This was a super cute friends to lovers book! It was fun, it was romantic, and it was easy to devour in a few sittings. I only put it down because I had to go to work. The writing was great, the pacing was good, and the story was the perfect length. It didn't drag on for too long, but it wasn't too quick either. I think there was a perfect amount of tension before the two main characters got together. I'm definitely interested in reading more books from Talia Hibbert.

4.5 Stars / 3 Steam Fans

What more can I say about Take a Hint, Dani Brown other than it was PERFECTION!! Dani and Zaf have a comfortable friendship and secret crushes. So when a fire drill goes off, and Zaf does not have accountability for Dani her reenters the building to find her trapped in an elevator. As Zaf carries Dani to safety and the video clip goes viral, propelling the two of them into a fake relationship. There are content warnings for grief, anxiety, and self-doubt.

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I enjoyed Hibbert's first book so much that I was very excited to receive an ARC for her second book. As I started reading this book, I was reminded again what a superb writer Hibbert is.

The story of Dani and Zafir is simply excellent. I enjoyed the sarcastic and witty banter between the two main characters. It made for a smart and funny read that is really enjoyable. Like Get A Life, Chloe Brown, this second book in the series also offers a layer of depth that gives the story a richness not normally found in romance books. Not only are Dani and Zafir two diverse characters not typically found in romance books, but they struggle with real emotional and mental health problems that I think readers will relate to or learn from.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to fans of romance or fans of fiction with diverse characters. The first book in the series is excellent and worth reading, too, but it is not necessary to read that book BEFORE this one. This is a steamy romance book, but I would not classify it as erotica.

I absolutely loved Dani in Get a Life Chloe Brown, so I was super hyped to read about Dani in the sequel!
This book did not disappoint in the slightest. I honestly enjoyed reading Dani's story more than Chloe's (if that's even possible lol)
There was a conflict near then that I kinda rolled my eyes at, but in all honesty, I don't think I've read a romance where I haven't rolled my eyes at, at some point.
Now I can officially add Talia Hibbett to my favorite Romance authors of all time!

A sexy, charming, and nearly perfect romance read. I had so much fun following Dani and Zaf’s lives. I think the fake relationship trope was masterfully done and loved all of the emotional maturity from both Dani and Zaf. It was so refreshing to read. I can’t wait for the next of the Brown sisters’ story!

Take a Hint, Dani Brown was absolutely wonderful, I loved it. Dani Brown is an overworked PhD student who is looking for a new hookup (she doesn't do relationships), when she decides that the goddess Oshun has sent her Zafir, her friend from work. Zaf, however, has a huge crush on Dani and is looking for more. When a video of the two goes viral, they decide to embark on a fake relationship to help his fledgling foundation, and hilarity ensues. I really liked the first book in this series (about Dani's sister, Chloe), but liked this one even more. (It works perfectly well as a standalone.) I loved Zaf - he is dealing with anxiety attacks and past trauma, and Hibbert writes so compassionately about what he's going through. Dani was hilarious in addition to being caring, but also dealing with issues from an ex who mistreated her. Watching the two of them figuring things out was lovely, as were their relationships with their families. Highly recommended!

An excellent addition to the Brown sisters! I loved this book and how real it is. I love Dani and Zaf and how they work to bring out the best in each other and learn from each other. Also, there are some great meta comments about romance novels. Highly recommend and can't wait for the third one!

WOW. I absolutely LOVED this book! Binge-read in one day.

What I liked: The writing voice was sharp, clever, and bursting with personality. I loved the diversity in the characters: Dani is a Black woman academic; Zaf is a big, strong former pro rugby player who is surprisingly in touch with his emotions. The chemistry between these two was sizzling hot! Zaf also has anxiety, and it was handled so respectfully by the author. To top it off, he loves romance novels and believes in happily ever afters. He has now joined my dream team of book boyfriends (along with Josh Templeman, Josh Im, and Gus Everett).

