Official Review: Differences by Cristina Monro

Heather · Post by **Heather** » 21 May 2015, 09:34

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Differences" by Cristina Monro.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Differences, by Cristina Monro, is a fictional story about Cara Marino, a young woman from the Philippines, who goes to the United States for a job at the U.N. Although her cousin is determined that Cara find a husband, Cara has no intentions of doing so. She is there simply to work. That is until she meets local television celebrity, Daniel Devereaux. While Daniel’s handsome good looks are enough to get Cara’s attention, it’s his kind personality that gets her to look past the rumors of him being a ladies man. Cara sees several obstacles in her way, however, when she considers a relationship between Daniel and herself. One is the woman Daniel works with who has already claimed Daniel as her own. Another is Cara’s belief that their racial differences are a barrier.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I like the storyline. I’m a sucker for romance, and that’s what this story is all about. I don’t necessarily like the way it was put together, though. First of all, the speech between characters was way too formal, as well as most of the narration. It wasn’t written in the way people in the U.S. generally speak. It’s more along the lines of how someone may speak who has learned English as a second language, who doesn’t actually live in the U.S. Now, this works for Cara’s character, seeing as she is from the Philippines, but the American characters do the same thing. Perhaps it is simply a result of the author not being from the U.S.; I’m not sure. Whatever the reason, it took away from my enjoyment of the book.

The other main thing that bothered me was the rampant racism by Americans toward any foreigner, starting with the rude treatment of a traveling Chinese mother by an American immigration officer at the airport in the very first scene, and continuing throughout the book. I understand that unfortunately there are racist people. They are everywhere, not just in the U.S. And I also understand that racial differences are what this book is about; the title is Differences. I knew that when I chose this book. It sounded like a good story; one I would enjoy. In fact, right on the title page, it says “It is not the shade of one’s skin that defines a person, but how he is as a human being.” Now that is a sentiment I completely agree with. I just did not care for the way it was shown in this story.

Now for what I Ioved about this story; Cara’s wholesome values and behavior in her relationship with Daniel. I’ve told people before that not all romance novels are trash. They are not all about people who meet and jump into bed together. They are not all pages filled with gratuitous sex, as some people would have you believe. And this story was a prime example.

Overall, I give this story 2 out of 4 stars. While I loved the clean nature of the book, the blatant racism and unnaturally formal language stopped me from enjoying the story enough to give it a higher rating.

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Differences
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Levi · Post by **Levi** » 11 Jul 2015, 23:26

Great job Heather. I have noticed changing dialogue in some recent books I have read as well, where the language will go from everyday talk to overly formal, and I have not thought to comment about it. It must be hard to properly place quotations, highlight thoughts as not dialogue, and keep from making your characters sound like butlers, but it has to be done and your comments are spot on. Good job.

Cee-Jay Aurinko · Post by **Cee-Jay Aurinko** » 12 Jul 2015, 03:47

Great review. Like how you went about justifying your rating with a fine balance between your likes and dislikes, rendering this review a pleasure to read. I totally agree with you. Romance novels are completely underrated. Readers that don't necessarily like this genre will be surprised on the really good ones their missing out on. I'm not too much into novels dealing with racism though. I choose them rarely. Like one grain of salt out of a spoonful.

Jesska6029 · Post by **Jesska6029** » 12 Jul 2015, 13:35

Really nice review! I enjoyed your explanation of your likes and dislikes. I do like certain romance novels, but I don't think this one is for me.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 12 Jul 2015, 18:06

Great review! I haven't read many romance novels in my life. This one sounds like an odd mixture of sexual purity and racism.

Post by **bookowlie** » 13 Jul 2015, 16:25

Nice review! It's hard to enjoy a book when the dialogue doesn't feel real.

Lisalovecraft · Post by **Lisalovecraft** » 13 Jul 2015, 16:40

Nice review. Dialogue can make or break a book for me. I think that writing realistic dialogue can be very difficult, but adds so much to a story.

NadineTimes10 · Post by **NadineTimes10** » 24 Jul 2015, 19:27

This is where having a good editor comes into play--someone who's not only skilled with grammar and writing mechanics but who is also a native speaker of whatever language the author is choosing to write in for his or her target audience. If languages were indeed the problem behind this novel's dialogue, hopefully the book can be re-edited sometime to smooth that out. Good review!