I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first book in Talia Hibbert’s the Brown Sisters trilogy, Get a Life, Chloe Brown. Knowing that I would likely enjoy the second book, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, I put off reading it – as one does. This was both genius and foolish because, of course I loved it. I loved it even more than Get a Life.
When Take a Hint opens, Dani Brown and her best friend Sorcha are performing a ritual, calling to the goddess Oshun. Dani wants a fuck buddy – someone who will give her no strings attached orgasms and not catch feelings. Dani thinks she is bad at relationships so she doesn’t want to try to have one again. She does want an oral sex enthusiast though.
Dani closed her eyes and began again. “Oshun, I need a regular source of orgasms.” She thought of Jo and added, “Someone who won’t expect more from me than I can give. Preferably a sensible sort with a nice arse who’s focused on their own goals. I haven’t had much luck, myself, so if you know anyone who meets the criteria . . . just . . . point me in their direction. Give me a hint.”
Do you see the mistake Dani made? Perhaps it was my years in undergrad when I read a lot of the ancient Greek plays (theater major), but as soon as I read her invocation I knew she had fucked up. When you ask the gods for a boon, you had better be very careful in your wording. She asked for someone who would not expect more than she can give when she should have asked for was someone who wouldn’t expect more than she wants to give. Huge difference. She is going to get someone who exactly meets her criteria:
- regular source of orgasms,
- expects only what she can give,
- sensible sort,
- nice arse,
- focused on their own goals.
And then we meet Zafir Ansari – security guard, former professional rugby player, uncle, friend, perfect man. He is a big growly man who thinks Dani is amazing.
Zaf is a competent multitasker. He is very focused on getting his mental health non-profit off the ground, but he has plenty of time to have a crush on Dani too. They are lovely together and Talia Hibbert has built a sweet and funny world around them. Zaf works with teen boys and Talia Hibbert draws them so perfectly.
“The handful of boys who hadn’t left yet dropped their bikes, their heads snapping up like predators smelling blood on the breeze. A second later, they swarmed Lucas like piranhas.”
You can read this without having read Get a Life, Chloe Brown, but why would you want to?
CW: general anxiety disorder, on page panic attack, past death of close family members.