I fell in the love with this book right from the beginning. The heroine is a bad ass queer feminist who just wants to get laid. The hero a strong sensitive grump who loves romance novels. What's not to love?!

Dani really does not want to take any of the hints the universe (and her goddess) is giving her about Zaf. Despite his swoony, sweet, and sexy behavior, she doesn’t trust love, until she has no other choice but to accept it. This book deals with important issues and handles them extremely well. Plus, the glimpses of Red and Chloe were adorable. I am just in awe of the awesomeness and can’t wait for Eve’s story next!

This was delightful. It was just what I needed during the pandemic. I think I liked it even better then Chloe Brown.

This book captured my attention from the very first mention of the phrase 'honey on her tit' which just happened to be in the very first paragraph. Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert is a whirlwind of hot and anxious hero, bold and brilliant heroine, and adorably dorky dialogue. Someone bottled perfection and it is this book.


Danika Brown is an outspoken, full-figured, woman of color who is here to change up everything you thought you knew about romance heroines. The way she spoke, her thought processes, her strange habits... everything about her character was either laugh out loud funny or so relatable that I was actually sitting there going, "oh man, that's me, we're the same." It felt like I, as the reader, weren't sitting outside the book reading about her life, I was a part of her life. She's the kind of character you are honored to read about.


Authors often think that if they're going to write an alpha hero he has to be possessive, brash, tough, and strong, both physically and mentally. But Zaf is a example of what a man can be when they actively work against toxic masculinity (in fact, in the book he does work against it). Zaf was a thoughtful, kind, quiet, romance-reading man (yup, you heard me right. He's one of us!). Whenever he opened his mouth I was positively stunned by the insightful things he had to say and, as someone who suffers from anxiety, it really meant a lot to read about a character who experienced similar symptoms. Not to mention, it was nice that it was the hero with the disability and not the heroine like is most common. I absolutely loved that Danika always thought she knew what was going to come out of his mouth but she was almost always wrong because Zaf was constantly blowing her expectations of the male form out of the water.


Talia Hibbert has given new life to the romance genre with her characters that are both out of the box for the genre as a whole and also incredibly relatable. These characters could be your family, coworkers, classmates, but you won't be able to put down this book without calling them your friends because they'll feel that real. Take a Hint, Dani Brown is a pleasing, heart-warming, belly-laughing read that you'll be recommending to all your friends

Loved this second in the Brown Sisters series - so much heart and so much fun. Hibbert’s characters are full of emotion and depth, and I love the gender dynamic reversal. Very modern and thoroughly enjoyable!

Friends, I got very lucky in the ARC lottery. One might even say I won the ARC lottery by receiving a copy of Take A Hint, Dani Brown.

Danika Brown doesn't do relationships, not when they all surely end in disappointment. No, she'd much rather focus on her career and academic pursuits than waste precious energy on romance. But if the universe could just send her someone to take the sexual edge off...that'd be a dream come true. Someone who can keep her satisfied without expecting more from her than she can give.

When former rugby player and security hunk Zafir "Zaf" Ansari "rescues" Dani from a workplace fire drill, Dani reads it as an obvious sign from the universe that Zaf might be the person she's been looking for. When a video of her rescue goes viral, both Zaf and Dani see it as an opportunity– if they fake a public relationship together, Zaf gains publicity for his non-profit, and maybe Dani can convince romantic Zaf to be her partner in the bedroom. As long as they can both agree to part ways with no strings attached at the end, it's win-win for everyone...right?

Talia Hibbert does something that I absolutely love and she does it really well: she writes male characters that transcend the typical character profile in contemporary romance. In Take a Hint, Dani Brown, Zafir "Zaf" Ansari is complex and utterly ideal. He's intelligent, a former pro rugby player, an uncle, a friend, and the founder of a non-profit that focuses on young men overcoming toxic masculinity. He's an avid reader of romance novels and he believes in the importance of acknowledging your feelings and being truthful about them with others. He suffers from deep grief and persistent anxiety, frequently facing it down by reminding himself of who he is, where he's been, and how to move forward. In Take A Hint, Dani Brown, anxiety and depression are represented well:

"He wasn't going to tell her about the heights his anxiety had reached, or how it turned out depression could fuel rage like nothing else, or how bleak it felt when the fire ran out and the demons were all you had left."

Zaf is a male character you absolutely admire, and I love how TAHDB includes struggles we so infrequently read in male characters. How often does a male character openly suffer from anxiety and worry about their loved ones dying suddenly? How often does a male character understand and express that in relationships, it's not your job to change your partner, you should just accept them as they are or move on? Not often, that's the answer, and it's a ringing theme I've noticed in this series. I love the male protagonists the most.

