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A review by inkerly
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
At long last I've gotten my hands on a Talia Hibbert book. Tiktok has plastered her books all over my feed, and after reading this one I can see why. TH is a talented writer who is making contemporary romcom books with black girls, for black girls. Unfortunately i did not fall in love with this book like i'd hoped and the first half was a struggle for reasons I'll get into.
But First, the things I liked about it.
Likes.
#1 Liked the lgbtqia+ and the plus-sized black girl representation.
#2 Liked that the male love interest is a POC, we don't often get interracial romances with a black woman and non-white POC!
#3 Zaf was hands down the best written character
#4 Liked the character growth and vulnerability between the characters.
Dislikes.
#1 The "humor". Crass, cringey and unnecessary. Very much "let's insert joke about horny millennial woman and her uncooperative womanly parts". To be fair, the author--and story--is British so reading it from that perspective, it alllll started to make sense.
#2 Danika was unlikeable and pretty shallow/ selfish as a character. She was well-educated and smart but literally couldn't get a clue on how to have basic decency and empathy for others. It was also hinted at that she was autistic but she's a woman of many labels and seemingly "undefined" all at once. I'll cut her some slack bc she did redeem herself in the end.
#3 Not so much a heavy dislike, but I wish the fake relationship aspect was explored more. I feel like the author had no clue how to write about the mechanics of social media fame, or internet relationships and the plot died before it ever really begun (aside from the Radio interview, did they ever really need to "fake it"? Who were these random unnamed people taking photos of them at any turn?)
So overall this was a 3.5 for me, mainly because I didn't connect with the vibe of the book and 1/2 of the MCs, but book characters like Zaf and book relationships like BWMM or BWAM need to be written more! So cheers to this talented author. I hope there's more of her books to come.
But First, the things I liked about it.
Likes.
#1 Liked the lgbtqia+ and the plus-sized black girl representation.
#2 Liked that the male love interest is a POC, we don't often get interracial romances with a black woman and non-white POC!
#3 Zaf was hands down the best written character
#4 Liked the character growth and vulnerability between the characters.
Dislikes.
#1 The "humor". Crass, cringey and unnecessary. Very much "let's insert joke about horny millennial woman and her uncooperative womanly parts". To be fair, the author--and story--is British so reading it from that perspective, it alllll started to make sense.
#2 Danika was unlikeable and pretty shallow/ selfish as a character. She was well-educated and smart but literally couldn't get a clue on how to have basic decency and empathy for others. It was also hinted at that she was autistic but she's a woman of many labels and seemingly "undefined" all at once. I'll cut her some slack bc she did redeem herself in the end.
#3 Not so much a heavy dislike, but I wish the fake relationship aspect was explored more. I feel like the author had no clue how to write about the mechanics of social media fame, or internet relationships and the plot died before it ever really begun (aside from the Radio interview, did they ever really need to "fake it"? Who were these random unnamed people taking photos of them at any turn?)
So overall this was a 3.5 for me, mainly because I didn't connect with the vibe of the book and 1/2 of the MCs, but book characters like Zaf and book relationships like BWMM or BWAM need to be written more! So cheers to this talented author. I hope there's more of her books to come.