This book single-handedly pulled me out of the worst book slump I’ve ever had. Dani and Zafir are everything I’ve ever wanted in my romances. Dani is confident, incredibly smart, hilarious, feminist as hell, and a bisexual curvy goddess - but still has opportunity for growth. Zafir is a sexy, supportive, sweet, beast in the sack, emotionally intelligent HERO. Zafir has a huge crush on Dani, and every morning when she arrives at uni to lecture, he has a sweet treat for her because he knows how she runs herself ragged.

When Dani doesn’t get the memo about a safety drill and finds herself stuck in an elevator, Zafir throws on the metaphorical cape and carries her out of the (perfectly safe) building to the delight of the students! The image goes viral and Dani decides to help Zafir out with a cause near and dear to his heart by pretending they are in a relationship. This is probably one of my favorite fake relationship romances of all time. These two burn so bright together! #DrRugbae4eva

THIS BOOK WAS JUST MAGIC!!! OMG I loved it so much, it's crazy. I laughed, I cried, I swooned forever over Zaf, and crossed my fingers that Dani would figure out her own emotions. I cannot recommend this one highly enough!!

Danika Brown is the middle of 3 sisters, and she's a bit of a control freak. Also, after a terrible heartbreak in college, she decided romance just isn't for her. She's had a series of friends with benefits, or similar short-term "situationships", and that's all she has time for. She's dedicated to her PhD studies, and her goals of professorship, and she has no time for a boyfriend, or a girlfriend. But, she's become friendly with the security guard at the campus building she teaches in, and though he's HOT, a little flirty banter and exchange of snacks is as far as it's gone. Until the emergency drill gone wrong.

Zafir Ansari is a former pro rugby player, who gave up his career due to a depression and anxiety overload after the sudden deaths of his father and older brother in an accident. Now, he works security at the university, and on the side he runs a non-profit he started, where he teaches teenagers rugby, and emotional maturity, and coping skills. He's wanted Dani Brown since the first day he saw her, but they've become friends, and she's never expressed any interest in taking things further. But, they ARE friends, and after he saves her during the drill, and a video of him carrying her out of the building goes viral, with their own hashtag, he's getting a lot more attention on his charity. He asks if she'd consider having a fake relationship for a while, to take advantage of the attention for as long as possible.

Zaf and Dani's chemistry was wildly hot, and I loved their flirty, funny banter. They really did care for each other as friends, so as they opened up even more about their lives, and their pasts, they came to care even more. It was so beautiful watching them fall in love, without even realizing it, and then when they each DID realize it?? BOOM. It was amazing. Zaf was so in touch with his emotions, and was a total romantic, while still being everything else you want in a romance hero. I mean, a hero who reads romance novels?!? Yes, please! Dani was about the opposite of that. She buried everything deep until she couldn't any more. She acted like she didn't really have any feelings at all, which of course never works in the long run. She was happy to admit friendship love, and love for her family, but beyond that she was a fortress, until Zaf sneaked under her skin.

Zaf's family and best friend were so lovely, and Dani's best friend Sorcha was hilarious. The other Brown sisters, and grandmother, were amazing again, and getting a peek in on Chloe & Red from book 1 was delightful as well. The side characters here were so fleshed out, and added so much to the plot. They really helped the main characters come to terms with their issues, and figure out plans to correct their wrongdoings. I can't wait to get the final, youngest, Brown sister's book next!

Truly, this book was something so special, and I recommend everyone read it immediately! I loved Get a Life, Chloe Brown so much, but I adored this one even more. It was seriously THE. BEST!

Hibbert has seriously skyrocketed into the top of my favorite romance authors. This second installment in the Brown Sisters series is. just. so. good.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown was even better than the first book in the series. The characters seriously shine in this one; they feel real and honest and complex. Hibbert writes actually interesting characters, ones you are eager to read more about and get to know as the story progresses. Lately, I've been struggling with characters in romance novels feeling like they're simply cardboard cutouts being shuffled around into different scenarios. But here, these characters were a joy to read. I also think the author's humor is at its strength in this one. While the first book was funny, this book made me laugh out loud and felt like it resided naturally in the characters' voices.

