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    Someone Else's Love Story: A Novel
    Someone Else's Love Story: A Novel
    Someone Else's Love Story: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Someone Else's Love Story: A Novel

    Written by Joshilyn Jackson

    Narrated by Joshilyn Jackson

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Someone Else's Love Story is beloved and highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson's funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness; about falling in love, and learning that things aren't always what they seem—or what we hope they will be.

    Shandi Pierce is juggling finishing college, raising her delightful three-year-old genius son Nathan, aka Natty Bumppo, and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced parents. She's got enough complications without getting caught in the middle of a stick-up and falling in love with William Ashe, who willingly steps between the robber and her son.

    Shandi doesn't know that her blond god Thor has his own complications. When he looked down the barrel of that gun he believed it was destiny: It's been one year to the day since a tragic act of physics shattered his world. But William doesn't define destiny the way others do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in facts and numbers, destiny to him is about choice. Now, he and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head on, making choices that will reveal unexpected truths about love, life, and the world they think they know.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateNov 19, 2013
    ISBN9780062283887
    Someone Else's Love Story: A Novel
    Author

    Joshilyn Jackson

    Joshilyn Jackson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of ten other novels, including gods in Alabama and Never Have I Ever. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. A former actor, Jackson is also an award-winning audiobook narrator. She lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband and their two children.

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    Reviews for Someone Else's Love Story

    4/5

    317 ratings50 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a colorful and enjoyable read, with engaging stories of love and humanity. The author's narration adds charm to the book, although some readers didn't like her portrayal of children's voices. Overall, it is one of the favorite books by this author, leaving readers satisfied and wanting more.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This book has everything... I loved it. But wanted more. I needed to find out what happens next! Sad to see it end.
    • 4/5
      Ms. Jackson is quite a colorful and enjoyable writer,weaving many stories of love and humanity into a unique
      whole.
    • 5/5
      Definitely one of my favorite books by this author. I really wondered how it was going to end. I quite enjoy this authors books. She is also a great narrator although I don't quite like how she does children voices, but I'm not sure how she could do them any differently. All in all, another good book that left me satisfied.
    • 5/5
      Jackson is one of my favorite authors because her writing style is beautiful, and her stories are always twisted Southern gothic tales that suck you in from the beginning. Her latest is no different: Shandi is being held at gunpoint when she falls in love with a handsome stranger who helps protect her son. As the story goes on, there are many revelations about Shandi and William's backstory that will keep surprising you.
    • 3/5
      A young woman believes she has fallen in love with the autistic man who has a tragic past when they meet as they are both involved in a robbery at gunpoint. The event forces both of them to admit the lies they have been telling themselves about their pasts.
    • 3/5
      Every now and then I find myself sucked into reading some sort of love story that leaves me crying away at the end. This is the first one of 2014 apparently. A few times at the beginning of the novel I laughed out loud (awkward at a swim meet and at a bar waiting for a take-out pizza BTW), and I did find most of the characters to be likeable though irritating at various moments - wait, that's just like real people. It was a pleasant story - there were twists I didn't quite expect - always a plus. The key words from the description that drew me in were genius, genetics, Asperger's, and the whole business of conflicting parental faiths. And if I ever should find myself in the dating world again, I want the guy that calls his maid service and tells them to come over to my house 'stat'.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully read by the author!
    • 3/5
      Shandi Pierce is the young mother (very young - she's 21) of 3 year old Natty. How he came to be is unexplained for a good portion of the book other than Shandi was still technically a virgin when she gave birth to him. Her best friend, Walcott has been with her since they were both children and he has helped her through all of her struggles; including her parents divorce and continuing war over "possession" of Shandi and Natty. Shandi is going to college so to lessen her commute she is packing up and moving to a condo her father owns much to her mother's sorrow (rage?) On the way Natty gets car sick so they stop to get some ginger ale and Shandi and Natty get caught in a robbery by a drugged out maniac. There she meets and claims to fall in love with William who is still mourning at the one year anniversary of a very tragic car accident involving his wife and daughter. William puts himself between the gunman and Natty and that's all it took...This is a most unusual book. It's told in alternating points of view - Shandi's and Williams with a lot of interjection from Walcott and William's best friend Paula. I can't say I loved or even liked this book much but something kept me reading. I must say that there is one big, whopping shocker of a twist that I never saw coming that turned the book totally cattywampus (my jaw literally dropped) and some things sort of made sense and others still, not so much. None of the characters were particularly likable but they were all very well drawn (excepting Paula. She was a bit one note.) The plot was carefully constructed and full of very intriguing twists and turns and yet the book was ... boring somehow. I wish I could explain it better. It could have been so much more.
    • 4/5
      A very different type of story but very good and engaging. I enjoy that this author narrates her own books, she has a lovely and charming accent.
    • 5/5
      I honestly was not expecting to enjoy Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson, so I put off reading it and that was a mistake. Someone Else's Love Story is a brilliant work of literature and I loved every moment I was reading it. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
    • 5/5
      An inspiring story about the intersection between faith and science and how the answers to life are staring at us at all times. A book I wish I had written!
    • 4/5
      alternative romantic comedy - Asperger's/Autistic scientist saves lives of single mom and child in Atlanta minimart robbery gone awry, but that is only where the story begins.
    • 5/5
      Shandi Pierce and William Ashe meet during an armed robbery at a convenience store. She's a single mom who has convinced herself she's had a virgin birth, he's a scientific savant with a recent past filled with tragedy. She thinks that destiny brought them together, but there's much more to William Ashe's story than meets the eye. This book is hilarious in a totally effortless way, is full of lovable characters, and definitely was not the story I was expecting.
    • 5/5
      Listened to the audio version. First time reading this author. This was amazing story! Loved the characters and the storyline. A few unexpected but pleasant surprise twists. Looking forward to reading more by this author.
    • 4/5
      I enjoy Joshiyn Jackson's novels. She writes with a lot of emotion and has a way of making you feel as though you are experiencing what is happening. This novel has so much depth and I found I was interested in her wonderful characters. Single mom, Shandi, her genius 3-year-old son, Natty, and William, the story's hero, are the main, well-developed characters. I didn't know much about the interesting plot and I think that's one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. It is never predictable!!

