Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Take A Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
Series: The Brown Sisters #2
Published by HarperCollins on June 23, 2020
Genres: Romance, Adult

USA Today bestselling author Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral...

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 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.

The easy lay Dani dreamed of is now 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?

I received a copy of this book for review. This does not influence my thoughts on this book or this review.

I really enjoyed Hibbert’s debut novel Get A Life, Chloe Brown so I was really excited to read its companion sequel! I am very happy to report that Take a Hint, Dani Brown did not disappoint and it had complex characters and an adorable romance.

Dani Brown is not looking for a relationship, she’s tried it before in the past and she’s just not cut out for it (… or so she thinks). When Dani’s friend and security guard Zaf is caught on camera rescuing her from a fire alarm drill, the duo goes viral for being couple goals. Except Dani and Zaf aren’t a couple… yet.

Yes, you read it right folks. We have friends to lovers, fake dating (or is it fake?) and all the adorable cuteness in this one. The blurb above was my own little summary of the novel and definitely shortens up the plot so I recommend you read that above as well.

The gist of this review is that this romance is one of my favourites of the year and I absolutely adored it. I loved both Dani and Zaf and their journey was amazing. I also loved the anxiety rep/discussion of it from Zaf’s point of view and I just adored him. I related to him so much and he’s easily one of my favourite romance leads of the year. I also thought Dani’s journey was quite interesting as well. As my summary hints at, she doesn’t think she’s cut out for relationships. Of course, she eventually realizes it was her own fear holding her back not anything else. While I couldn’t exactly relate to this aspect of Dani’s POV, I definitely understood where she was coming from and I enjoyed seeing her growth. I think Hibbert writes really well-rounded characters and that is my favourite part of her novels (apart from the swoony romance bits).

Overall, Take a Hint, Dani Brown was actually everything. I highly recommend this series for all readers, you don’t even have to like romance to like this one because of the amazing characters. Seriously, add this to your TBR pile.