"I'd love to figure you out. But I need all the pieces before I can assembly the puzzle."

GENRE: Contemporary Romance
RATING: 4/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Tropes: Small Town, Forced Proximity, Opposite Attract, He Falls First, Reverse Grumpy Sunshine and Slow Burn

Review:

Having read Talia Hibbert's work before, I saw this on Netgalley and I knew that I had to read it! Talia does Autism/Neurodivergent rep in a fun way. I'm reviewing the Edition that is being published in March 2026

If you tell me that a Romance book has Small Town x Autism representation? I know I'm definitely going to be picking it up. I enjoyed A Girl like Her, where we meet Ruth, who is an Autistic FMC and lives in a small town that has cast her out because of her past. This story and Ruth as an FMC has SOO much complexity and layers to it that I truly enjoyed. I thought a lot of the topics were handled well as well

The relationship dynamic between Ruth and Evan was ADORABLE and built up in a way that is so fitting to Ruth as a character. And the fact that it is set in a Small Town? I do want to say that the Foreword from Talia Hibbert explains why she picks Small Town and how the reality is that most small towns actually have teeth and (as is seen in the story) can outcast someone for being different. I think in A Girl like Her, it's very much a story of Ruth reclaiming her town back, not by winning people over but by being herself and finding a community again, who truly accept her.

We also see other elements of Small Towns in Evan, Zach and his mother, how we would think the community would rally behind them but instead it's the opposite. I do think that A Girl like Her depicts the reality of small towns while showing us the hope of what it can be when we aren't out-casting people because they are different.

It's also a story where we watch Ruth grow and learns how to trust again, mainly herself and her own choices and decisions. She also learns to trust others around her and slowly reclaim her narrative after what has happened to her. It's also a story of where Ruth finds someone who accepts her entirely, with her PJs and loves her for who she is not in spite of who she is.

As always, Talia Hibbert continues to write and publish books that hit us close to the heart and I can't wait to read more of her books! Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the Arc copy