      There are light, funny, moments and some very intense, dark times which make the novel so readable. The author knows how to skillfully construct her novels and make them into page-turners.
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars

      Shandi was drugged and almost raped a few years ago and now has a little boy, Natty. William lost his wife and little girl in a car crash exactly one year before he and Shandi are in a convenience store that is held up by Stevie. William takes a bullet to protect Natty and Shandi is head over heels!

      I listened to the audio and the narrator was the author. She did a fine job, though I wasn’t crazy about some of the male voices, which were a bit stilted (though that could also have reflected personalities). Some of the story was told looking back, and some continuing on from the hold up. I really didn’t like William, though, nor was I interested in his and/or Bridget’s story. I found Shandi’s story much more interesting (once it got going, after the hold up).
    • 4/5
      A young single mother spots an attractive guy in a convenience store and immediately decides they are absolutely meant to be. So of course they're going to fall in love, right? Not quite. A robbery ensues, injuries occur, and a series of events is set off that leads to struggles in love, questions of paternity, and ultimately growth. It's all so dramatic and really, really fun. I listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author herself (something I tend to dislike for fiction..) and the narration is perfect for the story.
    • 4/5
      I'm giving this book a 4 star because it was well written, the characters were well done, but too much driving around in cars and not developing the main story line. Then the author threw in a twist at the end,actually two twists, and then ended the book in a couple short chapters.
    • 5/5
      In Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson Shandi Pierce and her three year old son, Natty, are moving to Atlanta where they will live in her dad's condo while Shandi finishes college. Her best friend, Walcott, is helping her move. At a Circle K convenience store right outside the metro area, Shandi and Natty get stuck in the middle of an armed robbery and become hostages. Shandi immediately falls in love with another hostage, a huge blond Thor-like geneticist named William Ashe, when he puts himself between Natty and the robber. William and Shandi end up needing assistance from each other, but it is clear that friends of the two disapprove. Walcott tries to convey his disappointment in Shandi's choices and Shandi is locking horns with William's best friend, Paula.

      Someone Else's Love Story is narrated by Shandi and William. While Shandi can be very emotional, it is clear, even before it is confirmed, that William is on the spectrum (Asperger's) and remains emotionally detached. Seemingly these two would be a good match, but something is not quite right. William has issues in his past that are unresolved and unknown to Shandi, but the same can be said of her.

      Joshilyn Jackson is one of the best southern writers around today, in my opinion, and continues to impress me more and more with each book she writes. (I think I need to start praying for her health so she'll be writing books for a long time.) All of her characters feel like real people. Each of them has a head full of secret thoughts that keeps them apart even while their hearts want to connect to someone or something. In this case a near tragedy draws Shandi to William, but at the same time Shandi needs William to do something only he can do for her.

      In Someone Else's Love Story she has created a real sense of time and place and then populated her world with characters that are easy to empathize with. I wanted everything to work out, somehow, for everyone in this book. This isn't a conventional love story, though, even if it seems it might be. Jackson has a few twists and turns for the reader. She sends us through those twists and turns with a good dose of humor and heart, faith and redemption, and family. This is a book that you will stay up too late reading and not regret it for a moment.

