Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (ARC Review)

Title: Take a Hint, Dani Brown
Author: Talia Hibbert
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Avon (HarperCollins)
Date published: June 23, 2020

A digital copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I received my physical copy of the book (displayed in the product photo) as a gift from a friend after reading the digital copy.

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?

⤖ My Review ⬻

Summer is my favourite season for reading romance. Anyone else?! That being said, I read the previous book in this series, Get a Life, Chloe Brown, in January because it was highly recommended by some of my good friends and I absolutely adored it. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten around to reviewing it yet, so I’ll just mention some things about it here. Aside from the chronic pain and health issues that Chloe suffered from, I could relate to her so much!

Needless to say, I became invested in Chloe’s happiness as well as her budding relationship with Red right from the start! If you haven’t read Get a Life, Chloe Brown, I highly recommend it! So, after saying all of this about the first book, it would be quite obvious that I went into reading Take a Hint, Dani Brown with very high expectations.

Dani is Chloe’s sister, and I met her (and their other sister) in the previous book and remember being very intrigued by Dani. I was very excited when I heard that the next book in the series, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, would be about her, and when the synopsis was released, I thought that it sounded quite steamy (which ramped up my excitement even more)! Having read it now, I can say that I really enjoy Talia Hibbert’s books, and that I’ll likely read anything she publishes.

I can also say that the first book in the Brown Sisters series is still my favourite. I just didn’t become as invested in Dani and Zaf’s romance. That’s not to say that I didn’t get invested at all though! And I found it to be very cute and steamy. I just liked the other book more. All that aside though, I definitely recommend Take a Hint, Dani Brown and am impatiently awaiting the release of Act Your Age, Eve Brown!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Talia Hibbert is a USA Today bestselliing author who lives in a bedroom full of books. Supposedly, there is a world beyond that room, but she has yet to drum up enough interest to investigate. She writes sexy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalised identities need honest and positive representation. Her interests include beauty, junk food, and unnecessary sarcasm. She also rambles intermittently about the romance genre online. Talia self-publishes via Nixon House and is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan at Handspun Literary.