AUTISTIC REP, SPARKS AND SO MUCH MORE ~ A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

TITLE: A Girl Like Her
AUTHOR: Hibbert, Talia

RELEASED: March 14, 2018
PUBLISHER: Nixon House
FORMAT: eBook

GENRE: Adult Romance
GOODREADS RATING: 3.96

TRIGGERS: Mention of abusive relationship in past
REPS: Autism, plus-sized, POC

SYNOPSIS
She’s the town pariah. He doesn’t give a damn.

In Ruth Kabbah’s world, comic books are king, silence is golden, and human contact is a pesky distraction. She doesn’t like people, which works out just fine, because the people in this small town don’t like her. The exception to that rule? Evan Miller, her way-too-charming next-door neighbour…

Ex-military man Evan is all tattooed muscle on the outside—and a big, cuddly teddy bear beneath. He’s used to coaxing prickly people from their shells, but he’s never met a woman quite like Ruth. Blunt, sarcastic, and secretly sad, she’s his exact opposite. She’s also his deepest desire.

Soon, Evan’s steady patience and smouldering smiles are melting Ruth’s reserve. But when small-town gossip from her past begins to poison her future, she’s forced to make a choice. Should she trust Evan completely? Or is her heart safest alone?

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Okay, let’s be clear here. I know I only just reviewed another of Talia Hibbert’s books a week ago – Get a Life, Chloe Brown – but there’s no better way to show my love for an author than to share two reviews of different books in such a short period of time, right? Right! [I am, however, going to try and make this less gush-y than the previous one. Try.]

Let’s meet the main characters and start with.. the most interesting of the bunch – and the one I hold closest to my heart right now – Ruth Kabbah. She’s a plus-sized, black woman with autism and a whole lot of coping mechanisms also caused by an abusive relationship in her past. If that one sentence doesn’t make you want to get to know her, I don’t know what will.
I absolutely admired Ruth from the get-go. She’s her own person and demands to be her own person as well. Even though she’s still finding her way to ridden herself of her past, and the shackles that come along with it, she shows her strength early on in the story. Gotta admire a woman like that, okay? Okay.

Then there’s the ex-military Evan who, apparently, loves cooking. The cooking-part is what had me, but.. well.. can you blame me? It’s food and my blog’s name is still Books & Munches. I will probably never dislike a character who cooks. Sorry.
But that’s not all Evan is about, obviously. There’s so much more to him and.. I don’t even want to remotely say something that could spoil things but he’s worth getting to know. Especially if you know how considerate and understanding he is towards Ruth. Like. Yes, please.

Those two put together? This story had me laughing, had me emotional, had me rooting for them, had me cursing at other times and.. it was perfect. Simply perfect. I don’t know what else I can say about this one without turning it – again – into one big gush-fest so I’m calling it the end.

There are some things you don’t get over. You just accept them and keep breathing. That’s enough.

Safe to say I loved this one, again. I’m starting to think Talia Hibbert is incapable of giving me books I won’t love to pieces but time will tell? I have high hopes, though!

What are books with autistic rep done well?
Do you have any authors who never ever disappoint you?