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?
Comment: This book has been well liked for the last year, since it made the best of lists of several people, especially those I tend to follow more often. I believe it's a fact more people are reading more inclusive things, with more diverse types of characters than just the expected white ones but to be honest what made me interested in reading this was not the interracial couple, it actually was the fact the heroine belongs somewhere in the autistic spectrum and I was quite curious to read about her.
In this story we meet Ruth, a young woman who seems the town's pariah, if one sees how others treat her. She is fascinated by comics, in fact she works on her own online, and she doesn't care about how everyone else treats her though she tries to stay on her apartment as much as she can.
One day, she gets a new neighbor, Evan. He is sweet, concerned and even cooks her something, thinking she might be an old man, so much is the time she stays inside. When they meet, sparks fly but Even is super patient, even when others start spreading rumors about her reputation.
Will Ruth be able to open herself up to someone after a disaster years ago? Will both of them trust one another to be that special person?
This wasn't a very long read. It only took me one day to read it, especially because it was a very slow day at work while the computer was updating. This means the writing is easy, fluid and compelling enough and that allows the reader to read without having the feeling to stop.
I liked the heroine, Ruth. I think she was a great person who was caught in a very unpleasant situation but I can't decide if it feels like she was taken for granted because she didn't read the situation of her past well or if she was picked on purpose because of that. I mean, I liked Ruth, I liked to see how her mind worked in some situations but to be really honest, I don't think it was that obvious why she was so special as to have been the obsession of some people.
Apart from her personality, she wasn't in anything that amazing to set her apart. I mean, she is a good person and dealt well with some things, badly with others but...that's pretty much everyone.
From the hype, I did imagine Ruth would be a bit more fascinating. I know some people would not think on it but to me it also was a little negative how she coped with what happened to her. I really struggle to understand people (woman in this case) who react to a bad experience in romance/relationship by proving oneself by sleeping indiscriminately with many others. I can understand the psychology of it somehow, and here Ruth had a different mind process but...this immediately made Ruth less special for me. I could not relate to this choice of hers, perhaps there could be other ways for her to experience feelings/attraction while she was in control of the situation.
Evan was a much more fascinating character to focus on, probably because he seemed too perfect. He is almost caught in a violence scene but is stopped before he actually hits someone and that was the biggest fault he evidenced, so how interesting he is so considerate and amazing but a bit too much.
It's not that I don't think Evan and Ruth aren't a good couple. I could see why they felt attracted and how they could match.; the epilogue was very sweet too. However, all things considered, this could have been depicted better, with stronger emotions and better scenes (to my POV, of course).
It just feels like their relationship happened more from proximity than a mutual need to be with that person. Although Ruth is described as autistic, her behavior and reactions in some situations made it clear she was aware (as did her thoughts on occasion) of what was happening, so I can't say the detail that made her different was what made her special. It's a bit confusing to explain but I sort of expected to be amazed and the story, overall, was simpler than what I thought by such amazing reviews.
All in all, this was good, different enough to be a good read, there are many positive things but overall, the negative ones caught my attention more and made me grade lower than what I imagined I would.
Grade: 7/10
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