Book Review: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Take a Hint, Dani Brown
By: Talia Hibbert
Release Date: June 23, 2020
Publisher: Avon Books
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Source: eARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest review

Book Summary:

Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral... 

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 Thoughts:

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert brought old fashioned romance and swooning to a modern day love story.  Danika Brown is an independent, intelligent, strong, fierce, scholar and professor.  She is an intellectual who thrives on her career, and this is her top priority.  Dani doesn't think she is cut out for romance, as it doesn't come natural to her, and her past relationships have ended in disaster.  She wishes for a partner where she can have a purely physical relationship without any romantic or emotional entanglements.

Zafir works as a security guard at the same university where Dani teaches.  They are friends that bring each other breakfast, have fun exchanging pleasantries, and think highly of one another.  Underneath their friendship is a sizzling chemistry that they both have never addressed.  When Zafir rescues Dani during a practice fire drill, and carries her out of the building, their image with the romantic and adoring way they are looking at each other, goes viral with the #DrRugbae.

This is when Dani learns that Zafir use to be a professional rugby player, and has started his own sports charity where he teaches rugby as well as positive mental health strategies to adolescents.  He asks Dani if she will participate in a fake relationship with him, as the publicity of them going viral has already started helping his charity exponentially.  She agrees, because what would be the harm in helping her good friend with a great cause; and she can might be able to convince Zaf to indulge in a fun friends with benefits arrangement while they're at it...

I loved the characters in this story!  Dani was unconventional, brilliant, fun, quirky, and endearing.  She had challenges with tapping into her emotions, but in no way did this take away from my love of her character.  She was kind hearted, and thoughtful.  I enjoyed her interactions with her sisters Chloe and Eve, as well as her best friend Sorcha.  They were such a tight-knit group, and I felt like they were my friends too.  The characters felt real, because they were so wonderfully flawed and human.

Zaf stole my heart!  I adored him.  He was so sweet, kind, and romantic.  The way he treated Dani took my breath away.  He was a modern day "prince charming."  I was shipping #DrRugbae from the very beginning of this story.  It was clear that Dani and Zaf were meant to be, and I enjoyed every moment of their love story!

If you are looking for a story that will entertain, delight, and make you feel like you are falling in love right beside the characters, check out, Take a Hint, Dani  Brown!

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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.

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