A Girl Like Her

By: Talia Hibbert

Narrated by: Rupert Channing

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Everyone has secrets. He wants all of hers. Meet the man next door....

After years of military service, Evan Miller wants a quiet life. The small town of Ravenswood seems perfect - until he stumbles upon a vicious web of lies with his new neighbor at its center.

Ruth Kabbah is rude, awkward, and - according to everyone in town - bad news. Thing is, no one will tell Evan why. Does she perform ritual sacrifices? Howl at the moon? Pour the milk before the tea? He has no clue. But he desperately wants to find out. Because Ruth doesn’t seem evil to him; she seems lonely. And funny, and clumsy, and secretly quite sweet, and really f--king beautiful....

The more Evan’s isolated, eccentric neighbor pushes him away, the more he wants her. Her - and all her secrets. Because there’s no way a girl like Ruth truly deserves the town’s scorn.

Is there?

©2018 Nixon House (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

A Girl Like Her

Absolutely loved it!! I enjoyed the story line. I got Caught up in the sexual tension between Evan and Ruth. The narration was Pleasantly enjoyable, I just adored his voice... The timing and pace was just right. Now I want to go on to the next book in the series.

Very Respectfully

Violetia

Ok

I think describing Ruth as rude and disrespectful is wrong. Her autism makes her a bit terse but not necessarily rude. She’d been verbally abused for years by many people so if she did have an attitude about certain things, it’s understandable.

Grumpy, neurodiverse heroine and pining blacksmith

This was a sweet, slow burn romance between an ostracized black woman on the autism spectrum and a new-to-town blacksmith who compulsively feeds his neighbors. I enjoyed watching their relationship unfold, and loved their friends and family.

Ruth Kabbah writes web comics, prefers to wear pajamas at all times and has retreated from the social scene of her small town. She’s obviously on the wrong side of the town’s ruling family and can be blunt to the point of rudeness. It’s obvious Kennedy Ryan has personal experience with autism because Ruth feels very authentic.

Newcomer Evan has retired from the military and taken a blacksmithing job in Rachel’s small town. He is, in fact, her new neighbor. Evan’s mum died of cancer and felt it was very important to be kind to others. To honor her, and because he’s got a caretaker personality, Evan likes to cook for friends, neighbors and people he thinks need a little help. He’s decided Ruth must be an elderly shut in, since he never sees her leave, so he brings her a Shepard’s pie. When he finds out she lives on instant noodles, he insists on dropping off dinner regularly. This evolves into a standing friendly dinner date.

Evan is warned off Ruth and her protective older sister, by his boss’s smarmy son. There is obviously some sort of history. Evan hears a lot of gossip and eventually gets Ruth to trust him enough to share the details.

Ruth was in a long term secret relationship with the smarmy son, who was verbally, physically and sexually abusive. The details are not too graphic. I loved watching Ruth realize that insulating herself from life wasn’t really protecting her, it was giving her power away. I loved watching her start to speak up for herself and to be open to friendship and romance. And I loved that she faces down her own bullies without being rescued by Evan. He supports her but doesn’t rescue her.

There’s a lot of good stuff in here about racism, ableism, stereotypes, parental influence, self esteem, healthy boundaries and love of all kinds.

I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see Evan’s growth as much as Ruth’s. At the beginning, he says he spent the last eleven years with acquaintances and fuck buddies, because he was too distanced by grief over loosing his mother to cancer. He mentions wanting to be more vulnerable with his friend Zach, who’s mother has cancer, but we don’t get to see those conversations. It’s obvious they happen, because he talks about what good friends they’ve become, but it’s more telling than showing. Evan does have many excellent conversations with Ruth tho, as they navigate their relationship as it changes from friends to lovers. Once that happens, it gets fairly steamy.

I thought the narrator did a good job and I look forward to the next book in the series.

awesome sauce

i loved this book, it was eloquently put together. thay characters were all interesting and involving. the only thing i would change isnthe length of the epilogue I so wanted more.

Compelling.

I love it. I Love a love story where the guy is so devoted to the person .

This Series is Really Good but It's a Bit Odd

I had to try twice to listen to this book. I had high expectations from the summary of the story, but there is something a bit odd about this book that makes it take a bit to get into the story.
I listened all the way through and it was a pleasurable "easy read". The story is simple with mild challenges throughout. I liked the characters, but I still don't know why this story has a different feel. Overall, it's a book to listen to or read when you don't want to get caught up in a complex story with heavy emotions and drama. My thanks to the author!

very good

This is very good. Once it gets started it is hard, to put down. Very good.

unexpected

This was my first book by this author and,of course, my first audiobook. I lived the story! Ruth was a quirky and unique heroine. Definitely not cookie cutter material. Evan was a down to earth prince charming . They were the perfect fit and their live story was fun to read. The narrator was fantastic and did a great job distinguishing between the characters. I definitely recommend this book and will continue reading the series.

Basic "Lifetime Movie"

Girl bumps into a guy on the street that "happens" to move into the apartment next to her and immediately falls in love with her despite her rude attitude towards him.

Love

I Loved this book so much, that I had to finish it the same day I started it! On to the next in the series!