Talia Hibbert
Equal parts romantic and sensual, the lives of the Brown Sisters have taken “BookTok” by storm. BookTok, a subsection of TikTok filled with book reviewers and excited readers, has taken the initiative to promote and invest in authors of color who write diverse characters in varying genres. Naturally, Talia Hibbert, a Black British novelist specializing in diverse romance, became a popular name. This is how the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author describes her work, “[Talia Hibbert] writes sexy, diverse romance because people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation.” (TaliaHibbert.com)
The Brown Sisters embody Hibbert’s core writing purpose. The close but starkly different sisters each get their own book in the three-part series. Each entry details the complexities of their family, careers, friendships, mental health, and love lives.
The Brown Sisters
The Brown Sisters are of Caribbean descent, British nationality, dark-skinned, and plus-sized. The oldest sister, Chloe, suffers from chronic pain and fibromyalgia (as does Talia Hibbert herself). This leads her to self-isolate and fear vulnerability. The middle sister Danika (BookTok’s favorite), is a bisexual spiritualist and academic. She doesn’t believe she can be a good partner and sees no point in trying. The youngest, Eve, has terrible trouble sticking to a career path, has no genuine friends, and fears disappointing her parents. All this while slowly discovering that she is autistic.
Imposter syndrome, anxiety, neurodiversity, and chronic physical conditions do not take a back seat in Talia Hibbert’s works. She intertwines them so intricately that it is impossible to omit critical aspects of these characters. The Brown Sisters believe that they are too much to digest until a gorgeous man comes along, acknowledges every part of them, and loves them unabashedly. This seems like a fairytale for Black women, but Talia Hibbert reinspires hope, assuring us. Hibbert had this to say in an Entertainment Weekly interview,
Who you choose to star in your romance novels and the happy ending that you give them and the love that you show them being worthy of can be very political. Especially because I write about black women. Black women are often dehumanized and shown as unworthy of love, unworthy of care and delicacy – we’re presented as the ones who care for everyone else, so I do think it’s very political and an act of resistance to center Black women and femininity in romance novels.”
Talia Hibbert for Entertainment Weekly, March 2019
Impact
The books are 18+, but if you are of age and do not mind reading sexual content I highly recommend this collection! The characters are so dynamic, lovable, and demystify Black women in relation to mental health. Talia Hibbert writes Black women in romantic relationships that do not require them to explain systemic oppression to their non-Black partners. I cannot stress how much of a win that is, it doesn’t happen often! I have read a few other titles by Talia Hibbert so I’d be more than happy to do a write-up on them as well.
Really quick! If you want to keep up with what I’m reading, join me on Story Graph. It is a Black woman-owned alternative to GoodReads. It allows you to track your reading, gives you information on the types of books you’re reading, gives you statistics in pie chart form. You can join reading challenges, make your own, and set reading goals! It even gives trigger and content warnings! Oh, and it is not owned by Amazon 😉 Here is my account.
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