I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I had been a fan of Get a Life, Chloe Brown, so I knew I needed to grab this one, as well! So thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me get an advanced egalley. If you love a diverse, steamy romance with all sorts of representation (be it race, religion, or anything), then this is the book for you. It's witty, the characters are great, and I enjoyed the story. Talia Hibbert is a new favorite!

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I don’t think there was anything extremely bad about it and I’m sure many people would enjoy, but the storyline just didn’t keep my interest.

Consider me thoroughly charmed! Talia Hibbert has done it once again. By “it,” I mean create a beautiful and diverse cast of characters that make my heart squeeze with happiness. This friends to lovers // fake dating story was just what I needed. Danika Brown is the snarky, bisexual queen of my dreams, and Zafir Ansari is my new favorite grouchy cinnamon roll hero (crusty on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside).

Once again, Hibbert has written a… prickly isn’t the right word, maybe tough and guarded (?) heroine. Those Brown ladies are tough nuts to crack, good thing their heroes are up for the challenge! I think the best part about watching Dani fall so, so hard is how subtly Zaf got under her skin. She made Zaf a priority in ways many people wouldn’t notice or understand. Of course, Zaf being in touch with his emotions, and Dani’s, sees the soft and kind woman under it all. He also sees the romance in the small ways Dani reaches out to him. It was a beautifully balanced romance once those two crazy kids figured it all out.

One of my favorite parts of any Talia Hibbert novel is the rich cast of secondary characters that support and push the main characters in their growth. Both Dani and Zaf needed to grow individually to make their romance work. Their family and friends were the perfect catalysts for change.

I did feel like there were parts of the dialogue that were pulled out way too long, and at times around the 70% mark, the plot started to drag for me. I just wanted them to get to it! Maybe that’s because I was so excited for my beloved characters to finally get their HEA. I also thought the fake dating plot point was thin, really thin. But it didn’t take away too much from my overall enjoyment of the story.

Overall, this is another winner from the indomitable Hibbert! If you like charm, representation, and a hero that will make you feel swoon-y, this is the book for you!

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

This book was absolutely phenomenal, and is one of the books I'd instantly shove under anyone's nose if they gave me any excuse at all. In fact, if you haven't read it, go do yourself a favour and go read the goddamn book right now!!!

Dani and Zaf, heroine and hero respectively, have amazing chemistry, are super by themselves and together, are so emotionally supportive and compassionate with each other, and I just melted several times in my seat into a giggly puddle while reading this book. Dani is a Black bisexual woman, working in academia, while Zaf is a Muslim ex-rugby player who is trying to get his non-profit combining rugby, mindfulness, and emotional literacy for boys off the ground. He works as a security staff in the building where Dani works, which is where they met.

This book is so fluffy, it even has a character named Fluffy!!! (She's Zaf's niece, and he heartily enjoys being her embarrassing uncle.) Trauma, anxiety, and other heavier topics are talked about with honesty and compassion. I'm not Black, Muslim, or bisexual myself, but all the people whose intersection is crossed with any of these identities that I've heard from all relished in how these identities were repped. Makes sense, as the book is so tender to all its characters, what with taking care of your emotional health and the importance of that being a central theme to the book.

What I do have first hand experience with is anxiety, and I really appreciated how the book approached the topic. It wasn't over dramatized or sensationalized, but it can severely impact a person's life, especially if they don't have the tools to work through it. This was shown and discussed with a lot of love in the book, and I also appreciated how it stressed that mental health is something we all have to work at just as assertively as our professional goals or physical health.

I also love SO. MUCH. that both the romantic leads in this book are not white, and from the people they interact with, their neighbourhoods, the food they eat, and all the details that make up their lives that show the plethora of cultures that make up the city they live in. Not knocking stories where one of the main romantic leads is white, I'm just really glad that we're getting more and more options!!!

There's a lot more I love about the book, but I just want to go read it now, and you should too!!!! Five stars!!!!