I am desperately awaiting Eve's story in book 3! 2021 feels forever away! I enjoy the world of the Brown sisters so much, but I also don't want to end!

SQUUUEEEEEEE.

Talia Hibbert does it AGAIN. Talia Hibbert writes real life SO well. And I know you're thinking "but.. real life is (at the minimum) meh right now" - WELL, you haven't been introduced to Talia Hibbert. Because Talia takes all the joy and warmth and pain and beauty and humor of being alive & human, and puts it in words that say I SEE YOU. I mean honestly, the level of DETAIL in this book.

I don't know where to start. Dani is confident, snarky, smart, motivated, focused woman who knows what she wants and is unapologetic about it. Zaf is a loving caretaker with excellent RBF who reads romance novels. Their banter is A+++++. There is also a wonderful cast of secondary characters, several hilarious appearances by Chloe & Redford, and a tiny tiny subplot that made my heart explode into HEA joy.

There is also twitter shade. There are 30 year olds who are not old enough to be stymied by technology and yet (*waves*). There is anxiety and depression and grief. There are jokes about Victorian orphans. There are beautiful conversations about mental health & relationships & vulnerability & success. And none of it feels forced or overwhelming. These are all parts of life that Talia includes in her book, because, well, they are a part of life.

I find it very hard to imagine Dani and Zaf & co are not walking around right now, smiling and scowling at people (respectively.) That's how full these characters are. The romance is swoon-worthy and also incredibly sexy.

Honestly, this book made me cackle multiple times. Usually I would say laugh, but Dani Brown made me CACKLE. It's been 24 hours and I'm still walking around with a smile on my face so, yeah, read this.

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ecopy in exchange for an honest review.**

4.5 STARS

Take a Hint, Dani Brown was a delight. It took me a second to get into it. After that, there was no looking back. Dani is a little crazy like most of us are. She’s all about her job. Romance is not something she wants. Zaf is the man you want to find in real life. He’s a big teddy bear. He reads romance novels. Sigh. I enjoyed their story. I loved the secondary characters as well. I look forward to the next one.

I voluntarily read an early copy.

Talk about steamy! Take a Hint, Dani Brown was definitely steamier than Hibbert's Get a Life, Chloe Brown. I was blushing the entire time!

I really enjoyed this one. I really loved Dani and Zaf's love story. Zaf is totally #DrRugbae for many reasons: He is sensitive, sweet, aware, and caring. Dani definitely was headstrong, but she was independent and never selfish. She realized her strengths and weaknesses and addressed them head-on. I loved having Chloe in the story and her best friend and sister Eve. It was great to read a story with dedicated, strong women in there!

This is definitely a get-lost-in-this-book book and in the best of ways. I love Hibbert's writing (those DETAILS!!!) and the way that she blends strong, independent women and romance. It was so good. I recommend this as a good steamy, beach read for sure!

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollins for this ARC. Book comes out June 23!!! Pre-order this one -- you won't regret it!

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: death of a family member, anxiety, panic attacks.

This is my first Talia Hibbert book, and I completely understand the hype. She has such a dazzling and addicting fast-paced writing style that leaves you wanting more. I really enjoy authors who can write fun books and feature serious subject into the story, making it realistic and something to be able to relate to. She did just that.

The fake-dating trope is one of my all time favorites, and Take a Hint, Dani Brown captured it perfectly! I also loved the diversity in this story, and the fact that Dani is bisexual AND a witch. The sex scenes were super steamy and well-written, and I loved them because they weren't cringe-worthy at all. I also really en joyed all of the characters and their backstories, along with their personalities. Dani and Zaf are amazing characters.

Overall, this was a great romance pick. I highly recommend it!