In the same vein, TAHDB also features a female character that's outside of the "normal" quirky we frequently read in the genre. Dani Brown is a witchy, socially awkward, academically driven PhD student who has no time for romance, thank you very much. Romance ends in misery and disappointment every time, so she's taught herself to avoid it. She has strict rules in place to prevent herself from getting hurt ever again. She has goals that she wants to achieve, she's unwilling to sacrifice her drive and passion for someone who wants her to change, and she doesn't have time to be someone she's not. She's not the romantic type to remember anniversaries, or so she's told herself. She's also a character that has qualities we don't always read–she's not a sweet, clumsy, sometimes funny heroine. She's a sarcastic, focused, highly intelligent character that's thinking three steps ahead with dimpled thighs and a great rack. She's blunt and straightforward in what she wants, and that's something I love to read in female protagonists, even if it hits you over the head sometimes.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, there's a few things I wish I'd had more and less of. I wish I'd had more of Zaf's struggle with the grief he feels from the loss of his brother and father, how it's ever persistent and changes, how it's affected his family and his relationships with them. I wanted more on the why's of starting Tackle It and there are some plot points that we never find resolved (as an example, accepting a job with his former team that causes him much anxiety). In this, we only get little tastes. I wish I'd had more backstory or reflection on Dani's history and how she became so cynical on love and romance. Again, we only get little tastes. And I know it's part of her character, but I wish I'd had a bit less of Dani's internal monologue because it's redundant. We know that Dani "doesn't do relationships" but her brush-offs are frequent, her rationale static, and a huge part of her change is almost overnight. There's not much reflection on that, either. And finally, her grand gesture was, sure, outside of Dani's comfort zone, but a little underwhelming in the end.

This one was absolutely a slow burn and I loved it. The romance was steamy (whew, so good) and drawn out and there were so many moments of friendship. I loved the concept of fake dating after a social media mishap because it makes the scenario far more likely today than other plot lines you find in the genre. I don't always enjoy the friends to lovers trope, but it was done really well here. However, there were moments when I felt like it the build up and slow burn was too drawn out, too slow moving, particularly in the middle (about 60% of the way in), and I found myself wishing for something to happen, wishing for just a tiny bit of drama to keep me intrigued.

Misgivings aside, Take A Hint, Dani Brown was a fantastically written, funny, thoughtful story from Talia Hibbert including characters I'll remember and I can't wait for her next book.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely needed this LOL Romantic Comedy! I loved Get a Life, Chloe Brown (so much) and I almost think I loved this more! The mix of laugh out loud banter, steamy chemistry, and very relatable issues of anxiety and self-confidence issues was exactly what I needed in these trying times. Dani and Zaf have been low-key flirting forever when a gallant moment is turned into a viral video. Zaf is mortified but it turns out the publicity is helping his non-profit get noticed. As a devoted fan of romance novels, he floats the idea of a brief fake relationship. To his surprise Dani agrees. This is a fabulously fun and meta take on a classic romance trope.

Dani and Zaf begin each workday exchanging a coffee for a protein bar and some outrageous flirting to go along with this "breakfast." But everything changes after Dani gets stuck in the elevator and Zaf takes it upon himself to save her. Can this ongoing meet-cute actually hold some real sparks or is this just heat in the moment. Fun and playful romantic comedy.

I am ALWAYS here for fake dating, and Talia Hibbert does that trope so much justice in this follow-up to Get a Life, Chloe Brown. I had liked Chloe's story but found myself relating so much to different parts of Dani and Zaf's experiences that I enjoyed this follow-up way more than the original. Dani and Zaf are both such well-rounded characters, and their issues (with grief, with relationships, with anxiety, with work, etc) are so believable and the development over the course of the book feels natural and earned. Plus, the dialogue is wonderfully banter-y and fake dating shenanigans are always a good time.

I love Talia Hibbert's romantic novels- she's a maestro of all the elements: witty banter, steamy sex scenes, moving romantic moments and Fabulous character development! Take a hint, Dani Brown is a romantic pageturner. This second novel in the the Brown Sisters series focuses on Danika-a PHD Grad student-Professor who has a fondness for Security Guard on campus and former Rugby Star Zafir. Danika asks the Goddess for a new friend with benefits in her monthly Moon rituals. After a short while Danika is given the hint! When that happens romance and steamy interludes ensue.

Sexually explicit modern romance isn't my usual genre preference, but this fast, funny read was a nice diversion. I enjoyed the diverse, unique characters and their loving and supportive families. Recommend to readers who enjoy a rollicking romance with steamy sex scenes and snarky conversation.

Recommended for fans of contemporary romance, even those who haven't read the first volume in the Brown Sisters series - it does a great job of explaining previous events without feeling like you missed out.

Like Talia Hibbert's other book, I enjoyed her inclusive perspective on romance novels. I like that the male protagonist and not perfect, he has his own struggles with mental health.

