Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

E-Audio, 10:00:48
Narrated by: Ione Butler 
Release Date: June 23, 2020
Published by: HarperAudio
Read from: August 12-15, 2020
The Brown Sisters, #2
Source: Library (Overdrive)
TW: Panic Attack, Talk of Depression, Loss of family members (not on page)
For fans of: Contemporary Romance, Adult, Diverse Authors, Own Voices, LOL, POC MC, POC on Cover, Body Positive, Multiple POVs, LOL, LGBTQIAP+, Neurodiverse, Religious Diversity

      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?

BETWEEN THE COVERS!

*This book is part of the new adult contemporary romance genre! It is more mature than YA. I have featured it in Between the Covers as a way to feature the few Adult and New Adult titles I am beginning to read!”

*MY THOUGHTS*

Although I liked Chloe and Red, I didn’t love it as much as everyone else did. And because of that, I went into this one with some trepidation. And as it turns out, I should have just sucked it up and read it anyways because I REALLY enjoyed this. I ended up being mad because I didn’t read this earlier lol

Danica Brown has her life all figured out. With all of what she has in mind though, she has no time for romance. So instead she asks for the perfect person to be friends with benefits with. And that friend comes in the form of Zafir, an ex-rugby player. After he rescuses her and they become a socail media trend, Zaf tries to use the new found fame as a way to help his business. He asks Dani if they can have a fake relationship. But through it all, he wonders if Dani will take the hint and realize he wants nothing more than to be in real relationship with her.

First of all, I LOVED the writing style in this. Like seriously, I laughed out loud to the point of tears. And in other places I swooned so hard I actually clutched my chest. I can’t believe I had reservations about this one at first. It’s definitely my favorite of the two. I

As for the characters, I loved Zaf and Dani. I loved them individually, which means I LOVED them even more when they were together. They both had their own good qualities (Zaf and his romance novels and Dani and her academic perfection) and I really enjoyed getting to know them.When it finally got to their romance, I thought it was so sweet. Zaf adored Dani, and I have no idea how she didn’t know he was in love with her from the very beginning. I imagined it all over his scowly face. They were just so adorable together.

The romance was about a 4. There wasn’t ALOT of smexy, but it was kinda graphic. But it wasn’t bad to where you would call it erotic or explicit. But it will make you stick your face in the freezer or something. Because let me tell you, that first time I was fanning myself. And then every other time after that I was fanning myself. They were explosive together!

The plot was the thing I had an issue with. I did feel it was a bit repetitive, so in some places. But it wasn’t a real big issue. There’s only so much you can do when one of them stays in the house all day, reading, doing school work, and things like that. (Wow, I think I just described myself this whole time during quarantine lol) The only thing that saved the slow plot for me was their crazy banter.

This was a surprise win for me. And now I’m mad at myself for waiting so long to read it. But now that I’ve finished it, I NEED Eve’s book. It sounds like it will be just as funny if the synopsis is any indication. (I was laughing just from it!) I can’t wait to see if Hibbert can ever top Dani and Zaf’s story.

Overall, I give this

What about you? Have you read this series? What did you think of the characters? What did you think of their HEA? Let me know in the comments!