      Even though I had an advanced reading copy, I simply must share two quotes. (Let's be clear, if I can't stop myself from quoting an ARC, you know the writing is incredible - and it is that good.)

      "Anniversaries can open up old wounds, he'd said.... William is not a fan of metaphors; they are so often inaccurate. William, the priest should have said, anniversaries are just like being vivisected."(pg 64)

      "It was an ugly thing to witness. Betrayal is always ugly, even on a shaded patio full of little birds." (pg. 205)

      Very Highly Recommended

      Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from HarperCollins for review purposes.
    • 4/5
      Confession: I am a sucker for this writer; like Fanny Flagg and Tawni O'Dell, she turns a soft eye to Southern mommas and their troublesome daughters. Yes, it's chick lit but yes, it's usually got a bunch of good in it.

      In this novel, a convenience store robbery has major consequences for many people beyond those unlucky enough to be on the premises. Most prominent are two groups of friends: Shandi, her son Natty, and her platonic friend Walcott (apparently there's an earlier Shandi prequel that I missed) and William and his platonic friend Paula. Friends, friends, everyone's friends until - okay, no spoiler alert.

      William is actually the most interesting character. He's rugged, tall, handsome, ex-football player, scientific genius, and on the autism spectrum - not a combination I've ever encountered anywhere in fiction or non.

      There's also a very sharp surprise towards the end that's most effective.
    • 4/5
      Shandi's life as a young, single mom is changing, as she loads all of her belongings to move her and her young son to a new life. Once she gets there, she will be able to finish college and actually make a living to support herself and her son, Natty. But, when they make a normal pitstop for gas, snacks, and potty, her life changes in ways she could never imagine.

      There is a robbery in the gas station, bringing people from all walks of life together, making them count on each other to survive. Shandi has always been drawn to older men, so when William Ashe, a fellow victim, with his muscular, solid body, is forced to get very close to Shandi, she doesn't push him away. She accepts William's help, as his actions may be needed to keep her and Natty alive, but does she feel another kind of bond with this man?

      Once the hold-up is over, Shandi finds herself as a part of William's everyday life. She learns that William was trying to deal with the loss of his wife and daughter, that happened exactly one year before the robbery. She can't help think that fate drew them together on that anniversary, putting her in his path to help him get on with his life.

      This was an enjoyable novel to read as new friendships flourished and mysteries were solved. Many characters found themselves physically attracted to characters that did not return those feelings. We just had to wait for events to play out leading our characters to the individuals they were truly in love with. The title was very fitting in that respect.

      Jackson once again created a novel keeping me on the edge of my seat with the suspense of the robbery and the mystery that I will not even start to describe. You can read the book for that! With themes of love, family. and friendship, you may enjoy this novel as much as I did. I don't hesitate in recommending this book for either personal leisure or as a book club discussion.
    • 5/5
      This book really made an impression; I kept thinking about it after I had finished it. A simple plot summary (a young single mom falls in love with the man who rescues a group of peole during a store holdup but he's got his own issues to deal with ) doesn't do it justice. It isn't a problem novel and not a goopy love story. It's a book for anyone who's felt like a side character in someone else's story. It's an examination of different kinds of love and complicated relationships. It's an interesting (but not preachy or pitying) look inside the mind of a man with Asperger's (and it doesn't hurt that he's very sexy). It's about life and the things that happen and how we cope. The book surprised me with a twist and made think, but left me feeling uplifted.
    • 4/5
      Loved this story. Great character development along with an intriguing plot! First Joshilyn Jackson novel I've read, hoping to read more of her now.
    • 2/5
      I've read Joshilyn Jackson before, one book I liked, one I didn't much. This one started out promising, but took a dive for me with the whole rape plot line. To wrap up the story with a happy-ish ending, the father of the super smart little boy who was a result of a date-rape can't really be a bad guy, right? It took me out of the story... as I read I could imagine the author figuring this out. None of it made much sense and I got crabby with all the characters. I did speed read to the end and there was a nice little twist there, but over all I couldn't recommend.
    • 5/5
      The most complex, brilliantly written and inspiring love story!

      I recently discovered this author through some other fellow authors - and wow, so glad I did---as Joshilyn is highly talented and creative and love the way she thinks outside the box and not afraid to tackle any issue.

      Would highly recommend the audio version, as Jackson is the narrator; however, I found when listening via ipod, it is not a mindless book- you need to pay attention as you do not want to miss any part of this story. (I found myself stopping as if someone interrupted me I would have to rewind to the beginning of the track; It is this GOOD- you do not want to miss a word or phrase!

