Fresh off the hells of Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Talia Hibbert brings us the story of the second Brown sister, Danika. Dani is a career-focused academic who decides that romance and relationships are not for her and asks the universe to send her the perfect friend with benefits. When the tall, dark, and handsome security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a fire drill fiasco, she believes the universe is sending her a sign that Zaf might be the perfect friend with benefits. However, the problem is Zaf is a hopeless romantic and Dani clearly isn't looking for anything serious. When a video of the two goes viral, Zaf and Dani hash up a plan to fake a relationship in public and set into motion a rollercoaster of emotions and sexy situations. Can the seemingly cold-hearted Dani be swayed into a romantic happily ever after Zaf?

The way Talia Hibbert creates such diverse and complex characters is truly one of the reasons why I love her work. Her descriptive writing paints such a vivid picture of the story as well as the emotions she is trying to convey, which makes reading her work an absolutely joyful experience. I can't wait to read the next book!

I loved it! I read and loved Get A Life, Chloe Brown, the first book, and now I can say I am hooked on Talia Hibbert! I'm going to read all her work now. She's an auto-read author for me now.

I had so much fun reading this book! I think Hibbert and I have a similar sense of humour because I laughed so much. The writing overall was fun and quirky just like Dani. Dani and Zafir had depth, dimension, and growth. Hibbert can craft excellent characters, Dani and Chloe have this prickly but lovable quality that is now my favourite trope. Zafir as a love interest was just a sweetheart. It refreshing to read of a male character struggling with anxiety, especially in the romance genre. Also, It was wonderful to read of male love interest actively abolish toxic masculinity and toxic environments in sports..

I have to thank Talia Hibbert for her writing and what she's contributing to contemporary literature. She has allowed me to be seen like never before. The people and story were so good that they both felt real. I wanted to search the hashtag up myself at one point!

I really wanted to love this. I enjoyed the first Brown sisters book, even though it was more "open door" than I like.

But this one was again very open door, but also kind of a slog. There was a lot (a LOT) of quasi-therapy, as the characters realized what issues they were working through and confronted traumatic events in their past. I'm not really looking for therapy in my romances, so I ended up forcing myself to push through the end.

But, Dani is an awesome, kick-ass professor of color, which I heartily approve! And I really enjoyed the interplay between all 3 Brown sisters.

A wonderful follow-up to Get a Life, Chloe Brown. I loved Dani and Zaf, and how they both grew and developed as character's without compromising themselves. The depiction of anxiety was realistic and really wonderful to see in a gentleman that often candy-costs life--while still being a really uplifting read. One of my favorite things is when I actually would want to be friends with the characters.

This book is fabulous. I adore both Dani and Zaf individually and together. It's a fake dating trope, where, after a mishap, everyone believes they are dating, and thanks to a little social media magic (despite Zaf's reluctance due to a bunch of significant concerns regarding his privacy AND his own mental health), they have a chance to use some publicity for the charity that Zaf started.

The chemistry between them is both lovely and hot. They have a wonderful "opposites attract" vibe with Zaf being the romance-reading, careful but hopeful romantic and Dani as the commitment-leary, driven, slightly cynical academic.

They each had amazing arcs, with Zaf's involving learning to live with grief and manage it (because you do never truly "get over it" and it does always effect your life in some way, for good or bad) and figure out how to be kinder to himself over his own mental health issues as well. And Dani's arc is about, realizing her own worth and all that she deserves (which is a little Zaf too), and getting a bit out of her own way. The way this all was develop was super well done and the end was so satisfying, I just loved it.

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to see Talia Hibbert was continuing Get a Life, Chloe Brown into a series featuring all three of the Brown sisters. I absolutely adored Get a Life, Chloe Brown. Red and Chloe were perfection. I couldn't wait to see where this next book took us. So what's the verdict?

Talia Hibbert has done it again. This book is full of lovable and relatable characters whom you will wish you could meet for a coffee date. It seriously checks all the boxes - laugh-out-loud moments, raw personal challenges, strong character growth, and let's not forget the fantastic steam. This book takes bookgasm to a new level!

