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So Different
Mariah Sullivan is a tattoo-wearing, bruise-covered, kick-ass roller derby girl who doesn't put up with people who mistreat others. Her fierce exterior masks a woman who is loving, compassionate and deeply loyal to those she loves.Adam Barnett Jr. is a dentist like his father. He has come to Austin to take over his father's dental practice while he recuperates from an accident. The timing couldn't have worked better for Adam, who just broke off his wedding engagement to a woman he thought was perfect, both inside and out.He meets Mariah at her regular dental appointment. She is interested, willing to put aside her normal reticence and give him a chance. Adam, however, assumes the worst about her, given her black eye and the bruises on her arm. He assumes that she is the victim of some form of abuse and he approaches her in an attempt to help her seek help. But Mariah, with assistance from Adam's father, has a thing or two to teach him about making assumptions. As they spend time together and get to know each other they find sex, friendship, and eventually love.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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About the author
Ruthie Robinson
19 books57 followersI grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. Attended Clark College as an undergrad, and completed my Masters at the University of Texas in Austin. Both of my degrees are in Economics. After working in the Banking industry, I am now doing what I love - telling stories.
I enjoy reading, gardening, movies and hanging out with my spouse of twenty-seven years and our two young adults. I currently live in Austin, Texas.
I enjoy reading, gardening, movies and hanging out with my spouse of twenty-seven years and our two young adults. I currently live in Austin, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 21, 2015
The good:
- As far as occupation and interests go, Mariah, the female lead character is one groovy chick. She plays roller derby, which is bad ass and she is a behavioral trainer for the visually impaired.
- The story telling was on point, good pacing and enough back story to keep it interesting
- Even though both the lead characters were annoying AF at moments, I could still relate with some of their issues
- Even though this story didn’t reach the same level of excellency as Reye’s Gold and Lights Out did, I still enjoyed reading it, all due to Ruthie Robinsons writing style.
- I loved the teaching the hero how to roller skate scene and the final scene leading to the HEA.
The meh:
- Both leading characters were annoying. The book is called So different so I was expecting quirkiness. What I got was a heroine who goes out of her way to call out others on their prejudices and carries a big chip on her shoulders. While failing to see that she is guilty of misconceptions herself and only when her brother, best friend and the hero calls her out on her shit, she sees the light. The hero on the other hand is also very quick to judge. And is set in his conservative ways.
- Overuse of the ‘she/he is not my usual kind’ trope. We need to can that trope. Authors, please just stop using it.
- Complete lack of communications and too much assumptions between H/h
Overall a just OK read.
- As far as occupation and interests go, Mariah, the female lead character is one groovy chick. She plays roller derby, which is bad ass and she is a behavioral trainer for the visually impaired.
- The story telling was on point, good pacing and enough back story to keep it interesting
- Even though both the lead characters were annoying AF at moments, I could still relate with some of their issues
- Even though this story didn’t reach the same level of excellency as Reye’s Gold and Lights Out did, I still enjoyed reading it, all due to Ruthie Robinsons writing style.
- I loved the teaching the hero how to roller skate scene and the final scene leading to the HEA.
The meh:
- Both leading characters were annoying. The book is called So different so I was expecting quirkiness. What I got was a heroine who goes out of her way to call out others on their prejudices and carries a big chip on her shoulders. While failing to see that she is guilty of misconceptions herself and only when her brother, best friend and the hero calls her out on her shit, she sees the light. The hero on the other hand is also very quick to judge. And is set in his conservative ways.
- Overuse of the ‘she/he is not my usual kind’ trope. We need to can that trope. Authors, please just stop using it.
- Complete lack of communications and too much assumptions between H/h
Overall a just OK read.
July 23, 2012
I bought this book on the strength of this author's others works even though, admittedly, each book I've read has not come close to the first book, Reye's Gold.
As I began this book, I really, really thought she had recaptured the magic of the first book. This feeling lasted less than a chapter.
I will say that the stand out thing about this book was how the author attempted (..I say attempted because I do not think she succeeded...) in positioning Mariah as outside of the 'typical' black woman stereotype. I LOVED the fact that Mariah was on the Roller Derby team and I really enjoyed the scenes of practice and while they were in competition. I also liked the idea of Mariah being having tattoos, piercings, day-glo hair colors and loved to wear combat boots. But that is pretty much where my enjoyment of this character ends. The problem is that the book takes pains to beat us over the head with the idea that Mariah is so different from everyone, especially other black women. She wasn't 'black enough' for her friends because she liked rock and country music.
