ARC Review: The Difference Between Us by Rachel Higginson

“I couldn’t help but fall for both of these characters right along as they did.”
~ Under the Covers

There’s just something about that chemistry you can always get when two people start off on the wrong foot. It’s addictive and keeps me coming back for more. When Molly first met Ezra they definitely butted heads. He’s a successful restaurant owner and always gets his way so he wasn’t prepared for Molly to have a different opinion than him on his online presence and marketing strategy. Some harsh words were exchanged and they’ve been pretty much avoiding each other ever since.

But being best friends with Vera and Killian and planning their surprise engagement party has put them in close proximity again. And having to deal with the hotness that is Ezra is just too much for Molly to handle before she caves.

I usually expect a lot of sparks to fly when I get into an enemies to lovers story. And there were some in this one. But for the most part I found them to be endearing as they were tentatively testing the waters around each other. Ezra just doesn’t have much of a filter and maybe says some things that come across as insensitive. Then he tries to fix things in the only way he’s been used to. You can’t help but fall for him because of that. He’s had very limited good personal experiences in life and has a hard time when he needs to express feelings. But I could feel his care for Molly throughout the whole book, even when he was just being a big jerk. How could I ever be mad at him?

Molly was more complex than I was expecting her to be and that was a nice surprise as well. She has her ideas about what her life should look like. Whether they’re based on the fact that her mother is a workaholic, or her father can’t keep a job. Maybe it’s the fact that she can’t find a nice guy to date for the life of her and her friend is on a whirlwind romance leaving her to feel a little more than sorry for herself and where she’s at in life. Add to that stresses of her situation at work and Molly was bound to have a breakdown. Ezra came in at just the right time. Not only as a love interest but I loved that in a way he helped restore her confidence in her work, in her abilities, and helped her feel free enough to do what she loves and wants.

While THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US is definitely more on the tame side than the first book, and it’s more of a slow burn romance, I couldn’t help but fall for both of these characters right along as they did. This had all the right steps to go from two people that thought they were so wrong for each other, to being friends that cared, and then more. And with the little tease of what’s to come in this series, I’m certainly left anxious for more.