Work for It

What a spicy and (unexpectedly) sweet read!! I wasn’t really feeling this one until about chapter 10 and then I started loving it.📚 You don’t HAVE to read the previous books in this series but I kind of wish I did to get more of a background on the side characters… but it’s definitely not a requirement.🎧 Side note: I would suggest that you stay away from the audiobook, my book club friends said it was atrocious 😂<b> What I Loved </b>🌼 the character growthI was a bit put off by the 38 year old MC at first but quickly came to realize that not everyone matures at the same pace. Self reflection and growth can come at any age.🌼 side charactersRebecca was my favorite! Plus all of the cameos from previous books.🌼 LGBTQA+ repA bunch of different sexualities, both labeled and not🌼 the romanceIt was perfectly paced according to the MCs’ traumas and issues. It didn’t jump right into 🌶️ because the characters couldn’t handle it right away. But once it did, it really did 👀🌼 the writingEspecially in the last half of the book, the writing was just so poetic and beautiful. Griff’s inner thoughts brought tears to my eyes. I highlighted SO many beautiful quotes.🌼 the endingHEA for everyone, I was tearing up so much all throughout the last 10% of the book✨ bonus points for Talia Hibbert for a content warning page✨<b> Why not 5 stars? </b>🌳 the age gap (28 & 38)It just didn’t do anything for me in this one and felt kind of unnecessary🌳 I just wasn’t into the romance or one of the MCs until about halfway through the book. I felt like they just weren’t mature enough for a relationship and needed to grow up. I’m glad it was a book club pick because it made me finish! They seemed like totally different characters in the last half of the book.Trigger Warnings ⚠️....dxpressionanxietyparental death by su!cide (off page)past sxual trauma (off page)forced outingint!mate photographs being shared without consent

As a whole, I thought this book was enjoyable. I did start reading this book awhile ago, and for whatever reason, had set it aside. But I did get the audiobook since then and I forget books all the time, so I definitely started this book with fresh eyes.This book does work as a standalone. The retail book listings don’t mention that this is part of a series, but Goodreads does. I think since this is m/m, readers don’t necessarily have to read the m/f books before this one to understand what’s happening in this book. However, one of the MCs seems to be a pretty important character in the first 2 books and one MC’s sister who got her HEA in a previous book is actually pregnant in this one, so there is some continuity there if anyone wanted to go back and read their stories. And I actually do love Talia Hibbert’s m/f books, so I will be checking those out!Trigger warnings include mentions of blackmailing, mentions of forced outing, mentions of a parent’s suicide, bullying, depression, anxiety, and grief for a parent who has passed away.Griffith “Griff” Everett is a 28-year-old and oversees the operations of Fernley Farm. He’s lived in Fernley all his life and has never contemplated leaving, even though all the villagers treat him something awful and the memory of his mother even worse. He does have one friend he’s really close with, so that was nice to see. He’s a bit of a giant, and maybe not the most traditionally handsome man, but he’s really very kind and just an absolute sweetheart underneath the surface.Olumide “Olu” Olusegun-Keynes is an alien. Or at least that’s how he describes himself, and it’s how he views himself compared to the people around him. He’s from London and is 38 years old. He has come off a very, VERY bad relationship and doesn’t feel comfortable in his own skin anymore. He decides he needs a break from the city and finds the remote, quaint town of Fernley to get away from the city life. He signs up to help Fernley’s Elderberry Harvest with his travel journals in tow.The relationship between Griff and Olu is darling and something of a slow burn. But once they admit their attraction to one another, they are together a LOT. I do like how explicit consent is in this book. Maybe because I didn’t know Olu’s backstory (I think this is covered in his sister’s book), Olu came off as maybe demisexual or grey ace to me for most of this book. It’s never quite said in-text, and maybe it has to do with the horrors of his last relationship instead, but I think Olu reads on the ace spectrum to me. His friendship with Griff definitely builds over time, and he’s blown away that Griff would want to do anything other than have sex. Like just making their own cordial (like a syrup) for drinks (which is a Griffith specialty and what really helps keep the farm in business).So. I think there were some instances where the characters felt a little stuck in their heads with their inner dialogue too long for my tastes. And it sometimes felt like a drag on the story. I’ve noticed this is fairly common in Talia Hibbert’s writing, and only seems to be cut down more in her latest The Brown Sisters series.I guess my biggest issue with this book is the epilogue. This book, while works as a standalone, does actually tries to be a bit of a bridge to complete the whole Just For Him series. We know Olu’s sister is pregnant and even though this is a m/m book, we have an epilogue that deals with a pregnancy and then the MCs talking about wanting their own children one day. Which. I’m not convinced. Olu practically raised his own sister from a young age and both he and Griff showed no signs at all towards kids at any point in the book other than Olu showing excitement for being an uncle. Yes, I do like m/m books where the couple has children throughout the book, but it just felt like a heteronormative ending was shoved into the epilogue in this case. I am not a fan.The narration for this is pretty fabulous. I’ve listened to Shane East before (and his pseudonym) and I think I prefer his m/m romance narrations and my only question is, why doesn’t he do more m/m books??? I’m very sorry for what I said about him when I initially listened to a m/f series he narrated. He is very good and more people should listen to his audiobooks.What I really have a question about is Chance Thoreau. The narrator for Olu. WHO IS HE. He only has this one audiobook under this name but I did find a bio on another website that says he’s done a lot of narration work. WHICH MEANS he has a pseudonym and I want to know what else he’s narrated so I can listen to those too!! Or maybe he should narrate more m/m romance books under this name. I’m just saying. I would listen to them.I think they were both very excellent narrators, but like any duel narration, the characters never sound quite like the other depending on who’s reading which chapter. So, like, I love Shane East’s Griff and I love Chance Thoreau’s Olu. But Shane reading Olu never sounded like Chance’s Olu and vice versa for Griff. They both have such distinctive voices for their characters that it was more noticeable and made it sound like there were 4 characters in this relationship instead of just 2 at times. So that’s probably my one issue regarding the audiobook.But one super fun thing that happens with this audiobook is that after Chance Thoreau narrates “the end” he adds in something that’s not in the ebook? He adds in a “boom”. Like giving the audiobook a mic drop and it was GOLD. I wasn’t expecting it at all and had to go back and replay it a couple times because it made me laugh.Overall, I thought this book was enjoyable, minus the epilogue. There’s no really abrupt third act breakup, but more like an extremely short time apart which worked for the characters and the story. Griff and Olu are great. This definitely contained much more angst than I was expecting. I wouldn’t say this is my favorite Talia Hibbert book, but the audiobook narration was fun and Griff has a really great moment near the end where he shows great initiative and I LOVED that scene. The author does write queer m/f books, but I would definitely wouldn’t mind seeing more m/m romances from her!

