Take a Hint, Dani Brown Review – or me trying to make you believe that this is the best book ever written

Name: Take a Hint, Dani Brown

Author: Talia Hibbert

Content Warning:

• Anxiety
• Car crash
• Death (parent and sibling, mentioned/discussed)
• Grief
• Panic attack
• Sex

Genre: Adult romance

---

Synopsis

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?

---

I just want to give you a heads up that this is probably going to be an incoherent post as I am trying to express my adoration for this book and for Talia Hibbert.

Oh, my lovely reader, I don’t even know where to start.
I am not a big fan of romance books. I don’t read them that often and they are not my first choice (ever), but, I had to pick up Talia Hibbert’s books because of the hype and I was not disappointed.

The characters are so loveable! They all have their unique characteristics and flaws and I love them for those. Even though I don’t expect any character growth in a romance novel there is some in this book (and it’s predecessor) and it’s what I want to see in my books – people growing and becoming better because of their loved ones (not stories about characters doing a 180 -people rarely do that in reality).
Here we have friends to lovers situation. And I love the fact that they were already friends (even though one of them liked the other from the start but let’s forget that minor detail and enjoy the friendship).
I really do not want to talk much about it because you should read the book and see their relationship develop. (Keep in mind it is a short book it will happen relatively fast but it’s enjoyable)

Another thing I absolutely adore about this book is how Talia Hibbert handled the plot about Zafir’s grief. As a person who still struggles with the death of a loved one, I can definitely relate to Zafir. I was really glad to come across a character who goes through the same thing I go through. I think that the fact that I resonated with Zafir shows how good that part is written. Now, I know that not everyone deals with grief the same way – and that is okay, we are all different- but this book felt as if it was written for me
The book sends out a positive message that it is okay to not be okay, that you don’t have to get on with life as if nothing had happened, that it’s okay to feel. It’s exactly what I needed to read. It encouraged me and sparked a little light in me – that – I’m not broken I’m just healing.
I do apologize if you don’t see it the way I did, I do realize that other people might be triggered by that part – I was just never much sensitive to content that might affect some other readers.

In conclusion, I absolutely adore this book. It is my all-time favourite contemporary romance, I do not think that anything can take this book’s place. Can’t wait for the next book in the series. Talia Hibbert is a must-read author for me now and probably the only romance author whose works I truly enjoyed (not just as a light summer read). I’m still so happy after reading this book like 8 hours ago.
Pick up The Brown sisters trilogy!

That’s all I wanted to say. Bye. Talk to you in the comments. ❤

Image belongs to Goodreads.
List of content warnings is from here.