I absolutely loved Get a Life Chloe Brown and was really looking forward to this one. But it was another let down. Dani and Zaf are good characters, but I quickly tired of their perfectness. Even in their grumpy ways, they were still perfect. I read the first 12 chapters and then skipped to the last two. I didn’t feel like I missed anything.I think this was a case of me and not the book

The second book in the Brown sisters series is FIRE! This is everything I never knew I wanted in contemporary romance. This book is sexy and funny while tackling important topics such as anxiety and death of a family member. The characters are so well developed and have such depth-it had me wishing I had these people in my life!
A wonderful, light read that you won’t want to miss!

Super fun, just like the first one. A perfect beach read. I completely loved the two main characters, and Zaf's personality was just SO sweet!

This book just wasn't for me. I was hoping it would be better than book one but honestly book one was better. This book first started out too weird for me. I get that the author was making it sound different to make the point of view different from the sister in book one but it was just off the chart weird for me. To me it was like they were the same person they was in book one. The narrative is what turned me off.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is listed as the second book in the Brown Sisters series, but you don't need to read Get a Life, Chloe Brown before reading it. Chloe is mentioned a couple of times in this book, but you don't need her backstory to appreciate this story.

However, you get to know Danica Brown, who believes in gemstones, goddesses, and friends with benefits - and not relationships. She gets caught in a video that goes viral with Zaff, a guy that she has found attractive for awhile. In the video, it looks like the pair is together and Zaff's business thinks so... so they decide to pretend to date for appearances' sake.

We all know what happens when two people pretend to date... and then sleep together... and insist they aren't going to develop feelings. The book was predictable, but overall it was enjoyable. Dani and Zaff communicated throughout their relationship, which was appreciated. The issues that they faced were real and they handled them in real ways.

This book also talks about anxiety and it does a great job of talking about panic attacks and how they can consume you. It is also a bit graphic when it comes to sex, so be warned.

I throughly enjoyed this book.
This is my second book I have read from author Talia Hibbert and I am a fan.
Her writing is such a pleasure to read this book.
I loved the friendships and the beautiful story of Danika & Zafir.
Great storyline, good flow and such an emotional read.
4 🍒🍒🍒🍒popped!

I loved "Get a Life, Chloe Brown," so I had high expectations for "Take a Hint." And ya'll, this was the perfect combination of sweet, romantic, and sexy. I loved romance-reading Zafir and workaholic Dani.

I'll be anxiously awaiting Eve's story!

CWs: family death and mourning, lots of sex, anxiety/panic attacks, fatphobia, racism

When a video of thick-thighed campus security guard Zafir Ansari carrying PhD student and teacher Dani Brown out of a campus building goes viral, the two friends decide to take advantage of their new notoriety for the sake of Zaf's kids' charity, while also indulging in some super hot and casual sex. I didn't think Talia could top the first book in the series, and yet...

Zaf and Dani are both well-developed characters with chemistry is through the roof. Add in my favorite trope of all, fake dating, and a bisexual Black heroine, and discussions about anxiety, and I'm sold! This books made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion and I'll admit, I even teared up once or twice. Just be prepared to want to smack some sense into the lovers throughout the story.

Heart: 9/10
Humor: 10/10
Heat: 9/10

More reviews like this at www.boobiesandnoobies.com/blog

*Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC

As many of you know, Talia Hibbert quickly became one of my favorite romance authors last year. 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 liked that Zaf had anxiety. Most of the books I have read have only shown women with anxiety. I loved the representation in this book. Both characters were portrayed beautifully, and as someone who has experienced anxiety throughout her life, it was realistic. I loved that it represented a reality that I have lived through for most of my life.

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.

Ahhh another hit from Talia Hibbert!!

This was steamy, sweet, and another slam dunk!!

Talia Hibbert has definitely become a fav romance author of mine! What a crack up! Dani and Zafir.... fake dating that may lead into a romance?! I definitely would recommend this author if you're a romance fan. I feel like this is way more than romance as well because Hibbert always does any amazing job exploring mental health issues and has more of serious issues that are explored behind the "romance."

I loved it and can't wait to see what the next book in the series brings us!

