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A review by beckyyreadss
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I wanted to read this book as my goal last year was to discover new authors and Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters has been all over the book community that I decided to start the series. I loved the first book, but this book knocked my socks off.  

This book has two points of view. The first one is Danika Brown and she knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and occasional great sex to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? She doesn’t believe in romance. 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. The second point of view is the brooding ex-rugby player turned security guard Zafir Ansari and he ends up rescuing Dani from a elevator when a workplace fire drill gone wrong. A video of the rescue goes viral. Now half of the internet are shipping #DrRugbae and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sport charity for kids could really use the publicity. Dani has a plan: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. There is only one problem, grumpy Zaf is secretly a hopeless romance and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dir. But the former sports star has issues of his own.  

This book is just amazing and emotional and brilliant. I want a Zafir, please and thank you. This was the first book I've read that included Rugby (and a Rugby girl, I loved it). I love both MCs, I relate to Dani a lot with trying to shut out romantic relationships, but then I also relate to Zaf with his anxiety and being a hopeless romantic. This book had me kicking my feet like a five-year-old, pacing and almost crying with the characters and blushing during those spicy scenes like damn I was reading this book in my car on my lunch break. It was fast paced but didn’t feel rushed. The whole way through this book I was rooting for both and just wanted them to be happy. I loved that this book also explored hard topics such as grief and mental health and Talia did it very well. There were moments where Zafir talked about his anxiety and I felt it in my bones and I want to thank Talia for writing it so well and showing the impact of mental health on men in sports and men in general. I loved the aspect of fake dating due to the viral video as well and thought it was a funny and new way to do the fake dating trope.  

I love this book, it is going to live rent free in my head for a few months, that’s for sure. I cannot wait to read Eve’s story. 
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