Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this novel.

I could say so much about this novel, but what I want to portray is that Take a Hint, Dani Brown is one of the most well-written and intelligent rom coms I’ve read in a long time. Dani and Zaf are the perfect blend of sugar and spice. I devoured this novel as I fell in love with the characters and banter. Oh, the BANTER! So well-done.

I would easily recommend this book for anyone needing a fun romance with brains and brawn. Easily a solid 4 stars!

Whoa guys, this one is tender, funny, (at times) crass, and steamy! Normally, this one would be too steamy for my personal liking (certainly a plus for other readers). And the foul language interspersed would definitely give my mom some serious side-eye. HOWEVER, I don’t think I can rate it lower because of that.

Point being, those elements didn’t detract from the amazing story underneath about vulnerability, grief, debilitating anxiety, and trust.

As someone who also battles my own inner anxiety demons, I found this account of two people who face different levels of anxiety (from their basic personalities to past trauma) to be really accurate, relatable, and vulnerable. The struggles and difficulties both Dani and Zaf face really bring the story alive and have you rooting for both their personal journeys to healing and their burgeoning relationship.

If you enjoy relatable mental and social struggles in your stories (with a healthy side of sexy steam), then pick up this new romantic comedy by Talia Hibbert!

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5. Once I got past the fact that Zaf has the same nickname as my father-in-law, I really got into this one—Zaf, a British Pakistani hulk of a man with anxiety (can relate), and Dani, a Black PhD student with a penchant for witchcraft and sarcasm, have excellent chemistry. There’s slightly less miscommunication than in Chloe Brown, though I could have done with fewer reminders of how difficult relationships are for Dani, and overall I think their connection develops organically in a really sweet way.

I adore Talia Hibbert’s one-liners, and she has plenty in this book. Here’s one of my favorites; “Try to look more like yourself and less like seven guilty toddlers standing on each other’s shoulders in a security uniform.”

Danika is working on completing her PhD while she teaches and Zafir works as a security guard in the same building at the University. When during a routine fire alarm Danika gets stuck in an elevator Zafir rescues her. Once the students post pictures and videos of the rescue it goes viral. Which helps Zafir's foundation for children he also works at so they decide to "fake date" and have a friends with benefits. All seems to go to plan until feelings and desires of a happily ever after are brought up.

4 stars (release date June 23, 2020)

You can read all of my reviews at https://www.NerdGirlLovesBooks.com.

Yet another fun, flirty, sexy contemporary romance book by Talia Hibbert. I love her writing, and the Brown sisters are fierce women that you want as your friend.

This is the second installment in the Brown sisters saga, and this time we focus on middle child Danika. She is a driven academic determined to make a name for herself in her profession and can't be distracted by anything as frivolous as love. Danika asks the universe to send her a friend-with- benefits, and it answers by putting security guard and ex-rugby player Zafir in her path.

Danika and Zafir had secretly been lusting after each other for months, but neither did anything about it. When Zafir "rescues" Danika during a fire drill and a photo of him carrying her goes viral, the "couple" are an instant social media hit. Because their instant fame is good PR for Zafir's charity, the pair agree to be a fake couple for one month - all for a good cause, of course. (yeah, right)

As the duo spend more time together, their chemistry explodes into a breathless night of sex. But could it turn into more than just sex? Zafir, a hopeless romantic, is determined to break through Danika's walls, even though he has a few that need to come tumbling down himself. The journey to their eventual love match is cute and adorable to read.

I love this author's writing style. It's effortless to read and her snark and humor is spot-on. I also appreciate the care she takes in writing about sensitive subjects such as mental health issues, grief and heartache. I think we can all relate to at least one of the issues her characters deal with in her books, and the honesty and compassion she injects into her writing is wonderful. As usual, the characters in Danika and Zafir's sphere are supportive and understanding, making it clear that none of us can make it through life without help.

