s a lesson, and it’s a future memory we will return to when we feel sad or lost.”
August 14, 2023
Mia has been through a lot, she is street smart, she doesn’t understand how to socialise with other people. But running away from her demons is what she really knows.
Quinn knows darkness and knows secrets so when he meets Paige aka Mia he could tell she was running from something but he’d never figure out what her demons are.
But that’s why there is always something there between them, but will they give in to those connections or run?? But run for totally different reasons…. Quinn is broken and Mia is lonely, Or are they both broken and lonely??
Mia had a secret, a secret that could get her into trouble. But rewind to before this secret ever happened.
Mia is a 8 year old girl being a drug peddler for her dad as she thinks he is poorly, Mia was being driven around by Big Phil the local drug lord. It got to a point where he dad wanted to sell her out to help him feel better. So Mia took it into her own hands and done what she thought would be best and now she is on the run…. To find that Something Like Normal. But what is that normal??
Quinn knows darkness and knows secrets so when he meets Paige aka Mia he could tell she was running from something but he’d never figure out what her demons are.
But that’s why there is always something there between them, but will they give in to those connections or run?? But run for totally different reasons…. Quinn is broken and Mia is lonely, Or are they both broken and lonely??
Mia had a secret, a secret that could get her into trouble. But rewind to before this secret ever happened.
Mia is a 8 year old girl being a drug peddler for her dad as she thinks he is poorly, Mia was being driven around by Big Phil the local drug lord. It got to a point where he dad wanted to sell her out to help him feel better. So Mia took it into her own hands and done what she thought would be best and now she is on the run…. To find that Something Like Normal. But what is that normal??
August 15, 2023
Mia’s life hasn’t been an easy one and when she finally escapes she tries to start new, lookin for all the things she never had. With her past haunting her and demons chasing her thoughts Mia just wants normal and when she meets Tristan and Quinn her life will be anything but normal. Quinn knows about demons haunting someone and he has his own secrets that is what draws Mia to him. WIth the pain of the past, secrets, and so much standing between them they can’t fight the attraction that binds them, but will Mia be able to let her guard down and let people in or will she run? This story is one of heartache, pain, starting over, and finding that one person that gets you demons and all. I can’t wait to see where we go from here.
August 12, 2023
This is a gripping tale of survival, second chances and found family. This story had me hooked from the first page. Mia is broken but determined to make a better life for herself. Her story is dark, suspenseful and just so good. This is a well written story with interesting characters. After that brutal cliffhanger, I can’t wait for the next book!
September 2, 2023
I am in love with this story! It complete me pulled me in and didn't let up until the end. Now I am needing more! I love the complexity of the characters and how realistic they feel. I fall in love with this author's writing every single time I read one of her stories and this was no different. I am so excited to read more and can't wait to see what Monica has in store for us next!
October 20, 2023
I loved this book and the characters. I laughed, swooned over the romance and cried so hard my lungs hurt. The cliffhanger was brutal.
August 19, 2023
I have never read a book so slow in my life. I had to savior every single word. Every sentence. Every moment. This book gutted me. It tore my heart out into a million pieces and glued it back together again. You are going to love this group of friends. There is a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next book!
August 30, 2023
I loved the blurb and knew it was a little softer than the usual books I’ve read by Monica James by holly golly this didn’t disappoint. This book is slowish at the start but once it gets past it goes so fast and don’t want it to end.
You meet Mia who has escaped her life not expecting to meet people that will become a part of her. I loveddddd hank who gave her the opportunity and how she called him grandpa it was the cutest.
At one stage I thought this was a love triangle and I didn’t know what to think. The more I read the note I loved the hero and even though he was in my bad books and wanted to hurt him he really did redeem himself.
This book had me feeling so many emotions especially the ending as I didn’t realize that it was a duet and so many things happened all at once that I didn’t expect and broke me. I cannot wait to read the second book and Mia gets the revenge she needs to give with her man by her side.
Hurry up Monica James I need to read it!!!
You meet Mia who has escaped her life not expecting to meet people that will become a part of her. I loveddddd hank who gave her the opportunity and how she called him grandpa it was the cutest.
At one stage I thought this was a love triangle and I didn’t know what to think. The more I read the note I loved the hero and even though he was in my bad books and wanted to hurt him he really did redeem himself.
This book had me feeling so many emotions especially the ending as I didn’t realize that it was a duet and so many things happened all at once that I didn’t expect and broke me. I cannot wait to read the second book and Mia gets the revenge she needs to give with her man by her side.
Hurry up Monica James I need to read it!!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews