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spellbindingtomes'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
4.5
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ด๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ซ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ. ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ.
The second in the Brown Sisters standalone trilogy focuses on Dani Brown, whose number one priority is her career. Love and romance? That's not even on her list of things to achieve in life.
It took me awhile to like Dani's character, but I really loved her focus and intelligence. She's ambitious when it comes to her career but cynical when it comes to love. I really felt Sorcha's frustration with her. Dani definitely made me want to yell out the title of this book to her a couple of times.
Zaf stole my heart from the moment we find out he, a former pro rugby player, reads romance novels ๐ค He has a grumpy exterior but deep down is gentle, sweet, and attentive, especially when it comes to Dani. His grief was so raw and heartbreaking and I thought the way Talia handled his fears and anxieties was well done.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฃ๐ช๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต.
Just like in Get a Life, Talia knows how to create spicy romantic tension. The build up was just so good ๐ฅ๐ฅ I appreciated that she also emphasized the importance of validating all types of feelings, that being vulnerable is not at all a weakness, and that a person shouldn't change who they are in order to make a relationship work.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ.
Highly recommend this if you like:
๐ฎfake dating
๐friends to lovers
๐ฎanxiety rep
๐banter and chemistry
๐ฎhe falls first
The second in the Brown Sisters standalone trilogy focuses on Dani Brown, whose number one priority is her career. Love and romance? That's not even on her list of things to achieve in life.
It took me awhile to like Dani's character, but I really loved her focus and intelligence. She's ambitious when it comes to her career but cynical when it comes to love. I really felt Sorcha's frustration with her. Dani definitely made me want to yell out the title of this book to her a couple of times.
Zaf stole my heart from the moment we find out he, a former pro rugby player, reads romance novels ๐ค He has a grumpy exterior but deep down is gentle, sweet, and attentive, especially when it comes to Dani. His grief was so raw and heartbreaking and I thought the way Talia handled his fears and anxieties was well done.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฃ๐ช๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต.
Just like in Get a Life, Talia knows how to create spicy romantic tension. The build up was just so good ๐ฅ๐ฅ I appreciated that she also emphasized the importance of validating all types of feelings, that being vulnerable is not at all a weakness, and that a person shouldn't change who they are in order to make a relationship work.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ.
Highly recommend this if you like:
๐ฎfake dating
๐friends to lovers
๐ฎanxiety rep
๐banter and chemistry
๐ฎhe falls first
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Car accident, and Death
Minor: Body shaming
mabellene'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: Panic attacks/disorders and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
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
5.0
I have loved this series by Talia Hibbert! Dani and Zaf were the perfect mismatched couple with Zaf loving too easily and Daniโs heart being walled up and untouchable. And the ending of this one had me swooning!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Car accident
Minor: Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Gaslighting, and Body shaming
zadsavage's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Body shaming
behindherpages's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Car accident
daniellesharp's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5 stars, 3 spice
bisexual MFC
Muslim MMC
fake dating; friends-to-lovers; friends-with-benefits-to-lovers
bisexual MFC
Muslim MMC
fake dating; friends-to-lovers; friends-with-benefits-to-lovers
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Car accident, Death of parent, and Sexual content
lex_is_bookish's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Car accident, Toxic relationship, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism, Slavery, Misogyny, and Body shaming
emily_mh'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
4.5
This was an enjoyable romance with lots of sweetness and domestic moments. Admittedly, fake dating isnโt my favourite trope but it was done so well here, I think because the MCs were friends beforehand and all their loved ones were clued in.
Dani and Zaf had palpable romantic chemistry - I was never left in doubt of that for a second. Their romance (and the book in general) was paced so well so that every stage of their connection made sense. I think what helped with this was again the fact that they were friends before the book even started.
But what I love about this series is that both MCs have more going on than the romance and they undergo so much development. Zaf is figuring out how to stop being afraid of his grief so that he can remember his father and brother without feeling scared. Heโs also working at making his charity Tackle It the best it can be, and on managing his Generalised Anxiety Disorder. Dani was such a dynamic MC. Her development is centred on her self-worth, but at the same time the narrative shows how much she loves herself and how confident she is. I loved that Hibbert showed how both situations can co-exist. The story also explores Dani finding a healthier relationship with her work, and I loved that this was Daniโs decision, not something she felt pressured into.
The female relationships are so strong within this book. Daniโs one with her sisters is so natural and loving, and I appreciated that she doesnโt sacrifice time with them for time with Zaf. Both Gigi and Inez Holly take on kind of mentor roles with Dani, so I loved that she had support from older women. Sorcha was such a great best friend to Dani because she pushed her and called her out, but never in an unloving or inconsiderate way, and they got to practice religion together. I also love how Dani handled the situation with her ex-friend. The women in Zafโs life were stellar too. I loved how Zaf treated Kiran as if she were his blood sister, and how they supported one another. Zafโs mother was funny and I loved that Fatima was so close to her uncle, and like Sorcha with Dani, pushed him to be his best.
Finally, I appreciated that the third-act breakup comprised of both of them messing up. It worked much better because I think just one character grovelling can change the dynamics of the relationship.
Iโll end this review with my favourite quote from the book: โThe trouble was, building a conclusion based on irrelevant or unreliable sources never worked. And when it came to Daniโs worthiness, the only source she should really value was herself.โ
Rep: Black bisexual MC who is also a witch, Muslim British-Pakistani MC with GAD, lesbian (word not used, gay used instead) minor character of the global majority (ethnicity not stated), Muslim British-Pakistani SCs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Murder, Fatphobia, Car accident, Acephobia/Arophobia, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Vomit, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Body shaming, Alcohol, Medical content, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: one extended HP reference (derogatory) + one minor HP reference, loss of a loved one Minor: toxic masculinity, menstruationelia_elizabeth_'s review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Car accident, and Death of parent
glass_carousel's review
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Death, Car accident, and Death of parent