I loved Dani and Zaf. I loved their "slow burn" relationship journey. I also loved getting a glimpse of Red and Chloe and seeing how they were doing. Yep, they are here too! To sum it up, #DrRugbae are couple goals. Put this book on your MUST read list. You won't regret it.

I want to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

YESSSSSS!!!!!

Oh my goodness! There are so many things that I love about this book. I absolutely adored Get a Life, Chloe Brown. Reading this one, I was so nervous. That's some pretty big shoes to fill, right? Luckily, Talia did not disappoint.

Not only was TAHCB extremely cute, adorable, and funny, but it was also SEXY. Zafir is one of the hottest heroes that I have ever read and I am so in love with him. He's a freaking big bulky fit security guard and what does he do in his spare time? Reads romance novels! ***mic drop***

I received an advanced copy from the publisher.

I loved this book so much. This was perfect remedy for the end of the world.

Danika Brown is not romantic and is very career driven. She's been led to believe from a bad relationships that she's not a good girlfriend so she just pushes people away. One day Zafir, college security guard who has a crush on her, saves her in a photo opportunity moment. This video is captured by college students and it creates an increase of donations for Zafir's sports charity once it's on Twitter. To help keep the donations coming they have to pretend to be in a relationship. How long does it take for them to realize that their feelings aren't fake but real?

The thing I love is how understanding Danika and Zafir are with one another. They've been hurt by others but their acceptance with each other is heart warming. I was smiling like an idiot with their quick, funny conversations.

This copy is provided from Netgalley for a fair review.

How is Talia Hibbert so perfect? That was my main thought reading this book. She just hits all the right romance beats with so much humor and heart. I loved Dani’s poshness and spunk, Zaf’s quiet romanticism, and the way they were so in sync from the get-go. Their banter and flirting was so fun, but they also resonated on a deeper, more emotional level and I definitely fell for them as they fell for each other. Can’t wait for whatever’s next from Hibbert and/or this series!

So exciting!

It is difficult to find women of color romance books that do not fall into the Urban Fiction category. This book is one of them!

Boy and Girl meet and but have a friendly relationship, and event happens and a video of them shows up on social media. After going viral they decide to pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Pretending eventually turns in to love. Throughout their relationship they discover new things about each other. One of the main topics that you also do not see in many books is the topic of anxiety in relationships. The characters navigate this issue wonderfully and the story was beautiful.

Heads up there are some spicy scenes in this book. ;)

What a great sequel to Chloe Brown! Her sister Dani is confident and feminist AF, and makes for a wonderfully flawed and likable heroine. Talia Hibbert does increase the steam in this one, so be prepared.

I absolutely devoured this book in ONE DAY and cannot thank you enough for allowing me access to read it! I really enjoyed the pairing of a gruff athlete and super smart academic. I also loved the realistic portrayal of someone who has convinced themselves of a particular narrative—Dani was relatable in thinking that SHE was the problem and wanting to protect herself. Her vulnerability masked by a tough exterior was very well written, as was her being a researcher/academic/educator, as those are spaces I don’t really see romance leads in. I also really liked Zaf, though he, like Red in Chloe Brown, was kind of annoyingly perfect in the way he just “got” Dani. Regardless, I loved their story and am only sad that it’s over and I don’t get to read it for the first time again.

LGBTQI Danika and Muslim former rugby player Zafir are friends faking a relationship to help get Zaf's charity off the ground. Sparks fly when the teasing gets real. A truly original plot with a diverse set of characters makes for a delightful read that sucks you in until you can't put the book down. I loved this book as much as I loved Get a Life Chloe Brown and Hibbert's style of writing, the fast paced plot, non-archetypal characters are something I am super down for!

"𝐙𝐚𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐚𝐤𝐚 #𝐃𝐫𝐑𝐮𝐠𝐛𝐞𝐚, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬."

