Take a Hint, Dani Brown

Talia Hibbert’s characters have so much depth; this book is no exception. I saw myself in the curvy lead, Dani Brown, as she’s always looking for signs to lead her in the right direction.

It was great to see her warm relationship with her sisters, even though they are all so different. But I absolutely loved seeing her flirtatious friendship turned fake relationship with former rugby player Zafir Ansari grow into true love. Plus, the spice was top-notch!

Dani Brown is career-focused and does not have time for a relationship (like my lead Isadora) – but great sex is always on the menu.

When she thinks she’s found a good partner in brooding ex-rugby player Zaf (who reads romance novels on the sly!), the universe conspires to put them in a fake dating relationship for the sake of publicity for a children’s charity.

You can never go wrong with Talia Hibbert, but I particularly enjoyed Take a Hint because Dani is very clear on who she is and what she wants. Owning your wants and honoring them is… show more.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown features characters so unique in their complexity that they immediately felt like real people to me. They are so multi-faceted that I find it impossible to describe them in all of their glorious fullness here. However, I can say that I particularly related to Dani's coexisting commitments to intellectual rigor and personalized spirituality, and to Zaf's internal wrestling matches between fear and courage, as a hopeless romantic with anxiety issues. Having a curvy, bisexual heroine also places this book "off the beaten path" for the romance genre. Throughout, this wonderfully realistic romantic comedy had me… show more.

I’m a sucker for a fake relationship. Add in a bisexual Black woman and I’m sold! The banter between the two main characters is highly entertaining and there’s something about this book that charms the soul. Dani is self-assured, and Zafir is into her from the start, which makes for an addicting romance. It was especially refreshing to see representation not only in sexuality, but in cultures and POC. There are some heavy topics around anxiety, depression, and loss, but in no way did that detract from my reading experience (even though all three of those things are close to… show more.

This very well may be one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Hibbert delivers a gloriously alpha heroine with Dani and the softest hero in the world with Zaf. The pair accidentally land in a fake dating situation, and, despite their attempts to avoid them, the feels hit them hard. I loved this book because of the ADHD rep for Dani. It was incredibly well done and I felt so seen in the depiction of it. Zaf deals with anxiety, and his story and experiences really resonated with me. Overall, one of my favorite rom-coms of all time.