3.5 stars

This second entry in the Brown Sisters books can easily be read as a standalone. Danika Brown is a strong heroine - confident, sexy, scary smart and seemingly very sure of herself. She has a little daily mini-flirt going on with campus security officer Zafir. Unbeknownst to her, Zaf is a former famous rugby player who experienced a personal tragedy and sort of dropped from sight.

When he impulsively carries her out of a building during a disaster drill, it makes a big splash on social media. Zaf is trying to fundraise for a charity he started so the publicity is good news. He and Dani teasingly agree to faux date each other for a month to kick up more interest in Zaf's charity..

Zaf is almost too good to be true -- handsome, muscular, sensitive, loyal and very family centric. He struggled with depression and the book delves into his coping mechanisms a bit.

There is great sexual chemistry between the two from the get-go. But Dani has been burned and refuses to consider getting involved with anyone on anything other than a purely physical level.
Zaf on the other hand, reads romance novels because he wants to affirm that life can have happy endings. How can they reconcile their vastly different expectations?

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love this book. I always love Talia Hibbert's books and this was no exception. The cast is diverse, witty and fun. It's funny and heartfelt and sexy and I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking for a wonderful summer read.

A plot that involves a fake dating trope and a bisexual lead? Sign me up!!

This is the second book in a trilogy about the Brown sisters, but that being said it doesn't have that many appearances from Chloe, who we read about in Get a Life, Chloe Brown. When the books are like a sister each, I always get so nervous that the author will just recreate what she did in the first book with a new character. But that's not what happened here!

This book covers serious topics such as the male leads mental health as well as the sexuality of Dani. However, I loved that her bisexuality wasn't the story line and the only thing about her. It was very much just a part of her and not the focus which I LOVED.

Overall, I think this book was very well written, covered some important topics, while all at the same time giving you all the feels!! Highly recommend this one when it comes out!

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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“Because the world wasn’t split into unhappy endings and happily ever afters. There were blessings everywhere and a thousand shades of joy all around him. Every shade should be savored.”
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Let me start by saying that this book is super steamy (I’d put it in the rated R category), so if that bothers you, then this one may not be the book for you.

This is the second book I’ve read by Talia Hibbert. She is a black British author who writes about diverse characters and this is her second novel in The Brown Sisters’ Series (Get a Life, Chloe Brown was the first). What I love about her writing is that she includes characters with strong, female voices. They know what they want out of life but they also grow and develop throughout each story. She also includes men who don’t pretend like they have it all together and are doing hard work to be better humans. Talia is a self proclaimed book snob and her wit and sense of humor come through on every page of her writing. There will be three total books in this series. Each one is about one of the Brown sisters falling in love. This second installment comes out in June! Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins for providing me with this advance copy.
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#somecallmecrunchyreads #somecallmecrunchybookreviews #bookstagram

Melt my heart and fell the feels! Dani is a strong independent woman who is on the fast track for a University tenure. Zafir is the security guard in her building. Friendship unites the too until Zafir rescues Dani from the elevator during a safety drill. This romantic moment is captured on film and becomes a viral sensation. Can their friendship last if strong feelings start to develop? Can the two learn to grow emotionally and tackle their mental health issues together?

Enjoy this steamy, yet touching romance novel from Talia Hibbert. I can't wait to read her next book!

The whole time I was reading this, I kept giggling to myself, and forcing my partner to listen to entire passages.

This book is funny, with adorably squee-worthy characters and a plot that managed to be angsty AND low-conflict. I didn’t love it quite as much as the first book in the series, which had more going on in terms of plot, but this was far funnier.

Dani Brown is an unapologetically brilliant, chubby, and gorgeous PhD candidate but she’s not good at relationships. She’s super attracted to wounded, compassionate Zaf, but thinks he’s better suited to “someone serious, someone who didn’t accidentally work through their partner’s birthday parties or, when asked what day it was, respond with “The date of Sylvia Plath’s death” instead of “Our anniversary, of course, darling.”

