Book Review of Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Summary:

"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?" (Source: Goodreads)

My Review:

"Take a Hint, Dani Brown" by Talia Hibbert is 361 pages, the second book in The Brown Sisters series, and is told from the perspectives of both Danika and Zafir. This is a Contemporary Romance and you guessed it……..funny as hell. One thing about Talia Hibbert is when she says it's a RomCom that means you're gonna be cackling and teeheheing (I'm sorry I don't make the rules). I was originally supposed to Buddy Read this with someone but they left me in the dust like Lightning McQueen (KACCHOW!).

This book contains topics such as the trauma of dealing with the death of loved ones and general anxiety disorder. The author included a very thoughtful author's note at the beginning to let the reader know these topics will be discussed. I feel like the way she wrote them into the story was handled with SUCH care and purposeful intention and no as a plot device.

I was SO excited to read this because I love me some fake dating and I love Talia's writing. She could write a love story between a stop sign and a green light and it would make the New York Bestsellers List. But seriously I was excited to see how different Chloe and Dani would be and Talia did NOT disappoint. You don't even need to read Chloe's book (but you should) to thoroughly enjoy Dani's book. These characters are so well thought out and you can feel their personalities just surround you while you're reading the book.

Danika Brown, also known as Dani, is a 27-year-old hot witchy bisexual PhD student who's confident about herself, but in denial of letting herself feel feelings. Like the number of times she tries to deny her feelings was commendable. Homegirl was tryna manifest them away. I loved how I could relate to how hyper-focused Dani is on her academic work because WHEW been there done that………probably have to do it again (can someone just give me a Masters Degree under the table). I really resonated with her consistent late nights doing research and having a hard time giving others the same amount of devotion that they expect out of her. BUT one thing Dani's gonna do is explain very clearly what she wants in the bedroom. I respect that and I'm taking notes. Other than her constant denial of her feelings and never wanting to share them, she really does have her shit together. Maybe not the sleep schedule but who does?

Zafir Ansari, also known as Zaf, also known as the 31-year-old cinnamon roll romance reading grumpy but sweet KING. Zaf, you're amazing, I love you, and you're the only bitch in this house I trust.

Also, he is a THICC man and we love to see it. I have already signed up to be apart of his Fanclub and I'm applying for the Vice President spot. Dani already has the President spot (nice try!). Zaf is Punjabi and a non-practicing Muslim. He loves his family and I enjoyed reading the interactions and personalities of his family members. They all felt like such wholesome characters who really were his support system. Also, Zaf has anxiety and has be diagnosed with it for most of his life and I liked that he doesn't just push it to the side and acknowledge every now and then. It is very much apart of his character from beginning to the end of the book.

I really enjoy that Talia writes characters that have other things than just a relationship going for them because it's realistic to have your own friends, hobbies, and interests. So she's very consistent with providing those types of main characters. *stands up mid-blog post to make a toast* Here's to Talia for providing tons of wonderful characters for us to feast on and many more to come.

I would like to take a second to talk about the sex scenes in this book. I'm pretty sure my brain overheated, shut off, and had to be restarted while reading them because I REREAD them like 3 times each and if I think about them too long I'll freeze and just start blinking. I already feel the need to reread the scenes while typing this out. They were THAT passionate and steamy. LIKE COME ON CHAPTER 12 IS EVERYTHING AND MORE!!! It's also so funny to me that Zaf and Dani thought they could just be like haha bro what's up? After that……..who were they trying to fool??

Also, the conflict that Zaf and Dani face is more under the "overwhelmed by the situation so you freak out" trope…..I don't know if there's an actual name for that. Of course, it got my stomach in knots but the way it was resolved was SO SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL AND JUS-…….I'm getting worked up again. This conflict did feel smoother than Chloe and Red's conflict, but it hurt me just the same and the way that epilogue HIT. It was so domestic and sweet. I really did enjoy it…….and cry. Yes, I cried!!

Overall I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads and I definitely plan to reread this book…… and no not just for the steamy scenes. I walked away from this book really feeling that this book and Chloe's book (Get a Life, Chloe Brown) really are like 2 different sisters that have different perceptions of life and understanding. You definitely don't need to read Get a Life, Chloe Brown to read this one (but you still should so you can scream with me about Red and Chloe....come on don't leave me hanging)

Also Dani and Zaf Moodboard:

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