The problem intrinsic in this characterization is the underlying message is that black women are all the same and that the black female experience is monolithic and Mariah feels punished somehow for breaking out. And then there was the biggest irony of all. Mariah is so bitter throughout most of the book, that she actually becomes the most pervasive stereotype of them all: The Angry Black Woman. It was frustrating to see this character hold a mirror up to everyone else's supposed prejudices when in fact it was a reflection of her own.
But Mariah is not the only problem in this book. There are quite a few so much so that at around the 20% mark I contemplated not continuing the book. Same thing at the 39% and then again at the 44% mark. But I soldiered on figuring there had to be a point I would begin to like these people. But really both Mariah and to a lesser extent Adam annoyed me. How much did they annoy me? Let me count the ways...
1) She plays headgames. Not cool. He first meets her and not, knowing she is skates in a roller derby, he believes the black eye, bruises and hand-prints on her body are signs of domestic abuse. Does she laugh and reassure him that the bruises are the result of her sport? No. She decides to play a trick on him and let him think that she really is a victim of abuse. Har Har!
2) She is a bit mean-spirited. Mariah invites Adam to meet for drinks, deliberately stands him up and later publicly laughs about it with her friends.
3) He's twelve-years-old. He's pretty sure Mariah is more into him than he wants her to be so rather than telling her that he's not really wanting to get more involved, he passively-aggressively reveals that he's gone out with someone else.
4) She is too. She does this really juvenile thing where he has to win her friends' approval before they move on to the next phase of their relationship.
5) They don't communicate. At. all. They make assumptions a lot.
6) Adam chased her too much. Frankly, I thought it made him seem whipped.
The book finally does take a turn for the better at @70% when they begin to really work into a relationship and start to act like real adults, but by then I had spent too much time disliking both them and their dynamic.
Also, on a very, very shallow note -- I wasn't too impressed by the names of the Derby Girls. Only Mariah (aka Mariah Scary) and one other had the requisite clever and punny names. The rest were actually boring.
I can't recommend this book.
As I began this book, I really, really thought she had recaptured the magic of the first book. This feeling lasted less than a chapter.
I will say that the stand out thing about this book was how the author attempted (..I say attempted because I do not think she succeeded...) in positioning Mariah as outside of the 'typical' black woman stereotype. I LOVED the fact that Mariah was on the Roller Derby team and I really enjoyed the scenes of practice and while they were in competition. I also liked the idea of Mariah being having tattoos, piercings, day-glo hair colors and loved to wear combat boots. But that is pretty much where my enjoyment of this character ends. The problem is that the book takes pains to beat us over the head with the idea that Mariah is so different from everyone, especially other black women. She wasn't 'black enough' for her friends because she liked rock and country music.
The problem intrinsic in this characterization is the underlying message is that black women are all the same and that the black female experience is monolithic and Mariah feels punished somehow for breaking out. And then there was the biggest irony of all. Mariah is so bitter throughout most of the book, that she actually becomes the most pervasive stereotype of them all: The Angry Black Woman. It was frustrating to see this character hold a mirror up to everyone else's supposed prejudices when in fact it was a reflection of her own.
But Mariah is not the only problem in this book. There are quite a few so much so that at around the 20% mark I contemplated not continuing the book. Same thing at the 39% and then again at the 44% mark. But I soldiered on figuring there had to be a point I would begin to like these people. But really both Mariah and to a lesser extent Adam annoyed me. How much did they annoy me? Let me count the ways...
1) She plays headgames. Not cool. He first meets her and not, knowing she is skates in a roller derby, he believes the black eye, bruises and hand-prints on her body are signs of domestic abuse. Does she laugh and reassure him that the bruises are the result of her sport? No. She decides to play a trick on him and let him think that she really is a victim of abuse. Har Har!
2) She is a bit mean-spirited. Mariah invites Adam to meet for drinks, deliberately stands him up and later publicly laughs about it with her friends.
3) He's twelve-years-old. He's pretty sure Mariah is more into him than he wants her to be so rather than telling her that he's not really wanting to get more involved, he passively-aggressively reveals that he's gone out with someone else.
4) She is too. She does this really juvenile thing where he has to win her friends' approval before they move on to the next phase of their relationship.
5) They don't communicate. At. all. They make assumptions a lot.
6) Adam chased her too much. Frankly, I thought it made him seem whipped.
The book finally does take a turn for the better at @70% when they begin to really work into a relationship and start to act like real adults, but by then I had spent too much time disliking both them and their dynamic.