Danika Brown, known as Dani is a Ph.D - Junior Teaching Staff. Her world revolves around her work, her family and her best friend Sorcha. She doesn't believe in Love and Dating.
Zafir Ansari. known as Zaf - Security Guard and an Ex-Rugby player.
Dani & Zaf have had a few conversations, but nothing more than that. Dani gets stuck in a lift and Zaf rescues her. He carries her our of the lift and for some strange reason this gets recorded and goes viral. The video is all over twitter with #DrRugbae and #couplegoals. Both of them are equally stunned seeing this. But Fatima, Zaf's neice has an idea to milk this social situation on Instagram for his only social presence - Tackle It. With views come money and TackleIT organization needed it. Since people were so crazy to see their opposites-attract-romance, the idea of fake dating stemmed out.
Thus, begins the story of Zaf - Dani and their fake or real romantic shenanigans.

--> Why is Dani so paranoid to get into a relationship?
--> Why did Zaf stop playing Rugby? What's troubling him about his past?
--> Why was Tackle It started?
--> Do they end up together? Or not?

Read it to know it!

Rating - 4/5 Stars
Recommendation - High

Conclusion,
The story is written so well. Loved the character development and enjoyed the hilarious banter between Zaf & Dani. It was definitely a page turner and cracked me up in so many situations. I absolutely enjoyed this book and it was a lovely read for me.

P.S - Triggers - Anxiety & Panic Attack.

I loved this book so much. The hero is a grumpy, cinnamon roll and the heroine a super smart academic. After a video of the two of them goes viral, they enter into a fake relationship to help his foundation Of course they end up falling in love.

The banter between the hero and heroine, as well as between the main characters and their friends and family, is so great. The author does such a great job developing the secondary characters and the relationships between the hero and heroine and their families. The book is laugh out loud funny, but also addresses issues such as anxiety and depression.

Talia Hibbert has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I can’t wait to read Eve’s book!

REVIEW | TAKE A HINT, DANI BROWN by Talia Hibbert, publishing date 23 June

Synopsis
When retired rugby player and security guard Zafir Ansari rescues PhD student Danika Brown after a university fire drill gone and a video of him carrying her out of the building goes viral, the pair decide to fake-date to boost publicity for his sports charity.

Hibbert’s knocked it out of the park again with this incredibly smart, well-written and steamy (did I mention steamy?) page-turner. I devoured this book - it was such a fun, heartfelt and refreshing read.

Things I loved:
Dani. She’s a fierce, sassy and smart protagonist and truly stands out from the crowd. She’s Black, curvy and bisexual and dedicated to her academic research. Hibbert gives her (and Zaf) the positive representation that's been seriously lacking in the romance genre.

Zafir. He is not your average romance hero. He’s Pakistani, Muslim, reads romance novels, suffers from anxiety and runs the Tackle It charity that uses rugby to teach boys to embrace their emotions. He was sweet and caring without being overbearing.

As someone with a degree in Gender Studies, Dani felt like a kindred spirit of some sort and I thoroughly enjoyed all the references to her PhD thesis on literature, gender and post-colonialism. Hibbert includes subtle references to the ways in which (second wave) feminism and women’s writing have ignored Black perspectives.

One of my favorite sentences in the book is “…Dani murmured as she scrawled across a new sticky note A Room of Whose Own? and slapped it onto the wall.” Eat that Virginia Woolf.

Do not miss this book if: you enjoyed Get a Life Chloe Brown, like smart and witty writing, diverse romance and STEAM.

The world needs more of Talia Hibbert’s writing. I can’t wait to read Eve’s story.

Thank you @avonbooks and @taliahibbert for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

http://www.instagram.com/twistsandtropes

Thank you Avon and Netgalley for this ARC! Dani Brown was insightful, sweet, witty, and a complete page-turner. I absolutely adore the Brown sisters and everything Talia Hibbert writes!