I loved getting to read Keynes fall in love after getting to know him across the other books in this series. We knew that it could be no ordinary man for him, especially after all the trauma he’d faced to get to this point in his journey. Griffin was a wonderful match, being so brilliant, but in such a contrasting way to Keynes.

It's Talia Hibbert, how could I not love it?! She's a master at creating beautiful and vulnerable characters who will tug on your emotions and end up being so easy to love, and the characters in Work for It are no exception! While Griff stole my heart right from the start, Olu had to work a bit harder for it (heh) though I ended up really loving his character too. I feel like this had a bit of a more sombre tone due to the characters being in a darker headspace and some of the topics tackled are quite heavy, so I would check the content/trigger warnings before reading.This was an M/M frenemies-to-lovers romance and it was a delightful slow-burn that gave these characters room to learn and grow. Griff is a rough-around-the-edges bear of a man who stole my heart completely. He's passionate about farming and flowers and radiates warmth. Oof, the way I wanted to give this man a giant-a** hug the entire time because he has such a soft, delicate and caring heart and his insecurities made me want to rage cry at all the people who ever made him feel stupid and worthless. I hated how Griff would quietly take how people treated him because he felt like he deserved it but I hated the villagers even more for treating him like a pariah because he's a hulk of a man, is openly queer and because of who his mother was. There's big 'must-protect-at-all-costs' energy with this one! 🥺 In contrast, Olu is a cynical man from the big city who ran away from everything by taking a break in the countryside. He has a tendency to be cold and bitterly sarcastic because he doesn't do feelings after a traumatic incident a year ago left him deep in the pits of his anxiety and depression. My heart really broke for Olu too, and there's a bit of a manic aura about him as he tried so hard to find a way to feel comfortable in his skin again.When Olu hits it off with Griff one night only to aggressively push him away by triggering Griff's insecurities, they become enemies who can't stop thinking about or keep away from each other. This was such a soft and sweet romance with simmering sexual tension that built up so beautifully! I loved how their friendship developed and how they learned to build trust and be vulnerable with each other before it slowly grew into something more profound. There's a lot of past hurt and insecurity they both had to work through, including dealing with depression and anxiety, though I thought Hibbert very sensitively handled the topics. I'm also a big fan of the way Hibbert writes her steamy scenes and this was no exception—with the charged chemistry that builds up from the beginning, it's no surprise that when Olu and Griff finally get together it's incredibly explosive and so. freaking. hot! 🥵At this point, I'm really convinced there's nothing by Hibbert that I wouldn't read. Her romances are always so wonderfully diverse, extremely steamy and unforgettable!