I absolutely loved this book. I've been a fan of Talia Hibbert for some time now and she just continues to impress me. Hibbert produced a cast of characters that you can't help but love. She pulls you in and gets you invested in all the characters not just the main ones. I love how Talia Hibbert strives to present diversity and inclusion with her characters. It's a breath of fresh air to see so many people of different ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds in mainstream romance.
I really like that Dani and Zaf are relatable even though I have nothing in common with them. They aren't perfect, they face some of the same issues that we all do and they have to work through them. I found myself cheering them on through out the book. I love the acceptance and the lack of judgement between all the characters, how supportive Dani's and Zaf's families were, and their relationships with their friends.
One of Hibbert's biggest talents is her ability write humor, as well as incredibly moving prose, often in the paragraph. She has a way with words that can have you laughing out loud then minutes later giving you the warm fuzzies, for example Zaf saying "his feelings for Dani were like sunlight: they'd always find a crack to slip through, a way to light things up." I think I legit melted when I read that.
Overall I throughly enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Dani is a strong, independent, feelings-adverse, PhD student who loves friends -with-benefits arrangements. Zaf is a former rugby pro who has a history of anxiety and loves reading romance novels because their endings promise to be happy— unlike real life. These two friends start their relationship fake-dating to bring positive press to Zaf’s mental health/sports non-profit. But while the sex is off the wall, Zaf’s burgeoning feelings can’t remain hidden. Can Dani handle Zaf’s feelings— and get past her own mental block to realize that she loves him back?

SUCH A GREAT ROMANCE! I love how Hibbert turns a lot of the romance tropes around. And I identified so much simultaneously with both Zaf and Dani that it felt like Hibbert had been looking in my own heart and cycling brain when she wrote these characters. The dive into mental health and anxiety is super important, as is how much it tears down toxic masculinity with a professional sportsballer being the romantic one in the couple.

On the chaste to steamy scale, it’s a solid 7.5.

Diverse read:
- Talia is of African descent and is bi.
- Zaf is non-practicing Muslim, of East Asian descent.

Super smart, funny, oh so sexy!
I loved Chole Brown but I LOVE Dani Brown. She is no-nonsense, whip-smart, and not ashamed of her sexuality and spirituality. She knew exactly what she wanted until she realized she wanted something different. And Zaf...SWOON!
I would risk it all for Zafir. Talia Hibbert has this amazing ability to write these big, strong, male characters without making them assholes. It's wonderful and endearing. I'm ready to read book 3 now.

God I love Talia Hibbert. What a delight to read. Like I said in my last review of hers, Get a Life, Chloe Brown, I would basically read anything Hibbert writes. I am HERE FOR IT.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown focuses on the second Brown sister, Danika, in her quest to find some no-strings-attached, a-bit-more-than-friendship. The security guard at her work building, Zaf, is a great friend, but she doubts he’d be up for more than that. Until the goddess Oshun leads her to believe otherwise! After a video goes viral of Zaf saving Dani from a building that is definitely not on fire or filled with poisonous gas, Zaf proposes they fake a relationship for the good of his nonprofit. Tackle It, which provides training programs during rugby games that help young boys get in touch with their emotions, is getting great publicity from their fake relationship…but it’s only bringing Dani and Zaf closer together.

The problem is, Dani has been seriously hurt in the past. She’s got a lot of confidence and bravado, but her self-esteem is in the toilet. She is extremely opposed to making this friendship with benefits into anything else.

I’m just so in love with the way Talia Hibbert writes her characters and her stories. She’s got a wonderful way of using words. Again, I will read anything she writes. It’s just a delight.

I particularly liked in this one just how different the characters we got were. I feel sometimes that repeat romance authors fall into the trap of using the same archetype over and over. But Zaf and Dani were very, very different from Chloe and Red! Dani is a witchy, feminist PhD candidate with an incredible brain but basically no capacity for taking care of herself. Zaf is tough on the outside, but has struggled much over the last few years of his life, trying to put loss behind him. Their story is a fundamentally different, yet important one. I like that this book can dive into some real issues and gives the romance more purpose. I hate nothing more than a romance that sticks two people together with no rhyme or reason; this book does the opposite because it provides a really deep understanding of who these people are and why they fit together so well.

I particularly liked Dani’s character, because I think she’s relatable. Not only to me, but to the many women who have begun to pick up our modern age’s feminist romances. She’s an academic, and extremely goal driven. She forgets to take care of herself properly. She’s a feminist. And she practices whatever form of witchcraft feels good to her. Basically, Dani is all of us, and Take a Hint is our reminder to stop eating Skittles for breakfast and staying up ’til 2 in the morning. YOU CAN DO THIS. ❤

In an age where we are driven by progress and accomplishments, we mustn’t forget to leave time for what brings us joy. Which is exactly why I’m very happy and grateful I got to read this delightful novel. 🙂

Highly, highly recommend Take a Hint! I can’t wait to read the next book, with Eve’s story! A copy of Take a Hint, Dani Brown was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It will be published June 23, 2020 (and you should go get a copy!).

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and this one was done exceptionally well. The fact that Danika was so relationship-phobic made this even better. I love that Hibbert doesn't shy away from bigger issues in her romance novels. Grief was tackled very well in this novel and I loved watching Zaf start to work through it to be a better version of himself. There were great conversations about race, especially what it's like to be a black woman. I loved how casually queer Dani is and how it wasn't a big deal at all. Trust me, you'll want to pick this one up.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Avon through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

Great book. The characters are smart and sexy, and this book was even better than the first in the series!

I love Talia Hibbert and this series so much. She takes complex characters with very real problems and makes them so much more than what they are struggling with. It's only part of their personality not ALL of it.