meeklovestoread's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ms. Tailia Hibert has surprised me again. I read Get a Life, Chloe Brown and ended up loving and Take a Hint, Dani Brown exceeded my expectations. It did take me a couple pages to get into the groove of things but after that I was ultimately HOOKED!
I found Dani's struggles with romance to be so relatable because I struggled with it as well and I've never seen that representation depicted in romance books so to see it here really tugged at my heartstrings. Seeing Dani dealing with cognitive dissonance in terms of her aversion towards romantic relationships versus her feelings with Zafir was depicted so realistically that I felt every word. Which is why I felt like the "3rd act breakup" in this book was pretty reasonable.
Although I'm not too knowledgeable on what people with anxiety disorders go through I have read and learned about it previously and I feel like Talia depicted Zafir's anxiety with great care. I also like how normalized men's mental health is in this book. Zafir was very in touch with his emotions and never tried to hide his feelings.
I usually am not a big fan of the faking dating trope but she did it so well in this book that I had to love it. Their "relationship" was so beautiful. I love their interactions, their banter, the way they cared for one another, helped each other grow, and most importantly accepted each other for who they are. This book was breath of fresh air and I definitely recommend.
Note: there are spicy scenes in here so if that's not your thing I recommend skipping those scenes + plus there's a couple mentions of witchcraft in here I know certain people may not like to read such things due to religious reasons or whatever the case may be so that's something to keep in mind
I found Dani's struggles with romance to be so relatable because I struggled with it as well and I've never seen that representation depicted in romance books so to see it here really tugged at my heartstrings. Seeing Dani dealing with cognitive dissonance in terms of her aversion towards romantic relationships versus her feelings with Zafir was depicted so realistically that I felt every word. Which is why I felt like the "3rd act breakup" in this book was pretty reasonable.
Although I'm not too knowledgeable on what people with anxiety disorders go through I have read and learned about it previously and I feel like Talia depicted Zafir's anxiety with great care. I also like how normalized men's mental health is in this book. Zafir was very in touch with his emotions and never tried to hide his feelings.
I usually am not a big fan of the faking dating trope but she did it so well in this book that I had to love it. Their "relationship" was so beautiful. I love their interactions, their banter, the way they cared for one another, helped each other grow, and most importantly accepted each other for who they are. This book was breath of fresh air and I definitely recommend.
Note: there are spicy scenes in here so if that's not your thing I recommend skipping those scenes + plus there's a couple mentions of witchcraft in here I know certain people may not like to read such things due to religious reasons or whatever the case may be so that's something to keep in mind
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
tinkithesquirelll's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
anastasia_raf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Grief, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
missrosymaplemoth's review against another edition
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Car accident
Minor: Cursing, Grief, Confinement, and Mental illness
relin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
An absolutely swoon worthy love story with a cast of so many friends and family! It felt deep, rich and emotional and ever so lovely!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Death of parent and sibling happen off screen and years in the past but have very real and rich impacts on the current day.cerilouisereads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
beca_reads's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, and agree that this is better than get a life Chloe Brown. I felt a lot more connected to the characters this time round, I loved Danni, I found her super relatable and her sense of humour was immaculate. I also Love Zafir, I found the discussion around men's mental health refreshing and was well portrayed.
Danni is studying for her PHD, and Zafir works as security in her building. There is a fire drill and Danni is stuck inside. Zafir ends up carrying her out of the building, which leads to them going viral. Together they decide to try fake dating, naturally they catch feelings for each other and things start to get messy.
This book is the definition of the grumpy-sunshine troop, they are both loveable well rounded characters. I also liked the slight insight we had to Chloe and Eve's life.
Danni is studying for her PHD, and Zafir works as security in her building. There is a fire drill and Danni is stuck inside. Zafir ends up carrying her out of the building, which leads to them going viral. Together they decide to try fake dating, naturally they catch feelings for each other and things start to get messy.
This book is the definition of the grumpy-sunshine troop, they are both loveable well rounded characters. I also liked the slight insight we had to Chloe and Eve's life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Cursing, Sexual content, Car accident, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Grief
readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I absolutely LOVED this as everyone said I would. Fake dating is my JAM and this was one of the best instances I've read; the gradual, slow realisation that they weren't faking their feelings and were actually falling in love with each other was EXQUISITE. Dani and Zaf were so sweet and so considerate of each other's emotions and needs. We love a romantic relationship built on mutual trust and respect.
I adored Dani and Zaf's interactions with each other and the writing in this book was so snappy, witty and fun. Talia Hibbert truly is a master of her craft. It was great to see bi rep front and center and I know I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time. (The only thing I'm not sure about is the Muslim rep, so I'd recommend checking out own voices reviews about that.)
Content warnings for confinement, panic attacks, discussions of anxiety, depression, racism, biphobia, loss of a family member, fatphobia.
I adored Dani and Zaf's interactions with each other and the writing in this book was so snappy, witty and fun. Talia Hibbert truly is a master of her craft. It was great to see bi rep front and center and I know I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time. (The only thing I'm not sure about is the Muslim rep, so I'd recommend checking out own voices reviews about that.)
Content warnings for confinement, panic attacks, discussions of anxiety, depression, racism, biphobia, loss of a family member, fatphobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, and Misogyny
pia_h's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Vomit
mswarning's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Death
Minor: Body shaming