The Difference Between Us (Opposites Attract #2) by Rachel Higginson — Review

The Difference Between Us by Rachel Higginson
Series: Opposites Attract #2
Published by Indie
on July 27th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Review Copy Provided By: Author


Goodreads

I'm cursed.

At least when it comes to finding Mr. Right.

I'm tired of men that only want one night stands or blind dates that are nothing but awkward and uncomfortable. I'm tired of avoiding inappropriate text messages and the constant disappointment of always meeting Mr. Wrong.

After all these years of dates that lead nowhere, I can admit that it's me. I'm the problem. I'm shy and picky and cursed. Definitely cursed.

So I've decided two things.

The first? I'm giving up dating and relationships and men in general. Maybe, possibly, forever.

The second? I'm going to have to try harder to avoid Ezra Baptiste.

If I couldn't hack it in the kiddy pool of dating, I certainly can't swim in his deep end. He's too successful. Too intense. He's all man when I'm used to nothing but boys pretending to be grownups. He's everything I'm afraid to want and so far out of my league we might as well be different species entirely.

So he'll need to find a different artist to paint his mural. And a different graphic designer to help him with his website. He'll need to find someone else to glare at and flirt with and kiss.

It can't be me.

We're too different.

I was provided a review copy; this did not influence my opinion of the book.

❝Ezra Baptiste had some kind of magic juju that lured confident, professional women in and turned them into melting piles of goo.❞

My first book by Rachel Higginson was The Five Stages of Falling In Love. That book was heart wrenching and beautiful.  I was a mess after reading it. This author served angst like it was her favorite dish. So when I started reading The Difference Between Us, I sort of expected there would be some angst, I mean, she writes it so well. But instead, what I found was a super cute, enemies to lovers story that fit somewhere between a rom-com and a drama.  While some serious issues were dealt with within its pages, I was completely caught off guard by its humor. Ezra and Molly’s story was the perfect Saturday read, with its email messages, brooding alpha male and 27-year-old female trying to convince herself and everyone else she’s not playing dress up.

❝We were fireworks exploding, and cars crashing, and worlds colliding.❞

Molly Maverick is a marketing associate with one the best marking firms in the Durham area, SixTwentySix. She’s talented and creative, and a social media guru. When the firm got a contract with Black Soul Production, a local record label who had recently signed some breakout artists, she had thought this would be the opportunity of a life time. The one that would shoot her to the top. But in the eyes of the owner, who can’t be bothered learning her name, she one of his minions. He didn’t listen to her ideas and didn’t give her a chance to prove she’s more than capable of handling larger clients than a mowing company. His son, however, sees more of Molly than she would like! He can’t seem to stop staring at her chest, her legs, her butt, and he’s handsy, so of course, he chose her to be on his team.  She convinced herself that if she kept her head down and worked hard, she would be appreciated for her talents. Unfortunately, the lack of respect for her abilities and the sexual harassment, are making her dream job, the job from hell. Fortunately, she has a surprise engagement party to plan in her free time, giving her a reprieve from her day and an outlet for her creativity. Even if that meant she would occasionally have to deal with Ezra Baptiste.

❝He was too much for me. Too sure of himself. Too successful. Too self-possessed. Too manly. Too way, way, way out of my league.❞

Ezra Baptiste was a very successful restauranteur and workaholic. To those that didn’t know him (and not many people really knew him) he was a brooding, cranky, self-important jerk! He was also carrying the scars of his childhood, having lost his mother at the age of 12. In and out of foster homes until his long lost father comes to find him, his return to normalcy was short lived because his father died soon after. He was also single. He wasn’t immune to women. He had a few long-standing relationships, his restaurants were a testament to that. But his lifestyle and work ethic were not ones that women accepted. And his wealth and power attracted women who wanted things from him, not women who wanted to be with him for who he was. But when the beautiful and sassy Molly the Maverick walked into his kitchen and told him exactly what she thought, he was overwhelmed by surprise and interest. Wanting to get to know her better, he hires her marketing firm to overhaul his restaurants’ image and he requests her specifically. He soon realizes she is whom he needs in his life and she sees him for who he really is.

❝You’re unexpected and lovely, and something that very much feels like salvation,❞  

This is the second book in the ‘Opposites Attract’ series. I have not read the first book and while I don’t feel like I missed anything with this story by not having read the first, there was quite a bit of carryover from The Opposite of You. So while I think this can be read as a standalone, if you don’t like reading about characters in a previous book, you might want to read The Opposite of You, first. Now, I can’t wait to read it, so I can discover the story behind Killian and Vera.

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