I love this book and highly recommend you read it, as well as the author's first book, Get a Life, Chloe Brown.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

(I will post a review on Amazon on the release date)

Talia Hibbert delivers once again. This book has so much troprnip for me—secret crush, fake relationship—while also targeting topics close to my heart like anxiety with deft and providing excellent representation.

I love Dani so much and want to make her my best friend. Now that that’s out of the way, There’s so much to rave about in this - the vitality of the characters, the bi representation, the mental health representation, the laugh-out-loud humor... loved it all to bits. I adore the Brown sisters, and really love Grandma Gigi - a wonderful side character who I would also like to read a whole book about. This is how romance novels should be, and I wholeheartedly recommend! I essentially read this in its entirety in less than 24 hours, if that tells you anything.

I LOVED this story! From the first page I was hooked. I feel like I know these people personally lol! The main character Dani Brown is smart, funny, and witty. I love her confidence, And how she’s unapologetically herself. Dani She knows exactly what she wants in life and a relationship is not it!! Dani has No time for feelings and distractions, but a Girls got needs ! She’s looking for the perfect friends with benefits, and lots of it. All signs point to Zaf , the brooding security from her building who rescued her from a staled elevator.
Over night they became a hashtag on twitter and decided to go with the flow. They agree to fake a relationship with the rules set in place to NOT CATCH FEELINGS! Their mind got the memo , but their bodies and heart had other ideas .

Wit, steam, and smart characters. What's not to like!? I loved the character of Dani- her job as a PhD candidate was so authentic and I really appreciated that the author made her bisexual without making it "a thing". I liked the fake dating plot line. While this wasn't the most deep book I've ever read, it was certainly entertaining!

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert is currently scheduled for release on June 23 2020. 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. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom. When big, brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and former rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact to him, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Suddenly, 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 is 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.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is a great contemporary romance with wonderfully flawed characters. I love the way even the secondary characters are fleshed out and given significant issues and lives of their own- making them feel real. Dani is a combination of strength, intelligence, and fearful insecurity that she keeps locked down hard. Zaf is my favorite kind of romance character- a sweetheart often more concerned with others than himself but still anxious and thought of as much tougher and hard than he really is. I loved watching the two discover more about each other and take this path together. They discover even more about themselves than each other, and the ride was full of feels. I really adored both characters and how real all of them felt, since none were perfect or unbearably flawed. I was left thinking about this group long after I finished the book, and was left very happy with the conclusion but still wanting more. I will be checking out the backlist and any future books from this author and fully expect to enjoy them just as much.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is a friends to lovers romance with all the feels, and plenty of character development. I look forward to any future books with these characters.

I'm a HUGE Talia Hibbert fan and I adored Get a Life, Chloe Brown (listened to it in audio and it was perfection), but though I enjoyed Take a Hint, Dani Brown, it felt lackluster in comparison to the first in the series.

I'm a huge sucker for a fake dating trope, and add in a former rugby player who loves romance books(!), and I'm sold. I really liked everything about Zafir and how real and vulnerable he felt as a character. I was very, very swoony for him.

Dani was more of a struggle for me. I liked her nerdy side and her dedication to her research, but her commitment issues felt... tiresome for me by the end. It took forever for her to admit her feelings, and I grew tired of waiting for her to get there. I understand why she felt the way that she did, but it felt myself skimming and wanting them to just communicate.

I also am not the biggest fan of social media-based plotline, and I found the overall story arc to be a bit thin. Both characters were well-developed and the side characters were endlessly interesting, I just felt like nothing much happened in the story.

I'm hoping for even better from the third in the series, and I might have to go back to listening in audio because the narrator really made this series come alive for me, British accents and all.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

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THIS BOOK WAS EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST!!! 4.5 stars!!!

Dani Brown, the best bi-con I have ever read, was such an interesting protagonist to read about. Her views on romantic love are something we truly don't see very often from a female perspective in romance. She has been very disconnected from her partners for a long time, and it was nice to see that addressed the way it was.