4.5 stars

Take a Hint, Dani Brown it's the perfect blend of sweet and steamy!!!
I loved Dani. She was straight forward, blunt at times, fascinating, and adorable and the way she melted into Zaf was just the BEST.Now Zafir, he reads and defends romance books plus the way he treated Dani, he was just so swoony.
Amazing family dynamics and friendship dynamics with fake- dating, this book is a definite recommendation.

**𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 & 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.**

So I don’t usually get teary over romance books. I straight up sobbed over this one. Hibbert understands how to write grief and trauma incredibly well, and she hit every emotional beat for me. This book is an excellent companion to its predecessor but stands on its own beautifully. Don’t sleep on this one.

This book was an absolute gem; Talia Hibbert is definitely an author who goes from strength to strength. I adored the first book in this series, "Get a Life, Chloe Brown," and I was looking forward to seeing how the sequel would match up, and it was just as excellent as the first book. What I adore about Talia Hibbert is that she writes emotions so well, and that when she pairs people who seem completely unlikely at first glance, the emotional foundation really makes the relationship feel solid. I loved Dani so much, especially how the book delved into the script she'd been telling herself about relationships and compromises; I think many women will recognize themselves in Dani's feeling that she had to choose between being herself and being able to make a relationship work. Dani and Zaf on the page were luminous together; what really makes this book special is the big and small ways they look after each other. I read this on a real downer of a week, and this book made me feel so much better. I will definitely be recommending this one!

This was SO GOOD. I actually liked it a lot more than the previous title in this series about the sister, Chloe. I loved the unexpected twist on the male love interest coming from a Pakistani non-practicing muslim family. He was socially progressive and had no problems with her being a sexually free practicing pagan female. I loved that he was the big old softie and she was the academic professional focused on her career and not a relationship. The emotional journeys they both went on to get to each other felt real and genuine, and their dialogue was funny and sharp. The romance was super steamy too!. Just all around great. I will purchase for my library and recommend to all romance fans.

A great follow-up to Hibbert's first Brown Sisters book, this one follows the middle sister, Dani, as she navigates coming to terms with what it means to be in a relationship and what she should expect from a partner. Her leading man is a Pakistani-British ex-rugby player who reads romance novels. Great portrayal of opposites attracting and showing how it's ok to lean on others sometimes while you're working out your internal issues.

I was so excited to get this ARC since I enjoyed Chloe's story so much, and Dani definitely lived up to my expectations. I've been impressed with Talia Hibbert's writing and inclusivity since I discovered her last year, and it was great to see her continue to excel. I now have a massive book crush on Zaf, the wonderful hero who deals with anxiety realistically and encourages men to be open about their emotions. He also openly enjoys romance novels, loves his family, and is holding out for his happy ending. Dani was also fantastic and a great match for Zaf. It was delightful, and occasionally frustrating, to see her try to get a handle on her feelings for Zaf and leap outside her emotional comfort zone to be with him.

I highly recommend Take a Hint, Dani Brown for anyone who enjoys romance but wants to see characters that go being the traditional white hetero stereotype and for anyone who wants a solid story that connects emotionally without being angsty or overblown.

There are two things I absolutely love about Talia Hibbert's writing. First and foremost, she's an invincible queen when it comes to snappy dialogue; it gets me every time. Second, she weaves in topics like anxiety disorders and the academic study of misogynoir in such seamless ways that authors of any genre can only dream of doing, let alone in romance novels.

However, as much as I LOVED the dialogue and how Hibbert speaks to my soul, I...wasn't the biggest fan of the plot itself in Take a Hint, Dani Brown. It just seemed like there really wasn't much there after a certain point, and I started skimming a little bit towards the end. After a while, it felt like neither main character really had much at stake in the present day, as much as they had some stuff in their pasts. Plus, social media storylines aren't my favorite, especially because every romance author is doing them nowadays. I have to give 3.5 stars for those reasons.

That said, I love Talia Hibbert's dialogue, I will forever support authors who make it happen. (less)