Dear Hanna - Zoje Stage

This book is a follow on from Baby Teeth. I own the book but I never actually got around to reading it and I think this is why I enjoyed this book more than others seem to. I felt like I got to see Hanna from a different perspective because I didn’t have any preconceived notions about who she was.

I thought it was a solid read. It was shocking for me because I didn’t know and I liked seeing Hanna as someone struggling to tame the sociopath inside her. I highly recommend reading this one as a standalone. It wasn’t fast paced but the chills were there. I thought the characters were well rounded and I enjoyed the book a lot more than I was expecting to. It was super clever and I actually hope there is another book about Hanna.

4 stars

Dear Hanna
by Zoje Stage
narrated by Helen Laser

Thank you so much Brilliance publishing and netgalley for the gifted ALC.

About the book 👇🏽
Hanna is no stranger to dark thoughts: as a young child, she tried to murder her own mother. But that was more than sixteen years ago. And extensive therapy—and writing letters to her younger brother—has since curbed those nasty tendencies.

Now twenty-four, Hanna is living an outwardly normal life of domestic content. Married to real estate agent Jacob, she’s also stepmother to his teenage daughter Joelle. They live in a beautiful home, and Hanna loves her career as a phlebotomist—a job perfectly suited to her occasional need to hurt people.

But when Joelle begins to change in ways that don’t suit Hanna’s purposes, her carefully planned existence threatens to come apart. With life slipping out of her control, Hanna reverts to old habits, determined to manipulate the events and people around her. And the only thing worse than a baby sociopath is a fully grown one.

✨ My thoughts:
I was not aware that this was a sequel to Baby Teeth! Truthfully, I did not enjoy Baby Teeth but I did enjoy Dear Hanna. I actually liked this book a whole lot more. I know, blasphemy right? But this can totally be read as a stand-alone in my opinion. This felt way more like a psychological thrillers than horror and both the physical and audiobook held my entire attention. It’s unsettling and those dark thoughts were creepin’. If I had to describe it in three words I’d use… dark, disturbing, and delightful. In the best way of course. I’ll happily be keeping this book on my shelves. I’d definitely recommend giving this book a read whether or not you’ve read Baby Teeth. Dear Hanna is out now!

Happy reading 📖

I was a big fan of Baby Teeth and was excited to read this story and sadly it didn’t work for me at all. The story started off strong, but it eventually fell flat for me. The story did have some funny moments but I found the one twist to be predictable.

I loved reading Baby Teeth a few years ago because I’m a sucker for creepy kids storylines and I was not disappointed! Hanna was a young sociopath and unsettling child, but now that she’s grown up and an adult, but is she reformed? Well isn’t that the magic question 🤣

Although this is promoted as an easy standalone, I strongly advise against skipping Baby Teeth! Not because this book can't stand on its own—it absolutely can—but because there's no good reason to miss out on Baby Teeth. Just do it!

This one pulled me in right away! I was constantly on edge, never knowing where the story was headed or how it would end, and I couldn't stop turning the pages to find out! Was it the shocking ending I was hoping for? Not exactly, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

I rotated reading and listening to this one and I must admit that I loved the audiobook! Helen Laser as the narrator did a great job building the suspense and maintaining a tense blood churning vibe.

This psychological thriller was chilling and disturbing, yet it also featured entertaining dark humor and a lovable villain in Hanna!

EEEK! OH MY! Where are my BABY TEETH fans at? I read it way back in 2018, and still think of it often. It was SO freaky, and one the creepiest books that I’ve ever read! So you can only imagine my excitement when I heard that Zoje Stage wrote a sequel, DEAR HANNA. Hanna is now an adult, married, and a stepmother to a young girl. I couldn’t wait to see how this would all pan out, and what Hanna was like all grown up. Her antics are just as shocking, twisty, and creepy as you can imagine. Reading about Hanna’s shenanigans was like watching a scary movie with both hands covering my face, and peeking out with one eye open. If you like dark, disturbing, and unsettling reads, then you gotta give DEAR HANNA a go! It’s absolutely perfect for the upcoming spooky season.

Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and Over The River PR, #partner, for the advanced copy of Dear Hanna in exchange for my honest review.

She’s back!!! My favorite sociopath ever is back and I could not be more excited!!! We now see Hanna as an adult and let me just say, while she is functioning in society, her mind is just as scary and devious, always plotting while not necessarily carrying through on those evil tendencies. We really see her try to keep her inner demon at bay for the most part…until too many changes start to happen that she has no control over. Then we begin to see the old Hanna reappear, the one from her childhood, and all bets are off as to what happens next! The twists and turns this one took kept me guessing all the way through!!! ⁣
⁣
I love that while this book is a sequel of sorts to Baby Teeth, it absolutely can be read as a stand-alone. But trust me…you want to read both! They are both 5 star reads for me…and I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Hanna! ⁣


Audio thoughts: This was such an addicting audiobook – with the narrator, Helen Laser, doing an amazing job keeping me engaged the entire time. She was able to add just the right edge to her voice for Hanna’s part to make this equal parts creepy and sane when needed. It was such a great audiobook and one I totally flew through in one day!