ZAF IS TOTALLY MY NEW BOOK BOYFRIEND!!! A big, burly man reading romance novels?? What's not to love! Add to that the fact that he runs a charity to help young boys to not fall into toxic masculinity, and I am SWOONING!!!! He is so loving and patient with Dani as she figures things out, and he respects her so much, that he is able to appreciates when she puts in effort for him, and give that back to her ten fold.

Add a fake dating trope in there, and this book was truly amazing! I can't wait to read more about the Brown Sisters!

Oh this book was everything and more that I could have asked for. Talia Hibbert is now an auto buy author for me and I hope to read her back list very soon.

Dani and Zaf we so freaking amazing. I love the faking dating trope, but I think from the very first scene with them it was obvious they both had more than just friendly feelings.

This was perfection, wink wink!

A snarky, delightful heroine and a cinnamon roll hero who reads romance novels. What a ride of a book. Dani doubts her ability to be in a relationship so she goes for friends with benefits, dumping anyone who catches feelings. Zafir is the security guard for a building she teaches in, and after an elevator rescue during an emergency drill, they go viral. Zafir has a charity that helps young men with mental health (affiliated with rugby, as he is a former player) and the social media attention helps his charity, so they agree to a fake relationship for a few weeks. But it's already too late for both to avoid catching feelings. A fantastic contemporary romance that deals with anxiety, self-doubt, burnout, and multiple demonstrations of how romantic it is when your partner notices the little things you need throughout the day.

Cute rom com. It’s a little silly at times but oh well. The sex scenes were a little much even for me but this was a quick read

I thought Hibbert's previous, "Get a Life Chloe Brown," was alright (I wasn't a fan of Redmond, sorry!), but I loooved this one. Zafir Ansari is the best (and most attractive) male romance hero I have read in a long while, and I was gushing over him and Danika's connection and sizzling chemistry for the entire book. A great "fake relationship" romance, Hibbert masterfully develops her characters and their growing relationship in an honest, emotionally open way--you really got to see how they fell in love with each other through respect and compassion. "Take a Hint, Dani Brown" is definitely one of my favorite romances of the year!

SO GOOD. SO SWOONY. This book has wrecked me in the best of ways. Fake relationship! Sex pact! The “we can pretend we’re dating while also ignoring the building feelings we’re having for each other” insistence that you know is always, always going to backfire on them eventually! Plus all of Hibbert’s wonderful charm, humor and ability to write those steamy scenes that will leave you needing to take a big sip of water afterward.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my first Talia Hibbert book, although it certainly will not be my last! Dani and Zafir seem like opposites, but they both have things they need to work through before they can fully open up to each other. This romance is funny and heartwarming, with two very appealing main characters and a great group of secondary family and friends. Seeing their initially fake relationship turn real for each of them is simply a joy to behold. I plan on searching out the author's back list and am currently reading the first book in The Brown Sisters series, featuring Dani's sister, Chloe.

In the book's prologue, twenty-seven-year-old Black Britisher Danika Brown prays to Oshun not for a romantic partner, but for "a regular source of orgasms... Someone who won't expect more from me than I can give... Just point me in their direction. Give me a hint." Readers will know from the start just whom Oshun has in mind for Dani, but it takes tough, hardworking, and emotionally un-inquisitive Dani (an example of the rare female ENTJ, in Myers-Briggs parlance) a lot longer to understand just who Oshun has in mind for her. And to realize that it just may be possible to balance a deep commitment to one's profession with a romantic relationship that is about more than sex.

Dani's first serious boyfriend slept with her friend and blamed it on her for being emotionally inattentive and too caught up in her studies. Ever since, bisexual Dani's been more interested in friends with benefits relationships than anything romantic. Though she finds Zafir, the buff, built "grumpy fucker" who's "sweet once you get to know him" man who works the security desk at the university building in which she teaches, sexually appealing, she's not about to act on her attraction. Because Zaf is clearly the chivalrous type, and "Dani couldn't stand chivalry in a man. It frequently led them to make ill-advised decisions, like inviting her to have dinner before sex, or hanging around and talking after sex."