What I didn’t like: not much. This was close to perfect for me. Dani was occasionally frustrating but it worked in the context of her character. Also, the first chapter felt off-putting and disjointed and I nearly stopped reading (don’t do that! Keep reading!)

I will add that it was VERY steamy, more so than I usually enjoy, and pretty irreverent. That may put some readers off, but the love story and character arcs were so beautifully written that I highly recommend giving this a chance even if you’re typically more comfortable with moderate steam.

All in all, this was a MAJOR winner for me and is one of my favorite romances of the year. Many thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooks for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is an another joyful, sweet, funny, and steamy diverse romance. In a time where I have a hard time concentrating on reading during the pandemic, I got swept away with Ms. Hibbert's writing. I was enamored by her characters and absolutely love that I got to read a book that celebrates diversity and joy involving people of color.
Dani is a remarkable character and one that we, unfortunately, do not see often. She is a black, professional woman who is confident yet flawed. She is a not a caricature and I appreciated her tackling with commitment phobia. I did want the conflict to be a bit stronger and appear sooner in the book, which are my only complaint of the book.
I absolutely loved Zafir. It is very rare that I have found a Pakistani Muslim man as a love interest. I loved how Hibbert normalized him as a man who has a sexual drive and devoted to his family without being misogynistic which is the stereotype of Muslim men. I also really appreciated how Hibbert addressed Zafir's mental health struggle with depression and anxiety, especially when mental health is still a taboo topic in the Pakistani community. I loved that Zain was able to identify Zafir's struggle and got him to see a therapist.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am very much looking forward to reading about Eve's story and more titles from Hibbert.

The second book in The Brown Sisters series introduces us to the sassy, brazen and highly ridiculous Dani who livens up any space that she's in. She's intoxicating which is exactly how Zaf feels about her. The two of them work in the same building - she a professor, he a secruity guard - and when a video of him rescuing her during an emergency drill gone wrong goes viral, they're instant superstars. Couple goals, baby! They decide to egg it for what it's worth so they pretend to date, playing it up to the gawkers to gain publicity for his youth program, Tackle It. As a former rugby player who's been through his own fair share of emotional turmoil, he espouses the importance of mental health especially in young boys whom society tells it's wrong to show emotions. A relationship, even a fake one is untested territory to Dani who likes to avoid commitment.

Talia Hibbert writes the BEST banter! Zaf and Dani flirt, bait each other and toss out quick retorts which amuses and keeps things lively. There's not a boring moment when these two have the most insane chemistry! Dani is straight up confident in her sexuality and her desires, and Zaf is equally honest. Attraction aside they do approach the concept of relationships differently, in part due to their personal struggles. Zaf suffers from anxiety but has developed ways to cope. I liked how Hibbert demonstrated the way his anxiety manifests showing that it differs for everyone. I was awed by how she had Dani be so patient and supportive through this because Dani isn't one to put someone ahead of herself. After a bad experience she vowed never to compromise for anyone ever so the fact that this vivacious person could be so quiet during one of Zaf's episodes and just be present with him is one of the little things that makes Hibbert's characters so lovable. Zaf's sensitivity and insistence on being in touch with his emotions is the anti-alpha move and I am all for it. Dani's effusive embrace of her femininity and sexuality makes her one of the most appealing characters I've ever read. Seriously, Dani and Zaf breathe new life for relationship dynamics. I'm not giving anything away here but let me just say that the ending is super sweet and shows how much they evolve.

Talia Hibbert is an enigmatic writer. I love how she phrases things, sets up situations and takes quirky to new levels. Though it's only the second book of hers I've read I know for sure that I can never know what to expect from her or her characters. Take A Hint, Dani Brown is genuinely hilarious, sexy and aspirational. It's good-feel vibes through and through.