So this was my first book started in August and let’s just buckle up for a wild month. I devoured this one. It is so creepy and perfect. I was weirdly rooting for Hanna to do some very messed up stuff. Like no biggie just another day in Hanna’s world, get it girl. Her inner dialogue had me cackling and I loved the letter writing to her brother. I just couldn’t get enough. Also, didn’t realize this was a follow up to Baby Teeth. I haven’t read that one yet, but you better believe I’m going to now. I had no issues with not reading the first and now I’m excited to go back and have a few “oooo” moments. Seriously pick this one up if you need some “messed up” in your life

This book is darkkkk and I absolutely loved it. This is a sequel to Stage’s book, Baby Teeth, but I actually listened to this one as a standalone. I think I enjoyed it MORE with not having the background knowledge from Baby Teeth and having to slowly piece things together. It created a mounting sense of dread as I watched Hanna unravel.

Told in Hanna’s voice, and also through letters to/from her brother, Goose, this story slowly provides information from the past. At the same time, we get to watch Hanna fall in love, get married, and become a model stepmom. Things go off the rails pretty quickly, and this is one that I couldn’t look away from.

I listened to Dear Hanna on audio and Helen Laser absolutely crushed it. She was able to inject just the right edge into Hanna’s voice when it was called for, and I listened to this one from start to finish in a day (finishing up in bed, whispering ‘what the f*****ck’ into my pillow.)

Check this one out if you like horror, unhinged main characters, mixed media, and family drama!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC of this whacky title!**

This is a great sequel/follow up to Zoje Stage’s thriller horror, Baby Teeth, which was a huge bookstagram hit in 2018. I personally think that reading Baby Teeth first makes Dear Hanna more enjoyable, but it’s written well enough to succeed as a standalone.

It’s clear from the get-go that Hanna is still slightly disturbed but hey, at least she’s working on herself! She knows what she wants and is not concerned about who she crushes along the way to get it.

It’s not noted as a domestic thriller, but considering the story revolves around Hanna’s husband and her teen stepdaughter, I’d say it fits that bill as well.

I have two qualms to note: the twist is ridiculously predictable and I wanted more from Suzette, Hanna’s Mom, who was an integral part of the story in Baby Teeth.

And I also have a wish: a mid-sequel (I have no idea if mid-sequel is a thing) I want a teenage Hanna story. Jumping from little Hanna to 20-something Hanna just wasn’t enough for me:)

Even though this wasn’t a 5 star for me, I absolutely recommend the audio book, and especially so if you enjoyed Baby Teeth.

I was so interested in this one I thought it would be really creepy as I've heard Baby Teeth was. I was a little bit disappointed in that sense I don't feel it delivered that entirely. It was just okay for me, it did delve a lot into the mental health aspect of Hanna, and it wasn't horrible, but it was just a little slow and sometimes boring for me.

Hanna seems normal. She's the best stepmother to Joelle and wife to Jacob. But when things take a turn to Hanna's dislike, the sociopath in her is unleashed.

I love dark, twisted tales and Zoje Stage has spun a clever one in this novel. When I thought things couldn't get any worse, the author threw in another jaw dropping twist. And it kept going right until the end! I haven't read Baby Teeth but after reading Dear Hanna, I will definitely be picking it up soon. Thriller fans will devour this one - be sure to get yourself a copy!

𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
4 🌟
-
Yes, Hanna is still crazy and delusional 🤪. _Dear Hanna_ is the sequel to "*Baby Teeth*." Honestly, you can read this book as a standalone and still know what's going on. This book took a little bit to get into; the beginning was slow-paced, but once Hanna started acting like Hanna from _Baby Teeth_, that's when the pace picked up.
The narrator did a good job of bringing Hanna's character to life.
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 Aug. 13
Thank you, Netgalley, and Brilliance Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Baby Teeth was much better IMHO... In this sequel, Hanna is all grown up. The majority of the novel is pretty boring until Hanna finally does something crazy and starts poisoning her stepdaughter's boyfriend's mom, and then herself, with antifreeze. I thought there would be more drama after Hanna's husband caught her about to drink antifreeze but nope... The ending was very anticlimactic. Also it was so obvious from the beginning that Goose was not alive and writing her from school. I enjoy the author's writing but the plot was lacking.

