{Review} Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Page count: 315

Publisher: Joy Revolution

Published on: January 3, 2023

Genres: YA romance

Format: paperback personally purchased

[Purchase Here]

Rating: 3/5 ✨ 

Tropes:

- friends to enemies to rivals to friends to lovers

- grumpy heroine x sunshine hero

- OCD rep

- daddy issues rep

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors--and each other.

Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He's a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.

Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption--yet, she's still not cool enough for the popular kids' table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that's how Celine sees it.)

These days, there's nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she's surprised to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

Review: 

Hey, guys!

        While I wasn’t really in the mood to read a YA romance, I still had so much fun reading this book with my book club. I really loved Bradley. He was the best character in this book and I was constantly giggling at his affection for Celine was just so heartwarming and sweet. Celine, unfortunately, was not my favorite. I found her to be unnecessarily mean at times - however! her feelings and motives end up making sense and her backstory and eventual vulnerability really caused me to warm up to her. The characterization was so nicely done and the characters were so realistic. I loved the romantic bits throughout & the characters passion for their hobbies was so nice to read about. 

        I had a hard time plowing through this book at times because of the pacing. It just felt like this story was just missing that extra layer of depth that I’m used to in Talia Hibbert books. I really wish that there had been more of a focus on their friends and family. 

        I also really love Bradley’s love of writing. It was quite evident that Hibbert took inspiration from her own feelings. It was so relatable. Celine, however, just didn’t feel as connected to her love for the law. Her desire to go into law just didn’t seem as real. 

        Overall, this was so sweet. I loved the banter and the awesome one liners. Swipe to see my tabs! If you’re looking for a sweet YA rom-com that will make you laugh and possibly shed a tear, this is for you! 

[Review on Instagram]

More Talia Hibbert Reviews:

• Get A Life, Chloe Brown 
• The Princess Trap
• Take A Hint, Dani Brown

Happy reading, friends!

Olivia

Liv the Book Nerd

Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin // Book Depository Affiliate Code // Book of the Month affiliate link

{Review} Take A Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters #2) by Talia Hibbert

Page Count: 361

Published On: June 23, 2020

Published by: Avon

Genre(s): Adult contemporary romance

Steam: 4/5 (5 being super steam)

TW: the death of a parent and sibling, panic attacks 

My Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?

Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his... um, thighs.

Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?

~ ~ ~

 Hey, guys!

I'm back with another gushing review. Once again, Talia Hibbert has blown me away with her characterization, representation, and overall writing style. 

Reading a Talia Hibbert novel is like breathing a breath of fresh air after a long stuffy day inside. I adore everything about this novel and I just adore Talia's writing style.

When I first read Get A Life, Chloe Brown in 2019, I fell in love with Talia's witty, smart writing style, her ability to include the perfect amout of steam and romantic/sexual tension, her flawless execution, and her delightful characters. It became an instant favorite of the year and it's one of the few books that I've already reread this year. 

This book has:

-fake dating

-a romance that stems from a viral video

-Zafir: a Muslim ex-rugby player with anxiety who uses his experience to teach mental health seminars for young rugby players 

- Dani: a fat, Black, bisexual witch with commitment issues

- a quirky, addicting writing style that you won't get sick of

From the first page, I knew that I would adore Dani Brown and her story. Not only was she instantly captivating and relatable, but there were also factors that went into her personality that I didn't expect -- but loved so much. Dani is such a blunt and fascinating character. Not only is she a practicing witch, in the midst of her journey toward a doctorate in a literature-based degree (and she has the best focus of study that she's immensely passionate about! I love it so much!), and she has the best confidence. 

While this concept is usually quite a cliche, Dani isn't like other characters. Hear me out. Dani is so freaking realistic. I saw so much of myself and so many facets of my friends in her. I related to her so much. She's so intensely passionate about her goals and aspirations, but she works hard for it. Additionally, she's Dani isn't like so many characters that I have read about. She's passionate, hard-working, and she guards her heart. There are so many romance novels where the character will just jump into the new relationship and they don't really worry about guarding their heart. 

Zafir was the perfect love interest. The representation of his anxiety disorder was done so well (in my opinion and based on my own experiences). I can't really go into it too much, but I cannot rave about Talia Hibbert's ability to discuss mental health gently and respectfully enough. 

This book is just so phenomenal. Read it!

Happy reading!

Olivia

~ Liv the Book Nerd ~

Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin // Book Depository Affiliate Code // Ko-Fi // Book of the Month