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert 5 stars

I have to make a confession - I didn't read "Get A Life, Chloe Brown". I received all the emails, read some reviews, and even bought the book when it came out. I meant to read the first book before I read this one. But this one just captured me and I had a case of "must read". This book has it all - sassy dialogue, steamy scenes, and a sensitive hero. Dani Brown is a university lecturer working toward her PhD and Zaf is an ex-rugby player/now security guard at the university. Circumstances catch them in an twitter worthy event and it is all hashtags and followers. In order to garner support for Zaf's nonprofit, Dani and Zaf do a "fake" relationship. When does the "fake" become "real"? Read the book to find out. I loved this book and I look forward to the last Brown sister next year.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins/Avon for this ARC>

I love the diversity of characters Talia Hibbert puts into her books. In this book you have the second book in the series of the Brown sisters. Dani has just gotten out of a relationship with a woman, and is determined to never be in a relationship. However she has a flirty relationship with Zafir, the security guard at the University she teaches at with earning her Ph.D.

Talia is smart and quick witted, but when the university does a routine fire drill she did not get the memo, and gets trapped in the elevator. Zafir comes to her rescue carrying her out of the building. An opportune photograph is taken and #DrRugBae is born. Talia agrees to be Zaf's fake girlfriend to help him with his charity. These two click on so many levels and they just work. If only everyone could find their Zafir. Swoon.

Thank you @netgalley and @avonbooks {#partner} for gifting me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for an independent and honest review. This book is out on 06/23/2020 so preorder your copy today!

Review of Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
.
Dani Brown is adamantly against relationships. Anniversaries, love, commitment..all of it. All she wants is friends with benefits, no strings attached. Zafir on the other hand, is a romantic. All he wants is a happy ending (literally and figuratively). 😆 So what could go wrong when they enter into a fake relationship to help bring attention to Zaf’s charity? Once a video starts circulating on social media and goes viral with #DrRugbae, they realize they could both gain something from letting the world think they’re a couple. But when Dani clearly can’t take a hint from the powers that be, things start to change and they both have to face their fears.

Another winning novel by Talia Hibbert with more diverse characters living a not-so-perfect life. This is a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that also tackles serious topics, specifically mental health. More steamy scenes 🔥 and a hopeless romantic. I loved the banter between the two, adored their patience with each other, and admired their considerations for one another. I love how the romance wasn’t just all the steamy sex scenes but also the exploration of feelings and emotions. Hibbert gives us a front row seat to watching Zaf and Dani unpack their baggage and do the work of unraveling their emotions. Things seem so simple yet that’s not always the case. The characters are really what made this book because not only are they realistic and relatable, they’re also charming and funny. Kudos to Hibbert for that! 🙌🏼

While this is the second installment in a series following the sassy Brown sisters, it can be read as a stand-alone.

I wasn’t sure Talia Hibbert would be able to top Get a Life, Chloe Brown, but as much as I enjoyed that book, I fell head over heels in love with Take a Hint, Dani Brown.

Dani is a professor and is absolutely brilliant at most things…the one exception to that being love. When it comes to matters of the heart, she is admittedly completely clueless and therefore just doesn’t even try anymore. All she wants out of life is to be successful professionally and academically, and a friends-with-benefits relationship on the side to satisfy her physical needs. When the universe places Zaf, a tall, dark, and handsome university security officer in her path, Dani thinks it must surely be a sign.

Zaf, however, has other ideas when it comes to love. An avid reader of romance novels, Zaf knows what he wants too and it’s all about romance and a happily ever after for him. When a chance encounter between Zaf and Dani is captured on video and goes viral, it’s game on, especially when both he and Dani realize their video is actually generating positive buzz and much-needed donations to Zaf’s sports charity for kids. Dani agrees to pose as his girlfriend for a while to keep that positive press coming. Zaf is great with this arrangement at first, but finds his attraction to Dani growing with every encounter. Can Zaf win Dani over to his way of thinking when it comes to love and romance? Or can Dani persuade Zaf that her way is the way to go?

The main characters, Dani and Zaf were both so adorable. I just couldn’t get enough of them. The chemistry and sexual tension between them is off the charts, and I just loved all of their flirty banter. Dani is so outspoken when it comes to her thoughts on sex and it cracked me up because she could so easily fluster Zaf and leave him blushing. I love the fake dating trope because it makes for such a fun storyline, but man was I rooting for these two to get together for real. They were just so perfect for each other, and I devoured page after page eagerly waiting to see what would happen between them.