Also, on a very, very shallow note -- I wasn't too impressed by the names of the Derby Girls. Only Mariah (aka Mariah Scary) and one other had the requisite clever and punny names. The rest were actually boring.
I can't recommend this book.
February 23, 2012
Another well written story by Ruthie Robinson...however it's just a TEENY bit better than an OK read in MHO...better than her last one...but NOT as good as Reye's Gold...Mariah and Adam's constant REPETITIVE thoughts with regards to their budding relationship are extremely ANNOYING...and I've learned EVERYTHING I wanted or maybe NEVER wanted to learn about roller derby...but it's still quite COMICAL at times and the full cast of characters, main and secondary are COLORFUL and very ENTERTAINING...that being said I'll continue to keep an eye out for Mrs. Robinson's work.
April 25, 2012
I have to say after reading this book on my kindle, it's my second favorite by this author after her first novel, "Reye's Gold".
I liked both of the lead characters and overall found the story an enjoyable, and fast-ish read (I basically read it all in one sitting). I've liked all the novels by Ruthie Robinson but this one worked for me a little more than her last two books (though not quite on the level of "Reye's Gold").
I totally recommend "So Different" and hope others like the story of Adam and Mariah too.
I liked both of the lead characters and overall found the story an enjoyable, and fast-ish read (I basically read it all in one sitting). I've liked all the novels by Ruthie Robinson but this one worked for me a little more than her last two books (though not quite on the level of "Reye's Gold").
I totally recommend "So Different" and hope others like the story of Adam and Mariah too.
August 10, 2016
great book, Mariah and Adam meet when she goes to get a cavity fixed, Adam is helping his dad out at the family dental business, Adam assumes that Mariah is a victim of domestic violence because she has a black eye and tries to help her, but Mariah is part of a Roller Derby team. the to meet and start off as bed buddies and the romance goes from there, the book is sweet and shows how the fall for each other but neither wants to admit it.
February 8, 2012
This book is excellent! The story was "so different" from what I usually choose to read. Ruthie Robinson is fast becoming an auto-buy author mine. Whip it Fast! LOL ... Highly Recommended
September 1, 2014
So, I decided to get this book 'cause I really liked Reye's Gold. This book has some good parts but some things really bugged me from the start, so I'll start with that.
First, the whole "fake" act at the beginning. This set up was of very bad taste. I didn't found it funny AT ALL. And I don't understand how Adam's father would come up with such an idea. I think Adam reacted the RIGHT way, when he noticed Mariah's condition. And he didn't just jumped to conclusions. He checked her medical record. I think he could have approached her a bit better than he did, he should have been more cautious, maybe carefully ask more questions, but what he did was what anybody, especially someone in the medical profession, should do : try and help someone who displays physical signs of what he thought she was dealing with. The only thing that I didn't like about Adam's reaction was when he was wondering how "some" women could "let" themselves get into such situations. But it showed more ignorance than anything else, and it is, unfortunately, a common reaction to such situations (Also Mariah, too, had the same behaviour, thinking she could never be in such a situation, as if there was only one "type" of women who would be in such situation). He had some slight preconceived notions, but in the end, he did the right thing by offering her some help. So the whole "game" Mariah played with him was not only stupid, but also insensitive regarding the issue at hand. And the fact she used this to cop a feel was just plain gross to me.
I also didn't understand how/why Mariah started with flirting with Adam, making all sorts of assumptions about him after just one look at him, thinking he was hot and waiting for him to not only flirt back but ask her out. She came off as wanting to try and have some good time. And then when he actually does, she's all "he is making assumptions about me 'cause I am a Roller Derby skater", "should I or not", etc. It was a complete 180° turn from chapter 1 Mariah, and quite stereotypically annoying. Then, she kept playing games when she stood him up. For absolutely NO good reason at all. Just cause she could. And she just laughed about it and at him with her Derby mates. That was just mean, immature and annoying. Like, WTF, girl?! That was not fun AT ALL. Just plain mean. And not in a good "mean girl" kind of way. At this point, I just wanted Adam to move on. She redeemed herself to me when she told him what she wanted and then, when he screwed up, just left, without drama. I really liked how she handled the situation then, in a very mature way.