She is wrong, and I loved seeing her realize she was just perfect the way she was. Also, this is a fake relationship plot with all of the joy and none of the stress. The bisexual rep was fantastic too.

I've been having so much difficulty reading. I've picked up countless books and put them down because of *gestures wildly outside*. This was the first book that I was able to sit down and finish. So thank you Talia Hibbert.

Dani Brown is unlike any main character I've ever read. She's a Black phD candidate teaching. She's (mostly) confident, intelligent and laugh out loud funny. She agrees to fake date her friend Zafir Ansari, a security guard/mental health counselor, after going viral during a rescue attempt. Zaf is the SWEETEST/GRUMPIEST hero I've read in a while. Because of anxiety and fear, Dani is unwilling to go into a long term relationship but Zaf is an out an proud romance reader who doesn't let her fear deter him too much. The dialogue was whip smart and has been the one thing to get me out of my slump.

Highly recommend.

Thank you to Avon Books, Netgalley, and Talia Hibbert for my copy of Take a Hint, Dani Brown!

Talia Hibbert is a very gifted writer. Her protagonists are smart, strong, and witty women who know what they want in life. I adore Chloe and Dani, and have no problem visualizing either of them as I read. I also love that she manages to weave chronic conditions seamlessly into a plot (in this one, one of the main characters has an anxiety disorder). However, in Take a Hint, Dani Brown, the plot fell short for me. It felt like Hibbert was just filling space at some points, and I would end up scanning a few chunks of the book. I wish there had been more to Dani’s professional life or prior life events, because that would’ve added a great deal.

Overall, I’m still glad I read this book, and overall, I enjoyed it! I’d recommend it if you enjoyed Get a Life, Chloe Brown.

This is my first book from Talia Hibbert, a well known romance author. For me, this book posed an interesting problem.
Things I liked about the book:
-diverse and intelligent main characters
-fun romantic story
Things I hated about this book:
-heroine that I felt was shallow and unevenly written
-WAY too much vulgar language- almost every page had bad words!
-open door romance scenes were just way too much for me (and the wording
was just so vulgar and took me completely out of the action)

I would recommend this book if you are ok with lots of language and sexual wording. I was not and this was not for me. 2 stars for characters and 0.5 star for plot.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy.

The concept of this book is original and different. Like Hibbert's first book, this is a fun read. The characters pull you in and are easy to connect with. Although I enjoyed the characters, I found that sometimes their monologs were a bit long and felt have been cut shorter. Hibbert did such a wonderful job with character development that some of the extras felt like they held the story up longer than necessary. Overall, a good read, and I'm excited to read the final installment.

Talia Hibbert's debut was a smash! Romance readers and rom-com fans were so very satisfied with her first book that sometimes book #2 can be a letdown. So not true! Fake dating, alpha males, real writing about anxiety, heat and chemistry and all the things. HIbbert is here to stay on my shelves. She's an auto-buy for me and an "always recommend!"

This was everything I'd hoped for and and more. I love the way Talia Hibbert writes. She creates such charming and unique characters - you can't help but root for them, even when they're frustrating you to no end (which Danika does frequently in this one!). Zafir and Danika were such well-rounded characters, and I loved how the author tackled tough subjects like mental health, toxic masculinity, etc. while the novel is also incredibly steamy...and funny. A romance novel can be and do all of these things, and Hibbert always nails it. AND Dani is vegetarian and there's a cute little part where Zafir tries tofu and really enjoys it. My vegan, tofu-loving self craves this kind of content. I loved Get a Life Chloe Brown, so I'm so happy Take a Hint Dani Brown didn't even remotely disappoint. Very excited for the next book in the series!

This book was just as charming as Get A Life Chloe Brown! This book follows Chloe's younger sister Danika, who has some issues with intimacy. She is looking for the perfect hookup, who won't go catching feelings for her. All signs are pointing to her romance book reading friend, Zafir. When a video of Zafir "rescuing her" goes viral, she agrees to fake date him to help with his publicity. And if they happen to fall into bed together she certainly won't complain.

