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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
...Ruth looked up. "Holly shit," she said.
The most beautiful man on Earth frowned at her. "Are you alright? Did you hit your head?"
Ruth didn't bother answering. Talking to this guy could not possibly be as worthwhile as simply looking at him.
I do have a soft spot for prickly mean heroine, so I obviously fell right in love with Ruth, especially since part of the package was amazing autistic rep, some of which I found extremely relatable (I am not certain that I am autistic, but some of the stuff was so ridiculously me).
But for some reason the romance and the whole book ended up falling a bit flat to me. I'm honestly not sure why, because at this point I don't even remember the ending of the book anymore, but I remember the book losing the tension on me. I will also say that I hoped that
Spoiler
her webcomic would come more into center in the last portion of the book but it never did, instead we got... did we got both the marriage and the pregnancy bit?! I can't quite remember but I feel like we got both... but at least one of them. Which... there were so many more interesting ways to give them HEA. Sorry, this is just getting me really annoyed lately, but I respect if that's your thing.I'm also feeling very smug about the fact that I called the fact that the love interest resembled Captain America pretty much as soon as it became apparent that the MC was obsessed with comics and I was SO proved right later on!
So yeah, this was good and I'm looking forward to reading [b:Damaged Goods|44569992|Damaged Goods (Ravenswood, #1.5)|Talia Hibbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553275075l/44569992._SY75_.jpg|62570099], but I'm also feeling strangely disappointed in this one. Overall, really weird, but I'm glad I finally managed to return to Talia Hibbert this year!
4,5⭐
I think Talia Hibbert is the author I talked the most about in 2019 and as I'm listening to another of her titles right now, I am starting to understand a little more about my reaction to her writing.
Towards the beginning of our story, Ruth literally runs into someone on the sidewalk. She lands on her ass and as she looks up to see who she ran into she reacts to his extreme hotness in a way we all want to-she says, out loud, "Holy shit." I snorted, I laughed and I haven't stopped talking about Talia Hibbert since-she has my jaded romance loving heart in her pocket. Ruth is a heroine who doesn't really like people because they have consistently let her down. She is grumpy, loves her family fiercely and loves comics. She is also autistic. It is a solitary life but it is one she has control over. Mysterious neighbor and fantastic cook, Evan, is curious as hell about Ruth and as most extroverts do-decides that Ruth is someone he wants to know better. This is no easy task but he's up to the challenge and slowly shows Ruth that being open and vulnerable doesn't always end in regret.
Everyone has flaws. Yes, even you and the people who love us do so knowing all about those flaws. They are a part of who you are and I hate that whole I love you in spite of your flaws bs. That indicates that there is something wrong with you at a core level and you aren't worthy of love and friendship so therefore this person loving you is an exception and how lucky are you? eh, fuck that nonsense. There is always a why for how a person interacts with the world and for a lot of folks, those reasons are painful, challenging, life-altering things. We are all carrying things with us and while we can find better ways of handling what we carry-it isn't something to be dismissed as unlovable. I think that is the core of why I like Hibbert's stories-the why is the how the couples find their way into love.
Towards the beginning of our story, Ruth literally runs into someone on the sidewalk. She lands on her ass and as she looks up to see who she ran into she reacts to his extreme hotness in a way we all want to-she says, out loud, "Holy shit." I snorted, I laughed and I haven't stopped talking about Talia Hibbert since-she has my jaded romance loving heart in her pocket. Ruth is a heroine who doesn't really like people because they have consistently let her down. She is grumpy, loves her family fiercely and loves comics. She is also autistic. It is a solitary life but it is one she has control over. Mysterious neighbor and fantastic cook, Evan, is curious as hell about Ruth and as most extroverts do-decides that Ruth is someone he wants to know better. This is no easy task but he's up to the challenge and slowly shows Ruth that being open and vulnerable doesn't always end in regret.
Everyone has flaws. Yes, even you and the people who love us do so knowing all about those flaws. They are a part of who you are and I hate that whole I love you in spite of your flaws bs. That indicates that there is something wrong with you at a core level and you aren't worthy of love and friendship so therefore this person loving you is an exception and how lucky are you? eh, fuck that nonsense. There is always a why for how a person interacts with the world and for a lot of folks, those reasons are painful, challenging, life-altering things. We are all carrying things with us and while we can find better ways of handling what we carry-it isn't something to be dismissed as unlovable. I think that is the core of why I like Hibbert's stories-the why is the how the couples find their way into love.
