A Girl Like Her
Ratings27
Average rating3.6
The Brown Sisters reeks van deze auteur vond ik een heel geslaagde romcom reeks. Vooral de diversiteit van de personages en het feit dat moeilijke onderwerpen realistisch en bespreekbaar worden voorgesteld was voor mij een enorm pluspunt. Dus toen ik ontdekte dat dit eigenlijk geen nieuwe auteur is, maar dat ze toch al een serieuze catalogus heeft opgebouwd, werd ik toch wel nieuwsgierig. Zouden haar oudere boeken hetzelfde elan volgen?
Ondanks het feit dat de covers van haar eerder werk eerder van de cheesy soort zijn en op mij dus eerder een afwerend effect hebben, koos ik om het eerste boek in de Ravenwoods reeks te lezen.
En jawel hoor, ook hier zijn de elementen waar ik fan van was in haar vorig gelezen boeken aanwezig!
Je merkt wel dat ze doorheen de tijd geëvolueerd en nog beter is geworden, maar toch was dit een heel geslaagd boek. Diverse en gevarieerde personages, goeie onderlinge communicatie, schattige romance en een flinke snuif humor.
Is dit boek realistisch? Neen, maar eerlijk, wie leest een romcom voor de realiteit, toch?
1: A Girl Like Her ★★★★
#1.5: Damaged Goods ???
This review can also be found on my blog.
This was my second Talia Hibbert book – my first being Merry Inkmas – and I have to say I'm definitely hooked on her work! She mentions in her bio that she focuses on writing “diverse romance” and she definitely succeeds. A Girl Like Her features an ownvoices black autistic protagonist, Ruth, who also writes webcomics for a living and is finding herself again after being in an abusive relationship. She's funny, relatable, and great to read.
While I had a lot of fun with the book, the drama was a tad over the top. I know that tends to be the way of romance novels, but I felt things have been toned down a bit. There were a few times I found myself cringing at how unreal interactions seemed, and some scenes didn't seem to serve any purpose except to add to the angst. These are relatively minor complaints though, and didn't really get in the way of me enjoying this. I'm excited to pick up some more of Talia's work soon!
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
4.5 stars
This book was charming and yet painful to read– only because I was sucked into the character's plight and felt so strongly for her and her difficult situation. Ruth doesn't leave her house because of an abusive ex and judgment from the rest of the town. It is so frustrating, yet so believable.
There is some awesome diversity here (interracial relationship) and Ruth is a bigger woman with autism. As always, Talia Hibbert writes realistic characters in a real world making everything so powerful and gripping. The romance was a slower burn with the characters coming to know each other before falling in love. I absolutely love how this author incorporates the importance of consent!
I am not ready to leave this town or these characters, so I'm glad we will have more relationships in Ravenswood. I'm looking forward to reading more.
This book came highly recommended by an author whom I adore and respect, but the best I can say is that it was a good read. I like the fact that the heroine is an overweight, autistic black woman and that the book doesn't make a big deal out of any of those facts - this isn't a book where the woman with autism or the woman with extra poundage miraculously finds love, those are just some of the attributes that describe Ruth. And it's hard not to root for a pajama-clad comic book writer who revels in her prickliness.
However, I found the romance a little one-sided and therefore less than satisfying. Evan is handsome, kind, patient, muscled and basically perfect. He falls hard for Ruth and never wavers, even when she is downright cruel to him. In fact he ends up apologizing to her but not being understanding enough. He works fine as a fantasy but as a real person - sorry, not quite buying it. Still, Hibbert is an entertaining, energetic writer and I wouldn't mind going back to Ravenswood for the next book in the series about Ruth's sister. I just hope the hero gets to have a few prickles of his own next time.