{"id":12084,"date":"2019-09-14T21:37:35","date_gmt":"2019-09-15T01:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12084"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:26:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:26:27","slug":"work-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12084","title":{"rendered":"Work for It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Work for It<\/a><\/em> (2019) Talia Hibbert<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The story begins with Olu, who is pretty clearly damaged, and doesn’t know how to fix himself. After a failed pick-up, he decides to run off for awhile.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t remember what it\u2019s like to be happy. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not as though I didn\u2019t see this coming. I have been slightly\u2026 distant all my life, so these recent changes are a natural escalation. I don\u2019t feel the things I used to, can\u2019t catch the cold echoes of emotion I was raised on or the flashes of intensity I used to hunt down and leech like a vampire. Which means it\u2019s finally happened; after thirty-eight years of fighting it, I have become an alien species.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then we meet Griff, who manages the local farm and helps create the cordials that have put the farm on the map in recent years. Griff has always been seen as an outcast–first for not having a father and then for growing into a giant, and finally for the death of his mother. <\/p>\n

Live now, Griff, not in the past or future. It\u2019s no use being a phantom citizen of the present.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Griff and Olu meet and things go badly, and then it’s worse when Olu shows up at the farm.<\/p>\n

If the story didn’t open with Olu, I probably would have abandoned it. Because Olu is pretty harsh to Griff, who already has enough problems of his own. But then Griff at least has Bex, who looks out for him when no one else does.<\/p>\n

Olu has a sister he does his best to protect, so he fears letting her know what is happening in his life.<\/p>\n

and yes, I have a pregnancy journal, and no, I don\u2019t think I\u2019m overdoing it. My sister is diabetic. I am keeping an eye on this.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That protectiveness makes it absolutely clear that Olu isn’t bad, he’s just very broken.<\/p>\n

There is a LOT of angst in this story. And a lot of terrible history that has hurt both Griff and Olu, which meant I was really rooting for BOTH of them to start to put their demons in the past and live for themselves and stand up for themselves.<\/p>\n

It also means that once they start to get past their pasts, it’s beautiful and lovely and really damned happy.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Nixon House
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Work for It (2019) Talia Hibbert The story begins with Olu, who is pretty clearly damaged, and doesn’t know how to fix himself. After a failed pick-up, he decides to run off for awhile. I can\u2019t remember what it\u2019s like to be happy. It\u2019s not as though I didn\u2019t see this coming. I have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,207,148,26,56,934],"tags":[210,641,50,211,544,604,513,182],"class_list":["post-12084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-mental-health-rep","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-trigger-warnings","tag-anxiety","tag-bad-family","tag-boinking","tag-depression","tag-mm","tag-outing","tag-suicide","tag-talia-hibbert"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-38U","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23376,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23376","url_meta":{"origin":12084,"position":0},"title":"Damaged Goods","author":"Michelle","date":"March 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Damaged Goods (2018) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood) The worst thing about Samir\u2019s parents\u2014worse than the cruelty, the manipulation, the toxicity\u2014was the fact that Samir had loved them. You would think, with the number of awful things she\u2019d done in her life, that they\u2019d all blur together. But she remembered every desperate,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Damaged Goods","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Damaged-Goods.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24688,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24688","url_meta":{"origin":12084,"position":1},"title":"Untouchable","author":"Michelle","date":"June 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Untouchable (2018) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood #2) If you want me to read all of this, it\u2019ll take me a while. And I\u2019ll need digital copies.\u201d \u201cYou will?\u201d He glanced up. \u201cOh, yeah. Turns out I\u2019m dyslexic.\" Zach: Want to get a drink? Hannah: No. Zach: Want to eat cookies and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Untouchable","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Untouchable.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24690,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24690","url_meta":{"origin":12084,"position":2},"title":"That Kind of Guy","author":"Michelle","date":"June 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"That Kind of Guy (2019) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood #3) In truth, Zach was a messy fucker who resented his own compulsion to fill in other people\u2019s gaps but couldn\u2019t make himself stop. \u201cI like being around you, Zach. Even when you\u2019re not performing.\" She\u2019d been taught so thoroughly that standing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"That Kind of Guy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/That-Kind-of-Guy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14236,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14236","url_meta":{"origin":12084,"position":3},"title":"Bad for the Boss","author":"Michelle","date":"April 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bad for the Boss (2017) Talia Hibbert He turned to his right and found a group of sober-ish women. \"Excuse me; I don't know this girl, but I think someone needs to look after her.\" The women blinked at him, then at the girl, and then, as though choreographed, they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bad for the Boss","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Bad-for-the-Boss.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12589,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12589","url_meta":{"origin":12084,"position":4},"title":"Mating the Huntress","author":"Michelle","date":"March 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Mating the Huntress (2018) Talia Hibbert Luke Anthony is a werewolf. Chastity Adofo comes from a family of Huntresses, although she herself is forbidden to hunt. twenty-five years ago, on the day of Chastity\u2019s birth, some batty old oracle had rocked up to the delivery room and told her parents\u2014\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mating the Huntress","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Mating-the-Huntress.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23374,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23374","url_meta":{"origin":12084,"position":5},"title":"A Girl Like Her","author":"Michelle","date":"March 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A Girl Like Her (2018) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood) Avoiding conflict was his mode of operation. They\u2019d taught him that at basic training, once they\u2019d figured out his hair-trigger temper. Always avoid conflict. \u201cNo,\u201d she interrupted. \u201cBut you don\u2019t need to cook for me.\u201d \u201cI do,\u201d he said calmly, \u201cbecause if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Girl Like Her","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/A-Girl-Like-Her.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12084\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}