I absolutely loved Hanna, who is the FMC in Zoje Stage's Baby Teeth, and who also happens to be the grown-up version of the child sociopath. I adore Hanna (which sounds weird given her diagnosis) because the inner workings of her mind are so far from realty at times that it is almost comical. She is trying to navigate life as an adult and now she is married with a stepchild. That stepdaughter is pregnant, and it elicits many emotions and feelings from Hanna. I enjoy that the story is told partially through letters she writes to her brother as it helps the reader get a sense of the inner workings of her mind. I could relate to Hanna is some ways (not the sociopathic ones...although sometimes "normal" people may think these things but not act on them). Her relations with family, childhood trauma, and how to get what she needs out of a marriage were some of the real difficulties that we can all face. This was funny, sad, and even embarrassing at times. I loved this book!

Mixed feelings on this one.

I think if this had been a original story with a newly featured FMC I would have liked it more. While it was nice to see how Hanna was doing, her constant references to her childhood got tired. At one point I was really struggling because she reminded me soo much of her mom which was not good because in Baby Teeth I literally had to skip pages of her mom's annoying ass victimization, and I was getting those vibes from our girl.

I also felt like several key factors were predictable and the ending was anticlimactic.

I felt like the story line involving Jo was unique as this is the first of its kind I've read. I do think that Hanna had every right to be mad and act out... maybe NOT to the level she did but I was irritated on her behalf.

It was a decent read but I can't see this book coming to mind if I was asked for good thriller books. I can see myself recommending Baby Teeth which I have done many many times, and this book would be paired by default.

I really need to start reading the synopsis of books I request. I saw the author's name and automatically requested it. I did not realize or pay attention to the face that this is a sequel to Baby Teeth. That books was crazy and Stage hasn't written one I've liked as well as that one until this. Revisiting Hanna as an adult is kind of a scary premise. She was a terrifying child. She tried to kill her mother! But I did not realize the link between the books until she mentions an incident from the first book that made it all click. I would have read this sooner had I known. This was just as crazy and twisty as the first one. Hanna has grown up but still has her demons.

Dear Hanna is a follow up to Baby Teeth, following Hanna from her troubled childhood into adulthood. 24-year-old Hanna is just as complex as she was before, but now that she's manufactured a normal-looking personality, she's easier to sympathize with. She's trying to recover from her past, but when things get chaotic, she reverts to her old behaviors. What's missing from this life update is the horror genre. Of course, Hanna is doing villainous things, but there's no dread and very little suspense. Maybe the horror is in rooting for a psychopath.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨(4.5/5)

Trigger Inducing Themes: Manipulation, pregnancy/miscarriage, politics (abortion topics), self harm, suicidal ideation, guns, descriptive menses and blood talk.

This book is the follow up to 𝗕𝗔𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛 and this follow up novel is…in a word, 🅳🅰︎🆁🅺! Hanna is now 24 years old, she’s married with a teenage step daughter the she adores (can you believe it!?!) and a career she loves…she’s quite good at it too. It’s an appropriate career for someone like her who can disguise the pain she inflicts on people as an oopsie.

On the surface everything appears to be going smoothly in Hanna’s life, she’s away from her bio family except for her lil teenage bro Goose (Gustav), but her crazy is always on small annoyance away from bubbling back to the surface.

I loved following Hanna’s inner monologue. She’s prob one of my fav crazy villains to read. Omg the way Hanna talks about this little kid at a cookout was so terrible that I had no choice but to laugh out loud, she was calling him “snotface” or “sh!thead” he’s a toddler who is in desperate need of a diaper change. She’s the worst but somehow entertaining at the same time.

It was a good one and I felt like the characters were well developed. I wish there was a bit more pop to the end. However…that leave it open for another book about Hanna and I’m here for it.

If you’re looking for a bloody good time with a demented individual, look no further. It’s Hanna time!

I’d like to preface this with the fact that I was not the biggest fan of Baby Teeth. That being said, when I saw this was the return of Hanna, I needed it to be a redemption story. I needed to like/love this book.

Zoje Stage redeemed herself with Dear Hanna. I listened in complete shock as each chapter unfolded and Hanna was met with her match in Joelle. It felt right. It made Hanna’s past character more interesting. All this being said, you can read this book as a standalone.

The premise of the book was interesting and made for a fast paced listen. The letters between Hanna and Goose kept me so very invested. A little predictable, but fascinating to hear the back and forth between siblings via letter correspondence. It all made for a chilling story to follow.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC.

DEAR HANNA started off with a bang. I liked the build up of this story. I knew something bad was going to happen and I couldn't wait to see what it was! Some of the characters were a bit gullible at times, so when the book came to an end it was a bit shocking for them. Overall, I enjoyed the audiobook. The narrator kept me in suspense the entire time!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for my gifted copy.

This review will be shared to my Instagram account (@coffee.break.book.reviews) closer to publication date.