If you’re looking for a quick, fun and sexy read with a “Will they or won’t they?” vibe, definitely check out Take a Hint, Dani Brown. You won’t regret it!

4.5 stars

TW: death of a parent & sibling; panic attacks

This was a delight. This is a fake-dating romance featuring a fat, Black, bisexual witch and a Muslim ex-rugby player with anxiety. I find Talia Hibbert’s books to be laugh out loud funny, with a rom-com movie flavor. The sex scenes and sexual language continue to be over the top, but I’m able to forgive it more in her writing because her writing doesn’t take itself too seriously. I also appreciate, having now read two of her books, that the conflict between the couple is always short lived and they talk about their feelings way more than many romance books I’ve read to avoid overly relying on the miscommunication trope. I will be continuing to read the books she puts out in the Brown Sisters series.

This book is full of smut. So much smut. I read it in under 24 hours (which is not normally for me).

The characters were raw and real. They struggled with anxiety and grief. They struggled to admit their feelings. They had jobs that stressed them out. It. Was. So. Good.

I haven’t read “Get a Life, Chloe Brown” but I’m definitely about to. Did I just find a new fav romance author? Yes. Yes, I did.

This book was sooooooooo good. This series is so good!

Something huge about this series is that the classic romance novel gender roles are nowhere to be found. The men are the more sensitive and romantic while the women are a bit more abrasive and take a while to crack. It’s so good to see men portrayed who are willing to work around their partners’ quirks and take care of them as they are rather than “fix” them. It’s good to see a man find himself in an independent woman’s space and find ways to improve things for her instead of expecting her to bend to meet him. It’s just lovely representation of a different kind of relationship, and seeing it represented is so nice.

The banter in this book is so, so funny. There are so many characters and they all interact so well. The Brown sisters and their grandmother all talk so similarly and it’s funny to see the family resemblance. And that’s the thing about this book - I was a little worried Dani’s narration would be identical to Chloe’s, but it just feels like family resemblance between the books. The humor and intelligence from the first book are still there, but Dani is definitely her own person.

And..... the sex scenes?????!!!!! The SEX SCENES??? You will definitely be fanning yourself during this one. There is so much detail, it’s a little criminal. But it’s not done in a way that’s cringy or stiff (well, something is stiff, but it’s not the writing) so if you like realistic smut in books look NO further!!

The plot can feel a little silly, with a fake dating plot, but the fourth wall kind of gets broken about that, which makes it feel like an inside joke.

There’s also emphasis on anxiety in this story, especially in men, and the way that it’s brushed aside more easily for them at times. Zaf lives with a lot of anxiety and grief and with his nonprofit organization, he teaches young athletes how to manage their own mental health productively. It’s just a really sweet addition to a fun and sexy story. Same with Dani’s personal growth from someone who only likes casual sex to someone madly in love.

This is such a good story with so much to enjoy!! Can’t wait for Eve Brown’s love story next year!!

Oh my goodness, I LOVED this book! When, I first read Get a Life, Chloe Brown last year, I fell in love with Talia Hibbert’s storytelling and the way she wove such serious issues into hilarious, steamy romances.

And honestly? I think I loved Take a Hint, Dani Brown even more than I loved Chloe’s story. Dani is fierce, beautiful, driven, and brilliant and the way that Zaf cherishes every part of her and worships her brilliance is something I love seeing. This book made me laugh out loud more times than I can count, and also handled serious issues like depression and anxiety with care and truth. Plus their romance gave me all the feels!

This was such a fun read and I can’t wait to see what Hibbert has in store for Eve in the next book!

I loved this book. It felt like there was a slight gender role reversal, in which Zaf read romance novels and wanted a serious relationship and Dani was scared to commit. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters and the sweet story of these two lovely people realizing that what they have is real.