Adam was a jerk at that point, but not too much nor throughout the book. At the beginning, I found him ok : he liked what he saw of her and wanted to hook up. I liked his honesty, at the beginning. There was nothing wrong with wanting what he wanted. His whole blonde "type"/"preference"/obsession was quite annoying though, and he came off being a bit conservative, but he was also helping people and trying to make a difference as much as he could, so all in all, more of a decent guy than an ass. I didn't like he kept trying to see her, after the way she played him. That made him a bit unappealing in that moment. And I didn't liked how he acted when the relationship developed, and started playing games of his own. I am not into the whole "alpha domineering, controlling, borderline abusive asshole" type that flourishes in romance novels at all, but I don't like doormats or stalker either. Adam wasn't quite a doormat and more persistent than stalkerish, but still, I didn't like the dynamics of the relationship at its start (and if it had been reversed, I wouldn't have liked it either : I like my characters mature and honest, not playing games or being wishy-wisha). Hopefully, he redeemed himself after acting a bit like jerk.
The emphasis on how "different" Mariah was from what I can only understand what implicitly what the author thought the regular black girl is, was another annoying bit. Like : we get it, she has tattoos, dyed hair, love rock and derby roller skating. WOOHOO! How original...NOT ! Like, yeah, black girls and any girl of colour, just like white girls, have a lot of different interests. I wish the author would have put less emphasis on this, or should have deal with it in a more casual way 'cause she was def trying way too much, IMO. Also, the way she just really stereotypically played games with Adam made her look not different AT ALL from the usual female lead romance character!
Now, about the good parts. I liked the Derby theme in the book. I liked that Mariah was into it, despite all the "oh, look, she's doing Derby, she SO different, right? RIGHT?!" thing. I also liked that there was some information about her professional occupation, which was very interesting to read about.
I also liked the pacing of the book : the character didn't fall in love at first sight or within a mere month time. The relationship grew realistically from attraction/lust to something deeper. Which is what I really like about this author. The sex was ok, not enough foreplay for my taste, but reasonably hot. The 1st date was great, very funny, even though I found the "measuring" thing a bit too much and kind of pervy (And it happened just as I was thinking how refreshing it was that there was no mention of Adam's "size"). Was a bit surprised when Adam decided to take the next big step when the relationship developed and confided with his father and Joshua, thought it came a bit too soon after, but eh, there is no one way to do it, right?
First, the whole "fake" act at the beginning. This set up was of very bad taste. I didn't found it funny AT ALL. And I don't understand how Adam's father would come up with such an idea. I think Adam reacted the RIGHT way, when he noticed Mariah's condition. And he didn't just jumped to conclusions. He checked her medical record. I think he could have approached her a bit better than he did, he should have been more cautious, maybe carefully ask more questions, but what he did was what anybody, especially someone in the medical profession, should do : try and help someone who displays physical signs of what he thought she was dealing with. The only thing that I didn't like about Adam's reaction was when he was wondering how "some" women could "let" themselves get into such situations. But it showed more ignorance than anything else, and it is, unfortunately, a common reaction to such situations (Also Mariah, too, had the same behaviour, thinking she could never be in such a situation, as if there was only one "type" of women who would be in such situation). He had some slight preconceived notions, but in the end, he did the right thing by offering her some help. So the whole "game" Mariah played with him was not only stupid, but also insensitive regarding the issue at hand. And the fact she used this to cop a feel was just plain gross to me.
I also didn't understand how/why Mariah started with flirting with Adam, making all sorts of assumptions about him after just one look at him, thinking he was hot and waiting for him to not only flirt back but ask her out. She came off as wanting to try and have some good time. And then when he actually does, she's all "he is making assumptions about me 'cause I am a Roller Derby skater", "should I or not", etc. It was a complete 180° turn from chapter 1 Mariah, and quite stereotypically annoying. Then, she kept playing games when she stood him up. For absolutely NO good reason at all. Just cause she could. And she just laughed about it and at him with her Derby mates. That was just mean, immature and annoying. Like, WTF, girl?! That was not fun AT ALL. Just plain mean. And not in a good "mean girl" kind of way. At this point, I just wanted Adam to move on. She redeemed herself to me when she told him what she wanted and then, when he screwed up, just left, without drama. I really liked how she handled the situation then, in a very mature way.
Adam was a jerk at that point, but not too much nor throughout the book. At the beginning, I found him ok : he liked what he saw of her and wanted to hook up. I liked his honesty, at the beginning. There was nothing wrong with wanting what he wanted. His whole blonde "type"/"preference"/obsession was quite annoying though, and he came off being a bit conservative, but he was also helping people and trying to make a difference as much as he could, so all in all, more of a decent guy than an ass. I didn't like he kept trying to see her, after the way she played him. That made him a bit unappealing in that moment. And I didn't liked how he acted when the relationship developed, and started playing games of his own. I am not into the whole "alpha domineering, controlling, borderline abusive asshole" type that flourishes in romance novels at all, but I don't like doormats or stalker either. Adam wasn't quite a doormat and more persistent than stalkerish, but still, I didn't like the dynamics of the relationship at its start (and if it had been reversed, I wouldn't have liked it either : I like my characters mature and honest, not playing games or being wishy-wisha). Hopefully, he redeemed himself after acting a bit like jerk.
