Title: Take a Hint, Dani Brown
Author: Talia Hibbert
Series: The Brown Sisters, #2
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Avon
Publication: June 23rd, 2020
Read: June 2020
Format: eBook ARC but purchased the audiobook
Pages: 320
Length: 10 Hours
Rating: 5 Caffeinated Stars
Content Warnings: General Anxiety Disorder, mention of a death of a family member

Goodreads Summary:

Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral…

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?

Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his… um, thighs.

Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint? 

My Thoughts:

As many of you know, Talia Hibbert quickly became one of my favorite romance authors last year (click here for my review of Get a Life, Chloe Brown). So, I was extremely excited to get the ARC of Take a Hint, Dani Brown. Unfortunately, due to a death in the family, this book went to the back burner. I finally found the energy to read, but my focus was all over the place. Instead of reading the ARC, I bought the audiobook from Libro.fm and dived in. This book was everything I wanted and more. Talia Hibbert knows how to craft characters with realistic flaws and scorching hot chemistry. I was a bit worried that I overhyped this book, but that worry faded the second I started this book.

The best thing about this book was how adorable Dani & Zaf are. I loved their friendship, seeing the sarcasm, and watching their awkward moments. I appreciated that Talia Hibbert wrote Zaf with realistic anxiety. Anxiety is such a hard mental illness to show, and I loved that this was handled with love and care by the author and the characters. Something else that I loved about this book was the representation in it. Dani is a proud bisexual black woman, and Zaf is a proud non-practicing Muslim. I just loved everything about the characters.

The plot was quick paced, cute, and everything I wanted. I loved watching the characters flirt and get to know each other. There was just something beautiful about their relationship. This was a sweet romance where both Zaf and Dani took care of each other in ways neither one knew they needed. I loved everything about this book.

All in all, this is one of my top reads for the year. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves witty romances. I laughed, I swooned, and I cried because the book was over. Do yourself a favor and read this book. You deserve this book in your life. Want to give this book a shot? Here are the buy links!

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Libro.fm, The Ripped Bodice