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A review by lizshayne
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Okay, this book was NOT my jam and a slog and I just...apparently haven't outgrown my need to finish books because they might perk up or I might miss something and I definitely don't regret it. It was, as the rating said, okay.
Mostly I struggled with Dani as a character who I found DEEPLY frustrating because either she was neurotypical and just completely failing every insight check she rolls for no apparent reason or, and I felt compelled to read her this way, she is autistic and then the story trends towards making her normal and the parts of her that get fixed are the "bad autistic parts" like being horrible at recognizing or talking about feelings or rather than the "I can hyperfixate my way to a career in academia".
(We will, in the interest of me, note the possibility that I am running up against the narcissism of small differences and that could be part of the problem.)
I wanted a different story than this story was telling and I don't know what to do about that other than shrug. And I deeply dislike the late third act breakup in every book.
Which is frustrating because Hibbert handled physical disability REALLY well in the previous book and this could have been a book about a queer neurodivergent woman finding love as she is and it misses and in the falling short leaves me deeply frustrated.
I was, however, entertained by the brief authorial disquisition (in the mouth of one of the characters) on the role of romance novels in modeling redemption and repentance. It was very Northanger Abbey.
Also, another entry into the "male leads struggling with mental illness" category, which is both lovely in the way it explores masculinity and healthy male coping mechanisms and also...it's telling that men never have anything that inevitably make them less conventionally attractive.
Mostly I struggled with Dani as a character who I found DEEPLY frustrating because either she was neurotypical and just completely failing every insight check she rolls for no apparent reason or, and I felt compelled to read her this way, she is autistic and then the story trends towards making her normal and the parts of her that get fixed are the "bad autistic parts" like being horrible at recognizing or talking about feelings or rather than the "I can hyperfixate my way to a career in academia".
(We will, in the interest of me, note the possibility that I am running up against the narcissism of small differences and that could be part of the problem.)
I wanted a different story than this story was telling and I don't know what to do about that other than shrug. And I deeply dislike the late third act breakup in every book.
Which is frustrating because Hibbert handled physical disability REALLY well in the previous book and this could have been a book about a queer neurodivergent woman finding love as she is and it misses and in the falling short leaves me deeply frustrated.
I was, however, entertained by the brief authorial disquisition (in the mouth of one of the characters) on the role of romance novels in modeling redemption and repentance. It was very Northanger Abbey.
Also, another entry into the "male leads struggling with mental illness" category, which is both lovely in the way it explores masculinity and healthy male coping mechanisms and also...it's telling that men never have anything that inevitably make them less conventionally attractive.