4 stars!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 6/23/20
Published to GR: 8/5/20

I actually liked this one even better than the first book which surprised me because I loved the first one.
Dani Brown is a doctoral student who has no interest in romance. However, she does have a very big crush on the security guard, Zaf, where she works. When a video of Zaf carrying Dani out of the building goes viral, Zaf asks Dani to pretend to be together to promote his charity for children.
I love the way this book handles past trauma, toxic masculinity, and anxiety. The fake dating trope is one of my favorites and this book does it very well. I also like how Talia Hibbert includes so many different issues in a romance novel that is still fun and steamy.

Oh my goodness, I don't know if I can fully explain how much I loved this book. I'm no stranger to Talia's writing, I've been a fan since her self-pub debut. And over the years, some books have worked for me more than others, and a handful truly hit home for me (have yet to read one that was a complete miss, for the record). Anyway, Take a Hint.... is definitely going to fall into that handful of perfect reads from her. I loved Dani's character, loved how sex positive and unabashedly horny (and queer) she was. I loved that Talia twisted typical tropes a bit here and Dani is the one who's not interested in relationship or love while Zaf very much wants to give her everything, forever. There's great banter, great chemistry, the sex scenes were hot as fuck, and the romance was so satisfying. I cannot stress it enough: I loved this book so very much.

First of all, can we talk about the steam in this book! OH MY GOSH! I loved every minute of it. This is the second book in the Brown sisters stories and I loved it. This book is a friends to lovers AND fake dating storyline. I loved that this book features a woman of color who's bisexual and also that we had a man who was Muslim. It talked about anxiety and handled the topic beautifully. I really loved this storyline and think that Dani and Zafir were a great couple to spend some time with.

If you loved Get a Life, Chloe Brown, then you most definitely should add Take A Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters, #2) to your TBR list! Talia Hibbert returns with the quirky Brown sisters and this time readers join Dani as she contemplates love in this steamy fake dating rom-com!

Synopsis: Danika Brown has no interest in love. She’s been there, done that, and gotten her heartbroken. It doesn’t matter anyway, Dani is focused on work and working her way towards professional success but she’s not against having some fun. Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend with benefits, someone who knows their way around the bedroom.

During a workplace fire drill gone wrong, Dani finds herself being rescued by the brooding security guard, Zafir Ansari. Dani thinks it’s a sign from the universe that Zaf is her friend with benefits. There’s only one problem though, Dani’s rescue goes viral and everyone is shipping Dani and Zaf as #DrRugbae. Dani realizes that Zaf has been hiding his past, as a professional rugby player, and that his charity could use some publicity to get donations. Dani and Zaf decide to play along and pretend they’re really in a relationship, that way everyone wins – Dani gets her sexy time with Zaf and Zaf gets money for his charity.

There’s only one problem, Zaf is actually a hopeless romantic and looking for a real relationship with Dani. The longer the charade goes on, the more in love with her he falls. Will Dani freak out and run, or will she finally take a hint that the universe is trying to give her more.

Review: I really liked the first book in this series, Get a Life, Chloe Brown, so I was excited to read this one. I’m so glad I did! It completely blew the first book out of the water. Talia Hibbert is a writing genius. The best part of all? This book was STEAMY!

Not only is this book full of diverse characters, but Danika Brown is the girl everyone wants to be best friends with. She is smart and sassy, has an amazing fashion sense, and a spunky and eccentric personality. Like seriously, can I just be Danika Brown when I grow up? Zaf is also such a great character. Strong, brooding, sexy – what’s not to like? Especially since deep down under is rough exterior he is the sweetest and kindest person.

“Anything you want to do, you can. Hurdles were made to be jumped. Glass ceilings were made to be smashed. But all that can be exhausting, so make sure you can for yourself too. There’s great value in the things that bring you joy.”
― Talia Hibbert, Take a Hint, Dani Brown

Overall I absolutely loved this book. I’m looking forward to rereading it in the future, that’s how good it is. I definitely recommend it to all rom-com fans, especially if they love steamy scenes and strong females.

Such an absolutely adorable body-positive, sex-positive lovely book! There's commentary on grief and loss that is powerful as well as just a romance that is both inclusive and sexy.