~ Bel

Ratings (out of of 5):
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪
Heart: ❤️🧡💚💙💜
Curvy, bisexual heroine: 👄👄👄👄👄
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Dani Brown doesn’t do relationships. They never work out so why bother? She does do,
casual, noncommittal hookups. But a little divine push (and a hell of an incident) push her into the arms of Zafir Ansari, her friend who works the security desk in the building where she teaches. Zaf is big, brooding, and unfairly beautiful. A former rugby pro and romance reader, Zaf needs a favor from Dani. It’s casual enough at first - just the way Dani likes it - until it isn’t.
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You guys, this book was so many good things: a good fake relationship trope + friends-to-lovers. It’s also Grumpy One/Grumpy One 😂. Zaf is brooding and wounded while Dani is snarky and defensive. Together? Resting bitch face magic I was HERE for.
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This book (classic @taliahibbert) manages to be hilarious, heartwrenching, and important at once - while also being breathtakingly romantic. Zaf struggles with anxiety. Hibbert writes this anxiety clearly but with such sensitivity that I (as a person who has it) felt so seen. Just lovely.
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At its heart, this is a book about how a soulmate isn’t the person who grand gestures you at every turn. Rather, that soulmate is a person who knows you fully, accepts you completely, and tills the soil around you to help you be the best version of yourself. Watching Dani come to realize this, while it took her forrrrever (take a hint, girl!) was so rewarding.
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It is feminist AF. Dani is strong, independent, and empowered (and not afraid to see to her own needs - both personal and sexual). Zaf, while an alpha mold in many ways, is infinitely supportive and only wants to be her hype squad. I’m loving this new feminist alpha trend in romance. More please.
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It was sexy, funny, and so goshdamn good that I squealed more than once. Loved and devoured it.
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Kiss and tell:
OHMYGOD, YOU GUYS. This book. Kissing is top notch. Then there’s the hand play, oral, and p&v penetration - all on fire. And Zaf’s bedroom talk? This is my ghost writing this review because it straight up killed me.

Let’s take a minute to address my reaction to the first book in this series and the fact that . . . . .

"It's not you, it's me."

I mean, it’s not always the case, but when it comes to romance series that focus on different main characters each book I try my darndest to not throw the baby out with the bathwater before giving an author another chance. Unless said author made me want to kick a puppy or something because their stuff was complete crap. That wasn’t the case with Talia Hibbert and the Brown Sisters series – I thought Chloe was insufferable in the first book and her beau Red definitely didn’t make me want to drop my panties anytime soon, but there was some potential there for sure.

This second go ‘round featured Chloe’s sister Dani agreeing to a fake dating bit of tropey yum yum with Zaf. And it had everything I felt was missing in the first book. I looooooooooved Dani and wanted to bang the weiner right off of Zaf. Not to mention this was seriously LOL sort of funny at times. Pretty much everything I expect in a fluffy summer selection wrapped up in one of these adorable cartoony covers. I’m giving it all the stars because it was just the escape I was hoping for.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

So, unpopular opinion alert. This book just didn’t do it for me. But, then again, neither did Chloe Brown. My biggest thing with CB was the steam. I thought it was because I wasn’t really used to reading steamy books when I read it so I wanted to give this one a chance. Make sense?

Things I liked about this book: I liked the on-going conversation about mental health. This is such an important topic so it was cool to read about someone who was working through these challenges. I also liked Zaf and the way he felt about Dani. He wasn’t afraid to show it. Dani was also a bad ass. It was good to read about someone who was kicking butt in their field.

Things I disliked about this book: I didn’t like the steam. It just made me cringe and I found myself skimming those parts. It was also written in 3rd person. I’ve found that I have a really hard time connected with characters when books are written in 3rd person. I want to feel like I am in the story versus told a story.

This is my favorite romance of this year so far. I loved Hibbert's Get a Life, Chloe Brown, so my expectations for this one were already high and it totally blew them out of the water. Dani and Zaf's grumpy, humorous fake dating turned oh so real feelings completely stole my heart and I've been yelling at anyone who will listen (and reads romance) that they need this book. Great representation (especially casual bi rep! body diversity!), a steamy romance, relatable complicated feelings, and some witchiness and feminist scholarship to top it all off.