“Our hearts are so close, I imagine I can feel Griff’s thumping against his ribcage, and he can feel mine. He pulls back just enough to rub our noses together, and I smile as if I’ve never cried.”I adore these two guys. Whole heartedly.Honestly, at the start I wasn't sure I would. There was a moment where I was kinda angry at one of the characters, he is angry and it bleeds out of him, but I put it down for a bit, came back to it and fell hopelessly in love.“What’s the rush?” I frown, my hands tightening in his hair for a second before I force them to relax.“There is no should. Do what feels right, and if you don’t know what feels right, don’t do it.”“That sounded almost like wisdom.”“Makes sense,” I say dryly, “since I’m very wise.”“Must be your age.”Don't take the title lightly, there is struggle, personal demons and a lot to work for; self-acceptance, self-love, love, friendship, family.Talia Hibbert doesn't tie it in a pretty bow and that's what makes the book as beautiful as the cover on the front of it.I adored each of those things that were fought for and the journey getting there even if it tore at my heart at times.I smiled, laughed and cried reading this book. Wonderful and sad and lovely in so many ways.‘She starts crying again, tears streaming silently down her face as she beams up at me. Then she hands the baby over, and I think I’m crying too. How awful. How wonderful. I love this child.’I would absolutely love to see more of these characters (more family time, and especially more of Maria who's so wonderful and hilarious) but I'm just excited to read more of Talia Hibbert's books, this may have been my first book by her but it definitely isn't the last

I promised to write a review when I could come up with something more eloquent than ""OMG (EFFING) HOT. OLU. SO MANY FEELS. GRIFF. HOT DAMN."So here it goes:I worried at the beginning, watching Olu spiral into a truly self destructive depression that Griff was going to be magical fix-it-all dick.I've seen these before and I find them extremely dangerous. It tells people with mental health issues, that all they need in dick and it tells SOs that if they were truly loved by the person with mental health issues, they should be able to "fix" them. And there is no fix. Because those people are not broken. They have a disease, and if it was a ear infection, you wouldn't be saying that they just need to hear harder, you'd be telling them to get ear drops.This, as I was saying, is not that book. Olu and Griff are awesome for each-other. At a glance, complete opposites in the way they handle themselves, where they come from, what they look like, but not in the core of their beliefs and morals, of what they consider right and wrong. And when that base is solid, the rest is decoration.One that, granted, has shaped the way the face the world, as it has most definitely shaped the way the world treats them, but still, superficial differences.Hibbert also effortlessly develops Griff world, where most of the action happens, in a way that at no point at all seems forced or stretching the truth. Class, privilege, prejudice and isolation are all present in the English countryside and used expertly to show again, the differences, but far more than that, the similarities between Olu and Griff.Now onto the other very important part. The sex IS HOT. LIKE HOT DAMN. LIKE WOW. Like it's going to keep me warm through the winter hot.And it's funny, and slow and enjoyable, and filled with excellent side characters.An entirely delightful book that I can do nothing else but recommend.

4.5 stars I own nearly every book this author has ever released so I thought it was beyond past time I dipped into said backlist. And this was a good choice to get started. Griffin and Olu had an intense connection, but due to baggage on both sides, they really have to Work For It. They are both keeping so much of themselves back for various and sundry reasons, and honestly one of the side characters in this is utterly ghastly, but seeing those grumpy but secretly soft boys open up for each other made my cold heart warm a degree or two. I might need to find a whole week to get the rest of this backlist read. Content warnings include: anxiety and depression, small village treating one of their own absolutely horrible over years, ableism, sex on-page; mentions of parental death, suicide, forced outing, homophobic parents disowning child for being gay, sharing of intimate photos without consent, blackmail, murder, abusive parents.

This was a wealth and explosion of huge emotions, the whole range of them. I felt them so intensely with each line and chapter, so much it was sometimes unbearable, but I couldn't stop reading this incredible tale of angst, desperation, need, self-growth, incredible courage and shining through it all, love, trust and hope. Olu is an amazingly complex character full of scintillating edges and surface charm, all hiding a broken, hurt, fractured soul. It was so beautiful to see the instant connection and almost psychic understanding he shares with the silent but larger-than-life sturdiness that is Griff. Their support systems, in Rebecca and Lizzie among others, are just as incredible and quirky and refreshing with their brutal honesty and insightfulness where our leads are concerned. Brilliant....still reeling from the verbal high of this tale.