      I would not change a thing about this book - it was carefully developed, full of suspense, southern humor, rich characters, and quite engaging, covering so many diverse topics and feelings.

      Hats off to the author for pulling you in from beginning to the end and giving you enough to keep you hanging throughout. Superb!

      A thought provoking read; one which would be ideal for book clubs or discussion groups, as I would encourage readers to review all the reviews on Goodreads and other sites (not the spoilers). A beautiful and inspiring love story which makes you think about this book long after you complete. A Winner!
    • 4/5
      Fabulous writing - I devoured every word on every page. This is the story of a guy and a girl who meet by chance at a convenience store when it is being robbed. Destiny or fate has brought them together - will it turn out to be their love story? You will have to read to find out. Pick this one up!
    • 2/5
      Took me a long time to finish this book. Something rang hollow to it. Can't put my finger on it. Have been a slew of "Aspy" personalities lately and I am not certain I accepted this guy as one of them. His personality was so flat! As for the main character Shandie (what kind of name is that? My Nana gave us shandies as kids.... a mixture of wine and gingerale) just too ...... dense. And the kid Natty...the best character of the entire book.

      Premise, girl is drugged and raped and considers it an immaculate conception until she is involved in a robbery and then decided she has to know who the is the father of her genus kid. Another Aspy!

      Just did not enjoy any of it.
    • 4/5
      Twenty-one-year-old Shandi Pierce, who is juggling college and raising her three-year-old genius son, falls head over heels in love with a brilliant geneticist who, in the middle of a stick-up at a gas station mini-mart, willingly steps between the armed robber and her son. A charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness; about falling in love, and learning that things aren't always what they seem or what we hope they will be. Summary BPL

      A character in THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY remarks (I'm going from memory) on book jackets that "[they] are the red-headed stepchildren of publishing. We blame everything on them." In the case of SOMEONE ELSE'S LOVE STORY, the book jacket leads the reader (me) to expect chick lit, a beach read. I read it anyway because Librarything's "will you like it" predictor told me, with high confidence, that I would. Still, each time I picked the up the book to continue with the story, the ocean blue cover seemed to spill onto the text, hiding Joshilynn Jackson's talent and depth.

      I guess I am saying that if the book cover looked something like this: a black and white photo with a grainy texture, of a gas station convenience store in the middle of a robbery, I would have anticipated an intense read about a life-changing event. Which is what SOMEONE ELSE'S LOVE STORY is. Joshilynn Jackson's "voice" has been compared to Flannery O'Connor's. I get it, but the comparison can be misleading. Ms Jackson's is a 21st century upper middle-class American South expression, decidedly non-gothic and less satirical than Ms O'Connor's but with a nostalgic feel (not a lot of plot development via cell phones or IM). The author has a gift for rendering human foibles with humour and accuracy. Rich storytelling! (I'm not too sure about Ms Jackson throwing in the nun trope....but I can say no more. Spoilers!)

      8 out of 10 Recommended to readers of literary fiction and (mostly) realistic characterization.
    • 5/5
      Single mother Shandi is deeply, lovingly devoted to her brilliant three year old son, so when the handsome William steps between her son and an armed robber, she immediately loves him too. Unfortunately for Shandi, William is still barely recovering from a devastating tragedy in his life and he has some secrets of his own. Their interaction will help both of them find out what they want and what they need as their lives shift around them.

      This the third book I’ve read for the SheReads book club and the third one of those books I’ve given five stars, so if you’re looking for some good women’s fiction, I would consider these ladies an expert source of recommendations. Like many books I’ve fallen completely in love with, I have very few notes on why I liked it, because I was so deeply absorbed in reading. However, one thing clearly stands out to me as the most amazing part of this book: the characters. The characters were so believable, so unique, so real. Every character had their own history and their own quirks. The author somehow managed to write dialogue and narration that sounded completely natural but which were also examples of extremely beautiful writing.

      The plot for me was almost indistinguishable from the characters because it followed directly from how these characters would act. At times I felt as though the author had simply created these characters and set them going, with the plot coming organically from the actions each character would naturally take. William was one of my favorite male characters ever. People with a truly scientific mindset are so infrequently featured as the heros of a book and that paired with his empathy for others made me fall just as in love with him as Shandi. The ending was a complete surprise but not in an unbelievable way and I loved it too. This whole book was a beautiful, hopeful, emotional ride and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

      This review first published on Doing Dewey.
    • 3/5
      Joshilyn Jackson's books are snart, funny and have a great deal of heart . The characters in this book are riveting. Shandi is a young single Mom raising a 3 year old genius son. This story is about 2 broken peop;e who learn to move beyond the pain that has shaped their lives.