This book was everything I want in a summer rom com. Feisty heroine, hilarious dialogue, a super sexy and sensitive hero. PUT IT IN MY VEINS, TALIA HIBBERT.

While I absolutely adored Get A Life, Chloe Brown, Take A Hint, Dani Brown was SO AMAZING. I literally started grinning the moment I read the first line and swooned my way through the rest of the book. Talia Hibbert write with incredible passion and at every turn, I was enamored. I couldn’t get enough and now I’m desperately waiting for Eve’s!

This book was fun, the characters are witty and diverse, and it didn't feel like every other romcom. I would highly recommend it to fans of Jasmine Guillery. Can't wait to read what else Talia Hibbert writes!

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is delightful. Talia Hibbert always does an amazing job writing characters that are flawed yet lovable, and this book is no different. We have Dani, a brilliant, confident, witchy professor, and Zafir, the grumpy, burly, security guard who's suffered a terrible loss. After accidentally becoming a viral sensation, they embark on a fake relationship.

This is a story where both characters treat each other with respect. It is just lovely. Yet again, Talia writes a story that is beautiful and inclusive, but will still make you cackle.

Talia Hibbert’s voice and talent sparkle in this new release. Get a Life, Chloe Brown was a highlight of my reads last year and I went into Take a Hint, Dani Brown with high hopes and an open mind. All of that said, this book surpassed any expectations I had.
Danika, or Dani, is a PhD student who has sworn off relationships because she is so driven that she has not been able to be the partner her past lovers wanted. She often works late into the night and misses meals or meetups when she is really focused. The book opens with Dani and her best friend casting a spell, Dani lamenting how her last friends-with-benefits arrangement backfired. Dani is instantly established as a queer woman with a healthy sex drive and a wariness of relationships. Zafir is the security guard at the building on campus where Dani teaches. They have a budding friendship and are secretly attracted to each other. When there is an emergency drill, Dani is trapped in an elevator and Zafir rescues her. He carries her out of the building and it is captured on video, which goes viral on social media with their own hashtag (#DrRugbae) once Zafir is recognized as a former rugby player. They are not actually a couple but the world sure thinks they are. When Zafir’s identity goes public, his meddling niece points out that the positive attention can help Zafir’s charitable organization. Zafir and Danika decide to fake date for the sake of their adoring public.
Difficult experiences in Zaf’s history led him to work against toxic masculinity and encourage boys to express their emotions. He is a true coach, and the way he unconditionally supports and appreciates Dani is a salve for the soul. We get to watch and cheer as they bravely face their fears to come together. Zafir also reads romance novels! He is a strong and sensitive lead character. In my experience, Talia Hibbert manages to write heroes that are considerate partners but don’t come across as being too perfect or generic. They are also smoking hot!
This book made me laugh out loud repeatedly. I learned of topics I had never heard of, I yearned for this couple to make it work, and I was inspired by their persistence at every obstacle. I loved the nature of Dani and Zaf’s interactions with their family members, friends, and mentors. This was immensely fun, sexy, and satisfying. It can be read as a stand-alone and I highly recommend it!

*Approved on both review sites, so the same review will be shared*

Oh, goodness. This book has me gushing.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown is a master class in the Grumpy Cinnamon Roll hero. Zaf is a big rugby playing, romance reading softie and I want to squeeze him.
He's into Dani on so many levels from the beginning. Not just "curves, yes please" but HER. This isn't insta-lust or a shallow affection. This is LONGING and it makes me ridiculously happy.
Often laugh-out-loud funny, this story is giving me pure joy. Like, sit-on-your-sofa-grinning-like-an-idiot-because-you-love-these-imaginary-people JOY.
The hero and heroine are work friends who embark on a fake relationship for reasons, and find out they've been hot for one another all along.
Hibbert addresses anxiety, depression, and toxic masculinity with examples on the page showing healthy ways to deal rather than using the easy out of Love Conquers All.
If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would.