First off - this book was steamy as hell! Second - I absolutely adored that this book tackled mental health issues and toxic masculinity. This was a beautiful and quick read with characters you couldn't help but love. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a steamy romance.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book.

What a treat it was to read this book!
In the prologue, Dani Brown and her best friend sit bickering at their homemade altar before statues of female deities and ask for help with their love lives. Dani asks for a sign to point her in the right direction -- and a protein bar falls out of her pocket. So...a sign? A hint?

Dani is a Ph.D. candidate at the university where Zafir Ansari is a security guard, working to get funding for his nonprofit organization. From the beginning, we know that Zafir is smitten with Dani and each day when Dani brings him coffee, he gives her a protein bar. When Zafir rescues Dani from a stuck elevator during a security drill and the video goes viral, they become campus celebrities. Dani and Zafir then pretend to date to get publicity for Zafir's foundation. The reader spends the rest of the book waiting for Dani to "take a hint" and stick with Zafir.

One of my favorite tropes is where the hero is smitten from the start and spends the rest of the story trying to win the heroine. Dani has emotional wounds from the past that get in her way. Zafir is a fabulous, sexy alpha who is rebuilding his life after a family tragedy. In a delicious twist, he is also an avid romance reader who is a hopeless romantic. (I'm pretty sure he was reading Beverly Jenkins' Tempest at one point). You will love Dani and Zafir and when the HEA comes at last, you will want to read the all over book again. Talia Hibbert dedicated this book "For the Hopeless Romantics..." and you will absolutely agree.

Five stars!

I’m one of those unfortunate souls who didn’t realize Talia Hibbert existed until I received an ARC of TAKE A HINT, DANI BROWN.
This is exactly the book I wanted to read when I skimmed the blurb. In fact, I'm not sure the blurb does it justice. Friends to lovers, fake dating, swoony with the perfect amount of steam. Her characters are diverse and well-developed, I love Hibbert’s writing style, she does an incredible job of addressing anxiety and recovery after losing family.
I adored Zaf and really related to him. There’s a line in the second half of the book where he talks about why he reads romance that had me rubbing my chest and saying, “Me too dude, me too.”
There’s so much emotion on every page, especially in Zaf’s chapters. I was really pleased with Dani as a character, all of her including her flaws. I’m also pleased to see characters practicing non-Abrahamic faiths in contemporary romance.
Now excuse me while I skitter off to find a copy of the other Brown Sisters novel, GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN.

I love an author who doesn't hold back. From the humor, to the steaminess, to her willingness to explore all kinds of characters and subvert well-known tropes, I really enjoyed reading Take a Hint, Dani Brown. I must say, I didn't love Dani. I found her way too complicated to be truly an enjoyable character. However, her thought processes (as annoying as I found them) are well written, and I like characters with depth even if I don't love the character. I haven't read the first book in this series, but now I will go back and check it out.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book almost as much as Talia Hibbert's debut. While it dragged a little bit in the middle, I adored seeing Dani and Zaf's relationship unfold. I particularly enjoyed that they each got to stay themselves and that the conflict was more internal than the more classic romance-novel trope of miscommunication. Can't wait for Eve's story!

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this title before its publication date.

This book follows Dani Brown (sister to Chloe from the first book in the series) and the reluctant relationship she has with romantic, studly Zafir.

I really loved this! While Dani could be really frustrating sometimes she reminded me a lot of her sister Chloe. Zafir was a DREAM love interest and I would read just about anything about him. 10/10 would get carried out of a building by him anytime.

4/5 stars, can't wait for the third and final book following Eve!

This is the second book in the series and I didn't read the first one so I felt as though I was missing something. I wasn't a fan of this book and DNF.

************************I received an RC for my honest opinion through NetGalley.************************

This book is just as sweet and sexy as the last one. I look forward to the third installment featuring Eve’s happily ever after.