The emphasis on how "different" Mariah was from what I can only understand what implicitly what the author thought the regular black girl is, was another annoying bit. Like : we get it, she has tattoos, dyed hair, love rock and derby roller skating. WOOHOO! How original...NOT ! Like, yeah, black girls and any girl of colour, just like white girls, have a lot of different interests. I wish the author would have put less emphasis on this, or should have deal with it in a more casual way 'cause she was def trying way too much, IMO. Also, the way she just really stereotypically played games with Adam made her look not different AT ALL from the usual female lead romance character!
Now, about the good parts. I liked the Derby theme in the book. I liked that Mariah was into it, despite all the "oh, look, she's doing Derby, she SO different, right? RIGHT?!" thing. I also liked that there was some information about her professional occupation, which was very interesting to read about.
I also liked the pacing of the book : the character didn't fall in love at first sight or within a mere month time. The relationship grew realistically from attraction/lust to something deeper. Which is what I really like about this author. The sex was ok, not enough foreplay for my taste, but reasonably hot. The 1st date was great, very funny, even though I found the "measuring" thing a bit too much and kind of pervy (And it happened just as I was thinking how refreshing it was that there was no mention of Adam's "size"). Was a bit surprised when Adam decided to take the next big step when the relationship developed and confided with his father and Joshua, thought it came a bit too soon after, but eh, there is no one way to do it, right?
December 14, 2019
Good read
I really enjoyed Adam and Mariah story. I look forward to reading more this author. I would have given 5 stars but there were quite a few grammatical errors that made some parts confusing.
I really enjoyed Adam and Mariah story. I look forward to reading more this author. I would have given 5 stars but there were quite a few grammatical errors that made some parts confusing.
November 14, 2019
So.e good some bad
I liked how the main characters met, I liked the interesting occupations and hobbies the characters had and I like the idea of the romance between the two. I even liked the idea of the chase that had the guy pursuing the woman. So I really like the ideas of what I think the author was trying convey, but I'm not sure if the execution worked for me.
I didn't like that the woman was occasionally mean. I think the author was trying to make the woman seemed like someone who was nice under a tough exterior but it just came off as mean, and unapologetically so. I remember in her book Reyes Gold, the author had the lead woman stand up the lead male for a date but it came off so much better in that book because it seemed more thoughtful and more justified and even though the woman was justified she seemed remorseful for doing wrong even when justified..which makes you think now she's a nice/good person. I also didn't like how drawn out the chase was in this book. I like when the guy has to earn the girl but it just seemed like the chase here was way overdone.
Most importantly there was not enough romance in this romance novel. the romantic scenes seemed rushed, and not important to the story. This is unusual for this author whose romance is usually so brilliantly done, not vulgar but very sexy, and very loving. although I felt the love I didn't get my usual ahhh feeling.
This is not one of my favorites from this author, whose writing style has quickly become one of my favorites, but it does have some good, so if you've read everything else this one is okay to read to past the time.
I liked how the main characters met, I liked the interesting occupations and hobbies the characters had and I like the idea of the romance between the two. I even liked the idea of the chase that had the guy pursuing the woman. So I really like the ideas of what I think the author was trying convey, but I'm not sure if the execution worked for me.
I didn't like that the woman was occasionally mean. I think the author was trying to make the woman seemed like someone who was nice under a tough exterior but it just came off as mean, and unapologetically so. I remember in her book Reyes Gold, the author had the lead woman stand up the lead male for a date but it came off so much better in that book because it seemed more thoughtful and more justified and even though the woman was justified she seemed remorseful for doing wrong even when justified..which makes you think now she's a nice/good person. I also didn't like how drawn out the chase was in this book. I like when the guy has to earn the girl but it just seemed like the chase here was way overdone.
Most importantly there was not enough romance in this romance novel. the romantic scenes seemed rushed, and not important to the story. This is unusual for this author whose romance is usually so brilliantly done, not vulgar but very sexy, and very loving. although I felt the love I didn't get my usual ahhh feeling.
This is not one of my favorites from this author, whose writing style has quickly become one of my favorites, but it does have some good, so if you've read everything else this one is okay to read to past the time.
October 21, 2012
I enjoyed that this story speaks on erasing stereotypes. Not everyone is who you think, just get to know them.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews