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

challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was fun, it was quick, and the romance was fairly cute. I always appreciate the romance novels that kinda break out of the established characters that most romance novels have and I think this one does to some extent. Normally, it is the guy who's the cynical, only-one-night type and the girl is the hopeless romantic, so it was nice to see that dynamic switched.

I will say this book was pretty cringe at points. Not to the point of making me want to stop reading, but it was definitely noticeable. There are only so many times you can read a 27-year-old PHD student refer to sex as 'boinking' before you kinda sigh and roll your eyes at it.

I would've rated this book higher, but some of the choices the author made in the end definitely tanked the rating for me, so I'll put this next bit under spoilers.

I don't like third-act breakups. I ESPECIALLY don't like third-act breakups when they literally occur in the last 2-3 chapters, when we had been led to believe that whatever reason the couple had to break up has already been resolved. And I gotta be honest, Dani was kinda annoying me by the end of the book. It's totally understandable for her to have some hangups about relationships after what she's been through, but at a certain point I feel like you need to deal with insecurities you might have in yourself before you open yourself up to a relationship. Not to say that insecure people CAN'T be in relationships, but sometimes you need to realize there are things that you need to work on so you don't unintentionally take them out on the people you care about, and Dani didn't do that.

I WILL say in the book's defense that both the characters and the author made it clear that Danika was in the wrong and they didn't try to play off her hurting Zaf as "well she has trust issues because of her past relationships!!". I would've rated it even lower if she hadn't taken responsibility, but she did, so I'm happy with that.

Overall, this wasn't the best romance I've ever read, but I had fun.