I struggled with this one,. I wanted to like it, I’m neurodivergent, and I absolutely love ASD heroines, but this heroine gave me the same bad reaction as Nora Robert’s The Witness. Both heroines were just way too cold and unemotional. I can’t speak for everyone with ASD, because autism itself is a spectrum, but this book just gives me the feeling that NT’s are just writing from their own perception of those that are ASD, rather than doing research and trying to write another perspective. I know I am very logical so it appears to others that I completely lack feelings, when on the inside I am really the exact opposite, this gigantic tangled mess of feelings and anxiety.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
4 ⭐️
Okay so this book wasn’t anywhere near the top of my TBR tbh, so when my book besties randomly picked it off my TBR I tried to go into it with an open mind… & I’m so glad I’ve read this book now & can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
We’ll start off with Ruth, she is such a loveable character and bless her and what she’s been through! She’s one of them FMCs that you just instantly want to be friends with!
Then we have Evan… he is a delicious book boyfriend! I adore a man with patience and who takes their time! He is so good at accepting Ruth how she is, & learning her little quirks & mannerisms!
I’m usually not a massive lover of a 3rd person POV but it seemed to really suit this book really well! Zach & Hannah were such loveable side characters and I’m intrigued to see how their books will be!
The only slight issue I had was when Evan described Ruth, he made her sound quite young… which didn’t massively entice me & it was quite insta lovey too. But overall was a really good book!
Okay so this book wasn’t anywhere near the top of my TBR tbh, so when my book besties randomly picked it off my TBR I tried to go into it with an open mind… & I’m so glad I’ve read this book now & can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
We’ll start off with Ruth, she is such a loveable character and bless her and what she’s been through! She’s one of them FMCs that you just instantly want to be friends with!
Then we have Evan… he is a delicious book boyfriend! I adore a man with patience and who takes their time! He is so good at accepting Ruth how she is, & learning her little quirks & mannerisms!
I’m usually not a massive lover of a 3rd person POV but it seemed to really suit this book really well! Zach & Hannah were such loveable side characters and I’m intrigued to see how their books will be!
The only slight issue I had was when Evan described Ruth, he made her sound quite young… which didn’t massively entice me & it was quite insta lovey too. But overall was a really good book!
I've been curious about Talia Hibbert's books ever since K.J. Charles recommended them, so when this was available on KU I decided to give it a try. And really, this was wonderful.
If I added all the m/f romances I've tried to read and never got past the first couple of pages to Goodreads, that probably would even surpass the number on my manga shelf. I've had so many bad experiences with m/f romance that it takes a lot for me to want to give it a chance - and I actually think self-published authors may be the best choice right now. From what I can tell from what we are selling at our store, at least 80% is still the kind of stuff I don't want to read. But I would love to read more books like this.
Ruth is an amazing character - I loved her prickliness and the way she slowly, slowly opened herself up. It just felt so real. And Evan was just lovely - and the way he treats Ruth was perfect and made me melt. I liked Evan's relationship with Zach as well, and the other supporting characters also had enough depth to make it satisfying. Ruth's relationship with her sister made me tear up a little, actually. This just had everything I could ever want from a romance novel. I'm so glad I gave it a chance. This definitely won't be the last Talia Hibbert book for me.
If I added all the m/f romances I've tried to read and never got past the first couple of pages to Goodreads, that probably would even surpass the number on my manga shelf. I've had so many bad experiences with m/f romance that it takes a lot for me to want to give it a chance - and I actually think self-published authors may be the best choice right now. From what I can tell from what we are selling at our store, at least 80% is still the kind of stuff I don't want to read. But I would love to read more books like this.
Ruth is an amazing character - I loved her prickliness and the way she slowly, slowly opened herself up. It just felt so real. And Evan was just lovely - and the way he treats Ruth was perfect and made me melt. I liked Evan's relationship with Zach as well, and the other supporting characters also had enough depth to make it satisfying. Ruth's relationship with her sister made me tear up a little, actually. This just had everything I could ever want from a romance novel. I'm so glad I gave it a chance. This definitely won't be the last Talia Hibbert book for me.