But one unexpected fire alarm drill, one not quite daring rescue, and one viral video later, Zaf and Dani find themselves cast as #DrRugBae, the latest social media romance sensation (a decade earlier, Zaf was the only Pakistani-Brit Muslim to play professional rugby). They both would have just laughed off the whole incident if Zaf's promo-savvy niece hadn't suggested that thirty-one-year-old Zaf could stretch out his five minutes of fame by pretending to date Dani, and could use the resultant publicity to help him raise money for his charity, Tackle It, an organization that helps teach boys and young men in sports how to better to understand their emotions, and to deal with mental health issues as they arise rather than sweeping them under the rug.

Happily for Zaf, Dani's more than willing to fake date him. And would be more than willing to sleep with him—as long as he doesn't demand anything more from her. An arrangement that Zaf gradually talks himself into, even knowing how likely it is that, at least for him, having sex with Dani will bring on all the feels...

Zaf, unlike Dani, is clearly the caretaker type (ESFJ, in Myers-Briggs terms), and as such is more than happy to listen to her talk about her work, bring her food when she's in the midst of a study session, and cheer her on when she's a speaker on a prestigious panel. For her part, Dani is starting to wonder why she's getting "all these warm glowing sparks," none of which are "centered around my genital area" whenever Zaf's around.

Zaf and Dani's romance is fairly angst-free (despite one black moment, brought on not surprisingly by the differences in Zaf and Dani's ability to deal with strong feelings); the pleasures here lie more in Hibbert's deeply drawn characters and emotionally true writing than in any contrived plot. Hibbert is an expert at writing prickly, non-gender-normative females and loving, caring males, even while making each set of romantic partners in her books uniquely themselves, rather than just repetitions of the same two characters from book to book.

In the end, Dani not only takes a hint, but gets a clue. Well, two clues: "Hurting a loved one was like running over someone's foot; you rarely meant to do it, but the bones still broke" and "People shouldn't be changed—but perhaps they should grow." Insights from which any reader, not just ones reluctant to take a hint, can benefit.

Last year, Talia Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown topped all the contemporary romance lists, and was one of the first books we recommended here at The Cool Table. So it should come as no surprise that her next installment in the Brown Sisters series, Take a Hint, Dani Brown is a perfect one-click, one-night, can’t-stop-reading romance for this summer.

I mean, it could not be, but since I just read it and couldn’t put it down and it was PURE ADORABLE, I can safely tell you all that it is. It totally is.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown has all the stuff that makes contemporary romance the most fun you have reading. Dorky and smart heroines with style that you can’t quit picturing. Hunky and grumpy heroes that catch feelings first and hardest. Friends to lovers. Fake relationships. Sex positivity. SO much banter. Only the teeniest amount of angst. Precious realization moments. It’s got it all.

I’m gonna take a hint from the shippers on Twitter in the book and go ahead and call Dani and Zaf #CoupleGoals. Despite Zaf’s love of romance novels and clear crush on Dani, he does his best to ease her into his feelings. And despite her clear horn-on for him, she does not bother easing him into that. Talia Hibbert creates a fun, enviable world for Dani Brown and Zafir Ansari. Her sense of humor leaps off the page and right into your arms. It’s perfect.

And it’s perfect for the moment as well. There’s been a call this week after the confessional threads on Twitter about the racial disparities in publishing and paying authors. Check out #PublishingPaidMe for the details. In the aftermath, the call has been for a publishing black out.

You can support #BlackPublishingPower by pre-ordering Take a Hint, Dani Brown today. It will be out Tuesday, June 23rd.

Review originally appears on The Cool Table.